Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Back to Business and Sketches
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"Lize, stack these documents up there."
"Understood."
The moment we returned from the villa, we naturally dove right back into work.
Ella had gone back to her territory, and while Karen was staying a bit longer at our mansion... there was still a mountain of tasks waiting.
I hadn't touched any business-related work for a while now, and summer was its own important season.
After nearly two weeks of playing around, it was only natural that things had piled up like this.
-Scritch, scritch...
I held a pen in hand, steadily signing new documents one after another.
Of course, it wasn't just mindless signing—I was reading through each one carefully.
"Hmm..."
Looking over these business papers after so long, it felt...
"...strangely familiar."
Even though it had been two weeks, I thought it might feel awkward or different somehow.
But in reality, it was exactly the same as before.
-Scritch...
-Scritch...
Even now, as I jotted down business notes in the notebook beside me, nothing had changed from the old days.
The one difference from before? The room was nice and cool, unlike in the past.
Summer was still sweltering hot, of course, but now my room had Ashley's air conditioning magic installed.
"........"
I couldn't shake the feeling that this alone could make a fortune.
Given Ashley's personality, it wouldn't be easy, but honestly, this single spell could probably rake in as much as a decent business.
Not even teaching it—just the installation process...
"Hehe..."
"...?"
A laugh slipped out before I knew it.
Of course, I had no intention of actually pursuing it, but it sounded amusing.
Though the strong urge to fall asleep during installation was a real drawback.
Thinking of Ashley casting the spell only to nod off again mid-way... yeah, that'd be hilarious.
Falling asleep while installing it would be utterly ridiculous.
But only Ashley could pull something like that off.
"Lize, got any candy?"
"Of course."
"Hand me one. Hmm... lemon flavor."
"Right away."
After working for so long, my blood sugar was dipping a bit.
I took the candy Lize offered and popped it in my mouth.
Candy's the best when your brain starts to stall.
"Lize, what’s Older Sister Karen up to right now?"
"She’s touring the garden. She headed out with the maids just a little while ago."
"Makes sense. Our garden is gorgeous, after all. Plus, we spruced it up quite a bit while she was at the academy."
With me buried in work and Ella gone, Karen didn’t have much to do alone in the mansion.
On top of that, this spring we’d remodeled the garden to feel... cooler, somehow.
Summer was here, and the heat was intense, so we’d gone ahead with the changes—nothing on the level of the Rosaki family garden, but we even added a small pond.
It looked even prettier than before, and it was definitely different now.
No wonder Karen had wandered off to check it out.
"Hmm... Lize, put these documents in the drawer..."
I instructed Lize on handling the sorted papers and related tasks.
Some went in the drawer, others needed mailing to specific people.
When it came to business matters like this, Lize was the only one I could entrust them to.
"Oh, and if you see anything you want to buy on the way... feel free to get it in my name."
"I was already planning to hold back, but..."
"I said it’s fine. Pick up whatever catches your eye on the way."
As I handed her a few papers, I spoke up.
It was maid work she could handle, sure, but it’d still be a hassle.
"Or... you could grab something for us to eat together?"
"...Understood."
Was it because we’d spent so much time together lately?
Lize used to insist it was fine no matter what I asked.
But now... she seemed to anticipate my requests.
These days, she accepted after just one or two nudges.
"Thanks."
"...It’s nothing. Isn’t it my job anyway?"
"Still. Buy whatever you want on the way—go wild."
My name—or the Leonhardt name—was well-known at most shops around the mansion anyway.
And since I always took Lize with me whenever I went out, there’d be no issues.
*
"Sister, what do you think?"
"It’s beautiful. The pond looks so... pristine. The garden’s well-maintained too."
"Good to hear."
After seeing Lize off, I headed to the garden.
Karen was sitting primly at the table by the pond, admiring it.
"Ah, Camellia. All done with work?"
"Still a bit left, but nothing that has to be finished today."
"That’s a relief. I was surprised you came so early... as long as it’s not urgent."
"Hehe, I couldn’t just leave you alone the whole time."
It was familiar territory, but she was still a guest.
