The Queen’s Cosmetician

"Hey, I'm sorry"

Dadan apologizes as he scratches his sandy hair. He was the one who set the trap in Miguel's shop.

"I didn't think my allies would catch on."

"What were you going to do when Miguel's customers arrived!? He killed an irrelevant man!

"No, well... sorry"

Die stared at Dadan, who lay face down sorry. I am aware that there are eight hits in it.

"Die, give him a break around there already"

Rowen pinched his mouth as he handily wrapped a bandage around Heath's arm.

"I didn't think there'd be any visitors at this hour. Miguel also said he would greet the visitors before they hid in the clouds."

I had no choice but to protect myself. If Rowen excuses me that way, I can't say anything more.

Die bit his lower lip and took his gaze off Dadan.

Rowen, who had been acting differently for a while, apparently had been rendezvous with the kites since the other day. It was only in the morning that they were visiting Miguel's shop to gather what they needed in preparation for their return home together.

Rowen, who managed to escape the scene and move Miguel and Kate to a safe place, accompanied Dadan as an escort and was returning to grasp the situation. The trap where the die caught on and hurt Heath was put up as a line of defense until the Rowens did their errands.

"It's annoying."

Tie the end of the bandage, and Rowen groaned.

"But it's over, too. We will leave the country soon. I really would have liked to be here a little more."

After finishing Heath's hand, Rowen quickly packed his medical tools and stood up, smiling at the die.

"I say goodbye here, Die"

To emotion, words jam for a moment.

I've known him for about five years. Not only did Rowen care more about Die's body than he did as a doctor, but he was a man who treated himself as a man of parity without insulting his children. It's not like we won't see each other if we want, but it's hard. Rowen's destination is unimaginably far, beyond the sea.

of this life, will be a farewell.

But before I mourned that, I had to check one thing out.

"... Master Alishuel, you're taking him, right?

Yes, but I was wondering if it would return.

I expected to see a friend laughing strongly that I was going to take him.

But Rowen betrayed Die's expectations and smiled lonely.

"No, I'm not taking you"

Definitely, he says.

"... thanks to you, I can talk to you since then. After all, we can't be together. That's what we talked about.... we broke up, Die."

I don't believe it.

Die glanced back at Rowen, seeping through the bitter colour.

Arishuel's appearance is too far behind Die's brain. It was like Rowen was really going to love me and not love me. I don't think she'll accept his separation.

I also couldn't imagine Rowen refusing to chase Arishuel. Because from the ends of the spinning words, he also drew from the bottom of his heart a strong desire to be with Arishuel.

Even so, they said they had already chosen to live apart.

"If so, where did she... go?

Heath groans as she rubs the bandaged wrapped hands. I squeezed my jaw and Dadan snapped my neck.

"Where have you been... no way, you're gone?

"No way."

Die gives Dadan his head and turns back to Rowen.

"Rowen, your mother came looking for you because Master Arishuel is gone."

The look on the doctor's face stretched out on the Russian side.

"... when was that?

"It's this morning."

Heath answered Rowen's question.

"Is it exactly dawn? People look around and they can't find it, so your lord seems to think she threw everything away and ran off with you. Besides, the traitor is useless and orders the minister to kill Miss Arishuel as soon as he finds her."

"Become...!?

Next to the stunned Rowen, Dadan, who made his expression rude, roars in his arms.

"So this sudden attack..."

"This is going to be bad for you."

Heath's voice followed was badly pale. I don't see a single scale of sympathy for the situation in which the Rowens were placed.

"I want to protect Miss Arishuel quickly."

Heath said.

"Rowen, if you have any idea, tell me everything.... you and I wouldn't want to see her die hanging in the hands of her real father, would you?

"Heath!"

That's a terrible way to put it. Die accidentally raised his voice of condemnation. But Heath doesn't look like he did, and he doesn't look at the die. With no expression, he was waiting for Rowen's answer.

"… I have only one idea"

Rowen groaned in sighing, looking back at the colour of the haze.

Of the castle, in the direction.

"On the mountain behind the castle, there is a hill where you can see this city"

narrowed his eyes so that he could see across the wall, Rowen said.

It's where we used to meet.

"Are you behind the castle?

Die was asking reflexively. It was a surprise. On this side of the gate where you can rely on Rowen's edge, I was wondering exactly how he and Arishuel would have overlaid each other.

"The castle seems to have to go through the aristocratic compartment, and in fact, if you exit the castle gate and circle the outer wall, you'll get there. It's a long way around, but if you run a horse, it doesn't make a big difference in time. Close to the Gertrude family mansion, and few eyes. It was a more convenient place to meet all over the city."

