Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Grace's Odd Behavior
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What should I say?
For the past few days, I'd been feeling that something was very different from usual.
It was one of those situations where the vibes were hitting me in all sorts of ways, completely unlike before...?
"Hmm...."
Final exams were coming up soon, and the academy had been piling on evaluations and assignments lately.
Because of that, different people showed up at the club room every day... but one person in particular was conspicuously absent.
Even when she did come to the club room, she was showing a side of herself that was totally unlike her usual self.
"Hmm......."
Club room.
As always, I was lying still on the bed.
Unlike usual, though, I was secretly staring intently at one spot.
Unconsciously glancing over was definitely different from deliberately peeking like this.
When it was unconscious, people might catch on a bit, but sneaking looks on purpose like now? No way.
"......."
And so, amid the sounds of scribbling pens and flipping pages in the club room, I was watching one person.
A cute girl with red hair.
If she just kept her mouth shut, you'd definitely think she was ordinarily cute.
Compared to her older sister, her face didn't seem quite as soft and gentle, but she was still a girl in her early to mid-teens.
She didn't have blazing red eyes like Ivana, and aside from being cute in appearance, she didn't have any standout features that really drew the eye.
"Grace?"
"Y-Yeah? Why, sis...?"
"You feeling okay...? You've been fidgeting nonstop since earlier...."
"It's not that...?"
She looked totally different from her older sister sitting next to her.
Unlike Karen, who had a big chest and tall stature, Grace was small in height and various other ways.
Of course, considering their ages, Karen was just the bigger one, but even so, Grace really gave off that "little sister" vibe compared to her sister.
I was just watching her like that.
"Sigh."
How did I end up like this...?
It might actually be nothing major, but for some reason, her unusual behavior was getting under my skin.
*
"Miss Grace."
"W-What...? Suddenly."
"I'm bored. Wanna hit the vending area together? Next period's nothing special anyway."
"...No thanks."
"Oh?"
I think it started around then, when I first sensed something suspicious.
The day Grace, who usually grumbled but still tagged along when I suggested the vending area, suddenly didn't.
Of course, Grace and I weren't as close as Ella or Karen... but we were on pretty friendly terms.
Most times, she'd grumble but accept the invitation.
For some reason, though, she turned me down.
"Miss Grace~"
"I said no."
Next period too.
"Miss Grace?"
"I said no. Lunch is starting soon anyway...!"
"Oh...."
And the period after that too.
For whatever reason, Grace kept rejecting my invitations.
Honestly, I couldn't understand it.
It wasn't just the vending area suggestions she turned down...
"Miss Grace, you going for lunch?"
"...Stomach's not feeling great."
"Oh.... Wanna go to the nurse's office together then? Lunch just started, so she might still be around."
"No."
"Oh...."
She even shot down my invite to grab lunch together.
And for the next few days after that, Grace barely had any real conversations with me.
I'd spent nearly a week without doing much of anything with her.
Sure, there was Ella, Ivana, and Karen... but Grace was the only one I wasn't talking to at all.
On top of that, she was chatting normally with the others....
"Hmm...."
Which was why I was still mulling it over even after returning to my dorm room.
No matter how I thought about it, we hadn't had any falling out bad enough to cause this.
"Hmm.... I dunno."
Unlike my previous room, the desk here was a normal size, and I had access to good stuff... but even so, I was lying on the bed alone, lost in thought.
It wasn't something I needed to jot notes for or review documents over.
Just lying comfortably, letting my thoughts wander.
"Was it because of that thing from before?"
If I had to pinpoint even a vague cause, one thing came to mind.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure if that counted as a cause?
"Hmm...."
The day I teasingly unbuttoned my shirt because Grace made some offhand comment that sparked my playful side—things had been off since then, maybe.
Of course, the very next day was normal... but nothing else came to mind.
"Hmm."
It was a pretty sudden move on my part, but was it really enough for her to avoid me altogether? The answer: NO.
Honestly, between girls, that was no big deal.
Rozalin and I had bathed together since I was little, showing each other everything.
