My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 100

“Rize, are you really mad?”

Returning to my room, I whispered this behind Rize, who was busy cleaning all by herself.

Actually, “whispered” might not be the right word… it was more like I just asked.

This time, I genuinely wanted to know if Rize was really angry, since I was quite worried.

“It was fine for Rize not to come along… right?”

“…….”

Unlike in the morning when she called for me in a flurry from the hallway, she had changed back into her maid outfits and was quietly going about her chores without any expression.

Even though I was right behind Rize, she didn’t respond.

It seemed like she was truly upset about me leaving without saying anything in the morning.

Of course, it wasn’t like I had done nothing wrong, but wasn’t this a bit much…?

I wasn’t some helpless little kid who would trip and fall while wandering around, crying for attention!

“Hmm…”

I wondered how I could lighten Rize’s mood.

She was angrier than usual, so a simple poke or casual conversation wouldn’t cut it.

What could I do? No clear ideas came to mind.

It was rare for Rize to be this serious when she was mad, and generally, when she did get upset, it wasn’t to this extent.

“Rize, are you really not going to cool off?”

“…Young lady, you’re interrupting my cleaning. Could you please step aside?”

“Rize?”

“I’m sorry.”

…Wow. Really? She’s taking it this far?

If it were the usual Rize, she would have forgiven me by now with my repeated apologies.

The Rize I knew would typically respond with a flustered look and say to be careful next time… but today, she seemed much more angry than usual.

“Rii~ze~?”

“Ri~ze~?”

“Rize~?”

…I kept trailing after Rize, calling out her name, but I was getting nowhere.

Today’s Rize was really angry, making it impossible for her to give me an answer.

But honestly, this wasn’t even my room; it was an inn room, and I could just ask her to clean it up. So why was she so bent on tidying it up?

Setting aside her anger, it was just typical Rize behavior.

Seeing her like that only made me feel guiltier, and I kept wondering what I should do.

Sure, Rize was mad, but she didn’t really show it through her expressions or actions.

Her face was expressionless, but I could see her mouth twitching ever so slightly or her eyebrows flinching whenever I spoke to her… she wasn’t really frowning either.

“…….”

As I observed Rize following her around, I became sure of one thing.

Even though she was indeed mad, it didn’t seem like she hated me enough to that extent.

She was likely just upset about my actions or concerned for me, leading her to behave this way.

Of course, it could also be that she wasn’t doing it on purpose, but just hit a wall because of me.

Well… I guess it was true that Rize had worried me a lot, objectively speaking…?

From her perspective, it was pretty understandable… yeah.

*

After another ten minutes of following her around and calling her name, Rize still hadn’t changed.

She still wouldn’t respond to me, focusing intently on her chores in the room…

Well, I guess it was becoming impossible for her to keep doing that. Anyway, Rize seemed to be putting in a lot of effort to make me feel guilty.

“Rize.”

“…….”

“Are you really not going to answer me?”

I asked her one last time.

Was I finally quitting the whole follow-and-call routine?

“Yes?”

“……..”

As expected, Rize didn’t reply to my response.

All the while, she kept her body turned away from me as she sorted through clothes in the wardrobe.

Since the beginning, Rize had been extremely weak against me pressuring her. I could say she was even weaker than she was with Rosalyn.

Despite being very close and intimate with Rize, when we slept in the same bed, it usually took a very long time for her to fall asleep before me.

I had no doubt that the current situation was no different.

“Gah!? A-A young lady…?”

Having finished my thoughts, I hugged Rize from behind while she was organizing the wardrobe.

Hmm. Her waist is super thin.

At her age, with her height and stunning looks, Rize’s best feature was definitely her figure.

Honestly, it’s pretty rare to find someone so slim yet elongated.

“Why?”

Anyway, as soon as I gave her a back hug, Rize reacted, and I casually responded to her.

Just as if it were some normal joking around I did now and then.

“What’s this all of a sudden…”

“Don’t like it? Is it really something you dislike?”

I looked up at Rize and asked as I did the most innocent face I could muster.

It was a face I often used… like saying, ‘I’m so innocent~!’

