My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 77

After finishing dinner.

I went up to my room first and waited.

It’s just common sense that I couldn’t suddenly run into Alexandra without any appointed time or place.

“Hmm…”

I sat alone by the window, quietly observing outside.

The sun had already set, and only the moonlight and the building lights illuminated the outside.

“Maybe it’s about time…”

Regardless of how it was going to happen, wouldn’t something take place soon?

I had no thought that they might have forgotten about it.

Rather, I was more worried that something conspiratorial might occur regarding the fact that I learned about Rosalyn’s birth.

In fact, everything that had happened in front of me could have been an act.

I couldn’t completely shake off the seeds of suspicion.

– Knock! Knock!

“…?”

While I continued to wait, something suddenly knocked on the window.

“Eh.”

Outside was a very tiny bird.

A cute little yellow bird, about the size of my fist.

I didn’t quite understand the situation, but I opened the window anyway.

Then in came the little bird.

“…what?”

Seriously.

– Tweet! Tweet!

“…huh?”

– Tweet! Tweet!

The bird sat on the windowsill and suddenly bowed its head while tweeting.

It was kind of cute, but I had no idea what it was saying…

– Chirp!!

“Oh, so you want me to look down?”

– Tweet!

I didn’t know what it was, but where the bird’s beak was pointing, there lay a very small piece of paper.

Had it been more neatly folded, it would have probably been the same size as the bird’s body.

Seeing the little bird’s reaction, it seemed like it wanted me to look at this.

“Oh…”

Suddenly, it was a bit fascinating that a tiny bird came in, but it turned out to be nothing extraordinary.

‘Come down.’

That was what was written on it.

This was definitely something sent by Alexandra Rose.

There was no other reason for someone to call me at this time of the evening.

So, I threw on a cardigan and headed outside.

I told the servants that I was going for a walk and asked my mother to say that I was going to bed early.

The building itself was large, and with Rosalyn likely in her room, I was able to go out without being caught.

“Did you wait long?”

“Not really.”

“It’s my first time out of the building like this at night. What are you going to do?”

“Follow me.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I stepped outside, I encountered Alexandra standing next to the door and we moved on.

It seemed like she didn’t want to expose this situation to others, as she walked toward a dimly lit area.

“Hmm…”

I was going along, but I had no idea where we were heading.

It wasn’t a building for the Rose family, but rather we were moving as far away from the mansion as possible.

I quietly followed her, wondering exactly where we were going.

“There it is.”

“Hmm…?”

The place we arrived at was… a small house.

Located quite a distance from the buildings of the Rose Mansion.

A house that could well be called a cottage.

“It’s humble, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“May I ask what this building is for?”

“It’s just a place to spend time alone.”

“Hmm… even if you say you’ve fallen from grace, it seems a bit too shabby for a Count’s daughter.”

“I suppose so.”

“…You’re not angry, are you?”

I was quite surprised in many ways.

Despite the slight change in her demeanor, she was responding as if there was no problem, even with the mention of their decline.

“Well, we’re not the family we used to be.”

“Hmm…”

That wasn’t an incorrect statement, but for the person involved to say it felt different.

When Rosalyn talked about such things, there was a somewhat self-deprecating tone, but this felt more objective… as if it was someone else’s affair.

There was a notable difference from my first impression of Alexandra.

“Sit down. I’ll make you some tea.”

“More considerate than I expected…”

“You think I’m nice? I know.”

“No, I was going to say I think you’re a bit strange.”

“…Tsk.”

In many ways, it felt like we were taking off our masks.

It wasn’t just Alexandra; I was feeling that way too.

We were having a very candid conversation, rather than pretending.

But it seemed like this was the most normal conversation we’ve had since we met.

“So, what did you bring me here to talk about? I doubt you’re planning to kidnap a fragile little girl and do something weird.”

“Anyone hearing this might think I’m a criminal instead of the Count’s daughter.”

“Well… isn’t that the situation right now? You suddenly brought a little girl out on such a quiet night to this… secluded little house.”

“Ugh.”

“Hehe, it was a joke.”

Anyway, I was starting to want to hear the main point.

Given that she brought me here, it seemed she had a secret story to tell.

“Well, it’s pretty much an extension of what we talked about earlier today.”

“About Christina Rose being the real power behind the Rose family?”

“Exactly. I just wanted to continue from there.”

“Hmm…”

What on earth could be the additional details?

I felt like I was becoming a very capable investigator, which was somewhat exciting.

Of course, the topic of conversation didn’t seem like it would be all that thrilling.

“Actually, the Rose family began to truly decline long before the current head… my father.”

“Weren’t they already losing influence before that?”

“That’s separate. The real decline began with the previous head. Fortunately, they had some presence in the central bureaucracy, but unlike previous heads, they couldn’t even get close to the Emperor and were merely slightly higher than the bottom tier of bureaucrats.”

The conversation started as we sat facing each other at the table.

On the table were two cups of our tea.

It wasn’t rose tea, nor was it particularly sweet, just a moderately bitter tea.

“Anyway… after my father became the head, he couldn’t achieve good results at the Academy, and politically, things went sour with other families.”

She expressed her views, indicating that the current head was foolish and incompetent.

