My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 99

“…What’s all this noise?”

I had woken up earlier than usual this morning.

Yesterday, I also got up early, but the reasons were different.

Yesterday, it was because my bed was a bit uncomfortable; today, it was the noise coming from outside that disturbed me.

Of course, the bed was still a bit uncomfortable…

“What in the world…?”

I rubbed my eyes and muttered to myself.

Whoever it was, some woman kept yelling, and it was really annoying.

“Who’s making all this racket so early in the morning…?”

It sounded like someone was chirping away in a high-pitched voice…

“…Tsk.”

Lately, I found myself clicking my tongue more often, so I wasn’t feeling too great about it.

Thanks to that, I hadn’t been in a very good mood for two days straight.

Unlike my usual mornings, I woke up feeling uncomfortable.

Really… this wasn’t my idea of a good time.

“Ha…”

The only difference from yesterday was that while I was awake, my dear Rize was still fast asleep next to me.

That made sense since I had told Rize to sleep in and take it easy for just one day.

After all, she usually loved to sleep in.

If it weren’t for her work as a maid, she would probably sleep in alongside me every day.

Anyway, for various reasons, Rize was still snoozing next to me, unlike usual.

“…Should I just go out alone?”

I didn’t want to wake Rize for no reason, and for what it was worth, I was feeling a bit irritated…

Under normal circumstances, I would have just pulled the blanket over me and gone back to sleep, but today, it was hard to just ignore it.

-Creak…

After finishing my thoughts, I got out of bed and put on the cardigan I had left on the chair.

Going out just in my pajamas wasn’t great for my image as a young lady, and I didn’t want to show my nightwear to others for no reason.

“…This is really noisy.”

There was still that woman outside making a fuss.

For sure… she didn’t seem like a normal person.

Until yesterday, it was just Rize and me, but suddenly hearing a woman’s voice so loudly made me think… she must be a new young lady, right?

“Oh.”

Actually, no.

After thinking a little more, I remembered that a young man from some family had indeed arrived last night.

I didn’t pay any attention to him since he was a guy.

Anyway, just by guessing, the loud woman outside had to be one of the young ladies from a southern family.

Well, I better go see her face first.

*

“Ughhhh! What the heck is this room?!”

“…?”

“What kind of room did the Academy provide?!”

When I stepped outside, I came face to face with… a rather familiar face?

It was the girl I could call a friend since we met when we were eight, and she was shouting enthusiastically at the door of the next room.

A pretty girl with beautiful blue hair.

In many ways, her build and appearance gave off a cute, doll-like vibe.

“Ella…?”

“Camelia! Did you arrive first?!”

“Uh… yeah, I did, but why are you so loud this early? I’m happy to see you, but…”

“Well, look at this room! How can I keep it quiet?!”

…The noise that woke me up was Ella making a fuss just outside my door.

I knew Ella would be coming, but I had no idea we’d meet like this.

Seeing her maid carrying luggage behind her, it looked like they must have just arrived.

“Shall we go inside? It’s kind of rude to make a scene out here.”

“Let’s do that! Yuli.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

So we began to head inside with Ella and her maid.

By the way, I couldn’t help but think that Ella’s maid looked pretty cute.

She wasn’t as cute and pretty as Rize, but with her short brown hair and cute freckles, she gave off an innocent vibe.

At the same time, her expression and demeanor hinted at a bit more seriousness, so she seemed like she could help the lively Ella quite well.

“Young Lady, I’ll bring out the tea.”

“Please do.”

“Will Young Lady Leonhardt be having any particular tea…?”

“I’ll think about it later. I’m fine without tea.”

“Understood.”

With that, we entered Ella’s room.

That meant it was right next to mine.

I had thought I would have to go out into the inn, but since the source of the noise was right next door, I didn’t have to.

“But Ella, why were you so noisy earlier?”

“Because I hated it! What even is this room? It’s not like it’s a room for commoners… Is this what the Academy provides?!”

“…That’s for sure.”

That rang true.

Ella’s gripes were pretty understandable.

No matter how I thought about it, considering this is what the Academy provided for nobility… well.

I could see why Ella opened the door and started complaining to herself.

“Honestly, I think this isn’t a very good inn either.”

“Exactly! What kind of place is this supposed to be for young ladies entering the Academy?!”

