My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 135

The mid-term exams at the Academy had ended, and I was living a pretty normal life at the Academy without any peculiar scheduled events.

Of course, I had gotten a bit closer to the club members compared to before.

I had definitely become much closer to Grace and Ivana, whom I had previously found a bit difficult to interact with, so that was a good thing.

And through the Information Guild, I had managed to gather some information about the Rose Family, Christina Rose.

“Hmm… their private life is messier than I thought.”

I had sent Rize on an errand and was left alone in my Dormitory Room.

While I was at it, I was perusing some documents regarding Christina Rose.

In the past, I had discussed with her younger sister, Alexandra, about bringing down Christina once she reached adulthood, but since I had nothing else to do—

I thought it would be better to gather some intel through the Information Guild.

“I’ve been careful every time I dug up information related to nobles, so I shouldn’t have gotten caught.”

The contents of the information I had gathered weren’t that sensitive or valuable.

Most of it revolved around Christina Rose’s private life and her romantic interests in men.

Of course, there were also details about noble families associated with her, rich people, guild leaders, and other figures mixed in there, but still…

“Hmm… no matter how I think about it, Rosalyn is much prettier.”

To be honest, I just couldn’t understand why this girl had so many suitors.

Honestly, I thought Rosalyn… no, Alexandra, the younger sister, was much more beautiful, and it was the same for her figure.

Plus, she was the oldest among the three sisters.

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t figure it out.

Why would someone choose an older, less pretty, and less kind girl over younger, prettier, and nicer options?

Although, I wasn’t exactly in a male body.

I probably couldn’t think completely like a guy, but still, it was hard to grasp.

“Hmm.”

Anyway, I was reading about Christina Rose.

Although Alexandra might already be aware of this information, it’s definitely a good idea to familiarize myself with it.

Next time I contact Alexandra, I’ll probably need to write something a bit more serious.

“Since I received less information about Nordal but got these instead… I wonder if it’s worth it?”

I wasn’t sure.

In the end, neither were really information I needed right away, but personally, I found this better than the information about Ivana.

At least, the thought that it wasn’t a loss crossed my mind.

“Should I buy something next time I go to the Information Guild…?”

I recalled the woman’s reaction when I received this request and felt a bit worried about how precarious it seemed.

Maybe handing her some chocolate snacks would be nice.

“How can I bring her down…?”

After reading all the documents filled with information, my thoughts immediately went in that direction.

Months had passed, but my enmity towards Christina Rose was still very much alive.

I didn’t care much about Leonhardt and how he looked down on me, but the fact that they had bullied Rosalyn up until now infuriated me.

“Hmm… should I take care of all the related people to eliminate their funding sources?”

It might be a bit tough, but in the long run, it seemed like a possible method.

Fortunately, there weren’t any major families at the level of dukes or earls, and the people involved had far too shady private lives.

I felt like I could manage something about it.

Of course, I had no immediate plans to act on it.

“…Alright, that should be enough for now, and it’s about time to move on to something else…”

It was time to do something else.

Rize had gone out, but I still had things to take care of.

I got up from the bed to brush my hair and started preparing to change clothes.

It was something I could do even without Rize, and besides, it wasn’t like there was anything she could do even if she were here.

*

“Young Lady…? Why are all the documents spread out like that?”

“Oh, Rize. You’re back?”

After finishing up some trivial tasks, I was preparing alone in my room when Rize returned.

She must have arrived late since she had a lot on her plate to handle for me.

Even though I called it an errand, I had definitely tasked her with quite a bit more than usual.

“Did you finish everything I asked?”

“Yes, it’s all done. I ordered a new furniture set and wardrobe, and everything else.”

“Really? Then that’s a relief. I’m planning to move the room tomorrow.”

“Oh… is that why you made such a mess of the room?”

“Yep.”

Rize had a point when she mentioned the room was a bit messy.

Basically, everything from the drawers was pulled out, and even the wardrobe was left open.

It was no wonder it appeared that way.

“I couldn’t exactly ask the staff to deal with the documents, you know?”

