Stepmother Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Being Yourself

Around the time that Ellen opened up her heart a little to Ricardo,

「A-aniue?」

Yuri somehow finally returned.

「Yeah. You’ve finally come back. Yuri, you really are quite delicate. I worry because from here on, you will be in parties swirling with nobles scheming about.」

Ricardo let out a sigh.

「M, my apologies. Aniue. 」

Yuri reflexively lowered his head, apologizing.

「No, it’s not that I wanted you to apologize though. Well, nevermind. Listen, alright?
Yuri, you always thought that I was the perfect elder brother, but I am not at all perfect. If I don’t study, I’ll get low marks in exams. Even with swordsmanship, my opponents are mindful of me, and with that, I am only somehow able to do it, so while I am not bad at it, I am not good at it either. I also make mistakes, but I gloss it over well. I am also kind, but there are times when I demand compensation as well. I am but an ordinary man, I just strive desperately so that it does not get exposed.」

Ricardo said so as gently as he could.

Yuri widened his eyes, kept opening and closing his mouth wanting to say something, but the words didn’t come out.

「Immediately denying what you’ve believed in until now would probably be difficult, however, little by little would be enough, so I would be happy if I could have your understanding. Just now, I had a thought while talking to Ellen-jou, the people I can 『be myself』 with are few. I would be happy if you could accept the me 『being myself』. Well, doing so immediately would be unreasonable though. For the time being, would you listen to my story?」

Ricardo planned on dropping all pretenses when he talked to Yuri, but he had not intended on having this kind of talk with him.

However, talking to Ellen was strange, is what he felt.

Ellen is a fun child, a strange child.

To mull over Ricardo’s words, Yuri thought for a bit, concluded with a nod.

「Okay. Well then, Ellen-jou. Yuri has already revived, let’s tackle answering that question at once.」

Ricardo said so, looking at Ellen with a teasing expression and winked.

『………Let’s not let Oniisan join the hide and seek as a comrade after all ( ´_ゝ`)』

Ellen felt a shudder down her spine at Ricardo’s wink.

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Philip

Oh, poor Ellen, she unwittingly made an older prince interested in her. Glad to see this novel translated again, it’s been a while.
Thanks for the chapter 1! God bless you, take care, and have a great day!