READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 13
Chapter: 13
William returned.
I already knew he was coming back, and so did the servants inside the mansion.
It wasn’t unusual for William to be away for a few weeks on business before returning, so it wasn’t exactly a sudden event, nor was it something to celebrate.
Maybe that’s why, without any fanfare, William got straight to work as soon as he arrived at the mansion.
“It seems like he took care of business with the other families well. Especially since he even met Baron Nieshista.”
I thought the same, and William said it too. To be honest, he did well.
William and I were having a long-overdue chat in his study.
“Did Baron Nieshista say he’d visit again?”
“Yeah, it seems my proposal piqued his interest. In fact, the residents in the Nieshista Domain have been pretty disgruntled lately.”
“Right. Good job. You really are my daughter.”
Well, that was true. It was because of William that I got involved with this matter.
He had been teaching me about managing money since I was little. It would be hard to deny that I owed him a lot.
Besides, most of the information I gathered was also from William. He was definitely helpful in many ways.
“Well, how’s mom doing this time?”
“She’s nice. Not much different from last time.”
“Hmm…”
Mom was also nice before she ran away. Objectively, that assessment felt accurate.
It’s true that Rosalyn isn’t a bad person. I just said it like that.
“She’s the youngest, not exactly the heir, but she’s a Rose; she must be useful.”
“Haha…”
This time too, William regarded his wife merely as a trophy, just a way to enhance the family’s and his own reputation.
I already knew that, and most of the mansion’s servants probably did too. Yeah.
Knowing this fact, I was no longer surprised. I just accepted it.
I had no hope or thoughts that William would change. What worried me more was how Rosalyn would react…
“…By the way, how did the business go? You came back earlier than expected. Was it resolved well?”
“Well, there aren’t that many wealthy nobles in the east. It wrapped up more easily than last time. It’ll probably be in the newspaper soon.”
“I’m glad it went well.”
“Yeah. It was well resolved this time. Soon… I’d like to try dealing with those expensive families like Baal, but… negotiating with a duke is probably difficult.”
“There’s nothing you can do. Those people…”
“They act like they love history for no reason. In the end, they also love money and are blinded by it.”
I agreed with William’s words.
Honestly, it made me feel a bit sour. Maybe because I lived in modern times, I really disliked that aspect.
Some people seem to always hear praises because they’re from respectable noble backgrounds, it’s really frustrating.
“Anyway, thanks for doing well with this matter. I hope you do well next time as well.”
“I’ll try my best to meet your expectations. Though I might fail.”
“As long as you don’t incur heavy losses.”
Yeah, that makes sense. I wasn’t using up a massive amount of William’s wealth in what I do anyway.
After chatting about such things, I left William’s study.
Since it had been a while since he was in the mansion, there were many documents William needed to handle, related to the mansion and more. So, I just headed out.
It seemed the servants were all working diligently since it was William’s first return in a while.
The workers were moving luggage, and the maids were tending to William’s snacks. The butler kept going back and forth helping with William’s tasks.
“Hmm…”
Since I had nothing to do and the mansion was chaotic…
“Maybe I should go visit Rosalyn.”
Rosalyn didn’t dislike meeting me and was rather welcoming.
After leaving William’s study, I walked straight to Rosalyn’s Room.
I made my way down the slightly messy hallway.
“Camelia?”
“What are you up to?”
I knocked, got permission, and stepped into Camelia’s room.
Camelia wasn’t doing anything special; she was just sitting in a chair arranging flowers. Roses, of course.
“I was just a bit bored and decided to do some flower arranging. What’s up?”
“Um…”
She looked a little… off.
I hadn’t spent much time with Rosalyn, but I could definitely tell her expression wasn’t good.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Um… never mind.”
I asked that question without thinking, but I didn’t press further.
It seemed Rosalyn didn’t want to answer, and changing the subject felt right. There was no need to push that topic.
“I came to see if you were bored. Was that an inconvenience?”
“No, not at all. I was just curious.”
“I just spoke with Father for a bit, but I had nothing to do, so I came to check in.”
Rosalyn stopped her flower arranging and began to focus on our conversation a little more.
We sat facing each other in our chairs. Since we had nothing to do, chatting felt fine. Plus, I was a bit worried about Rosalyn’s earlier expression.
