Countess Youngae’s Money-Sweeping Makeup Shop - Chapter 71

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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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71

 

“Oh, that startled me.”

 

The giant golden bird flapped its wings in front of Lucian.

 

It slowly reduced its speed and perched on the terrace.

 

Soon it stared at Lucian, then opened its beak and spoke in Ricardo’s voice.

 

“Lucian, where is Sillia?”

 

Lucian looked at the bird quietly, then shrugged his shoulders.

 

And he sat in his chair, munching on the cookies that were placed there.

 

“I don’t know either.”

 

“Why? You said you went together.”

 

“It’s true we went to the lake together, but she went to the Spirit World alone. I don’t know if she’s in that world now, or if she fell into the lake and died.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Ah-”

 

Lucian ruffled his hair and leaned back in his chair.

 

“She might be dead. Anyway, I can’t save her until she’s completely dead.”

 

“If you can’t save her, then I’ll save her, so tell me where she is.”

 

“You can’t save her even if you go. Do you want to die too? You might explode the moment you grab her, so what’s the point.”

 

“…Just tell me where she is.”

 

Orange eyes turned toward the bird.

 

Soon Lucian got up from his seat and approached the bird, placing his hand on it.

 

“Bear with the pain a little.”

 

Crackle, crackle.

 

Weak sparks flew as letters were carved above the bird’s head.

 

“I made it so you can go there. But know one thing.”

 

“What?”

 

“If she succeeded in going to the world, she won’t be at that lake, and when she returns, she might come back somewhere else, not there.”

 

Without answering, the bird spread its wings and flew into the sky where the sun was beginning to show again.

 

Lucian watched this and sighed.

 

“Why are humans so foolish? They’re all like idiots.”

 

***

 

As soon as the bird stopped and showed a lake, Ricardo moved to that lake.

 

Even so, using multiple spells simultaneously was difficult, so when he moved to the lake, his body staggered.

 

But he struggled to maintain his balance, and as soon as his vision became clear, he immediately cast a breathing spell and jumped into the lake.

 

The most efficient way to search was to use tracking magic on the lake.

 

However, he couldn’t easily use it since he didn’t know what harm it might cause to Sillia, who was a spirit’s daughter.

 

The lake was dark.

 

Anger toward Lucian rose as he wondered how he could have sent Sillia here alone.

 

Sillia couldn’t even use magic, after all.

 

He looked around and touched the bottom of the lake, but Sillia wasn’t there.

 

Had she gone to the Spirit World?

 

In case she was hiding in some shadowy place, he went up to extend his magic maintenance time, then went back into the lake to search.

 

Even after searching like that, Sillia was nowhere to be seen.

 

Only after the sun rose did Ricardo completely emerge from the lake and sit on the ground, panting.

 

His body felt heavy from being soaked.

 

His mind was tired from using so much mana.

 

He squeezed his eyes shut, then Sillia’s voice echoed in his head.

 

Right, I can’t collapse here.

 

Even if Sillia returned properly, she couldn’t use teleportation magic.

 

If she returned to a lake far away, she might not make it back in time or catch a cold, so he had to find her somehow.

 

He took a breath, and when his body calmed down, he got up and headed to the Jesuert Mansion.

 

***

 

[Ricardo, Jesu-]

 

It was late evening on the fifth day since Ricardo had started searching for Sillia by visiting lakes throughout the Empire.

 

That day too, he was going around lakes looking for Sillia when a familiar voice came from his pocket and then cut off.

 

Whether it was a hallucination or not, Ricardo immediately came up to land and took out the only video stone in his pocket.

 

The video stone should have been transparent, but it emitted a dark light and showed strange screens as if reflecting different places.

 

‘I have to save her.’

 

From the scenery, it looked like the inside of a lake.

 

It seemed Sillia had returned.

 

To find out where this place was, he immediately used tracking magic on the video stone, and when a location was imprinted in his mind, he executed teleportation magic to that place.

 

This place was in the North, as he could definitely feel the cold compared to where he had been before.

 

Nevertheless, Ricardo jumped into the water without a moment’s hesitation.

 

He jumped in without even using breathing magic in case it might harm Sillia, and because of the cold water, it felt like his breath was disappearing quickly.

 

With his brow furrowed, he struggled to look through the water and discovered blue hair swaying in the water, glowing in the moonlight.

 

Following the hair and widening his view, there was Sillia with her eyes closed, sinking helplessly.

