Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Midnight Touches
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The bedroom where everyone had fallen fast asleep.
I quietly approached the bed alone.
Both of them were so thoroughly drunk that they didn't notice me drawing near, nor the slightly perverted expression on my face as they slept.
It was honestly amusing.
"Pfft...."
Lize probably had some idea that I was into this kind of thing.
After all, the teasing we'd been doing up until now had always headed in that direction.
But Rozalin, who knew nothing of it... She probably just saw me as an innocent daughter.
If she caught me in this situation right now, she'd feel a huge sense of betrayal or be shocked.
I knew that.
-Swish....
But that didn't mean I planned to stop what I was doing right then.
"Lize, you awake?"
I tried saying that to Lize first to check if she was awake, but she gave no reply or reaction, just breathing steadily and rhythmically.
Hmm... Seems like it'd be fine to go ahead.
Having made my decision, I lay down next to Lize and placed one hand on her stomach.
A firm, taut stomach.
"Hmm.... Feels nice."
Lize worked diligently as a maid every day, so her body had that mostly toned feel to it.
Not bulky or anything, just solidly firm.
"Perfect for stroking."
"Hmm...."
"Hehe...."
It wasn't the soft, squishy kind you wanted to knead roughly, so I began slowly caressing her stomach.
The unique texture of firm yet soft flesh was more fun than I'd expected.
And seeing Lize sleeping so soundly, completely oblivious to my touching, was just too cute.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Looks like she's completely out."
Even as I kept touching her, she slept deeply, confirming my suspicion.
No matter what I did to Lize right now, she probably wouldn't wake up easily.
"It's her fault for not waking up, right?"
Not that she could hear me saying it.
"Pfft."
I drew even closer to the sleeping Lize and gazed at her snowy white neck.
Unlike her stomach, her neck was the kind you could keep staring at.
It gave off a bit more of a perverted vibe, but it really was a pretty neck.
Having spent most days with Lize, who usually tied her hair up, I couldn't help fixating on the back of her neck that was always on display.
The way it was exposed, and all that—it stirred up all sorts of thoughts.
-Swish....
"Hmm...."
What can I say.
Looking at that pristine white neck, I thought leaving a mark there would be... pretty fun.
"...But no, that's not right."
Yeah.
Even so, doing that now would be going too far.
She'd see it in the mirror first thing tomorrow morning.
Even without a mirror, her neck wouldn't stay hidden when she ran into other people.
For now, I'd hold off on leaving marks on her neck.
Just stick to caressing her neck and stomach.
"Hmm... Yeah...."
After continuing to touch Lize like that for a while, I turned my gaze to Rozalin, who lay on the opposite side of Lize.
She wore her usual negligee.
Thanks to that, her cleavage was visible, and the sheer fabric let glimpses of her stomach, waist, arms, and other parts show through.
"...So sexy."
It was somehow sexy.
Taking away the cleavage, it wasn't overwhelmingly erotic or anything.
But it was sexy enough that I found myself staring at Rozalin's body without realizing it.
If Lize's body next to me gave an overall toned impression, Rozalin's figure felt soft and plush.
Her breasts weren't as large as Ashley's or Karen's, and she wasn't the type with extra flesh anywhere.
"...Why does she always wear stuff like this to bed? Even for sleepwear, isn't it too sexy?"
With those words, I drew closer to the reclining Rozalin and hugged her.
Just like in those recent mornings.
"Hmm...."
"So soft."
It was soft.
Warm and cozy, too.
That same feeling I always got whenever I hugged Rozalin.
Like a mother's embrace, or something—her unique warmth and softness emanated from her sleeping body just as much.
Her figure wasn't voluptuous like Karen's or Ashley's.
But holding her like this made it feel that way so perfectly.
"Ugh.... Hmm...."
"Just a hug, and you're making sounds like that?"
"Hmm...."
I said that while holding the sleeping Rozalin.
Even though she was still asleep.
"Pfft...."
