Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Teasing Lize
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I figured I'd grown quite a bit over the past four years.
My body had definitely changed since I was eight—taller now, more magic under my belt, and I'd filled in the gaps in my general education too.
I was still shorter than Rozalin and Lize, but it was a clear improvement from back then.
"Hmm..."
"Is something troubling you, Young Lady?"
"The customers wanting to buy crops from Niesista have been increasing lately, and with everything else going on in business, I was thinking of reaching out to Ella this time around."
Business was going well overall, and I was keeping up good relations with the families I'd built ties with as a kid.
Especially with the Niesista side—the ongoing deals there were smooth as ever—and with the Rosaki family, we stayed in touch through occasional social gatherings.
To be accurate, it was more like maintaining my bond with Karen than the family as a whole.
"Hmm... Lize, want some fruit?"
"...Pardon?"
"I'm thinking it might be good to expand the crops they're growing over in Niesista. The sunlight's strong there, and the soil's fertile. Maybe try some higher-end varieties."
"Why ask my opinion...?"
"I don't eat fruit that often anyway. Just thought I'd ask."
They were the kind of fruits nobles would prefer over commoners, but that was fine by me.
The previous Niesista crops hadn't sold for top prices anyway. Sure, buyers usually took large quantities at once, so it worked out.
This time, I planned to squeeze a bit more out of the nobles.
Preparations were mostly done, and we had more land available than before.
"Isn't that a good idea? Better than sticking to the same crops every time—using some of the spare land for new products now and then."
"I don't know much about that sort of thing. You should go with whatever you think is best, Young Lady."
"Hmm... Guess I'll have to ask Ella next time."
It wasn't something I needed to decide right away anyway.
For now, I roughly shoved the papers to one side of the desk.
"Lize?"
"...Yes."
I stopped what I was doing and called her name, and Lize responded a little slowly to my summons.
Was she embarrassed?
She should be used to it by now. I wondered how long she'd keep blushing like this.
"Come here."
"...Young Lady, this is..."
"Lize?"
"...Yes."
Lize slowly climbed onto my lap.
Still blushing, of course. Honestly, shouldn't she be over this by now?
"Hee hee..."
"Young Lady... why do you..."
"Why do I do this?"
"...Yes."
At some point, it had become common for me to have Lize sit on my lap.
She blushed every time, but I liked it.
So even though she got embarrassed, I'd deliberately hold her there on my lap.
No matter when I did it, even though she'd grown taller since she was little, she still felt so soft.
"Because being like this with you feels so good, Lize. Don't you like it?"
"That's not it, but... still..."
"Hee hee..."
She was just too cute.
As time passed, I'd cut back on that kind of skinship with Rozalin.
She was family, after all, and letting my thoughts wander there felt too dangerous.
No matter how pretty or alluring Rozalin was, thinking of your mom that way was obviously a problem.
But doing this with Lize? No issue there.
"Lize, I always say this, but if you don't like it, just say so."
"...Yes."
"Of course, I lo~ve being like this. I wouldn't keep doing it if you actually hated it."
"...Understood."
Sure, she blushed every time, but she'd never actually said she disliked it.
Just like always, I held her as she sat on the chair.
She was taller than me, but she wasn't heavy, and her warmth mattered more than any weight, so I didn't mind.
"Hmm... Tomorrow, want to go out and buy some clothes together, Lize? Spring's almost here."
"If you're going..."
"You'll come along, right?"
"...Yes."
I was holding her from behind, and she was facing forward, so I couldn't see her face.
But her bright red ears were in plain view.
She must have been incredibly embarrassed.
"Your ears are so pretty, Lize."
"Young Lady...? I should get back to work..."
"No, it's fine later. Work can wait."
"Eek...!"
I gently touched her flushed ears.
I'd only meant to compliment her, but it seemed like she was trying to squirm away on purpose.
So I kept her from escaping by softly rubbing her ears while placing my other hand on her stomach to hold her in place.
"Hee hee... Lize?"
"Y-Young Lady...?"
"Trying to run away? Right now?"
"It's not that... Your dress will be ready from laundering soon, and..."
"That can wait, can't it?"
I didn't like how she was trying to slip away.
