“Is that true? Its Poison…?!”
“We’ve already confirmed it through investigation. It seems people still don’t know about it.”
“I had no idea! If I had known there was poison in it, why would I have suggested a partnership?”
“For someone claiming ignorance, there are already quite a few people in the Harbor territory complaining about the side effects of the cosmetics. Are you still planning to deny that you didn’t know?”
Victor’s hands trembled slightly.
‘So he really knew all along.’
The Baron of Harbor had proposed a partnership, knowing full well that the product would lose value in the future.
“My daughter! My wife! They were nearly exposed to the poison you gave us! And you still claim you didn’t know?”
“Lord Frost, please calm down. I merely recommended it as a really good business idea. I truly didn’t know the cosmetics contained poison! If I had known, I wouldn’t have recommended it to you!”
Victor, who had initially been aggressive, was now smiling nervously as he tried to calm Derrick.
“I will never bring that matter up again. So let’s settle our misunderstandings and calm down. If this continues, it will be detrimental for both of us.”
That wasn’t an incorrect statement.
The main income for the Frost family came from accommodations and handicrafts like soap within the Bairn territory. In contrast, the Harbor family’s main income source was transportation.
When goods or people moved to other regions, they primarily used the transportation carriages operated by the Harbor family.
Until now, due to their close relationship, the Frosts had not charged tolls to the Harbors, and the Harbors had transported the Frosts’ goods at lower prices.
However, if they were to sever all business ties now, both the Harbors and the Frosts would suffer losses.
‘But it feels infuriating.’
The losses would be manageable, and in time, the issue would resolve itself.
The Frost family could use other transporters or even operate their own transportation business.
‘If anyone suffers losses, it would be the Harbors.’
Why did the Harbor family target the Frosts?
The reason was simple: the Frosts occupied the route leading to the capital.
Since transportation was the Harbor’s main income source, they frequently traveled between the capital and the duke’s territory, inevitably passing through Bairn.
So, they were likely eyeing Bairn closely.
At first, Derrick had wondered if he was being too aggressive, but now he thought it might have been the better approach.
As he saw Derrick gradually being swayed by Victor’s persuasion, Hestia spoke up.
“I took the medicine that contained poison for a long time!”
“This is not a matter for a child. Go away.”
Seeing him wave her off like last time, Hestia couldn’t help but smirk.
“Last time, when I tried to touch the cosmetics, you got mad and told me not to. Isn’t it because it’s bad for my health?”
“That’s because you were touching something precious…!”
Whether he did that to protect her or because it was genuinely valuable didn’t matter.
‘As long as I can shake my father with this.’
As expected, Derrick, who had been swayed by Victor’s three-inch tongue, steeled himself again.
“Indeed, I will be severing all business ties with the Harbors.”
“Derrick Frost! You’re making a mistake! Do you think this is just our Harbor’s issue? Or do you not know that we transport goods across the southern region?! This will create rifts not just with me, but with other families as well.”
“Yes, I am well aware. That’s why I’m warning you. If you dare to touch the Frosts…!”
Instead of being frightened, Derrick stood up, causing Victor to step back.
“Do you think I wouldn’t know what you’ve done until now?”
At those significant words, a chill ran down Victor’s spine. Perhaps realizing he could no longer persuade Derrick, Victor clicked his tongue and turned away.
“I’ve warned you! Just wait and see! You will regret this…!”
Victor exited the office with a line that sounded like a third-rate villain.
Bang—!
The door slammed shut, and a moment of silence followed.
“Are you… really okay with this?”
“Y-Yes, my lord. If it’s Harbor, they help us with our soap supply, but if it’s like this…”
“It was something that needed to be done eventually. Isaac, do you remember the warehouse fire incident last early winter?”
“Yes, I remember. There was a sudden fire, and we suffered significant losses.”
“Right, since it was goods temporarily entrusted to us by Harbor, we had to compensate for the loss. But what if it wasn’t just an accident, but a setup?”
“…What?”
“That’s not all. Looking back, there have been many incidents, big and small, related to Harbor.”
“Could it be…?”
“Now that I think about it, there have been quite a few transportation accidents recently. Last time, we lost a significant amount of soap due to rain while transporting.”
As Jerome added something as if he had remembered, Isaac’s expression turned to shock.
Anna looked at Derrick with a worried expression.
“So, are you saying that Harbor is deliberately targeting our family?”
“Until now, I thought it was suspicious, but the cosmetic incident made me certain. They need to realize what they’ve done, even if it’s through this kind of strong approach.”
Ideally, he wanted to cut all ties completely. He never imagined that the issues he had been trying to ignore would grow so large as to threaten his family.
From now on, he would have to be vigilant and protect what was his.
Even if he couldn’t apply direct pressure, he could at least issue a warning.
Derrick wiped his tired face. Hestia was observing him, hugging him before leaving.
“Tia?”
“It’s okay, Dad. Everything will be fine.”
The sight of an eight-year-old comforting him brought faint smiles to the adults, and a touched Derrick patted Hestia’s back.
“Thank you. You’ve given me strength.”
Hestia wrapped her arms around Derrick’s neck and quietly brightened her eyes.
‘I’m glad my father has realized Harbor’s scheme without me having to intervene.’
This time, she would ensure that nothing like the past would happen again.
