My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 78

“Rosalyn? Could you please draw the curtains in the back? The sunlight is shining too brightly on my spot.”

“…Yes, Sister.”

We were having a meal together.

Not just Rosalyn and I, but the people of the Rose Family as well.

The atmosphere of dining with these people was never pleasant, no matter how many times I experienced it, but I had no choice.

I had no valid reason to refuse.

Though Alexandra had sided with us for now, she wasn’t in a position to do anything immediately.

“Oh, right. Rosalyn? The Marquis of Tenedis sent some gifts this time. Would you like to go see them together?”

“…No, it’s a gift meant for you, Sister. It’d be better if you saw it alone.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

Despite that, I really didn’t like Christina.

From constantly picking on Rosalyn to various other things.

“Ugh… I’ve been overwhelmed by too many gifts, it’s actually a hassle.”

“Haha, I’m jealous.”

“But you have Baron Leonhardt, don’t you? It seems like he gives you quite a few nice jewelry and precious metals?”

“Haha…”

Rosalyn kept responding to Christina’s remarks with a self-deprecating smile while I quietly surveyed the surroundings.

Alexandra was continuing her meal with a face that showed no interest in Rosalyn whatsoever.

However, unlike her, the head of the family and his wife were simply smiling at Rosalyn, essentially torturing her, as if they were watching a play that didn’t concern them.

-Creak…

Seeing that, I stayed silent.

Rosalyn’s discomfort was quite apparent, but there was nothing I could do here.

I had a fleeting urge to cast magic on Christina… but I had to hold back.

“Father, I hear they’re having an auction at the Marquis of Orient this coming month. Would you like to go?”

“An auction? It’s been a while since one was held. It might be nice to go and buy some good jewels.”

“Dear, how about buying a better carriage instead of jewels? The one we bought last time was too cramped, and it was disappointing.”

“Hoho…”

“……..”

Hmm.

Something felt off.

It really did feel off.

Even though their own territory was in a shambles, seeing them have such a conversation was also quite strange.

I thought these people weren’t doing well in many ways.

Instead of wasting time attending other noble families’ auctions, they should manage their territory better.

In fact, even William was more competent in those areas.

Of course, William put in effort in matters related to money.

“Mother, would you like to have some cool juice?”

“…Should I?”

“Yes, since you came before tea time after finishing your meal. You should digest with some cool juice. Hang in there.”

After finishing our meal, Rosalyn and I returned to the guest building.

Upon coming back, Rosalyn wore a tired expression, so I offered her some juice.

She couldn’t help but be tired because of Christina.

Really… what kind of person is she?

Even though she’s a bastard, did she really need to torment Rosalyn like that and keep saying weird things?

“Ugh… I’m so exhausted…”

“…Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. To be honest, Christina has always been like this.”

“……..”

Isn’t that not okay?

No matter how I think about it, listening to those same kinds of remarks for over ten years during meal times would definitely be draining.

It was absurd that Rosalyn claimed to be fine.

I didn’t even like just watching and listening from the side.

“…Mother.”

“What?”

“Shall we start heading back soon?”

“Huh?”

“We’ve already spent about a week here, and we didn’t come for any other particular reason.”

Not that it was for me, but rather Rosalyn had come back to see her family after a long time.

I strongly felt that it might be better for Rosalyn to just return now.

At first, I had every intention of scolding the Rose family, but it was clear that Rosalyn looked quite worn out.

Though she insisted she was okay, it was evident that she wasn’t having a pleasant experience.

“How about we start heading back now?”

“……..”

“I don’t think there’s any need to stay here any longer…?”

To be honest, it didn’t seem necessary to keep evaluating the Rose family any longer.

Really.

“…Isn’t that right?”

Even though Christina had given orders, they hadn’t bothered to maintain their own buildings.

Really… just starting from cleaning and changing the indoor furniture and various interiors.

“Honestly, I don’t enjoy seeing you being treated this way.”

“…I see.”

“Yes.”

“That’s true…”

Rosalyn must have already been aware of that.

That there was no need to spend more time here.

She probably thought that four years ago too.

But now it felt like there was no reason to stay in a place like this and feel uncomfortable.

Although it was unexpected, I also felt I had gained something.

“Actually, I thought there might be a bit of a difference from before, but it seems like there’s no significant change.”

“Is that so?”

“…Shall we head back?”

Quite calmly.

Just like always, Rosalyn casually voiced her thoughts.

Looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

*

“Rize, gather the servants.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

I said this while sitting on one of the chairs in the First Floor Lobby.

Rosalyn was resting in her room on the third floor anyway, so I had some work to do in the meantime.

In any case, after I gave the instruction to Rize, the servants started gathering in the First Floor Lobby one by one.

Each of them lined up before me, seated in chairs.

“Hmm…”

“Young Lady, everyone has gathered.”

“You brought quite a few people.”

It looked like more servants had gathered than I expected.

Looking at the servants assembled in the lobby… if I were to gather the knights as well, it would surely feel too crowded.

“We’re probably returning to the mansion from the Rose family within a few days.”

Though we hadn’t set an exact date, Rosalyn was beginning to feel that there was no need for her to stay here any longer.

We had to pack up our belongings, and there were a few other tasks, so I was informing them ahead of time.

In fact, since the servants had had more work than usual since coming here, they might actually prefer heading back.

“I haven’t decided on a solid date yet, but please start organizing your belongings in your rooms.”

“Young Lady…? May I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

One of the servants raised their hand and asked.

“What should we do with the furniture and the paintings on the walls that you ordered?”

“Umm…”

“Considering there are too many pieces, I don’t think we can fit them in the carriage…”

“Leave the furniture and decor as they are. They’re not as good as what’s in the mansion anyway. There’s no need to carry that heavy stuff back.”

“Yes.”

“Just gather the belongings you all brought when you came over. You don’t need to clean up when leaving this place.”

Originally, it was customary to clean up a rented building, but I had no intention of honoring that courtesy at the end.

Since they thought of themselves as a family without roots, it was certainly better to act accordingly.

“Hmm…”

“Young Lady, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing.”

Honestly, I did have a slight intention of ordering the servants to mess up the inside of the building and damage the furniture.

But I decided not to give that instruction.

For some reason, it felt like becoming just like them?

I resolved to leave neatly instead.

“And those of you in charge of managing the carriage, please go down to the territory and buy some more carriage wheels. Considering the state of our journey here, we might run into issues on the way back.”

I gave additional instructions.

I also told the knights to keep their armor shining brightly until we returned.

I instructed the servants to avoid running into the Rose family members as much as possible before heading back… and gave more orders until I disbanded them.

“Young Lady.”

“What is it?”

“Is there something that’s bothering you?”

After the servants were dismissed, Rize followed me as I headed to the Second Floor study.

“Hmm… there certainly is a lot.”

“……..”

“Why?”

“You seem to look more upset than usual…”

“Is that so?”

I’m not sure.

I don’t look in the mirror all that often to know if my expression looks bad.

Of course, I wasn’t feeling particularly great compared to usual.

“I was a bit worried, so I asked.”

“You don’t have to worry too much. After all, soon enough, these matters will become irrelevant.”

“Is that so…? If that’s the case, that’s a relief…”

“More importantly, Rize.”

We entered the study.

There was no one else in the study besides the two of us, and no one was going to come in either.

“Have a seat.”

“…Huh?”

“Just sit down.”

To be honest, I was feeling a bit worn out because of the Rose family lately.

I was also feeling a bit down.

“Is there something wrong…? I’m not uncomfortable staying standing, you know.”

“Uh? That’s not it; I just wanted to make myself comfortable.”

I had Rize sit on the slightly larger sofa in the study.

Then, checking out the books on the shelves, I confirmed that there wasn’t anything interesting to read before sitting down next to Rize on the sofa.

“Young Lady…?”

“Rize, raise your hand a bit.”

“…Huh?”

Though Rize looked a bit startled, she followed my command and lifted her hand from her thigh.

I then rested my head on Rize’s thigh.

“Young Lady…?”

“I’m just tired. I’ll lay here for a bit.”

“……..”

“Besides, it’s not like it’s cramped, right?”

Though the sofa wasn’t very spacious, I was small.

So when I lay down, it didn’t make it any tighter, plus I wasn’t heavy enough to inconvenience Rize.

“Are you uncomfortable? If you are, please tell me.”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then I’ll stay like this a bit longer.”

Since she said she was okay.

I comfortably rested my head on Rize’s thigh.

It felt quite pleasant to spend time resting like this, especially since I had been feeling mentally drained lately.

I ended up dozing off to the point where I fell asleep unknowingly.

Of course, when I woke up afterward, Rize’s face was slightly flushed as she looked at me with a bit of struggle.