My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 153

“Hmm…”

“What’s with that look?”

“Hmm…”

“Ugh… Why do you keep staring over here? Do you have something to say?”

I lay still on the bed in the Club Room.

I was just watching Ella, who was reading a book, and Ivana, who was sipping a cool drink instead of a warm tea.

“I’m just looking at you, and it makes me think of something trivial, that’s all.”

“…Huh?”

I was just pondering something while watching them, which is why I was humming to myself.

There wasn’t some deeper issue; I was simply thinking about the two of them.

Usually, the Roseaki Sisters would be chatting away in the Club Room around this time, but they weren’t here today, so…

“What are you thinking that makes you stare at us like that? Do I have something on my face?”

“Not really, I just think Ella looks even prettier than I expected.”

“……Huh?”

“…?”

Ella and Ivana both looked a bit bewildered at my answer.

Ella, who had asked me the question, could be surprised, but Ivana, who had been quiet, turned toward me with a confused expression as well.

Hmm… Is it really that strange?

I didn’t think I had never complimented someone’s appearance before.

“Why is that?”

“Well… I just didn’t expect you to say something like that all of a sudden…”

“Right?”

“Is that so?”

I found their responses a bit puzzling.

Sure, I hadn’t complimented Ella on her looks as much compared to others, but I thought I had complimented Ivana plenty since we met for the first time this year.

Especially about her snowy white hair.

I thought I had complimented it as much as Rize’s toned and smooth belly, so why such a reaction?

“I’m just saying what I thought, you know? Really, don’t you believe me?”

“No… I said it was sudden…”

“Hmm… Well, it’s just that I randomly thought of it. While looking at you, Ella and Ivana, that’s all.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yeah.”

Well, complimenting each other’s looks is nothing unusual, right?

Although inside I felt a bit different about it, I definitely wasn’t saying anything strange.

After all, the fact that both Ella and Ivana are quite beautiful hasn’t changed.

I hadn’t completely ignored thoughts about their appearances.

In fact, I often thought how all the girls in the Club Room are cute.

“Oh, if I upset you, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no… It’s not that…”

“Then what?”

“…It’s just that it feels a bit awkward to hear you say something like that…?”

“Is that so? You often say similar things to Ivana or Sister Karen.”

I knew I wasn’t someone who never says such things.

If people can be classified as ‘lighthearted’ or ‘serious’, I definitely fall into the lighthearted category, and I knew I usually just spoke my mind.

“…But you don’t do that with me…?”

“Is that what you mean?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hmm…”

I began to understand why Ella was more surprised by my words compared to Ivana.

After all, I hadn’t really complimented her in that way… ever, right?

With Ivana, I often complimented her to get closer, and with Karen, I did it to boost her self-esteem.

Rize and I talked enough that I complimented her looks often.

But with Ella, I hadn’t complimented her on her appearance nearly as much compared to the other girls, in fact, it was barely at all.

“So it’s a bit, well… awkward.”

“Yeah, I’ve definitely not said such things to you often. I used to do it a lot with Sister Karen or the others.”

“That’s for sure.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely true.”

“So that’s why I was a bit surprised… Anyway, that’s what it is.”

Ella kept explaining herself in a way that felt like a half-explanation to me.

Honestly, I found her reaction pretty cute.

It was quite different from her usual boldness, and it felt amusing; she felt a bit different from her typical self.

If this were the regular Ella, she would have probably reacted dramatically, questioning why I suddenly said something like that.

“Hmph…”

It was a bit of a different feeling from the usual Ella.

But I thought it wasn’t bad at all.

After all, she was cute, right?

Typically, she gives off a bright, bold, and cheerful girl vibe, but here she was, with her cheeks slightly flushed.

Of course, it wasn’t just that reaction that made me feel this way; it was because Ella was genuinely pretty.

“Camellia, why haven’t you given her those compliments before? Listening to your conversation just now, it sounds like there’s a reason behind it.”

As I was momentarily enjoying Ella’s reaction, Ivana asked me that.

Well, there isn’t really anything to explain.

But since Ella had been showing such cute reactions just a moment ago, I figured it might be nice to share.

“I mean, I’ve known Ella since we were little! Like, since she was this short, and some of those impressions still stick with me.”

Among our peer group, aside from Rize, Ella was the one I had known the longest.

That was a pretty significant reason.

