Chapter 200
Chapter 200
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Together with Camellia
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The moment I heard Rozalin's words, I unwittingly gripped my hand tightly.
What did she mean by that?
It was a bit too much to comprehend.
Part of it was because she'd suddenly brought up such a disjointed story, and part of it was that her words were just bewildering.
"Yes...?"
"It's exactly as I said. What do you think?"
...So, in other words, I had no idea what her intention was.
Why was she suddenly asking me how I thought of her?
It was so abrupt, incomprehensible, and disconcerting that I could only stare at Rozalin with my mouth slightly agape.
"......."
Of course, there was only one thing I should say here.
That I thought of her as a good mother—something along those lines.
But in reality, I didn't think of her in quite such perfect terms.
I didn't regard or treat Rozalin as a typical mother.
Her seemingly innocuous question was surprisingly hard to answer.
"I just... think of you as my mother?"
Even so, my response boiled down to one thing.
Saying I thought of Rozalin as my mother was the only answer I should give.
No matter the reason she'd brought up such a question, our relationship was undeniably that of mother and daughter.
Regardless of whatever thoughts I might have.
"I see...."
"Why do you ask?"
Honestly, I was more baffled by why Rozalin had posed such a question than by my own agonized response.
Why, really?
Why had she come here so suddenly and asked so seriously how I viewed her?
I was so troubled that I felt like downing the liquor she'd brought and collapsing right there.
"It's just... I've been wrestling with various worries?"
"What kind of worries?"
"Hmm.... How should I put this...."
She was the one who'd started it, but her vagueness was only making me more frustrated.
What on earth was the reason?
If the Rose Family had done something shady to Rozalin first, Alexandra would have definitely contacted me separately.
But there'd been no such thing, and lately, I'd been the one sending her more letters with intel I'd gathered on the Rose Family.
What could be troubling Rozalin so deeply?
If it was some person causing this, I would absolutely get revenge somehow.
Of course, even that would require Rozalin to tell me, so I'd have to investigate on my own in the current situation.
"Hmm.... Shall we have a drink first?"
"...Me too?"
"Yeah."
"Uh...."
Hmm....
I was only sixteen, but wasn't it still a bit early for this?
Of course, I'd already had some back when I was thirteen as a first-year at the academy... Still, seeing Rozalin offer me liquor so casually was surprisingly unsettling.
"For now... just a little."
...Of course, I didn't refuse.
That would be a waste, right?
I never got chances to drink otherwise.
I wasn't an adult yet, and if I bought and drank it myself, Lize, who was always with me, would nag endlessly... So.
"Fufu.... Someday, when Camellia becomes a full adult, I think it'd be fun to drink a ton together, just the two of us."
"That does sound fun."
"Right? Of course, I have no intention of letting my not-yet-adult daughter drink that much?"
"Fuh...."
Well, that was obvious.
We'd shared quite a bit of liquor up to now, but she'd never let me drink to the point of true intoxication.
For one thing, I wasn't as weak to alcohol as Lize?
Anyway, we sipped our drinks little by little and chatted about ordinary things.
Probably to loosen up the atmosphere?
Even the same conversation would feel more comfortable after some liquor, which would make it easier for Rozalin to speak.
I suspected that was the reason.
As we sipped, the mood gradually relaxed, and Rozalin got just a tiny bit tipsy.
Of course, since I'd paced myself slowly, I wasn't drunk at all.
"You know.... how the Family Head has been very ill lately?"
"........"
And then the conversation turned.
Unlike before, it came in a somewhat heavy atmosphere.
Rozalin rarely spoke of William's health in such a grim tone.
"He never looked all that great, even from way back. Not even when I was much younger."
"Yeah.... That's true."
I'd known about William's health issues for a very long time.
His physique alone made it obvious he wasn't in good shape.
He had that classic look of a fat noble, the kind people often talk about.
On top of that, William's eating and living habits were truly awful.
I had some of those tendencies myself... but he only slept when he collapsed from work fatigue.
Plus, all the carriage travel had started ruining his back...?
"...Why bring that up?"
Why was Rozalin raising this topic?