To do that, she needed to have the strength to protect the Frost family.
* * *
Two weeks later, Hestia was in an office with Anna.
With the soap business in full swing, Frost had decided to focus entirely on it for the time being.
Because of this, not only Derrick but also Anna lent a hand, while Hestia hovered nearby to keep track of how things were progressing.
Anna was in charge of new packaging designs, examining various wrapping papers and contemplating how to package the products.
Hestia stayed close to her, suggesting various ideas by incorporating styles that would likely trend in the future.
“Mom! How about this way?”
Hestia showed Anna the wrapping paper she had created. However, Anna seemed lost in thought, staring blankly.
“Mom?”
“Uh? Oh… what is it?”
“This…”
Anna looked at the soap Hestia had wrapped and was amazed.
“I’ve thought this for a while, but you really have a knack for this. Where did you learn to do this? I don’t remember teaching you.”
“I looked at wrapped items on the street. Is this okay?”
“Okay? It’s amazing! Thanks to our Tia, I have nothing to do!”
Hestia giggled and bounced on her feet at Anna’s praise.
“But, Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Is something wrong?”
Anna paused and looked back at Hestia.
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“…I must have worried our daughter. It’s nothing, so don’t mind it.”
“Is Dad giving you too much work? Should I scold him?”
“What? Hahaha! That’s not it. He would cry if he heard that.”
Is that not it? But it was true that her expression had not been good these past few days.
She seemed lost in thought and sighed heavily, clearly worried about something.
“Um… Tia, do you remember the cosmetics you spilled on yourself before?”
“The one with the bad poison?”
“Yes. He ordered people not to use it, but there were already people using the cosmetics before that. Among them, some have been poisoned.”
“Are people getting hurt? They shouldn’t be!”
“They’re not seriously ill, but their skin is turning red, and they’re developing strange blisters on their faces. Even when they go to the doctor, there’s not much they can do, so they’re secretly applying more cosmetics to cover their skin…”
“But if there’s poison in it, they shouldn’t use it again!”
“Exactly. They shouldn’t. Yet, there are still people who use it in secret. Lora has been using it secretly and is now unable to come to the mansion because she’s in pain.”
Lora is one of the two maids at the Frost mansion. It had been a few days since she had been absent, and now Hestia understood why.
‘Moreover, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.’
Before the toxicity of the cosmetics was discovered, those who had used them for a long time complained of unexplained suffering.
Common symptoms included skin rashes, vomiting, and mild fevers.
As their faces became disfigured, they couldn’t stop using makeup to hide their ugly skin.
‘Some even ended up dying.’
To eliminate skin rashes, they would need to take treatment and stop using makeup altogether.
‘But right now, there’s no proper treatment available, and the toxicity has already built up, so just stopping makeup won’t calm their skin.’
“Did Lora not know there was poison in the cosmetics?”
“She knew. But it seems she kept using it secretly. After all, using it makes the skin look fairer.”
‘Is she willing to do anything to become beautiful?’
Does she even realize that her pursuit of fleeting beauty could lead to her death?
“Even though she washes her face with soap every day, her skin has gotten worse.”
“Of course, it’s bad because of the poison. What good does using soap do? She’s applying poison to her face every day. Her face will only get worse!”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
Anna nodded reluctantly.
“Is there no way to treat the poison?”
“They’re developing a remedy at the duke’s residence. But so far, there’s been no significant news.”
Creating a remedy wouldn’t be easy.
‘Honestly, it would be great if our family could develop that remedy.’
Then they could gain fame, earn money, and help people.
However, the Frost family lacked the personnel and equipment to develop such a remedy. Plus, Hestia didn’t know all the ingredients used in the treatment.
‘The only thing I know is about the pine fruit…’
She had heard that the remedy was made primarily from pine fruit, blended with other ingredients.
‘Should I secretly leak information about the pine fruit to the duke’s residence?’
While she was deep in thought, someone entered the room.
“Excuse me, my lady. May I have a moment to talk?”
“Oh, Jerome. Come in.”
It was Jerome.
Despite being Isaac’s son and a newcomer, he had recently been recognized for his contributions and was now in charge of developing new products.
“I have the results of the experiment you requested last time.”
He handed a document to Anna. Hestia leaned in to glance at the paper.
It was about the skin improvement project for those suffering from the side effects of the cosmetics Anna had mentioned earlier.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t obtain significant results.”
“I figured as much…”
It seemed Anna had been trying to address the side effects of using scented soap.
“What if we focus on maximizing the efficacy of the herbs instead of just the scent?”
“I thought the same, so I tried this herb, but it didn’t yield any results.”
Jerome and Anna opened a book on herbs and discussed what could be added.
Their determination to improve people’s skin, not just create scented soap, was admirable.
‘Scented soap…’
The development of scented soap will occur 15 years from now.
The treatment for cosmetics would be created around this year or next.
Since the treatment would be distributed and it would take time before scented soap was developed, using soap to eliminate toxicity seemed unlikely…
‘But it’s not impossible.’
The timing of both products might not align in the future, but if they could create a soap using pine fruit now, it might work.
Hestia glanced at Jerome and Anna, who were deeply engrossed in their discussion.
Taking advantage of the moment, Hestia pulled out the herb book.
