The Countess's Secret
Countess Veloz.
She was the owner of Rose Garden, the most successful cosmetics brand among the nobility.
With the finest cosmetics brand and a beautiful appearance, she was even called the queen of high society.
The unusual part was that she didn't employ alchemists—the countess personally developed the cosmetics.
Every Rose Garden product was said to have been born from her hands, thanks to her outstanding alchemy skills.
And for the past year, she had vanished from official appearances, including high society, without any reason.
That was as far as the information I'd obtained by commissioning an information shop went.
Even the information shop didn't know that Countess Veloz was suffering from a skin disease.
Since I'd chosen the most expensive course, it wasn't likely the information shop had deliberately hidden it.
Countess Veloz was thoroughly silencing people.
After all, if word got out that she'd developed a skin disease while testing new cosmetics, sales of the cosmetics that were the count family's core source of income would drop.
Well, this fact would come to light ten years later anyway.
And she'd end up coming to the rural village where the protagonist was.
But it wasn't revealed yet.
The route to the countess’s estate was tightly controlled.
The meeting place was a remote countryside, and the carriage that came to pick us up was unmarked, with its windows covered.
Even after getting out of the carriage, we had to move while wearing blindfolds.
"I'll remove your blindfold."
What entered my vision along with the light was paper and a pen.
At the top of the paper, in bold letters, was written 'Confidentiality Agreement.'
To summarize the contents of the agreement, it went like this.
-Keep silent about everything seen here.
-Even speaking of it alone in a room will be considered a breach of the agreement.
-If the agreement is broken, they will ruin you one way or another.
More than half of the contents were an explanation of exactly how they would ruin you.
They were that desperate about keeping the secret.
And yet, in the main story, Countess Veloz's skin disease became known to the world.
It was described that she fled to the forest to recuperate, so she probably didn't reveal it herself.
Someone clearly exposed it.
Who?
"Did the servants staying at this estate also sign this agreement?"
"Yes. Everyone who meets our master has signed it, regardless of status, whether commoner or noble."
"What if we reveal the secret and run away? You don't even know our faces, so can you find us and hold us accountable?"
Even before boarding the carriage, the two of us had kept on the masks we'd used at the black market.
They didn't know our faces, names, or occupations, so I wondered if this agreement had any meaning.
"That is also a secret. I'll resolve your curiosity after you sign."
I shrugged once and picked up the pen placed on the agreement.
Since I had no intention of leaving any clues about my identity, I just scrawled a signature.
Maybe because it was a high-quality pen used by nobles, the line glided smoothly.
Once Taira, who had come along as my escort, signed as well, the butler finally spoke properly.
"How is the pen?"
"It was nice, except that it's thick and hard to grip. But why do you ask... no way?"
"That pen is the core of the confidentiality agreement. Along with the ink, it draws out the user's mana to engrave the writing."
As if to say there was no taking it back now, the butler collected the agreement before we could say anything.
"And this paper is a spell scroll engraved with oath magic. The two of you have just activated the spell with your own mana, so to speak."
"What if someone has no mana?"
"Haha, what living creature has no mana? Even the lowliest of tiny creatures possesses mana."
[Status Window]
Name: Leoport Sean
Status: Third Prince
Race: Human
Health: [■■■■■■■▨▨▨]
Mana: [▨▨▨▨▨▨▨▨▨▨]
Perks: [Status Window], [Past Records], [Churu Physique]
Yep, that’s me.
Apparently even the lowliest little creature has more mana than I do.
Because of the Petrification Disease, my mana had hardened like stone.
Trying to draw mana from this body would be as impossible as wringing water from a dry rock.
In that case, what was left on that agreement was only ink.
Since no mana was engraved, that agreement was nothing more than a scrap of paper with no effect on me.
Even if I broke the oath, the magic would never activate.
Well, not that I had any intention of breaking the oath.
She was our precious moneybags, after all.
***
The room I entered following the butler was modest.
The only furnishings were a wooden chair, a luxurious sofa, and a table placed between them.
There wasn't even a common picture frame or potted plant.
I couldn't even begin to guess how much she wanted to hide her identity.
Naturally, the cheap-looking wooden chair was offered to me.
Still, I was better off than Taira.
She had to stand.
Had she read my mind?
Taira quietly whispered in my ear.
"You've only ever sat on fine chairs made by master craftsmen, so isn't it uncomfortable sitting on such a shabby chair? I'll generously give you the chance to stand."
She'd gotten a lot more brazen lately.
Was it joking around because we'd gotten close, or was she treating me carelessly because I was about to die?
-Click clack
The sound of shoes echoed.
The butler had walked silently, so the owner of those footsteps had to be Countess Veloz.
If not for the curves that could be sensed even through the cloth, it would have been hard to even tell her gender—she was wrapped up tightly from head to toe.
She hid her body with a cloak, and covered her exposed arms and legs with arm sleeves and stockings.
The fabric didn't seem to be thin, as her skin didn't show through.
She covered her head with a hood attached to the cloak, and wore a mask on her face just like me.
Countess Veloz walked past us and sat on the sofa at the head of the room.
Because of her wide hips, the plush sofa looked narrow.
Once seated, she looked at my mask and was silent for a moment.
"I felt a strange sense of kinship and got distracted. I'm sorry. First, let me thank you for coming all this way."
"I'm simply grateful for the invitation."
