Chapter 36
Selena's skin, seen up close, looked even more pitiful than I'd expected.
The Selena I remembered had skin as white and dewy as snow.
Even without touching it, I could tell it looked so plump and springy that it had to be at least as good as Joraeng-tteok, Celin's inferior substitute.
It hurt my heart to see skin like that going to waste.
Selena silently looked back and forth between me and the cosmetics. Her eyes asked what the hell I was doing.
She spent most of her daily life asking and answering questions with her eyes.
Selena was even more tight-lipped than Father Valdemar.
"I have ten more bottles for you, Sister. Shall I bring them all over?"
Selena's tightly sealed lips parted.
"Go walk laps around the training grounds instead of playing pranks."
"It's not a prank; it's your younger brother's sincerity. Please accept it. I made it with you in mind. You can apply it to damaged areas instead of ointment. If you spread it on thickly morning and evening, you'll be healed within three days."
The complex born of being an illegitimate child. The countless blood and sweat she had shed to cast off that stigma.
Knowing what her life had been like, I could fully understand her hostile attitude.
Whoosh-!
Selena suddenly grabbed me by the collar. The distance between us vanished in an instant.
"Die. While you're at it."
She spat the muttered words as though chewing them. I remained silently still.
Perhaps my lack of reaction irritated her, because she shoved me away irritably.
"Just as you hate me."
She shook out both hands as if they had gotten dirty.
"I hate you too. Much more than you hate me."
"I don't hate you, Sister."
Selena's faint breath caught. Even her movements faltered, and a look of bewilderment crossed her face.
I didn't miss that momentary opening.
I quickly dabbed some pearlescent cream onto my fingertip and reached toward Selena's cheek.
The instant it touched her reddened, chapped cheek, Selena's body flinched.
Smack-!
Selena belatedly slapped my hand away, but I had already spread it over her skin.
"How is it? A little better, right?"
I was certain she'd change her mind once she tried it.
I forcibly took Selena's hand and placed the cosmetic in it.
"Call me if you need more later."
Scamper-
I fled the place in case she tried to hand it back.
***
After Astin left, Selena sat down on the edge of the bed again.
She looked down at the glass bottle she had accepted almost reflexively with chilly eyes.
The furrow between her brows deepened at the thought that he had mocked her to the very end.
"Arrogant bastard."
Selena approached the trash can and, without hesitation, flicked her wrist over it.
Plop-
The glass bottle dropped into the trash can.
With it out of sight, she felt relieved. If anything, she regretted that it had not broken.
Selena sank into the vanity chair.
Astin had mocked her by saying her skin was damaged, but he had not been wrong.
The fingertips she raised absentmindedly touched her cheek.
It was the exact spot where Astin had sneakily applied the cream.
"……?"
Selena's silver eyes wavered faintly.
The texture beneath her fingertips was unmistakably different. It wasn't rough and parched, but soft and dewy.
Stranger still was the pain.
Her cheeks had stung and burned every time she washed her face.
The heat and throbbing remained in other areas, but the pain had subsided in this one spot.
Selena hurriedly lifted her head and looked in the mirror.
"……."
Amid the red, chapped skin, one cheek alone shone porcelain-white.
A subtle radiance suffused it, leaving it smooth and free of a single blemish. She could feel the change as it happened beneath her fingertips.
How could a mere cosmetic have an effect like this?
Doubt surfaced, but she could not deny the feel beneath her fingertips or the reality reflected in the mirror.
Selena stared intently into the vanity mirror for a long while.
Knock, knock-
A light knock sounded, breaking the silence.
"My lady. I've come to clean."
When Selena opened the door, the maid assigned to her stood outside.
Selena silently nodded. It was a wordless permission to enter.
After bowing politely, the maid began cleaning the room with practiced efficiency.
Even while the maid tidied the room, Selena's gaze remained fixed on the vanity mirror.
Or, more precisely, she kept stealing glances at the trash can reflected in the mirror.
……The trash can where the cosmetic had been thrown away.
"My lady. I'll empty the trash can."
Selena's shoulders jerked.
The maid was going to take it. The trash can.
"Stop."
Selena, who had been silent, spoke without realizing it.
Selena herself was startled, but the maid's face turned deathly pale.
Lady Selena herself had spoken aloud to a servant.
Unless someone had made a mistake, Selena never spoke aloud.
"M-My lady? Did I perhaps make some kind of mistake……?"
Selena forced herself to suppress a cough and pretended to be nonchalant.
"The trash can."
"Pardon?"
"That trash can. I'll empty it myself. You may leave now."
The Grand Duke's daughter was going to empty a trash can herself.
It made no sense to the maid, but she bowed for the moment. She could not dare question her mistress's orders.
"Have a good day, my lady."
Clunk-
After the maid left, Selena was alone in the room.
Step- Step-
The maid's footsteps gradually faded. Selena remained utterly still until they disappeared completely.
When complete silence finally settled in, Selena got up from the edge of the bed.
"……."
She pressed her ear to the door. There was no sign of anyone outside.
She glanced down at the trash can by her feet.
"……."
After a brief hesitation, Selena bent down.
Rustle-
The daughter of the Grand Duke began rummaging through the trash can.
The fact that only she knew about it was some comfort.
***
I had arranged my schedule for a trip to the Imperial Capital.
My main purpose was, of course, to meet Lucia. Needless to say, it was to secure her as the exclusive model for the cosmetics.
But there was somewhere I needed to stop first.
The Imperial Autumn Grand Hunting Festival.
It was a hunting event held under the grandiose pretext of fostering harmony among the Empire's noble scions and honing their martial prowess.
It was originally an event reserved for the central nobles, so why had they gone out of their way to invite me?
