Chapter 195: Chapter 196: Well-Behaved Cats Like the Kitchen Stove! (1)

Cecily von Ragdoll was a charming and beautiful girl.

It is quite common for attractive people to receive preferential treatment wherever they go.

And indeed, Cecily garnered attention and admiration from people everywhere she went.

“Oh my, she’s so pretty.”

“She looks like a perfect doll.”

“Omochikaeri!” 1

Squeal— Squeal—

This place was ‘Conti’, an upscale boutique rumored to be the hottest spot for young women visiting Freesia.

Even in this cutting-edge arena where beauty was honed as a weapon, Cecily was adored by all.

“Would you like a candy?”

“No thank you, I’ve just brushed my teeth.”

Women flocked around Cecily as she sat in a chair. They vied for her attention and longed to touch or embrace this doll-like girl.

Naturally, Cecily was an aloof girl, so she wasn’t the type anyone could touch carelessly.

‘She’s adorable.’

Cariote watched Cecily, sitting in the chair getting her hair done, with proud eyes.

Although Cariote excelled more at destroying and hunting than creating, Cecily was the most beautiful and charming thing she had ever made.

So Cariote often strolled around town to show off Cecily here and there, like an otter or weasel proudly displaying its offspring to the pack.

Rustle— Rustle— Rustle—

As skilled hairdressers styled and curled Cecily’s hair, Cariote casually scanned the surroundings.

It was an incredibly beautiful store.

Everything for enhancing a woman’s beauty was laid out and presented openly, from haircuts and makeup to perfumes, cosmetics, dresses, silk underwear, and more.

Cariote felt this place was akin to a blacksmith shop selling hunters’ supplies. In fact, it served a similar role as a place to hone the weapon of ‘beauty’.

‘I never imagined I’d end up in a store like this in my life.’

Cariote was a hunter and a warrior.

If Cariote’s life were divided into 8 slices of pizza, 5 slices would be hunters and 2 slices would be warriors. The feminine part allocated to her life was barely one slice.

However, she had recently been frequenting boutique shops she thought she had no connection with. It was because Cecily enjoyed coming to places like this.

To accompany Cecily, Cariote started visiting the beauty district, and what began as waiting outside the store eventually progressed to entering and sitting in a chair.

Flutter— Flutter—

Today, Cariote even went as far as picking up and reading a nearby magazine. It featured photos of beautiful women and information about the latest trends in Ordol Palace’s social circles.

“This winter’s must-have item is the Corvus white fox scarf! The fur of foxes living in the cold Corvus region is as white as snow! Why not get one this winter?”

“A fox scarf, huh.”

Cariote had quite a history with fox scarves. Of course, not wearing them, but rather catching foxes and selling their pelts.

In the past, Cariote hunted various animals and sold their pelts for a living.

She vaguely knew that those pelts became decorations and clothes for noble ladies, but she had never considered wearing them herself.

Swish—

At that moment, someone approached Cariote’s chair.

It was an employee wearing a white apron with impressively shiny blonde hair that was tied back. The employee’s nails were adorned with small sparkling jewels, which caught Cariote’s attention.

‘Won’t the jewels fall off when she moves her hands?’

As she pondered this, the boutique clerk Emily asked.

“Miss Cariote, autumn and winter will be here soon, so how about getting some autumn clothes this time? Burgundy is going to be the trendy color this fall.”

Burgundy was a shade of red.

Cariote had only recently learned that there were many types of red, such as burgundy, ruby, magenta, and so on. Sensing that the clerk was about to bring out various clothes, Cariote shook her head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Huh? Why? If you don’t like long ones, we have shorter ones too. Miss Cariote, you’re tall and slender, so I’m sure anything would look good on you. How about something in tanned leather?”

“…No, I really don’t…”

Cariote found it very difficult to deal with the clerks.

She didn’t want to coldly reject their offers because of Cecily. Since Cecily really liked this store, Cariote couldn’t be too unfriendly to the staff.

Of course, being clerks who dealt with wealthy people, they quickly noticed that Cariote was not an easy person to deal with.

So they reluctantly put the clothes back and carefully shifted their gaze to Cariote’s hair.

“Miss Cariote, how about at least tidying up your hair? It’s grown quite long. When was the last time you had a haircut? A couple of months ago?”

“Well, I can’t remember…”

“From my estimate, it seems like it’s been about two months… It looks a bit messy and unkempt like this. Let me at least give you a neat trim.”

Cariote’s hair was on the shorter side.

The women wanted to tidy up Cariote’s hair to make her look like a sophisticated city woman.

They thought Cariote would readily agree, but unexpectedly, she hesitated, saying, “My hair…”

Did she not want to tidy up her hair? Clerk Emily knew well that Cariote was paying attention to her hair in her own way.

All the clerks knew that Cariote had been lingering around the hair oils and shampoos recently. They just pretended not to notice.

Emily, being a skilled clerk, soon grasped Cariote’s intention.

“Perhaps you want to grow your hair out?”

