Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“To be precise, I’m not investigating Miss Rosalyn, but rather the fire in which she lost her parents.”

Briana wore an expression that seemed to say, ‘Isn’t that basically the same thing?’ before speaking with an awkward smile.

“I actually met Miss Rosalyn at our house not long ago. She was with my friend, Arthur.”

“I heard that the two of you are discussing a marriage proposal.”

“Yes, that’s why I invited her, but…… Miss Rosalyn is quite an unusual person.”

“Unusual?”

Ash’s gaze changed.

Sensing a strange sense of anticipation from him, Briana racked her brain, wondering how she could make him think less favorably of Rosalyn.

Just then, she remembered something that had felt slightly odd even when she had heard it from Rosalyn herself.

“Well, you see…… Noble ladies usually don’t apply their own makeup. So even if they’re very interested in cosmetics, it’s normal for them not to know which products are good for what or how exactly they should be used.”

Maidservants with such skills were paid higher wages to become dedicated maids responsible for helping ladies with their appearance.

“But Miss Rosalyn knows far too much about such things. It was almost as if she personally went around buying cosmetics and applied her own makeup.”

“Is that strange?”

“You may not know because you’re a man, but ask any noble lady about it. Every single one of them will tell you it’s strange.”

Ash nodded as though he understood what she meant.

“So, you mean that a woman who should have been raised sheltered in a noble family is unusually knowledgeable about things that would normally be handled by a maid?”

“I heard she even had a maid accompanying her. If that was the case, wouldn’t that maid have done all her grooming for her?”

“Hmm. That makes sense, too.”

Briana felt both pleased and grateful that Ash had immediately understood what she meant. At the same time, she waved her hands dismissively and backed off.

“It’s just my personal impression. There are all kinds of people in the world, and there are also cultural differences between the provinces and Herona. Please don’t tell Miss Rosalyn that I said any of this.”

“Of course.”

Briana belatedly pretended to feel embarrassed, as though she had said something she shouldn’t have, and left.

She did not think what she had said was anything particularly significant, nor did she consider it slander since she had not fabricated anything.

However, the Ash who remained behind began to harbor another suspicion, sparked by Briana’s words.

‘The deceased Emma Hampton was Rosalyn Tessis’s personal maid. I even heard that she was skilled at makeup and hair. But after she died, who helped Rosalyn with her appearance?’

He had heard that the Countess Brough had assigned her a young maid to handle miscellaneous personal tasks. But could a girl who was only about seventeen really do makeup as perfectly as a maid specializing in grooming?

After the fire, had Rosalyn Tessis ever appeared bare-faced or changed the way she applied her makeup?

If not, was she doing her own makeup now? If she was that skilled, why did she need a maid?

Ash became absorbed for quite some time in one suspicion leading to another, but then he decided not to become too fixated on such a small clue and took a step back.

‘Well, she could have taken an interest in makeup and tried doing it herself. Since she had watched her maid do it every day, she might have learned it easily. But it would be better to keep it in mind for now.’

He wrote this down in his notebook, hoping that someday it might become a link connecting the scattered pieces of information.

***

What remained in my mind after visiting the Wells Baronial House was not my wariness or anger toward Briana.

‘They’re both baronial houses, but the difference is way too great.’

Even after several days had passed, I still couldn’t forget that neat, splendid mansion or the well-trained manner of its servants.

Ah, the garden was lovely, too. Just looking at the green waves outside the window seemed to make my chest feel refreshed.

And what about the flowers displayed throughout the mansion! Everywhere my eyes fell, beautiful vases were filled with gorgeous flowers, delighting the eye.

Wallpaper that had been carefully maintained without a single stain or tear, polished landings, clean carpets without a single worn spot, picture frames hung straight on the walls, and furniture that was neither outdated nor tacky…….

‘It felt like a home that had been carefully maintained by someone exceptionally wealthy and flashy? No, not exactly. It felt like a home that had been well cared for by someone wise and discerning.’

By comparison, what about the Tessis Baronial House?

