CH 299

After the mysterious woman left,

Bertus wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

'How could I make such a mistake?'

His mistake was so rude that it went beyond being disgraceful. Cold sweat dripped all over his body.

If someone had done such a thing to him, he would have had murderous impulses. Bertus had never seen or heard of anyone spitting their tea in someone's face, nor had he ever imagined it.

It was an extremely rude act that went beyond the limit.

However, the woman seemed flustered, but not angry.

It was an absurd response.

Her hands shook excessively, making Bertus wonder why someone whose identity he didn't know would be so tense.

Suddenly, she claimed alcohol addiction.

It was an answer that didn't fit her noble appearance.

Her attire was not luxurious and quite ordinary. It was hard to tell what was inside the large trunk, but it didn't seem to be a luxury item.

Strictly speaking, she looked like a well-raised commoner's daughter.

Her distinctive features were her silver hair that seemed to shimmer and her delicate, picturesque facial features. Although her makeup seemed heavy, it didn't feel out of place.

She was a peculiar person.

From afar, Bertus heard her sharp voice even as he was walking towards the commotion.

"Heh, a good-for-nothing brat who loses control of their hand first?"

"Do you have confidence?"

It wasn't something a well-raised young lady would say.

"Your Highness…"

Bertus was startled.

"Oh, sit down."

Bertus saw the man who approached him and the other two men who accompanied him.

Despite Bertus not saying a word, they knelt in front of him instead of sitting on chairs. Bertus crossed his legs and folded his arms, looking at the three men kneeling before him.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Can you not understand my words about aiming for safe operation and management of the magical train and stations? Not only do you make the citizens uncomfortable, but you even tried to slap them?"

"I apologize, Your Highness!"

The man who eventually lost his temper and tried to hit the mysterious young lady.

These three men were not ordinary soldiers but Bertus's knights.

In other words, they were knights of the Salerian Duchy family.

Bertus smirked.

"How much did you receive?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's fortunate that nothing happened. If you had actually slapped her, I would have had to hear about the chief security officer letting citizens be beaten for a week, and my half-sibling would have just watched me self-destruct. It's a shame. Is it because the young lady is an unusual person who could block your slap with one hand? Huh? It's really fortunate that she didn't ruin my week's worth of effort, isn't it?"

"I, I apologize. I was short-sighted."

"How much did you get paid? I don't understand. Why would you do such a crazy thing if you didn't get paid by Charlotte? Tell me, how much did you get from my half-sister?"

At Bertus's malicious joke, the expressions of the three knights from the Salerian Duchy turned pale.

Curiously, Bertus's speech and mannerisms now resembled Reinhardt.

"Please kill us, Your Highness!"

Although Bertus was disgusted, he had no intention of killing the three knights.

Once knights become part of the privileged class, especially those closely connected to powerful families, they often transcend the law.

Some of them come to believe that the privileges they have are derived from themselves, leading to excessive ignorance and arrogance.

Among the knights of the Salerian Duchy, there were such people.

They would boss around the guards and kill people without taking responsibility. They thought it was fine to kill a few citizens.

Trying to strike a citizen in public was quite a foolish act.

"If you try to ruin my week like this again, it will be interesting."

After speaking with a fierce expression, Bertus abandoned them.

Even if they were competent, short-sighted individuals were useless.

Those who enjoy wielding their swords should be sent where they can do so frequently.

Bertus had already decided where to transfer the three.

Had they only tried to strike the petty thief, it would have been one thing, but the problem would have been much greater had they hit the citizen trying to stop the situation.

Bertus didn't see it clearly, but he heard that the silver-haired girl had caught the knight's wrist.

She seemed incapable of using much strength.

Even without full power, it was impressive that she could catch a knight's arm with one hand. Of course, Bertus knew that physique and physical strength didn't always correlate, as he had seen some unconventional examples.

Who was she?

For the first time in his life, Bertus was very curious about the identity of the person he had spat tea on.

'I feel like I've seen her somewhere before...'

And strangely, she felt familiar.