She spoke of how, as I had known, the Rose family began to become politically isolated.

“Hmm… and what does that have to do with Christina Rose?”

“Surprisingly, the eldest daughter of such an incompetent head, Christina, was very competent. Especially politically.”

“…?”

“Thanks to that, she gained a lot of popularity since her Academy days. She’s pretty averagely pretty, right?”

“That’s true.”

The members of the Rose family weren’t objectively ugly.

Of course, Rosalyn was the prettiest, with the best personality too.

“So, perhaps because of that, she attracted younger noble regulars when she enrolled at the Academy, and surprisingly, the results were good…”

“What’s the big deal about her Academy days?”

“It’s not just about male and female interaction; it’s about noble male and female interaction. It makes a difference.”

“Hmm… I don’t quite get it.”

I wasn’t particularly interested in that kind of thing.

And I hadn’t even attended the Academy yet…?

“Originally, the Rose family was politically isolated, but Christina managed to… entangle herself with the young nobles of other families. Unlike the Rose family, this meant they escaped political isolation.”

“How did she manage to entangle herself?”

“…Back then, the first-year young nobles entering the Academy gave gifts to the third-year Christina almost every day to woo her.”

“…Eh. Really?”

“Yeah, it was to that extent that you could say they escaped political isolation.”

“…I don’t think her looks are that amazing.”

I could say she was above average, but she wasn’t as pretty as Rosalyn, Ella, or Karen.

Of course, there was an age difference, but still…

Frankly, I thought my maid Rize was prettier.

I didn’t know what she had done, but it was intriguing.

“Before the Rose family received Leonhardt’s support, they literally survived on the money sent by Christina’s admirers.”

“What a strange family.”

“Right.”

“Now I understand why Christina Rose became the real power behind the Rose family.”

Unlike the incompetent head, Christina was capable.

It made sense why she was considered the one in power, having solved the most pressing issue of the Rose family.

But surely she didn’t bring me here just to say this.

“To cut to the chase… I don’t like Christina Rose.”

“Hmm…?”

“Of course, Rosalyn probably dislikes Christina the most, but I’m not too fond of her either.”

“What about that?”

“It seems to me that you don’t like Christina Rose… or, the Rose family, either.”

“Oh…”

“I’ll make you a solid proposal.”

“What kind of proposal?”

By this point, I wasn’t foolish enough to have no idea what could come next.

I hadn’t expected Alexandra Rose to be this kind of person.

It was a rather startling conversation and I didn’t know the full nuances behind it.

But at this moment, it seemed we shared a common goal.

“How about we overthrow the Rose family?”

“That’s a bold proposal.”

“Yeah.”

“And it’s also a rather rash proposal to offer to a 12-year-old child.”

“That’s true.”

Surprisingly, Alexandra was less foolish than I expected.

She likely thought it was a very neat and abnormal suggestion.

And it truly was.

“I don’t dislike the Rose family itself, but more precisely, I dislike the people who meddle in my life and my mother’s.”

“That’s… sorry. It’s under Christina Rose’s orders.”

“…Is that so?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hmm…”

I went ahead and asked a bit more about Christina’s deeds.

About Rosalyn’s contract marriage and what the Roses had done to us.

What I learned was, in many ways… absurd.

How they let the condition of the building get that bad, as well as how the Rose head and his wife continued to spread slander about Leonhardt.

I heard what they talked about when I returned to my guest quarters after the conversation.

“…Ha.”

“…Well, that’s how it went.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Really.

It didn’t seem reasonable to hold such a grudge against Rosalyn just because she was a bastard child.

The extent of Christina’s loathing towards Rosalyn was beyond what I had imagined.

Really…

“I’ll accept your proposal. Honestly, I don’t entirely trust you. It’s for my mother’s sake.”

I had no choice.

“But remember this. Although I accepted the proposal… I can’t do anything immediate regarding the Rose family.”

I absolutely couldn’t go out and commit some kind of act right away.

No matter how much money I had, and even though Leonhardt had recently grown stronger, I was still facing a Count family.

Even if there was a traitor within.

At the moment…

“I need to grow stronger first.”

“…”

“If we do something now, they’ll just purge those involved and the relationship between Leonhardt and Rose would deteriorate rapidly.”

“That’s… true.”

“If we’re going to do something, it should be after I become an adult; no, at least after I graduate from the Academy.”

“…Alright.”

In many ways, it was a sudden discussion and proposal.

But I accepted that proposal.

After all, Christina had done far worse to Rosalyn than I initially thought.

At first, I disliked the Rose family, but now I had a clearer target.

The goals were clearer now.

“…Shall we part ways for now?”

I decided to wrap things up and get up from my seat.

Alexandra watched me as I stood up.

“Why? I still have more to discuss.”

“I’m just sleepy.”

“Huh?”

…I knew I had more to discuss.

I wasn’t foolish enough to believe we could end the conversation immediately after accepting the proposal.

But…

“It’s already past 11 PM. It’s about time for bed.”

“……..”

“What? Why?”

I really couldn’t help being young.

I felt like I was starting to doze off, and I wanted to lie down somewhere comfortably and sleep.

Plus, I had to get up early tomorrow to have breakfast with Rosalyn.