READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 15
Chapter: 15
Ella Nieshista returned to her territory. Well, she was still a child, after all.
It wasn’t quite the age for her to decide to sleep in a different mansion.
That said, it was surprising how much Ella enjoyed wandering around the mansion more than I expected. Honestly, there wasn’t much to see.
She truly laughed and had fun as we explored together, so it didn’t seem like she disliked it. In fact, her reaction leaned more towards enjoyment.
“Rize, is our mansion that pretty?”
“… It’s not particularly beautiful compared to other families, I suppose.”
“Is that so?”
While the mansion was quite large, it was only impressive by commoner standards.
Compared to the grand homes of nobles, it was certainly smaller, and the garden left much to be desired as well.
“Well… I’m glad she likes it.”
Still, I was simply bothered that she liked it so much.
I had ended up sweating from following Ella around the mansion. Of course, she had been the one running around energetically, and I was just trying to keep up.
“By the way, a social gathering, huh? I wonder how that will go.”
“It’s just a small social hall, a gathering of nobles and such.”
“Ugh…”
Just hearing about it made me not want to go.
Honestly, if it were up to my heart, I’d want to refuse outright. I didn’t want to deal with the little kids and their contests.
But the problem was, Ella had such a great time exploring the mansion with me today that I couldn’t help but go along with it.
At the same time, she eagerly showed expectations, saying how fun it would be to go to the social gathering with me, quite different from the first time we met at the tea party.
“Ella was cute, right?”
“…?”
“No, it’s not anything special. I thought she was super strict during the tea party, but she turned out to be much brighter than I expected.”
It was simply a thought that crossed my mind.
When I first saw her, I thought she was just a kid obsessed with noble games, but she actually seemed cuter than anticipated. It probably helped that, even as a little one, she had a remarkably pretty and adorable appearance.
“Well… I can’t help it. There’s no schedule anyway… Baron Nieshista offered this opportunity, so I suppose it’s right to go this time.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I think I’ll send a letter to Ella about it tomorrow.”
“I’ll prepare the letter envelope for tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
Anyway… that’s how it turned out. Somehow, I got the chance to meet with other nobles, which was good.
Of course, to be honest, I wasn’t particularly fond of socializing and building connections with nobles.
I was just laying the groundwork for my later ventures in business and leading my family, so it was just about making connections.
“Ugh…”
What I loved most was not making money or spending time in business, but rather just lounging around in bed like this. Honestly… hugging a big, soft, and fluffy pillow was what I preferred.
“Rize.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Don’t we have a bigger pillow than this in the mansion?”
“Uh…”
The pillow I was hugging wasn’t particularly large. Sure, it was bigger than a standard head pillow, making it comfortable to hug, but it wasn’t extremely large.
But judging by Rize’s reaction, it seemed there wasn’t one. Well… usually, pillows come in small and slightly larger sizes, so it’s not unusual they wouldn’t have one.
“None, huh?”
“… Yes. It seems nobody particularly wants to use larger pillows. And, since you’re still young, we usually only purchase small-sized pillows.”
“Hmm… I suppose that makes sense.”
While I understood, I still felt a bit disappointed.
Every time I hugged a pillow like this, I often wished it could be just a bit larger.
Otherwise, buying a big pillow tomorrow wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Though the south was lacking compared to the capital, our mansion was still situated in a pretty thriving city.
“Hmm…”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Uh… Rize?”
A sudden idea came to mind.
It wasn’t anything special, but I thought that if I hugged Rize just like I did last time when I picked her up from the chair, it would be somewhat like hugging a big pillow. Same concept.
Of course, it wouldn’t be exactly the same as a pillow.
“Want to come up on the bed?”
“Y-yes?”
“There’s still time before dinner, so I thought it would be nice to hug instead of a pillow.”
“That…”
Was she shy? Rize’s cheeks were slightly flushed.
She usually didn’t show such signs, making it even more noticeable.
Of course, Rize was pretty, so she just looked cute.
“Is it a no?”
“………..”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I was just putting it out there. I can go buy a pillow tomorrow.”
I wasn’t forcing her.
Right. I was just saying it casually. Honestly, I didn’t have an overwhelming desire to hug Rize; I just wanted to hold something slightly bigger than me. And Rize was the only person around in my room.
“… Alright. I’ll… come up.”
“Oh…”
To be honest, I didn’t expect Rize to accept so easily.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt good.
“Was that too much pressure?”
