Runea Fenrihart
'Haa... What is this mess, all because of my big brother. Getting dragged off to prison after being caught trying to feed drugs to the prince.'
The eldest daughter of House Lawrence, Julia Lawrence, let out a secret sigh amid the lively banquet hall.
She twisted her orange hair, tied up in twin tails, around her finger as she thought.
The card she had prepared was not one to play now.
She had planned to reveal it once House Veloz had weakened further and she had gathered enough evidence.
Then she would bring down House Veloz.
Seize the market that Rose Garden had occupied and fill it with her family's cosmetics.
And use that achievement as a stepping stone to become head of the family.
The thought that it was too early to reveal it now would not leave her, but.
'If this one thing succeeds, the family will be mine.'
Now that the eldest son had been dragged off to prison, this was her chance to earn merit and seize the position of successor.
Even with only a week's worth of short time, she had completed her preparations perfectly.
As the banquet was ripening with champagne and the orchestra's performance, Julia walked out to the center of the banquet hall.
The steward tried to stop her sudden action, but Grand Duke Fenrihart raised a hand and halted him.
"I greet you for the first time. I am the eldest daughter of House Lawrence, Julia Lawrence. I apologize for disrupting His Grace the Grand Duke's noble birthday banquet, but there is a matter I must make known to the noble ladies gathered here, so I have dared to request the floor."
After confirming that enough eyes were on her, Julia looked at a nearby noblewoman and spoke.
Of course, it was a noblewoman she had bribed in advance.
"By any chance, do you use Rose Garden cosmetics?"
"...That is correct. Is that a problem?"
"Yes, it is a very great problem."
"I am using the most famous cosmetics. What problem could there be?"
"That is because Rose Garden cosmetics cause skin disease."
Sounds of shock came from all over the banquet hall.
The noblewomen's high, thin shrieks rang sharply through the hall.
Of course, those who screamed were also plants Julia had recruited.
"This is a matter important enough to be spoken of in a place like this. Most noblewomen are devoted users of Rose Garden cosmetics, after all."
"I apologize to His Grace for bringing such news to a joyous banquet."
Grand Duke Fenrihart said nothing.
But he did not particularly stop her either.
Julia took this as a silent sign to continue.
"However, even now the poison in the cosmetics is accumulating on the skin—on the face, no less. You must quickly throw away your Rose Garden cosmetics and wash off your makeup."
Bewilderment settled on the faces of several noblewomen.
To remove their makeup—the banquet was still in full swing.
But to leave it on felt like wearing poison on their faces.
While they were discussing what to do with others from behind their fans, one noblewoman stepped forward.
"Mind your words, Lady Lawrence. If the daughter of a baronial house publicly slanders the head of a comital house, can you bear the responsibility?"
She was the mistress of a venerable comital house.
She was not one of the plants Julia had recruited.
When an unexpected figure appeared, Julia was slightly flustered.
But she had an answer prepared for this question.
"Of course. I can stake the name of House Lawrence on it."
"If you say that, you must have solid proof?"
"Yes, I do."
Julia smiled confidently.
"It is Countess Veloz herself. Are you not curious why she suddenly canceled her scheduled engagements and hid herself away?"
The reason for Countess Veloz's seclusion had once been a topic of conversation in high society.
"It is because she contracted a skin disease from the cosmetics she herself made. I hear she cannot even see sunlight and wears a mask."
There had been public speculation that she had caught a skin disease.
But it was a dangerous guess to voice without solid proof.
Yet Julia had spoken it aloud.
Speaking at an official gathering meant she had confidence.
Murmuring spread throughout the banquet hall.
It was that important a matter to the noblewomen.
Watching this, Julia smiled inwardly in victory.
To deny her words, Countess Veloz would have to show herself in person.
'As if that could happen.'
She had already confirmed everything through the maid she had planted—Sera.
That Countess Veloz's face was ruined beyond what could be shown outside.
'That bitch, fat only in the chest. She's been an eyesore since I first saw her. Serves her right.'
The more Countess Veloz hid herself, the more credibility Julia's words gained.
Rose Garden would collapse by the countess's own hand.
That was when Grand Duke Fenrihart, seated in the upper guest box, opened his mouth.
"The protagonist arrives last. Those were words left by my revered ancestor."
The tale of the first Grand Duke Fenrihart, who left those words behind and swept through the enemy lines alone just before the front collapsed under the monsters' assault, was known even outside the North.
But no one could tell why Grand Duke Fenrihart had suddenly brought up that story.
Then the curtain was drawn back.
And from behind it, a woman revealed herself.
Her face could not be seen because of the mask she wore.
But some recognized her identity just from the overwhelming curves that continued beneath the mask.
She spread her white fan—practically her symbol—at her lips.
"It has been a while, everyone. It is Countess Veloz."
At the appearance of Countess Veloz, who had long vanished from high society, the banquet hall stirred greatly.
What drew the nobles' gazes more than anything was.
The fact that, just as Julia had said, she appeared with her face covered.
Countess Veloz stood before the railing under countless gazes.
As if to sweep away every suspicion herself, she slowly raised her hand to the mask.
And without a moment's hesitation, she removed it.
The noblewomen held their breath.
If Countess Veloz's beauty truly had been ruined by skin disease.
Then they, who used the same cosmetics, might end up the same way.
But beneath the mask was a face still beautiful—no, more feminine than before.
"What do you think, Lady Lawrence? As you said, I have come out wearing a mask."
Countess Veloz smiled elegantly.
Sighs of relief flowed from all over the banquet hall.
Through them, low laughter and whispers directed at Julia spread.