"... that was a blind spot"

Heath admires Rowen's commentary. And as he took his jacket from the back of the chair, he began to put his arms through his sleeves.

"It's going to be worth a go"

"From now on?

"Yep."

To Dadan's inquiry, Heath nodded as she corrected her collar.

"The battle is between your lord and us, which can protect her quickly. Rowen, can you show us the way?

"Of course. You can't possibly not go, can you?

Heath nods contentedly at Rowen, who accepts immediately.

Next he turned to die.

"Die, once you return to the Mizwieri house and report the jewellery to Master Mariage."

"... me alone, is it?

"Yep."

But Heath, you're hurt.

Rather than explaining himself poorly, he's the one who better get back to the mansion and report back. And as soon as I could, I wanted him to rest.

"I told you I'd be fine"

Heath frowns uncomfortably at Die's objections.

"It's not a big injury"

"What he's saying is true."

Rowen assured Heath's claim to a die who doubted it might be a strength.

"Injury itself isn't a big deal"

"... but it's still not free with one hand. People are better."

"Die."

A quiet voice, unsaid or not, is subjected to words.

Die trembled in the cold eyes directed from Heath. Emotional pale eyes. There is a chill in there for rationality.

"Consider that the only person who brought you here was an acquaintance of yours I don't know. Sometimes we won't be able to talk without you. But I've already used you."

"Hee..."

"Die."

A repeated call demands a line of relationship. Die quietly swallowed the name that hung up his throat.

"Anything you can't protect yourself from is out of the way."

Heath's voice is cold enough to freeze his tympanic membrane.

"Go home."

The sound determined the depth of his chest more sharply than polished steel.

Lose words, close your eyes.

I stared into the dark for a moment.

Die stared back at Heath and smiled.

"Yes, I understand.... Dear Livort"

Heath nodded small, instantly turning her back on the die.

"Dadan, did you say?

"Ooh?

Dadan, who for some reason stood up in disdain, responded vaguely to Heath's call.

"I'm sorry, will you escort the die?

"... I don't mind the sleigh, what about you guys?

"How far are you from Rowen about us?

"You're a makeup artist in the house of a woman who's a candidate for queen, right?

Dadan threw a sorry glance at Rowen beside him.

"... I heard that before."

"Really? Then it's quick."

Heath goes on to say it's convenient.

"We go in the carriage of the Mizwieri family. You won't be able to get your hands on the detour. No matter how cleverly you hide it, you know what an assassin comes from.... they can't be unaware that if we fight among the same nobles, it will be muddy"

It's a strange way to say it. Die frowned as he listened beside him. Isn't it too sweet for Heath? Just because you were in the carriage of the Mizwilli family, doesn't mean you'll be safe.

But Dadan nodded loudly in a strangely convincing manner.

"... oh... well. I see."

Heath throats at a bitter laugh.

"Did you know"

"Well.... Ok. You guys are safe. I'll take it."

With his gray head swirling, Dadan sighed zero.

"Rowen."

"... ok. Guide."

He rose out of his chair in response to Heath's call, and Rowen hooked his jacket back to his arm with his heel.

"Let's go. You better act fast."

Leaving Miguel's shop, we head all the way down to the main street together. In a nearby square, he kept the Mizweeri carriage waiting.

Arriving at the square. No sooner had Heath arranged another, he ordered him to wait in the mansion after the report was finished, pushing the die into the carriage. I don't have time to argue either. If I noticed, I had myself stuck in a window with Dadan and watched the view passing by.

Heath, who boards a carriage parked on the shoulder of the road, doesn't even look back.

"Die."

Dadan was back in his seat at some point. He puts his arms together and deposits his center of gravity on the wall, with a strange look on his face.

"Are you glad?

To the invisible question of the content, Die asked back.

"... what is it?

"... don't follow the Rowens"

Care seeping into gray eyes.

Die smiled bitterly.

"Because it's the only way. I'm pretty sure it's a foot job, and it's important to report it to Mariage."

Calm down, Heath was absolutely right. Die is powerless. This child's powerlessness will not help you in your search for Arishuel. I'd rather report the situation to Mariaj than follow the Heaths to Mumble and send someone from the Mansion for backup as soon as possible.

"Right."

Dadan nods in an unexplained manner somewhere.

"Sorry about that."

With a slight silence, he said.

"What? What is it?

To his abrupt apology, Die tilts his neck.

"... I thought you were a woman."

"Huh?... Oh, you mean that"

"No, because I thought you were a man.... I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay"

Die smiled, surprised by Dadan's exceptional attitude.

