While Landerrouet, the place where they were going to establish the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora’s annex, was a holding owned by the royal family, it wasn’t large enough to be called “vast.” The royal family’s estate there was on the same scale as the magistrate’s. It was smaller than their other holdings and staffed by few servants. However, it was a special holding, and an important one. Testament to that fact lay in that terribly few people in the Kingdom of Salutania knew the role Landerrouet actually played.
For generations now, the magistrate’s estate had employed retirees of a very specific profession. That had not changed. Starting with the magistrate and going on down the staff list, every single person employed at the magistrate’s hall was a former spy who had worked directly for the royal family. Although they had stepped down from active duty, everyone at the estate was tight-lipped and was trained in self-defense. It was far easier to prevent information leaks at a place like that than at the palace.
If they added a few active duty personnel as well as some additional security measures in the building, then it would instantly become a suitable place for Sei to freely pursue her research.
Having come to that conclusion, the king decided to turn part of the magistrate’s hall into the new annex.
Zara, who was employed as the magistrate’s secretary, was one of the spies who had been hired when the annex was opened. She had been deployed all across the kingdom before this posting and had gathered information from every location. Now she played the role of magistrate’s assistant and the Saint’s confidante.
As a girl who had been raised in an orphanage, she was filled with awe when she was selected to serve as confidante for the Saint—a woman who was of the same standing as the king. But Sei was very much unlike how Zara had imagined she would be when she first accepted the job. In manner, Sei was somewhere between a noble and a commoner, and she was exceptionally easy to get along with.
Thanks to Sei’s personality, they became acquaintances in practically no time at all and managed to build an amiable relationship. That was probably why Sei had given her that cosmetic cream as a present during one of their tea parties.
Zara already habitually used the cosmetics that Sei’s company sold, so she was familiar with both the appearance and benefits of the products. The cream Sei had given her looked just like the kind she was already using. Therefore, she assumed it was exactly the same.
Right after Zara said goodbye to Sei that day, she went to the kitchen of the magistrate’s hall.
“May,” she called from the door.
A woman sitting in a chair near the backdoor turned to her. “Yes, Sister?”
May was a maid who worked in the kitchen. Her hair went past her shoulders and was tied back, and the bangs on the left side of her face went past her chin. Although she called Zara her sister, they weren’t related by blood. The two women had come from the same orphanage. The moment May had arrived there, Zara had told her to call her “sister” because they had the same eye color. May had done so ever since. Having grown up in this way, the women were extremely close.
May held a knife in her right hand and the potato she was in the middle of peeling in her left. At her feet were two buckets full of more potatoes. She was in the middle of preparing dinner.
“Here, why don’t you use this?” Zara asked.
“Cosmetics? Why are you giving this to me?”
“The Lady Saint offered it to me today.”
“The Lady Saint? Oh, so she came by again.”
May pictured the black-haired woman in her mind. Sei came to the estate frequently these days to stop by the annex of the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora. Unlike Zara, May never had the opportunity to speak with her, in large part due to the difference in their social rank. Thus, May had only ever seen her from afar.
“No need,” May said to Zara. “That sort of thing is wasted on me.”
“Weren’t you just saying how stiff and itchy your face feels because it’s been so dry? The cream might alleviate the irritation a bit.”
May was a woman as well; it wasn’t like she had no interest in beauty products. The reason she declared the cream was better off in Zara’s hands was the left half of her face, which was splotched with burn scars.
The orphanage where Zara and May had grown up had close ties with the royal family. Its more talented children were selected to work for the palace. Both women had been determined to develop their potential and had begun training to be spies when they were seven years old.
They had started with reading, writing, and basic arithmetic and had gone on to learn all manner of things, from martial arts and swordsmanship, to ways of eking information out of people through idle conversation, and more. Then, when they became adults at age fifteen, they had taken up formal spywork for the Special Service.
Several years later, they were coincidentally assigned to the same mission. Their task was to ascertain where monsters were spawning in a certain region. They were searching a forest when it happened: a type of monster that had never before spawned in that area suddenly manifested.
It resembled a lizard the size of a small dog. A toxic membrane covered the surface of its body; touching it burned the skin raw. It snuck up on them quietly and dropped down from above to attack Zara. May barely managed to notice in time. She immediately threw herself onto Zara to protect her, but the toxins on the monster’s body splashed her face.
After the women defeated the monster, they used a potion right away, but unfortunately, the burn scars remained.
The monster’s toxins were powerful, and to this day, Zara regretted how her incompetence had led to May’s scars. Zara apologized time after time, but May merely laughed and brushed it off. Then, one day, May grew frustrated and told Zara to cut it out with the apologies; it took her some time to realize that Zara had stopped mentioning the incident or her scars. It was nevertheless apparent that Zara was merely holding her tongue. May was always first in her thoughts. As such, when Sei gave Zara the cream, Zara had immediately thought of how May had mentioned her dry skin and decided to give it to her.
“But this is a present for you. I can’t take it,” May refused. It would be rude for someone else to use a gift from a noble.
But Zara was insistent. “Then how about we split it? Is that all right with you?”
May frowned. Although Zara didn’t say it out loud, May had known Zara for a long time, and she knew the depths of Zara’s remorse. Even if May continued to object, Zara wouldn’t give up. Even if Zara did yield, that wouldn’t erase her regrets.
Perhaps accepting half the cream will lessen her sense of guilt? I’ve heard that the Saint is an openhearted woman. She likely won’t rebuke Zara if I use it as well. With those thoughts, May gave up on refusing and accepted the cream with an awkward smile.
Zara was the first to notice the effects of Sei’s cream. The morning after May first used it, Zara happened to catch a glimpse of May’s cheek through her hair—the burn scars looked like they had faded. Zara assumed this was wishful thinking, but she continued to stare at May’s face without realizing what she was doing.
“Good morning,” May greeted her, though she sensed something amiss. “Sister?”
“Sorry, do you mind?” Zara’s expression remained odd as she reached for May’s bangs. Brushing back the hair, she revealed May’s face.
It was no longer marred by scars. Instead, beneath May’s hair there lay a stretch of smooth, perfect skin.
“They’re gone,” Zara murmured as she stared in wonder.
“What are?”
“Your scars… They’re gone…”
“What?” May knew instantly that Zara was talking about her face, but she couldn’t believe it. She blinked at Zara. Once she let Zara’s words sink in, she ran to the mirror to check her reflection. “This can’t be.”
Now it was May’s turn to stare in astonishment at her appearance. She ran her fingers along the skin where the scars should have been, unable to accept what she saw in the mirror. Just as her reflection suggested, she felt none of the bumps she had grown accustomed to.
As May stood fixated on her reflection, Zara asked with surprise, “You didn’t notice?”
“I haven’t looked in a mirror in a while.”
Ever since her face had been burned, May had hardly ever looked at her own reflection. Although she had put on a brave front for Zara, her appearance had upset her. Her hands had remembered what to do, though, so she had been able to take care of her everyday grooming needs without a mirror. As such, she’d tried to never look into one unless it was absolutely necessary. Consequently, she hadn’t realized the scars were gone until Zara pointed it out.
“I’m so happy for you,” Zara said quietly, her words coming from the bottom of her heart. Teardrops welled up along with them.
May began to cry translucent tears as well.
Zara hugged May from behind, and May put her hand on Zara’s arm. The women smiled as they wept in front of the mirror.