I Want to Regain My Smile
Knock knock—
"Count Pepper, I've brought Lady Marien. May we come in?"
"Oh! Is the treatment finally done? Of course! Come on in!"
The excited voice of Count Pepper echoed from the hospital room where he waited after his cataract surgery. I didn't even need to read his micro-expressions to picture the grin on his face behind that door.
Slide—
"Then we'll come in."
I opened the sliding door to the hospital room, escorting Marien and Stella with me. Count Pepper sat up in bed and grabbed Hazel’s cheek—the one who'd been tending to him—rubbing it fondly.
"Oh, Marien! My daughter!"
"……Count Pepper. I'm Hazel."
"Ah, my apologies."
Count Pepper still couldn't see properly. We hadn't cast any healing magic on him yet and had him wearing plastic eye shields instead.
'We had to check if the cataract surgery went smoothly right then and there. For maximum dramatic effect.'
Count Pepper cleared his throat awkwardly, embarrassed at mistaking Hazel for his daughter, and continued.
"Anyway, you said it wouldn't take long, but it dragged on longer than expected. The treatment for my daughter…… it went well, right?"
He turned his head, searching for the direction of my voice, asking cautiously. I put on a resolute expression, even though he couldn't see it.
"As I explained, changing the color of both irises to match is a procedure only I can perform across the entire continent. In other words, it's that complex and difficult—an advanced surgery."
"Th-then, Marien is……?"
"No need to worry about the results. You'll see for yourself, Count."
Of course, treating Marien's heterochromia had taken less than a minute. We'd just kept putting her under with propofol and waking her up repeatedly to kill time. But the truth didn't matter. Sometimes, a warm lie that met expectations could evoke even warmer emotions.
"Hazel, help Count Pepper get down from the bed."
I winked at Hazel, signaling her. She nodded subtly and cast healing magic on him.
"Careful getting down. Now, I'll remove the eye shields."
"Thank you."
With Hazel's support, Count Pepper shuffled down from the bed and faced Marien.
Now was the moment.
Time to reveal the results to each other.
"I'll remove the shields now. Confirm Lady Marien's appearance yourself."
"……Yes. Please do."
Count Pepper nodded with a trembling voice, and Hazel carefully removed the shields covering both eyes.
Whoosh—
"……."
"Father? Can you…… see me?"
"……."
"Father? Can you see okay—"
Whoosh!
Instead of answering Marien's question about whether he could see her, Count Pepper pulled her into his arms.
"Ugh…… Marien, my daughter…… Marien……."
"Father, don't cry. Don't…… Waaah!"
Count Pepper shed tears seeing his daughter's eyes were now both blue. Marien, realizing her father could see again, couldn't hold back anymore and sobbed like a child.
The man who'd thought he'd never see his daughter again, and the daughter who'd cursed her alluring odd eyes like a hex—they clung to each other in silence, weeping for a long while.
'Yeah, this is the least I could do.'
With those hot tears of emotion came a surge of hormones. Now was time to collect payment.
"Alright, save the touching hug for later. Time to settle the bill."
* * *
The passionate, heartfelt reunion between Count Pepper and his daughter came to an end.
Still basking in the glow of the moment, Count Pepper summoned his head butler via crystal orb.
"Here are the 16 magic stones promised for my and my daughter's treatment."
"Thank you, Count Pepper. And this is payment for the additional magic stones we agreed to purchase."
Moments later, an elderly butler arrived in the hospital room where we gathered, guided by Walter. The butler immediately pulled out a subspace pouch and handed over the magic stones.
'……Carrying around this many magic stones? And having his butler do it?'
I quickly stashed the 16 magic stones in my own subspace pouch, puzzled. Then I handed the head butler 6,000 gold as payment for the recipe I'd provided in exchange for the extra stones.
"Haha, thank you. And here are the remaining three right away. Head butler."
The butler bowed gracefully, pocketed the money pouch I'd given him, and pulled three more magic stones from his subspace pouch, handing them to me.
"Thank you."
"No trouble at all. I should be the one thanking you. With my eyes clear again, I can finally see how exotic and magnificent the Beauty Tower is. Truly astonishing, haha."
Count Pepper, his vision restored by the cataract surgery, marveled at the room's interior.
"Thank you."
But honestly, I was the one feeling more astonishment right now.
'Magic stones worth 2,000 gold each, not locked in a safe but carried around personally? By his butler, no less?'
I had no idea what bond he shared with the elderly butler, but 19 magic stones had come straight from the butler's subspace pouch. Entrusting items worth tens of billions of won to his butler like that—it was bold, almost unbelievable.
Noticing my puzzled expression as I received the three northern magic stones, Count Pepper gave a faint smile.
"Knights often say the darkest place is under the lamp. It means people overlook what's right in front of them."
