Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 32
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
32
The hand that struck my cheek trembled violently.
Following that hand, my cheek also burned and vibrated.
A small scoffing laugh could be heard, as if in disbelief.
Malicious emotions rippled in those deep purple eyes.
She glared at me sharply, but I looked up at Juber with a confused face like an innocent Yeongae.
“I was worried the Marquis’s hand might hurt… I’m sorry for suddenly interfering. Are you alright?”
“Ah.”
As I bowed deeply and apologized, a soulless voice rang out.
Juber smiled crookedly then changed her expression back to something pretty.
She seemed displeased.
If I had stayed quiet, I might have been invited to the central table.
But with what I just did, I fell out of Juber’s favor.
However, I didn’t regret it.
Having been dragged down to the bottom myself, would I just stay still?
I know now that nothing changes by just staying still.
So I decided to become a water ghost.
It’s all about the angle, isn’t it?
Even if the people behind didn’t know, the nobles who were watching would have seen it as Juber hitting me when I was trying to apologize and she couldn’t forgive me.
If Juber didn’t stop here and continued to beat and punish the maids, she would become a villain who couldn’t read the atmosphere,
and if she stopped and apologized, she would become a villain who couldn’t control her emotions and raised her hand without knowing it.
And the ‘villain’ would definitely become a device to bring up stories about poison.
No matter which she chose, there was no decent path for her.
Juber’s lips trembled.
The gaze that flashed and swept over me entirely was soon hidden behind a smiling expression.
“Oh my, I made a mistake with Ebennain Yeongae. Could you please forgive me? You looked so similar,”
There was no one here with hair color similar to mine.
Yet saying she confused me because I looked similar to a maid was…
Was she picking on me for not having noble blood?
Then what was she going to do about it?
If you go up high enough, we’re all the same Australopithecus anyway.
Thinking that way, Juber seemed trivial rather than scary.
Like an immature teenager.
A bit pitiful too.
Wouldn’t she have been different if she had received more education and affection?
I naturally showed Juber a gentle smile filled with sympathy.
Should an adult act this way toward a child?
I didn’t have such behavior when I was young, but it’s possible.
“Of course. I’ll forgive you completely.”
“Thank y—”
“I’m sorry for taking away everyone’s enjoyable time.”
Juber seemed about to say something, but I immediately came in front of Juber and bowed to apologize.
The most important thing right now was to turn people’s hearts around.
Juber, who had been quiet, smiled with seemingly emotionless expression and bowed slightly to apologize.
“I’m sorry for causing a disturbance. Just to be safe, it would be better to have the mage at our manor check for safety before proceeding again.”
As she lifted her upper body and gestured to a maid, that maid hurried away.
A few minutes later, a man who appeared to be a mage appeared and went around checking all the tables.
The purple light that had been calm at other tables changed to green only at our table.
“Could you please bring us new tea and refreshments?”
I approached the maid who hadn’t been slapped and asked kindly, and the maid looked back and forth between me and Juber.
“Bring it.”
A cold voice was thrown out heavily.
Even so, after hearing Juber’s answer, the maid quickly left the greenhouse.
It would be quiet for a while.
Even if someone got poisoned, everyone would suspect Juber because of today’s incident.
It seemed I could enjoy tea time with peace of mind today.
After greeting politely, I slowly returned to my seat.
I felt a piercing gaze from behind.
But if I reacted to every single thing like that, it would only make the child’s personality worse, so I pretended not to notice.
When new tea and refreshments were prepared, the mage checked once more and proved to everyone that there was no poison.
Once it was confirmed that all tables were safe, people’s gazes scattered one by one to their respective tables.
I also had no more reason to stand, so I returned to my seat and sat down.
Pebello immediately looked at my cheek with worried eyes.
“Are, are you okay? It’s swollen terribly.”
“It hurt a little earlier, but I’m fine now. The Marquis made a mistake too.”
“But…”
“Hehe, how swollen is it that you’re like this? It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought…”
I slowly touched my cheek and took out a mirror to check.
Oh my, even I would be worried about this.
My white cheek had turned bright red and was definitely swollen compared to the other side.
Once I confirmed the condition, the pain seemed to gradually rise.
The throbbing and stinging pain made me unconsciously make “ow ow” sounds.
Still, it wasn’t a bad deal since one slap prevented my image from falling to the bottom.
I let out a deep sigh as if organizing my thoughts and sensations.
