READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 5
Chapter: 5
The first place we arrived at was a decent restaurant.
Oh, just to clarify, it’s not your average, ordinary place; it’s a decent restaurant that even nobles could frequent.
Well, since I was technically a noble and so was Rosalyn, it was only natural that we ended up at a restaurant that suited our status.
I really didn’t want to end up at some commoner’s hangout, surrounded by commoners who would be intimidated by us nobles—that’s just not my style.
I had absolutely no intention of eating in a stuffy, dull atmosphere like that.
“What will you be having, Mother?”
“The deer steak and cheese fondue seem alright. They seem to be the signature dishes.”
“I think it’ll be good. Let’s try it.”
We selected our menus and placed our orders. Since the restaurant’s signature dishes were steak-related, I decided to go with the same. I thought Rosalyn might go for pasta or something, but she surprised me.
Well, that was just how things were.
Rize, who was standing behind me, had already had her lunch, so there was no need to keep her waiting; I just wanted her to sit comfortably.
Of course, Rize refused that, so she had no choice but to keep standing behind me.
“Were you really tired today since morning? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you doze off during lunchtime.”
“Ah… haha… I just dozed a little. Lying on the bed was quite comfy.”
I thought that was the end of the topic, but just when I thought it was done, Rosalyn brought up the sleeping thing again.
Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed since I had napped like an eight-year-old. It had actually been a long time since I last took a nap.
“By the way, Camelias, you have two tutors, right?”
“Yes. I have one for culture and etiquette and another for business and economics.”
“I saw you in class the other day; is the latter more to your taste?”
“More than a taste, it’s just more comfortable. I understand it better regardless of personal preference.”
Once we moved away from the nap topic, her responses started to flow more normally. Yeah, this kind of conversation was way better than the previous one.
It was so much better than discussing naps when we had already made plans.
“I could tell. You always looked sleepy during the culture classes, but your eyes were sharp in the other classes.”
“Was that so…? I didn’t really intend to.”
“That just means you were focusing hard. Don’t take it too negatively.”
“Hmm…”
If Rosalyn said that, it couldn’t be entirely unfounded.
Still, it felt a bit weird to hear that I was focused during that class; I never thought about it that way.
Wasn’t it rather the tutors who were putting in the effort by asking lots of questions?
Anyway… I didn’t really know, but it seemed that Rosalyn regarded me as a kid who was at least concentrating on studying. Maybe that was a win for me.
“Rize, did I really do that during class?”
“Yes, you actually had a higher frequency of responses during the culture and history lessons than during any other classes. It’s not just about asking questions; you spoke a lot in general with the tutor.”
“Hmm…”
Well, if two people said the same thing.
It was just better to accept that.
I couldn’t possibly know everything I did, and it was natural that some of it happened unconsciously.
Of course, I didn’t worry about it too much.
“But having something you like is good. And it’s fine even if it’s not something everyone commonly enjoys.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Most nobles are the same, right? The boys love things like knights when they’re little, but then as they grow, they get into money and politics. The girls giggle and chat, but later on, they become really serious. So, having something different might actually be good.”
Rosalyn’s words contained a bit of her own experiences. I could tell that’s how she felt just by looking at her expression.
She seemed like she was telling a bit of a tedious, slightly old-fashioned story. Well, her reasoning was actually valid. Nobles these days tend to be like that.
Thanks to that characteristic, our family had been criticized all day for lacking a proper background, so I knew it well.
“Plus, isn’t our lord quite happy that Camelia is interested in business?”
“That’s true.”
“Right, so… It might actually not be a problem at all? You should do what you want while you can.”
“…Did your mother ever have something like that?”
I ended up asking this question without thinking. Perhaps it was because I enjoyed the conversation and Rosalyn’s company so much.
We still had some time before the food arrived, so it was fine.
“Me? Hmm… I don’t think I really had anything like that. It was sort of the same as everyone else… I think I lived a life without much difference?”
“I see…”
“Well, I grew up being well-regarded in my territory, went into the academy a bit older, and I continued learning those subjects that young ladies would learn there and ended up like this.”
