Chapter 68
Chapter 68
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: A Thorough Makeover
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Sigh."
I did spend the night sleeping in the Rose Family mansion.
Yes, I managed to sleep.
But it wasn't comfortable in the slightest, and I even wondered if sleeping in the carriage might've been better.
If I had to name any advantages to this building or the room... hmm.
"...Nothing really comes to mind."
I drew back the tacky floral curtains and gazed outside.
Well, one merit was that the building sat on a relatively high hill, so the view was decent enough.
The territory, blanketed in fields of grass... it was okay, I suppose.
"Ugh... my back hurts..."
The fact that I felt discomfort right after getting out of bed confirmed it—I really had been raised delicately.
It suddenly hit me just how comfortable the Leonhardt mansion was.
Of course, I figured most of it was because this guest building was just that awful.
"Can't be helped."
I had my task set for today.
The Rose Family folks didn't seem to want me around anyway, and I wasn't fond of them either.
"Hmm... Uh... Ugh..."
For starters, even after sleeping, I stretched out my fatigued body...
Then I stepped out of the room in a light dress topped with just a cardigan.
Perhaps because, despite yesterday's cleaning, the building itself wasn't all that clean in various ways?
"Everyone's cleaning since morning?"
"Ah, Young Lady. There's still a bit of dust, and we're finishing up the spots we missed yesterday."
"Nice to see you all working so hard from the morning. You can look forward to bonuses when we rotate."
"T-Thank you!"
The moment I stepped into the hall, I spotted maids diligently cleaning.
I had woken early from fatigue, but I hadn't expected them to start this early.
I definitely needed to give them proper bonuses later.
I hadn't even told them to prioritize it, yet seeing them work so earnestly was heartening.
If only the Rose Family people acted like this, how nice it would be.
"Is Mother still asleep?"
"Madam hasn't come out of her room yet."
"I see. Keep up the good cleaning."
Well... there was no need to chat with Rozalin right away or share breakfast.
I headed down the corridor to the floor below.
Servants were cleaning along the way down too.
Even some knights were pitching in with the servants—a fairly ordinary sight.
"Hmm..."
The issue was doing all this in someone else's building?
I had brought servants partly for this, but not to tidy up this thoroughly.
Cleaning, organizing, and maintaining it like it was our own mansion felt off.
This was the Rose Family's job; our servants should've just attended to me and Rozalin.
I appreciated their diligence, but the situation itself didn't sit right.
"Hmm..."
For its size, the building had a surprisingly modest feel.
Guest houses weren't usually like this.
Noble residences weren't this plain even if not for guests.
Nobles didn't use such modest mansions regardless.
"...Can't be helped."
I'd thought the same while descending from the third floor to the first.
I'd felt it yesterday touring the place too.
But after a night and seeing it with a clear head again... it was really bad.
"Where's Lize?"
"She's outside."
"Thanks."
After learning Lize's location, I headed straight out of the building.
Right away outside, I saw Lize moderately sweeping the yard.
"Lize."
"Young Lady?"
"What're you doing?"
"No tasks, so I was keeping busy for a bit."
"Yeah?"
Well, Lize wasn't the type to just sit and rest with nothing to do.
As always, I stood by the door watching her work cutely in her maid uniform.
"Hmm... Lize, want to head out with me today?"
"Pardon?"
"I've got something to do. Coming along?"
She'd follow anyway, but if she didn't want to go, I wouldn't drag her.
Though I hoped she would.
"If you're going, Young Lady... I'll come, but where to?"
"Hmm... Shopping?"
It was nothing major.
*
"Camellia...? Why here all of a sudden...?"
Rozalin asked me first as we alighted from the carriage.
Lize behind her wore an awkward expression too.
Well, I hadn't explained properly.
"No matter how I thought about it, I just didn't like it."
"What...?"
"Everything. They handed us a guest building that wasn't even cleaned, with outdated furniture—all of it honestly awful."
I had no idea what reaction Rozalin would have to that.
Would she defend her family and birth house, even if reluctantly?
"I'm just clearing it all out today and swapping in new furniture."
"...So you're replacing every piece of furniture in the building we're using...?"
"Yes."
"I get that it's uncomfortable, but you don't need to push yourself, Camellia. I'll... talk to the family."
"No, it's fine."
I understood Rozalin's position.
Her daughter suddenly declaring she'd spend freely like that.
But my reason for deciding this was simple.
"Wasn't Mother's room uncomfortable too?"
"That's...!"
"The Rose Family is family in a way, right? Fixing up an old building and making it better isn't a bad thing, is it?"
I flashed a smile as I said this to Rozalin.
Aiming at what you might call her weak spot.
