Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Boredom at the Mansion
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"Yawn..."
Was it because I'd been playing with so many kids at the academy?
Staying cooped up in the mansion felt... kind of boring, somehow.
"Bored."
I thought about teasing Lize to pass the time, but I didn't want to interrupt her while she was working...
I had no idea how I'd managed to live such a normal life in the mansion before.
Come to think of it, most of that time was spent teasing Lize... and back then, I was running my business.
But now, there weren't any documents I really needed to review, so I felt at a loss for what to do.
"..."
There was seriously nothing to do.
What should I do?
That dilemma didn't last long. I slowly got out of bed and started heading out of my room.
It was just a light dress I usually wore when alone in my room, but no one would complain about it.
The maids and servants wouldn't say a word to me about it, after all.
Lize might have said something like it wasn't good for the young lady to wander around like that... but she wasn't around right now anyway.
"Hmm."
I walked slowly down the hall, but the mansion was undeniably dull.
It was probably more fun outside, where it was much warmer.
The mansion had been designed with practicality in mind for William's and my work, after all.
Even with its luxurious, ornate design, there weren't many impractical elements.
Honestly, I preferred it that way.
"Boring."
It wasn't just my imagination—the time in the mansion really felt dull.
Truly...
"Sigh."
People need to live somewhere lively, with some bustle.
Anyway, lost in such thoughts, I ended up somewhere unremarkable.
Just...
"Mother, may I come in?"
Rozalin's room.
Normally, I'd knock properly and ask, but this time I just peeked my head in and asked her.
I wanted to go into Rozalin's room and kill some time doing whatever, so I just went for it.
"Oh... I was just handling a few documents..."
"Would it be okay if I came in?"
As Rozalin said, she was sitting at her desk, looking over some papers by herself.
But that didn't seem like a huge issue.
No, I didn't think it would be.
There was nothing urgent that my entering would disrupt, and if it were something critically important, she would've told me not to come in first.
"That's not it. Come on in."
"Hehe... Then excuse me for a moment?"
With those words, I stepped into Rozalin's room.
As always, the room carried that distinctive sweet fragrance.
It was the kind of scent you caught faintly when getting close to Rozalin—stronger here.
She didn't usually wear perfume, but she had this unique aroma all the same.
"What were you working on?"
I approached Rozalin at her desk as I asked.
The stack of papers didn't look that big.
What could she be doing?
"One of the servants is quitting this time. I'm handling the paperwork for that."
"Ah..."
"Things like severance pay and all sorts of other stuff to take care of."
"It's definitely better to handle that quickly. Our house isn't some grand family like the others. If we drag our feet on this kind of thing..."
It would surely hurt our popularity among the servants even more.
This was separate from the issue of pay.
"Hehe, right?"
Rozalin answered me like that and continued with her paperwork.
I stood quietly behind her, watching.
Just... that was it.
Nothing special—just plainly observing what Rozalin was doing.
"Um... Camellia? Doesn't it get boring just watching like that?"
"Hm?"
Maybe because I'd been standing there so quietly behind her.
Rozalin suddenly turned to me with that question.
"It's fine."
"Really...?"
"Yeah. I don't usually handle paperwork like this—stuff about employees. It's interesting just to watch."
"Oh..."
I'd dealt with tons of documents before, but not this kind.
What I handled was mostly about starting businesses, investments... that sort of thing.
"Hmm..."
I hadn't realized because I never hired staff myself.
There was more to manage than I'd thought.
With that in mind, I slowly...
"Hmm..."
...watched.
Focusing only on the contents, ignoring the servant's name or details.
"Hmm."
"...Camellia?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Um... How about we have some tea?"
"Shall we? Don't you have work to do?"
"I do, but this can wait. And I'm having trouble focusing anyway."
"Ah."
It made sense—sometimes stepping away from work helped when you couldn't concentrate.
It came out of nowhere, but I agreed to have tea with her as she suggested.
No need to call a servant—the room had tea ready.
With a magic tool to boil water, prep was effortless.
"But what brings you to my room?"
"I was just bored and came to visit. Staying cooped up in my room was dull, and I had nothing else to do."
"Ah..."
"Was I bothering you? Sorry if so."
"...No, that's not it. I'd never hate having you come into my room."
"That's a relief, then."
I'd barged in without thinking, after all.
I'd cracked the door open, asked if it was okay to enter, and started asking what she was doing—all on impulse.
There was a chance it could've made her uncomfortable.
"But Camellia...? Mind if I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
As I slowly stirred my tea with a teaspoon, Rozalin looked at me, about to say something.
What question required asking permission first?
I couldn't guess what kind of thing Rozalin would bring up.
Maybe something casual, like what we'd have for dinner tonight?
"...Why are you dressed like that?"
"Hm?"
"...That's sleepwear you wear in your room, isn't it?"
"Oh... yeah, it is."
"But why are you wearing it... all the way here...?"
"...Just because?"
Unlike what I'd expected, the question was about my clothes.
What?
It didn't seem that weird to me.
I thought of it as perfectly normal room wear.
It was just a bit shorter than my usual dresses.
Like the difference between a swimsuit and underwear.
"Is it weird?"
"No, that's not what I mean...? It must be comfortable, but walking around in it..."
...?
What?
"Most of the servants here are maids, but still..."
"Oh... yeah?"
"Yeah..."
Rozalin pointed out my outfit.
But to me, it didn't seem like that big a deal.
Wasn't it no big thing...?
"It's just... a little shorter than my usual dresses, right?"
"...But doesn't that expose a lot of skin?"
"It's short, so yeah."
I often wore short dresses like this with a cardigan or something over them.
Today, I'd just skipped the outer layer.
Was my outfit really worth commenting on...?
To me, it didn't make any sense.
"Um... but it's just inside the mansion. It's not a huge problem, is it...?"
"Still, wouldn't it be good to be a bit more mindful?"
"Got it..."
It was just cute and comfy—that's why I'd worn it.
I felt a little wronged.
"Um... Want me to give you a cardigan or coat from my room?"
"...If it's from you, Mother, I'd wear it."
"Wait a sec. Let me... find one that won't be too big."
"I'll wait."
...She was worried, though.
So I decided to go along quietly.
Of course, when alone in my room, I'd stick to what I had on for comfort.
But when venturing out... yeah, I'd follow her advice.
"Hmm... There should be a few cardigans in the closet..."
Rozalin started rummaging through her wardrobe alone.
I heard the rustle of clothes and hangers clinking.
I got up quietly from my seat.
I was bored, and curious what she'd pull out.
"Hmm..."
Watching her quietly from behind as she searched, one thing struck me.
Her back view... it was prettier than I'd realized?
Sexy might be the word, but it was just... nicely shaped. Yeah.
Her figure was beautiful overall, so of course her back would be too—but seeing it like this made me think so.
Hmm.
Even I thought this was a bit off.
Shaking off the strange, naughty thought, I quietly returned to Rozalin's bed and sat comfortably.
Not for any other reason—just happened to be near the closet.
As I waited, Rozalin turned toward me and said,
"Camellia, which of these two..."
"Yeah?"
"..."
"Mother?"
Rozalin suddenly trailed off mid-sentence again.
What?
Hmm...
She was still taller than me, and I was sitting, so I just looked up with a tilt of my head.
"Um... Try this one first? It's a beige cardigan. Better to check the size."
After that, she went back to normal, so I didn't ask why she'd stopped.
We chatted after, picked out a coat... it was comfortably warm and nice.
Regardless of my opinion, Rozalin was a noble—she wouldn't keep bad clothes, and it was from her, out of concern.
I could wear it happily.