“……”

Cariote didn’t answer, but she could understand the feelings of her prey. Prey with arrows stuck in their vital points must have felt exactly like this.

Growing out her hair.

She wondered if people might think it strange, but clerk Emily had quite a serious expression. Emily, who had been circling around Cariote, said.

“But even when growing out your hair, it’s much better to trim it little by little rather than just letting it grow wildly. It looks much nicer and prettier that way. And it’s also better for day to day activities. It’s more practical and efficient because it saves time compared to spending a long time on hair care.”

“Is that so? If it’s practical and efficient…”

Cariote reluctantly sat in the chair.

It would be nice if she could spend less time on hair care every morning.

Soon, women gathered around and started styling Cariote’s hair.

Having someone carefully touch your hair was a more pleasant experience than she expected. And at the same time, more boring than anticipated.

Sitting in the chair listening to the snip-snip sound of scissors, Cariote felt her eyelids getting heavier and finally succumbed to an irresistible drowsiness and fell asleep.

When she finally opened her eyes.

“Kyaaaah!”

Cariote learned for the first time in her life that she could scream in such a high pitch.

It was because her reflection in the mirror looked so strange!

# # #

That evening.

It was time to start planning for a meaningful two days with Cecily and Cariote.

While wondering why Cariote hadn’t shown up at the dining table even though it was time to eat, someone appeared.

It was a woman who was quite tall with long, flowing black hair.

“Who are you?”

I asked.

Then, a very bright red Cariote said,

“This is called hair extensions. It’s the latest technology popular in Ordol Palace… a technique that extends the hair by attaching pre-prepared wigs to existing hair.”

It was quite a fluent explanation.

There was a smoothness to it as if she had memorized this answer in anticipation.

“……”

“……”

Neither Brigitte nor Salome said anything as they looked at Cariote with her lengthened hair. However, children like Naru and Hina reacted honestly.

“Wow, holy shh…! I thought you were someone else! Just by growing out your hair and changing your makeup style, a person can look so different! It’s like a magical girl transformation!”

“Hina agrees… transformation…”

Transformation, huh.

The children’s expressions were quite apt.

Cariote with long hair looked like a completely different person.

At this rate, wouldn’t it be better to call her Garcia rather than Cariote?

Of course, I refrained from mentioning that name because Cariote would get angry.

“Naru wants to grow her hair long too!”

Whoosh—

At that moment, Naru stood up from her seat and shouted.

Naru always maintained a neat bob haircut, but seeing Cariote appear with long hair seemed to have sparked a desire to grow her hair out.

Why is it that among women, when they see a bob cut, they want to cut their hair, and when they see long hair, they want to grow it out, so on and so forth?

I knew quite well about women’s fickle and capricious psychology because I had an extremely capricious younger sister.

Women often don’t know exactly what they want for themselves.

At least my younger sister Harumi was like that, and Brigitte, Cariote, Salome, Naru, Hina, and Cecily all had that same aspect.

That’s why they’re capricious.

Anyway.

Cariote sat down in a chair with a stiff expression as if nothing had happened.

As she lowered her head and started cutting the meat with a knife, her hair flowed down over her shoulders, and Cariote seemed to startle herself.

“……”

Cariote then brushed her hair back, seemingly flustered.

The gesture was surprisingly natural and elegant, momentarily captivating everyone. Brigitte soon broke the spell, asking Cariote,

“…Cariote, which salon did your hair?”

Ah, I see.

The meal continued in this awkward fashion.

As we settled in for evening tea after finishing dinner, I approached Cariote.

“You know tomorrow’s your outing with Cecily, right? Any place in particular you’d like to visit?”

Flinch—

Cariote jumped at my words.

Her constant startling at my voice was becoming noticeable.

She was on edge, like a cat snatched from a mansion and adopted out for a fee. Life certainly throws curveballs.

“A place I want to go…”

Cariote’s brow furrowed.

She then covered her face with both hands.

“There was, but looking like this… everyone might laugh. If possible, I’d prefer somewhere without people.”

“Really? Seems a shame to avoid people when you’ve made such an effort with your appearance.”

I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

Cariote was a beautiful woman, it seemed a waste not to show her off.

Just then, Cecily, mid-sip of milk, chimed in.

“Tomorrow, we’re set for a stay at the Ragdoll family mansion. We’ve also planned to visit grandmother’s grave.”

I see.

So the itinerary was the Ragdoll mansion, followed by a visit to Iscariot Plains, where Cariote’s mother rests.

It seemed to be a meaningful journey.

Curiosity suddenly struck me.

“Cecily, what do you think of your Mom?”

“Hmm…”

Cecily’s slender eyes opened wide.

She began circling Cariote, who stood frozen in awkwardness. Cecily let out a thoughtful “Hmm—“.

“60 points. Many shortcomings as a noble lady. First, a noble doesn’t stand with legs apart like that. Also… tuck in that waist.”

Pat— Pat—

Cecily tapped Cariote’s knees and waist with her fan.

1. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Reference