The Queen’s Cosmetician

Squeeze the painted cloth tightly and drop it on the forehead.

Looking at the flushed, sweaty face, Serenity sighed.

I barely get up from the shadows of sleeping on my berth after defending the Prime Minister and Knight Commander who were caught in the explosion on the Ramadi Plain. During Cynthia's absence, her resting and reclaimed health suddenly worsened. I don't need to paint anymore, so I don't mind if you go to bed fully, but I have a limited amount of medicine. Hopefully it doesn't get too high, but as the temperature in the room began to drop, Serenity clung to her jacket.

I haven't had time to feel the changing seasons these past few months, but I'm in the middle of winter. Unlike last year, the strangely warm days were one of the reasons for the lack of seasonality.

Can I get you a blanket? With that in mind, Serenity brought her raised hips back to the chair with the sound of a knock on the door.

I'm getting cold.

With that said, a detrout came in with a blanket in one hand.

"Are you done talking?"

"Is that Zeno? Yes. I told him everything, including when I was going there."

My brother said that and glanced west. Just as you had a window, you could see in the distance the ridge of the mountain range that separated Del Ligeigeigeia from this country.

"... insisting on staying until the end."

"What are you going to do if you stay..."

"He wants to escape with us."

”... that's what his personality looks like”

“If there's nothing else I can do, I'll let you smell the medicine and throw it in the hidden passageway.”

"Yeah, I want you to do that."

Detrout lined up next to her, gently spreading the blanket on the bedside table and hanging it.

The motion suddenly reminded me of Cynthia's last night.

"What if..."

Yes.

Unknowingly, my brother reacts to the ritual of Serenity's words.

He shut up and won't rush us. Quietly awaiting the continuation of the words.

"If we survive."

Return to Yerni's Mansion and live in peace, defending the territory inherited from my mother. I know that such a future will not come true.

But, what if.

If I could take my life.

Saying so, Serenity shook her head to the side.

"I'm sorry, brother. I said something strange."

He was exposed to sin, without being able to transfer the throne to anyone.

At that point, we are ready for the end.

Sounds good to save the country, but I don't know how many sacrifices I've made to maintain this false identity.

I did what I told my brother in the beginning. This is a bloody path. Their blood and bones are theirs, too.

Would this not have happened if the servants who had lost their mothers as much as their families, and the boy who had just lost his sister, had not become a "queen"?

For example, if you were calling a girl to inherit the blood of a saint from a foreign country.

However, at that time, it was difficult for many other countries besides Perfilia to be captured. The only situation was that of a half-broken break with neighboring Del Ligeigeia, which was stable. The only way to prolong the life of a country burned by civil strife was for me to choose this path. It's just that much.

There is no regret in the path you have chosen. I'm not going to be ashamed of what I've accomplished.

But one thing.

Just one.

I've lost sight of what I really want to protect.

- The only thing I couldn't celebrate.

Din-sama.

And he is called by the sound of his name which has not been for a long time.

Serenity looked up at Ditrout.

I'll give you my confession.

Until the end, under you.

My brother laughed softly.

It was a grim, transparent smile.

I remember.

A warm day full of flowers.

The two of them were laughing at the garden.

Walking down the unpopular corridor, Zeno came to the office building. Continuing down the dial road, she bumped into the handrail of the crossing and succumbed to the slippery spot.

"Shit... shit! You idiots! Think not only about your country, but also about yourselves! You're prepared for a tragedy! You idiot!"

Xeno exhaled a deep impulse of resentment. It was so loud that it cut the back of my throat. With a resounding rage in the castle.

Previously, the guard would have come to see how things were going. I may have wondered what was going on with the civil servants who came and went.

But now there is no one.

The closed castle was almost deserted. A few soldiers are patrolling near the gate, and rarely to such depths.

At a glance, a scorpion falls on the cobblestone.

My vision was oozing and I couldn't help it.

I frowned at the saltiness in my lips.

"Ahh... damn"

Zeno slammed the cobblestone with his fist.

Also, tears spilled.

"... which mouth are you talking about, me?"

The king and the prime minister. They prepared themselves for it.

No.

