My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 115

I successfully finished my duel with Nordal, or rather… it ended easily, but the problem didn’t stop there.

After all, I had easily defeated none other than Ivana Nordal.

“Didn’t I hear that she beat Lady Nordal in a duel…?”

“Maybe Lady Nordal let her win?”

“There’s no way Lady Nordal would do that! She’s too incredible to lose on purpose after asking for a duel herself.”

“That’s true…”

Thanks to that, the new gossip among the other students was all about Nordal.

Word was spreading that Camelia Leonhardt was super strong, and there were rumors that I must have cheated or done something underhanded to win… It was chaotic in various ways.

Really, what did I even do? All I did at the Academy was sit around and nap.

Why is this happening…?

“…Ella.”

“Yeah?”

“…What do you think I did?”

“Well… you did quite a bit, right?”

“…I don’t think so.”

“You aced the written part of the placement test, slept through most of the classes, and just recently, you easily beat Lady Nordal in a duel… um…”

“…Hmm.”

It was hard to counter that. Ella wasn’t lying, and I really had…

I honestly didn’t know how to take this situation.

“Ha…”

What am I supposed to do…?

“…Ella. Should I take a leave of absence from the Academy? If I do that, it seems like I wouldn’t have to deal with this exhaustion at all. Doesn’t that sound good?”

“…Are you stupid?”

“I just really hate it.”

I was honestly tired of all the chatter about me, whether it was positive or negative.

It wasn’t even real talk, just their own speculations thrown around freely… it was all just annoying.

When I was walking around the Academy campus with Rize and they were whispering about me…

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t help but be troubled.

If only I had lost the duel easily and nothing had happened… no, something else would have probably come up anyway.

After all, everyone saw that Nordal challenged me to a duel, so it was bound to happen.

It was just… no easy choice, whichever way I went.

“Ha…”

I still hadn’t heard why Nordal challenged me in the first place.

Why did she really want to duel me?

I had asked her while binding her with magic, and the only reply I got was about how fast and strong the people from the North were.

Other than that… I really hadn’t heard anything, and for some reason, she didn’t talk to me anymore.

On top of that, Grace seemed to be avoiding me for some reason…

“Sigh…”

How did it come to this?

*

“Ugh…”

“Are you okay…? Camelia, you look really tired…”

“I’m actually super tired… seriously… ha…”

After school, I came to a dessert cafe with Karen and Rize. I hadn’t really been studying anyway, and I hadn’t done anything after school.

Well, I hadn’t ordered yet and was just slumped over the table.

“So… um… what happened with Lady Nordal?”

“Ah… that?”

“Everyone at the Academy’s been buzzing about it lately…”

“Yeah, really. Why did this happen?”

I should have faked a headache and skipped the duel that day. Of course, if I did that, I probably would have ended up being followed or challenged to another duel anyway.

But if I had managed to avoid it somehow… maybe it wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

I really didn’t know.

Anyway, the situation was still one where I could only sigh.

“By the way, sis, how’ve you been getting along with your younger sister lately?”

“Huh?”

“Grace.”

“Why do you ask? I think she’s been making friends at the Academy and having fun with them… She hasn’t spent much time with me since coming here.”

“Really?”

That was a bit unexpected.

Considering what Grace said, she seemed like she was really following Karen around, but now Karen was saying otherwise.

If I only went by what Grace said, she would seem like a total sis-con.

“Grace is probably different from me… She’s more outgoing. She’s always made friends easily since she was little…?”

“I think you’re outgoing too, just a bit shy about it.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

Actually, despite being super shy and introverted, I thought Karen was pretty social.

In our first meeting, I didn’t start the conversation. It was her who approached me first.

Of course, that side of her was quite hidden due to her introverted nature.

By the way, from what Grace said, it sounded like Karen and Grace were spending quite a bit of time together, but now Karen was saying the opposite.

How am I supposed to take this?

“Young lady, it might be a good idea to place your order now… The owner’s been eyeing us for a while.”

“Oh, right.”

I’d gotten so caught up in the conversation with Karen that I momentarily forgot.

We still hadn’t ordered anything, no menu, no drinks. That was definitely our fault.

First things first, I wrapped up the order and went back to talking with Karen.

“Um, I think soon they’ll be introducing clubs for the first years at the Academy.”

“Clubs?”

“Yeah. It’s not mandatory, but they usually encourage most Academy students to join clubs, which gives them a good reputation at the Academy… and you get extra points, which is why most students join a club…”

“Oh…”

I hadn’t heard about it from anyone else yet, and it was my first time hearing about it, but I found it pretty interesting.

It was definitely a much more engaging topic than Academy classes.

“What kind of clubs are there? I haven’t heard anything about them yet.”

“Well… most of the clubs in the Academy are student-created, aside from a few.”

“Is that okay?”

“They actually encourage it quite a bit. It’s better for Academy students to take an interest in clubs than to have nothing at all, even if they create their own ones… yeah.”

“Oh…”

Got it.

I roughly understood the vibe.

I hadn’t spent long at the Academy, but the school days certainly started quite early.

Classes ended around 2 or 3 PM. It was probably to keep Academy students from just wasting time after…

“Anyway, the officially established clubs are… fencing, magic, academics… um… aside from those, I think there might be some that Camelia wouldn’t really like.”

“Oh… what about clubs created by students?”

“Those are really diverse. There’s a dessert club, a drawing comics club, and even a study club in a classroom… there’s so much variety.”

“It sounds like the Academy really loves encouraging student clubs.”

They’re not just going to let things like dessert and comics slip away.

Anyway, it was definitely an interesting topic. I hadn’t been doing much in the Academy lately and had mostly just been napping, so I was actually bored.

Compared to that lifestyle, joining a club seemed like it’d be way more fun.

“Sis, which club are you planning to join?”

“I haven’t joined anything yet…”

“…….”

“Hehe…”

Hmm.

That was definitely a Karen-like answer.

It seemed a bit out of character for Karen to be so social at the Academy and actively participating in clubs.

“How about we start a club just between us?”

“R-really?”

“I don’t want to meet intentionally with strangers and join some unnecessary club.”

“Heh… that actually sounds fun…!”

It did sound like fun.

It would just be three of us—Karen, Ella, and me—but it still sounded exciting.

“This strawberry cake is delicious. The whipped cream too… I’m really enjoying it.”

“You should sip on your drink while you eat, young lady.”

“I’m not that parched…”

“But it’s better to stay hydrated just in case.”

“Alright, alright. By the way, what does Rize think about making a club at the Academy?”

“I think it’s a good idea. It’s better than you just goofing around all the time… yes.”

“…….”

I had definitely been goofing off a lot lately.

I could admit it; recently, I had just been playing around and wasting time without doing anything.

Even I couldn’t argue with Rize’s point.

“But wasn’t Academy class really boring…? I just learned the same things and the assignments weren’t even that tough…”

I complained to Rize, fully leaning back in my chair.

But seriously, what could I do about a boring Academy class?

It wasn’t my fault; the dull Academy classes were to blame.

“Ugh…”

I was just making silly sounds while slouched back in my seat.

“Ugh… huh?”

While I was making those nonsense sounds, I noticed a familiar head of hair in a corner of the seating area not too far from us.

Why was there a girl with the same hair as Karen sitting here…?

I was slightly startled to see her, but the situation seemed amusing, and other thoughts popped into my head.

“…Hmm.”

What should I do to make this interesting?

I had a few ideas but managed to suppress my laughter outwardly.

After all, I had to go back to the Academy tomorrow, and currently, that Countess didn’t seem to realize I had recognized her.

If I teased her about the current situation… it could turn out pretty funny.