Have You Ever Looked Inside Your Mouth?
The girl who approached me and spoke was a bit younger than Cache and a few years older than Ravi—around fifteen or sixteen, by the look of her. Her outfit wasn't much different from those of the maids serving noble ladies who had come to the Frederik Dungeon Zone for the Futures Day event. But what caught my eye was the mask covering the area below her nose.
...No, it's not really a mask—more like a surgical one? Though it doesn't look like it has any filtration.
The thing covering the girl's lower face was clearly made of the same material as the masks nobles wore to masquerade balls. It was just cut in half to fit her face shape, leaving only the bottom part, which struck me as odd. Even when masquerade masks were cut in half, it was rare to keep the lower portion and discard the upper one.
"Yes, hello? I'm Miner Gold, director of the Beauty Tower."
"Hello, Count. I'm Rozan, maid of the Dudein Baron's household. I've come with Lady Jellyna Dudein for treatment. Could we speak for a moment?"
Futures Day was when noble ladies and young lords flocked to Frederik territory. So during this period, I'd pushed back my reserved high-value patients and handed off the simple treatments and procedures to Rebecca, Hazel, and Stella.
The big-money cases are all mine.
Even an ordinary baseball has priceless value if it's a home run ball. As the Beauty Tower's star director, a single shot of Botox or filler from my hands was a grand slam.
It wasn't ideal that my first business of the day was a baron's family, but even among barons, there were always the fat cats worth cultivating. I flashed Rozan a warm smile, setting aside any preconceptions.
"Of course. But the lady herself needs to be here for the consultation. Where is she?"
"Miss, you should greet the Count."
"...?"
At my polite nudge to bring the patient—er, wallet—Rozan, who had introduced herself, stepped slightly aside. Behind her appeared an even smaller girl, stuck to her like glue. She was wearing the same half-mask over her mouth.
"Miss..."
Rozan called to her in a pleading tone, but Lady Jellyna Dudein just clutched the hem of Rozan's skirt with both hands.
She looks about elementary school age. Is she just really shy?
Even accounting for her age, her shyness seemed excessive, but that wasn't the point. She was a noble lady.
"Looks like the lady's quite bashful. Let's head inside and talk. I'll follow right after you go in."
"Thank you, Count. Miss, let's go inside."
Like an older sister with her little sibling, Rozan took the lady's hand firmly and followed me through the automatic doors.
"Cache, you hear that?"
"Dudein Baron's family confirmed. I'll check and contact you via crystal orb right away."
I nodded to Cache, who was on the important errand, and stepped through the doors myself. That's when a fluffy white furball rocketed toward me.
"Maaaiineeer! Ravi says eat snack!"
"Res, I'm busy now, so go over there—"
"Splash."
"...?"
As I stared at Res plastered to my shoulder blade, Jellyna mumbled something. It sounded like baby talk with a lisp unfit for her age, but again, not the point. I headed to the elevator, grabbed Res by the scruff, and whispered into her flapping ear.
"Res, bring snacks to the director's office on the eleventh floor. As many as you want."
"R-Really?"
"Of course. Actually, go grab them now. I'll hold the elevator."
"Yay! Got it! Be right back!"
For some unknown reason, the lady—who had been bristling at me—was endlessly friendly toward Res. Res flapped her tiny wings, dashed to the Cash Shop cafe, grabbed a bag of snacks Ravi had given her, and returned. Seeing the lady unable to tear her eyes away, I figured Res would play a key role in today's consultation.
"Maaaiineer! Got this many!"
"Good job. Door's closing, come on in. Greet the lady too—she's from the Dudein Baron's family."
"Yup, hi! Want snack?"
Res pulled a muffin from the paper bag and offered it. But Jellyna shook her head no.
She doesn't seem to dislike Res... but doesn't want to take off the mask?
With half her face covered, my micro-expression analysis wasn't working smoothly. Just then, the elevator dinged at the eleventh floor.
"Rozan, you talk with me first, then..."
