NOVEL WEB Chapter 32
Chapter: 32
“I think I’ve grown quite a bit over these four years.”
Definitely different from when I was eight; I’ve gotten taller, learned more magic, and improved my general knowledge.
Still shorter than Rosalyn and Rize, but I could confidently say I was better off than I was at eight.
“Hmm…”
“Do you have something on your mind, Young Lady?”
“These days, more customers have been looking to buy crops from Niesista, and I’m also wondering if I should take this opportunity to contact Ella for a different business.”
Well, business was going well, and I was maintaining good relations with the family I built connections with when I was young.
Especially with Niesista, our ongoing business was steady, and I kept a social relationship with the Roseaki Family through gatherings now and then.
Though, I suppose it would be more accurate to say I’m keeping up relations with Karen rather than the entire Roseaki Family.
“Um… Rize, do you want to eat some fruit?”
“…What?”
“I thought it might be good to increase the variety of crops grown in Niesista. The sunlight is strong, and the soil seems good as well. I thought it would be nice to grow some more high-end crops.”
“Why are you asking for my opinion…?”
“Well, I don’t usually eat fruit that often, so I just wanted to ask.”
Although these kinds of fruits are more to the liking of nobles than commoners, that was fine by me.
After all, the crops from Niesista hadn’t sold for a high price in the past. Of course, the quantities I would purchase at once were generally large enough to make it alright.
I was planning to squeeze a bit more profit from the nobles with this opportunity.
Most of the preparations were already in place, and the land had expanded more than before.
“Isn’t it alright? Instead of just growing the same crops each time, it might be nice to prepare a different product for the extra land.”
“I’m not very familiar with that sort of thing. I believe it’s best to go with what you think, Young Lady.”
“Hmm… I should ask Ella next time.”
It wasn’t something that needed to be decided immediately anyway.
For now, I roughly pushed the documents aside on my desk.
“Rize?”
“…Yes?”
When I called her, Rize answered a bit late, as if she had paused what she was doing.
Is she shy or something?
It should be time to get used to this, but I wonder how long she’ll keep being so bashful.
“Come up.”
“…Young Lady, is this really…?”
“Rize?”
“…Yes.”
Rize slowly climbed onto my lap.
Still shy about it. Honestly, I thought she should be a little more comfortable with this by now.
“Hehe…”
“Young Lady, why are you…?”
“You wanted to know why I do this?”
“…Yes.”
When did it become so common for me to have Rize sitting on my lap?
Rize might blush every time, but I enjoyed it.
So even though Rize would always be shy, I would deliberately pull her onto my lap.
Once again, even though she has grown taller than when she was little, the softness of her presence remained.
“Is it so wrong to want to be here with you, Rize? Do you dislike it?”
“That’s not it, but… still…”
“Hehe… you are really cute, you know.”
As time passed, I found myself reserving this kind of physical contact with Rosalyn as much as possible.
After all, she’s family, and the thoughts that come with such contact seemed too dangerous.
No matter how pretty or charming Rosalyn is, it’s obvious that having such thoughts about my mother is a problem.
But it shouldn’t be a problem to do this with Rize, right?
“Rize, I always say this, but if you don’t like it, you have to tell me, okay?”
“…Yes.”
“Of course, I think this is super duper nice. I have no intention of forcing you to do something you dislike.”
“…Understood.”
Even though Rize was always shy, she had never outright said she disliked it.
As always, I was just holding Rize on the chair.
Even if Rize was taller than me, she wasn’t heavy, and I didn’t mind her presence there at all.
“Hmm… Should we go out and buy clothes together tomorrow, Rize? Spring is coming, after all.”
“If the Young Lady is going…”
“Of course, I would love to have you with me.”
“…Yes.”
With Rize sitting on my lap, she was facing forward instead of looking at me, so I couldn’t see her expression.
But her bright red ears were definitely visible.
She seemed really embarrassed.
“I think you have pretty ears, Rize.”
“Young Lady…? I was just about to get back to work…”
“Nope, it’s fine to put it off a bit. Work can wait a moment.”
“Ugh…!”
I gently touched Rize’s flushed ears.
I had intended to give her a compliment, but it seemed like she was trying to escape.
So I made sure to keep her from escaping by gently touching her ears with one hand while holding her stomach with the other.
“Hehe… Rize?”
“A-Young Lady…?”
“Are you trying to run away? Right now?”
“That’s not it… It’s just that soon, the washing of your dress will be done…”
“That can wait a little longer, can’t it?”
I wasn’t too pleased with the fact that Rize was trying to run away.
So I was joking around even more.
“Isn’t it?”