William and Rozalin were married, sure, but they had almost no connection.
No, they had none at all.
William had only done it to bask in the glory of the Rose Family's countship, and Rozalin had been sold off in place of that wench Christina.
It would be strange if they'd grown close.
William was always away from the mansion on business or whatever, and Rozalin just spent time with me.
Naturally, they were practically total strangers.
"It's just... it seems much worse than I thought?"
"Hmm...."
That was true.
The other servants were keeping quiet about it, but everyone thought poorly of William's health.
I knew his recent condition was dire myself.
"Just... Phew...."
Rozalin let out a truly deep sigh mid-sentence.
This had to be the main topic she'd wanted to discuss—the real reason she'd come to my room during the day.
"...To be honest, he might not last more than a few years."
"......."
It was a weighty statement from Rozalin, delivered calmly.
Everyone was hushing it up, but it was a foreseeable future.
Even I felt that in the current situation, any sudden recovery for William was practically impossible.
They'd called in doctors and priests and were doing all they could, but I hadn't sensed any real improvement.
Even those saintesses I'd glimpsed in passing at the academy clearly wouldn't help.
Unless they used something miraculous beyond just infusing holy power... but who knew, and there was no reason for them to anyway.
We didn't even know them.
"That figures."
So I agreed with Rozalin's assessment.
She'd stated something irrefutable.
I had no idea why she'd brought it up, though.
"Maybe three years at most. And even that would require him to just lie in bed at the mansion without moving."
It was just my estimate.
If they kept summoning doctors and priests to stave off worsening, maybe he could last that long?
Under the assumption of a life force-fed only healthy foods, minimal movement, barely alive.
It was far past the point where exercise or diet changes could fix it.
"...Yeah, probably."
"Yes."
"Yeah.... That's probably it."
Rozalin downed another glass as she spoke.
Why was she bringing this up?
To discuss dividing the inheritance after William died?
Or did she want to hasten his death?
I had no idea.
I wasn't drunk, but I couldn't grasp Rozalin's intentions.
"If.... the Family Head, the patriarch of the Leonhardt Viscount Family, Camellia's father... were to die."
"......."
I didn't interrupt Rozalin, just quietly waited for her to continue.
What kind of point was she trying to make?
No clue.
I'd long suspected William wouldn't live much longer, but I hadn't planned for what came after.
"What would you do then...?"
"No idea."
...That was my honest answer.
Age-appropriate, fitting.
But it didn't suit my usual self, and I felt awkward saying it.
I knew that, but I truly had no answer to what I would do, so I couldn't help it.
"I see...? Got it...."
"What about you, Mother?"
The questions kept coming, all hard for me to answer.
So I turned it back on her.
Asking what she would do after William died.
Unlike me, Rozalin had countless possible responses.
She was married to him in name only, essentially a stranger, so she could leave this rotten family and start a new life.
Even with her marriage history, someone as beautiful as Rozalin remarrying seemed impossible not to happen.
Everyone would line up for her, throwing tantrums.
She'd barely entered society due to the Rose Family's trash antics, so her beauty hadn't even been revealed.
"......."
I waited for her reply, but my mood wasn't great.
If I'd known, I shouldn't have asked that stupid question—I should've just shut up and answered.
I didn't oppose Rozalin leaving the Leonhardts for a new life, but there was this complex reluctance too.
What was the right thing to do here?
No idea.
It was utterly different from when the previous stepmother fled.
"...What do you want to do?"
So I asked again.
To Rozalin, who was hesitating.
If she didn't answer soon, I'd keep spiraling into bad thoughts.
"...I."
"Yes."
Rozalin finally parted her hesitating lips.
I fixed my gaze on her, awaiting the answer.
Our eyes met completely.
I had no idea what she'd say, and whatever came after—my response, thoughts, or actions—I was clueless.
But for now, I had to wait for her reply.
With our eyes locked, I simply waited.
"If possible... I want to live together with Camellia."
"......."
That was the response from Rozalin—and deep down, it was exactly what I'd hoped for most.
Hearing it, as I'd anticipated, a flurry of thoughts bloomed inside me all at once.