Chapter 92
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 92
I rubbed my weary nose and collapsed onto the bed.
"You must be exhausted from your long journey with The Emperor, Miss Enya."
"I'm so tired today. I've been smelling so many scents that it feels like toxins have accumulated in my nose."
"Sniff, sniff."
Emma arrived with a handkerchief and cradled my head like I was a child.
"What, am I a baby?"
"In Emma's eyes, you'll always seem like one, Miss."
I couldn't say anything to Emma's radiant smile. Emma was the maid who was always by my side, my friend, and my family.
She felt just like my own older sister.
"Our age difference isn't even that significant."
"For us, it's quite considerable, Miss."
But Emma always wore her hair in a sharp bob and maintained such a youthful face that it was impossible to guess her age from appearance alone.
Emma smiled warmly and prepared a detoxifying tea for me.
"Thank you, Emma..."
After drinking the tea, I felt somewhat melancholy.
"What's wrong, Miss? Didn't the tea taste good?"
Emma took my cup and tasted it herself, tilting her head in confusion.
"It tastes delicious to me?"
"...It's not sweet at all. This is bitter."
"Miss! You can't sulk like a child and then say things like that!"
Emma scolded me with a sidelong glance. My palate was sweeter than most people's.
Not only my brother, but even Emma would shake her head at the intensely sweet flavors I craved.
There was no one in this household who understood my taste.
"...Dale understood it, though."
Without thinking, I murmured Dale's name.
"What is Dale doing these days?"
I had recently assigned someone to watch Dale.
'Just in case The Emperor becomes curious about my past during my absence and tries to find Dale.'
My thoughts about The Emperor were half trust, half caution.
These days, I spent a lot of time with The Emperor.
So it would be troublesome if The Emperor suddenly took an interest in me one day. I genuinely hoped that The Emperor would remain forever at peace with the person he loved.
'It's a spoiled thought, but you never know. After all, we do have something called destiny between us.'
Now that I think about it, The Emperor did cater well to my tea preferences. Five sugar cubes.
But sugar cubes are just sugar cubes, and I miss Dale.
My (fake) husband... not The Emperor.
I didn't tell Dale, but I secretly assigned someone to watch him—I apologize for that, but his safety is my top priority.
After all, Dale is my contractual husband.
'...Though it feels like the reason isn't simply that.'
I'm not certain, but I doubt I would think of someone in a mere contractual relationship so frequently.
"I want to see Dale."
"Your suspicious handsome husband is currently in the Western Region, it seems. He's meeting with the Western Region's bank manager—apparently you have funds deposited at the Western Region bank."
"Is he unwell or having any troubles?"
"He appears to be in excellent health, they say."
"That's enough then. Thank you."
I relaxed, letting my body go limp with relief.
"But Miss, you met with The Emperor, and he promised he wouldn't force you into marriage, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"Then wouldn't it be wise to end the contractual marriage?"
"...What?"
I bolted upright at a suggestion I'd never considered.
But Emma tilted her head thoughtfully, her finger against her chin.
"The contractual marriage costs money to maintain, doesn't it? Setting aside the contract fee itself, there's the mansion upkeep, servant wages, and the ten thousand crobats you give daily. Isn't that excessive spending?"
"..."
"The contract fee is already paid, so you won't recover that. But you could at least save the remaining crobats going forward—this doesn't suit you. You've always been so rational with your finances."
"That was... I needed a lot of money before I ran away."
"And you spent more money assigning someone to monitor your contractual husband, didn't you?"
To be honest, Emma wasn't wrong. In fact, much of what she said was correct.
"This isn't like you."
"But Emma."
I cut off her words and placed my hands confidently on my hips.
"I'm very particular about a man's appearance."
Very much so.
"Since you've never met Dale, you wouldn't know, but there's no one as handsome as him. Even if you searched this entire Continent with fresh eyes, I doubt you'd find anyone comparable."
My chin lifted even higher with confidence.
"Isn't that just like me?"
"...I suppose so?"
Emma, who had been pondering, agreed without hesitation.
"But that's precisely why you're feeling suspicious now."
"..."
Emma had won. I pointed toward the door with trembling arms.
"Leave. Emma."
After Emma left, I lay back down.