"Never mind. It's convenient, so there's something about me dressed like this on purpose."

After observing the way the Mizweeri servants treated themselves, Die realized that it was still easier to be treated like a man. For example, the men at the mansion were casually speaking to the die because they thought he was a boy. Because the samurai also see it as heterosexual, they were not excessively jealous of the die being treated specially as a makeup artist. I'm not hiding my gender in the Mizweeri family, so there's also been a gradual increase in what I know as a woman, but when I'm still a boy, they all forget the gender of the die. Treats me in the same way as before. That's better, thank you.

Die, who was turning his mind, wondered where Dadan realized he was a woman.

"Did Rowen tell you? About my gender."

"Ah? No. That's what you'd know if you looked at it."

"But you didn't know before, did you?

"... oh well, hey. But I found out today."

"Huh."

The last time I saw him, he said he couldn't even see the bare gesture of realizing that Die was a woman, but why would he know this time? There shouldn't be any talk of my gender out there.

"Why did you think Rowen told me that?

"It was like he was telling Dadan about my work, so that's when we talked about gender together, and I thought,"

Dadan seemed to have heard from Rowen about Heath and his own qualities. That's why I thought you explained it together.

"About work?

For a moment Dadan shrugs his eyebrows in surprise - but immediately convinces or slaps his hand.

"Oh, you're talking about you guys being proxies with makeup artists. Rowen didn't explain it directly to me either. You got me into this. It's his duty to explain the situation, isn't it?

Didn't you? and asked for consent, Die nodded.

"Right."

Dadan smiled and put his legs together as he cleverly avoided the die. With a cheek wand on that knee, he continues his words.

"Well, I heard about the princess of the Gertrude family and about her friend who works for the Mizwieri family, and how she found out about it. And then when I heard about today, I knew right away that you were my friend's makeup artist, and that the guy who stuck around was more of a proxy."

"I see."

"Damn, I wonder why I get caught up in this... I thought there were plenty of them in Kate's defense."

Dadan, scratching his head up and mourning the situation, asked Die bitterly.

"What kind of handout did you hire for Kite? Kite's a nobleman."

Dadan said he was hired as a guide in conjunction with his escort. Obviously this man who looks accustomed to traveling won't have a place to settle. It was strange to Die how such a man would be hired by Kite, a nobleman, if he followed how. Assuming the Del Ligueirian aristocracy tries to travel to a distant country, it would hire around a merchant who is quite an identity, not a drifter like Dadan.

"In Del Ligueiria, nobility and everything else are well drawn, but not the home of the kites."

Dadan answers with his eyes narrowed.

"It must be the emperor's air now. There is a class system and discrimination, but the emphasis is on strength. If it suits your wishes, you may be a nobleman, but you have a relationship. Just like you and this princess."

Die is from Hanayashi. But I was expected to have a makeup arm and it came with mariage. Strength outweighs identity. They are very rare in Del Ligueiria, but different in Rowen's hometown.

"... Actually, I'm an informant. By having a wealth of information on the western continent, I received a request for his house via a common facial acquaintance. He asked me to tell him what kind of country Del Ligueiria is, a country on the western continent where he has his eldest son Rowen."

"What kind of country is Del Ligueiria...?

Rowen explains, in short, to the die who shrugged back at the parrot.

"That's how you wanted to know if your brother was a country where he could live safely. But the situation is the situation. The kites decided to call Rowen back. As Kate says, one of the reasons why the country has settled down perfectly is because he really wanted to keep him away from the shitty land."

I guess that means Rowen's family didn't want to leave him in a country where the queen had just collapsed and lacked stability.

"At first, I thought you were a kid.... Well, when this happens, I guess I'm glad I picked you up"

Perhaps if Kate hadn't picked him up, Rowen would have stayed in the country forever for Arishuel.

Even if that path does not bring him happiness.

"Princess Arishuel, I hope you find her soon."

Die agreed with Dadan's pompous and dropped words.

"... right"

Where the hell did she disappear to?

I wish Rowen was in the right place.

The conversation broke off and Die closed his eyes.

Rowen decided to let her go thinking about Arishuel. I wonder what Arishuel thought of him. I'm sure she didn't doubt the future we both walk in.

I wonder what this commotion will do to both of us. I couldn't help but think about Heath, somewhere in the corner, even though I showed her about my friends that way.

After hanging from Dadan's trap, his arm was certainly warmly wrapped in a die with labor. But then, less than a quarter of an hour later, it shows total rejection. Confusion about that. Sad.

Sigh, zero.

I felt guilty for myself, and Die laughed softly at herself.