"Ah, yes…… We have a similar saying back home…… but it's still surprising. Carrying around such a fortune personally—or rather, via your butler."
When I'd requested the magic stones from Count Pepper, I'd assumed promissory notes. The Beauty Tower's policy was payment on the day. But I'd never imagined even a wealthy high noble would carry 19 magic stones—let alone entrust them to a white-haired butler.
"Haha, no need for such a shocked face. He's no match for Gold Count's guard knight, but our head butler is a former knight of considerable skill."
"Ah, is that so?"
As if to confirm Count Pepper's words, Walter—who'd entered with the white-haired butler—glanced at me and nodded.
'If Walter acknowledges him, he must be quite the powerhouse. Makes sense—the head of a top West Continent magnate wouldn't keep ordinary folk close.'
Sure, I'd learned some superficial martial arts from Hoblood Clan's elder matriarch Minsia, but it was just skin-deep. If I'd botched Count Pepper's cataract surgery, who knew what havoc that serene, missionary-like old man might wreak.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly, my back growing damp with sweat. Just then, Count Pepper smiled at me with sparkling eyes.
"Now that we're settled, we'll take our leave. Things will only get busier, after all."
"Of course. And before you go, take this."
"What's this? Omega…… 3?"
Count Pepper took the omega-3 I handed him, looking puzzled. The supplements I sold here now had labels in the isekai language, but without equivalent words, their meanings weren't obvious.
"Omega-3 is an essential nutrient for middle age. It lowers triglyceride synthesis in the liver, preventing blood clots. Think of it as improving circulation."
Omega-3 was famous for rheumatoid arthritis relief, osteoporosis symptom alleviation, and cholesterol improvement. But it was also excellent for reducing eye inflammation and preventing dry eye syndrome.
"Aigoo, no need for all this……."
"Haha, it's nothing. And here's one more—lutein. It's a nutrient that makes up the 'macula,' responsible for central vision."
"Macula……?"
"Simply put, it's for preventing UV-induced eye aging. I've written detailed instructions and precautions on the parchment. No pressure—it's a humble gift from me."
After charging a premium for the cataract surgery and heterochromia treatment—enough to twinge my conscience a bit—this service felt right.
Count Pepper pocketed the omega-3 and lutein, chuckling heartily.
"Haha, this won't do—feels like I'm only receiving. Let me return the favor. Has Gold Count heard of the Julius Marquis family?"
"Julius Marquis? Aren't they the top West Continent jewelers?"
The Julius Marquis family was a major noble house near the Dudaine Barony that had handed over the silver mine— not far from Gold Territory. But rumor had it they'd turned reclusive a few years back. With scant info, they weren't even on Cache and Rachel's list of magic stone targets.
As I sorted my questions mentally, Count Pepper smiled faintly again.
"Correct. The Juliuses are renowned not just for jewels but ornate gold and silverwork. They also hold many northern magic stones."
"……?"
"Surely there's something Gold Count can help them with. I'll stop by on my way home and send word. Better to hear details directly."
"No, your word alone is thanks enough."
"Haha, then we'll be off."
In this isekai without internet, connections and info were power itself. The Julius Marquis might not be on Cache and Rachel's noble list. But words from the head of the Pepper family—which dominated spices and condiments—weren't to be dismissed lightly.
'Korea or isekai, networking is king.'
Now I had 17 magic stones left.
* * *
Two days after Count Pepper and Lady Marien departed, on Saturday. In my 11th-floor director's office, I basked in the warm sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows when—
Knock knock.
"Director, this week's letter event guest is here."
"Yes, send them in."
The weekly Saturday letter event had started to stop ex-potion co-op merchants from churning out illegal tattoo victims. Addicted to the nicotine gum I supplied, they now treated my words like oracles—no real need for it anymore. But I kept it going for charity, boosting Beauty Tower's fame and Gold Territory's reputation. Plus, with construction wrapping up, we needed residents.
Slide—
Hazel entered the director's office with a fidgety young commoner man.
"Ah, h-hello, Count. I'm Curtis, selected for this week's letter event."
"Nice to meet you, Curtis. Come, have a seat."
"Ah…… C-Count. Please, speak casually."
Commoners like Curtis especially struggled with formal speech. But no need to fix it when I was treating them for free.
"Don't mind it—it's habit. You know the letter event is recorded via crystal orb, right?"
"Y-yes…… I know."
Apart from greetings, he couldn't even meet my eyes, head bowed low—clear sign of rock-bottom self-esteem.
I nodded to Stella, who'd entered with him, and she started the crystal orb recording.
"So, what's your story?"
At my question, Curtis sighed deeply and hesitantly lifted his scarred face.
"I…… want to regain my smile."