"Your alias is Star, correct? I've tried your potions too. I was impressed by how you hid the bitter taste with fruit flavor. Though of course, it wasn't remarkable enough to cure my illness."
As expected of a fellow alchemist, she started with potion talk right away.
"Isn't a potion most effective when it's made for one specific person?"
"I agree to some extent. But wouldn't a truly outstanding alchemist be one who can make a potion that works for anyone?"
"If more people come looking for me, then I'll release potions for the masses."
Countess Veloz opened her fan and brought it lightly to the lower part of her mask.
"I like that confidence."
Because of the mask, I couldn't read her expression.
For now, I'd take covering her mouth with a fan as a good sign.
"So, do you know why you're here?"
"I heard it was to treat your skin disease."
I actually knew much more, but I said only the minimum to avoid suspicion.
"This room is called the alchemist's room. Do you know why?"
It was an out-of-the-blue question.
"Is it because potions are made here?"
"No, it's because countless alchemists have passed through this room. Regardless of skill or status. Solely to treat my skin disease."
"Seeing as I'm here, none of them succeeded, I take it."
"Correct. Those who produced no effect left in shame, those who worsened the illness left behind compensation, and those who committed fraud were dragged off to prison."
The butler came in and placed two teacups in front of us.
"What about you?"
"I plan to leave with my arms full of gifts."
I picked up the teacup on the table and brought it to my lips.
Since I was wearing a mask, I only pretended to drink.
"So, about the reward—what is it?"
I'd read about her illness dozens of times in the game.
It was boring content I already knew, so let's talk about the fun reward instead.
"Bringing up the reward without even asking about the symptoms. The more we talk, the more I keep thinking you're a fraud."
Countess Veloz snapped her fan shut.
"If you cure my illness, I'll do everything within my power for you."
I could feel a burning gaze that even the mask couldn't hide.
In the main story, she hadn't had much hope for a cure.
Part of the reason was that she'd been burned and deceived by many frauds and given up on treatment.
But the biggest reason was that even if she succeeded in being cured, it was too late to return to high society.
She was no longer young, and the stigma that House Veloz's 'Rose Garden' was cosmetics that caused skin disease had spread, so she wouldn't be able to dominate high society like before.
But now it was ten years before the main story.
She was still at the height of her beauty, and news of her skin disease hadn't spread.
Her desire to return to the ballroom would be hotter than hellfire.
"If it's money, money. If it's goods, goods. If it's people, people. I'll get you anything. If you wish, I'll even make you a noble so you can obtain an alchemist's license."
She wasn't just offering to grant a license through some loophole—she was promising to make me a noble.
I wondered if that was possible, but considering the wealth I'd heard about through the information shop, it seemed entirely feasible.
Enough to turn a commoner into a noble.
She was desperate.
"Of course, all of that is contingent on successfully curing me."
At Countess Veloz's gesture, the butler brought over a potion bottle, holding it with hands wearing triple-layered gloves.
In the center of the glass bottle, a skull was boldly drawn, looking dangerous to anyone.
"This is the cause of my skin disease. Use it as a reference when developing the treatment."
"Is it exactly the same?"
"Yes. I've reproduced it exactly, down to the mixture of various chemicals."
"I see."
"I'm curious whether you're truly someone worth boarding the same ship with me."
The same ship, huh....
As she said, there was one good way to board the same ship.
And it would properly build trust, too.
When I opened the potion's stopper, Countess Veloz hastily pulled her body back.
She pressed her back tightly against the sofa.
"What are you doing right now?! Handle that carefully! There's no antidote for it, I tell you."
I tilted the potion bottle and poured the liquid in a long line over my arm.
My skin immediately swelled up red and blotchy.
It stung, but compared to the pain of the Petrification Disease, it was just an itch.
"Does this mean I've boarded the same ship too?"
Countess Veloz remained frozen in her startled posture, speechless for a while.
I was curious about her reaction, but her expression was hidden behind the mask.
The fan that served as her reaction compass had also fallen to the floor in her earlier surprise.
Countess Veloz calmly composed herself.
She picked up the teacup and brought it to her lips.
After only pretending to drink the tea, she set it back down.
"Whether it's a luxurious cruise ship or a ghost ship you can never disembark from, I don't know... but we have boarded the same ship."
***
"What were you thinking?"
As soon as we returned to the room, Taira asked in a subdued voice.
Worry was visible on her face.
"If you're hurt, you can't go to the black market, can you?!"
Ah, so that was it.
To Taira, the information shop was more important than my health, of course.
"Yeah, so it's a real shame. Too bad the black market ticket is account-bound, so you can't go either, right?"
Obviously, that was a lie.
If it were an account-bound item, could I have taken it from Young Lord Lawrence?
If I said I'd lend it to her, she'd probably dash off to the black market without even pretending to be disappointed about not going together, so I told a little white lie.
But contrary to what Taira thought, I had no intention of skipping the black market this week.
I didn't want to miss the black market any less than Taira did.
What if, of all days, Taira's little sister showed up at the auction house on the day I missed it?
"Do you really think I'd pour a reagent on my own body without thinking? I did it without worry because I can make the antidote."
"Ah, what a relief."
Hearing that we could go to the black market, Taira's expression relaxed immediately.
But my expression didn't brighten.
Because the key ingredient for the antidote was Taira's blood.