Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: I'm Pretty
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One thing was certain...
I was pretty.
It felt a bit embarrassing to say it myself, like I was bragging, but there was nothing I could do about it.
"Hmm..."
No matter what I wore, it all suited me so perfectly?
Up until now, whether it was dresses, shirts, sweaters... or any kind of clothing, I'd never felt like something didn't suit me or looked off.
I thought I had a fairly objective view of myself, but it suited me this well—what could I do?
"Hmm..."
"Young Lady?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
Lize suddenly called out to me while I was staring into the mirror.
I wondered what was wrong.
"...Why are you wearing the academy uniform?"
"Because it suits me so well?"
"...?"
"I need to get used to it anyway, and it just looks incredibly good on me, so I've been wearing it."
"...Pardon?"
Lize stared at me with a look of utter disbelief.
Was it that ridiculous?
I thought anyone would try on pretty clothes and check if they suited them.
"Why?"
"Well... It's just the first time you've done something like this, Young Lady."
"Is it?"
I thought about what Lize said, but... it didn't seem like the absolute first time.
I often tried on clothes and looked in the mirror even on normal days.
It was my own appearance, but I couldn't deny it was the kind of face that made mirror-gazing enjoyable.
There were plenty of times when I'd throw on ordinary clothes just to check my looks.
"Doesn't it suit me?"
"Well..."
"Hmm... I haven't tried the tie yet, but maybe a bigger one? Or even an oversized fit might work since I'm petite."
It even felt like going fully oversized could look pretty good.
Of course, making it tighter to hug my body or even sizing it down a bit smaller could work too.
"Um... If you're happy with it, Young Lady, then that's fortunate."
"I wanted to buy you a new maid outfit too, Lize. But you kept saying you're fine."
"But... All the other maids wear the same uniform. It would be awkward if I wore something different..."
"That makes sense?"
"Yes..."
Well, Lize was a bit rigid about these things.
She accepted the earrings or necklaces I bought her and wore the casual clothes I gifted her... but only occasionally on weekends.
It was hard to understand why she wouldn't change her maid outfit.
"You'd look good in a cuter maid outfit."
"........."
"Hmm..."
"...Young Lady."
"I'm just looking and imagining. What's the problem?"
"...Understood."
I stared at Lize standing still and pictured her in a different maid outfit.
Maybe one with a super cute miniskirt vibe.
Or something more neat and elegant.
"Hmm..."
"........."
"Yeah."
"?"
I'd decided.
Not to try it right now, but I'd decided.
Lize avoided different outfits for fairness with the other maids, but it wouldn't matter at the academy.
The maids there wouldn't be from our house.
"Young Lady...?"
"Yeah? What?"
Maybe because I was unconsciously smiling with the corners of my mouth lifting.
Lize looked at me with a hint of worry.
Not worry for me, but for herself, of course.
"What's wrong, Lize?"
"...It's nothing."
"Really?"
"...Yes."
Of course, Lize wasn't bold enough to ask outright about something like that.
I was a little excited about Lize at the academy in three months.
She'd grown taller since she was little, and her face had become even prettier... A new maid outfit would surely suit her.
"But no matter how I look at you... You're too good-looking to just remain a maid, Lize..."
"...Pardon?"
I was just admiring Lize when the thought popped into my head.
Even though she was born into a baron's family, Lize's house was basically on the brink of ruin... practically commoner level.
"Lize, can I ask you something?"
"Uh... Yes, of course."
"Are you planning to work as a maid forever?"
"...?"
"I asked you this before. I'm just curious if you still feel the same."
With Lize's looks, even if her family was essentially nonexistent, marriage for a status boost was possible.
Among the women I knew, Lize was easily in the top five?
"Don't you ever think about doing something other than being a maid?"
"No."
"You're so firm about it."
"There's no need or desire to do anything other than serving you, Young Lady."
"Hmm... I see."
What did that answer really mean?
Was she just giving her lady the most pleasing response?
Or was it her honest, heartfelt thought?
I wasn't sure which, but it was a satisfactory answer, so I just nodded.
"Then you'll take care of me until I grow old and die?"
"...Pardon?"
"You don't want to get married or anything. So we'll be together until I die, just you and me."
"...Young Lady?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not getting married...?"
Oh.
Hadn't I mentioned it?
Thinking about it, I'd never told anyone about this.
Not William, not Rozalin, Ella, Karen, Lize, Ashley... no one.
Because... for a noblewoman, marriage was an enormously, tremendously important matter. Saying I wouldn't do it?
I'd let it slip without thinking, but oh well...
"What can I do if I don't want to?"
Seriously.
I just plain didn't want to.
"Why would I rub up against a man, press bodies together... Blech."
"......"
Even though I was living as a woman now and wearing a girls' uniform, I'd spent about twenty years as a man in my previous life.
Hanging out with guys as friends was one thing... but pressing skin against a man...?
"Blech..."
I really hated it.
I truly felt pure disgust.
William gave me plenty of allowance, earned good money, and wasn't abusive.
Even so, part of why I didn't like him much was that.
He was a man, so... meh.