“That does make sense.”

Since some of it was sensitive information, Rize had recognized that pretty quickly.

There were business documents as well as letters in contact with other people; it wouldn’t be wise to casually show those to the staff.

Especially since most things were related to Nordal and the Rose Family, I couldn’t let them see.

“Rize, could you pack the documents on the desk into a bag?”

“Understood. What about the clothes?”

“Let’s just put them in the same bag I used last time.”

“Alright.”

Even though Rize had just returned from running errands, I immediately asked her to help out again.

To be honest, I was excited as I prepped because I had been waiting for this for a long time.

“I went to the Academy’s Dormitory office while you were out.”

“Oh, what rank is the new room?”

“B rank…”

“Um… but didn’t you get top grades?”

“That’s right.”

…Actually, I was putting in effort to prepare right now, but it wasn’t really a big deal.

It’s just a shift from a C rank dorm room to a B rank one.

But still, it was about changing dorms, and it meant I could finally leave this tiny studio room.

So for now, I felt satisfied with just that.

“The scores accumulate according to your grades for dorm ranking. Just like Rize said before. So with my grades, I got a B rank room this time, and if I score a bit higher next exam, I can go straight to an A rank.”

“Oh…”

“They say only a few people manage to raise their dorm rank on the first exam.”

I had talked a lot about dorm rankings at the dormitory office today.

Of course, it ultimately ended with just a promotion to a B rank room.

But compared to the first day when I was assigned this room and didn’t think to ask, I had been much more inquisitive and received plenty of answers.

“Students who get average grades normally advance from C rank to B rank, and it can take at least half a year.”

Initially, I had been a bit upset to hear that B rank was the highest I could go, but now that I had heard more explanations, I felt somewhat better.

Before Rize returned, I had seen the B rank dormitory room, which also helped to cool my frustrations.

“B rank was surprisingly nice. It’s small but has a kitchen and even a tiny balcony, which was good.”

“Oh…”

“Do you like it?”

“I’m glad to hear you like it, Young Lady.”

“Not just that; Rize, you’ve been feeling a bit uncomfortable in this room, haven’t you? How about switching to B rank?”

I asked Rize once more.

I could tell from her earlier expression and slight reactions, but I wanted to hear it out in more detail.

“…That sounds good.”

“Haha, I thought so! Honestly, this room feels cramped for two people.”

“That part… I didn’t think was that big of a deal.”

“Really?”

I thought it felt a bit cramped for two.

The room wasn’t the biggest when it came to living space, so that seemed reasonable.

Of course, Rize didn’t seem to be overly bothered by it.

“It was a small room, but it didn’t make me dislike sharing it with you, Young Lady.”

“Hmm… I guess that could be true. It was cramped, but there were some good points to it.”

Certainly, what Rize said didn’t seem entirely incomprehensible.

Spending time together and living with Rize felt nice in its own way, right?

Perhaps that was something Rize appreciated as well.

Even though it was nice to sleep in a wide bed alone, cuddling Rize like a pillow while sleeping was also quite pleasant.

Maybe if the bed had been bigger, I wouldn’t have done that.

“Anyway, we’re moving tomorrow, so let’s start getting our things ready and go out for dinner.”

“I’ve already organized the documents on the desk into a bag. Should I pack all the clothes except the ones for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, just do that.”

Anyway, the elevation of our Dormitory Room that had begun since the first day I arrived at the Academy could finally start taking shape.

To be honest, I was quite disappointed that the placement exam was unrelated to dorms, but at least I would be able to live a bit more comfortably now.

And I wasn’t happy about Rize having to stay in such an uncomfortable room since she had come to the Academy alongside me from the very first day.

Though Rize didn’t show it, she must have thought it was a bit uncomfortable deep down.

Compared to the massive Leonhardt Mansion and its rooms I’d lived in just a few months ago, this dormitory room felt far too small.

“Hehe…”

Thinking about living with Rize in a bigger dormitory room genuinely lifted my spirits.

Even though I had just read a lot about someone I really disliked before going to the dormitory office, I couldn’t help but smile.