NOVEL WEB Chapter 58
Chapter: 58
“Rize, stack these documents on top.”
“Understood.”
As soon as we returned from the villa, it was only natural that work began.
Ella had returned to their territory, and Karen was going to play a bit longer at our mansion before heading back… but there was a lot to do.
We hadn’t handled any business affairs for quite a while, and summer was quite an important time.
After enjoying about two weeks of vacation, it was only to be expected that I had to tackle all this.
– Scribble, scribble…
I was holding a pen and signing off on new documents continuously.
Of course, I wasn’t just signing; I was reading each piece of writing one by one.
“Hmph…”
Looking at the business documents after a long time felt… familiar.
“…it feels familiar.”
Sure, it had been two weeks, so I thought it would feel kind of awkward or different.
But in reality, it was no different than before.
– Scribble…
– Scribble…….
Even now, as I wrote business-related notes in a notebook next to me, it was just like the old days.
Well, if there was one difference, it was that the room was cool now.
Though it was still hot in summer, Ashley’s air conditioning magic was now installed in my room too.
“……..”
I had a serious feeling that I could make a ton of money with this.
Of course, considering Ashley’s personality, it wouldn’t be easy, but honestly, I felt like I could probably make as much as a decent business just with this magic.
Just installing it, not even teaching how to use it…
“Hehe…”
“…?”
I chuckled to myself.
I wouldn’t actually go through with it, but honestly, it seemed fun.
Though I had a strong feeling I might fall asleep while installing it.
Thinking about Ashley falling asleep while setting it up made me find it kind of funny.
It would be downright absurd if that happened.
Only Ashley could pull that off.
“Rize, do you have any candy?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Give me one. Um… lemon flavor.”
“Sure.”
After working for the first time in a while, I felt my energy dip a little.
I took the candy Rize gave me and popped it in my mouth.
Indeed, when your mind isn’t working, candy is the way to go.
“Rize, what is Karen doing right now?”
“She’s walking around the garden. She just went out with the maids a little while ago.”
“Well, our garden is really beautiful. Besides, she went and redesigned the garden a bit while she was at the academy.”
I was busy working, and with Ella gone, Karen had nothing to do in the mansion by herself.
Moreover, this spring, we had given the garden a fresher look…
Since it was summer and the weather was hot, we remodeled it, and although it wasn’t as grand as the Roseaki Mansion garden, we even added a small pond.
Thanks to that, it felt even prettier than before, and it was definitely different from what it used to be.
So Karen had no choice but to go see the garden right now.
“Hmm… Rize, could you put these documents in the drawer…”
I informed Rize about the organized documents and the related tasks.
I told her to put things in order in the drawer and to send a few documents by mail to someone.
After all, when it came to business-related issues, there was no one else I could entrust it to except Rize.
“Oh, and if you see something you want on the way back… it’s okay to buy it under my name.”
“Even if I’m not planning to…?”
“It’s really okay, you know? Get something on your way back if you want.”
As I spoke, I handed Rize a few documents.
Although it was a job Rize, being a maid, could handle, it would probably be a hassle for her.
“Hmm… or you could buy something for us to eat together?”
“…Understood.”
I must have spent a lot of time with Rize, right?
Unlike before, when I would make a suggestion and she’d just say it was fine, it seemed like she was more willing to accept my requests now.
“Thanks.”
“…You’re welcome. It is, after all, my responsibility.”
“Still, on your way back, buy whatever you want.”
Word had spread around the nearby stores that Leonhardt or I was associated with this mansion, so it wouldn’t be a problem.
Moreover, every time I went out, I had always taken Rize with me, so it was perfectly fine.
*
“How is it, sister?”
“It’s beautiful. The pond is so… clean. The garden looks well-kept, too.”
“That’s a relief.”
After seeing Rize off, I headed for the garden.
I quietly sat at the table in front of the pond, admiring the view.
“Oh, Camelia. Have you finished with work?”
“I still have a bit left, but it’s not something that needs to be done all in one day.”
“That’s good to hear. I was surprised you came back earlier than expected… If it doesn’t need to be done immediately, that’s a relief.”
“Hehe, but I can’t just leave you alone.”
Though I was familiar with it, still, she was a guest.
It wouldn’t be polite to leave her by herself, and I felt a bit guilty, so I dropped everything I was doing to come see her.
Of course, to be honest, I also didn’t want to work more and wanted to see Karen.
So, I came here just like that.
