Chapter Seventy-one: Goddess of Beauty
However, an unexpected event took place the very next day.
“Lady Alchemist, please look!”
“Thanks to Lady Karen, Her Highness has been transformed!”
Karen was greeted by maids chirping and squealing in the morning, and she nearly collapsed.
“Why have Your Highness lost weight…! And not just deflating like a balloon, but incredibly beautifully!”
“Hmm. I had a slight concern that you might have tricked me, but from the look of you, it’s clear this is also unintended on your part.”
A slender blonde, green-eyed beauty sat on the edge of the bed in a dress that didn’t quite fit her.
Her wavy golden hair, large green eyes, plump and alluring lips, and petite nose… Large-framed but with a slender, long neck, full, rounded breasts, and a narrow waist. Slender ankles peeked out from beneath the ill-fitting dress. A tall, devastatingly beautiful woman sat elegantly on the bed.
“After drinking your potion, I thought I just had an upset stomach, but then I found myself like this. Judging from your reaction, you don’t know why I lost weight either?”
“No… seeing Your Highness’s appearance, I can mostly guess.”
“Hmm? Is that so?”
Karen nodded and sighed.
“The last potion you drank was one to expel bad things from the body… Your Highness’s magical power was treated as a ‘bad thing’ and was flushed out by the potion…”
A body brimming with magical power should be maintained in its best condition. Julius, for example, was practically shining with vitality. But Waltride, who should have been overflowing with magical power, had rough skin. Magical power had become something harmful to her body. Thus, her magical power was also recognized as waste and expelled from her body.
“My potions are a bit too effective against Bloodline Blessings…”
“Was it the detox potion you gave me last night that did this?”
“It was indeed…”
“But really, try not to lament so dramatically in public. If I hadn’t cleared the room, people would’ve jumped to conclusions.”
Waltride said with an exasperated expression.
At some point, the maids had disappeared.
“Now, what shall I do with you?”
“Uh…”
“Officially, I owe you a favor, but you’ve broken our promise.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry.”
Waltride smiled at Karen’s apology. So divinely beautiful. A smile that could be mistaken for a goddess of beauty. But her green eyes were not smiling; instead, she looked down at Karen.
“…First things first, there is a tea party with the local young ladies. You will accompany me.”
“Y-Yes, of course…!”
Karen nodded while breaking into a cold sweat, with the princess continuing to stare down at her with an unreadable smile.
“This is the investigation report I received from Brother Helfried. It’s still preliminary, but do you think it could help with treating the young ladies?”
“…I’ll take a look.”
As soon as Helfried began his investigation, a ban on face powder was issued in the territory.
In the swaying carriage, Karen flipped through the documents received from Julius. They were now heading to the young ladies’ tea party. Waltride was in a different carriage.
To surprise the young ladies and prevent her transformation from being noticed until the last moment, even Julius didn’t yet know about the princess’ change.
What would Julius think if he saw the new Waltride? The thought made it difficult for Karen to concentrate on the documents. Still, she had to commit the young ladies’ information to memory. Waltride’s goodwill toward the young ladies was genuine. To appease Waltride’s anger, Karen had to save them.
Karen stared intently at the documents. They detailed how the powder had spread among the young ladies.
“Lady Rosine from the Kalk Baron’s family purchased large quantities from a foreign merchant and distributed them to young ladies in her faction?”
“As soon as the Ehlertt family took action, the merchant vanished, and Lady Kalk was deeply hurt and repentant about spreading the poison. The Ehlertt family chose not to blame the Kalk Barony and decided to forgive them since they came forward of their own accord.”
“Right. There was no malicious intent.”
She had heard about a good cosmetic and happened to purchase a poor-quality product. If she didn’t know about it and spread it, blaming her would be cruel.
Karen had informed Helfried about the possibility of two poisons being combined, but no further information had emerged. There might be no one’s malice involved.
The fact that mercury was the base ingredient might simply be due to not knowing its toxicity. In a world where magic was common, magical materials might have been accidentally mixed in during production, which just so happened to be harmful. In that case, there was really no one to blame.
“What bothers me is that the ladies of Earl Brahm’s faction—also known as the former Earl Ehlertt’s faction— did not use this cosmetic at all.”
“Are you saying Earl Brahm is the culprit who spread the poisonous powder?”
“Not necessarily. The young ladies of the Ehlertt and Brahm factions are always competing. They would hide even good cosmetics from each other.”
The lingering suspicion was that poison might have been intentionally introduced. Still, it would be better for mental health if there were no culprits.
“Lady Petra is the niece of someone close to Earl Brahm, and she was using the poisonous powder, so it might have been an unfortunate accident.”
“That might be true.”
Eventually, the carriage arrived at its destination.
Today’s tea party was hosted by Rosine, and the location was the estate of the Kalk Barony. She had called the young ladies of her faction to apologize.
Waltride was also invited, with Karen and Julius as her companions.
As Julius helped Karen down from the carriage, he said:
“So, will you finally tell me what Her Highness and you are plotting?”
“You’ve noticed… You’ll understand soon enough. Haah…”
“Why are you losing your spirits?”
Karen was already feeling down, worried that two destined lovers might finally meet.
No comments:
Post a Comment