Sure, back then I was super embarrassed, but not anymore.
I'd been living as a girl for over ten years, after all.
"Why is she really acting like this...?"
I'd been thinking it over briefly, but no matter what... she seemed way too embarrassed.
Even when I got touchy with Lize, she got shy, but that was because Lize was naturally a bit timid.
Thinking of Grace normally....
"Hmm."
Her reactions made even less sense.
"Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady. Do you need something?"
"Not really. Come here for a sec."
I called Lize in from outside and beckoned her over to the bed where I was lying.
As always, a standard maid uniform.
The style hadn't changed much in ten years.
Just the size adjusted, but otherwise, Lize looked neat and tidy in her usual maid uniform.
"Hmm...."
"What is it?"
"Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady."
Grace's reaction went beyond just teasing Lize.
Lize would just blush and get red ears... but Grace was even more embarrassed that time.
Different from her usual self... yeah.
Like Karen's reaction, almost.
"How about this?"
I casually unbuttoned the shirt I was wearing.
I'd come back from academy without changing, and Lize had nagged me about it anyway.
Of course, the biggest reason was curiosity about what reaction Lize would have if I did the same thing in front of her that I did with Grace.
"Um.... It's pretty?"
"Not that. Any other thoughts?"
"Hmm.... You're always pretty, Young Lady.... Not sure."
"I see."
"Yes."
"Oh, my body's grown since before, right?"
"...Yes."
Lize had seen my body since way back, after all.
I wasn't really expecting her to solve this mystery.
"Sigh...."
"Some worry on your mind...?"
"Nah, just friend stuff."
"Oh...."
Was it because, living as Camellia all this time, I'd never dealt with something like this?
This felt way harder than handling business matters.
I'd always thought so, and it kept dragging on.
Since I was little, instead of playing with kids my age, I'd had lessons from the tutors Father assigned.
Then it was all business...
"Well, I don't hate it. Beats busting my head over business till it hurts every time."
I knew it myself.
My life so far as Camellia hadn't been normal at all.
Even as a noble, I was definitely weirder than other noble kids. Obviously.
My real mom from this life died soon after I was born... first stepmom ran away... and during all that....
"Tch."
My mood soured suddenly.
I hadn't felt like this even while worrying about Grace earlier.
Guess it's best not to dwell on the past.
"Sigh...."
A sigh slipped out unbidden.
Lize was looking at me with concern, like she was worried.
...I'd meant to let her clean the dorm room as usual and relax, but my mood, already not great, had tanked.
"Lize."
I called to Lize, who was standing there quietly.
"...Yes, Young Lady."
"Get on the bed. I wanna unwind."
"...Understood."
Something she'd gotten used to now.
More precisely, something Lize had gotten used to.
I'd never felt burdened by doing stuff with Lize from way back, but she had.
"Sigh...."
But Lize had never really liked rolling around on the bed with me like this.
There was the shyness too.
"Lize."
I called her lightly, just once.
My maid, now so accustomed to lying next to me on the bed, just like that.
"...Yes, Young Lady. What is it?"
"Nah. Nothing. Just calling you."
"...I see?"
I'd thought about saying something... but because of those earlier thoughts.
The slightly upsetting memories that popped into my head.
Stuff that might be no big deal, long forgotten anyway.
As always, I slipped into the arms of Lize, who lay on the bed with a slight blush.
"Eek...."
"......."
Honestly, I felt kinda bad for Lize in various ways.
Not just casual touch—treating her like a doll while lying in bed.
I knew this was different from her maid duties....
"Young Lady, are you okay?"
"...Yeah. I'm fine."
Even so, personally, I loved hugging her like a doll or a huge pillow.
Teasing Lize, prettier than the other maids, and holding and touching her as I pleased? Honestly great.
I knew doing this often, shielded by us being the same sex and mistress-maid, wasn't totally normal.
But... when my mood was all muddled and down like this, nothing worked as well.
I'd never gone this far with anyone else.
"...Thanks."
I murmured it to Lize, very quietly, with a hint of apology.
No idea what she was thinking exactly.