Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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15

“Fifty.”

The counting ended at 50.

My last memory was greeting, leaving, and collapsing?

Even in that situation, I had managed to secure the gold coins properly.

It’s a bit scary even to me, but I have to protect my own money.

Well done!

I patted my own hair.

Since I was tired, I pulled the string of the gold coin pouch tight to close it and placed it beside me to sleep again.

With this money, I can pay back the debt to the Art Supply Shop owner and buy materials to prepare for the Crown Princess’s makeup, right?

After I sleep and wake up, I’ll write a shopping list, go to the Village to buy things, eat delicious food, and are there stray cats in the Village? I’ll look at cats too…

Snore.

I heard from Lili later, but apparently I collapsed that day and couldn’t open my eyes for 3 days.

***

Tap tap tap.

The sound of shoe heels echoed urgently in the wide Corridor.

Kiel ran to his room while panting.

His face had turned pale, worried that someone might have seen him coming out of Sillia’s Room.

‘Damn it, damn it.’

It felt like gazes were following him from behind.

Thud.

As the door closed, Kiel gripped the door handle tightly and pulled it toward himself.

So that no one could enter his room.

Even so, his heart pounded loudly and couldn’t calm down easily.

Kiel didn’t like Sillia.

She suddenly came into the Manor and stole all of father’s attention.

Telling him to be good to her, telling him to be like his younger sibling.

In the end, Sillia was just a bastard child with lowly blood mixed in.

Isn’t it strange to like someone like that?

A child who was gentle, quiet, only liked books, and stayed cooped up at home.

That was Sillia.

Kiel pondered.

How could he make father lose interest in Sillia?

How could he make her leave on her own?

The answer to that question was surprisingly easy to find.

He could act like the Older Brother the Middle-aged Man wanted while making the Middle-aged Man disappointed in Sillia.

Sillia was the kind of child who couldn’t say anything when her book was taken away, only managing words like “That’s not true.”

Such a child would definitely not be able to go to the Middle-aged Man even if she knew Kiel was bullying her.

From age 9, Kiel pretended to care for Sillia attentively in front of father.

During dinner time, he would recommend various foods for Sillia to try and engage her in conversation by asking about books he had seen in passing.

The Middle-aged Man looked favorably upon such behavior from Kiel.

When the Middle-aged Man wasn’t around, Kiel would give money to maids to make it look like Sillia had stolen something or committed acts of violence.

Sillia didn’t make excuses.

No, she couldn’t.

When the Middle-aged Man frowned and asked why she did such things, she would move her lips like a mute and then bow her head.

Once, twice.

As incidents increased, the people in the Manor began to look down on Sillia.

They didn’t treat her like nobility.

Then they would bully Sillia on their own accord.

Since they wouldn’t be punished for it anyway.

Every night, crying sounds could be heard from inside the room.

Kiel would follow those sounds inside and comfort Sillia.

“Shh, it’s okay. Should I talk to father and have them kicked out? Those people who are bullying you.”

Every time he asked this, Sillia would shake her head.

But from a week ago, Sillia started acting strange.

She straightened her usually hunched body and looked directly at Kiel.

“Older Brother likes this.”

The Sillia who had cried in Kiel’s arms until just a few days ago had disappeared.

Starting with those words, Sillia gradually cornered Kiel.

Kiel thought it was simply a brief rebellious phase.

So he slipped money to the Young Man.

“Prepare it as I told you. Then I’ll give you double this amount. You said you have young children at home? You’ll need to keep working here to feed them.”

The Young Man hesitated but flinched at Kiel’s latter words and accepted the money.

Kiel thought all that remained was for Sillia to come to her senses and become docile again.

But.

But what came back was the Middle-aged Man’s cold gaze and house arrest, which he had never experienced before.

“You must know that I’ve been very lenient with you all this time?”

“Father, I’m being wronged! Why are you only listening to Sillia…!”

“The Young Man testified.”

“You believe that person’s words? Sillia could have told him to give false testimony!”

“Kiel Ebennain!”

“Fa, ther…”

“There were people who saw you and the Young Man together. Will you call even them liars?”

“…”

“Considering the days you locked Sillia in her room, 6 days doesn’t seem like such a long period.”

Kiel trembled all over, unable to say anything.

The Middle-aged Man frowned and stared at Kiel before leaving the room.

