Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Preparations and Teasing the Maid
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"Camellia. How are your preparations for entering the Academy going?"
"I've already selected the maid who'll accompany me to the Academy, and I plan to have the Academy uniform tailored by midwinter. I've also finished preparing all the paperwork related to enrollment."
After returning home, while going about my usual routine, William called for me.
He'd only just returned to the mansion himself after a long absence, and he was sure to leave again soon anyway.
He was probably handling some tasks before departing.
"You're handling it well on your own."
"It wasn't difficult. Most of the paperwork can just be left to the butler and the servants."
"The Solchemia Academy next year won't admit anyone from the imperial family, but children from other high-ranking families will be entering."
"Like the saintesses?"
"Exactly. Not just the two saintesses, but also heirs from ducal and count families in large numbers. Look into them before enrollment."
"It might be tricky with dukes and counts, but... I'll investigate carefully."
"Good."
We weren't exactly the picture of a close, harmonious father-daughter pair.
This kind of conversation was actually quite ordinary for us.
It was comfortable, too.
"Ah, right."
"?
I'd thought the talk was wrapping up and had started to slowly turn away when William made a sound, freezing me in place.
What else did he want to say?
"What's up?"
"You once suggested developing products for nobles traveling to the Northern Region."
"Yes. When I was little."
"I've discussed it with some families up there in relation to that."
"Oh..."
That was unexpected.
I'd assumed he had some new task for me.
I hadn't anticipated he'd advanced that old conversation even a little.
It was probably from back when I had a tutor... just a casual idea for some products.
I certainly hadn't expected him to bring it up now.
"Which families?"
"It's not a proper discussion yet. Just some brief talk while passing through the area."
"Ah."
So nothing was progressing immediately.
I'd gotten a bit hopeful, but oh well... it was fine.
That idea was from ages ago anyway, and I hadn't seriously developed or planned that business item.
Going all the way to the Northern Region or exchanging letters with families there sounded like a hassle, too.
"If good news comes, I'll let you know."
"Thank you."
"Right, not much time left until Academy enrollment. Be careful out there."
"Hehe, have I ever had bad relations with people from other families?"
Anyway, after that exchange, I left William's room.
Enrollment was now less than half a year away.
He was right; it was best to tread carefully.
"Hmm..."
My body was fine since I mostly sat or lay around as usual, no worries there. My reputation... compared to the Leonhardt average, it was decent, wasn't it?
Business-wise, things were definitely going well.
"Haa..."
The moment I got back to my room, I flopped onto the bed.
I'd been traveling a lot lately, so my body felt extra tired these days.
I'd gone to the villa to escape the summer heat, then ridden back in a carriage... rested for about a week, then headed straight to the Rose family.
No wonder my body held up—no lingering illnesses, but lack of exercise had left me soft all over.
I spent every day just sitting still somewhere in the mansion.
Rozalin probably moved around more than I did.
"So tiring..."
It had been a while since returning to the mansion, but I was genuinely exhausted, so for the past few days, I'd just lain in bed passing the time.
...Truth be told, aside from the fatigue, the bed was incredibly comfortable—that was a big factor.
"Young Lady."
"Why?"
"How long do you plan to stay lying down like that?"
"Hmm... thirty more minutes?"
"...Haven't you been lying around too much lately?"
"There's nothing to do anyway."
Lize opened the door and came in, pointing it out, but there really wasn't anything to do.
"The business is being prepped for sale to another entrepreneur since I won't be able to manage it next year. That's not something I can handle now."
"...Still."
"Lying here like this for a bit is fine."
"........"
Lize urged me to get up, but I had zero intention of doing so.
Because this was extremely, extremely comfortable!
"Hehe."
"Young Lady."
"Why?"
She was right that I'd been lounging a lot lately, and I understood her concern about it.
But understanding aside, I had no plans to get up.
I'd been traveling so much recently, after all.
Even after replacing the furniture at the Rose family home, my bed here was still the fluffiest.
Next best was probably the one in Rozalin's room.
"Does it bother you that I'm lying here alone?"
"That's not it."
"Hmm..."
Lize kept looking at me, telling me to rest moderately, and the situation dragged on.
I got it, but for some reason, it was fun to act contrary to her words.
