My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 95

“…Something feels weird.”

I never thought of myself as an overly emotional person, but something just felt off.

Could it really be because there are only a few days left until I leave for the Academy…?

“…Hmm.”

I felt a bit melancholy.

It was a feeling that was hard to express in words.

However, it made sense, considering I had spent my entire life here since birth.

Moreover, leaving Rosalyn behind in the mansion… Honestly, that worried me too.

In many ways, it wasn’t easy to leave with complete assurance and immense joy.

“Sigh.”

That said, there was no way I could say I wasn’t going or couldn’t go at this point.

“…But I did spend a lot of time with Rosalyn.”

I guess that’s a silver lining?

Yeah, that definitely seemed to be true.

Even though I wouldn’t see Rosalyn for a while, we had shared plenty of time and built some good memories before I headed to the Academy.

“Hehe…”

I did end up playing more than I anticipated, but I was satisfied because I genuinely enjoyed the time spent with Rosalyn.

And Rosalyn… well, she had been smiling a lot and seemed happy.

Yeah, it felt like I did well enough.

On top of that, I made sure that during my absence, Rosalyn wouldn’t be too bored by allowing her to spend some time with Ashley.

“Sigh”

Still, it was a bit disappointing that I wouldn’t be able to meet Rosalyn for a while.

A lot.

*

The next day, I woke up in the morning and quickly had a light breakfast with Rosalyn.

Under normal circumstances, I might have slept a bit longer, claiming it was slightly chilly and I was tired, but not today.

“Happy birthday, Camelia.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Well, it was my birthday today.

“I’m glad we could celebrate like this before you head to the Academy.”

“Hehe, so am I.”

“And since you return to the mansion every vacation, we can celebrate your birthday every year, and having a winter birthday is a stroke of luck.”

Just as Rosalyn said, having a winter birthday seemed to be fortunate.

If my birthday had been in spring or autumn, there’s no way I could have spent it with Rosalyn like this.

I preferred celebrating my birthday with her over anyone else since she had always made my birthdays special…

It definitely felt better this way.

“Should we go out for lunch today?”

“That sounds nice.”

“Let’s go to your favorite dessert cafe and spend some time there.”

Of course, for my birthday, nothing huge was happening.

Rosalyn and I were more on the quiet side when it came to birthdays.

Unlike other nobles, we never threw massive parties just for the day.

Honestly, that sounded way too noisy and bothersome…

There was no need to invite other noble brats and feel uncomfortable at a birthday party.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Um… not really.”

“Is that so?”

Rosalyn smiled and kept talking to me.

It seemed she hadn’t figured out a specific gift yet.

Even if she hadn’t put much thought into it, I would happily accept any gift from Rosalyn.

“What should I get her…”

“Haha…”

Seeing her working so hard to think about a present every year made it hard for me to say, “Just give me anything.”

*

After finishing breakfast with Rosalyn, we took a light shower in the bath and had a relaxed tea time.

Even though it was my birthday, it always passed quietly, so we were just spending the morning in a way that was not much different from usual.

After a quiet and ordinary morning with Rosalyn, we went out to eat.

The restaurant we chose was one I had wanted to visit with Rize before, but we couldn’t because the place was closed that day.

“Whew… it’s spicy…?”

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“It… tastes good but… hmm…”

There had been other restaurants we could’ve gone to, but Rosalyn insisted on this one.

So here we were…

“Whew… huh…”

Is it too spicy?

The flavor was definitely there, but Rosalyn kept reaching for her water, wondering if it was spicier than she had expected.

Hmm… was it a failure?

I was thoroughly enjoying my meal, but seeing Rosalyn keep drinking water made me question that.

“…Mother, if it’s too tough, you don’t have to force yourself…”

“Huh? I’m fine…? It’s really spicy, but it’s not like it tastes bad.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, really… ugh…”

She was insisting she was fine, so I decided to let it slide for now.

“Mother.”

“What is it?”

“Um… can I order another drink?”

“Of course. That’s no problem.”

I casually brought it up to Rosalyn, making it sound like I wanted to drink too.

Even though I planned to order it for her, I knew she wouldn’t have let me order a drink for her.

