My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 121

I made the club without much thought, and although it was basically created for fun, I still had to do at least a little work, right?

Of course, it wasn’t anything difficult at all.

“What kind of dessert do you like the most, Lady Grace?”

“…Just the ordinary kind is fine.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

We were supposed to go with everyone originally, but somehow it ended up being just Grace and me today.

Ella had to head back to the dorm because she hadn’t done her assignment, and well, Karen, being a third-year, had a bit of a different academy life, so it couldn’t be helped.

Nordal was around too, but he didn’t come because he said he had some studying to do.

“Why do I have to come to a place like this with you…”

“Well, we’re in the same club, right? There’s nothing special happening, so it’d be weird to skip out.”

“…Tch.”

Grace clicked her tongue, clearly showing her displeasure.

To be honest, she had initially thought about running away too, but when I brought up Karen as an excuse, she got angry and decided to follow along.

It really wasn’t a big deal. I just told her that Karen dislikes liars and prefers honest people… so she herself mentioned that she had nothing to do.

Unlike Ivana Nordal, Grace’s behavior was a lot easier to deal with, which was nice.

We made the club, but things were still a bit off with Ivana Nordal…

“Hehe.”

“What are you laughing about now?”

“Um… just.”

“I’m not feeling good.”

“Is that so?”

Especially since Grace had always treated me the same way, it made things much more comfortable.

At least she wasn’t wishy-washy like Nordal, right?

Sometimes he’d suddenly come up to challenge me to a sparring session, but recently he hasn’t… this way is definitely more comfortable.

“I personally like all kinds of sweet desserts. I like cute Mont Blancs and even big Baumkuchen.”

“…So what?”

“I’m just saying it. We came out to write a report today, right?”

“…Tch.”

Of course, more than half of the club members didn’t show up, but the real reason I came to the dessert cafe with Grace today was that.

To plan a business related to dessert cafes, and write a report.

Honestly, I thought I could figure it out just by knowing the types of desserts that academy students like lately, but I also had an excuse to eat delicious desserts.

“So, Lady Grace, what do you like? I’m asking because I need to reference everything for the report.”

“…Just write whatever.”

“Hmm… If you say that, when we come here next time with Karen, she’s going to have a tough time.”

“What?”

“Since she’s a bit shy, I’m sure she’ll be really troubled thinking about what your answer might be… she might struggle a lot trying to come up with your menu.”

I said this while smiling.

When Grace was uncooperative, mentioning Karen always seemed to solve most of the issues.

“Of course, you must be different when dealing with me and when dealing with Karen… but if you treat me like her… you might end up getting really hurt, you know?”

“…You.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Forget it. Just… order an apple pie or something.”

“Oh my. A bit… modest, isn’t it? I expected something a bit fancier and bigger.”

I was really a little surprised.

I’m teasing Grace like this now, but she’s from a count family, and her status is even higher than Karen’s.

I thought she’d like fancier and more expensive desserts, but she just wants an apple pie.

“Be quiet and just order.”

“What will you have to drink? Last time when I came here with Karen, she definitely…”

“Milk tea.”

“Oh my.”

“…Just hurry up and order!”

“Okay, okay. Got it. I’ll order an apple pie and milk tea?”

It was pretty amusing to see that she knew the menu that Karen liked well enough to just order it like it’s obvious.

It seems like there’s no doubt she’s a siscon.

Of course, the way she treats me and the way she treats Karen is completely different, but she only acts that way with Karen and not with anyone else.

After placing the order, I returned to my seat.

Back at the table, I found Grace engrossed in looking at the menu.

“Lady Grace.”

“…What?”

“Why are you looking so hard at the menu?”

“…No need to know.”

“I’m just curious, that’s all.”

I was smiling while asking, but I figured it out anyway.

She must have been thinking about what menu to order next time when she comes with Karen, planning what to recommend.

At least, that was my guess.

“I was just looking at the menu. So what?”

“I just wondered why you’re looking at it since I already ordered.”

