The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2
The morning after. On a bustling avenue where automobiles and carriages tangled together in chaotic streams, Cecilia stood with her large eyes blinking slowly, her mind distant and unfocused.
Ruby was just as bewildered.
Hidden within Cecilia’s cloak, he clicked his beak anxiously, at a loss for words.
‘What in the world is this?’
The number of Security Officials patrolling the streets seemed to have doubled—no, tripled from usual.
Had there been a murder overnight? The Officials were stopping pedestrians at random, checking their identities. They seemed particularly focused on young women traveling alone.
‘This isn’t good.’
Cecilia was officially a dead woman. She hadn’t anticipated this situation, and of course, she carried neither forged identification papers nor travel permits.
Her white hair already made her conspicuous enough, and if she lied to a Security Official and word reached Davion…
‘I can’t.’
The image of her husband, which she’d forced deep into her unconscious, wavered before her eyes. Before his face could sharpen into focus, Cecilia quickly turned and fled into an alley.
But heavens above—there were Security Officials posted right at the alley’s entrance too!
“Let me scout the skies for a place where those hat-wearing men aren’t.”
Ruby thrust himself off Cecilia’s shoulder and launched into the air. She ran hard in pursuit of his tail, but even so, she couldn’t escape the sight lines of the Officials moving throughout the city.
“Miss, I must trouble you for a moment.”
A gasp caught in her throat.
A broad-shouldered man suddenly blocked her path, and Cecilia stumbled, losing her balance in shock. Ruby’s panicked cry echoed hollowly from above her head.
“There’s been an unfortunate incident in this area recently. I need to verify your identity.”
Cecilia froze in terror, barely breathing.
Yet miraculously, the moment she’d been dreading did not come to pass.
Bang. A strange noise sounded from deeper in the alley.
Not only Cecilia but the Official blocking her path reflexively turned to look. Moments later came the crash of something toppling over, and a hooded boy darted past them like an arrow.
Security Officials pursued him, shouting.
“Catch him! Pickpocket!”
The Official standing before Cecilia quickly grasped the situation.
He pushed his hat down firmly and followed his colleagues in pursuit of the boy.
‘…Did he leave?’
Luck. She’d been blessed with extraordinary luck.
For a moment, it felt as though she’d been struck by lightning. Cecilia leaned against a nearby wall, clutching her chest as she steadied her breathing.
Frantic terror transformed into relief, and cold sweat trickled down her neck as the initial shock faded into delayed reaction.
The Davion in her mind was frowning, his expression one of disappointment.
Go away. The moment Cecilia squeezed her eyes shut, light flickered across her eyelids and his form dissolved like a mirage. Only a faint sigh lingered at the edge of her awareness, a pale afterimage.
“Cecilia!”
Once the Officials had retreated a safe distance, Ruby descended swiftly to the ground.
He tucked himself into her cloak and trembled alongside her, shaking from head to tail.
“I thought they’d caught you for certain…”
Cecilia pulled Ruby close against her chest. As always, he carried the cool scent of winter air after his flight.
“That Official had a camera hanging from his belt. If it hadn’t been for that pickpocket, he would have photographed my face without question.”
“We owe that small human quite a debt then… But what do we do now?”
Cecilia didn’t want to resort to hair dye—the sort that would be harmful to a small creature like Ruby. Her hair could be hidden well enough under a hood anyway, but the real problem was her face, which might be captured in a camera at any moment.
“Is there any way to hide my face…?”
A cloud drifted across the sun.
Cecilia’s reflection appeared mirror-like on the rainwater pooled at her feet. After staring down at herself blankly for about a minute, she suddenly smiled—a flash of inspiration lighting her features.
“There’s a place I need to visit.”
* * *
Moving like a timid rat, she finally arrived at a shabby pharmacy with no sign hanging above its door.
“Is anyone here?”
Squeak. The poorly oiled door creaked piercingly every time it opened or closed.
An owl resting on the windowsill caught sight of Cecilia and let out a piercing screech—an announcement of a customer’s arrival.
The pharmacy was barely ten square yards, but tall display cases towered like a maze, crammed together in every direction. Cecilia hunched her shoulders as narrow as she could and carefully made her way deeper inside, avoiding collision with the shelves.
A middle-aged woman wearing a large feathered brimmed hat sat at the counter, reading a newspaper.
“Raven!”
A lizard playing with coins on the counter opened its mouth threateningly at Ruby.
“Now, now. Don’t act that way with customers.”
The woman covered the lizard’s eyes with her hand and folded her newspaper. As she spotted Cecilia, her face lit with interest.
“Well, well. Seeing such a distinguished person a second time.”
“I owed you my thanks, Aida. It seems I’ve accumulated quite a debt.”
Before stating her business, Cecilia pressed her palms together and offered a formal bow of gratitude. The events that had unfolded since she’d discovered this place some three weeks ago remained vivid in her memory.
“Heart-Stopping Poison. With this, you’ll be able to cleanly cut that husband of yours out of the remainder of your life.”
The moment the brown bottle was offered before her eyes, Cecilia felt as though light had finally broken through the dark, suffocating corridor that had consumed her vision. To exaggerate only slightly, it would not be an overstatement to say she had been rescued by Aida that day.
“You’ve paid me more than enough gratitude. You purchased it at fair price, so think nothing of debt.”
When Aida removed her hat, a full mass of reddish-brown hair rippled down to her waist. Like a witch from a fairy tale, she lit a long pipe.
“But then, what brings the ‘former’ Countess of Winterhall to this place today?”
“I… Is there perhaps a potion that could make a person invisible?”
“Of course not. Magic isn’t omnipotent.”
Oh, no.
At her firm answer, Cecilia let out a discouraged sigh. Aida’s soft voice gently soothed the disappointment settling over Cecilia’s heart.
“There was an age, certainly, when magic was all-powerful. Not only could one turn the body invisible, but with a mere handful of incantations, anything one imagined could be made real. But now only traces of magic remain—we can craft medicines with unique properties, or speak with animals, nothing more. And why do you need such a potion?”
“For some reason, security checks have become much stricter lately, and I cannot move about the streets freely. The Security Officials are even carrying cameras with them.”
As the scene in the alley came back to her, a chill crept beneath her ribs. Cecilia hesitated, speaking in a half-frightened whisper.
“If my husband discovers that I’m still alive, then truly…”
“Well then. How about this?”
Aida suddenly interjected, setting a flat cylindrical jar onto the counter.
“A salve made from studying wasp venom and smallpox. When applied, the skin swells and red spots appear. Worn on the face, it not only conceals your appearance but makes everyone assume you’re a victim of contagious disease and avoid you entirely. Though the effect lasts barely an hour, so don’t forget to apply it frequently.”
The jar, wrapped in dark packaging, emanated an ominous aura. Cecilia held the container inches from her face and drew a deep breath, then accidentally retched.
Good heavens. She hadn’t even used it yet, and she already trusted it.
“How much is one jar?”
Aida tapped a gold coin lying on the counter and held up the number four with her other hand.
If the effect lasted only an hour, she’d need at least five jars. As Cecilia silently reckoned her purse, Ruby poked his head out from behind his cloak.
“That’s a bit steep. Is there a witch member discount or something? Maybe a bulk discount?”
A discount!
Cecilia’s head snapped up.
One human and one raven—two pairs of eyes gleamed with hopeful expectation. Wisps of pale smoke curled between her teeth as Aida clicked her tongue with genuine sympathy.
“Poor thing. Did your husband give you too little travel money?”

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