My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 73

“…Mother, can I ask you a question? It might be a bit rude.”

“Uh…?”

“…There’s something I want to ask. Is it okay if I do?”

Rosalyn might not like it, but I felt like I’d get a headache if I didn’t ask this burning question.

I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

“What is it…?”

The sun had already set, and it was just the two of us on the terrace.

The door that led to the terrace was already closed, and we were on the opposite side of the building used by the Rose Family.

I thought it would be fine to ask my question and hear her answer.

Plus, I had already used magic to check if there were people around, so I was covered.

“I have a question about you and the Rose Family.”

“……..”

“Is it okay to ask…?”

I wanted to ask, but I certainly didn’t want to bring up anything Rosalyn wouldn’t want to hear.

Of course… to be honest, I just wanted to hear the answer.

I had no intention of really tormenting Rosalyn or anything like that.

“…What makes you want to know about that?”

“Well, I just thought of something today.”

“…I see.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s perfectly fine. It’s not a question I need an answer to right now.”

“Camelia…”

“If you really don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

I definitely didn’t want to upset Rosalyn.

I sat there on the terrace, waiting for her to respond.

“……..”

She was staring outside the terrace with a serious expression and said nothing.

I didn’t know what kind of answer would come, but I had a feeling there was something… bigger between Rosalyn and the Rose Family than I initially thought.

About three minutes passed…?

After that ambiguous time, Rosalyn slowly turned her head toward me.

“…Go ahead and ask. I don’t know what the question is, but… I’ll answer.”

“Okay.”

With that permission granted, I could now ask.

“…There was a transaction between your family and ours, right?”

For starters… Rosalyn didn’t know that I was aware of this.

So I decided to start with that.

“…Yes.”

“Through the marriage of my mother and our father, the Rose Family received money from Leonhardt, right?”

“…That’s right.”

I already knew this from the beginning.

Technically, I had known it since Rosalyn came to our family.

William had straightforwardly told me about it.

Even the stepmother before Rosalyn came had been in a similar circumstance.

Of course, unlike me, Rosalyn wore a rather… uncomfortable expression as she answered.

She probably thought I really didn’t know about all this until now.

“Moreover, back then, a significantly large dowry was received.”

“…Yes.”

“Probably, many of the famous paintings and jewels we saw at the Rose Family mansion yesterday were from that time, and there are also things bought with money sent from our family recently.”

“…That’s right.”

“Naturally, the family has become quite worn down compared to its past glory.”

Sadly, but the fact remained.

Rosalyn slightly nodded at my words.

“…But there’s one problem here.”

“…What is it?”

“If my father’s character is anything to go by, he must have chosen someone who would gain the most benefits and elevate the status of the Leonhardt family after marriage.”

It was obvious.

No matter how beautiful Rosalyn was—or how she was the most beautiful rose of the Rose Family—she was still the youngest.

The world of nobility didn’t operate solely on beauty and charm, and Rosalyn must not have held any power in the family.

Even though she attended the Academy and had a good school life there… that was something anyone could achieve.

“But… things changed a bit, right?”

“…….”

“Originally, the plan was to contract with Christina Rose… the eldest daughter of the Rose Family, but Christina contacted my father to change it intentionally.”

I didn’t know the details.

I couldn’t read letters from four years ago.

It was merely a deduction, a thought I had in my head.

“Well, she probably suggested lowering the dowry or reducing the amount of money sent to the Rose Family each year.”

“…Camelia.”

“So my mother arrived in our family, regardless of her will. Is that correct?”

…I voiced what I had been thinking since noon to Rosalyn.

No, I just blurted it out.

It was merely me spilling out the tangled thoughts that had been swirling in my head.

“…Yes. That’s right. Originally, it was supposed to be my sister Christina marrying the Baron Leonhardt. At first.”

“And then, suddenly, the story took a turn.”

“Yes.”

…To be honest, asking Rosalyn such questions was quite a burden and could have upset her.

But Rosalyn had just been answering honestly.

She was surprisingly forthcoming, to the point of surprising me.

“…….”

“Camelia, you’re right. You’re surprisingly… quite clever, aren’t you?”

“…I guess so.”

“Well… it has already been four years since then.”

“When you first heard about it, didn’t you feel anything?”

I honestly was curious.

Though I didn’t have any siblings myself, I imagined it wouldn’t be something one takes in stride.

No matter how much of a family the eldest daughter had, and although she was the youngest, it seemed too much.

I thought Rosalyn would dislike it.

But her response was surprisingly indifferent… that made me feel uneasy.

“Weren’t you feeling betrayal or anything like that?”

“…….”

“…I’m sorry.”

Only after I said it did I think my words had been a bit harsh.

Though I had permission, it was still my mistake.

“…That was a slip of the tongue.”

