chapter 7
“Is that true? Poison…?!”
“We’ve already confirmed it through an investigation. It seems the public still doesn’t know yet, however.”
“I truly knew nothing about it! If I had known those cosmetics contained poison, why would I have proposed a partnership?”
“And yet there are already quite a few people in the Harbor territory complaining about side effects from the cosmetics. Are you still planning to pretend you didn’t know?”
Victor’s hand trembled slightly.
So they really did know everything.
Viscount Harbor had proposed the partnership fully aware that the product’s value would eventually plummet.
“My daughter almost got exposed to it! My wife too! And you still intend to claim ignorance after that?!”
“Viscount Frost, please calm down. I only recommended it because it genuinely seemed like an excellent business opportunity. I truly didn’t know the cosmetics were poisonous! If I had known, do you think I’d have been insane enough to recommend them to you?”
Gone was the aggressive attitude Victor had shown earlier. Now he wore a sly smile as he tried to soothe Derek.
“I swear I’ll never bring up the matter again. So let’s calm down and clear up this misunderstanding. If things continue like this, it won’t only hurt me—it’ll hurt you as well, won’t it?”
He wasn’t wrong.
The Frost estate’s main income came from lodging businesses and handcrafted goods such as soap within the Byren territory. Harbor’s primary source of revenue, meanwhile, was transportation.
Whenever goods, supplies, or people traveled to other regions, they mainly used the transport carriages operated by the Harbor family.
Until now, the two families had maintained close relations. Frost hadn’t charged Harbor toll fees, while Harbor transported Frost goods at cheap prices.
But if they severed all business ties now, both Harbor and Frost would suffer losses.
Still, this is infuriating.
It would only be a temporary blow anyway. Given enough time, the issue could be resolved.
Even without Harbor, Frost could hire other transport companies—or simply establish its own transportation business.
In fact, Harbor would suffer far more.
Why had the Harbor family targeted Frost?
The answer was simple: Frost controlled the route leading to the capital.
Since transportation was Harbor’s primary business, they frequently traveled between the capital and the duchy, which meant they inevitably had to pass through Byren territory.
That was why they were constantly eyeing Byren.
At first, Hystia thought Derek was being too harsh, but now she wondered if this might actually be the better approach.
Seeing Derek slowly being swayed by Victor’s persuasion, Hystia suddenly spoke up.
“I had to take bitter medicine for a long time because of poison too!”
“This isn’t a matter for a child to interfere in. Run along.”
Seeing him wave her away dismissively like before, Hystia curled the corners of her lips.
“The last time I tried to touch the cosmetics, you got angry and told me not to touch them. Wasn’t it because they were bad for your health?”
“Wasn’t that because you touched something valuable…?!”
Whether he had taken it away to protect her or simply because it was expensive didn’t matter.
As long as I can shake Father’s resolve with this.
Just as expected, Derek—who had gradually been wavering under Victor’s silver tongue—hardened his expression again.
“I’ve decided. Frost will terminate all business dealings with Harbor.”
“Derek Frost! You’re making a mistake! Do you think this only concerns Harbor? Or have you forgotten that Harbor handles transportation throughout the entire southern region?! This means making enemies not only of me, but of countless other families as well!”
“Yes, I’m fully aware. That’s why this is a warning. So you understand what happens when someone dares provoke Frost…!”
Far from intimidated, Derek rose from his seat, causing Victor to instinctively step back.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice everything you’ve been doing until now?”
Victor felt a chill run down his spine at the ominous remark. Realizing further persuasion was impossible, he clicked his tongue and turned away.
“I warned you! Just wait and see! I’ll make sure you regret this…!”
Spouting lines like a third-rate villain, Victor stormed out of the office.
Bang!
The door slammed so hard it sounded ready to break, and silence briefly filled the room.
“Honey… are you really sure about this?”
“T-that’s right, my lord. Harbor helps distribute our soap products, so if this happens…”
“It was something that needed to be done eventually. Isaac, do you remember the warehouse fire last early winter?”
“Yes, I remember. Didn’t we suffer major losses because of that sudden fire?”
“Exactly. Since the goods had temporarily been entrusted to us by Harbor, we had to compensate them for the damages. But what if it wasn’t an accident at all?”
“…What?”
“And that’s not all. Looking back, there have been countless suspicious incidents connected to Harbor.”
“No way…”
“Now that I think about it, transportation accidents have become unusually frequent lately. Last time, our soap shipment got caught in the rain during delivery, and a huge amount lost its value.”
As Jerome added his thoughts, Isaac’s face turned pale with shock.
Anna looked at Derek worriedly.
“Then… are you saying Harbor has been deliberately targeting our family?”
“Until now I only thought it all seemed suspicious, but the cosmetics incident confirmed it for me. I figured I had to take a strong stance at least once so they’d understand exactly what they’ve done.”
If it were up to him, he wanted to sever ties completely.
He had never imagined the problems he’d ignored for so long would grow large enough to threaten his family.
From now on, he would stay vigilant and protect what belonged to him.
Even if he couldn’t apply direct pressure, he could at least issue a warning.