All the stupid, shallow aristocrats who caused that civil strife, but didn't sew their asses properly.

Zeno has told his daughter, a makeup artist, about his origins before.

The Phalanx are the family that produced the Chancellor. He just said he didn't have that talent. I want to do whatever it takes to get Ditraut cleaned up after my own clan's disfigurement.

I want to strangle myself in the past.

"He's facing the Chancellor, and I'm not?" Don't be silly. We can't do this. "I just didn't do it..." I just thought I wasn't right, and I pressed all of it against Dita! "

Indeed, Ditrout must have been better suited to the Chancellor than Zeno. But he wasn't even a nobleman. Even with education, the quality and content of servants and aristocrats are completely different. To support Serenity, who stood as a queen, Dietrich will have learned to literally die. I don't think I've put in the same amount of effort.

From the time of Serenity's reign to this day, even the closest ones have lied about their gender, hoping more than anyone else for a harsh government.

They are the only aristocrats. Remembering the people on their own shoulders.

Put them down and run away.

"I can't... I can't"

I understand Detraut's reasoning.

You have to survive. The King and the Chancellor are fighting to protect this country. Now is the time to succeed that will and do your best.

I know.

But I can't accept it.

"Hey, you can't..."

Zeno squatted with a moan.

A glimpse of a tranquil garden nestled between the railing posts of the walkway.

I saw a phantom there.

Daughters laughing lightly. A man goes down the stairs. One of the daughters reaches out and welcomes him in.

Light filled yard. Swaying tree filled days.

The two of them were laughing together.

"It was me who made you throw it away..."

He looked up at the sky as he gasped for breath.

From the lead-coloured sky, the white light flickered.

The sky is gray and dull. It's not yellow dust.

The snow is flickering.

Yayoi said as she brewed herbal tea by the die looking out the window.

It's rare around here, isn't it?

"It was hot until recently." I heard that even if it was cold in winter, it would rain a lot.... "

The die frowned at his exhalation, which clouded the window. Very white. The furnace was lit in the morning because the temperature dropped sharply.

Since the day of the Pillar of Light , the situation in various places has deteriorated, and the die is still held in the city of Luglova. According to the demon from Alvina who came under Yayoi, the capital of King Delgigeiria had calmed down early, but it was better to wait a little longer to move.

It has been a warm winter so far this season. There are many parts that are saved by that. For example, in the middle of winter, there was little need to worry about the tram on the way to Luglova City. However, when the weather is expected to deteriorate, it is necessary to carefully consider the time and path of return.

It's just that those problems are still coming to an end.

(...... there's a frostbite......)

Many of the displaced don't have the skills to survive the cold.

Yayoi offered a tea set to the sighing die.

Are you tired?

"I'm just waiting here, my teeth are itching..." Ah, thank you for the tea. "

No.

The die lifted up a tea cup to Yayoi, showed it, and then carried it to his mouth. It is cold today, or it is mixed with spices. There was blood on my fingertips, which had become cold unknowingly.

"I don't think it's necessary for Master Cetra to be humble." I was in a meeting with Master Leah-El and Master Barnier this morning. You also gave instructions for the reconstruction of the city of Luglova, didn't you? "

"I'm just listening to most of the meetings." Aletta handles the practical work of helping us rebuild.... the makeup artist really can't do anything at a time like this... "

Die has been told by the guards not to leave the dorm room. After the chaos, security in the city of Luglova has decreased, and the approvers should not move from the command post. It sounds good to just follow the general principles, but I have more time than I need to write a report on this case, write instructions to the members of the mission, write a parent book addressed to Doppelgänger, or read the report.

"I've got time, so I've been thinking a lot."... even though I didn't want to let Reina use the Holy Maiden, I couldn't do anything....... I promised Alvy. "

At the end of the day, I was totally on my own. But then Yayoi picked it up and said:

"Isn't Master Cetra mad at Master Luglois for using Cynthia's name this time?" I'm sure that will save Lord Alvina. "

Listening to her remarks, Die suddenly wondered.

"... Yayoi-san... how far do you know about Alvy?" No, but what did Yayoi do originally..... "

It seems that Alvina "borrowed" Yayoi from somewhere. Since Yayoyi himself leaks "Master" occasionally, she seems to be in a position to serve someone.