"I should have given Dale a communication crystal before I left."
Then I could have legitimately known where he was and what he was doing, and I could have seen his face.
But he would have been embarrassed. Dale was the shy sort of man who would curl himself into a ball if you touched him.
"Sigh...."
Now that I think about it, wait?
"The Emperor was quite shy too."
Unlike how the original work portrayed The Emperor as magnificent, powerful, and all that, he simply froze when I merely offered him a brief moment of support.
Now that I reflect on it, I believe that was embarrassment.
I've always been perceptive, quick to read the emotions of those around me.
"...Huh?"
As I closed my eyes and recalled the earlier situation, I found myself thinking his voice sounded strangely similar to Dale's.
...Do memories really evaporate this easily?
Then again, my life had been surrounded by only two men—Dale or The Emperor.
"It's easy to confuse them."
Those years spent hiding from The Emperor felt wasted, but now I could live far more freely.
With that thought, my heart grew considerably lighter.
* * *
"But I hadn't intended to meet you...."
"What did you say?"
Cassion was waiting to greet me in front of the Magic Tower.
"I said I was relieved to see you've recovered."
And I showed him the memo that Cassion had given me along with the scroll.
[I'm sending you a gift because I was able to have a child thanks to you.]
"Actually, it's 'recovered' not 'gave birth.' You need to be careful so the Duke appears to have had an easy delivery."
"...."
Cassion couldn't hide his shocked expression. But he quickly composed himself and pretended not to understand.
"I was aware of that, of course? I just got confused for a moment. The Magic Tower Master doesn't make mistakes."
Cassion cleared his throat and led me to the Magic Tower Master's office, settling me into a chair.
Seeing the briefly murderous glint in his eyes, I was genuinely afraid he might shove me out the window, but he even pulled out the chair properly for me.
There were times I couldn't believe he was Dale's friend, but moments like this made it believable.
"A mage only needs to draw the magical circle correctly."
His ears had turned red, apparently still bothered by what happened earlier.
I felt the same way.
When I had shouted that I wanted to kiss Dale and Cassion overheard me.
'Right. I shouldn't provoke Duke Cassion.'
I was here to ask for his help, after all.
"Of course I do. His Majesty the Emperor even sent a letter personally requesting Duke Cassion's capable assistance."
"Let's see."
Cassion, returning to his usual demeanor, read the Emperor's letter.
I had stopped by the Imperial Palace and sought out Cassion with the Emperor's letter in hand.
"It seems someone discovered and used a storage shed that the Hexagon Family hadn't finished processing."
The disease that spread like a plague was necrosis caused by cosmetics.
Moreover, it was accompanied by symptoms of mental illness, and because some circles hushed it up as 'madness,' it was discovered only belatedly.
Rumors of a noblewoman going insane brought tremendous disgrace to her family.
Marriage among nobles was essentially a transaction. In strategic marriages aimed at achieving the best rational outcomes, losses could occur.
"So the problem is with the powder applied to the face?"
"That's right."
I explained to Cassion.
"It was powder containing lead. Because the particles were fine and smooth, it spread like a trend among some nobles."
The main ingredient of the powder was a white powder called ceruse.
It was a magical cosmetic that created soft, smooth skin, and despite being an expensive product, it was apparently very popular.
"It was sold quietly at social gatherings at first, but when it became popular, they increased production."
"So they sold it officially."
"That method became rather problematic."
The culprit who manufactured the cosmetics turned out to be an ordinary peddler.
He apparently admired the Hexagon Family for their business acumen.
And he claimed he discovered a storage shed they had abandoned after failing to completely erase all traces of their research.
"I thought it was an opportunity sent by heaven!"
So I researched what powder Hexagon had been producing, and succeeded in transforming it into a facial powder that could be applied to the skin.
In the process of adding supplementary additives, it became superior to ordinary white smoke, and both its effects and side effects accelerated.
It took far less time than the typical duration for symptoms to manifest through bodily accumulation.
"I'm not sure what you mean by saying the method became difficult?"
"Because the Kelofeldt Trading Company mass-produced and distributed that substance."
Upon hearing the name, Cassion furrowed his brow and opened his mouth in a thin line.
"They are the foundational force behind The Emperor."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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