“No, that’s okay. It happens.”

“……..”

I genuinely felt a bit bad for Rosalyn.

Even I felt a bit uneasy after saying it.

“…Camelia.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“…Shall we head to my room?”

“Huh?”

“Well… there’s no one around, but I just don’t want to talk here.”

“…If that’s what you want to do.”

I hadn’t expected her to suggest we go to her room suddenly.

However, I decided to accept Rosalyn’s proposal, and we headed up to the 3rd Floor Room.

“…Mother?”

“Why?”

“……..”

“…Ah, is it because of the alcohol?”

“Yes.”

Rosalyn pulled out some alcohol.

To be honest, I hadn’t seen Rosalyn drink much until now.

When she entered the room and immediately pulled out the displayed alcohol, I was honestly taken aback.

Seriously… her pulling out whiskey right after entering the room was… surprising enough.

She didn’t usually drink, and it wasn’t even that late yet.

“Hehe, thinking back, I haven’t drunk around you much, have I?”

“…Why are you suddenly drinking?”

“Huh? Just… just because. Is it strange?”

“Well… it’s not exactly that…”

“Hehe, I’m an adult too, so a little alcohol is fine.”

“…That’s true.”

She wasn’t wrong.

As she said, she was an adult.

At this point, there wasn’t really an issue with what she did.

It had been four years since we met for the first time, after all.

-Shaa…

Rosalyn placed a suitable glass on the table, then magically cooled its surface slightly.

Thanks to that, the outside and inside of the glass became a bit cool…

“Hehe, you haven’t drunk alcohol yet, have you, Camelia?”

“No.”

“Well, at 12 years old… you’ve got quite a bit of time before you can drink. You’re not drinking with your friends at the Academy, are you?”

“…I’ll be careful.”

Well, I never really enjoyed alcohol in my past life either.

I didn’t have any particular desire to drink either.

Anyway, I watched Rosalyn pour the drink into the cooled glass and take a sip.

Rosalyn didn’t bring up any serious topics on purpose, and for a while, she remained quiet, wetting her throat with the drink.

Seated comfortably, Rosalyn didn’t look very relaxed.

She had a bit of a worried and contemplative expression mixed with other thoughts.

“…Sigh.”

“…….”

“Indeed, thinking back to that event four years ago was shocking. I had seen the family struggling a lot compared to the past since I was little, and I knew my sister would go.”

“I certainly didn’t expect you to go.”

“Uh? No.”

…Her response was quite different from what I had thought.

I certainly felt that way, but apparently, Rosalyn didn’t think the same.

What could it be?

While I didn’t know the full story about Rosalyn and the Rose Family’s past… I couldn’t easily infer why she had that answer.

“My sister might have gone a bit earlier than expected, but the Rose Family has been in a troubled situation for a long time… long before I was born.”

“……..”

“Of course, I thought my sisters and I would have to marry into better families to help our own.”

…Wow.

That was quite a mature thought.

Honestly, if I were in Rosalyn’s position, I would have thought about just abandoning the family and running away.

To be honest… I despised the idea of being forced to marry someone else.

“If I were in your place… I don’t think I could have thought that way.”

“Huh?”

“…Honestly, isn’t it true? Our father.”

“Ah…”

I thought I was pretty objective about it.

Honestly, how many women would want to marry William?

Except for his family’s wealth… there didn’t seem to be many advantages.

If anything, the only plus was that he didn’t meddle much in others’ affairs.

“Well… that’s true. But Camelia, there’s one thing you don’t understand. I wasn’t going to just marry anyone from another family for the sake of the family.”

“…Huh?”

“In hindsight… it’s a bit funny.”

Rosalyn took another sip of her drink, smirking slightly as she continued.

She seemed to have the expression of someone who thought her past self was pathetic.

“I really wished I could marry a handsome prince or gentleman with a kind personality and resolve the family’s problems.”

“Ah…….”

“In retrospect, I really had such childish thoughts. Doesn’t that sound funny?”

“…Not really.”

“No, it’s genuinely funny, even for me.”

…It wasn’t funny.

Rather, it felt a little… pitiful.

Though she had had her share of alcohol, the difference in Rosalyn’s demeanor was evident.

“Pfft…”

“…Mother, drink slowly.”

“…There are still things to talk about. It’s just that I find it a bit difficult to say it all.”

“…There’s more?”

I thought she was merely sharing her honest thoughts.

But she had more reasons.

…But that aside, wasn’t she drinking too quickly?

It was definitely alcohol with a content of around 40 degrees, yet it seemed like she would finish her glass already.

And it hadn’t even been ten minutes…

“……..”

“Hehe…”

I was a bit worried, but Rosalyn was an adult.

Surely she would know how to manage her intake…?

At least she should be aware of her own limits…

Yeah, I thought everything would be okay.