The woman turned her back and walked slowly
Her footsteps were silent.
Soon after, she stopped in front of a wall where a large painting hung, depicting a round blue moon above a dark night sky.
Below the moon, the woman stood with half of her face shrouded by a deep shadow.
Beneath that shadow, was she smiling or not?
"Will I invite that person? Or shall I call that person for you?"
Rosetta slowly rose from her seat and walked along the same path that the woman had stepped over.
One step, two steps.
By the time the distance between them was narrowed after a few quiet steps, the face that was hidden by the shadow was dimly revealed.
"But it seems like she's already here…"
The woman smiled.
"Madam," Rosetta said.
Under the shadow, the woman continued to smile silently.
With her eyes curved up as though she was delighted, she shook her head lightly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
What do you mean you don't know? You know everything.
For a moment, their gazes were locked.
Under the moonlight, the woman hid beneath the shadows once more.
She hid, while Rosetta was out in the open.
This was the kind of situation that the other person favored, but Rosetta didn't do anything to counter it.
In the first place, her purpose was to pique Madam Blanca's interest.
"No? You really don't?"
Rosetta shrugged and returned to the sofa, plopping back down.
From that expression earlier, it seemed like she had already achieved her goal.
A first impression was more impactful if it's restrained.
The sofa she sat on was so soft. She leaned back, then spoke as though she was humming.
"Then it's fine."
Without even looking, Rosetta knew that the woman was smiling.
* * *
Madam Blanca.
She was a character with an important role in the novel.
She was the wonder of the Empire's best secret guild.
There was nothing she couldn't handle as long as she was given the appropriate price for the request.
She could get any information or any object in the world.
She even did other kinds of secretive services.
In the novel, Leo also often visited her.
That lunatic male lead, of course, couldn't court the female lead through the right way.
Blanca in the novel gave Leo special attention. Even if he paid the same price as others, the results others would get were at 1, but Leo would get 1.2.
The reason was simple.
Just because Leo Carter was an interesting person.
…Rosetta wondered what crazy reason it was, but it was an undeniable truth regardless.
Madam Blanca.
She was a woman who was fixated on those that were 'interesting' quite a bit.
No one knew why she began to think like this. She would just say, 'After collecting interesting things, I started receiving a little more than others. Then, after selling them and saving money, I found myself owning a prestigious hotel.'
It was her life story, somewhat.
Moreover, even though she had already become rich enough, she still couldn't get out of her dangerous work.
Because the life of an ordinary hotel owner wasn't at all exciting for her.
What she wanted wasn't money.
What she wanted was an interesting life.
Rosetta didn't know how Leo drew Blanca's attention in the original, but that's besides the point.
There were no cons to attracting her interest.
Rosetta planned to buy one or two things from Blanca in the future, and if she was going to be treated specially, she'd rather be treated positively rather than negatively.
"What can I do for you?" the woman asked. "Shall I invite her or shall I call her?"
While Rosetta was leisurely leaning back on the sofa, the question returned once more.
It was quite a funny situation.
It felt like she was inside a theatre play.
All the people knew everything about each other, but they only moved their mouths according to the script.
If so, then Rosetta would have to be true to her role.
"Call her."
The moment she said this, Blanca—or the employee—raised a hand to push the large frame.
With a rattling sound, the painting began to be pushed back like it was a door.
Suddenly, a shooting star appeared on the painting as it was pushed back.
It was the same color as the blue light of the signboard outside.
"Please wait a moment."
The woman disappeared behind the wall.
Rosetta looked into the wall where she left, but she couldn't see anything amiss.
'He should be inside by now.'
She suddenly remembered Cassion, who had been covered by black cloth.
It's been a while since she entered this room, so maybe the patient in the carriage had already been moved to his room by now.
'He probably hasn't woken up yet.'
She wished he would stay calm until she could visit him.
While he was on the ground earlier—while he was at the brink of death—he agreed to keep his promise with Rosetta. But once he woke up, he might change his mind.
After he regained consciousness, he might think that he had been dragged back home.
And if he woke up here and showed his red eyes, that would spell trouble.
Rosetta decided to go straight to Cassion's room soon after talking to Blanca.
"I can't sleep."
Somehow, after she entered Rosetta's body, it felt like there were several times when the night was too long.
Indeed, there was a time when she lived without being able to differentiate night from day.
She pressed down on her eyelids gently.
Her eyes were heavy.
How long has it been?
Shortly after she closed her eyes, she soon heard someone enter the room.
When she opened her eyes again and shifted her gaze, the painting had been opened.
