Chapter 171
Chapter 171
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Rozalin's Concerns
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"......."
The location was Rozalin's room.
It was a day when the only person inside the room was its owner, Rozalin herself.
Rozalin was simply sitting there quietly, sipping her tea.
She was just like that.
"Haa...."
The only person in the room was her, and with a face full of worries, she was just....
"Haa...."
Letting out sighs.
It was obvious that if Camellia had seen her like this, she would have asked what was wrong.
Of course, it was equally clear that Rozalin herself would never act this way in front of her daughter.
But right now, the situation was that Rozalin was alone in the room.
Thanks to that, she could sigh without any concern for her daughter's worries.
*Knock knock.*
Then came the quiet sound of knocking.
But she didn't seem particularly flustered.
The reason wasn't anything else—she had known from the start that someone would come to her room, and she was simply thinking that they had finally arrived.
"Come in."
With Rozalin's response, the door slowly opened.
The person who entered through that door was not her daughter, unlike usual....
"Why did you call me in the middle of the day...."
"You're just going to sleep anyway."
"Yawn.... True, but...."
It was Ashley.
And an Ashley with a very tired expression.
Normally, this was the time when she absolutely had to be sleeping, but since the family matriarch had personally asked to borrow her time, there was no helping it.
"Yawwwn...."
"Ashley."
"I know... So what did you suddenly call me for? You never call me except when there's work...."
"Have a seat first. Don't try to lie down on the floor so naturally."
"...Tch."
Ashley, who had been subtly trying to lie down, sat properly, and the one at her own desk also moved to take a seat.
Ashley settled comfortably into the soft, plush sofa, her eyes slowly closing....
"Ashley."
"Huh?"
"Haa...."
"So what is it that made you call me.... Camellia's back, so you could just play with your daughter...."
Ashley spent most of her days sleeping.
It was more accurate to call it just sleep rather than a nap—she slept through almost the entire day.
For such a person, this time was bound to be unbearably exhausting.
But even so, the reason Ashley had come to the room was, naturally, because Rozalin had called her.
No matter how much Ashley loved sleep, complained of fatigue and annoyance with every action, she had her limits.
"...What did you really call me for?"
Straightening her back from her near-lying posture, Ashley asked again.
Her expression looked a bit less sleepy than before.
"You wouldn't call me for no reason, Madam.... Even before, when you had worries, you only called me then.... You never.... called otherwise...?"
"...That's true."
"...So spit it out already. I only got two hours of sleep...."
"...It's only 3 p.m. now...."
"........"
"Haa."
Letting out a sigh while holding her forehead, Rozalin began to speak again.
Unlike the bright expression she showed in front of Camellia, her face now held a somewhat troubled look.
"...Camellia."
"Yes."
"Camellia's grown a lot compared to before, hasn't she...?"
Since she was speaking with her head bowed, Ashley couldn't see Rozalin's expression.
Rozalin still had her head lowered, but unlike before, the words came out more easily.
"It's been five years since she was eight... She's grown so much more compared to back then, hasn't she?"
"That's true. But is there something wrong with that? She seems to be growing up pretty and well."
"...That's true."
A conversation about Camellia's growth.
There had been a slight difference in timing, but both Rozalin and Ashley had known Camellia since she was eight.
And unlike Camellia, both of them were already adults.
That was why Rozalin had called Ashley like this.
"She really has grown up so beautifully."
"Well... She's only thirteen, so she'll grow even more."
"......."
"But is there some problem with that?"
"A problem... It's not really a problem."
It wasn't a problem.
At least in others' eyes, it could never be seen as one, and in reality, it wasn't a big issue either.
But even so, Rozalin was perceiving the situation as a problem.
"...Then what is it? I want to go back to sleep soon...."
Suddenly called to the room and having given up her nap to come, Ashley had no choice but to keep asking questions.
Especially since Rozalin hadn't given a proper answer since she entered.
She was holding back yawns as much as possible from before, but she couldn't yell at Rozalin, who wasn't giving a straight answer or getting to the point.