Plus, her gaze—like she was beholding something precious—made it even more enjoyable.
So I kept resisting from my spot on the bed.
"Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady..."
"Come up here."
"Pardon?"
"I have nothing to do, so you don't either, right? Just come up."
"......."
She used to get embarrassed about this sort of thing.
Actually, she still seemed embarrassed now.
But whether then or now, I didn't pay it much mind.
"Come on, hurry."
I told her casually to climb onto the bed.
Watching her blush the instant I said it... so adorable.
"Hehe..."
Lize, with her shy eyes and expression, obeyed and climbed onto my bed.
She was embarrassed, but she didn't dislike it.
"........"
"You get so much quieter than usual whenever this happens."
"...That never happens."
"Doesn't it?"
Lize had settled onto my bed.
I faced her and smiled.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Pfft..."
"...Young Lady."
"Sorry, sorry. Your reactions are just too funny."
"........"
Lize reacted with a mix of shyness and sulkiness to my words.
Just moments ago, she'd been nagging me from beside the bed, but now she was utterly silent.
Completely different from the Lize who'd been lecturing me earlier.
"That's why I tease you—with reactions like this."
"Eek..."
I'd only lightly placed my hand on her shoulder while lying there, yet she responded like this... I couldn't hold back the laughter.
To an outsider, it might look like I'd touched some overly sensitive spot.
"Lize."
"Yes... Young Lady..."
"Your face is all red."
"........"
"So embarrassed? We've done this plenty of times."
"...Yes."
"I've known you since we were kids. Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"
Honestly, I'd been doing this for ages, so her reacting like this now was the weird part.
Hugging Lize or lying together on the bed wasn't a one- or two-time thing.
Yet she got shy every single time, which was fascinating.
I'd gotten less embarrassed around Rozalin lately, but Lize showed no such change.
"So pretty it gets to you?"
"......."
"Hehe..."
Lize had said as much to me before.
That it was hard being around me because I was too pretty.
Aside from her shyness, it made me a little happy.
Her reaction was basically a compliment, right?
Saying I was so pretty it was burdensome to be close.
I wasn't hugely into my own looks, but compliments were always nice.
-Swish...
"Y-Young Lady?"
"What? Don't like it?"
"N-No... it's not that..."
"Then why?"
I'd moved my hand from her shoulder, shifting it slowly upward past her shoulder until it reached her neck.
No particular reason—just because her reactions were cute.
"Don't like it?"
"It's not..."
Lize kept failing to give a straight answer.
She clearly knew I'd stop if she said she disliked it, yet she wasn't refusing... so she probably didn't mind.
Of course, since she wasn't finishing her sentences, I was just doing as I pleased.
"Then it's okay to do more?"
"If that's... what you want, Young Lady..."
Lize swallowed hard, putting on a serious face to accept my teasing.
I'd only meant to pinch her cheek or something light.
But seeing her look so worried, I thought pushing further might make her cry outright.
A pretty girl like Lize would probably look stunning even crying.
Still, I preferred smiles just a tiny bit more.
"Just kidding. Kidding. I was only teasing because your reactions are fun."
"I-Is that so...?"
"Yeah. You kept nagging, so I told you to come up and quiet down."
"Ah..."
As I said that, I withdrew the hand stroking her neck.
The feel and texture had been surprisingly nice, tempting me with naughty thoughts of more... but our Lize was too shy.
"You don't have anything to do anyway, right? Wanna nap together?"
"Y-Young Lady?!"
"What? I didn't touch you."
I'd pulled my hand away, but that didn't mean I'd stopped wanting to tease her.
Far from it.
"Hehe, it's been a while since we napped together. We did it all the time as kids."
"But it's still early..."
"Come on, I've been tired lately and sleeping well at night anyway. Just a short nap, okay?"
I drew deliberately close to Lize.
We were both lying on the bed, but I got so near our skin nearly touched, then said it like that.
"Hm?"
"........"
No agreement or nod from Lize... but I slowly pulled up the blanket from the bottom.
Her reactions were like a timid little hamster—so cute.
Sure, she was taller than me, but the vibe was spot on.
"Hehe..."
I just wanted to keep teasing her.
A cuteness totally different from the easily spooked Karen type.
Of course, Karen might actually cry if teased too much, so I couldn't do it easily...?