Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Dinner with Rozalin
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The restaurant we arrived at with Rozalin was just an ordinary place.
It was a bit lacking compared to the top-class restaurants in the central area, but by southern standards, it definitely counted as upscale.
We arrived at just such a place.
"The atmosphere here is really nice."
"Hehe, right? It opened while you were away at the Academy."
"I figured. When I was around, I remember there being just a decent shop in this spot."
Well, I'd spent nearly half a year in another region.
It was only natural that new places would pop up that I'd never seen before.
"Have you been here before, Mother?"
The interior clearly catered to people with some money to spend.
Not just the exterior, but the decor inside was pretty yet understated.
Restaurants targeting nobles as their main customers could sometimes get overly flashy and cluttered.
This place, though... it was quite nice, actually.
To the point where, if I'd opened a restaurant while running a food business, I definitely would have aimed for something like this?
Rozalin guiding me to a place like this... she probably wasn't a complete stranger to it.
She tended to revisit places she'd been to once before.
It was just a hunch.
"Hmm... It's not my first time? I've come a few times before. It's so good that I chose it again."
"Ah..."
"Other places had good food quality too. But this one's on another level. That's why Ashley and I came here a ton."
"...Teacher Ashley?"
...An unexpected name popped up.
No, more like a name I hadn't anticipated at all.
I really hadn't seen this coming—A Ashley's name coming out of Rozalin's mouth, in this situation of all places.
"Yeah."
She answered my question as if it were the most natural thing.
Well, it made sense.
Rozalin was a noblewoman, after all, and it was dangerous for one to wander around unprotected alone.
Like a bodyguard.
Or perhaps as a conversational partner around the same age.
They could hang out like that.
"You seem pretty close with Teacher now?"
"Hehe, right?"
"...Yeah."
"With you gone, staying home alone got too boring. So I'd have tea with Teacher Ashley, eat cookies... sometimes even dinner?"
Okay.
Confirmed.
Tonight, I was sneaking back into Ashley's room to mess with her.
"Since you and Mother are around the same age, it must be easy to talk."
"Hehe, yeah. I was worried about how much she sleeps, but she was surprisingly easy to hang out with."
"I see..."
Why.
Why did I feel so off?
It was something that could totally happen, but still, I didn't feel great.
In fact... it felt pretty bad.
"But I'm glad you were doing well while I was gone, Mother."
...That said, I wasn't about to let my mood dictate what I said.
I just kept a calm expression and smiled as I replied.
It wasn't nonsense, after all.
"Shall we order first?"
"...Yeah, let's. I'm thinking steak. What about you, Mother?"
...Rozalin's stories about Ashley had me thinking a lot all of a sudden, but the important thing right now was time with her.
Teasing and tickling Ashley could wait.
For now, I needed to focus on Rozalin smiling across from me as she looked at the menu.
...But seriously, why was I in such a bad mood?
After ordering, once the food arrived, we just enjoyed a pleasant meal.
The restaurant itself was solid from the start, good enough to hold its own even in the central district.
And it was a place good enough that Rozalin had come here multiple times with Ashley.
"You still devour your meat just like old times, Camellia."
"Really?"
"You've always loved meat since you were little, haven't you?"
"Hmm... Yeah, I guess. I don't hate other stuff, but I do love meat a lot."
Rozalin brought it up midway through slicing her steak.
Was it because we often had steak and such meats at the mansion? Was that why she saw my tastes leaning that way?
I did like it, though.
"And salty things, sweet things... Do you just like anything tasty?"
"Probably. I eat pretty much any good food without being picky."
"Hehe, yeah, you're not one for picky eating anyway."
"You eat just about anything too, don't you, Mother? I've never seen you turn your nose up at food..."
I wasn't super picky either, but in all our meals together so far, I'd never seen Rozalin avoid anything.
She even seemed to quietly enjoy salads.
Of course, bad salads were out, but most people who liked meat more than average salads existed.
Personally, I thought Rozalin was even less picky than me.
"Hehe, is that how it looks?"
"Yeah. Isn't it?"
"I do have foods I dislike. Hmm... I'm not really a huge salad fan, personally? And there are a few others."
"...Salad? But you eat it a lot."
...?
What?
In my memory, Rozalin definitely ate salad often.
She always ate it so enjoyably that... I even tried it myself sometimes, just in case.
It wasn't that great, but in my recollection, she ate it pretty regularly.
That's genuinely how I'd seen it.
"Pffft... I just ate it whenever we dined together so you wouldn't pick up any picky habits."
"...Ah."
"It's not like I can't eat it. I did it on purpose a few times in front of you, and when I saw you trying it too? That's why I started eating it more often."
"Ah..."
Oh... so that's what it was.
Huh.
I hadn't expected that.
No, I hadn't even considered Rozalin might be eating salad with that kind of intention.
Planning something like that while eating? It seemed odd to even imagine...
I'd just thought she normally ate stuff like salad without issue.
To think there was a plan behind it.
"Hehe, first time hearing this?"
"...Yeah."
"So, can I skip salads from now on?"
"I'm past the age where I need to build non-picky habits, aren't I...?"
"Hehe, true. You even polished off the side salad first midway through today. No need for me to force it anymore."
Stepmothers really were mothers, huh.
It'd been a while since I'd felt that properly.
Rozalin was only in her early twenties, after all.
Honestly, she didn't give off that typical motherly vibe much.
Of course, she didn't treat me exactly like a friend all the time either...
"Hehe, what are you up to tomorrow?"
"Hmm..."
...Yeah, she didn't feel super motherly.
Definitely.
To be honest, with just a bit of exaggeration, she wouldn't look out of place hanging with third-years at the Academy.
She'd look more mature, sure.
But compared to parents of kids my age, she was definitely young.
Practically... young enough to pass as an older sister.
"Haha..."
...But how could I just see Rozalin as a mother.
Honestly, it was unavoidable for me to feel this way.
Really, truly.
*
"Teacher~"
"What now...?"
After a fun dinner out with Rozalin and heading home, I slipped into Ashley's room.
There, unusually, she wasn't in bed but sitting in a chair.
Well, not properly sitting—more like slouched back almost lying down—but the point was, not in bed.
"Got something for me to do...? It's pretty late now."
"Oh, I didn't come to ask you for any favors."
It was nighttime, after all.
I rarely came looking for Ashley at this hour.
Yeah, that was true.
Mostly because her sleep schedule was so off from all the napping?
"So, what's up? Did Madam ask you to pass on a request or something?"
"Nah. I just have a question for you, Teacher."
"...?"
Ashley looked confused by my words.
I'd skipped the context, so of course she wouldn't get it.
"Teacher, did you get close with Mother while I was away?"
"Uh... yeah?"
Hmm...
Well, that could happen.
They were around the same age.
I got it, logically.
"Hmm... How'd that happen? After you came to our mansion, I don't remember you two ever really talking."
As far as I recalled, Rozalin and Ashley hadn't had much conversation.
Ashley was mostly asleep, but still.
"Hmm... Maybe Madam got bored after you started at the Academy...? She actually approached me first...."
"...Really?"
"She'd suggest tea first sometimes, ask me to do stuff...
"Hmm..."
"And we'd go out together sometimes. Yeah."
"...I see."
Hmm...
Hm.
"Teacher, stay still for a sec."
"Why are you suddenly coming closer.... Wait, not the tickling again...!"
Looks like Ashley was sharper than I'd thought.
"Don't run away, come here!"
"Eek!?"
Of course, that didn't mean I wasn't going to tickle her?
That night, Ashley got tickled by me until she fell out of her chair.