Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 6
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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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6
I hesitated at Felix’s question.
It seemed like lying to Felix would eventually be discovered.
He seemed to care about Sillia more than I thought.
But what should I tell him?
‘Another person has entered Sillia’s body!’
I’m sure he’d believe that just fine.
No, even if he believed it, that would be a problem.
He might try to perform some ritual to call back Sillia’s soul.
Being conscious is good and all.
But what if I end up entering some strange person’s body instead of my own?
I swallowed the food in my mouth and looked at Felix.
“I was dumped by the Crown Prince.”
“I saw that too, so I know. But getting dumped wouldn’t change your personality. Did a mage visit you?”
“I don’t know either. If a mage had visited me in the first place, wouldn’t I have memories of the mage? If my personality changed that much, they would have experimented on me or something. I really don’t remember anything.”
Felix fell silent at my answer.
It seemed like he didn’t have anything particular to say.
I looked elsewhere and spoke up.
“Now can I ask you something? How did you recognize that I was Sillia? Everyone else didn’t know.”
Felix stared at me intently.
Then he let out a deep sigh and shrugged his shoulders.
“I just had that feeling. We’ve known each other for years, how could I not recognize your face? It’s quite confusing, but if I look closely, I can see it a little.”
“I guess it’s still not enough.”
“What isn’t?”
Felix caught my muttered words like a ghost and immediately asked a question.
It was so fast that I flinched without realizing it.
“Well, I want other people not to recognize me.”
Unlike me who spoke bewilderedly, Felix suddenly leaned his face toward me and spoke with a forceful voice.
“Why do you want them not to recognize you? Are you planning to run away or something?”
Feeling like my eyes had grown wide, I pushed Felix’s face away with one hand and calmed my racing heart.
“No, it’s not like that. Don’t make strange assumptions.”
Felix, pushed away by me, persistently tilted his face to the side and made eye contact with me.
“Then what is it? Why do you want them not to recognize you?”
“Proving my ability? Something like that.”
“What ability proof?”
“I want to make money with makeup.”
“Makeup makes money? Everyone has servants do it or does it themselves.”
“You don’t need to know the details.”
“The old Sillia used to tell me everything, but now you’ve become too prickly, haven’t you? Well, if that’s the case, handle it yourself. I thought you were trying to meet the Crown Prince again at this ball.”
“…What?”
“What?”
“There’s a ball?”
“Why are you suddenly… Ah. You said you don’t remember?”
Felix pondered, looked around, and stared intently at Lili.
After a moment’s consideration, he lowered his head and brought his hand to my ear so only I could hear.
A whispering voice followed.
“The Crown Prince and the Emperor both love parties so much. Actually, they just love women that much. Anyway, almost every weekend is a series of balls.”
Felix, who had whispered as if sharing a secret, straightened his posture again and looked at me while sitting cross-legged.
“So part of why I came was to ask if you’d go to this ball with me too. I don’t want to go if I had my way, but I can’t skip it since I need to show my face.”
A ball.
The Crown Prince will be there too, right?
Surely this event would be enough to show off my abilities, wouldn’t it?
Besides, since it’s still early in the story, it’s before the Crown Princess makes a proper deal with the mage.
If I do well, couldn’t I catch the Crown Princess’s eye too?
I nodded and quickly ate the remaining sandwich.
Felix looked bewildered as he watched the sandwich disappear in an instant.
Regardless, I lightly dusted off my hands and stood up abruptly.
“Lili, is the village far from here?”
“Pardon? The village? It won’t be far if you take a carriage. But why are you suddenly asking about the village?”
“Felix, I’ll go to the ball with you. I have somewhere urgent to go, so get home on your own.”
“Hey, hey, wait! You’re going?”
Felix quickly grabbed my wrist and looked up at me.
I couldn’t move because of my wrist and looked down at Felix with a bewildered expression.
“Then who else would go if not me?”
“No, I mean why are you going? You can just send someone.”
Felix spoke as if it were obvious while looking even more bewildered than me.
Thinking about it a little, Sillia was a noble after all.
A noble going to the village for no reason?
Even I thought it seemed somewhat strange.
She has plenty of money, so why bother?
But the problem is whether they can find exactly what I’m describing and bring it to me properly.
I pondered and looked at Felix.
