My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 90

“…Hmm.”

How should I put it?

Puberty, secondary sexual characteristics…

“I feel a bit gross.”

It was a time when everything seemed to make me feel worse in various ways.

I wasn’t a perfect teenage girl or anything, and I could manage some degree of restraint…

“Ugh…”

Physically, it was one of those days when I just couldn’t shake off the feeling… No, it was overall not a good day.

This summer too, I felt especially hot and stressed, and even heading to the Rose Family mansion, which I could’ve easily skipped, was…

Was all of it a result of puberty?

Well, since I couldn’t pinpoint every single thing happening in my body or how it worked, I could only… speculate, I guess.

“Oh, I crave something sweet.”

I was starting to realize just how powerful hormones could be.

“Ha… sigh.”

Even though nothing was happening and I wasn’t doing anything, I felt stress piling up.

Of course, I tried to contain this as much as possible in front of Rosalyn… but during the last few days relaxing alone in my room… I didn’t really feel like I was resting at all.

I just kept feeling something was frustrating…

“…Tsk.”

Feeling suffocated.

I didn’t like being cooped up in my room without anything to do, so I decided to go outside.

A very impulsive decision.

But I figured it had to be better than just sitting around alone.

*

I had planned to go out alone, but as I stepped outside, Rize happened to be passing by.

“Young Lady, may I ask what brings you outside?”

“I just got bored and wanted to get out.”

I ended up bringing Rize with me.

Well, it wasn’t unusual since on days I went out, I mostly went with Rize.

“Rize.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Can you handle spicy food?”

“…Pardon?”

“I remember once eating spicy pasta with Karen. She struggled a lot with it. So I’m asking.”

I hadn’t even had lunch yet.

I suddenly wanted something hot and spicy to relieve some of this pent-up frustration.

“What do you think?”

“I… think I can handle it. It’s not my favorite, though.”

“Okay, then let’s go eat.”

My thought process was quick, and my decision was swift.

To be honest, even if Rize couldn’t eat it, I planned to go anyway and just order something different.

So together with Rize, we headed to a restaurant in the city famous for its spicy pasta.

“You can let me know if you’re feeling cold, Young Lady.”

“Why’s that?”

“I brought a scarf and gloves in my bag… in case it gets chilly.”

“Oh, I see.”

I hadn’t understood why Rize had brought the bag initially.

There was a reason for it after all.

Given it was winter, I understood why she was being considerate…

“It’s fine. I personally feel it’s cool enough right now. I don’t think I need a scarf or gloves.”

I didn’t want to wear them now anyway.

Staying cooped up at home made me feel a bit stifled… plus, it wasn’t particularly cold in the southern region during winter.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong, Young Lady?”

“Nothing, just thinking.”

Maybe it was because I was definitely feeling the effects of puberty.

I suddenly became curious if Rize went through any of this at her age.

At least to me, Rize always seemed… pretty much like herself.

She didn’t suddenly act differently or show signs of irritation… she was just always Rize.

“Rize… um… never mind.”

“?”

“It’s nothing.”

I briefly thought about asking, but then decided against it.

It felt too much like I was declaring, ‘Hey, I’m going through puberty!’

Even if I was struggling with it now, I hadn’t started lashing out at people around me yet.

Sighing and feeling frustrated was only something I did when I was alone in my room; I never showed it to the other servants or anyone in the mansion.

Of course, there was that time a few days ago during my period…

“Ugh.”

Let’s just not think about that.

Thinking about it made me feel truly awful.

– Tap, tap…

So, Rize and I walked together and soon arrived at our destination, the restaurant.

[The Moon, Stars, and Restaurant]

“Is this the place, Young Lady?”

“Yep. What do you think? The decor looks nice, right?”

“Yes, it looks promising. Compared to that… expensive place with weird decor we went to before, this is definitely better.”

“I didn’t know about this place either, but a businessman from the south recommended it.”

I was chatting with Rize in front of the restaurant.

Usually, I didn’t venture out much unless it was for business, but sometimes I’d go out to find good places to eat with Rize.

Though I didn’t show it, I had high expectations for this restaurant, thinking it would be better than the spicy pasta I had with Karen in the past.

“Shall we go in now?”

“Yes.”

With hope filled in my heart, I reached for the restaurant door…

– Clunk.

…to open it…?

– Clunk…! Clunk!

“……..”

But it wouldn’t budge.

I might not have much physical strength, but there was no way I couldn’t open this.

