NOVEL WEB Chapter 57
Chapter: 57
“Camellia, Camellia. Want to take a walk for a bit?”
“Mother?”
While I was just resting on the sofa in the evening, suddenly, Rosalyn made that suggestion to me.
It was the first time anyone suggested going for a walk at night, so I was a bit surprised. But I decided to follow Rosalyn outside anyway, wearing an extra cardigan over my clothes.
“Mother, why out of nowhere… for a walk?”
“Just because I want to walk with Camellia?”
“………”
I really didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t a strange reason, but it felt awkward to ask more about it.
“Are there any bugs?”
“No, there aren’t many bugs in the mountain. Of course, there are some… but it’s probably not likely that we’ll get bitten a lot.”
“That’s a relief. It would be a bit… awkward to go out at night and get bitten, right?”
“That’s true. Getting bitten is itchy and doesn’t feel good.”
“Ha ha, I feel like I get along well with Camellia.”
As we walked along the path, Rosalyn and I had such a conversation.
Since it was already dark, we had to turn on one of the magically created lights next to us.
“What will you do when we return to the Mansion? Back to business, I suppose?”
“Well, that’s probably the case. I haven’t worked much lately because I’ve been playing at the villa.”
“That’s true. Our Baron works hard like William after all.”
“…Yeah.”
It was hard to deny, but honestly, there were many aspects where I resembled William.
I didn’t look like him at all, but focusing on work and spending time doing things rather than anything else… I could honestly see the similarities.
It was undeniable how I shared those traits with William.
Of course, I absolutely wasn’t obsessed with money or women like William; I just enjoyed business and managing money.
“Haha, there’ll be a lot of work waiting for you when we get back.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“And next year, you have to enter the Academy as well. Seems like you have more than you expected to do, right?”
“True that.”
I couldn’t run my business in the Academy like I could now.
I had to find someone else to handle things for a while too…
Hmm.
“…Looks like there are a lot of annoying tasks left.”
I couldn’t help it, but honestly, it was still quite annoying.
As we chatted on, we arrived at the flower field we’d visited together last time.
It was dark because it was nighttime, but thanks to the soft, magical lighting, it was still pretty.
“Want to sit here?”
“What about you, Mother? There’s only one decent spot.”
Rosalyn pointed to a rock that looked okay, but the seating was awkward.
If I sat down, Rosalyn definitely wouldn’t be able to join me.
“I’ll just stand next to Camellia.”
“But still…”
“It’s fine, just sit. Really, it’s fine.”
“…Alright.”
For now, I just sat down as Rosalyn suggested.
It was a bit uncomfortable sitting on a rock, but it was better than standing.
“Hmm…”
“Why do you look like that?”
“I’m just worried that when Camellia goes to the Academy, she might get bored.”
“…Can’t be helped.”
“That’s true. It can’t really be helped.”
I didn’t expect Rosalyn to bring that up suddenly, but it was true; she was doing better at the Mansion than before, but still… there was a feeling of her being a bit out of place.
Unlike before, she managed the maids inside the Mansion and had a kind of hostess vibe, but there was still no sense of being a lady of the Leonhardt family.
That was because William still maintained a very businesslike relationship with Rosalyn.
“You will keep in touch with me, right?”
“Of course. There’s no reason not to contact you, Mother.”
“You’ll be really waiting for my messages, right? So you have to contact me often?”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Writing letters isn’t exactly hard.”
Rosalyn would obviously be bored while I was at the Academy, but it was already planned, so…
In fact, Rosalyn had even urged me to attend the Academy first.
It couldn’t be helped, but I genuinely planned to write to her often as a check-in.
Once a week might be too much… maybe once every two weeks?
“But I’m a bit worried.”
“Huh?”
Rosalyn suddenly looked at me with a seriously concerned face.
What could possibly be the reason for that look?
“What’s wrong…?”
“I’m just worried that when our Camellia goes to the Academy, other kids might be incredibly interested in her.”
“Eh, that’s a bit unlikely.”
“Do you really think so?”
“…Right?”
I didn’t think anyone would be particularly interested in me.
Besides, I had no reason to believe they would want to be associated with me… right?
“Kids entering the Academy will likely come from better families than ours. Why would they bother? Our reputation isn’t great anyway.”
