Chapter 499: The Angel’s Halo

At last, it was Mira’s turn. Their thick coat took time to rinse thoroughly under the shower, but it soon became sleek and silky. Compared with its new texture, Mira’s coat before washing now seemed almost coarse.

“Alright, that’s the last of it. Your coat looks perfect now.”

“Kyuu, kyuu!”

Mira seemed delighted and bumped their head against me. Mother and Fabienne were equally pleased, repeatedly running their fingers through their freshly washed hair and savouring the texture produced by the shampoo and conditioner.

Now then, time to dry it properly. Once that’s done, their hair should become even more lustrous.

“The shampoo and conditioner worked perfectly. The trial is complete. Let’s leave the bath and dry our hair.”

“Yes, let’s.”

“I think everyone will be thrilled with these.”

Mother and Fabienne spoke with bright excitement. Without a doubt, shampoo and conditioner would become staples at House Heine. I should prepare a set for House Ambert as well.

After leaving the bath and changing into fresh clothes, I quickly dried my own hair. The servants were about to bring the cold/warm-air blower magic tool from the dressing room, but I stopped them.

Using magic myself would be faster. Besides, I still needed to compound another batch of shampoo and conditioner afterwards, so I could not waste time.

“Mother, Fabienne, I’ll dry your hair.”

“Oh my, would you? That would be lovely.”

“With Julius-sama’s magic, it dries so quickly… and it leaves the hair so wonderfully soft.”

Both of them beamed at me. They truly seemed happy to have me dry their hair. I had always thought women preferred not to let men touch their hair so casually, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Balancing this sort of thing would be tricky.

I stood behind them and sent a carefully balanced stream of warm air through their long, beautiful hair, like a luxury hair dryer. Within moments, their hair was dry and shining even more brilliantly.

Yes, I should create a specialised hair-drying magic tool—a luxury dryer made specifically for hair. The ordinary blower was not good enough. Another item for my ever-growing list. I would have loved to leave it to Rosalia and Sir Edward, but that might be asking too much.

“All done. Now, Mira, it’s your turn.”

“Kyuu.”

I towel-dried Mira’s coat until it was only damp, then began drying them with magic. Behind me, however, a small commotion was beginning.

“What… is this…?”

“It’s amazing, Mother-in-law. Your hair looks so beautiful.”

“And so does yours, Fabienne. You’re sparkling.”

Their cheerful voices rang out, and even the servants seemed restless as they glanced nervously at me.

Looks like I’d need to prepare a supply for the servants too, to be kept in the bathhouse for free use.

“Wow, Mira, you look gorgeous too—wait, are you actually glowing? You’re almost dazzling.”

“Kyuu.”

Mira struck a proud pose. To be honest, they looked cuter than dignified, but they seemed satisfied, so I let them enjoy it. Mother and Fabienne hurried over to feel Mira’s coat for themselves.

“They’re so fluffy. Their coat feels even better than before.”

“It feels wonderful. I’ve never touched anything like this.”

“Really? I didn’t notice at first but… oh, you’re right!”

Mira’s coat had improved dramatically. Fantastic. That probably meant the fur collected during the next trimming would be even higher quality. Grow quickly, Mira.

Perhaps drawn by the noise from the dressing room, Nero came in once he saw we’d finished bathing.

“Julius-sama, it seems everything went smoothly. As expected of you—hmm?”

Nero froze the moment his eyes fell on our hair. Was it really that shocking? At my request, he fetched a mirror.

Whoa. A perfect halo shimmered above my head. My hair gleamed beyond ordinary gloss, like an angel’s tresses. The power of magic-potion ingredients was truly fearsome.

“Julius, this shampoo and conditioner is wonderful. It is already incredible, but it would be perfect if it had a fragrance.”

“They can, actually. I didn’t have the materials on hand this time, but if you’d like, I can make a special set with fragrance just for you. You’ll only need to provide the perfume.”

“Of course I’ll prepare it. Rose fragrance, naturally. Yes, that’s perfect. Fabienne, is that all right with you too?”

“M-me as well? O-of course, yes!”

Mother smiled warmly. It seemed she would prepare Fabienne’s perfume as well, as a token of gratitude to me. Rose perfume was a luxury few besides high nobles could obtain.

The trial was a success. All that remained was to add fragrance and compound the custom shampoo and conditioner. I also needed to prepare a set for Sister-in-law Meeka, so I could make hers alongside Mother’s and Fabienne’s.

Or so I thought. But just as we were exchanging impressions in the salon near the bath, Rosalia and Sister-in-law Daniela arrived.

It seemed they had returned early to the estate for lunch and happened to bump into us. Naturally, they noticed right away that our hair was anything but ordinary.

“Julius, what have you made this time? Something for washing hair, I presume?”

“Brother Julius, that’s unfair! I want to be beautiful too!”

They’d quickly caught on that I’d created something unusual again. Their lack of doubt in me showed just how well-trained they were. Sister-in-law Daniela’s smiling face, however, was terrifying.

Rosalia puffed her cheeks and began smacking me with her little fists. It didn’t hurt, but I had the uneasy feeling this was about to become troublesome.