“…Mind your own business.”

“That’s too much.”

I wasn’t actually hurt, but I thought that treating her like this would please Grace more, and it would make it easier to keep talking to her.

Recently, I had been teasing Grace too much.

“But Lady Grace, when do you plan on coming back here with Karen?”

“I’m coming this weekend… why do you ask?”

“Hmmm… isn’t it okay to be curious and ask? Is that a problem?”

“No. It’s a no.”

“Hmmm… then I guess I’ll have to secretly ask when it’s just the two of you next time.”

“…….”

As soon as she heard that, she shot me another glare.

Seriously… her reactions are so cute, it’s fun.

Her personality and reactions are definitely different from everyone else around us, which is truly enjoyable.

I used to tease Rize a lot, and recently I’ve been teasing her quite a bit too… but she never reacted like this.

When Rize was just slightly upset, she would look at me with a troubled gaze instead of glaring at me like Grace.

“Hmmm… By the way, I don’t remember when it was just me and Karen having fun lately. Maybe this weekend, it would be fun to hang out with her.”

“…Why would you say that in front of me?”

“I’m just saying there’s a possibility that I might hang out with Karen this weekend?”

“…Hey.”

“What’s wrong? I’m not doing anything bad to Karen, you’re being too much.”

“Ugh…”

She couldn’t argue with that. What I said was really just hanging out, right?

Of course, our siscon Grace is extremely worried about her sister in many ways.

Did she think I was some troublemaker just because I always sleep during class and goof off?

I’ve never done anything to Karen and Grace, so it was a bit unfair, but I decided to focus on teasing rather than clearing up that misunderstanding.

“Hmmm… oh.”

“What is it now?”

Actually, Karen is quite… a person who worries me a lot, but Grace seems to worry even more than needed.

So I thought, why not tease Grace through that this time?

“Have you heard there’s a new cafe that just opened on campus?”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It’s not like tables are set up in a wide space like here… you can spend time in a room quietly and privately with your companions.”

“…What?”

It wasn’t a lie; it really just opened a little while ago.

Since it was one of the businesses I had planned and managed before, I knew it well.

“It seems that in such open places, you can’t have a good conversation, so they designed it so people can spend time quietly and in privacy.”

I was just following the concept of a Room Cafe from my past life.

Of course, there were inns, but it didn’t really work to use them during the day.

You could use an inn to rest, but renting a room just to take it easy during the day was extravagant, and entering an inn during the day… well, you get the idea, right?

Plus, most cafes were way too open, making it hard to talk about business, which is why I planned the Room Cafe.

Of course, that business has been passed on to someone else now.

“This time, we’re making a report on dessert cafes, so since a new type of cafe has appeared, wouldn’t it be good to visit it at least once?”

“You…!”

“We have to submit one report a month, so I’m just thinking of going with Karen to experience it once and submit the report quickly.”

Saying that, I smiled at Grace again.

Even if I didn’t go there, I felt I could fill in the report’s content, but it was just too fun to tease Grace.

Besides, I really hadn’t spent time alone with Karen lately, so…

“It might be nice to hang out with Karen this weekend and check it out. What do you think?”

“You…!”

“What’s wrong?”

“W-What will I be doing there with my sister…!”

“What do you think I’ll be doing with Karen at a cafe?”

From the start, I really don’t understand why she sees me as a bad person.

Grace has often treated me like some thug character right out of a cartoon.

You know, the typical… blonde tan thug? Sort of like that vibe.

Of course, apart from being blonde, I had no tan and wasn’t a thug, so it didn’t match at all.

“Hmmm… I really just want to hang out with Karen comfortably and submit the report… you’re too worried.”

“……..”

“If you’re so worried, how about you come along this weekend, Grace?”

“What?”

“If you’re there to keep an eye on things, then it should be fine, right?”

At my suggestion and question, Grace looked into my eyes, silently contemplating.

Worried? Conflicted? I couldn’t tell, but it seemed she was leaning more towards following along than not.