My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 137

“Everyone’s first years, so it’ll be a bit of a playtime, just think of it as a little break. You’ve all been struggling with exams, right? Now that the grades are out, I bet everyone’s head is spinning a bit, but this is a trip to ease that stress.”

In the morning, a female teacher entered our classroom and gave that explanation.

Personally, I was quite interested in this trip organized by the Academy, so I made sure to stay awake and listen to her.

“I’m sure you all have heard, but we will be going to the Central Capital. Of course, it’s impossible to roam around freely in the capital. You’ll all have to stick together.”

“Hmm… Is Karen going to wander off alone again?”

“Just quiet down and listen.”

“Heh, should I?”

I threw a joke at Ella while sitting still, but it fell flat immediately.

I thought a little bit of messing around would be fine.

Ella tended to be quite straight-laced in such matters.

Of course, that was also part of what made her cute and interesting.

“The first years won’t be going alone; the upperclassmen will join us too. The student council has suggested that the students should freely form their own groups… but more details will be provided later.”

“Hmm…”

“We have tours to the Imperial Palace and the church planned, along with visits to various historical sites.”

“Sounds a bit more serious than I expected.”

“Right? I thought it would be pretty casual.”

I personally believed it would be a pretty low-key trip.

Just going to a museum, throwing the kids in there, and then having free time afterward.

That was the kind of trip I was expecting.

“They mentioned that the lodging will be arranged by the royal family, so everyone has no need to worry. Although last year, someone from the royal family got super mad about the lodging situation!”

After saying that, the teacher left our class and moved to the next.

It seemed she was just going around sharing announcements… basically appearing as a rookie, right?

“This seems like it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, it does.”

After the teacher left, I casually discussed it with Ella.

Since a lot wasn’t final yet, we didn’t talk much—just exchanged a few words.

After all, with exams now behind us, there was still the need to prepare for Academy classes before the trip.

“Oh, wait! We’ll be in casual clothes for the trip!”

“…Huh?”

I thought the conversation was over, and the teacher had moved to the next room, but she suddenly returned to our class with that statement.

Hmm… She seems a bit scattered, doesn’t she?

I couldn’t help but feel relieved she wasn’t our homeroom teacher.

It was hard to shake off the feeling that dealing with her would be tiring and annoying…

“Hmm… Casual clothes. I guess I hardly wear anything other than my school uniform on weekdays, so this feels kind of odd.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve only seen you in your uniform lately.”

“That’s true.”

It really felt awkward to suddenly talk about casual clothes.

It wasn’t just us; most students probably felt the same way.

The thought of spending weekdays in casual clothes was bound to feel strange.

“Hmm… If I wear a dress, won’t I look weird?”

“…That was a joke, right…?”

“Of course, it was a joke. No way anyone would wear a dress on an Academy trip.”

I was genuinely joking.

Yet I was baffled by how Ella seemed to take me seriously, despite my smiling tone.

Sure, I had an interest in pretty clothes and expensive accessories, but I was by no means a rebellious princess who wore dresses all the time!

“So what are you going to wear, Ella?”

“Maybe a simple dress…? I can’t dress too fancy, but I don’t want to look too plain either.”

That made sense, but honestly, isn’t there really no difference between a dress and a gown?

When I spoke of a gown as something that sounded overly fancy, Ella’s reply was just to mention a dress.

Aren’t dresses basically just a category of gowns…?

“What’s with that look?”

“Um… It’s nothing. I just thought a dress would really suit you well, that’s all.”

I pushed away the doubts in my mind and said something else to Ella.

I didn’t want to stir up thoughts I was having… just to avoid her being a pest.

*

During lunchtime on the day we heard about the Academy trip, Karen suddenly asked me to help choose casual clothes for it.

It was such a random request that I was a bit caught off guard, but here I was, arriving at Karen’s Room after classes.

“Karen, don’t you have too few clothes?”

“…I told you! If you come here, she’ll definitely scold me!”

Grace glanced at me, saying that.

It wasn’t that I was angry, so why was she accusing me of being mad?

I was merely stating the plain fact that Karen’s wardrobe was lacking.

Because honestly, it truly was sparse!

At this rate, I felt like Karen had more underwear to support her ample chest than actual clothing.

“Karen, how do you pack for trips usually?”

I asked seriously, considering how few clothing options she had.

Aside from the occasional luxury dress, she had a few sweaters, her school uniform, and a couple of black shirts and pants—pretty much it.

It raised a reasonable suspicion that she likely wore her school uniform all the time.

“Every time I pack for trips… I forget and end up wearing my uniform again…”

“………”

Hmm.

I wonder if I’m just imagining it, but I’ve been feeling quite sorry for Karen lately.

Of course, more than half of that came from her own choices, but still…

“First of all… let’s pull all the clothes out. Grace.”

“Yeah… I think that’s a good idea.”

Grace and I stepped out of Karen’s room and began to dig through her wardrobe.

Clearly, Karen wouldn’t wear the clothes she bought often.

It seemed like the best strategy would be to piece together outfits from the clothes she had available.

“Grace, what do you think would work?”

“Denim pants.”

“Hmm… That might work, I guess.”

“And a shirt.”

No doubt, those could work well for Karen.

She was quite tall and looked almost comparable to Rize.

She was definitely taller than Rosalyn, who was a bit above average height, and was certainly on the taller side among girls.

Of course, Rize and Karen had very different body types.

“But I think differently.”

“What do you mean? With your height and figure, obviously that’s the way to go!”

“I understand your taste, Grace, but… Karen is older than us, isn’t she? She’d look better in clothes that give her a more mature vibe.”

“Ha?”

Grace looked somewhat bewildered by my words.

But to me, I still thought there were better outfit choices than just jeans and a shirt.

Sure, Karen was tall with prominent curves, but I was confident there were styles that fit her even better.

What would highlight Karen’s natural curves while also echoing her shy and gentle personality?

That’s definitely…

“It’s a long skirt!”

“Huh!?”

“You just don’t know fashion, Grace. It would look stunning on her.”

I said confidently.

There was no reason not to say it when I was sure it would look good.

“Karen, can you try these on for me?”

“N, no?”

“Just once, please. After all, these were all in your wardrobe, right?”

I handed over a black long skirt and a gray sweater.

I urged her to change into them, pushing her outside.

Despite her dazed reaction, I knew she would respond the same way no matter what I dressed her in.

“Hehe… just wait a moment. You might actually like it more than you expect, Grace.”

“…The shirt is prettier, though.”

“Hehe.”

Typically, long skirts can appear baggy and not accentuate the leg-line, and that’s most likely how Grace felt.

But the ones I picked were different.

In fact, they were hidden in Karen’s wardrobe…

“Hey… Camelia? Is this alright? It seems a bit too fitted…”

Karen re-entered the room, saying that.

She looked flustered, but it was clear her figure showed through the clothes.

“That’s how it’s meant to be worn, Karen. And it suits you wonderfully, doesn’t it?”

“Is that true…?”

“Don’t you think so too, Grace?”

“………”

I asked Grace, who was sitting next to me.

Before Karen entered, Grace had been vocal about preferring pants over skirts.

And yet now, she was oddly silent compared to earlier, wasn’t she?

“Hehe, how do you like it? Pretty, right?”

I smiled at Grace and playfully asked her.

If I didn’t do this, she would probably just stay silent and wait.

“W-well, I mean, she’s always been so pretty…! So it makes sense!”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

So I didn’t feel the need to nitpick Grace’s answer.