“I’m talking about your beauty, not your family or money.”
“…Huh?”
“How could they not be interested in our Camellia, who is so beautiful?”
“…Am I really?”
“Yes. You’re the prettiest of all the kids I’ve seen!”
“Um…”
I found myself scratching my head without realizing.
I knew my looks were decent, but they didn’t seem to care about my family background… did they?
Of course, it might be different with a better and cleaner family.
“Haha, you might not realize it, but you’re really pretty!”
“……..”
“First of all, your hair is really pretty! I’ve never seen such beautiful blonde hair like yours.”
“…Is that so?”
“It is.”
Suddenly, Rosalyn started showering me with compliments about my looks.
It felt incredibly embarrassing, but Rosalyn continued, as if she didn’t care at all.
“Your nose is high, your face is small, and your eyes are so pretty!”
“………”
“Of course, kids around your age would be extremely interested in you!”
“Not to that extent…”
“I’m serious! Do you really doubt my word?”
“That’s not it…”
I just felt uncomfortable receiving that much praise.
It wasn’t that odd to get compliments, but receiving so many about my looks was a bit overwhelming.
Of course, I thought I looked good when I looked in the mirror… but still.
“From where I stand, you’re truly beautiful…”
“Okay, okay… maybe just… stop for a moment…”
Rosalyn moved a bit closer to me.
Her gaze was focused on my face, and even in that situation, she kept complimenting my looks.
It was too… too embarrassing.
She wasn’t just complimenting me; she was looking directly at me while doing it, making it even more humiliating.
“Haha, really?”
“…Yes.”
“How can you not realize how pretty you are?”
“……..”
Finally, Rosalyn’s flustering compliments came to an end.
Finally.
“Anyway, Camellia is super pretty, so when you get to the Academy, some kids will definitely take an interest in you.”
“…Is that a compliment?”
“Not really a compliment, just a warning to be cautious?”
“…Is that so.”
It could’ve been just a warning, but why did she put so much effort into praising me?
Even though it was a much cooler place than the Mansion, my face was burning up.
It was just some compliments, but I couldn’t help feeling this flustered.
Honestly, it wasn’t just the praises, but more so because it was Rosalyn saying those things…
It seemed particularly awkward since it was her.
“Nonetheless, I think you will still do well at the Academy, Camellia. You’ll likely hold yourself more than the other kids.”
“…If that’s the case, then that would be good.”
I wasn’t sure what Rosalyn meant precisely, but well…
Good things are good, after all… right?
Anyway, I was still sitting on the rock and Rosalyn was still standing in front of me.
“When you go to the Academy, you have to keep in touch often, okay?”
“I said I would…”
“And during break, definitely come back to the Mansion.”
“Of course.”
I understood Rosalyn’s worry.
After all, my home was the Mansion.
It would be only natural for me to return home during break; there was no reason not to.
“…Shall we head back now?”
“Shall we?”
To be honest, because of those last embarrassing praises and also feeling bad for Rosalyn standing there.
I decided to return to the villa with Rosalyn.
Even though we were in the mountains, it was warm, and I wanted to get back to the cool villa.
*
“…Phew.”
We returned to the villa and after chatting with everyone, I now went to my room to sleep.
Not long ago, it was lively talking with everyone, but now my room felt so quiet.
“…Why am I feeling like this?”
It was a deep sigh mixed with self-reflection.
No matter how I thought about it, there shouldn’t have been a reason to react this way.
Just simple compliments, just a few words.
It was something I could hear casually, and something I could casually say to others.
Your eyes are pretty, your hair is nice.
Just comments like that.
But I kept interpreting those comments strangely.
I knew it was wrong to give too much meaning to pure compliments from a mother to a daughter, that I shouldn’t feel odd about it, but I couldn’t help it.
“…Nothing has changed.”
Really.
When I thought about it, I should have matured; I should have changed.
But I realized that I had not grown at all.
I didn’t usually react this way, but with Rosalyn’s words or actions, I oddly responded.
I didn’t think I had ever reacted like this to anyone else, not even Rize or the others.
“Why am I like this…”
Lying alone on my bed,
I covered my slightly hot face with both hands and kept talking to myself about how strange the situation was until I fell asleep.
…I really am such a fool.