However, the shooting star that emitted blue light was still there instead of disappearing.
In front of the painting, Blanca stood in the same place where she stood under the guise of an employee.
The difference was in how she carried herself. The employee had an upright posture, while Blanca right now looked more relaxed and free.
The air between the two was so different that it was hard to believe they were the same person.
Since her face was now covered by a blue veil, clients would never think that both had the same identity.
Posture, voice, attitude. Everything was different, and ironically, the only thing that stayed the same was the face under that veil.
After standing still, she walked it from under the shadows and spoke.
"Oh my. Were you in the middle of a nap? Should I come another time?"
It was a playful voice with an undertone of her experience.
'I wonder if that's her real voice.'
Somehow, Rosetta could sense the mischievous expression underneath the veil.
Rosetta leaned forward from the sofa and tapped the coffee table once with her finger.
Tak.
The sound of her nail against the glass echoed.
"I'll be sad to see you leave. Please sit down."
Rosetta's voice was also light.
"What did you call me for?"
Whenever Blanca welcomed clients in this room, she always had a teapot and some teacups ready.
She had no choice but to do this. After all, the people who commissioned her were all prominent people.
They were people who stayed on the fifth floor, and this was where their requests were heard. This was also where Leo made his first request.
A sweet scent filled the room.
The tea that was served was blue.
…Blanca was also really crazy about the color blue.
"I have a few requests."
"I'm open to anything except killing people or jobs that would endanger my own life."
"That's unexpected. I thought you'd also be ready to put your life on the line."
Blanca chuckled without answering right away, her delighted voice like a lilting song.
"I used to, in the past. But now, I regard my life as something dear. Dying doesn't seem fun. There are still so many things I've yet to do."
Beyond the veil, it seemed like their gazes met but soon after, they broke eye contact.
Rosetta stirred the peculiarly colored tea and took a sip.
Unlike its strange color and its sweet scent, it had a calming taste.
"How is it?"
"It tastes better than it seems. Perhaps it's just like this hotel, having an exterior that looks so different compared to its interior."
Despite the season being midsummer, Blanca wore velvet gloves, and with one hand, she drew circles over the table.
What she drew left no trace. Blanca had been silent for a while, but she suddenly burst into a peal of laughter.
But she quickly composed herself, then she spoke.
"…Perhaps. Shall I listen to your request now?"
Blanca clasped her hands together and rested her chin over them.
The stretched veil crumpled slightly between her face and her hands.
With her eyes on the crumpled fabric, Rosetta opened her lips.
I need a magic tool that can change one's face. Do you have it?"
Rosetta needed to let Cassion stay at the mansion with her.
For that to happen, no one must recognize him—the Carter family and the Valentine family were constantly at odds with each other.
There's no way that the rival family's son would be allowed to stay at the mansion.
So what should be done? Or course, it was to hide his identity.
"Oh my."
Oh my, she said.
Rosetta could hear a hint of regret in her tone.
Those two syllables would sound ominous to anyone who heard it.
"Unfortunately, I haven't heard of a magic tool that can change a face. If it's something even I've never heard about, then such a tool must not exist."
Blanca said this confidently and without a doubt.
She didn't even pretend to look for it and just said that there was no such tool just from her memories.
If it was any other noble doing their first transaction with Blanca like this, they wouldn't have been able to stand her attitude.
"You sound confident."
"That's one of my charms."
"It suits you."
"…Thank you. Anyway, there's no magic tool that could change faces, but there is one that could change one's eye and hair color. Would you like to buy this instead? I'll give it to you at an especially low price."
Eye and hair color.
Well, that sounded good enough.
Cassion hadn't shown his face to others for a long time.
Presumably, at least five years had passed since he last showed his face. He only ever went somewhere alone from time to time, just like what happened earlier today.
This was possible only because the eldest son who couldn't wield magic was being kept hidden.
Also, based on the original Rosetta's memories of her seeing Duke Carter from a distance, the father and son did not resemble each other's faces.
Their hair colors, features, and general impressions weren't similar.
The only thing they had in common was the color of their eyes, which was the mark of their family lineage.
Maybe changing just his hair and eye color would be enough to significantly reduce the likelihood of him being recognized at the Valentine estate.
If he needed to go outside, then all he had to do was wear a mask.
"Alright. I'll take it."
"Then I'll bring it to you soon. Do you have any other requests?"
Yes. Rosetta had a lot.
'First…'
She touched the edge of her teacup for a moment and averted her gaze.
"I want you to find someone."
She looked beyond the window, towards a cold, dark place that couldn't be seen from here.
At that place, there was someone she wanted.
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