The Beast That Licks Me - Chapter 1.14

“You cut your hair.”

“Yes, I grew it diligently all winter, so now it’s time to cut it.”

Rosette remarked, looking at Roxana’s short hair. Roxana had cut her silver-like hair short, exposing her long neck. Dressed in a shirt and pants, with mischief dancing in her round red eyes, she looked more like a mischievous boy than a young lady of Rosette’s age.

“It’s fortunate you didn’t run into my mother. If she saw your hair, she would have fainted briefly and then lectured you for two hours.”

“I suspected that, so I deliberately waited outside. I didn’t want to be seen as someone who might corrupt her virtuous daughter.”

“What virtue? Oh, by the way, my mother had a message for you.”

“From Countess Sarhen? What did she say?”

“She says you should get married soon.”

“Ugh.”

Roxana’s serious face made Rosette burst into refreshing laughter. Roxana was one of the few friends who had been with Rosette since childhood. The rest had married early, making her almost the only one left. Roxana’s father, Marquis Keilrof, and Rosette’s father, Count Benedict, were academy alumni and roommates. So the two had naturally been together since they were young. Though very different in personality and appearance, they shared one hobby: reading.

Rosette enjoyed adventure novels and romance novels, while Roxana preferred magic books and business-related literature. Given these early inclinations, perhaps their current paths were inevitable. Even during Roxana’s education period at the magic tower, they maintained their friendship by gifting each other books they thought the other would enjoy and exchanging letters. As they were chatting, Becky entered carrying a tea set on a tray.

“I’ve brought tea. The aroma is excellent, perhaps because of the quality leaves that arrived.”

“Thank you, Becky.”

Becky skillfully poured tea into cups and placed them before the two.

“Becky, we have a lot to talk about, so could you keep people away outside?”

“Of course. By the way, will Lady Roxana be joining us for dinner?”

“No. I’m fine. I need to head back early.”

“I understand.”

Becky bowed politely and closed the door as she left. After hearing the footsteps fade away, Roxana spoke first.

“…She’s gone.”

“Indeed.”

They exchanged meaningful glances. Roxana was the first to break the silence.

“You used the reagent after so long and I wondered what was happening, but you’re plotting something quite interesting. What about you?”

Roxana looked absolutely delighted by this situation. Rosette had used two methods to avoid Sarhen’s eyes. One was having Becky deliver a letter, and the other was using the reagent Roxana had invented.

The reagent Roxana invented at age twelve was enchanted to make all written content disappear when poured onto paper. They often used this reagent to exchange secrets they couldn’t tell their parents.

Since they didn’t send secret letters every time, they distinguished them by including keywords in the first sentence. The keywords were each other’s full names rather than nicknames.

‘Dear Roxana,’ ‘Dear Rosette’

When the reagent was poured again on a letter with their name rather than a nickname, the visible writing would disappear, revealing previously written text. It was a method they often used during their girlhood to secretly convey messages to each other, but they never dreamed they would use it like this.

Rosette pressed close to Roxana and asked with a tense expression.

“Did you bring everything I asked for in the letter?”

“Of course. I even brought extra things. You know nothing about adventure, flower girl.”

Roxana gestured with her thumb toward the gift box placed behind her. It was quite an unrefined gesture, but there was no one in the room to point out her behavior. The gift box Roxana brought was almost as big as her body. Rosette asked in astonishment.

“How did you carry something so large?”

“I put a lightweight magic spell on it. It’s fine.”

Roxana was the third daughter of Marquis Keilrof and a magician. She was especially talented with magical reagents and object enchantments. This gift box was also Roxana’s creation.

“Can I get my hopes up?”

“Of course. Do you know how hard it was to get these? I had to run around for three days straight. I nearly got muscle pain.”

Roxana sighed deeply while complaining. Rosette smiled broadly, showing her pink gums for the first time in a while.

“Thank you. I’ll reward you generously.”

“Forget the reward, just show me that pink diamond. The rumors about how beautiful it is have spread thickly throughout society.”

“Ah, alright. I’ll get it.”

Rosette stood up and headed toward her jewelry box. She roughly grabbed the necklace and placed it on the table with a thud.

“Here. Look all you want.”

“Hmm, it really is beautiful. You could make a fortune when you sell it later.”

“Thanks. But I’m not going to sell this. I won’t even take it with me when I leave.”

“Oh, why? Because your father gave it to you?”

“You said rumors have already spread thickly throughout society. If I sold it, wouldn’t I be caught immediately?”

“That’s true.”

“What, are you disappointed?”

“Not at all. I like that your blood runs a bit cold.”

Roxana said with a grin.

“By the way, what’s this about Evan becoming human? Tell me more about it.”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. He became human the day after my birthday.”

“Do you know why it happened?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Not even a guess?”

Rosette recalled the previous day. She had said it would be nice if he were human. But that was something she had often said when she was younger. Come to think of it, she had also briefly stood on the windowsill while drunk. Not wanting to share this fact with Roxana, Rosette shook her head.

“No, it just happened somehow.”

“Ah, I wish I could research this…”

Roxana muttered regretfully. Despite the blasphemous remark, Rosette didn’t bat an eye.

“Hmm, is he handsome?”

“Yes. Extremely.”

“If you say he’s handsome, he must be truly handsome.”

Rosette, who had seen Stefan, one of the capital’s most handsome men, since childhood, didn’t recognize his good looks. The fact that she unhesitatingly called Evan handsome made Roxana curious.

“He is handsome, yes, very handsome.”

“Show him to me sometime.”

“Not now. He’s currently confined because he’s too handsome.”

“Ah, right. That’s how it was.”

Roxana clicked her tongue in disappointment, then stood up.

“Come here. You need to see how to use these items.”

“Yes.”

The two crouched together in front of the gift box. They didn’t forget to cast a spell to lock the door in case someone unexpectedly entered. When they opened the jewel-encrusted gift box, shabby items that didn’t match the box at all were revealed. Rosette exclaimed with delight.

“Perfect!”

“Yes. Even I think these are perfect items.”

Roxana’s nose rose with pride at Rosette’s praise, and she shrugged her shoulders. The items in the box included one or two sets of commoner clothing, hair dye, passports, tickets, and various other miscellaneous items.

“Besides what you asked for, I also included items that were useful when I traveled. I put a lightweight magic spell on the bag, so it will be convenient to use.”

“Thank you so much, Xana.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You can take all the jewels in my jewelry box.”

“Even the pink diamond necklace?”

“Well… I might need to wear it occasionally to show my father, if you’d just lend it to me then.”

“Forget it. Not interested. I’ll just take a few valuable-looking pieces and sell them when you return. If I sold them while you’re gone, I might get arrested for theft.”

“What if I don’t come back? Would it be better to give you cash instead?”

“You have cash too?”

“Yes. I asked Becky to prepare some.”

“You’ve grown up, Rose. I’m proud, truly proud.”

Roxana looked at Rosette with eyes like a parent watching their grown child. Rosette rolled her eyes in disbelief. Roxana sipped the drink Becky had brought and spoke.

“But are you really going without even one maid?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”