“…Young Lady, there’s a small notice to the side.”

“Really…?”

Upon hearing Rize’s words, I glanced at the sign just a little higher than the door handle.

Not just any notice, but one stating that they wouldn’t be open today due to some urgent matter.

“……..”

I understood.

It made sense that something might come up preventing a business from being open.

After all, I had been in similar situations before where I had to postpone meetings due to business issues…

I got it… but still…

“Damn…”

“Young Lady…?”

“Rize!”

“Y-Yes, Young Lady…”

“Let’s find another place.”

…My mood soured even more.

It was just a closure of a restaurant I intended to go to, yet I felt utterly down.

“Tsk…”

It was definitely something I shouldn’t be feeling this upset over.

Yet I couldn’t shake off the negativity… I started stomping my feet on the ground as I walked.

“Young Lady, if we go a little further, there’s a restaurant you enjoyed before…”

“Let’s go there.”

“…….”

“…Sorry, let’s go there.”

I had spoken out of frustration before I even realized it.

I wasn’t angry with Rize at all; she wasn’t at fault.

But I really… had blurted that out without meaning to.

Of course, I immediately apologized afterward.

…Hormones seriously felt menacing.

Really.

*

After that, Rize and I entered a nearby restaurant and ordered two plates of pasta along with French fries as a little something on the side.

I ordered the pasta with a bit more pepper than usual and asked for it to be seasoned stronger.

While eating the French fries, I added more sauce than I typically would… making the meal feel a lot different than usual.

“Ha…”

“How is it…?”

“Yeah, it’s delicious. I think we made a good choice.”

It wasn’t a place that specialized in spicy pasta, but they typically served Aglio e Olio pasta well enough.

It might not have been as good as the place we intended to go, but I was able to have a nice lunch.

Ultimately, eating something delicious lifted my spirits quite a bit compared to just half an hour ago.

What a shift in my mood and energy.

“Rize feels the same, right?”

“Yes, it’s tasty.”

“Ha ha ha…”

Oh.

I really felt great.

I had never understood why high schoolers and middle schoolers liked spicy food so much, but now it was starting to make sense.

It was definitely spicy, but each bite felt like a release of pent-up feelings.

Seriously…

“Ha… Should I buy a plot of land just to grow spicy ingredients?”

I was feeling so good that I even entertained that thought.

“Young Lady.”

“Don’t you dare tell me not to overspend.”

“Yes.”

“But a plot of land isn’t that hard to manage.”

“Even so…”

“Oh, never mind. Since I’ve already bought plenty of land for Nieshista, I could just ask to grow a few more crops there…”

That should work, right?

Just grow things like chili peppers, peppercorns, sansho, and mustard—all spicy plants.

Then slowly start selling them within the Nieshista Domain and especially to the Adventurers’ Guild, and gradually get known…

And by doing that, I could expand the business…

“…Young Lady, how about you leave the business planning for when we get home?”

“Really?”

“Yes, and didn’t you say you wouldn’t dive into anything until after you graduate from the Academy?”

“That’s true, but a good idea just came to me.”

And I was in a good mood about it too.

In truth, ever since I wrapped up most of my business dealings, I had been feeling rather aimless…

It couldn’t be helped.

“Hmm…”

For now, I decided to follow Rize’s advice and dropped the business talks, then looked over at her.

Rize quietly enjoyed her cream pasta.

She had grown taller and appeared prettier than before.

When I first met Rize, she was slightly taller than me, but now it felt like there was definitely a sense of maturity about her… I felt that distinctly lately.

“Hmm…”

“You seem deep in thought, Young Lady?”

“Rize, how tall are you now?”

I was genuinely curious.

Being neither even close to 160 cm nor even 150 cm, I had trouble telling sizes.

“Um… I think I’m in the low 160s.”

“Definitely taller than Mother.”

“Yes, I believe so.”

It somehow felt like she was taller than I thought.

Of course, I was aware that Rize’s proportions were excellent enough already, but learning how tall she truly was made me feel she was even taller.

“Hmm…”

“Is something wrong…? Is there a problem…?”

“It’s not a problem. No, it’s just that I feel a bit self-conscious about my height compared to Rize’s.”

I mean, now that puberty was hitting hard with secondary characteristics manifesting… I felt some subtle hope that maybe I could grow taller like Rize eventually.

Looking at how my growth had been so far, it didn’t seem likely I’d reach Rize’s height… but still…

“Ugh…”