Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Early Arrival at the Villa
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The horse was excellent, and we didn't stop the carriage even after sunset. Maybe that's why.
We arrived at the villa much earlier than expected.
It was supposed to take about two days, but getting here this soon was a good thing.
"Teacher. Wake up."
"Yaaawn..."
Honestly... I hadn't seen Ashley awake since we left.
She'd been sitting in the very back, doing absolutely nothing but sleeping the whole time.
"Camellia! Hurry up and come out! You're the leader here, aren't you?"
"Just a moment. The teacher is still sleeping."
"Hasn't she been sleeping since yesterday!?"
"...Yes."
...It really was astonishing.
Anyway, we woke Ashley and everyone got out of the carriage.
We'd arrived earlier than planned, but there were other maids inside the villa anyway, waiting out front as soon as we showed up.
"Put all this luggage inside the villa."
"Understood."
"And prepare some suitable clothes for the person next to me."
"Understood."
"...Young Lady?"
As soon as I said that to the most senior maid among those bowing their heads out front, Lize called out to me.
And for good reason—the person I was referring to was Lize.
She was still wearing her maid uniform right now, so I'd said it with the intention of making her change into casual clothes.
Lize was on vacation, after all.
"Alright, shall we all head inside now?"
After roughly giving orders to hand the luggage to the maids, we slowly made our way into the villa.
Since it was a villa, it wasn't as massively huge as the Leonhardt Mansion, but that wasn't a problem.
We were just here to escape the heat, after all.
The weather was a bit cooler than the southern region, and thanks to the mountains behind it, even cooler—definitely better.
"Wow..."
"This place is really pretty!"
"Isn't it?"
"Nice building."
"The mountains behind it are gorgeous too. Let's go check them out together a bit later, Mother."
"Sure, let's do that."
After entering the villa, everyone was admiring the interior.
It was a really beautiful villa, built mainly from wood.
The outside was pretty, but the inside was especially nice.
Unlike typical mansions, it used mostly wood to give a warm feel overall, and the layout provided a sense of openness so the space didn't feel cramped.
Thanks to that, everyone's reactions were even better once we were inside compared to when we'd seen it from outside.
"Yaaawn..."
...Except for one person.
"For now, the maids have moved the luggage to each room. Shall we check out the rooms first?"
"I'm fine with anything!"
"M-Me too..."
"What about you, Mother?"
"I have things to unpack from the luggage, and it would be good to set aside clothes and such. I think that's the best for now."
"Then I'll show everyone to their rooms first. On the first floor, there are rooms for Teacher Ashley, Ella, and Older Sister Karen..."
There were three private rooms available on the first floor.
The central area was the largest there, and there were sections for other uses.
"Sister, what do you think of this room? If you don't like it, there are spots left on the second floor..."
"It's fine...! This seems more than enough...!"
"Good to hear. What about you, Ella?"
"Hoh! Do you think I'd complain about something like this?"
"Absolutely not. But if there's anything you don't like, we need to fix it."
Anyway, everyone seemed satisfied with their rooms.
As soon as I opened the door to Ashley's room and showed her inside, she toddled straight to the bed and collapsed.
No complaints there.
"Shall we head up to the second floor now?"
Once the first-floor rooms were sorted and everyone could unpack, we went up to the second floor.
Lize's clothes were probably ready by now.
"This should be good for Mother. It's the largest room, after all."
"It's bigger than I expected. Bigger than the rooms at the mansion, even."
"Probably because Mother's room at the mansion has a big table and such, unlike this one?"
"Hehe, that could be."
I was touring Rozalin's room with her.
As we looked around together, we started unpacking.
We put away clothes in the wardrobe separately and pulled out outfits for lounging indoors.
"Camellia, this is enough unpacking. Go rest in your room. You must be tired from the trip. And yesterday... you didn't sleep well."
"No, it wasn't that uncomfortable."
"Good, but still, this should be fine."