Derek rubbed his tired face with one hand. Hystia quietly watched him before walking over and hugging him.
“Tia?”
“It’s okay, Daddy. Everything will be alright.”
The adults smiled faintly at the sight of an eight-year-old comforting him, and deeply moved, Derek gently patted Hystia’s back.
“Thank you. You’ve given me strength.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hystia’s eyes gleamed quietly.
I’m glad Father figured out Harbor’s schemes without me having to step in.
This time, she would never allow the same tragedies as before to happen again.
And for that, she needed even more power to protect Frost.
Two weeks later, Hystia sat in an office slightly removed from the soap workshop alongside Anna.
With development of the scented soap accelerating in earnest, the Frost family had decided to focus on the soap business for the time being.
As a result, not only Derek but Anna as well had thrown themselves into the work, while Hystia lingered nearby observing how everything progressed.
Anna had taken charge of designing new packaging and was carefully examining various wrapping papers while thinking over packaging methods.
Hystia stayed beside her, suggesting styles that would become trendy in the future and offering various ideas.
“Mom! What about something like this?”
Hystia proudly showed Anna the package she had made. But Anna seemed distracted by something else entirely.
“Mom?”
“Hm? Ah… what did you say?”
“This…”
Anna looked at the soap Hystia had wrapped and gasped in admiration.
“I’ve thought this before, but you really are talented with your hands. Where did you even learn this? I don’t remember teaching you.”
“I went outside and looked at wrapped products sold on the streets. Is it good?”
“Good? It’s wonderful. At this rate, thanks to our Tia, your mother won’t have anything left to do.”
Hystia giggled happily at the praise, bouncing on her feet.
“But Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Is something wrong?”
Anna froze slightly and looked back at her.
“You don’t look well.”
“…I ended up worrying my daughter, didn’t I? It’s nothing, so don’t concern yourself.”
“Did Dad give you too much work? Should I scold him for you?”
“What? Ahahaha! No, it’s not that. If he heard you say that, he’d cry.”
So that wasn’t it.
Still, it was true that Anna hadn’t looked well these past few days.
She would zone out, sigh heavily, and clearly seemed troubled by something.
“Tia… do you remember those cosmetics you got covered in before?”
“The bad poisonous ones?”
“Yes. Your father ordered people not to use them anymore, but there were already people who had been using them for some time. Some of them ended up poisoned.”
“People are sick? They shouldn’t be sick.”
“It’s not that severe yet. But their skin has become red and inflamed, or mysterious blisters have spread across their faces. Even doctors can’t find a solution, so they secretly apply more cosmetics to cover the damaged skin…”
“But if it’s poisonous, they shouldn’t keep using it!”
“That’s right. They shouldn’t. But there are still people secretly using it. After all, it makes their skin look pale and beautiful.”
So they’d do anything to become beautiful.
Did they realize that the very thing they used for fleeting beauty was leading them toward death?
“Even though they wash with soap every day, their skin has apparently gotten worse.”
“Well, of course. It’s poison. What’s the point of using soap if they keep applying poison to their faces every day? Their skin will only get more damaged!”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
Anna reluctantly nodded.
“Is there no way to cure the poison?”
“The ducal family is developing a treatment. But we still haven’t heard any progress.”
A cure wouldn’t be developed so easily.
Honestly, it would be great if our family could make the treatment instead.
They’d gain prestige, earn money, and help people all at once.
But the Frost family lacked both the manpower and equipment to develop medicine. And Hystia herself didn’t know every ingredient needed for the cure.
The only thing I know is the pine fruit…
She vaguely remembered hearing that the treatment was made using pine fruit as the primary ingredient mixed with several others.
Should I secretly leak information about the pine fruit to the ducal family?
As she pondered the issue deeply, someone entered the room.
“Excuse me, my lady. May I speak with you for a moment?”
“Ah, Jerome. Come in.”
It was Jerome.
Despite being Isaac’s son, he had started as a rookie employee, but after earning recognition for his achievements, he was now leading new product development.
“These are the results from the experiment you requested earlier.”
He handed Anna a document. Hystia peeked over and skimmed through it.
It concerned the skin recovery project for victims suffering from cosmetic side effects—the very issue Anna had just mentioned.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to achieve any meaningful results.”
“I see…”
Apparently, Anna had attempted to use scented soap to treat the side effects.
“Rather than focusing on fragrance, what if we maximized the effects of medicinal herbs instead?”
“I thought the same thing, so I tested these herbs, but there wasn’t much effect.”
Jerome and Anna spread out herbal books and began discussing what ingredients might work best.
Their determination to not only create scented soap but also improve people’s skin was truly admirable.
Soap…
Scented soap wouldn’t be developed until fifteen years later.
The cosmetic antidote, meanwhile, would be created around this year or the next.
Since the cure came long before scented soap in the original timeline, using soap to counteract the poison sounded impossible…
No, not impossible.
The product simply hadn’t existed in the future because the timing never aligned. But what if they created soap using pine fruit right here and now?
Hystia glanced sideways at Jerome and Anna. The two were far too engrossed in discussion to notice her.
Taking advantage of the moment, Hystia quietly pulled a herbal book toward herself.