Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Reasons for Staying
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"Mother said she wanted to stay even after Father passed away, right?"
"That's right."
We had already talked about it once before.
But even so, I wanted to confirm it with Rozalin one more time.
It wasn't just confirmation—I also wanted to ask why she had made that choice.
"Honestly, I thought you would leave our family."
"Hm?"
"I mean, wouldn't you? Our family has nothing good to offer. You only came here because of a contract."
We had paid money to the Rose Family, and one of their daughters came to our family.
It had originally been the eldest daughter, Christina, but it changed to Rozalin, and that's how things ended up.
If none of that had happened, there was no way Rozalin would have come to our family.
"So I was sure you would leave the family and start a new life. Even though you didn't spend much from the family funds, you must have saved up plenty."
It hadn't been that way at first, but it had already been ten years since Rozalin came to our family.
Naturally, her wealth had grown during that time.
Rozalin rarely spent money personally, and food and shelter were covered by the family.
Aside from clothing, there was hardly anything to spend on, so she had been able to keep saving.
"So I thought you might live in the central region instead of the south—somewhere relatively cool in summer and moderately warm in winter."
"Is that so...?"
"Yes, and I didn't think you would return to the Rose Family."
"Ah.... Um... Yeah, that makes sense."
No matter what, the idea of returning to the Rose Family had never crossed my mind.
I hadn't even imagined her staying in Leonhardt, let alone going back there.
"So that's what you were thinking."
"Yes."
"Hmm.... But I thought I had earned some trust from Camellia...."
We were still talking like this while I held Rozalin.
She wasn't refusing, after all.
So I was just keeping her in my arms.
"Is that so?"
"I never realized Camellia thought that way."
"......."
Is that right?
I thought everyone would have assumed the same.
In a situation like this, it seemed obvious she would leave our mansion and live in a small house in the central region right away.
"I thought we got along really well with Camellia, so it's a bit disappointing to hear that."
Rozalin said this as she placed her hand on top of mine.
I wasn't sure.
From my perspective, I could only think under the premise that she was leaving.
"Why would I ever abandon Camellia?"
"...Really?"
"Of course? You know how much I like Camellia."
Her words made me feel a bit better, but the "like" she meant was different from mine.
I felt happy yet disappointed by them.
"I just didn't want to leave Camellia alone in this big mansion."
Rozalin spoke in a gentle voice.
She continued with more words of that sort.
Of course, even as I listened, I still felt the same way.
To Rozalin, I was ultimately just a daughter.
Even though we weren't blood-related, she saw me only as her daughter or a young girl younger than her.
I didn't hate that... but I did.
"...Should we get dressed first?"
"Hehe, shall we?"
We had heard plenty from Rozalin, but for now... we decided to get dressed.
Holding her like this in just underwear kept leading my thoughts in strange directions.
Honestly, if I wanted, I could have done something really bad to Rozalin right here.
But because she kept saying kind things to me, I felt sorry and let her go while saying that.
*
After changing clothes, we sat back down normally.
The shirt felt a bit tight in size.
But among Rozalin's clothes, it was relatively large, so I decided to wear it.
My height was fine, but my chest was larger than hers, making it stuffy.
Loosening a few buttons helped a lot.
"There's no reason to leave the mansion in the first place, right?"
"Is that so?"
"Of course? Living with Camellia is so much fun. And there are plenty of servants in the mansion—it's great itself. No need to leave."
Rozalin had placed a bottle of liquor on the table and was pouring some into glasses.
There were no snacks, but even so.
"Even the room I'm using now is way better than the one I had at the Rose Mansion."
"Wasn't that mansion nice enough?"
"Hehe.... It was, but the room I used there was less than half the size of the one Camellia uses now."
"Ah...."
"Aside from that, the current room is amazing? The bed over there could fit three people easily. There's even a small bathroom in the room, and lots of other great things."
That was true.
The mansion itself and Rozalin's room were indeed very nice.
But even so, her choice to stay in this mansion felt strangely surprising in many ways.
"Honestly, after coming to our mansion... it hasn't been that great for you...?"
"Why?"
"You were basically sold as a substitute. It was a contract, but you ended up married to someone like Father. And because of the Leonhardt name, you heard bad things too."
"Hmm.... Yeah."
"So I thought for sure you would leave the mansion."
"Hehe.... That could be."
Rozalin just sipped her liquor lightly in response to my words.
What can I say—her vibe was like she was just accepting it casually.
She kept showing completely nonchalant reactions.
"It's not wrong."
"...Right."
What I said wasn't incorrect.
It had really been that way.
He was my father, but William honestly had no appeal, and the Leonhardt Family had no merits besides money.
"But there's Camellia, right?"
"......."
"I didn't want to leave a cute, kind child like Camellia alone in a big mansion."
"Is that so."
In conclusion, she was staying because of me.
More precisely, it was like she was staying in the mansion, with me, out of something close to pity.
The story I hated in the end.
It would have been great if there was even a little change.
But we were just going in circles.
Rozalin still treated me only as a daughter, and I thought of her differently.
"We've lived together for ten years, Camellia? It was really great."
"If that's the case, I'm glad."
"Hehe, didn't Camellia like it? I had so much fun living together."
"I did. Yes, I did."
I couldn't say anything harsh to Rozalin, who asked with such an innocent face.
On one hand, I still felt sorry for having bad thoughts about this Rozalin... but those bad thoughts kept growing bigger than the guilt.
"I'm always grateful to you, Mother."
It wasn't a lie.
I really was grateful.
I just regretted and disliked how our recent stances toward each other differed.
"Hehe.... I'm grateful too."
Rozalin continued sipping her liquor.
I sat next to her, just watching quietly.
She really seemed unafraid of people.
Of course, since I was her daughter, she drank casually without minding my gaze.
Even so, wasn't she too defenseless?
Like when I hugged her from behind earlier, or now.
She was always too kind to others normally, which I really didn't like.
Her personality was so gentle by nature, so it wasn't incomprehensible....
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"There's one thing I'm curious about. Can I ask?"
"What is it? I don't know what it is, but ask away."
She said it was fine even without knowing what I wanted to ask.
It wasn't a big deal, but it was quite important.
"You're still married to Father, right? Even if it's a contract."
"Hmm.... Yeah? Why?"
"And after Father passed, you said you'd stay in our mansion."
"Yes, yes. That's right?"
I had known this roughly from before.
I understood staying, but there was one remaining curiosity along with that.
"So, are you not going to remarry or anything? Ever?"
"Huh...?"
"I mean, you're still young. I was wondering if you'd live like that without ever marrying again."
Rozalin's remarriage.
This was one of the things I'd been worrying about lately.
After William died, Rozalin could basically do whatever she wanted.
Separate from staying with the family or mansion, remarrying or not was her choice.
"Hmm.... I've never thought about it, so I don't really know...."
"Is that so."
"Yeah. Even before coming to Leonhardt, I'd never thought about marriage or anything like that. Maybe that's why?"
It was a nice answer to hear.
Of course, I didn't know how she'd act if someone approached her... but for now.
Well, if some guy approached her for that reason, I'd stop it somehow.
Social methods or physical ones, didn't matter.
"More importantly, Camellia is what's important right now?"
Rozalin gave a pure answer, completely unaware of what I was thinking.