Leaving her by herself would be rude—and I’d feel bad—so I dropped my work to come find her.
More precisely, I was getting lazy with the paperwork anyway, and I wanted to see Karen.
That’s how I ended up here.
"How’d you make this pond?"
"Hmm... Teacher helped a lot. She’s amazing with magic, after all."
"Ah... she really is impressive."
...Truth be told, I’d done most of the work myself.
Ashley helped plenty, but I handled the bulk.
I hadn’t told anyone else, but this pond was our creation—hers and mine.
I moved the earth with telekinesis, filled it with magic-made water.
Costs stayed low because of that.
Sure, crafting it all bit by bit with magic was a chore, but no big deal.
"Pretty, right?"
"Yeah, it turned out stunning. The pond water—is it magic-made?"
"Yes. Transporting it from elsewhere would cost a fortune. Plus, magic water’s so much cleaner."
It wasn’t for drinking anyway—just ornamental.
Magic was the cleanest option.
"The old garden was pretty too. Kind of miss it."
"You preferred the old one, Sister?"
"The pond’s lovely, but personally, I liked the previous layout better."
The current and old gardens did differ a bit.
Before, it felt a tad more enclosed... stuffy, even.
We had more flower-and-grass barriers back then, which added to that cramped vibe. Now, we’d cleared them for this wide pond.
Naturally, it felt more spacious and open—which I thought was an improvement.
"Hmm... Isn’t the Rosaki mansion garden even bigger than this?"
"True, but... I don’t particularly like it aside from how pretty it is..."
"...Pardon?"
I’d assumed she loved the Rosaki pond.
Never expected her to say that... I was floored.
"How could it not be good...?"
"...It’s just not my taste..."
"...Why?"
No.
Why?
Seriously, why?
Why on earth...?
"...Why?"
"W-what? Well... it’s too big...? Too open, and the sunlight pours in..."
"........?"
"Wh-what’s wrong...?"
"...Hmm."
I hadn’t anticipated her unique tastes showing up even in the garden.
Her room at the Rosaki mansion was dim and curtained to block light.
But I didn’t expect the same for the garden.
"...Next remodel, I’ll try making it more like the old style."
"N-no, you don’t have to go that far! It’s just... the sunlight’s too much..."
"...Haha."
Well... yeah.
But Karen was sweet, at least.
Yeah, that’s what mattered, right...?
She could be a bit too introverted at times, sure, but she was genuinely kind.
Her looks were stunning too, separate from her personality... yeah.
That was enough.
Being introverted wasn’t a flaw anyway...?
"Sister, shall we head inside now?"
"Shall we...?"
I’d asked just in case.
But her response came with a soft, bright smile.
*
"Camellia, what’s this?"
"Oh, that? Just a notebook of doodles from when I was bored."
While hanging out in my room with Karen, she spotted one of my notebooks and brought it up.
It wasn’t an important business one—just some random notebook tucked in the bookshelf.
Literally doodles.
"May I look?"
"Of course."
"Really?"
"It’s truly just doodles."
Exactly that—sketches with a pencil when I had nothing better to do.
I’d learned drawing from tutors long ago.
Not that these notebook scribbles showed off any skill; they were super casual.
Anyway, Karen was flipping through them one by one.
"You’re... better than I expected?"
"Am I?"
"Yes, quite good. Better than most young ladies."
"Thanks. I don’t think it’s that great, though..."
Karen was really into it.
I could draw, sure, but these were mostly half-hearted.
"Mostly portraits, though."
"Oh."
"Hmm... lots of familiar faces."
"...Drawing people is more fun than buildings...? That’s why so many."
...She was right—I drew people a lot.
Doodles of folks around me, for sure.
But her noticing made me a little embarrassed.
Most were Rozalin, Lize, Ella, Ashley, Karen, and such.
Pretty people were way more fun to sketch than buildings or landscapes.
"If you drew seriously instead of doodling, you’d be even better."
"...You think so?"
Separate from my embarrassment, Karen seemed purely focused on how well I drew—nothing else.
One thing was clear: I’d hide that notebook properly later.
"Haha..."