"Got it."
I'd planned to help Rozalin a bit more, but since she said she was okay.
I left her room for now.
*
"Teacher, thank you."
"No problem... It's not even difficult magic..."
Even so, I still can't use it...
Anyway, after installing Ashley's air conditioning spell in every room, we all gathered in the first-floor dining room.
Everyone had finished unpacking and other tasks... so it was time for lunch.
Aside from sandwiches on the way, we hadn't eaten anything.
We gathered to finally have a proper meal.
"How were the rooms, everyone? Comfortable?"
"The magic tools in the rooms are amazing! There was even one released this spring. Did you buy them separately?"
"I bought all of these with my own money. This is my personal villa, after all."
"Oh ho..."
"Senior, what about you? How's the villa?"
"I-It was good...! Personally, I prefer smaller houses like this over huge mansions..."
Small...
Compared to the mansion, it was small, sure, but it was still a villa that was hard to call truly small.
Counts' families really were on another level, huh?
"Camellia, isn't my room a bit too big...?"
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Honestly, it feels... way too big..."
"Hmm..."
The room I'd given Rozalin was indeed the largest.
It was the one I'd planned to use when coming here alone.
"Wouldn't it be fine for two or three people?"
"You're right. Aside from the bed, there aren't many large pieces of furniture."
Rozalin's room had been designed that way from the start.
A wide room meant purely for relaxation, with nothing else.
It was intentionally made just for resting, so aside from the bed and a few magic-tool-based furnishings, it was empty.
"Just use it comfortably. I made it with you in mind from the beginning."
That was true.
At first, when I bought the villa, it was for me.
But after learning Rozalin would come on the trip, I decided on this.
It would be fine for me, but this was my way of showing some filial piety... so that's how it went.
"Young Lady, lunch is ready."
"Set it out right away."
"Yes."
At my words, the maids began placing the food on the table one by one.
Unlike the south, the menu was a bit more... meat-friendly.
The capital had a highly developed meat culture and desserts, so that was inevitable.
The ingredients came from nearby, and the cooking maids were hired locally.
"The lunch today is more in the capital style than southern?"
"Yes, since the maids here aren't from the mansion. We hired them nearby."
"Hehe, it's been a while since I had capital-style cooking. Something to look forward to?"
"Of course."
I smiled confidently at Rozalin's question.
The aroma was already great.
A variety of meats, all perfectly seared with maillard reactions, each one looking delicious—I was honestly excited.
"For now, let's eat and talk. Everyone's staring over here... it's a bit overwhelming."
Anyway, we all started eating together.
I'd been chatting nonstop with Rozalin, so everyone was holding back.
We could've started without waiting, really.
"So, when are we going to the mountains?"
"Hmm... The truth is, they're right behind us, so it's not hard to check them out. We can just go out, take a look, and come back."
"Hmm..."
Ella's question got that answer.
The mountains were literally right there, so no need to plan much.
We could just head to the back of the villa and admire them.
There was a small valley a bit further in, of course.
But the mountains themselves were visible even from the window.
"Staying cool at the villa sounds nice, but I want to see the mountains!"
"Shall we go tomorrow then?"
"I-I... want to rest at the villa..."
"Is that so? What about you, Mother?"
"Haha... I'd prefer to skip the mountains a bit..."
Everyone was turning down the mountains.
Ella seemed thrilled either way, but Rozalin and Karen didn't look keen on venturing deep into them.
Ashley was, naturally, chowing down on meat to crash back to sleep soon after.
"Hmm... So tomorrow, just me, Lize, and Ella? Three of us?"
"No helping it! It is hot... I think that's plenty for tomorrow."
"The mountains aren't anything spectacular. Aren't you expecting too much?"
Hehe... You wouldn't understand the joy of seeing mountains after flat farmlands every day!
"Ah."
...The land around Niesista Territory really was all flat.
...No wonder Ella was thrilled.