Felix is an outsider and a noble from another family, so would they bring it properly if he orders it?
When my eyes met Felix’s, I sent him a suspicious look.
Felix looked around and then looked at me with an aggrieved expression.
He seemed to have no idea what I was thinking.
“Felix.”
“Huh, huh?”
“Then you try ordering them.”
“What?”
“What do you mean what. To bring what I need. You know they don’t listen to me well.”
Felix grumbled to himself as if asking why I was using him like a servant.
Still, without saying anything else, he called over a passing young man.
“Come here for a moment.”
“Yes?”
The young man came over to us obediently, though with some confusion.
Felix nodded as if telling me to order this young man to do whatever I needed.
I cleared my voice and drew a specific appearance in my head.
Then I slowly spoke.
“Could you go to the art supply shop in the village and buy some brushes? But not just any brushes, thin ones. Square-shaped and flat ones. And I need round but thin brushes. And also….”
I said slowly, but I didn’t say few.
After finishing about 5 minutes of explanation, the young man, Felix, and even Lili were looking at me like people who had lost their souls.
Fine. I’ll just go buy them myself.
If I wait for delivery and get the wrong items, my schedule will be messed up.
I looked at Lili.
“Lili, could you buy them?”
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
Hearing Lili’s answer, I turned my head to look at Felix.
“For that reason, I need to go buy them myself.”
“….”
Felix must not have come to his senses yet.
When Felix gave no response, Lili hurriedly continued my words.
“But there’s no need for you to go through such trouble, my lady….”
“I think it would be more troublesome to receive the wrong items and then have to recite everything again. What do you think, Lili?”
Lili looked flustered but couldn’t bring herself to disagree with my question.
I sent away the dazed servant and patted Lili’s back.
“I’ll be back.”
“My lady….
The warm atmosphere was suddenly shattered by an intruder who barged in.
“Come with me.”
“What?”
Felix, who seemed to have finally come to his senses, smiled smugly with an expression full of self-confidence.
“Are you planning to cry after bandits steal everything from you?”
Was Sillia a crybaby? Why does everyone around here keep asking if I’m going to cry?
And going together should be with someone like a knight….
Hmm, though the knights would probably look down on Sillia too.
I deliberated for a moment, then sighed and nodded my head.
Felix’s expression brightened like an excited puppy.
“Right? Lili would definitely get in trouble if she went carelessly. Come with me. I have things to buy anyway.”
Though I found Felix suspicious, his words weren’t wrong, so I nodded.
Once Felix confirmed my opinion, he shoved bread into his mouth and chewed loudly.
***
I handed the basket to Lili and walked toward the carriage.
But Felix just stared at me as I stood still.
I narrowed my eyes sharply at Felix’s silence, as if asking what the problem was.
Felix hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh.
“You’re going out like that?”
“Why?”
“Might as well say ‘I’m a noble, please steal everything from me’?”
“…Ah.”
I relaxed my eyes and looked down at myself.
This appearance would definitely stand out.
Felix looked around and approached a passing servant.
Then he moved his mouth, saying something.
After being held up by Felix for about 5 minutes, the servant brought a long black cloak.
“Wrap this around yourself. Cover your head completely too. Your hair color is distinctive, so everyone recognizes you.”
“Isn’t that the same for you?”
“I have my own. I always wear it when I go to the village.”
I nodded and took the cloak Felix handed me, covering myself completely until I became a black mass.
Felix seemed to glance at my appearance.
However, he didn’t say anything and headed outside the manor toward the carriage he had arrived in.
***
Clatter, bump.
The carriage moved peacefully along the road.
Probably.
Why ‘probably’? Because while I don’t know about Felix, I felt like I was dying from pain.
The seat was hard, and the carriage bounced so much that my bottom hurt terribly.
Is this right?
It’s not an exaggeration—it really felt more painful than the wooden chairs at school.
But the man in front of me seemed unbothered, leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed.
Thanks to that, I had to clench my jaw and endure the groans that wanted to escape from the pain.
I don’t remember how time passed as I held back tears and screamed internally.
When I came to my senses at Felix’s voice, we had already arrived at the village.
“Ria, put on your hood. It’s faster to walk from here, so we’ll get off and walk now. Stay alert and follow me closely.”
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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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