Well, besides that, him constantly wandering outside with whores was another reason I couldn't help but dislike him.
Anyway, the thought of getting involved with a man had never crossed my mind since birth.
"Um... Young Lady?"
"Yeah?"
"No matter what... If the Family Head and Madam found out..."
"It's fine, it's fine. As long as you keep quiet, Lize, no one knows yet?"
I hadn't told anyone else besides Lize.
Even if our family had no pedigree and was a nouveau riche oddity, it was still noble. They'd want me to marry into a good house.
I was only twelve anyway, with six more years until adulthood.
"Lize."
"...Yes, Young Lady."
"That talk just now is absolutely secret. Got it?"
"...Yes, Young Lady."
Lize was someone I could really communicate with.
That was one reason I kept her as my maid.
Though her looks were the biggest reason?
"Hmm..."
After wrapping up the talk with Lize, I pondered marriage and such for a moment.
"Yeah. Super unappealing."
Men were really a no-go.
Better to date a woman, or if it had to be a man, just freeze him with ice magic.
Freezing me would be a massive imperial loss in many ways, so the other guy.
"...I'll live single forever."
That I had no intention of being with a man didn't mean dating women was fine?
Imperial law didn't even have provisions for women marrying each other, as far as I remembered.
Not that it was explicitly banned, but it wasn't fully accepted either.
"Dating a woman..."
That was pretty weird too.
*
"Teacher, what are you doing?"
I'd come to Ashley's room after a long time.
With the weather turning cold, Ashley slept even more, and I'd been busy too, so we hadn't met much.
Because of that, Ashley had basically become a freeloader at our mansion, eating and sleeping all day...
"Ah... Camellia..."
"Yes, Teacher. It's me."
A pretty freeloader like this was fine to leave alone.
I always thought this, but if Ashley weren't so pretty, wouldn't she be dead by now...?
I didn't know much about Ashley's past, but since staying at our mansion, every single day...
"Did you sleep well?"
"Mm..."
"Will you sit up for a bit? I have something to talk about."
"Mm..."
Anyway, I had business with Ashley first.
I handed her lukewarm water instead of caffeinated tea.
"Mm... Mm...... Mmm..."
Still half-asleep, she let me feed her... and slowly, Ashley began to pull herself together.
Though she didn't seem fully there yet.
"So... what's up...?"
"I told you I'm enrolling in the academy, right?"
"Yeah, that's right... You're going to Solchemia..."
She wasn't fully awake, but we could hold a normal conversation.
That was enough for this talk.
"So I'll be away from home for a while, and you won't be able to work as my magic tutor?"
"Yeah..."
"Then you'd have to leave our mansion."
"Yeah...?"
It was only common sense.
With me, the student, gone from the mansion, she'd just be... someone who ate and slept.
Though an exceptionally pretty one.
So now... I planned to propose a new contract, not as my magic tutor.
Honestly, people with Ashley-level magic skill were rare, and aside from sleeping a lot, she was smarter and more capable than expected.
Plus, even if woken from sleep, she'd listen to reasonable requests...
"Would you consider working as a mage for our family?"
"Hm...?"
"Just help with magic for things the servants can't handle, have tea with my mother... easy stuff like that."
It wasn't much different from what she did now.
Just install some AC magic in summer, heating magic on mirrors, help servants occasionally.
Otherwise, just sleep normally.
I didn't strictly need to ask Ashley, but I personally liked her a lot.
"What do you think?"
"Uh... Huh?"
I smoothly pulled out a contract and asked again.
Having a skilled mage in the mansion was obviously good, and Ashley-level ones were hard to find.
"You'll sign, right?"
"Wait... Let me think..."
"You've been with the family as my teacher for years... but never properly taught."
"Hm?"
"You just slept all the time and took your pay comfortably."
"That... Yeah, I did..."
Ashley herself admitted it—she'd been sucking honey.
Yes, "sucking honey" perfectly described her last few years.
Of course, I'd learned decent magic from her lessons, so she earned her pay... but still, honey-sucking was fact.
"But if I kick you out and you start working somewhere else... you won't get to lounge as comfortably. No more fluffy bed time like now..."
Frankly, the new contract I was showing Ashley was much better for us.
Lower salary than before, and clauses making her unable to refuse Rozalin's requests or such.
But I planned to keep her from having time to notice.
That could hurt me too, after all?
"If you work elsewhere... you might have to work seven or eight hours out of twenty-four..."
"That's..."
"And you won't be able to sleep freely like now. If you do, they might yell at you..."
"No..."
"Hmm... Staying with our family and working here seems way better. We won't disturb your sleep, and we won't give you much work..."
"Um... Camellia, where do I sign...?"
"Here, Teacher. You're the 'B' party."
"...Yeah, done."
Ashley's name and signature in the 'B' spot.
Above it, my name as the 'A' party.
Man... that was easy.
"Thanks, Teacher."
She hadn't read a single line?
There were no weird clauses, but from Ashley's perspective, dreaming of her current life, some weren't great.
In the end, she lost to her desire for easy, comfy sleep.
I never told her not to read it, so it really wasn't my fault, right?
"Pfft..."