It wasn't her face or expression.

"Are you confident?"

Somehow.

Her words and actions felt familiar.

However, the silver-haired girl's impression was so strong that Bertus couldn't think of anyone else.

The way she was flustered when facing him seemed somewhat adorable.

'...It's not good that such a noble person knows me.'

And it seemed like she knew who he was, even though he had never mentioned it. Of course, it wasn't that strange since his face wasn't completely unknown.

Who could it be?

What kind of person was she?

Bertus became restless due to the sudden incident.

------

It was already frustrating to have encountered Bertus by such a dog-like coincidence. But the fact that it could have been avoided if he had just watched the children get hit and moved on made it even more frustrating.

"Ah, it feels like I've actually become this kind of person after living like this."

"But, isn't hitting children like that a bit too much?"

"… Even though it's the right thing to say, it feels messed up coming from me at this point."

"I shouldn't worry about it."

"There's no way Bertus would come to see something like a crossdressing contest. He's busy with important tasks and probably won't even have time to visit the temple area."

As the temple grew closer, my steps became heavier.

I really…

I really don't want to go…

But I have to.

It's all for my own good.

I have no choice but to go…

Dragging the trunk felt like dragging a chunk of iron.

At least I made up my mind on one thing.

If I let my temper take control, things could get weird.

For now, whatever happens, I must endure it. If I don't, it could get worse.

------

"Why am I…"

Kono Lint stared blankly into the air with unfocused eyes. At the moment, Lint was wearing a women's dress provided by the event organizers.

Kono Lint wanted to cut off his own tongue for making such a pointless remark.

'A crossdressing contest, today?'

'What's that?'

Heinrich von Schwarz, Cayer Voiden, Erhi de la Rafaeli, and Kono Lint were all enjoying the festival together.

'They're accepting applications until tonight.'

Lint had brought up the subject simply out of malicious intent, thinking he wouldn't be the one participating.

'Let's play rock-paper-scissors. The loser will participate in the contest. What do you think?'

Sometimes, boys engage in strange bets.

To be precise, they take pointless risks just to see each other's embarrassment.

'… What? Why should I participate? Are you insane?'

'Why not? It'll be fun!'

How humiliating would it be?

Seeing each other's faces, soaked in shame and doing something they'd never want to do in front of so many people. The sense of exhilaration from witnessing that shame.

A lifetime of teasing.

There's no reason not to watch. Naturally, everyone reacted with mixed feelings.

Kono Lint felt this way until he made the suggestion.

'As long as it's not me, right?'

There were four candidates, so the odds were one in four.

It was a gamble that couldn't be refused.

Before rational judgment could take over, Kono Lint declared the challenge.

'If you don't play, you participate!'

And the result was…

"…"

Kono Lint now found himself in the waiting room behind the auditorium where the crossdressing contest was being held.

Thinking, "as long as it's not me" meant that it would be someone, and that someone was Kono Lint.

Although the odds were the same, it was strange how the person who suggested it first often ended up being the chosen one – and Kono Lint was that person.

"Hey, can you stay still?"

"Ah, okay…"

"Look at your face. What's wrong with your skin? Your makeup isn't even sticking properly. Tsk."

Liana de Grantz was applying makeup to Kono Lint's face.

Usually, Liana would look down on him like a mere chicken or cow. Yet now he's enjoying the honor of having the noble daughter of a duke family apply makeup to his face personally.

Under normal circumstances, this would be an emotional and heart-pounding experience, but for Kono Lint, it felt like dying in real-time.

'What? A crossdressing contest?'

'Do you guys have that kind of hobby?'

'As punishment?'

'Ah, him?'

'Hehe. Great. Ah, yes. That's fun! Ah, hahaha! Makeup? Sure. I'll do it, no big deal! Hey! I'll do it as much as you want! Where is it? Today?'

Although she had no intention of doing makeup, friends are known to enthusiastically cooperate in times of misfortune like this.

Everyone knew that Liana was only supporting Ellen and Cliffman for the Mister and Miss Temple contest, so they all sought out Liana.