That's why I kept teasing her more.
"Isn't it?"
"Well..."
I knew her schedule perfectly, of course.
So what she was saying was obviously a lie—there wasn't even a dress in the wash right now.
Her embarrassed reactions were fun, and she was so cute I wanted to tease her more.
"Don't you like it?"
"It's... not that..."
"Then why? Why keep trying to escape? Hmm?"
"You're too close, Young Lady..."
Did she not realize that answering like this even while embarrassed just made me want to tease her more?
Sure, teasing and poking fun at her was wrong, but it was too enjoyable to stop.
"Lize, how about five more minutes like this? Stay still, and I'll let you go right after."
"Pardon?"
"I mean it—I'll let you go. Just stay still for five minutes."
"O-Okay..."
I really would let her go after five minutes.
She was blushing so much that I planned to release her then, but I had no intention of doing so before that.
It was fun for me, but she seemed overly embarrassed too. I figured I'd stop at a reasonable point.
Her ears were burning hot under my fingers, after all.
How flustered did you have to be for your ears to get that warm?
*
When I was little, it was fine being close with Rozalin.
She was a good person, no doubt, but separately from that, she was too stimulating—too much for me sometimes.
Hanging out with other girls my age was no problem; we were peers and strangers. But Rozalin was family.
Stepmom or not, she was still part of the household, so it was inevitably an issue.
"Camellia, what are you up to tomorrow?"
"I think... I'll go shopping for clothes with Lize. The weather's warming up, so it's about time."
"You're definitely bigger than when you were little. You'll have to buy clothes more often now."
"That's part of it. And it's been since just before last winter."
Of course, that didn't make conversations with Rozalin awkward or our time together problematic.
It was just... the skinship that came with her closeness.
Calling what a mom and daughter do "skinship" was problematic to begin with, but I couldn't help it.
"Clothes, huh..."
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking I might need to buy some too. Haven't in a while."
"Yeah... that makes sense."
Anyway, things between Rozalin and me were never bad.
If anything, they were good—anyone could see our mother-daughter relationship was solid. Most noble kids probably didn't have it this good.
Our bond really was that strong.
"Want to come shopping with us tomorrow then? I don't have anything else planned."
"Should I?"
"Yes, it'd be nice."
Shopping together was no big deal.
We'd spent plenty of time out and about with her before.
Even when we first met, and often after.
Lately, with the Leonhardt name on the rise, William was spending even less time at the mansion than before.
Which made sense, inevitably.
Though to be fair, we hadn't spent much time together even prior.
"Oh, Mother? When we go shopping tomorrow, is it okay if we get some clothes for Lize too?"
"Lize?"
"Yes. I'd like to buy her a little gift. She's always helping me out, and I'm grateful."
"Of course, that's fine. You always use your own money when shopping anyway, Camellia."
"That's true, but..."
It didn't really matter, but I figured it was polite to mention it.
Suddenly buying clothes for Lize after ours might rub her the wrong way.
Not that Rozalin was the type to begrudge that.
Just in case, though.
"You two seem even closer lately."
"You think so? Hmm... We've been close since way back with Lize."
"Still, it's different now, isn't it?"
Well, I couldn't deny it.
We were definitely closer than before.
"Lize is a good girl."
Of course, I knew our relationship wasn't exactly equal since she was a maid.
But we were close regardless, and I thought highly of her. She really was a good person—cute and pretty too.
Though it felt like her looks played a big part in that.
Not that my feelings were impure or anything.
"Don't you think so, Mother?"
"Hmm... She is a good girl. Always supporting you so well by your side, and among the mansion servants, she knows you best."
"Right."
Lize was my exclusive maid, after all.
Compared to when I was very young, we kept a bit more distance now, but Rozalin and I still maintained a very close mother-daughter bond.
If anything, maybe we'd been too close back then.
Even for a mother and daughter... her holding me naked in the same bath... yeah.
It was unavoidable—those thoughts crept in every time.
"It's nice going out with you after so long, Camellia."
"...We went out last week."
"Lunch outings are different from a proper shopping date, aren't they?"
"........"
For me, it was truly unavoidable.
Even as family, when a stunning early-twenties beauty talked about "dates"...