"I know that Lord Alvina is the sister of a man called the Holy Maiden." "... even when it comes to that curse..." I am a de-curse maker. "

Kajushi?

"I mean the sorcerer who specializes in decursing." The one I serve has the same curse as Lord Alvina. I'm from a village that was created to find a way to break his curse. As part of searching for that clue, do you say that you have been dispatched to various places occasionally, and that you would like to help me with one of them this time..... "

Since you can do things from basic to difficult magic and magic adjustment without any problems, you may be hired by me like this, but your main job is only to study the curse and its lifting.

"There are few opportunities to use my true expertise..." Probably better than Setra-sama's makeup. "

The curse that Yayoi is trying to unravel is immortality.

I don't know if I can find a way to decurse her while she's alive.

"I'd like to lift the curse on that person, but honestly, I can't really feel that something is being done." My magic is precious, but there are others who can do the same. And when I think about it, it gets very hard, so I'm trying to help people who can do even more amazing things by doing things on their own.... count what you've done since this morning, even if it's not makeup. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can afford to do another job. ”

Die noticed that there, you.

Apparently, Yayoi was comforting me.

Dai stared at the written documents and made a cup of tea, and laughed at Yayoi and thanked him.

Thank you very much.

Yayoi shook her head sideways like she didn't mind.

"Nevertheless, are you a de-curser?" The magician also has that kind of specialty. "

"Because magicians also have specialties." I also have a job as a makeup artist, and it's the first time I've heard of it. Um, I'm just stylishly neglected. "

“Oh, no, I don't think it's a typical job, so you don't have to know.”

Behind the scenes, white powder and lipstick alone are most often integrated into the work of maids and officers. In Del Ligeigeigeia, Mariage named the die "National Badge", so it only has popularity there.

Yayoi said with a fuzzy smile, as if the girl was attracted to her heart instead of her previously unusual adult face.

"I'd like to take a look at your makeup." What kind of work do you do? ”

"Ahh... when I was looking at Yayoi-san, I hadn't shown you anything yet."

Yayoi was busy when he decided to go to Luglois. I was doing makeup and skin care for the Mariage, but the newcomer Yayoi was not there.

"I don't know what I'm talking about, but what I'm doing is really just makeup, not something I can hold." It's like preparing your skin and matching it with the atmosphere and costume of the time... Of course, there are fine tricks and theories. "

Makeup is fun. It also functions as armor. Hold between the spot and the person.

"I wonder what to say." If a person changes with makeup, it is that person's power, right? My work is like watching, listening, and turning my attention so that I can see the person who is difficult to see due to various circumstances. That's the job. "

Choose the color that will help you, and carefully create your skin to reflect the color. While imagining the most beautiful figure of the person.

"That's a nice job," Yayoi smiled.

Separate the conversation and start working on the paperwork again.

As he moved his writing instruments, Die relented his throbbing impulse.

(Hmm... I'm starting to want to put on some makeup...)

I have used my skin to tame my hands, but I haven't used the makeup firmly from the beginning using the face of others. If I were to put on makeup for Reina, I would have practiced with some faces before that, but it didn't come true either.

Later, I thought I'd borrow Yayoi's face when I was looking at her back to see how the furnace was doing.

"Die, I'm sorry. Is it okay now?"

Yubelle, who was outside in the police station, put her face in the room.

“Fine, what's the matter?”

“There's been a little problem. So, to report. It's not like we should do anything..."

What's the problem?

Hello, it looks like the people affected by the disaster are not eating.

This is what Yubert reported.

Inside and outside the city of Luglova, many people fell victim to the reincarnation ceremony. In particular, the number of displaced people was greatly damaged, and the few remaining people were brought into the city at the behest of Ineka and given temporary residence.

However, many of them seem to be sitting in a state of apathy and refusing even to eat supportive food.

The die is sending help from the envoy. So when Yubel came back to the dormitory, he showed his face to the report.

Die told Yubert as he finished the paperwork.

"Excuse me. May I ask Alletta to come?" So, Yuvail, let's go see it together. ”