As if their sour attitudes never existed, once Kono Lint decided to participate in the crossdressing contest, they successfully enlisted Liana, who usually barely spoke to them.

It was fun, so Liana was not only doing Kono Lint's makeup in the backstage waiting room where the crossdressing contest was held, but she even picked out clothes for him.

Of course, Liana did not lend her own clothes.

As she dressed him in one of the many women's outfits prepared by the organizers, Liana agonized over the makeup and even tried fitting wigs.

After much contemplation, Liana clicked her tongue.

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"No matter what I do, it's just funny."

"..."

As if saying that no matter how hard she tried, it was only ridiculous, Liana chuckled while looking at Lint's appearance.

Similar scenes were unfolding around them. Since the contest wasn't big, the so-called waiting room was nothing more than a large hall behind the main hall. Some sighed heavily, while others had someone else do their makeup, like Lint.

Most of them wore unhappy expressions.

Some were diligently touching up their makeup in the mirror, which was even harder to watch.

And over there, what was that? A giant human tank wearing the largest size dress, which looked like a mini-skirt.

It was more grotesque to see him unable to bear the shame of his appearance.

This place was hell.

Kono Lint pondered who was more wicked: the demons of hell or the audience who came to laugh at them.

Thankfully, only Liana, who was helping with makeup and coordination, could laugh at the scene, as participants were limited to bringing only one person to help.

It was his big mouth that caused the problem.

Feeling guilty wouldn't change anything now.

Participant number 1.

Kono Lint had a tag with his number pinned to his chest.

It was even number 1.

They said the participant numbers were assigned randomly, not by the order of application.

Yet he, the last to apply, had to be the first one to go.

That's why he wanted to die even more.

"Why couldn't you have been born prettier?"

"How is that my fault... Why do I have to be born pretty... I'm a man..."

"Really? But you're not exactly good-looking either."

"Please save me…"

As Liana continued to apply makeup on him, she couldn't help but chuckle and lightly tease him.

There was no one else to blame.

He could only resent himself for getting into this hellish situation.

In the midst of the chaotic dressing room, where they were preparing for the competition and trying to hold back their laughter, Kono Lint found himself staring at someone.

A person wearing a robe was sitting in a secluded corner.

That person seemed to be a participant.

Her face was not visible because of the hood she wore, but her silver hair, a beautiful jawline, and shimmering pink lips were noticeable.

The person had a different aura altogether.

Without interacting with anyone, she just sat there quietly, until someone approached her.

It was someone who appeared to be part of the organizing team.

Although he couldn't hear their conversation, they seemed to be discussing something, and then the person nodded her head, took off her hood, and revealed her face.

For a moment, Kono Lint was speechless.

And so were the other participants who had caught a glimpse of the person.

The organizer also nodded their head, seeming to understand something.

"What are you staring at?"

Liana turned her gaze to the same direction as Kono Lint's, and she dropped the makeup she was holding.

"…What? Women can participate too? No, that can't be right?"

Liana mumbled in confusion.

It was obvious that it couldn't be true, but she couldn't help but say that.

A girl.

Or rather, not a girl, but a girl-like figure.

After finishing their conversation with the organizer, the girl-like figure put their hood back on.

"Is that person really a guy?"

Liana turned to Kono Lint, asking with a startled expression. Although her face was no longer visible,

"How would I know…"

Both of them, and everyone else who had seen the silver-haired participant, were left in a state of bewilderment.

Kono Lint even thought he had made eye contact with the girl(?) just before she had pulled her hood back up.

He had clearly seen the girl's face turning bright red.

'Could it be…?'

For a brief moment, Kono Lint felt something from the girl's expression and attitude.

'Is she attracted to me?'

Kono Lint found himself entertaining a strange thought.

Participant number 40.

At least, Lint could see the number attached to the girl's chest.

He could also see the girl mumbling something under their hood.

-Why the hell is she here… Why…?

Of course, he couldn't know that most of it was just curses muttered under her breath.