I used it quite frequently, but given my pretty and cute looks, it always had a good effect.

“N-No, um…”

Even now, seeing Rize clearly flustered was quite amusing.

She was struggling to speak, her eyes shaking… heh.

I had to hold back my laughter while maintaining the hug.

Rize was still wearing a flustered expression and reacting. She was clearly weak in this area.

“Dislike…?”

“…It’s not like that.”

“Then why aren’t you responding and ignoring me like this…”

I continued with the act, feeling like a sorry girl myself.

Looking up at Rize, who was much taller than me while hugging her from behind.

“It’s true I made a mistake, but I didn’t think Rize would ignore me this much or dislike me so strongly.”

…Of course, I felt a bit of guilt while playing this part.

I had lived my life as a man in my twenties, so I couldn’t help but feel some pressure or worry while playing this role.

Still…

“If you’re mad, you could at least tell me what exactly made you angry… ignoring me like this… it’s too much.”

“I didn’t intend to…”

“…I just want to stay close with Rize.”

“Young lady…”

“I don’t have anyone as close as Rize or have been with anyone as long as I have with you…”

If someone were to see this, they’d think Rize had done something terribly wrong, but in fact, it was all my fault.

But here I was, squeezing Rize and speaking as pitifully as I could…

“I’m sorry… I just…”

Of course, Rize couldn’t just ignore me again in a situation like this.

Geez… it’s way too easy on this front.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Is all your anger gone now?”

“I was never really angry. I was just… worried about you, young lady. So…”

“Really?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Rize had turned her head towards me, pausing her hand that had been tidying up the wardrobe.

She didn’t seem like someone who had been ignoring me a moment ago.

I had always thought, Rize might appear a bit stiff but, if you find even a little gap, she becomes surprisingly easy to deal with.

It was the same now.

“Then you won’t ignore me anymore?”

“Yes…”

“And you’ll stop giving me one-word answers and talk properly, right?”

“Yes…”

Still maintaining the back hug, I spoke while looking up at her.

Rize was definitely embarrassed by the current situation, but I didn’t mind staying like this for a bit longer.

Until her face turned bright red to the point of nearly glowing and she eventually asked me to let go a little.

*

“Hehehe! How do I look?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m obviously talking about the dress I’m wearing!”

“Oh, I see.”

By lunchtime, I was outside with Ella.

Of course, behind us were Rize and Ella’s maid following along.

“I have to wear the academy school uniform for a while now, so before I go, I’m trying to wear as many different outfits as I can!”

“It looks pretty.”

“R-Really!?”

“Of course! Ella is cute to begin with. It just looks good on you.”

I was simply complimenting Ella sincerely.

Ella had always liked showing off and being praised, and besides, the dress she was wearing suited her really well.

“The cape you’re wearing on top is from the North, right?”

“Did you know that?”

“Yeah, that kind of pure white fur is usually made around there. The quality is remarkably good too.”

“Haha! Is that so!?”

She looked really happy to receive compliments, which was nice to see.

She looked so pure, like a blank canvas, and it was really cute.

It felt like it was a different kind of cuteness from Rize.

“Hehe.”

“Don’t you think she looks super pretty too? Camelia, it’s rare to see you smile like this!”

“Yeah, she looks super pretty.”

A cute girl with sea-blue hair wearing a pure white dress and cape was smiling like that.

Anyone with ordinary aesthetic sensibilities would naturally think she was pretty and cute, right?

I felt like once the academy started, there would be many noble boys and ladies interested in Ella. Was it just my imagination?

“Hmm…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just because Ella is so cute?”

“W-Why are you saying that… you already have more money than me anyway!”

“That’s true, isn’t it?”

I wasn’t saying it with any ulterior motives, to begin with.

Anyway, it didn’t really matter if Ella made other friends once we got to the academy.

“Ella, there’s a nice dessert cafe nearby. Want to go there?”

“Is that true!?”

“Yeah, they have cakes you like and a lot of good desserts.”

“Let’s go right now!”

Since I knew Ella better and was closer to her, I couldn’t resist.