“Don’t make me feel any more disappointment in you. You’re already twenty-three. How long will you act like a child?”

Drip.

Tears fell down Kiel’s cheeks.

Even after the door was completely closed and firmly locked, Kiel stared blankly at the door for a long time.

On the day his house arrest was lifted, he was summoned by the Middle-aged Man.

And what he heard was not to enter Sillia’s Room carelessly.

Something about her collapsing.

Kiel said he understood, but in his mind he was already thinking of the path to Sillia’s Room.

Around dawn, when no one could see,

Kiel quietly entered Sillia’s Room.

On the white bed with sky-blue blankets and white pillows, his nemesis lay with her eyes closed.

Seeing Sillia, emotions mixed wildly, creating waves that gently covered his heart before settling down as if nothing had happened.

The Middle-aged Man’s words echoed in Kiel’s mind.

‘Don’t make me feel any more disappointment in you.’

His clenched fist trembled.

No, his entire body seemed to tremble.

Even his voice trembled.

“If only you weren’t here, father wouldn’t have been disappointed in me. Don’t come back. If you’ve collapsed, just go away like this.”

Kiel found Sillia so detestable.

Before collapsing, she had monopolized father’s attention, making it impossible for Kiel to do anything.

“Please, please I’m begging you, don’t wake up. Just disappear quietly, please.”

He resented her so much, yet he couldn’t harm Sillia.

Because father would be sad.

And he would no longer think of me as his son.

As I continued to look at Sillia, surging emotions came rushing in waves.

Finally deciding to leave, Kiel looked around his surroundings.

Kiel’s gaze stopped at the table beside the bed.

A pouch full of gold coins was sitting there alone on the table.

‘Did father leave this behind? He never left any when I was sick.’

I felt jealous.

I hated seeing it sitting there so perfectly.

I wanted those gold coins to fall to the floor and roll around in a mess.

The moment I reached out to knock them to the floor,

Click.

I met unexpected blue eyes.

The eyes seemed unfocused somehow.

As if bewitched by something.

It was definitely Sillia, but those eyes were a color I’d never seen before.

Startled, Kiel froze in place.

‘Should I run away?’

‘Or should I greet her?’

While he was confused, a low voice suddenly addressed Kiel.

“What are you doing?”

His heart dropped to the floor with a thud.

After that, he couldn’t hear anything else.

Only the thought that he needed to run away filled Kiel’s mind.

***

“Hey Lili.”

“Yes?”

“While I was unconscious, did any letters come?”

Having been forced into convalescence, I looked at Lili while drinking black tea loaded with sugar cubes.

As soon as Lili heard me, she went to the desk and looked around.

“Is there a particular letter you’re looking for?”

“Hm? There should only be one letter that would come for me though?”

“Um, well. While you were unconscious, letters piled up like a mountain.”

With an awkward smile, Lili lifted up a basket filled with a pile of letters.

Huh?

What is that?

Is that a pile of cookies?

I rubbed my eyes with both hands.

“They’re all let-ters!”

Perhaps thinking I hadn’t heard properly, she spoke clearly and shattered my hopes.

Not cookies, but all those are letters.

Oh. Oh, I see.

It’s only been three days though.

Are nobles originally this diligent?

Weren’t they supposed to be busy with parties all the time?

When do they even write all this stuff?!

I desperately swallowed the tears that seemed ready to fall.

“Could you bring it over here?”

“Of course!”

Lili nodded vigorously and brought the basket to the low table where the teapot and cookies were placed.

Colorful letter envelopes filled the basket to the brim.

When am I going to read all of this?

Even while sighing deeply, I immediately started picking up the letters one by one.

If I procrastinate, they’ll multiply beyond control, so let’s get through them quickly!

I’ll show the power of the hurry-hurry people!

I quickly scanned the sender’s names written on the letter envelopes like reading passages on a college entrance exam.

The letter I’m looking for is from the Crown Princess,

but it’s not this one, not that one either.

Separate from not finding it, these letters were definitely in script I’d never seen before.

Yet it was fascinating how I could read them smoothly without any difficulty.

Then I stopped abruptly at one letter.

[Sender.]

House of Jesuert, Ricardo Jesuert.

[Recipient.]

Ebennain Viscount Family, Sillia Ebennain.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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