I slowly rubbed my face against her chest.
Gently, to avoid waking her, but deliberately.
*
Since Ivana had to prepare for the Monster Wave, we could only talk business in the mornings or evenings.
There was good news that the Nordal Duke had given permission for the business, so we spent the time understanding it was unavoidable.
While passing the time like that, I watched the Nordal Family knights and Northerners training, or relaxed comfortably in a warm room with Rozalin.
Truth be told, now that we were in the North, it didn't really feel like a proper vacation.
"Doesn't it seem like the real knights have been training extra hard lately?"
"Yeah. Honestly, since we arrived, we've been seeing them train nonstop. It's pretty impressive."
"I don't know the exact scale of the Monster Wave, but seeing how they're preparing... it feels like it'll be bigger than I thought."
Just as Rozalin said, the level of preparation was beyond expectations.
When we first arrived, it was moderate.
Just dozens of knights gathered in the training grounds.
But now, it was dozens of times that.
"They say there's only a few days left, so that's why they're pushing so hard."
Not much time remained until the date Ivana mentioned.
Once the Monster Wave started, countless monsters would swarm for days, she'd said... So not just the knights, but most Northerners were preparing with grim resolve.
"Yawn...."
Of course, as guests in the North, all we could do was rest quietly in our room.
It would be more of a problem if we got involved.
Wouldn't meddling in things the Northerners should handle themselves cause issues?
"Young Lady, I've brought the books you requested."
"Yes, thank you. Just put them on the table."
"Yes."
Anyway, the North was busy preparing for the wave in various ways, but we were just living normally.
Rozalin and I were relaxing on the sofa.
And for some reason, Lize was wandering the room alone, doing housework... stuff she didn't need to do.
"Pfft...."
She was still doing exactly the kind of things Lize would do.
Watching her, I just smiled and relaxed.
It felt like the first time in forever that I could rest this easily.
Excluding the Academy, times when I could sit doing absolutely nothing like this while running a business were rare for me.
Just endlessly resting versus resting after work... definitely felt different.
"What books did you ask for?"
"Just some on Northern history and related topics. Figured it'd be good to learn more while doing business here."
"Ah.... Yeah, makes sense. It's Camelia's first time doing something like this in the North."
That's why I'd borrowed the books on purpose.
After all... it really was my first time.
Even with Ivana's basic help and learning by wandering the North, I couldn't fully understand it.
Reading those books would at least help me prepare a bit more.
Not like there was anything else to do anyway.
"Would Mother like to read a few? They're not novels, but... they might be pretty good."
"Hmm.... No. There's plenty to do besides books right now, isn't there? We can walk around the castle, or spend time with Camelia."
Rozalin saying that to me.
It made me happy that she enjoyed spending time with me.
Even if that weren't the case, it was nice.
"Hmm...."
Maybe because I was sitting on the sofa with Rozalin, reading books.
My eyes drifted slightly toward Rozalin beside me.
Of course, sneaking it so she wouldn't notice.
"What's up?"
"Nothing. Just wondering which book to start with."
For a moment, I recalled the events of a few nights ago without meaning to.
Starting with her thighs and face that night, touching various parts of her secretly alone.
...Yeah, I'm definitely a huge pervert.
"By the way, once the Monster Wave starts, wouldn't it be fun to go watch at least once?"
While sitting comfortably, I brought that up to Rozalin.
Honestly, I really wanted to go see it.
Curious about exactly what scale the Monster Wave would be, I wanted to witness it for real, so I mentioned it.
"What?"
"We're doing business in the North, and the Monster Wave is a big event here. Might be good to check it out once."
"......."
Hearing that, Rozalin started looking at me with an extremely serious, slightly scary gaze.
Hmm.
This felt like... a lecture was incoming.
And so, that morning, I had no choice but to endure about an hour of lecturing from Rozalin.
Of course, halfway through, I just zoned out staring at Rozalin's face as she lectured enthusiastically beside me.