I started conversing with people again with a smiling expression.
***
At our table, soft love stories were exchanged.
The most exciting among them was Pebello’s unrequited love story.
About a year ago, a major merchant and his son, a Young Man, visited Pebello’s house.
While his mother was conducting business with the Marquis, the Young Man wandered around the manor and discovered a library.
It was fine to enter there, but he was in a difficult situation because the library was so huge that he couldn’t find his way out.
That’s when Pebello, who loved studying, entered that library, and the Young Man hid, worried he might be punished by someone scary.
Pebello, who was oblivious, didn’t notice the Young Man’s presence.
She was solely focused on taking out books for studying.
But perhaps she took out too many books, because while carrying them, she lost her balance and…
It was a familiar cliché.
Just before falling, the Young Man instinctively caught her and grabbed the books falling toward Pebello.
After this day, the two had been nurturing their feelings by sending letters or meeting briefly whenever merchants came to the Marquis’s house for business.
“But, but we decided to meet separately this weekend!”
Kyaaah!
This auntie might faint from excitement!
“So? Where did you decide to meet?”
I blushed and my eyes sparkled.
Just listening made my heart pound.
Is this why romance shows were successful?
Pebello hesitated, then covered her cheeks with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut.
“We’re going to have dinner at a restaurant and then watch a play…”
What should I do. She was so cute I wanted to hit a pillow.
Pebello’s eyelids lifted slightly.
A slightly bitter emotion rose on her face that had been full of embarrassment.
Though she was trying to smile, the hand stroking her cheek carried a hint of melancholy.
“Of course, they said this was charming too, but I want to show him my most beautiful appearance….”
It’s a complex.
When it comes to complexes, no matter how much people around you say it’s fine, it’s hard to overcome easily.
I quietly watched Pebello’s expression, then carefully grasped the hand fidgeting under the table.
“Shall I help you, Young Lady?”
Her head slowly lifted, and green eyes gazed at me.
“However, to ultimately transform beautifully, you’ll need to put in effort, Young Lady.”
“Effort?”
“I can only help bring out the hidden side of you, Young Lady.”
Pebello blinked slowly.
I smiled brightly with complete confidence.
***
After the tea party ended and I arrived at the manor, my body was exhausted.
I wanted to quickly return to my room, remove my makeup, put on comfortable clothes, roll around, and sleep.
Having only had tea and refreshments at the tea party, I was gradually getting hungry.
Going out to eat was bothersome. Eating with Kiel and the Middle-aged Man wasn’t appealing either, and just eating in my room meant waiting, which I didn’t like.
If only there was a convenience store in front of the manor, I could buy a rice ball and ramen to eat before sleeping.
I sighed deeply as I climbed the staircase.
Ugh, my knees hurt.
“Sillia?”
This voice is….
I turned my body following the voice.
As expected.
The Middle-aged Man standing at the end of the opposite staircase came into view.
Unintentionally, I hadn’t encountered the Middle-aged Man for a while.
Has it been about a week today?
Wow, it’s been a long time.
That was the entirety of my emotions upon seeing the Middle-aged Man.
I didn’t develop any particular affection or hatred.
He just seemed like some passerby, person number 1.
When I gazed at the Middle-aged Man with indifferent eyes, his pupils wavered briefly as if shaken.
But that was the end of it.
I didn’t worry or get angry.
He also pointed to his cheek with an indifferent expression.
“Is this beneath someone like you?”
“No.”
“I see.”
After that brief conversation, the Middle-aged Man went down the staircase.
He looked back once, but seeing me standing still in place, he walked toward the dining hall without lingering.
He must have been on his way to have a family meal.
I turned my head back and also headed to my room.
After returning to my room like that, what greeted me wasn’t Lili.
The window was wide open, and the curtains swayed gently with the wind.
And between the windows was some being in human form with sky-blue hair like mine, yet not human.
Ocean-blue eyes gazed at me, then smiled prettily with their eyes.
“Hello, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Who are you?”
“Hmm, you’re a child from another place now, aren’t you?”
The gentle yet mysterious voice spread throughout the room like an echo.
A child from another place.
Could they possibly know my identity?
Questions swirled in my head.
But my body entered the room on its own, as if being controlled by something.
The air in the room was cool like a forest, making my lungs feel comfortable.
I felt a strange sensation of being both dazed and clear-minded.
Click.
I quietly locked the massive door so no one could enter.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————