“So rather than recognizing that Ella is pretty, it feels more like… she’s just an old friend I’ve known for a long time?”

Yeah, that’s probably it.

It was tricky to pin down, but I figured since I had been seeing Ella continuously for several years, a certain image of her had solidified in my mind.

Honestly, because she was still quite similar to how she was back then, it felt even more pronounced.

“Besides, Ella has only become this pretty fairly recently! Just a few years ago, she was about the same height as me.”

“I was still taller than you back then!”

“I’m just saying it for the sake of conversation!”

Anyway, Ella has been growing up pretty steadily, right?

She was at that age where she was transitioning from being a child to more of an adult.

But then, that goes for everyone around her; however, since I had known Ella since she was little, it felt much more like she was maturing.

“Honestly, the fact that Ella became super beautiful is true! The last time I saw her… she was honestly a bit of a brat.”

“You were way more of a brat than I was!?”

“Weren’t you always boasting about how great you were? And if I gave you a few words of praise, you’d be all shy and then start chatting away again…”

“Stop it!!”

“Anyway, that’s all just to say you’ve become super mature compared to back then.”

“Uh-huh…”

Hearing me talk about her, Ivana nodded and took a quick glance at Ella.

I’d been going on about Ella for a while, and her face was still a bit flushed.

Hmm. Cute.

“Why… why is Ivana watching me…!?”

“Well, looking at Ella now makes it hard to believe Camellia’s words.”

“That’s… it’s… um…”

Ivana’s rather ordinary question brought out a very amusing reaction from me, to the point I wanted to tease her more.

“More importantly, you!”

“Yeah, Ella.”

“Look, you’ve also become a lot prettier than before…! Why do you only say that to me…!”

“Well, I was always this pretty, wasn’t I?”

“…Huh?”

Am I too confident or something?

Ella seemed a bit flustered by that.

But I could answer confidently again.

“You’re pretty, aren’t you? Isn’t that right?”

“That’s… um… well… yeah…?”

“Right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hehe…”

The ease with which she agreed was amusing.

But the fact remained that I was pretty, and both Ella and Ivana, sitting in chairs near me, couldn’t deny that.

Of course, there are plenty of other pretty girls around too.

But that doesn’t mean it’s true that I’m not pretty; absolutely not.

Even if I might be on the shorter side and growing somewhat slower compared to others, my growth potential means I’ll end up being the prettiest soon, right?

“Hehe… I’ll probably get even prettier from now on!”

“Uh… so what does that mean?”

“I’m just saying that! It’s nothing major.”

“…Sigh.”

“Why are you sighing? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“It’s just, I can’t believe this…”

Is that so?

Seeing Ella, who just a moment ago was all shy and showing various reactions, suddenly exhale in disbelief was kind of funny.

I just didn’t think much of it.

Ella had sighed in response to me so often lately for some reason.

Plus, the bed I was lying on was just too comfortable.

“Oh, by the way…”

“What now? Are you going to say something weird again?”

“No, it’s just I wanted to say something to Ivana.”

“…Huh?”

“Me?”

I nodded in response to Ivana’s question pointing at herself.

The bed was just too comfy, and I had lost track of time thinking about other things, but now that I remembered, I wanted to say something.

“Ivana, would you like to go shopping for clothes with me next time? Something cool to wear this summer. Since it’s going to get hotter than now, I thought we should go together before that.”

“………”

“How much hotter are we talking here?”

“A lot hotter, for sure! We’re only in June now, and the Academy break starts in early August…”

“…….”

“Once it gets later, even wearing summer clothes will feel hot, trust me.”

Normally, I wouldn’t have cared much about how Ivana spent her summer.

After all, I thought she could handle it just fine on her own.

But seeing her constantly wafting air with her book or notebook and only drinking cold beverages since earlier caught my attention.

I worried that if I didn’t check in on her, she might just collapse on the way to school during summer.

It’s not like she had no clothes at all like Karen, requiring an immediate shopping trip. But still, it would be better to get something before summer truly arrives.

“Then… let’s do that.”

“Well, we don’t have to rush; we can go after the weather gets a bit hotter.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“……..”

Anyway, I spent my time chatting like that.

Teasing Ella, talking a bit with Ivana, all while lying on the Club Room’s bed.

While doing so, I thought I saw Ella give me a look filled with complaints and dissatisfaction, but… I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Surely, that couldn’t have been the case, so I didn’t ask about it.