“…Haha.”

“I’m starting to think they’re just discriminating against southern nobility!”

“Haha…”

“Sure, central nobles are better off and more influential, but there’s no way they’d treat us this way…”

“Well… I’m sure there must have been reasons behind it.”

“…I hope so.”

Ella seemed pretty irritated for the most part.

But I understood; it was morning, and they had just arrived after traveling in a carriage.

If they were told to stay here for two days… well.

I could understand that to some extent.

“Let’s just calm down. Sure, it’s a bit of a shabby inn, but we’re heading to the Academy soon, right?”

“That’s true.”

“And outside the inn isn’t weird at all. Just hold on a bit longer.”

“…Aren’t you angry?”

“I am, but… I was sleeping in and you woke me up with all your noise…”

“Oops.”

…Well.

I hadn’t meant to convey that to Ella, but somehow, that slipped out.

After hearing my words, Ella promptly covered her mouth with both hands, looking shocked.

Honestly, it was true that it was because of her noise, so it created an awkward moment where I didn’t know what to say.

“Uh… Um…”

“Were you woken up because of me…?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh no…”

“No, you don’t really need to apologize…”

“But… I’m sorry. I didn’t think there’d be someone in the room next to me since everyone else was quiet and no other young noble was around…”

“It’s fine, really. I was bound to wake up soon anyway…”

“Is that so…? Thank goodness…”

Well, Ella was quite innocent, and I was in my nightwear, making it easy to brush it off.

Of course, even so, Ella was still looking at me with apologetic eyes.

“Uh… Um…”

“It’s really okay, why are you acting like that?”

“But you… you tend to sleep a lot.”

“Hmm…”

“You slept a ton last time we went out together…”

“I went to bed early yesterday, so I’m fine. I probably fell asleep right after dinner.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, really, it’s all good.”

I smiled at Ella as I reassured her.

Truthfully, I wasn’t fully awake, and I still felt sleepy, but I didn’t want Ella to worry over it.

After all, it had been months since we last met, so it felt a little… sad to have it start this way, right?

Of course, it was more Ella’s fault than mine.

“Anyway, it’s been a while, Ella.”

“That’s true! This is the first time since we played at the mansion.”

“Have you been well?”

“Of course! Is there anything I couldn’t handle?”

“Right. The Nieshista Domain has improved a lot recently, so of course, things must be good for you.”

“Hehe… you got that right!”

Ella’s face brightened significantly as she spoke to me.

Indeed, I preferred seeing Ella with a bright expression rather than a pitiful one.

“This time, my father got me a watch as a gift to celebrate my entry into the Academy!”

“A watch?”

“Yeah! Here… it’s made of gold, isn’t it pretty?”

“It is pretty.”

The watch Ella was showing off was a small pocket watch.

Its size was quite diminutive, possibly smaller than Ella’s hand, making it look all the more adorable.

Nonetheless, Ella genuinely seemed to be fond of this watch.

After all, it was a gift from her father, Baron Nieshista.

I completely understood her reaction.

“Hehe! With a magic stone embedded in it, I can cast a refreshing spell!”

“That’s amazing.”

“Right?!”

It really looked nice.

Maybe because it was a different vibe and style from my family, seeing how close Ella and Baron Nieshista were made me feel a tinge of envy.

Of course, I got along well with Rosalyn, but still, it felt different from this.

I rarely felt the overwhelming sense of family here.

“It really looks nice.”

“Right? The blue magic stones were all specially selected by my father to match my hair color as closely as possible!”

“Hehe, it really looks like Baron is attentive and cares. It’s as pretty as Ella.”

“Hehe! Right?!”

“Yes.”

It really did look good.

“Camelia, how about we go out for lunch together?”

“That sounds good.”

“Hehe, I’m so happy to meet a friend after so long! I can’t wait to get to the Academy!”

“I can’t wait to see Karen too. It should be fun.”

Somehow, I ended up having a nice chat with Karen after such a long time.

Before I knew it, Ella’s maid had brought out tea and snacks, but I wasn’t eating, so I let Ella have them while our chit-chat continued…

About thirty minutes passed, I think?

-Young Lady!!!

“…Oh.”

I heard Rize calling out for me from outside.

…Now that I think about it, I hadn’t told Rize anything and I hadn’t left a note before heading out.