My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 88

…It’s gotten better than before.

Still, it was hard to enter the bathroom with Rosalyn like this.

I have no idea why the topic of bathing together suddenly came up.

“Camelia.”

Rosalyn and I were… in the bathroom.

It’s improved compared to before, but this situation still felt quite challenging.

What on earth should I do in this situation…

“How’s the water temperature? Not too hot, is it?”

“It’s fine…”

“That’s a relief. I was worried it might be too hot and cause a burn.”

“Haha…”

“By the way… I’ve always wondered since we were little. Rosalyn, your skin looks so good.”

“Really…?”

I was sitting in a chair while Rosalyn was gently washing my back from behind.

Seriously… my head was starting to hurt.

Definitely better than before, but I couldn’t adjust to this situation with Rosalyn at all.

Recently, when giving Rize a bath, I had become comfortable enough to joke with her, but I couldn’t even speak properly to Rosalyn.

I really had no idea how to improve this situation…

“Your skin is so fair and smooth.”

“Haha…”

“I have fair skin too, but yours just seems exceptionally bright, doesn’t it?”

“It’s probably just because I don’t go outside much…”

“Hehe, is that so? Well, our Camelia loves staying at home a lot. Unless it’s for business, you rarely go out, right?”

As Rosalyn slowly rinsed my body, she whispered that to me.

My face was probably turning a bit red.

“I think you should meet more friends. You’re just cooped up at home every day.”

“My friends all live far away…”

“That’s not true! You can make new friends, can’t you? There are plenty of nobles in the south. I’m sure if you look, you’ll find more.”

“That’s… true, but…”

I didn’t think it was necessary to seek out new friends.

Besides, meeting kids my own age was honestly hard for me.

It was tough when I met various noble children, including Ella; naturally, building friendships with other noble kids was going to be difficult.

In fact, I became friends with Ella mainly because of business, that was true.

“It really wouldn’t hurt to make a few more friends. How are you still the same as when you were eight?”

“Haha…”

That was a bit odd.

Even I thought it was absurd that there was no change in having friends since age eight.

Actually, if you exclude Rize, the only friends I had at eight were Ella and Karen…

“…Right?”

It is genuinely strange.

“But I’m sure when you start at the Academy, you’ll make lots of friends. Mom made a lot of friends there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When she lived at the main house, she didn’t have many friends, and it was a bit awkward, but… she found a way to get along.”

It felt like I had touched a nerve regarding Rosalyn’s bad memories, but…

I had already talked it out properly before, so this kind of conversation should be fine.

“I’m just worried about you going to the Academy, Camelia.”

“Why do you always say that…? You don’t need to worry so much…”

“That’s because you don’t understand. The kids at the Academy are so young! You won’t find many sensible and mature kids like you, Camelia.”

“Is that so…?”

Really… I felt she was over-worrying to the point it became a worry in itself.

No matter how bad the reputation of Camelia Leonhardt might be… should I really be that worried about the Academy?

What kind of place is the Academy, anyway…?

“Oh, how are you feeling now? Not in pain, right?”

“No, it feels nice and soft.”

…Anyway, while discussing that, Rosalyn continued to wash my wet hair.

Slowly.

Her careful touch gently massaging my hair didn’t feel bad per se, but the maternal vibe felt…

Awkward to accept.

“Our Camelia’s blonde hair is so beautiful, it’s almost magical.”

“Really…?”

“There are times when I think other people’s blonde hair is pretty too, but yours just seems so uniquely gorgeous.”

I always felt happy and shy receiving Rosalyn’s compliments.

I understood why I felt like this, but at the same time, I didn’t.

“I think we’re about done. How does it feel?”

“This seems fine… I think it’s okay.”

With that, Rosalyn had managed to wash my entire body… except for a few specific areas.

Even though I had already cleaned my body that morning, it felt unnecessary… but it was probably no good just getting into the bath like that.

…For now, I washed up.

I was quite surprised by Rosalyn’s sudden invitation and conversation, but… for now.