It was truly a helpless situation.
"She doesn't seem like the Camellia I knew before...."
"...?"
"Somehow, just...."
"......?"
She doesn't seem like the Camellia I know.
But even hearing that, Ashley didn't understand right away.
*Just where exactly doesn't she seem like her?*
The Camellia in Ashley's mind was already quite mature.
Not just her magical talent, but what she showed in everyday conversations was the same.
Whether it was five years ago or three years ago, Ashley thought there wasn't much difference from before.
"Hmm.... Maybe it's just because it's been a while since you saw her...?"
"...No."
"Hmm...."
No, said with a tone full of conviction.
Rozalin lifted her lowered head as she spoke, leaving Ashley even more confused.
"Just what part makes you think that...?"
"It's just that...."
"Just?"
"...No, never mind."
"What...."
Separate from her sleepy, lazy personality, Ashley wasn't the type to enjoy this kind of thing.
Naturally, she didn't like frustrating or vague situations either.
Because of that, rather than Rozalin who had been holding her forehead at first, now it was Ashley who started clutching hers.
"Haa...."
"......."
In many ways, it was a mutually frustrating situation.
Of course, Rozalin herself acknowledged that most of the cause lay with her.
After all, she somewhat realized that her current situation and thoughts were all strange.
"Lately, Camellia has been a bit... sultry, I suppose...?"
"...Pardon?"
"The kid... she's... uh...."
Even after saying it, Rozalin couldn't finish her sentence.
Despite mustering her own courage to say it, she trailed off in embarrassment.
"Sultry...?"
"Just... doesn't she seem like that...? Somehow, compared to before... no, even more than before...."
"......."
"......."
Rozalin.
Ashley.
Neither said anything substantial, just staying quiet.
The only sound in the room was their small sighs—a level of silence like that.
One in disbelief, the other embarrassed by her own words.
"Um.... Madam?"
"........"
"Even so, isn't this a bit too... overprotective...."
Ashley simply defined it that way.
Overprotective.
Camellia had grown taller and more mature than before, but regardless, she had left the mansion to attend the academy.
The previous worries had intensified a bit, leading to these thoughts, so Ashley decided to conclude it there.
Her head was already starting to ache enough as it was.
"Is that what it is...."
"Yes."
"But Camellia really has changed compared to before...."
"She was mature from the start, wasn't she? You're overthinking it...."
"No, really...."
Really different from before.
Clearly different from when she was little; in her words, she had a sultry aura now—that's what Rozalin wanted to say.
But seeing Ashley's utterly baffled expression during the conversation, she couldn't bring herself to say it again.
"If you spend a few more days with Camellia, it won't seem like an issue."
"You think so...?"
"It's only been a week since Camellia got back. Well, she does seem a bit more grown up than before she went to the academy. She's grown a few centimeters taller, too."
"That's certainly true."
"So, as you live with her, you probably won't feel much difference from before...?"
"...I suppose so."
And with that, the conversation ended.
A talk that lasted only about ten minutes.
Rozalin's worries and thoughts sparked by Camellia wearing thinner, shorter clothes than usual.
The conversation had started because of that, but ten minutes of short talk wasn't enough to resolve Rozalin's concerns.
If anything....
"...Am I the strange one...?"
Rozalin's worries only deepened.
In truth, it wasn't just because Camellia had grown up that Rozalin was thinking this way—not at all.
But Ashley, who didn't know Rozalin that extremely well, couldn't point out the other reason.
It was a reason even Rozalin herself hadn't properly recognized yet.
"Haa...."
In the end, all Rozalin could do was sigh and think about Camellia again.
Her daughter, whose height and figure had grown since childhood, giving off a completely different impression in various ways.
Her unique appearance had matured further, making her look far more alluring than before.
On top of that, as she thought about Camellia, who had become more accustomed and proactive in how she treated her than before.
"Haa...."
Rozalin could only let out another sigh.
Deeper than the sighs she used to let out while worrying about Camellia living at the academy.
Once again, it was because of her own daughter, Camellia.