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Chapter 46
“Rabbit Mask Lady”
“Ahhhh!”
I kicked the blanket off and sat up.
The more I tried not to think about it, the more I remembered what May had whispered in my ear.
“So… once a month means that, right…?”
My voice sank from embarrassment and shame.
I buried my face in the pillow and kicked at the bed and blanket in frustration, but it only made me feel worse.
“Nothing ever goes right for me… nothing at all.”
My voice, full of anger and shame, lost its strength and faded.
When I collapsed back on the bed, I noticed the empty dishes on the table in the corner of the room.
May had hurriedly brought the food to my room after seeing me run away from the dining room earlier.
“You hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch. I thought you’d be too weak if you skipped breakfast too. And please don’t worry, My Lady. Nobody else knows. His Grace personally ordered the dishes from the chef so you wouldn’t feel embarrassed.”
According to May, Carriaire had personally chosen each menu item for me so I wouldn’t feel ashamed.
The salmon steak rich in protein, the salad with fresh mandarin and seasonal vegetables, the banana flambé, and the ginger tea—all were good for relieving pain.
The thought that he had even searched through books himself to find out what foods help with menstrual cramps… it was hard to believe, but I couldn’t deny it when I had seen it myself.
“I can’t even pretend it’s not true when I saw it with my own eyes…”
Watching May’s faint, proud smile, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Ugh, I don’t know anymore.”
I felt so conflicted—embarrassed, shy, and also strangely uneasy, like I was seasick.
Having someone worry about me and prepare food for me felt so unfamiliar.
“…I wish I had memories like that in my past life or this one.”
I shouted to shake off the gloomy feeling, then finally got up from bed after lazing around all morning.
“Hmm, I don’t feel like going to the library today.”
While thinking about what to do, my eyes fell on the chocolate sitting on the nightstand.
I popped a piece into my mouth and stood up.
“Well… I guess I should thank him, at least.”
I forced down the smile tugging at my lips and hurriedly rang the bell.
“Here we meet again, Rabbit Mask Lady.”
Laperre, sitting on his ivory chair, playfully greeted the woman standing below the platform.
But even at his casual greeting, the woman fiddled nervously with the mask on her face, avoiding his gaze.
“…?”
It wasn’t unusual behavior.
People who came to the Magic Tower rarely met his eyes and were always nervous.
Even though they came by choice, they acted as if they shouldn’t be there.
The woman, too, always checked the surroundings before entering and always wore her half-mask in front of him.
But by now—this was already her fifth visit since they first met a week ago—there was a silent understanding between them:
When he greeted her, she would ask for the hair-dyeing potion.
Today, however, she hesitated and didn’t follow the usual routine.
Laperre watched her odd behavior and spoke first.
“It seems today you’re looking for something different, Lady.”
“…”
“Tell me. If my regular customer wants it, I’ll get it for you, no matter what it is.”
“C-can you really get it for me?”
Her voice trembled.
Laperre leaned closer, seeing how she still avoided his eyes but didn’t back away.
“I’ve always gotten you whatever you asked for, Lady.
The potion to dye your shiny golden hair purple… even a quill that can copy the handwriting of someone already dead.”
At those words, the woman flinched noticeably.
After a moment of silence, she turned toward him, her mind made up.
“…I need a doll.”
“A doll?”
“No… it doesn’t have to be a doll. I just need something with a powerful curse… strong enough to kill someone I can’t meet in person because they’re far away.”
Her voice was firm.
Laperre lowered his voice.
“So you’re saying you need something that can kill someone from a distance?”
“Yes. Since they’re far away, I don’t need poison or anything like that.”
“….”
“I want a way to kill them without dirtying my own hands.”
Now that she’d started, she didn’t hold back.
Laperre listened quietly, then smirked. He tapped the armrest of his chair and looked down at the woman standing below.
“Sorry, but that’s a bit difficult, Lady.”
“W-why?”
“…”
“You just said you could get me anything!”
The woman’s voice was filled with panic.
Laperre met her watery eyes beneath the mask and said:
“The Magic Tower uses magic, Lady, not black magic.”
“…”
“And we don’t harm innocent people.”
“How do you even know if the person I want to kill is innocent or not? You don’t know!”
Her sharp voice made Laperre squint his eyes.
He watched as she stepped closer to the platform and spoke again.
“Even so, the Magic Tower isn’t a place to judge guilt, is it?”
“…”
“We just sell magic to those who need it.”
If the past Tower Masters, who had died for the peace of the world, heard him, they would have raged—but Laperre was unconcerned.
The woman’s hands trembled as she lowered her voice.
“So you’re saying it’s difficult, not impossible?”
“What?”
“You’re just dodging the question, but you didn’t say you can’t do it.”
“…”
“Tell me how much it costs. I might be able to prepare enough money to change your mind.”
Her voice was filled with venom.
Laperre burst out laughing, covering his face with one big hand.
Then he met her gaze and said:
“You must be a much bigger player than I thought, Lady.”
“….”
“Fine. Hm… how much would it take?”
He leaned lazily on his chair, tapping the armrest as he studied her tense posture.
Then he straightened up, grinned, and leaned forward.
“Considering I’d be doing something I don’t like, I’d probably need at least half the land of Zeros.”
“I can give it to you.”
Her firm answer made Laperre fall silent.
Their gazes clashed in the air. After a long moment, Laperre stood up.
“Fine.”
“….”
“If this person is someone you hate enough to give away half the Empire, then I’ll accept.”
“….”
“I’ll contact you when the item is ready.”
“Please do it as soon as possible.”
Before my father meets that woman.
“I’ll try.”
Her bright lake-colored eyes had now turned dark.
As he watched her leave, Laperre’s face hardened.
“…Heidi Elliana.”
His hands clenched, veins bulging as he whispered her name.
I peeked inside the kitchen.
It was after lunchtime, so luckily it wasn’t too busy.
“Ahem.”
“…?”
“Hello?”
I cleared my throat awkwardly as I stepped inside.
The kitchen staff turned and stared at me in surprise.
“Lady Heidi?”
“Oh, um, it’s nothing special. I was wondering if I could borrow the kitchen for a bit.”
“The… kitchen?”
The staff exchanged nervous glances at my unexpected request.
Then a loud voice cut through their silence.
“What’s going on?”
A large man with an apron over his round belly stepped forward.
His hands were covered in small scars, and he was holding a square knife bigger than an adult’s hand.
“Are you… the head chef?”
He nodded, and I swallowed nervously.
Somehow, he looked far more intimidating than I’d expected.