“That…”
I already knew Rize’s daily tasks well.
So what she said at that moment was undoubtedly a lie; my dress hadn’t been washed at all.
It was amusing to watch Rize get so shy, and she was cute, so I wanted to tease her a bit more.
“Are you saying you dislike it?”
“Not… really…”
“Then why? Why are you trying to escape? Huh?”
“Because you’re too close, Young Lady…”
Does she not realize that responding like this only makes me want to tease her more?
Of course, I knew that teasing and playing with her like this was wrong, but it still couldn’t be helped; it was too much fun.
“Rize, how about just five more minutes like this? If you stay still, I’ll let you go right afterward.”
“Really?”
“I promise! Just stay still for five minutes.”
“Y-Yes, understood…”
I would truly let her go after five minutes.
Since Rize was so shy, I planned to let her go afterward but had no intention of doing so before that.
Besides, with how hot her ears were, I couldn’t ignore that.
How embarrassed could she be to make her ears this warm?
*
When I was little, it was fine to be close with Rosalyn.
Honestly, Rosalyn was a nice person, but sometimes her very stimulating nature made things a bit tough for me.
There wasn’t much issue when playing with other girls my age since they were strangers, but… Rosalyn was family.
Even if she was a stepmother, she was still a family member, which made things complicated.
“Camelia, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“I think I’ll go shopping for clothes with Rize. The weather has gotten warmer, so it’s time to buy some clothes.”
“Indeed, Camelia, you’ve certainly grown compared to when you were little. You’ll be needing new clothes even more often now.”
“That and the last time I bought clothes was just before last winter, so it’s about time.”
That said, there were no problems in talking or spending time with Rosalyn at all.
It was just… the skinship that happened due to being close to Rosalyn was what made things complicated.
Calling it skinship was already a problem for me, but I couldn’t help it.
“Clothes, huh…”
“Why do you ask?”
“Hm? It’s not that; I was just thinking if I should buy some clothes as well. After all, I haven’t bought anything in a while.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Regardless, the relationship I had with Rosalyn was by no means bad.
If anything, it was good, and anyone could see that the bond I had with Rosalyn was strong. Other young nobles probably didn’t have as good a mother-daughter relationship as I did.
In reality, our relationship was undeniably good.
“Then would you like to go shopping for clothes together tomorrow? I have no other plans anyway.”
“Should we?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Shopping for clothes together was no big deal.
I’d spent a lot of time with Rosalyn since before.
That was the case when I first met Rosalyn and continued to spend time with her after that.
Perhaps it’s because Leonhardt was doing well recently, but William had been spending even less time at the mansion.
That would seem only natural.
Well, I hadn’t spent that much time with William in the first place.
“Ah, Mother? Is it alright to also buy some clothes for Rize when we go shopping tomorrow?”
“Rize?”
“Yes. I want to get her a little gift. She’s always helped me, and I’m grateful for that.”
“Of course, that makes perfect sense. After all, Camelia, you always buy things with your own money anyway, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
It didn’t matter, but I figured it was good to mention it nonetheless.
Out of nowhere buying Rize’s clothes right after mine might not sit well.
Of course, Rosalyn wasn’t the type to be indifferent like that.
But just in case.
“I’ve been getting closer to Rize lately.”
“Is that so? Hmm… I think I’ve always been close to Rize.”
“But it’s definitely different now, isn’t it?”
Well, I couldn’t deny that feeling.
I was certainly closer to Rize now than before.
“Rize is a good girl.”
Of course, I knew the reason Rize wasn’t treated equally was because she was a maid.
But I still had a definite bond with Rize, and I thought fondly of her. She was genuinely a nice person, cute and pretty too.
It seemed like Rize’s physical features greatly influenced my feelings toward her.
But that didn’t mean my intentions were impure.
“Don’t you think so, Mother?”
“Well… she is indeed a good girl. Always supporting you, and she knows more about you than any of the other maids, right?”
“That’s right.”
Rize was my personal maid.
Anyway, even though I had created some distance from how close we used to be when I was little, I still maintained a very close relationship with Rosalyn.
If I think about it differently, I might have been a bit too close back when I was little.
No matter what, even for a mother and daughter… to be hugged naked in the same bathroom, it’s… um.
It’s only natural to think along those lines.
“It’s nice to go out with you, Camelia, after such a long time, isn’t it?”
“…You went out just last week.”
“Going out for lunch and going shopping for clothes together is totally different, don’t you think?”
“……..”
Honestly, there was nothing I could do.
Even if we’re family, saying something like a very pretty woman in her early twenties wants to go ‘dating’ is…