“………”
“So, I’m telling you this, Camelias. I’m the third daughter. My standing in the family was a bit ambiguous, you know? But you, Camelias, don’t have that issue, do you?”
Rosalyn suddenly switched from talking about herself to me, which surprised me a little. Plus, she used “our,” which shocked me even more.
“Excuse me?”
“You have support from the lord, and with no competitors, you’re in an environment where you can do what you want without any problems.”
You might just have a little more freedom to do what you want, right? She said with a smile.
What can I say… she is younger than William, still not a complete adult, yet she seemed incredibly mature. Of course, she is more of an adult than I am.
Still, I felt like she was more mature than me, and I couldn’t help but focus intensely on our conversation.
I’m not sure if it was her story, her voice, or her face that made me so attentive. Maybe it was all of it.
*
Dinner with Rosalyn turned out better than I expected.
Honestly, I was a bit worried since it wasn’t a restaurant we frequented often, but the deer steak was perfectly tasty, and the cheese had a flavor even better than I expected.
Rosalyn, who has a more sensitive palate than I do, smiled and gave it good reviews, which was a relief.
“Ahh.”
So, we returned to the mansion, and I casually laid back in a chair in my room.
Not that I was particularly worried about dozing off in bed again. It was just that the chair looked more comfortable to sit in.
“A tea party, huh…”
To be honest, I found it a bit annoying.
It wasn’t fun at all.
But I thought now would be the best time. The Leonhardt family was a new family, and we didn’t have a mostly good reputation.
William was trying to create some good will by marrying or giving money to other declining families, but the effects were rather vague.
No matter how strong or powerful they used to be, the most crucial thing was the central nobles. Those who lived in the capital and worked for the royal family.
But our family wasn’t at a level where we could meet those folks yet.
“I suppose we should properly hold a tea party.”
After all, I was the only heir.
Honestly, that was just because William had done nothing concerning his concubines and left things unattended, but still, that was the case.
From his perspective… he didn’t want to spend unnecessary funds raising more children, didn’t have time to worry about his growing offspring, and didn’t want to take on more responsibilities…
Hmm. Sounds trashy!
“Well, at least he makes money well. He gives me a nice allowance.”
I thought about it for a moment, and maybe the reason William wasn’t having more children was because of me.
I know it sounds like a rather egotistical thought, but he had shown quite good results so far as his heir, right?
“If I had no talent for business, would I have had a younger sibling…?”
I didn’t really know.
“Anyway, the important thing now is the tea party. I need to build relations with other young nobles.”
As much as I wanted to build ties with nobility higher than ours, the situation wouldn’t allow for it currently.
It was a matter of gradually building from the ground up. It wasn’t just because of William, but I was essentially the next heir of the Leonhardt family, and when that time came… there was nothing I could do about it.
Rather than clumsily floundering to build connections after becoming the heir, it would be better to leisurely establish relationships now as if I was playing. Well, it wasn’t like William had completely passed on this task to me.
“Maybe I should invite some nobles that are a bit distant first.”
I could take my time with the closer ones, so I decided to check out the more distant noble families first. The families from the east, west, and so forth…
“Hmm.”
Actually, I didn’t have particularly close noble friends, so I found myself pondering over it more. The only person I could think of around my age was Rize…
“What should I do?”
I was reading the list to pick people who would be appropriate to invite to the tea party. The Niesistar family from the south, the Liang family from the west… and others…
The selection criteria were primarily powerful families among the barons and viscounts. They might not have territories, but they had people working in the capital and had a considerable influence in surrounding areas.
To be honest, there weren’t many, but I didn’t expect more than ten of them to come either.
The primary condition was that they needed to exist at all. After all, there were other criteria to meet, too.
“Just the right kind of families…”
Since the butler and Rize had already narrowed down the list for me, choosing the noble young ladies to invite wasn’t too difficult.
Maybe I’d invite about six?
The thought of mingling with kids below ten made my head hurt already. But I was too far now to shrink back.
“Sigh.”