The only one wearing a bewildered expression was.
Julia Lawrence.
***
"You ruined the Grand Duke's birthday with false slander, so I'll demand compensation later."
"Thank you, Runea."
"Thank me? You've made cosmetics just for me—how many of them are there? This much is the least I can do."
The Grand Duke before her was being called by the name Lukaric, but Countess Veloz called him Runea.
The Grand Duke likewise did not find the form of address strange.
The Grand Duke, who had been conversing in a deep voice, removed the ring that had been uncomfortable.
And in an instant, the person changed.
The general-like man in a white suit over a towering frame vanished.
A woman appeared, wearing what amounted to underwear that barely covered the important parts.
There were many scars on her face and body, but if only those disappeared, she would surely bewitch many men.
"Ugh, hot, so hot."
Runea fanned herself with her hand.
At some point, her voice had changed to a woman's low alto.
"You're probably the only person in the North who says it's hot."
"I've run hot since I was little. Thanks to that, I'm alive now."
In the grand ducal house, when a child was born, they were set outside the window for an hour.
It was a custom meant to ensure that only strong children who endured the cold northern wind could survive.
It was especially rare for girls to survive.
Because of that, Runea was one of the few women in the entire history of the grand ducal house.
"It's been a while, Rosie."
"Heh heh, am I hearing that nickname for the first time in a year?"
"What in the world happened? You didn't even contact me all that time."
"I'll explain slowly."
Runea sat in a chair, spreading her legs comfortably.
She downed the tea in front of her like a shot of liquor.
Then she dropped the ring she had been wearing into the empty teacup.
"You still keep important things in your teacup?"
"If I don't do this, I keep forgetting. I always empty my teacup before getting up, so I'll find it naturally, won't I?"
"What if you swallow it? It's an important magical tool that lets you disguise yourself as your brother Lukaric."
"It looks like I just swallow it, but I do savor my drinks, you know. Even if it goes into my mouth, I can filter out something like a ring."
"You're impossible."
Countess Veloz took a sip of tea as she watched her friend, who had not changed one bit since childhood.
"Hm? Why are you suddenly laughing?"
"No reason. I just remembered someone who only pretends to drink tea because of a mask."
"Right. So what's today about? What's this about asking me to invite you secretly, and what's with that dog-like young lady?"
Her anger seemed to rise again as she spoke, and she filled her teacup from the pot and drained it in one go.
Soon she frowned, then—ptoo—spat the ring back into the teacup.
Behavior far too frivolous for a daughter of the grand ducal house.
If seen in a tavern, one might mistake her for a skilled mercenary.
"A noble shouldn't act like that."
"Well, I only do it when it's just the two of us."
Knowing that the act was a joke meant to lighten her mood.
Countess Veloz laughed softly and then opened up about everything that had happened.
That she had developed a skin disease while testing cosmetics on herself.
That, as it happened, a benefactor had appeared and cured the disease.
She told the story of that year without making it boring.
Runea, who had been listening silently, asked with sunken eyes.
"That cosmetic you were experimenting with. Is it a scar treatment?"
"...No. It was just a cosmetic I was preparing separately."
Runea noticed the awkward silence.
She slammed the table—bang—and sprang to her feet.
The chair slid back a full 10 meters before toppling over.
Runea clenched both fists.
"Because of me, all this time.... You should have told me! Then... I would have helped somehow."
"It's not because of you. I made it because I wanted to make it."
Countess Veloz stirred her teacup with a teaspoon as she continued.
"And the reason I didn't tell you was that I thought I could solve it alone. I didn't want to add more burden to you when you already have to play the part of your brother Lukaric."
"Lies. You, who don't have a single scar—what reason would you have to make a Scar Removal Potion? It's all because of me...."
"Oh my, isn't your self-assessment a little too high? Cosmetics that remove scars are popular with noblewomen, you know? I said it's not because of you."
She said that, but Countess Veloz could not forget.
The sight of Runea rejoicing when she first applied the cosmetics she had made.
The girl-like image of her sneaking glances at the mirror.
She was called a strong, manly woman, but Countess Veloz knew that inside her was a young lady who liked pretty, cute things.
So she could not give up.
Runea dragged the chair that had been pushed far away back, sat down again, and spoke firmly.
"As if you made it for money. I know you. I'll say it again—I have no interest in scar removal or anything like that."
Runea, who said scars were medals of honor and had no intention of erasing them.
She held out her pinky.
"If it's not because of me, promise me. That you won't make scar treatment medicine ever again."
Countess Veloz smiled and hooked her pinky.
Runea's eyes widened, as if she had not expected her to link fingers so readily.
"You're giving up this quickly?"
"Why? Would you rather I kept trying?"
"No, that's not it. Last time, you said you couldn't give up on the Scar Removal Potion and wouldn't bend at all."
That was true.
But Countess Veloz still had not given up on the dream of the Scar Removal Potion.
She had only given up on making it herself.
"It's not certain yet, so listen without getting your hopes up."
"What is it."
"That benefactor I mentioned—I think he may have succeeded in making a Scar Removal Potion."
"Really...!?"
Because she sprang up, the chair was shoved far away once again.
She did not look like someone with no interest at all.
At that reaction, Countess Veloz covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Haha, it's still not certain, but I think we'll know if we meet and ask."
"Yeah? Then can I attend that meeting too? I'd also like to see the face of this benefactor you keep talking about."
"Wearing the ring?"
"No, as I am now."
Countess Veloz turned serious.
"I don't think that will be possible."
It was a cold, hardened expression that Runea was seeing for the first time in ten years of friendship.