NOVEL WEB Chapter 34
Chapter: 34
Though our meeting was a chance encounter, Ella and the Nieshista Domain maintained a closer relationship with our family than I had expected.
It seemed our family had been quite good at handling what the Nieshista family wanted.
Additionally, we had also provided them with more wealth than before, so it made sense.
“Oh ho ho! This is a new necklace I had made!”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Right?”
“Yes, it suits you well.”
Perhaps because of this, Ella often visited our mansion.
Well, technically, there wasn’t really a reason for her not to come since we were in the same southern region, but she still came a lot.
“Ah, Ella? I was thinking about cultivating new products on the land within the Nieshista Domain.”
“New products?”
“Yes, considering the crops we’ve been selling up until now, they’re mostly not high-value like wheat, right?”
I started explaining to Ella something I had been planning for a while.
I had intended to talk to the Nieshista side about it, but she happened to be over for a visit.
Since crops take time to yield results, I figured it would be fine to start small anyway.
Of course, Ella didn’t have explicit authority on such business matters, but it was better to approach it through her rather than talking directly to the Baroness.
…Honestly, talking to a middle-aged man was just tiring.
If she were a pretty young girl, it would be a different story.
“Hmm… That sounds good! I’ll need to tell my father!”
“Really?”
“Yes, it seems like recently, they’ve been too focused on wheat. Now would be a good opportunity to sell something new!”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I had thought about it, but if Nieshista didn’t like it, there wasn’t much we could do.”
“When have we ever rejected your proposal?”
“There was that one time!”
“That was in the past! Well… sometimes it can happen. But no family trades as much with Leonhardt as we do, right?”
That was true.
As Ella said, most proposals were met with a positive response, and we indeed had the largest trading volume with them.
Though it wasn’t overwhelmingly huge when thinking purely in terms of volume.
“By the way, how much magic have you learned these days?”
“Lately?”
“Yes, the last time I saw you, you were at intermediate magic. Honestly, I was surprised at how fast you were progressing…”
“Well, it’s pretty much the same as before. Still around intermediate magic level.”
In reality, I had progressed beyond intermediate magic.
Maybe it was because I had a better talent for it than I thought, but Ashley’s lessons had been going smoothly, and since last year, I had been learning advanced magic.
Of course, I was telling everyone else that I was still at an intermediate level.
“Well! You’re doing well enough! At this rate, I don’t think you’ll be bullied at the Academy!”
“That’s good enough for me.”
Even though I had unexpectedly reached the level of advanced magic, being able to perform intermediate magic was already impressive.
That was the goal for most teenage magicians.
Just being able to use advanced magic was a big deal.
“Hmm…”
“What are you looking at?”
Ella asked as I kept staring at her.
It wasn’t because there was something important that caught my eye.
“I just thought you’ve grown a lot since you were a child.”
“Hmph! That’s me!”
“Well, that’s true.”
I simply realized again that Ella had a truly cute appearance.
Even though she had matured more than when she was young, she still retained her lively charm, with hair a bit darker than Ashley’s sky-blue hair, closer to navy.
Anyway, it was just one of those feelings.
All the close women around me were beautiful, so it wasn’t just Ella.
“By the way, did you receive a letter from the Academy recently?”
“Of course.”
“That’s a relief! I thought you might be ignored again like before, but this time, no issues at all!”
“It truly is a relief. There were times I couldn’t even attend parties invited by the central officials.”
At this point, I was no longer at the level of being outright ignored.
That really was a relief.
Though I still had a dislikable association with Leonhardt.
“Speaking of which, the Academy…”
“Going there feels troublesome.”
“Excuse me?!”
Ella was surprised, but honestly, going there was a hassle.
For me, planning business and making money in the mansion was far more… comfortable than attending the Academy.
I figured it would be less of a headache, and mingling with noble children was still a hassle.
“Am I the only one who thinks this way?”
“Of course not! Naturally, you should attend the Academy! Nobles like us from the southern region must go to the Academy!”
“Hm…”
“Are you really going to skip it?”
“Of course, it’s not that I plan to skip. It’s just annoying.”
I wasn’t a fool; I would never truly skip it.
Even if it was a hassle, that was true.
“My mother graduated from the Academy too, after all. I do plan to go. It might be annoying, but come on, I’m a noble. Besides, I don’t have any other siblings.”
Honestly, going would help with future business matters and all that.
Anyway, that’s how it was.
Even though I felt lazy about the tea party I had at the age of eight, I still went to social gatherings after that.
Of course, those weren’t formal social functions but gatherings with other young nobles around my age.
Not quite the official social scene, but more like a preliminary round?
Going to those gatherings repeatedly… I often felt truly bothered.