“How did you make this pond?”
“Well… I got a lot of help from my teacher. After all, she’s really skilled in magic, right?”
“Oh, right… She was indeed quite impressive.”
…Actually, I had done more of the work.
Ashley helped a lot, but I had done a lot more.
I hadn’t told anyone else, but I had built the pond along with Ashley.
I had moved the soil with telekinesis and, using magic, created all the water separately.
That’s why it didn’t cost much at all.
Of course, making everything with magic was a tad annoying, but it wasn’t a major issue.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
“Yes, it turned out really nice. I suppose the pond’s water was created with magic?”
“Yes, it’s because transporting it from somewhere else costs a lot. And besides, water created with magic is much cleaner, isn’t it?”
After all, it wasn’t for drinking; it was just for aesthetics.
I thought that using magic was the neatest option, so I decided to go with it.
“The old garden was pretty too. I feel a bit sad about that.”
“Did you like the old garden more?”
“The pond is pretty, but personally, I think the previous garden was nicer.”
There was indeed a bit of a difference between the current garden and the previous one.
The old garden had felt a bit cramped compared to now.
There had been more walls decorated with plants and flowers, which gave it a somewhat suffocating vibe. But now, we had pushed that aside and made a spacious pond, so of course, it looked more open and welcoming.
“Hmm… isn’t the Roseaki Mansion’s garden even wider than this?”
“That’s true, but… I don’t particularly like it, aside from how pretty it is…”
“…What?”
I had expected Karen to speak highly of the Roseaki Mansion’s pond, so hearing her express such thoughts was quite a surprise.
“How can you not like it…?”
“…It’s just not really my style…”
“…Why?”
No.
Seriously, why?
Why on earth…?
“…Why?”
“Um, well… it’s just too spacious…? Too open, and the sunlight comes through too strongly…”
“……..?”
“Um… is something wrong…?”
“…Hmm.”
I hadn’t anticipated her distinct preferences showing through even in the garden.
Karen’s room in the Roseaki Mansion was a bit… dark, and she always drew the curtains to block the sunlight from coming in, but still, I didn’t expect that she would feel this way in the garden.
“…Next time, when we remodel, I’ll try to make it more like the old one.”
“N-No! It’s not to that extent… it’s just… the sunlight comes in too much…”
“…Haha.”
Yeah… well.
But Karen is kind, after all.
Yeah, isn’t that what matters?
There were times I wondered if she was too introverted, but she truly is a kind person.
And she was quite pretty, separate from her introverted personality… yeah.
That should suffice.
After all, being introverted isn’t a problem… right?
“Sister, should we start heading inside the mansion?”
“Shall we…?”
I said that just in case.
Karen’s response bore a hint of her gentle, bright laughter.
*
“What is this, Camelia?”
“Oh, that? It’s just a doodle notebook for when I’m bored.”
While playing in my room with Karen, she suddenly brought up the notebook she was looking at.
It wasn’t an important notebook related to business; it was just one of the notebooks crammed in the bookshelf.
It was literally just a notebook with doodles in it.
“Is it okay if I look?”
“Of course.”
“Really?”
“It’s truly just doodles.”
They were sketches I had drawn with pencil during moments of boredom.
Well, I had learned a bit about drawing from my tutors in the past.
Though the drawings in the notebook were nothing to show off; they were just rough sketches.
Anyway, Karen was flipping through my notebook and looking at the doodles one by one.
“You’re better than I expected at drawing.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you draw well. Better than most young ladies.”
“Thanks for the compliment. I don’t think it’s that great…”
Karen was diligently observing the notebook.
Though I wasn’t terrible at drawing, most of the pictures were drawn quite lazily.
“But it seems like most of them are portraits.”
“Oh.”
“Hmm… a lot of familiar faces here.”
“…I guess I prefer drawing people over buildings, so that’s probably why there are more of them.”
…As Karen had said, I did draw a lot of people.
They were doodles, but I had definitely sketched the people around me a lot.
But now that Karen had caught on to that, I felt a bit embarrassed.
Truth be told, most of the doodles were of Rosalyn, Rize, Ella, Ashley, and Karen.
It’s much more fun to draw pretty people rather than buildings or landscapes.
“I think if you were to draw seriously instead of doodling, you’d definitely draw even better.”
“…Really?”
Regardless of my embarrassment, Karen seemed to focus solely on the fact that I drew well.
One thing was for sure; I needed to hide that notebook properly later.
“Haha…”