Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Bathhouse Reflections
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"Hoo..."
I slipped into the bath, leaving only my head above water, submerging my body completely.
The warmth enveloped me entirely.
Melting away like this made me feel a little better.
"My head hurts."
It wasn't from lying in the warm bath for too long—it had just been hurting for a while.
Was it because I had so many things to think about?
I had no idea.
In this situation, how should I act to steer things toward a better ending?
I had no idea.
"...Was that not okay?"
In that moment, I got too worked up.
I ended up doing something I truly hadn't meant to.
Treating Rozalin coldly, snapping at her with informal speech, saying harsh things...
"...Ha."
I didn't think of myself as a good person, but doing that to Rozalin was far more regrettable than I'd imagined.
Regrettable enough that I was still dwelling on it.
"Miss, are you all right?"
"Ah, Lize."
"Your expression looks quite poor."
"Just... you know."
Lize approached me slowly from the side.
She seemed cautious, as if reading the mood.
There was no need for that.
"I'm just thinking that maybe I'm messing everything up."
"Ah..."
"Well, it's not exactly normal to begin with. But today, it's hitting me especially hard."
"Is that... so?"
"Yeah."
"..."
What I was doing wasn't normal, after all.
I'd expected thoughts like that.
It was just... because of Rozalin, my mind was swirling more than usual.
Just... yeah.
"...Miss."
"What."
"...May I hold you for a moment?"
"Sure."
I accepted Lize's offer.
Ever since long ago, whenever I was in a bad mood, I'd hug Lize—or be hugged by her—to shake it off.
She must have remembered that, which was why she suggested it.
"Do you think what I'm doing is weird?"
"Yes."
"Quick answer."
"But... I'll follow you anyway."
"I see."
It was just like Lize to say that.
The perfect response from the Lize who went along with my odd behavior and stuck by my side.
From childhood, even when embarrassed, she'd comply with my strange requests... I was truly grateful for her.
"I just can't figure out what Mother is thinking."
"You mean Madam?"
"Yeah. She doesn't seem to hate me or anything, but she keeps refusing. I have no clue what's going on in her head."
"I see."
"Honestly, if she really hated it, she'd resist me touching her, or tell me she hated it. But there's none of that. And yet she keeps turning down my confessions."
That ambiguous attitude of hers.
My head hurt so much.
I almost wished she'd just reject everything outright.
"Um..."
"What do you think, Lize?"
"Well... I think it's Madam's issue."
"Mother's?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... why?"
I asked her again as she held me lightly.
Honestly, I preferred hugging her while we talked rather than being held.
She was taller than me, after all.
But this position felt nice in its own way.
"I know this isn't the nicest thing to say... but Madam didn't come to our family for an ordinary reason, did she?"
"Yeah, that's true."
"I don't know the full details, but for a lady from a normal count family to come as the previous Family Head's marriage partner... it was obviously..."
"It's fine. Go on."
I gave permission to Lize, who was glancing at me again.
After all, I thought the same.
By any common sense, it wasn't some beauty and the beast tale—or beauty and monster.
Anyone would see it as strange.
"In that situation, I think the only person Madam built any closeness with over the past ten-plus years in our family is you, Miss."
She wasn't close to the others yet.
That made sense.
That's why I'd targeted that angle at first to win Rozalin over... as part of my strategy.
"So... she has some kind of obsession with protecting that mother-daughter relationship."
"...And?"
"Of course, you'd know this too... but I suspect it's far stronger than you imagine."
"..."
How strong exactly?
I couldn't really grasp Rozalin's mindset or that obsession of hers.
"Before, when you came back from the academy during break. I heard something from Teacher Ashley."
"Ashley?"
"Yes. It was close to sleep-talking, but she said that when you were away from the mansion, Madam's personality had gotten a bit sharper than before."
...Rozalin?
A sharper personality?
It was so unexpected that I struggled to process it.
Rozalin with a sharp temper?
I'd never even imagined it.
In all my time with her, I'd never seen Rozalin act that way.
"I asked the other maids directly, and they said she was relatively sharper than before."
"...Mother?"
"Yes."
...What could I say?
The answer was so out of left field that I was a bit shocked.
Rozalin had done that?
No matter how I thought about it... I couldn't picture it.
"So... if you truly want to have Madam, you need to make her think she can escape the current relationship and move to something deeper. I'm convinced of that."
"Hmm..."
"Just leaving things as they are would make her anxious about that daughter-mother bond. I'm sure—well, I think—that would definitely be good."
"So, make her jealous?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
Like when I'd been with Lize in the basement last time.
Or like flaunting my intimate connection with Ashley in front of Rozalin.
That's what she was saying.
In the end.
"...Lize."
"...If that was presumptuous meddling, I'm sorry."
"No."
It wasn't 180 degrees off from what I'd been thinking.
But hearing a third party voice something so similar to my own ideas was... intriguing.
It delved deeper, and it gave me more conviction in my previous notions.
"Thanks."
"It's nothing. I just want you to be happy."
"..."
Honestly, Lize could afford to be a bit more selfish.
She could have badmouthed Rozalin to downplay her in my mind and make me think more about Lize instead...
But she was being such a fool.
Liking me this much felt almost apologetic.
"...Lize."
"Yes, Miss."
"Open your mouth."
"...Yes."
So all I could do for her was this.
Well... our Lize seemed to like it.
It was fine for now.
*
"Yaaawn... Camellia... whatcha doing?"
"I'm writing a new letter."
"A letter...?"
"Yes, a letter."
Ashley, who had been sleeping on the bed, woke up and shuffled over to my desk.
Well, she'd napped for about five hours.
It was about time to get up.
"What kind of letter...? To who?"
"Do you remember Ella, the one we met before?"
"Ughhh... the Niesista friend?"
"Yes, exactly. Ella Niesista."
The letter I was writing now was for Ella.
Different from the last one... something more secretive, I suppose.
There were other friends, of course, but I figured Ella should be the first among them.
I'd considered calling Karen or Ivana first.
But I planned to invite them all eventually anyway.
Starting with Ella, the first one I'd met, felt like the best approach.
"You're gonna... eat that friend too...?"
"Yes."
"Huh..."
I answered plainly.
It was true, after all.
Actually, back in my second year at the academy...?
Third year?
The exact timing was fuzzy, but around then, Ella had become one of my targets.
Later than Rozalin or Lize, though.
"Then... the other friends too...?"
"Probably. As long as they don't refuse."
"Gasp... so total people..."
"One, two, three... about seven in total."
"...Isn't that too many? Sure, marrying multiple people... isn't impossible."
"We have plenty of money. And those friends are rich too."
I didn't see it as an issue.
I'd known for a while that marrying women, or multiple people, didn't violate imperial law.
Though... the law probably never anticipated women actually doing it?
"And... I want to. No reason not to."
"That's... true..."
"Don't worry. You're one of them too."
"Uh, wh-what...?"
"Well, for you, Teacher, something other than wife or spouse might suit better."
"...Huh?"
Ashley gave a cute, dumbstruck reaction.
Of course, I had no intention of discriminating against her while marrying other women and forming those relationships.
It was just...
"You're not that—you're my student, my pet. Right?"
"Ah..."
"Someone I can touch, hug, and scold whenever I'm bored."
"...Yes♥"
Her expression as she nodded and murmured in response was quite the sight.
I hadn't even touched her, but she was getting aroused.
I ended up abandoning the letter I was writing and pulling Ashley, who was behind me, onto the bed.