“Did you have a good conversation with the head of the family?”
“Yeah. He hasn’t been here in a while, but nothing felt particularly weird. In fact, he was pleased that the business went well and that the tea party-related matters turned out great.”
That was the mundane talk. It was better than discussing anything ambiguous.
“That’s great. After all, Camelia really did well back then. The head of the family must have praised you.”
“Hehe.”
“And didn’t you discuss anything else?”
“Um… not really. I just asked about such things and how everyone was doing before heading out.”
We talked about Rosalyn, but I let it slide.
It seemed it would be too much to bring that up with Rosalyn right now.
For now, I continued the conversation with Rosalyn. She looked much more relaxed now compared to when I first entered her room.
At least, I felt relieved that her expression had improved.
“Camelia, it’s that time. Should we go to bed?”
“…Yeah. Let’s sleep.”
That seems like what Rosalyn was hoping for, so I decided to go along with what she wanted.
I had a conversation with Rosalyn just before talking to William, and I thought… perhaps something happened back then.
“…….”
I got back into Rosalyn’s bed.
I had been napping in Rosalyn’s bed quite a bit lately, but still, it felt… awkward.
I felt shy too.
A woman’s bed certainly had that effect. The scent was different, and the unique softness felt distinct.
I was a girl too, so finding that so striking felt strange, but it really was.
Rosalyn’s genuine, ordinary smiles also felt a bit strange when looking at them from the bed, making me feel bashful.
“…Will Mother not sleep?”
“Huh? Me?”
“…Yes.”
I asked that question without thinking.
I felt embarrassed and awkward lying in bed alone.
Rosalyn likely wouldn’t have such thoughts and would just look at me normally.
“It’s just that… it’s kind of embarrassing to be sleeping in your bed. It’s not mine, after all…?”
I cautiously asked while looking at Rosalyn sitting next to me on the bed.
Honestly, I felt a little… uneasy.
Taking over Rosalyn’s bed and lying comfortably while sleeping felt truly wrong.
“So… how about… sleeping together…?”
…That felt really embarrassing.
I was simply suggesting something normal a daughter might offer to her mother, but I felt overly bashful. There shouldn’t be anything strange about a daughter and mother sharing the same bed.
Hearing my suggestion, Rosalyn didn’t seem displeased at all.
“Hmm… Should we?”
And… she looked positively inclined, more than I expected.
“…Of course, if you don’t want to, it’s not necessary…”
“I have nothing to do anyway. Plus, I did want to try sleeping with my daughter like this.”
“…”
She smiled.
There was truly no negative undertone on her face.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected Rosalyn to respond so positively, looking like it was completely fine.
I was just thinking she would say, since she wasn’t sleepy, she’d just stay next to me for a bit—something exactly like that.
“Just wait a second. Let me change.”
“………”
Rosalyn said that and left the bed.
As she stepped out of bed, maybe because of that, the outline of her through the curtain caught my eye.
-Swish…
“………”
It was awkward enough as it was, and now here she was changing clothes behind the curtain.
Even though it was just a shadow, I could clearly tell it was Rosalyn, and I could see that she was changing out of her clothes. And…
The sound of her undressing…
“…Huh.”
I felt like a complete perv.
It was just… a plan to sleep together.
How did it turn into this…? Even though I made the suggestion, look where we are now.
“Camelia, should we sleep now?”
“Y-yes…”
Rosalyn, now in a negligee… asked that as she got back into bed.
She smiled normally while looking at me… just like that.
But I couldn’t look at her with a normal gaze.
“…Hehe, I feel like it’s been ages since I shared a bed with someone. Perhaps… aside from when I was little with my sister, I can’t recall any time.”
“I think it’s… been a while for me too…”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
That was true.
And… truthfully, I hadn’t properly answered. I just responded vaguely to go along with what Rosalyn said.
Honestly, I felt too shy to answer properly right now.
No matter how much she was my stepmother… she wasn’t just anyone; she was effectively an adult and undeniably someone with captivating beauty.
With such a pretty and attractive person beside me, wearing just a black negligee, lying in bed together was… really, really…
“Should we sleep?”
“…Yeah.”
It was awkward.
Lying next to me, Rosalyn, her beautiful face… and her negligee. The skin and silhouette on display because of that attire…