I'd always seen Rozalin as sentimental, and separate from her guilt toward me on the road to the territory, she'd shown pity in her eyes.
In that context, seeing the guest building's state and how the mansion had grown plainer than before must've weighed on her.
It wasn't Rozalin's fault at all, and with the poor maintenance for reasons I didn't fully grasp... it must've been truly awkward for her.
Complaining about the guest building to family she hadn't seen in ages wouldn't be easy.
"Right?"
"...Well."
As if confirming my read, Rozalin looked embarrassed and couldn't quite respond.
It really was an awkward spot all around.
"And I already got a rough sense of the prices—not that expensive."
"...Really?"
"Of course. I don't spend money without thinking."
Actually, no.
I hadn't cared about prices, hadn't checked, just came.
Money was plentiful anyway.
A few dozen pieces of furniture wouldn't make a dent—not even noticeable.
Sure, buying furniture for someone else's building felt wasteful.
But right now, if it eased Rozalin's expression even a little, that was enough.
"Shall we go in?"
"...Sorry."
"It's fine. Really fine."
"...Camellia, you're so mature somehow. Always."
"Am I...?"
"Yeah. When I first saw you, you were shy and full of cute sides. Now you feel more... cool somehow?"
"Thanks for the praise."
She meant it nicely, right?
Honestly, "mature" sounded way better than "babyish" to me.
My past life as an adult man was a distant memory now, but I knew that much for sure.
"Lize? If there's anything uncomfortable in your room, tell me."
"...Understood."
I had no intention of swapping just mine and Rozalin's rooms.
Naturally, I'd replace Lize's—who always helped me—and the other servants' furniture too.
In the end, it ironically helped the ones badmouthing our family behind our backs, but this felt like the way to vent a bit.
The rooms would be far more comfortable, and shopping would lift my mood too.
*
"What in the world..."
"Hey, knight over there? That's the chandelier for the first-floor lobby, not the second—no need to take it up."
"Ah, got it."
"And move those tables and chairs you just brought out to the dining hall, the clock over there... oh, and hang the paintings on a suitable wall for now."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Hmm... and the beds for the third floor, move those together a bit later..."
The guest building was currently extremely—truly extremely—noisy.
Furniture lightly scraping the floor, servants' grunts as they hauled loads, knights' hearty shouts... all sorts of sounds.
I sat alone in a chair, overseeing the whole operation.
"What... is all this?"
"Ah, Aunt?"
Mid-command, Alexandra—who'd been staring with clear confusion—finally spoke to me.
She'd taken her sweet time to say anything.
"Aunt...?"
"You're Mother's sister, so aunt fits, doesn't it?"
Well, calling her that without permission, but it wasn't wrong.
"Rose Lady" felt off since she was older than Rozalin, and this was Rose territory—titles would overlap too much.
Perhaps she disliked it, as her face scrunched up a bit.
"Ha...!"
"What brings you here?"
"Miss Camellia? What on earth is this? Redoing the building's furniture and interior from scratch...?"
"Oh, this?"
I continued with a totally nonchalant expression—the polar opposite of her botched innocent act.
Utterly guileless, utterly non-threatening, the picture of a good girl.
"The building, furniture, interior—everything was too~ much, really too~ awful. So I'm doing some upkeep...? No, swapping it all for better stuff."
"...Who gave you permission...?"
"Hmm... Do I need permission?"
"What?"
"The Roses basically abandoned this building anyway, didn't they?"
I said what I'd been mulling since yesterday—to Alexandra Rose.
She looked pretty shocked, but it wasn't some profound insight.
I was starting to glimpse why the Roses had declined.
"Um... I'd love to say more, but spilling everything while my servants work hard would be rude to Mother's family, right?"
I had plenty more to say but held back deliberately.
No other reason—just for Rozalin.
Between the Roses and Leonhardts... well, me specifically, the only one suffering would be Rozalin.
"I'm swamped with furniture sorting today anyway. Why not check with Mother—she's having tea with my maid in the garden?"
"........"
"Well, if you want to stick around with me, Aunt, I don't mind?"
"...Ha!"
She reacted like my words were utterly laughable.
Emotional rather than rational, sure.
Anyway, Alexandra turned on her heel and stormed out.
"Hmph... More than I thought..."
She seemed even dimmer.
Yesterday she hadn't said a word to me, only to Rozalin, so I hadn't realized.
Never expected her to bare her emotions so blatantly.
Really... was the reason the Roses went off the rails over generations... someone like her inside?
"Pfft..."
I had a vague idea what she'd whine to Rozalin, but I wasn't worried.
I'd always been the perfect daughter in front of Rozalin.
She wouldn't blindly buy badmouthing from a sister she hadn't seen in four years—one who seemed to mismanage her family affairs.