Before heading from the elevator to the director's office, I pried Res—still shedding muffin crumbs on my shoulder—off and handed her to the lady.
Flinch—
"Want Res to play with Lady Dudein?"
"Yup, go!"
The lady flinched briefly as she took the chomping, muffin-munching Res, but her little eyes soon sparkled. As expected, a furry critter was prime animal therapy material.
"Rozan, this way."
"Yes, Count."
While Res and Lady Jellyna waited in the lounge, I entered the director's office with Rozan and closed the door.
"Have a seat. I don't know the exact condition yet, but I figured talking to you first before the lady would be best."
Rozan sat at my gesture, and I continued.
"Is the mask you're wearing related to the lady's illness?"
"Ah, that... Yes, it is."
Rozan hesitated, then sighed softly and nodded. She untied the strings at the back of her neck and removed the mask.
"Forgive my rudeness in hiding my face upon our first meeting. I'm sorry, Count."
I ran micro-expression analysis, but Rozan's unmasked face showed nothing unusual. Aesthetically or functionally.
"It's fine. I figured there was a reason. But to determine if I can treat the condition, I need the full details."
"..."
Rozan took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Lady Jellyna... is fourteen this year. She should have made her debutante ball."
"...?"
She looked no older than third or fourth grade, so her actual age surprised me a bit. But I listened quietly.
"But... she couldn't. She has trouble being around crowds."
"Can't go where people are?"
"Yes... It's very hard for her. That's why only the two of us came to the Beauty Tower today."
I wondered if it was social phobia, but that didn't connect to the mask.
"The reason I brought her here is that I heard the Beauty Tower can cure incurable diseases. And that you can make hair or eyebrows grow where there are none, and remove moles, freckles, age spots—miraculous treatments."
Those were all solvable with modern medicine, so being hailed like the legendary physician Hua Tuo was embarrassing. But this was isekai. I tailored my response humbly to the context.
"That's right. Treatments only I can perform. You've come to the right place."
Patients seek skill over humility in a doctor. And I had the skills.
"But as I said, tell me what treatment the lady wants, and I'll see if it's possible."
Rozan nodded resolutely and carefully pulled a folded paper from her bosom.
"This is a portrait painted by an artist when the lady was a newborn."
"The condition from infancy persists to now?"
"Yes. It's a congenital disease she's had since birth. Though this is from when she was much younger, the condition... hasn't changed much from how she looks now."
Whatever it was, congenital, and not contagious or progressive. I unfolded the neatly creased paper Rozan handed me.
"Ah..."
Seeing the newborn lady's portrait made her condition immediately clear.
"Because of it, she avoids leaving the mansion or meeting new people. And for the last few years, she's even worn a custom-made mask inside the house."
"Even inside?"
Rozan nodded darkly at my question.
"Yes... A new maid once saw her face and reacted with shock. After that, she barely ate..."
"..."
That explained why she was so small for her age.
Poor kid must have suffered so much...
Without proper treatment, eating or being seen would have been torture.
"They call the cracking of her lips like that a cleft lip. A congenital deformity where the lip is split from birth."
"Cleft lip... It has a specific name."
"Yes, but since it's from such a young age, we need a precise examination. Have you ever looked inside the lady's mouth?"
"Inside her mouth?"
Rozan's eyes gleamed oddly, so I quickly explained.
"Patients born with cleft lip often have a cleft palate too."
"Cleft palate...?"
"It's when the roof of the mouth is split. When both lip and palate are involved, it's called cleft lip and palate. Whether it's just cleft lip or the full cleft lip and palate affects surgical difficulty, so I asked."
Rozan now understood why I'd inquired about the inside of her mouth.
"And the cost varies with complexity..."
"Ah, excuse me a moment. Crystal orb's ringing."
"Yes, Count."
"Pardon the interruption. As I was saying, regardless of complexity, the cost will be quite high. But I can treat it."
My right-hand woman Cache, as always. Spot-on intel in record time. Now, time to focus fully on the patient.