After washing me clean, Rosalyn started to wash herself.

“……..”

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“Mother.”

It felt a little… uncomfortable?

Should I say I didn’t like it?

I just felt embarrassed because of Rosalyn, and it was challenging having my body washed by her… it didn’t sit right with me.

Of course, I knew her intentions were kind, but I felt overly embarrassed despite her thoughts being different.

In contrast, Rosalyn was acting like it didn’t concern her, which was slightly… annoying.

“Do you want me to wash you?”

“Huh?”

“I felt bad just receiving, and I’ve never done that for you. I’d like to give it a try.”

That’s why I ended up blurring out such strange words to Rosalyn.

It wasn’t an unusual thing to say, after all.

“Um… should I?”

Rosalyn looked a bit surprised at my odd question but accepted it casually.

Well… since it’s not really that strange.

It’s just… washing each other’s bodies, right?

“…Then please sit still. Just a moment…”

After Rosalyn agreed, I moved to sit behind her on the bath chair.

I didn’t want to look at Rosalyn while washing her; that just felt weird…

“It’s the first time Camelia is doing this for me, huh?”

“…Yeah.”

“It’s kind of amazing. You used to hate bathing together.”

“That’s…!”

“Hehe, I know. Back then, we weren’t as close as now, and it couldn’t be helped, right?”

“…….”

Suddenly bringing up old times made me a little embarrassed.

Clearly different from earlier, where I was washing Rosalyn, it made no sense why I felt more embarrassed now.

Anyway.

“…So I’ll do it?”

“Yeah, just go ahead.”

“…….”

Wait.

Why did she say it like that…?

“…Yes.”

I was feeling frustrated that I seemed to be the only embarrassed one, as if Rosalyn intended to embarrass me even a little.

It felt so absurd that I was now in this situation instead.

Of course… it wasn’t the right moment to stop this.

-Splash…

“Ah…”

…I began to pour water onto Rosalyn’s body moderately.

Just like how Rosalyn did to me.

I applied soap and, before shampooing her hair, got her skin wet with water…

“Is it warm?”

“Yes. I think it’s just right.”

“Then I’ll pour a bit more.”

Since she was enjoying it… I poured more water onto Rosalyn.

With each splash of water, her already shiny skin started to gleam even brighter.

Honestly, it felt…

“……..”

Strange.

It felt like I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing.

Of course, it wasn’t wrong; it was just a normal thing—a simple case of a mother and daughter washing each other.

It made me feel like I hadn’t changed at all from back then.

“I’ll do the soaping now…”

I should have just not said anything.

As usual, I regretted doing something after already committing.

Why, both back then and now, do I tend to jump into things without thinking them through?

Of course, it brought me closer to Karen, and I think I gained a lot from it, but… at this moment, that was definitely a foolish decision.

“Just do it a bit harder if you want.”

“…Yes.”

Just a plain comment.

Holding the soapy washcloth, when I rubbed it against Rosalyn’s body, she only meant I could apply a bit more pressure.

Yet, because we were in the bathroom, my mind kept heading toward odd conclusions.

“Ugh…”

“…….”

Even Rosalyn’s normal sounds began to sound strange to me accidentally.

It really was… odd in my mind.

“Camellia, it feels good when you press down there.”

“U-Um, here…?”

“Yes… it feels nice…”

Then I started giving a bit of a massage while washing her.

And so…

“Ah…”

“…Mother.”

“Hehe… it feels good getting a massage, but this kind of stuff isn’t right during a shower. But thanks for doing it.”

“…Yes.”

…We just coexisted like that.

It wasn’t anything strange at all; simply a common scenario.

A typical case of a daughter washing her mother’s back in return for washing her own… just that much.

“…Gulp.”

It was just… that level of interaction.

“Ha…”

Of course, separate from that.

Even if I tried to think about something else, the sight of Rosalyn’s back was constantly in my vision, making me think irrationally, which was the biggest issue.