Let me just say that gardens, flowers, and works of art were not areas of interest for the Tessis Baronial family. Of course, that could be dismissed as a difference in taste.

But things like the condition of the wallpaper and carpets, or the discernment shown in choosing furniture, didn’t those things reveal the refinement and standards of the people living in the house?

Then again, the tight budget of the baronial house must have played a part as well. They were already struggling to cover the costs of maintaining and operating the estate, so they probably had no room to worry about anything else.

Still! Still, though!

‘The difference from the Wells Baronial House is just too great. Of course, that’s why I’m trying to marry the son of a wealthy family…….’

Even as a commoner by origin, I could understand the logic behind the marriage bargain of exchanging a title for wealth. I would give Arthur, who had no title, the title of ‘Baron,’ and they would give me, a poor noblewoman, a comfortable life.

To nobles, that was a ‘fair trade,’ so having little money was not something to be ashamed of.

But even knowing that, my pride was a little hurt. After all, the side that needs money is naturally the one that ends up looking shabby.

‘What if she compares us to the Wells Baronial House and looks down on us?’

Since they had known each other as ‘baronial houses’ for a long time, wouldn’t that comparison naturally come to mind? She might even click her tongue when she saw the condition of the Tessis Baronial House.

What made it even more dispiriting was that the Wells family wasn’t even an especially wealthy household.

‘I really need to make money. The taxes collected from the territory aren’t enough.’

Thanks to correcting the Merchant Guild’s corruption and the fact that the wheat harvest had just come in, the baronial house’s finances had avoided the worst. But there were still bank debts to pay, and I also needed to set aside emergency funds to survive the winter, so there was little money left for me to spend on maintaining my dignity.

If the Gottfried Viscount’s family discovered that we were this poor, they might adjust the marriage conditions to be even less favorable.

Therefore, before my engagement to Arthur was finalized and the other family discovered the true state of the Tessis family, I had to accumulate enough wealth that I wouldn’t be embarrassed.

‘But how?’

I sat on the sofa and seriously racked my brain.

In the meantime, I had prided myself on building up a decent amount of knowledge by reading accumulated newspapers whenever I had free time, attending social gatherings to listen in on all kinds of rumors, and asking Count and Countess Brough about various things.

But when I actually tried to think of something practical, I realized that my pride had been nothing more than conceit.

‘I don’t know a damn thing about this field! If I start getting involved in investments or whatever in this state, I’ll be practically begging to get scammed just like the late Baron Tessis!’

That would certainly be very much like Rosalyn Tessis, but as I had said before, I did not want to let go of this opportunity I had grasped without having to die for it.

‘In the end, I need to do something I know well.’

When I narrowed it down to something I knew well, something immediately came to mind.

‘Cosmetics! Powder, rouge, and eyelashes—things that can completely recreate a face!’

There had been countless times when I was dressing up Rosalyn and lamented, ‘Ah, why doesn’t this kind of cosmetic exist?’

It was difficult enough to find powder in exactly the right shade for the skin, but I also needed shades that were slightly darker than the skin tone, slightly lighter than it, or contained a subtle shimmer.

But in Tessis, which was particularly remote and rural, it was especially difficult to obtain such things, so I often had to make them myself.

‘Why not put that experience to use and make them? Who knows? I might completely change the landscape of makeup!’

As I thought that, the things I needed to make unfolded one after another in my mind, along with where I should commission them, and what would be important besides the quality of the products.

‘I’m going to start a cosmetics company based on a completely new concept.’

Let’s imagine.

If someone asked, ‘Oh my, Baroness Tessis, what have you been doing lately?’ I would answer, ‘Hoho, I’ve started an innovative cosmetics business.’

Stuffy old men might scoff when they heard the word ‘cosmetics,’ but they would not be able to deny that it was a profitable business. After all, they would be the ones paying for the cosmetics their wives and daughters used.

“Good. Once I’ve made up my mind, I have to run forward without looking back.”

I muttered softly and called for Maya.

“Maya! Do you happen to know where the nobles of Herona usually buy their cosmetics?”