My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 136

“Um. Rize.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“I once visited Karen’s room, and while this one’s a bit disappointing compared to that, I think it’s still alright.”

“I think so too.”

The moving was all done.

Honestly, calling it a move felt exaggerated since we only shifted a few bags to the room.

We merely had lunch outside and then relocated to the B-grade dormitory room.

“The room has separate living and sleeping areas, and though small, it also has a kitchen.”

It was a world apart from a C-grade room.

A single room… well, not exactly that, but it certainly felt like it.

Without the bathroom and toilet, there was distinctly no other room, and the sleeping and living areas were basically one.

“All the furniture is ready, and the ventilation is done… Once I hang up the clothes, it’ll all be done.”

“I’ll organize it.”

“Thanks.”

Anyway, finally transitioning from that annoying C-grade room to the B-grade one was a significant change, even if it wasn’t a massive upgrade… it was quite nice.

After spending over two months in a C-grade dorm room, the difference in space was immense.

Granted, when comparing to the rooms I had in the mansion, it didn’t feel that spacious, but it was definitely spacious enough compared to the C-grade room.

“I’ll put the business documents here…”

There was a small desk and drawers in the bedroom.

Those desk and drawers were infinitely better than what had been in the C-grade room.

Overall, this room was about two to three times the size of the previous one.

“The bed is much bigger too.”

Of course, there was only one bed in the bedroom… but it was a vast improvement over the old, small one that risked tossing me to the floor with the slightest movement.

Regardless, even with moving completed, there were still some items left to transfer, and I had a few more things to do.

I had documents in my bags that needed organizing, and things that I hadn’t entrusted to the academy staff also needed sorting out.

“Young Lady, how about having juice while you work?”

“Thanks. Are all the clothes organized? It looked like there was quite a lot to sort through.”

“Luckily, there were several wardrobes, so I was able to just place the unfolded clothes directly into them without any major issues.”

“That’s a relief.”

It was definitely a hassle to fit all my clothes in before, and it meant I had to cram both Rize’s maid outfit and my school uniform into the wardrobe.

Naturally, it was a good situation.

“Hmm…”

Anyway, I continued to sort while sipping on drinks Rize offered me.

I couldn’t exactly ask Rize to handle all the documents for me.

Some of the things could probably be done without my intervention, but there was a mix of somewhat important documents among them.

There was no need to show Rize information about the Rose family, Christina Rose, or the Nordal Family.

Even though Rize wouldn’t gossip about these documents, it could lead to unnecessary complications.

Regardless of trusting Rize, these were matters I should be the only one privy to.

*

After moving into the room, I invited my friends over to check it out.

Everything was finally settled, and they could see the state of the room as well.

And given how much bigger this room was compared to the last, I figured they’d be comfortable here.

“How did you switch so quickly…? I heard it usually takes quite a bit of time to move from a C-grade to a B-grade room…”

“Hehe, maybe it’s because Camelia did really well on her midterms…?”

“…Ah.”

The Roseaki Sisters casually lounging on my sofa.

Back in my C-grade room, there was no space for such a big sofa; there wasn’t even a living room!

If I were still in my previous room, having friends over like this would’ve been impossible.

“Definitely feels way bigger in a B-grade room.”

“Isn’t it right?”

Ella commented as she looked around the B-grade room.

Considering Ella hadn’t accumulated enough points to earn a B-grade room yet, it made sense she was envious.

With her grades, I figured it wouldn’t happen until after the final exams of the first semester.

“I’ve got more reasons to study hard for the next test now.”

“Definitely a big difference.”

“If I’d done just a bit better on the practicals, I could’ve switched rooms as well…”

“It’s still the first semester exams, so don’t stress too much. I mean, with grades like yours, you did better than most students.”

“That’s true!”

Ella beamed in response.

For sure, she had scored well on this exam and likely ranked among the top first-year students.

Of course, as she mentioned, she had lost quite a few points on the practicals… so she couldn’t make the switch like I did.

“I visited Karen’s room last time, but it seriously didn’t feel like a dorm room at all.”

“Oh…”

Anyway, I spent time showing Ella around my new room.

Though sizable compared to the C-grade room, it wasn’t enough to give her a grand tour.

“Hey, Camelia.”

“Yes, Ivana. What’s up?”

“Did you buy all the bedding separately?”

“Ah, all the furniture here is from the academy shop. I didn’t like the previous furniture, so I replaced everything during the move.”

Ivana, who had moved with me to the B-grade room, was focusing on the furnishings.

Unlike Ella, she was now in a room she could appreciate.

Naturally, she was bound to take an interest in the furniture and interior decor.

“There are two types of blankets, but… the texture isn’t great, right? So, I bought new blankets too.”

“That’s for sure…”

“It didn’t feel like high quality to you either, did it, Ivana?”

“It really didn’t.”

“Hehe, actually, when I first entered the previous room, I bought new furniture right away.”

I was the type who would replace furniture every time I entered a room, past or present.

Regardless of the room quality, the furniture quality had always been lackluster.

I had no choice but to swap them out.

“Lady, the refreshments are ready. I prepared a lot, so please help yourselves.”

“Thanks, Rize! Do you want to join us and relax?”

“No, thank you, Ella. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll stay here.”

Anyway, everyone gathered comfortably in the living room to chat.

That was something I definitely couldn’t have done in the previous room.

“Oh, by the way, I heard there’s talk of a trip somewhere close before the finals. Do you know about it?”

“The Central trip?”

“Grace already knows. Camelia seems completely clueless, though.”

In the middle of the conversation, Ella suddenly brought it up.

Had there really been a discussion about going somewhere to celebrate the end of the midterms?

I honestly hadn’t heard anything, so I wasn’t sure.

Maybe I had dozed off during class or assembly.

“The academy usually takes students on a trip for one or two days after most exams finish.”

“As Lady Nordal said…! Every time I went to the academy after my exams, we went on a trip to Central or a nearby town…!”

“I guess Lady Roseaki knows it well.”

“Ah.”

For sure, Ivana was right.

Unlike us newbies, Karen had already spent over two years at the academy.

Despite being quiet and not mingling much, she had to have had a different experience than ours.

“Uh, but…”

“Sis, where are they taking us for the academy trip?”

“I’m not sure; it changes every time…”

“I’ve heard rumors it’ll be around Central.”

“It does change each time… ugh…”

“Are they sending different grades to different places?”

“With so many students, wouldn’t everyone go to different spots?”

Somehow, all of us ended up bombarding Karen with questions.

Everyone was looking at her and throwing questions at her…

It was clear that such attention was challenging for shy Karen, but nobody stopped it.

“P-Please ask just one question at a time…”

Ultimately, all Karen could do was softly say that.

Though… I felt like nobody heard her because her voice was so quiet.

“Then who did you go with on your trips this far at the academy?”

“Huh…?”

“After the exams, you went on trips, right? So, you must’ve gone around with someone…?”

“I traveled alone…?”

“…Really?”

“Y-Yeah…”

…It seemed like a somewhat sad story, but the idea of going on a trip to celebrate the end of midterms peaked my interest.

At least it was much better than sitting in class all day!

I believed others were probably thinking something similar.

Probably not to the same extent as I was, but kids our age certainly preferred wandering outside over studying.

“Um, but… Grace could wander around alone, right…? Maybe not…?”

…Hmm.

One thing was clear… it felt like all grades should go together on the trip.

Still, since this was Karen’s last year at the academy, I wanted to make sure she had the most fun.