“Ugh…”
“B-but! At least you have one close friend, so that’s something to be grateful for, right? It’s better than going alone!”
“That is true.”
“See!”
Ella was right about that.
If I had entered without any close friends, I might have thought about skipping… but I’d probably still go regardless?
“Still, I’m glad to hear that! Camelia, if you hadn’t received any contact from the Academy, it would have been annoying!”
“Well… I think I’ll be fine to pass the exam without much trouble.”
“Even so, a hassle is a hassle!”
“That is true.”
It wasn’t wrong.
I was quite relieved that my treatment by Leonhardt had improved just slightly compared to before.
Thanks to having reached a point where I could enter the Academy without needing to pass an exam, that was definitely a good thing.
Anyway, I spent time chatting with Ella like that.
Since we had already talked about business, we could only engage in ordinary conversation as usual.
*
After chatting with Ella for a while, she returned to her own mansion.
Honestly, looking at it this way, living close in the south was a blessing.
If we had lived far away, we wouldn’t be able to meet so often, and her journey back would have been longer.
Anyway, after sorting out my dinner and finishing my tasks, I was resting in my room alone.
Well, there wasn’t really anything to do, and I had wrapped up all the business-related matters, so I was just relaxing.
“Camelia~”
“Yes, Mother.”
While I was resting alone, Rosalyn suddenly came into my room and called for me.
…What’s going on?
“Are you busy right now?”
“Huh? Not really. Why do you ask?”
“Is that so?”
I wasn’t sure why she had come, but it seemed she had something to say.
Hmm… what was it?
I couldn’t quite predict what it was.
“Then would you like to come downstairs for a moment?”
“…Huh?”
…?
Not quite sure what she was talking about, I found myself following Rosalyn downstairs to the first floor.
As it turned out, we ended up in the kitchen.
“…Mother?”
“Hmm?”
“Why are we suddenly here…?”
I could hardly help but ask.
What was going on?
I had never been brought to the kitchen by Rosalyn before, so I had no clue what this was about.
“Are we going to have a late-night snack?”
“…Huh?”
“Well, it’s been a little while since dinner, and I’m not quite sleepy yet, so I was wandering around the mansion when I happened to see light coming from your room.”
Rosalyn said this while rummaging through the fridge.
Wait… cooking?
“Since it seems like you wouldn’t be sleeping anyway, how about we have a late-night snack together?”
“Can you… cook?”
“It’s not like I can make anything difficult, but I can manage the easy stuff.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. Even if I’m a noble, I’m still a mother, after all!”
“Fair enough…”
Since I had never seen her do it before, I really had no idea.
Anyway, I was going to witness Rosalyn cooking firsthand this time. Right up close.
Even though Rosalyn suddenly brought me here, I wasn’t against it.
I definitely wasn’t about to fall asleep right away, either.
“What are you going to make?”
“Hm? Um… pizza?”
“Pizza?”
“Yeah. It’s not that difficult, you know. It’s pretty simple, but still delicious.”
“Aha…”
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but just hearing the word “pizza” sparked a bit of anticipation.
After all, I hadn’t even thought about having Rosalyn make pizza for me.
I grabbed a chair to watch, while Rosalyn began chopping ingredients and spreading spaghetti sauce onto a thin bread like a tortilla.
Hmm… surprising how well she’s doing.
“Should I put in some meat?”
“I’m fine with anything. It’s your cooking, after all!”
“Hehe… In that case, I’ll have to make it extra tasty!”
Then, Rosalyn grilled some ham and piled the ingredients along with cheese on the tortilla, finishing the pizza.
It wasn’t quite thick like a real pizza, but it definitely captured the essence of a simple pizza.
It was way more delightful than I anticipated.
I can’t help but think of those quick pizza recipes I’ve seen online.
“It’s better than I thought…!”
“Right? Back at the Rose Mansion, I used to secretly eat fun food like this, you know. Though I was always sneaking around!”
With that, Rosalyn and I took the pizza and some juice from the fridge and returned to my room.
It felt like it had been a long time since I spent time with Rosalyn in my room.
As I grew older, I had intentionally kept a little distance from Rosalyn, plus there wasn’t really a reason for her to come into my room…
“Hmm, it feels nice to visit Camelia’s room after a long time.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, right?”
“…That’s true.”
Maybe I felt a bit awkward because Rosalyn had unexpectedly come to my room, or maybe it was due to her outfit.
Considering her clothes… were they the kind you’d wear to bed?
The neckline of her outfit was quite open, and having Rosalyn come into my room at night felt a bit too awkward for me.
Rosalyn likely just wanted to spend some innocent time with me, but I couldn’t see it that way.
Am I… a bit of a pervert?