My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 140

We arrived in the center.

We had traveled by carriage for about four hours and managed to get here around 3 PM.

“Yawwwn…”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah… I really just lay there and slept…”

Even though we had been on the carriage for three to four hours, I didn’t feel tired at all.

Some of my friends who got off the carriage with me looked tired, but I wasn’t one of them.

“You have to unpack your bags at the accommodation. Hurry up.”

“Ugh… I guess I have to…”

After answering Ella, I stretched and got up.

The place we had arrived at was the accommodation provided by the Imperial Court, and it was as grand as one would expect from imperial provision.

It was far too large to simply be called accommodation.

The size was comparable to the mansion of the Rose Family I visited a while back, though its appearance and interior were entirely different.

“Hmm…”

We had entered the building with our luggage in hand, moving slowly, but it was definitely a fancy place.

It was really a top-notch hotel, and it was clear that staying here for even a single night would cost a fortune.

It was certainly a place not just anyone could stay in.

“Our group’s room is Room 304.”

“It’s nice that we’re on a reasonable floor instead of some high one.”

“Are you too lazy to climb stairs?”

“Yeah.”

Of course, there could be inconveniences due to being on a higher floor, but otherwise, I preferred a lower floor.

Just like Ella said, climbing up was bothersome.

I wasn’t the type to like just sitting around at home or in a room like Karen, but I still personally disliked it.

Some things just couldn’t be helped.

“Rize, aren’t you tired carrying two bags?”

“I’m fine. The bags you carry don’t have much in them.”

“I could carry them if you want me to, but do you really have to?”

“As your maid, it’s my duty to follow you. If I don’t help, the Lady will definitely scold me.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

I had been sending quite a few letters to Rosalyn, but Rize was also writing and receiving letters.

It seemed she had come to the Academy following me, and since I was mixing lies into my letters, I had given instructions for her to write letters as well… roughly that kind of direction.

For now, Rize was my maid, but I couldn’t simply ignore the words of Rosalyn, the head of the family.

“It can’t be helped. Shall we go unpack quickly?”

“You’re the only one lagging behind, anyway.”

“Ahaha.”

Anyway, I went up with my friends to the room we would be using.

We weren’t the only ones; various students from the Academy were also carrying their luggage up, making the hotel lobby and hallways quite lively.

“The room is super clean.”

“Right…!”

“It definitely feels like a place given by the Imperial Court. Honestly, I didn’t expect a place this nice.”

“It must be expensive, right…?”

“Of course.”

Once we entered the room, we slowly began to look around while having that conversation.

Considering the quality and size of the room, it could be said it was better than the B-class dormitory room I was currently using.

Although our group had five members, honestly speaking, even if there were five times that number, the room was spacious enough for everyone.

“We have free time until dinner, and for dinner, all the Academy students will gather in the hall…”

As I read through the schedule, I started to check what we would do and when we would do it.

Basically, today’s schedule was simple.

Besides gathering all students and teachers for dinner inside the hotel’s restaurant, there was practically nothing else on the agenda.

Until then, we could wander nearby or just chill in our accommodation.

I thought we would immediately move to the next location after arriving, but it turned out to be quite the opposite kind of schedule, which surprised me a lot.

“Camelia.”

“Yes, Ivana. What’s up?”

“What are you thinking of doing now? We still have a while until dinner.”

“Hmm… That’s true. What should we do? I honestly didn’t expect to arrive this early.”

Even though we traveled four hours by carriage, it was really earlier than expected.

If we hadn’t stopped for a meal along the way… we might have arrived even sooner?

“I’m fine just resting here, but going outside is good too.”

“Hmm…”

“Should we ask the others too?”

“Let’s do that. Deciding just the two of us could definitely lead to complaints.”

That was quite true.

I called everyone who was exploring the room to the living room to discuss what to do.

Well, it would be two choices: either go out or stay in?

“I want to go out. It’s been a while since I’ve come to the center.”

“I agree with Grace. We came to the center after so long. We should enjoy this opportunity.”

Grace and Ella were on board.

Since we traveled to the center, it would be a waste to just sit around and let the time pass.

Playing around in the center was definitely different from playing in a regular city.

“I… I want to stay in the accommodation…”

“Were you tired?”

“That’s part of it, but… just earlier, I saw a lot of people outside…”

As expected.

I had predicted that Karen would definitely want to rest because she was like this from the start.

If she had said she didn’t want to rest but wanted to go out and do something… I would have been shocked.

It would have felt like Grace treating me as though I were her sister.

“Hmm… There are indeed a lot of people out and about right now. The Academy students have all been leaving the accommodation for a while.”

I agreed with Karen since I had just looked outside a bit ago.

It was practically filled with Academy students out there!

“Hmm… What about you, Ivana?”

“I think going out sounds good, but with so many people around the accommodation right now, how about going out in about 30 minutes?”

“Sis Karen, how about leaving in 30 minutes? I think the number of students around the accommodation will lessen by then.”

I immediately asked Karen again after hearing Ivana’s comment.

I figured she wasn’t really against the idea of going out.

Of course, Karen was the type to find going out a bit bothersome, but she didn’t dislike going out itself.

She had always enjoyed wandering around with me before.

“If the people outside decrease… that sounds good…”

“Then shall we go out in 30 minutes? Honestly, the hallway, the first-floor lobby, and even outside are packed with Academy students right now!”

Hearing Karen’s response, I asked everyone, and they all agreed with me.

Honestly, after hours of traveling by carriage, everyone must be somewhat tired.

Thirty minutes… relaxing, drinking some water, and sitting down for a bit would definitely be nice.

I had just been sleeping the whole time, after all.

*

“It’s definitely taller here compared to the South, right?”

“That’s true. If we were in the South, shops like those would just be on the first floor.”

Many of the buildings in the city were three- or four-stories high, making it feel very different compared to the southern cities I had spent the last few years in.

The buildings were tall, the roads comparatively narrow, and there were plenty of alleys.

It felt quite fresh to walk around, making me feel like I was truly traveling.

“Anyway, it’s just Academy students everywhere you look.”

“That’s because all the Academy students came.”

“When we wander around the campus, we can’t see this many students.”

Really.

The street in front of the accommodation was almost overflowing with Academy students.

If I chatted with girls around my age nearby now, they could only be Academy students.

“There’s Solkemia Cathedral nearby. Why don’t we check it out?”

“A church?”

“Yeah, even if it’s not a cathedral, there are plenty of places to wander. I was thinking if there’s nowhere specific you guys want to go, we could head there.”

“Hmm…”

“Solkemia Cathedral is really well-known.”

Just as Ivana had said.

Solkemia Cathedral boasted an incredible scale and recognition, almost as much as the Imperial Palace, making it a symbol of the center.

There are religions like the Moon God Religion and the Sun God Religion in the Empire, but it was a worship place where people could freely worship without necessarily adhering to a specific religion.

It was a place that anyone could use, regardless of religious affiliation.

“It seems like everyone is fine with it.”

“But is it really okay for everyone here, who doesn’t really believe in religion, to go in like that?”

“Uh…”

Ella asked curiously about going to the cathedral.

Clearly not everyone there was a devout believer.

There were definitely people who didn’t pray before meals and such.

But still, it probably wouldn’t matter much.

“It’ll be fine. I heard from my mother that it’s okay to visit for sightseeing.”

Rosalyn had mentioned that once.

It was just a memory of a conversation I had with Rosalyn.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected to be going to the cathedral with so many friends instead of just Rosalyn.

But it seemed like after graduating from the Academy, a reason would arise for me to travel to the center with Rosalyn.