I decided to use myself as an excuse to order it.

“Sparkling water sounds good. Would you like to try some, Mother?”

I took a sip of the sparkling water I had ordered and said so.

Even though I had ordered it for Rosalyn, the drink tasted decent.

“Really…?”

“Yeah, have a sip.”

I handed over my glass with a bit of sparkling water to Rosalyn.

Maybe I was just worried too much, but…

Rosalyn was trying to hide her discomfort from the spice as much as she could.

Of course, it was all pretty apparent, though.

“Ah… huh… it’s delicious… yeah.”

“Would you like more? I was thinking of ordering another since I want some more too.”

“Should I…?”

So I reordered the sparkling water for us.

This time, I got it in a bottle instead of a cup.

“Ah… this is good, yeah.”

“Right?”

“Yeah, should we order just one more bottle?”

“…That sounds good.”

Anyway, we continued with our lunch together.

Of course, even while enduring a bit of spice, Rosalyn seemed to feel better while drinking the refreshing sparkling water.

Meanwhile, I was thoroughly enjoying my pasta.

“What do you want for dessert, Camelia?”

“I think just Mont Blanc will be fine. I ate a lot of pasta earlier… I’m quite full.”

“Hehe, we really ate a lot today. So just one Mont Blanc, then?”

“Yes.”

Then, Rosalyn and I entered the dessert cafe for some sweets.

Having eaten more spicy pasta than usual meant I couldn’t indulge in desserts as much, but going back out right after lunch was a bit tiring, so…

I thought I’d enjoy some treats while relaxing at the cafe.

“But Camelia, what’s the reason you renewed your contract with Ashley?”

“Huh?”

While I was comfortably sitting in the chair, she suddenly asked me that.

I wasn’t sure why she decided to ask that out of the blue.

“Because she’s good at her job.”

I just answered casually.

Ashley really did have impressive skills, and she had the talent that made me want to propose a new contract.

Of course, I couldn’t deny that her looks played a significant role in that decision as well.

But ultimately, I hired her to work for our family because her magical skills were the most important factor.

“That’s definitely true…”

“Although she does tend to sleep a lot, she completes the tasks she’s asked for quite well. If she hadn’t done a single thing just because she was sleeping… that wouldn’t be the case.”

Even I wasn’t foolish enough to try assigning her duties if I had no intention to have a magician.

“I see…”

“And since Mother manages the mansion, it must be convenient to have a skilled magician around. Plus, they’re both women.”

“That’s true. If a magician is there, it makes it easier for tasks the servants struggle with.”

Rosalyn understood one of the reasons I renewed the contract with Ashley.

Considering that Rosalyn was currently managing the mansion and the people working there, having a skilled magician around was definitely a plus for her.

Plus, Ashley was a similar age and gender, so naturally…

I felt like I wanted them to get along quite a bit.

“Ah, and since the teacher enjoys drinking, how about you don’t drink alone at night and have some drinks with her instead?”

“Huh?”

“I remember you got a bit tipsy while drinking alone at the Rose Mansion before?”

“Ah…”

“That gave me the impression that you actually enjoyed drinking more than expected.”

While I still didn’t quite understand the taste of alcohol, it was evident that Rosalyn somewhat enjoyed it.

Of course, there were various reasons for her drinking that time, but…

I could tell she certainly didn’t dislike alcohol.

Whenever she returned home and had some good wine, she seemed to enjoy it.

Though she never explicitly said she loved drinking, it was easy to deduce from her expressions and eyes.

“Of course, I’m not sure what kind of alcohol she enjoys…?”

“Hmm… since Camelia brings it up, I can’t help but have a chat with Ashley.”

“Yes, she just sleeps a lot, but she’s not a bad person at all. Mother will likely like her too.”

Honestly, Ashley was quite entertaining to watch?

Getting Rosalyn and Ashley closer was undoubtedly a good thing.

Especially since there weren’t many people around to talk to, other than Rize when I left the mansion…

…I couldn’t help but worry about leaving Rosalyn behind while heading to the Academy.

Even though she was older than me, an adult, and a mother.