 

Ricardo’s hand grabbed Sillia’s wrist.

 

After coming up to the surface, Ricardo first lifted Sillia onto land and then followed after her.

 

Worried that Sillia might catch a severe cold, he gathered nearby branches and lit a fire.

 

Sillia was definitely a spirit’s daughter, so Ricardo would surely get hurt if he touched the unconscious Sillia, but Ricardo’s hand was fine.

 

Had her power disappeared, or was it useless against him?

 

Ricardo, who had been staring at his hand, sat in front of the campfire and then brought Sillia into his arms and embraced her.

 

It was a situation where she might die from the cold if left alone.

 

He held Sillia’s wrist.

 

If he could hear a beating sound, it would mean she was alive.

 

He closed his eyes and concentrated on listening to her pulse.

 

What he couldn’t hear well at first gradually made very faint sounds, beating steadily.

 

Only then did Ricardo’s heart, now relieved, also start beating loudly.

 

He let out a deep sigh, closed his eyes, and rested his head on Sillia’s shoulder.

 

“Sillia, please don’t do such dangerous things in the future.”

 

***

 

Rustling, when I came to my senses, I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar room.

 

It wasn’t a room made of sky blue and white, but somewhere antique made of navy blue and black.

 

The fluffy blanket and familiar cool fragrance were just like-

 

Rolling my eyes with difficulty, there was a beautiful person with long navy blue hair hanging down.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Wait, hold on.

 

Isn’t this Ricardo?

 

My eyes suddenly opened wide as I looked once more at the statue sitting in the chair.

 

It really was Ricardo.

 

Am I dreaming right now?

 

Or have I returned?

 

I tried to pinch myself to find out if this was reality or a dream, but my body wouldn’t move.

 

As I squirmed trying to move, Ricardo’s eyelids slowly lifted and he met my eyes.

 

His pupils widened for a moment but quickly returned to normal.

 

Then he got up from his seat and examined me.

 

Ricardo touched my forehead as if checking for fever, then dropped his hand and called toward the door for the doctor to be summoned, then looked at me.

 

“You mustn’t overexert yourself. If you stay still, you’ll get better soon.”

 

I moved my lips and spoke in a small whisper with my tingling throat.

 

“Right now, the vacation…”

 

“Are you asking if the vacation has passed? …It has passed.”

 

“A few days…?”

 

“About two days have passed.”

 

3 days? 3 whole days have passed?

 

Why can’t this damn body recover quickly and always easily passes 3 days whenever I faint?

 

What about the customers I had appointments with for two days? What if they all had important matters to attend to?

 

Will the business be okay?

 

Is Lili somehow managing things?

 

But will they be satisfied?

 

They might have all left thinking I lack professionalism.

 

Anxiety and worry hit me all at once as I forced myself to sit up.

 

If I get up now and prepare to go starting tomorrow—

 

However, my body was easily laid back down by Ricardo’s single hand.

 

I frowned deeply as if asking what he was doing, but Ricardo looked down at me with a calm expression and covered my eyes with one hand.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“You cannot.”

 

“Ricardo, do you want to see our shop go bankrupt?”

 

“It won’t go bankrupt right now.”

 

“What?”

 

“Lucy and the other employees are taking good care of the shop. They all learned something from you, Yeongae. The current reviews aren’t bad either, so you don’t need to worry.”

 

“But if I don’t show up without any reason…!”

 

“I told them there was a carriage accident on the way back to the manor.”

 

“A carriage accident?”

 

“Yes. I said there was no threat to your life but you needed to rest for a while, so everyone understood to some extent. So you can rest.”

 

I stared quietly into the darkness and closed my eyes.

 

The anxiety hadn’t completely disappeared.

 

A sudden break in the early stages of stabilization wasn’t particularly good news for consumers, so sales would naturally decline.

 

Of course, other people were covering for me, but since they weren’t the person originally desired, a minus in sales would be unavoidable.

 

Still, it was better than a complete no-show.

 

Moreover, hearing that the reviews were fine, my heart rate gradually returned to normal and the tension left my body.

 

When I return, I’ll definitely have to do some event.

 

Whether it’s discounts or giveaways.

 

While thinking about the shop, I felt that I could move my body and lightly pinched my thigh.

 

Ow, it hurts.

 

I was glad it hurt.

 

I felt anew that I, who had felt like dying, had returned safely to this world again.

 

With a sense of relief, I completely entrusted my body to the soft bed and fell into a deep sleep.

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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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