The reason was obvious.
The one who had sent word to Cardenos was Crown Prince Zenon.
It was a stage he had set to restore his bruised pride from the ball and show off his martial prowess.
A vast demonic beast forest located on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace.
The clearing in the hunting grounds, swept by the cool autumn breeze, already held countless tents.
Among them, the Crown Prince's gold-trimmed tent was already buzzing with the excitement of the great nobles who had returned from the hunt.
"Hahaha! It put up quite a fight, but it was worth it!"
Zenon planted his bloodstained longsword into the ground and burst into hearty laughter.
At his feet lay the decapitated body of a vicious demonic beast.
It was a black-horned bear, notorious for being particularly ferocious even among lower-grade demonic beasts.
"As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince!"
"How did Your Highness cleave such a massive demonic beast in a single stroke!
"You are the pride of the Empire, Your Highness! With His Highness the Crown Prince here, the Empire's future is assured!"
What are they talking about? The bastard was so obsessed with women he'd sell out the Empire.
The surrounding nobles applauded in unison. I also clapped, raising the corners of my lips appropriately.
For an instant, my gaze met the Crown Prince's exactly.
The Crown Prince had been laughing heartily until then, but his expression grew strangely fierce whenever he looked at me.
He was making it painfully obvious that I was on his mind.
'I expected things to turn out like this.'
The day Lucia chose me at the debutante ball.
Ever since that day, the resentment of the three men toward me had been laid bare.
I planned to deal with Guildmaster Ethan later. He had recklessly touched the whiskers of a sleeping black lion.
Compared with that bastard, Zenon was child's play.
He wanted to put me down, consciously or not, but it was almost cute.
'But what can you do?'
I swallowed a snicker and turned around.
The bear the Crown Prince had taken down? It was big.
But the demonic beast I had brought back was a higher-grade specimen.
The Venomous Giant Rock Toad.
The nobles were pointedly ignoring my kill.
They all praised the Crown Prince, but occasionally glanced my way.
The Crown Prince himself needed no explanation.
He had invited me to crush my spirit, only for it to backfire, and it was obvious he was fuming.
"Young Master Astin."
Sure enough, the Crown Prince strode over.
"Your hunting skills were excellent today as well, Young Master. As expected of Cardenos's eldest son, the sword of the Empire."
Praise on the surface.
On closer inspection, the smile at the corners of his mouth was strangely twisted. Even his tone bristled with thorns.
His true intentions were obvious, but I smiled amiably.
"You flatter me, Your Highness. Unlike you, I was merely lucky."
When it was time to bow before the Crown Prince, I had to bow.
Zenon's lips curled slightly at my impeccably respectful attitude.
He drained his wine in one gulp, then shook the empty glass.
"There's no need to be modest. With your abilities, you are too good to be holed up in the west. I'm not joking—I think you could do quite well even if you were dispatched to the north."
Oh, really?
So this was his real point.
"Like your sister, Lady Selena. Hmm, now that I think about it, wasn't she the eldest daughter? If even an illegitimate child can accomplish that much, then the legitimate eldest son ought to do even more, shouldn't he?"
The Crown Prince glanced around.
"Is that not so?"
The nobles exchanged glances before chiming in.
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
"Astin's northern expedition? The Imperial Capital Daily will be thrown into an uproar once again!"
"Hahaha! That's exactly what I was saying!"
You get to hunt comfortably here, while your sister went north and went through hell.
And you, the legitimate eldest son? Are you really going to do nothing forever?
It was a ploy to humiliate me in front of the nobles like this.
When I remained silent, the Crown Prince placed a hand on my shoulder.
"What is it? Is the north too much of a leap for you? Well, you are still young and inexperienced, so I suppose it would be too much. I understand. I was only saying it in passing."
His voice carried a sneering note of contempt.
The nobles in the tent knew the Crown Prince's ugly intentions as well.
They looked as though they expected me to lower my head in shame or laugh awkwardly and brush it aside.
"By the way, Duke Vaitern, can an illegitimate child not become the heir of a family at all?"
"That is not the case. The legitimate eldest son is first in the line of succession, but that can be overturned by the head of the family's unilateral decision. In fact, there are quite a few cases where an illegitimate child inherited the family despite having a legitimate eldest son."
"Hmm…. So that's how it is."
The Crown Prince gave me a sidelong glance.
How could he needle me so blatantly? I ought to learn how to get under people's skin like that.
"Your Highness is quite right. I still lack the experience to go to the northern front. I haven't even set foot in the north yet."
The Crown Prince's brows curved elegantly. The corners of his lips slowly rose.
"It's good to see you acknowledge that. Yes, knowing the limits of one's abilities is important. Young blood driven only by ambition sometimes ventures into the jaws of death without fear. Fortunately, you are wise. You'll live a long life, haha."
Tap, tap.
He tapped my shoulder carelessly.
"Don't take what I just said too seriously. It's not that you are lacking; Lady Selena is simply exceptional. You should be proud to have such a sister, shouldn't you? Regardless of bloodline, you ought to respect her as a person."
"That's right. My sister is certainly a better and more capable knight than I am. I've learned from watching her, and as it happens, I'm preparing an expedition myself."
"Oh, an expedition? It won't be to the north. Where are you planning to go?"
All eyes, Zenon's included, turned toward me.
There was no real expectation; they simply wanted me to answer already.
I gave the nobles encircling us a quick once-over.
Finally, I looked straight into the Crown Prince's eyes.
"The Ashen Forest."
"……What?"
"I'm preparing an expedition to the Ashen Forest."
At my answer, the Crown Prince's sly smile froze, turning cold.