“No, it isn’t. It’s definitely not pressure.”
“Then I’m relieved. While Rize is my maid, I still want to get along with her well.”
That was the truth.
Among the people in the mansion, we were of similar age, and we had been together for a long time.
Plus, Rize was pretty. Even when I was a boy, I had a tendency to prefer pretty things, so even after she became a girl, I felt I adapted quite well.
“By the way, Rize, I feel like you’ve grown taller than before.”
“Well, it’s that growth spurt, I suppose.”
“Is that so?”
Rize climbed onto the bed, while I remained lying down.
Today, Rize was especially cute, avoiding my gaze with slightly flushed cheeks.
She was usually so calm and collected, but today, she showed embarrassment rather than composure, which was a nice change from the norm.
“Hehe… you’re the first person to lie on my bed, Rize.”
“… Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ve laid on my mother’s bed, but I’ve never laid on mine, right?”
“Ah…”
Rize laid on the bed, and that conversation had come about.
But looking closely, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty Rize truly was. It was the sheer essence of what one would call beautifully proper, if that makes sense?
“Come over here.”
“… Yes.”
I said that to Rize, and she gradually approached me on the bed.
Before I knew it, the distance got really close, and we were facing each other.
Rize’s dark eyes caught my attention, and I could even see the little tear marks in her eyes better than usual.
Quite honestly, her face seemed too pretty for a maid.
“Hehe, it feels interesting to touch the maid outfit each time.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yeah. It’s a different feel from a dress… Plus, maid outfits are cute, aren’t they?”
Maybe it was because I lived in modern times, but I got this occasional feeling, like seeing a cosplay. And with someone as pretty as Rize wearing it, it only made it stronger.
“……..”
“Is it okay to hug? Okay?”
“… Of course. I’m your maid, after all.”
“Hehe, but if you dislike it, it’s okay to say no. I’m not that demanding with you, right?”
“… Yes.”
I was worried.
Even though Rize was my maid, I felt guilty to keep making her do things she didn’t like. I genuinely wanted to maintain a good relationship with her.
“Ugh…”
“It’s warm. Something about it feels… different from a pillow. Plus, you’re taller, which adds to that.”
“R-really…?”
“Yeah.”
I hugged Rize on the bed like I would a big pillow.
Rize was about 160cm tall, which was considered tall for someone in her early teens.
Even though girls tend to hit secondary sexual characteristics earlier, she was still on the taller side… if her growth continues, she might even exceed 170cm.
“W-why do you keep staring at me?”
“Because you’re pretty?”
“Ugh…”
It was amusing to see Rize surprised by my words.
I hadn’t expected her to react this way, and her reactions were unexpectedly cuter than I anticipated.
Her face was redder than usual and she kept avoiding my eyes, which was just… genuinely amusing.
Was this how it felt when Rosalyn put me to bed on her own?
I wasn’t sure, but I felt like that was the case, even ever so slightly.
“Hehe…”
“Milady…? How long are we going to stay like this…”
“Huh? Well, until dinner, of course, right?”
“………”
I was just lying around, without anything to do, and now I had a cute, tall “pillow” in Rize.
It seemed reasonable to stay like this until morning, right?
Of course, Rosalyn would definitely scold me for not having dinner.
“Y-young lady…?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Why aren’t you wearing any underwear…?”
“Oh, a bra? Do I really need to wear that now?”
I answered Rize’s question with pure confusion.
After all, there wasn’t a need for me to wear a bra.
“Ah… I suppose that’s true…”
I was still quite young.
Only eight years old, literally just a child, so I didn’t need to wear one at this level.
And among kids, I was on the smaller side, so I truly didn’t need it just yet. In the future… I probably would need to wear one.
Maybe Rize, unlike me, simply forgot that I didn’t need to wear it.
Rize, unlike me, had an actual size and was taller.
Of course, her chest was smaller than Rosalyn’s, though?
“… Y-young lady. I think I need to go help with dinner now.”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry… I’ll see you at dinnertime in a bit.”
“Wait…”
Suddenly, Rize dashed out of my arms and ran out of the room.
… She even covered her face as she sprinted away.
“Was it really that embarrassing…?”
I wasn’t sure.
As far as I knew, girls held hands and hugged each other like that all the time.
Indeed… women were quite complicated. Even though I was living as one, I still felt that way.
“Well, she was still cute.”
Thinking about how flustered Rize was made me unconsciously grin.
I even had a slightly playful thought of wanting to see her again.