Chapter 53
On the first day of Laszlo's long-awaited vacation, the day he decided to change his appearance, Edel took a deep breath and stood in front of Laszlo's room.
"Count, I'm Edel. I've brought the barber."
"Come in."
With this brief permission, Idil entered his room with the barber.
Laszlo was waiting for them, dressed comfortably.
“I have never entrusted my hair or beard to anyone else before… I’m not sure about that.”
Idil was even more surprised by the fact that he was always cutting his hair and beard.
Naturally, ordinary poor people did not spend money on barbers. However, unless they were in extreme poverty, it was customary to go to a barber.
Edel let out a deep sigh she couldn't suppress and looked at the barber.
“As you have heard, this is the first time the Count has entrusted a professional with cutting and shaving his hair. Please be as careful as possible.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve worked with everyone from three-year-olds to ninety-year-olds.”
Idel trusted his confidence.
The barber she contacted was the one her second brother used frequently.
He was skillful, had a pleasant way of conducting conversation, and his discreet presence made him very popular among the nobility.
Edel thought that Laszlo would like it, because he hated those who gossiped unnecessarily.
“Let’s begin then.”
The barber wrapped a white cloth around Laszlo and examined his hair and beard.
"Do you plan to continue growing your hair?"
“I didn’t really think about it.”
"Should I cut it then?"
“Well, I’ve never shortened it before… just do what you think is best.”
Upon hearing Laszlo's response, Edel decided that giving him a choice was a bad idea and spoke directly to the barber.
"Leave the fringe around this length and cut the back. Also, trim the sideburns as neatly as possible."
"Understood. And what about the beard?"
“Shave it clean.”
Laszlo looked at her with a stunned expression at her firm answer, but the barber nodded in agreement.
“I think this will be best. Your skin looks a little rough, so it would be good to shave and do some skincare.”
“A man who takes skincare seriously…!”
"Please continue."
Laszlo's objection to the idea of skincare was ignored, and the haircut and shave plan was implemented without taking his opinion into account.
The barber began cutting Laszlo's thick hair.
As the sound of the cutting filled the room and strands of hair fell out, Laszlo watched them with his eyes, but without much resistance.
Once the haircut was finished, the barber prepared shaving foam in a small bowl and placed a pair of sharp razor blades on the table.
"Now, I'll start shaving."
When Laszlo's gaze turned cold as he looked at the razor blades, Edel spoke.
“This man will not assassinate you, Count. He loves his family.”
The barber understood what she meant, so he swallowed, and Lazlo nodded with relief.
A thick shaving brush spreads a soft lather over Laszlo's face. He usually scrubbed his face roughly with a razor, so this process seemed unfamiliar.
'However, it is refreshing and gives a pleasant feeling.'
The barber applied the foam carefully and began to shave gently, revealing smooth skin underneath.
As the sharp, cold blade moved across his skin, Laszlo thought, 'A razor blade is still a blade, after all.'
This barber was very skilled.
When Laszlo shaved himself, he often scratched his face with the worn razor blade and his unsteady hand, but now there was not a single scratch.
With the soft scraping sound filling the room, Laszlo felt like he could sleep. Just as he was about to drift off, the barber wiped his face with a damp cloth and spoke.
“It’s all done. Let’s finish.”
He placed a warm, damp towel on Lazlo's face, wiped away any remaining foam, and gently massaged his face.
The barber then applied a lotion-like substance to Laszlo's face and a touch of oil to his hair, adding a touch of elegance.
Finally, the white cloth around his neck was removed.
“Everything is done. Thank you for sitting still.”
"I did the work."
Laszlo touched his bare neck and chin in a peculiar way, praising the barber's efforts. When the mirror was finally handed to him, he was astonished by his own reflection.
"Is this... me?"
The barber smiled proudly at Laszlo's reaction.
"You've been hiding such a handsome face all this time. I bet you're going to get tons of love letters now! Haha."
Laszlo's prominent forehead became even more noticeable now, and his carefully drawn eyebrows made him look sharp and refreshed.
His nose was always straight, but without his beard, his strong, full lips and powerful jawline were more prominent, completely changing his appearance.
He was neither delicate nor graceful. He was strikingly handsome with bold, sculpted features.
Laszlo was not the only one surprised by this change.
'I knew he was handsome, but I didn't expect this…'
Edel tried not to look at him too clearly.
Simply cutting and shaving the hair produced such amazing results.
Linnea, who had been waiting for Laszlo's makeover to be finished, burst into the room as soon as the barber left, delighted by her brother's changed appearance.
“Look, brother! I told you that your hair and beard are the problem!”
"Be calm."
“By tomorrow, you’ll be receiving marriage proposals. Everyone will be shocked! Won’t you, Idil?”
Idil could only nod her head.
“I was already handsome, but this look definitely attracts more attention.”
Lazlo's ears turned slightly red when praised.
He had never received such praise for his appearance from a woman like Idil, so he didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, with Linnea's chatter gone, he didn't need to say anything more.
Seeing Laszlo's meticulous satisfaction with his new look, Edel felt a strange sense of stimulation.
'I can help more from now on. This is just the beginning!'
The discomfort and anxiety I felt upon waking up that morning have been forgotten.
Laszlo's "transformation project," which began with haircuts and shaving, continued with skin and hair care.
Laszlo found putting up with strange creams and treatments on his face and hair extremely unpleasant, but the results were amazing.
“If a face mask can change my skin to this extent, I will be overjoyed.”
Linnea envied Laszlo's complexion, which was now brighter than before.
“You already have great skin, so there’s no room for improvement. Nothing beats being young for good skin.”
Edel spoke as she gathered the towels used to clean Lazlo's face into the sink.
Normally she would let the siblings talk on their own, but today she felt she had to say something.
"I still feel nervous."
Because Laszlo stubbornly refused to allow the skincare specialist to touch his face, Edel had to take it upon herself to apply and wipe the treatment on his face and hair.
I felt that the process of spreading the slippery substance on his warm face was much more awkward and embarrassing than I had expected.
When I realized that Laszlo had long, dark eyelashes or that there was a slight scar just below his left cheek, I felt like I was stepping into a secret garden.
“It was very strange to do it in silence.”
She couldn't have been more grateful when Linnea suddenly burst into the room just as she was about to finish.
Especially since when she was wiping his face, Laszlo's gaze was so direct that she felt as if her heart might burst.
'I have never seen such beautiful brown eyes before.'
While Idyll was thinking about Laszlo's brown eyes, he suddenly spoke.
“There is something better than youth.”
"What is this, what is it?" Linnea asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. He smiled and replied.
"A kind heart and a sound mind."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
He said, looking at Edel:
“Most beautiful people, regardless of their age, have that.”
She froze in her face due to the unexpected eye contact, but Laszlo returned to give a lecture to Linnea.
“So, if you don’t want to grow old in a disgraceful way, start making some effort now.”
"What did you do?"
Linnea, who was about to file a complaint, looked at Idil, pursed her lips, and muttered. The memory of trying to humiliate Idil in the past, only to see her cry, flashed through her mind.