Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Dreading the Academy
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"Aaah... I don't want to go to the Academy..."
"Young Lady."
"What's so fun about going there anyway...? Honestly, won't I just end up wandering around listening to the same old gossip as always?"
I was chatting with Lize in the garden.
I'd already sorted out everything business-related sufficiently, which meant my workload had shrunk dramatically.
So I was just killing time talking with Lize like this.
"........"
"See? Even Lize can't argue back!"
"I can't really deny it, can I...?"
"Right?"
"...Yes."
Lize had been with our family since she was a child.
She came from a baron's family, but... she'd lived in the mansion as a maid from such a young age that she knew our family's situation all too well.
Well... it didn't matter anyway, since Lize wasn't the type to spread our family's information around.
"If I actually go... it's obvious the kids from other families will spout nonsense at me..."
"...Young Lady."
"The heirs from other families going to the Academy won't have to manage businesses at that age... so they probably have no idea what I even do, right?"
"That's true, but..."
"At least the adults know a little something..."
The young nobles truly seemed clueless.
Even though I'd rolled out a ton of businesses over the past four years or so, to the other nobles, our family was still just seen as upstart snakes.
"Sigh."
"...Still, Young Lady, your looks are outstanding. That should make it fine, shouldn't it?"
"My father's ugliness makes our family get trashed extra hard, but honestly, we get criticized more for lacking pedigree regardless of appearances?"
"...That's."
William really had gained weight and wasn't much to look at, but... that was the main reason we got flak.
Well, there were fat, ugly nobles besides William too.
"Sigh... I'm already worrying about what it'll be like after I get there..."
"........"
I was seriously anxious about life at the Academy already.
Having to endure three years of gossip.
I was used to it, but it still didn't feel great.
Of course, since it was Rozalin's own family dishing it out right now, I didn't mind too much.
Still, it wasn't pleasant.
"And it's not just me—I'm worried they'll do the same to you, Lize."
"Me, Young Lady...?"
"Yeah. You're going as a Leonhardt servant, Camellia Leonhardt's maid, after all. They won't treat you nicely."
"........"
"Right?"
It was impossible not to worry in this situation.
Of course, things had improved a lot compared to before, thanks to the Leonhardt-Rose family connection.
Plus, William and I had made a name for ourselves through business in various ways.
There were still... plenty of nobles who didn't know, but compared to the past... it was really much better.
Still, it seemed bearable.
"Oh, right."
"?"
"Remember that time? I must've been almost seven, or maybe six..."
It was so long ago I could barely recall.
That was probably around when my first stepmother ran away...?
"There was that letter that suddenly came to our house. Remember?"
"Ah."
Lize remembered it the moment I mentioned it.
A lot of time had passed, but that event... was definitely unforgettable.
Even for me, who'd been an adult in a past life... my body was too young back then, so I was pretty sensitive.
It was something shocking enough for a little six- or seven-year-old girl to go through.
"I was really shocked back then..."
"...That much is certain."
"I thought it was just a normal letter, but who knew we'd get that many death threats... I really had no idea."
"Yes..."
"Sigh... I still don't get why they sent that stuff to me."
They were anonymous, but from the handwriting and all, they were clearly from some noble family.
But the content... for a six- or seven-year-old girl... um...
"Ugh."
They were seriously messed up people.
"Why send murder-threat-level stuff like that? I still don't understand. If it'd been sent to Father, I could've gotten it a little."
"I think so too. You weren't running any businesses then, Young Lady—just living in the mansion."
"Right?"
It was ancient history now, but it had been pretty traumatic.
Before that, I had no idea what noble society felt like.
After that, I got a rough sense of it.
Not that I wanted to know.
"Sigh... I hope they go easy on me once I'm at the Academy."
"...One can only hope."
We were having that kind of conversation while sitting quietly, sipping tea and passing the time.
There wasn't anything else to do, after all.
Days like this with absolutely nothing to do were rarer in my life than not, but now there was way too little.
Sipping the rose tea we'd bought from Rose Territory.
"Camellia?"
"Mother?"
That's when Rozalin entered the garden.
What was this?
"You were here?"
"Uh... yeah. I've just been here since earlier."
Rozalin apparently hadn't known I was here.
I'd been here for about an hour, probably.
Seeing the other maids following behind her, she must've come to have tea too?
With the telegrams and the weather cooling down, drinking tea in the garden was much nicer now.
"Did you come for tea?"
"Yeah."
"Then sit here. There's space."
"Hehe, shall I?"
Lize was sitting there, but Rozalin didn't fuss over things like that anyway.
Actually, Lize was from a baron's family too, right?
"You're having rose tea?"
"Yes. I wanted something sweet for a change. Lately, it's all been bitter flavors, so I was a bit disappointed."
"Better than you expected?"
"Personally, it's the best thing out of the Rose Family's products."
"Pfft..."
Truly the best from the Rose Family.
Ah, second to Rozalin.
I hadn't seen anyone as good as Rozalin, so among everything from the Rose Family, she was the absolute best.
"Is it tasty, Lize?"
"Compared to the usual black teas and such, I definitely think the sweetness is a plus."
"Hehe, really? Glad everyone's enjoying it."
Rozalin was even asking Lize, sitting next to me.
She and Lize had crossed paths a lot since before.
As my maid and my mother.
It would've been weirder if they hadn't.
"But Camellia, what were you two talking about?"
"Oh, just stuff about when we go to the Academy and some old stories. There's not much business left to discuss anymore, right?"
"Ah... yeah, true."
I was the one who'd sent Lize on business errands a lot before, as my maid.
But now, there really was no need.
We'd just been chatting idly.
"Lize, you're going to the Academy with Camellia too, right?"
"Yes, Madam."
"Hmm... I'm pretty worried."
"You don't need to worry that much..."
Our family's reputation made worrying natural, of course.
But Rozalin fretting too much felt a bit off.
It was... burdensome for me to worry her that much.
Especially since it was Rozalin—her concern felt really good, but awkward.
"How can I not worry when you're heading to the Academy, Camellia?"
"I heard from Older Sister Karen that everyone at the Academy gets along these days..."
"Still can't help but worry."
"......."
"Besides, Camellia... you're bound to be a hot topic among the students."
"Is that so...?"
Even so, we're just a viscount family.
Would people really talk about me that much?
Rozalin was seriously worried, but honestly, it didn't make much sense to me.
"What do you think, Lize?"
"I... think the same as you, Madam."
"Huh."
"If it's you, Young Lady, you'll definitely be a big topic among the other students at the Academy."
"Right?"
"Yes."
"...Huh?"
Even Lize next to me agreeing with Rozalin.
What was going on...
"Is it really that bad...?"
No matter how I thought about it... it didn't feel like a situation needing such massive worry.
Sure, because we were Leonhardt.
I was prepared for some bullying or gossip.
But would a mere viscount family really become such a huge conversation topic for students?
In a way... we were just a viscount family.
Yeah, one without roots... and trashed in all sorts of ways... but still just filthy rich upstarts.
The issue was how filthy rich we were.
"Is it really that serious...?"
"Yes."
"........"
It seemed like over-worrying.
Sure, Lize and I had been fretting about Academy life just earlier.
But the way they talked, it was like the world's worst criminal enrolling and scaring all the students—like some weird novel plot.
"Has Leonhardt become that popular of a family...?"
"Hmm... Even without Leonhardt, the students will be super interested in you, Camellia."
"Huh?"
"Right, Lize?"
"Yes."
"...?"
I had no idea why they were worrying this much.
The more I heard... the less sense it made.