The Beauty’s Secret v1c1

01. Beautiful Crossdresser ¹

The impression of what others think of a person and what a person thinks of oneself may not necessarily conform with each other.

No, in fact, it should be said that it’s natural to have some degree of difference between the two impressions.

If the difference between those impressions is infinitesimal, mutual understanding should be relatively easy to accomplish.

But conversely, if there is a big discrepancy between those impressions, understanding each other will be impossible even if a hundred statements were exchanged.

“Look, it’s Julius-sama!”

“Right there standing by the wall!”

“Ahh, that appearance is as lovely as ever!”

Girls of marriageable age, clad in vivid-colored dresses, made a commotion after catching sight of the [young man] standing against the wall in a corner of the banquet hall, which is now holding a dance party.

The high-pitched shouts of joy they raised seemed to reach the ears of the person in question. The [young man] put his hand against his forehead and sighed.

“Oh, he placed his hand against his forehead and sighed!”

“How dreamy…”

“I wonder what’s troubling him? If he discussed it with me, I’ll assist as much as I can!”

The [young man] who attracted the ladies’ attention and caused girls of marriageable age to raise a fuss, had extremely beautiful features.

They were currently narrowed in an expression of distress, but those blue eyes emitted brilliance just like sapphires.

His height was just somewhat above average but he looked taller than his actual height probably because of his slender build.

From what can be perceived from his outward appearance, he was probably around 20 years old.

“His” name is Julius Rosenberg.

From the noble lineage of the Olren Kingdom, he is the eldest son of Earl Rosenberg.

However, the people who recognize “him” as a man in this country is practically none.

『The Earl Rosenberg who didn’t have an heir, raised his newborn daughter as a man in order for a direct descendant to succeed the House. 』

It was the open secret that everybody knew.

Some time after “his” birth into the Rosenberg Earldom passed, this unfounded rumor spread among the noble society out of nowhere.

Nevertheless, the rumor revived and rapidly wore on reality as soon as the person in question showed up in high society.

The [boy] who appeared was so dashing and beautiful that he hardly seemed like a man.

[Beautiful Crossdresser]—–among the people who know “him”, everyone would agree that there is nothing more suitable than these words.

Having the body of a woman, her abundant chest was bound tightly by a cloth and she wore shirts and slacks instead of dresses. A person who dressed as if she were a man, that is the Beautiful Crossdresser.

That will occasionally result in a dubious androgynous charm, fascinating men and women of all ages without regard.

In fact, there are a lot of people who have feelings of yearning for Julius.

Of course, since Julius is not a royalty even if he is a noble, it does not adhere with the original meaning of being a protection squad. It is merely an unofficial, informal group of admirers who imitate real bodyguards.

But it’s impossible to treat it as a laughing matter when this group, which should be merely a gathering of fans, amount to almost twice the number of the crown prince’s own guards.

In addition, this [Protection Squad] naturally doesn’t possess anything that can be considered military power, since it is mainly composed of young girls.

However, because it is a frightening organization joined by most of Olren Kingdom’s noble young ladies, there is a danger of incurring immediate destruction to oneself if they were thoughtlessly antagonized.

Actually, when the Viscount’s second son behaved rudely to Julius, it led to a protest. He was repulsed by ladies all over the kingdom. On top of having his fiancee annul their engagement, clients stopped dealing business with their House.

In this manner, although Julius Rosenberg’s [real gender] was recognized as an open secret, he still became the object of adoration of his surroundings as the [Beautiful Crossdresser].

Nonetheless, in addition to his open secret, [he] has another secret which is extremely limited to his relatives.

That is—–

—–[He is actually a man.]

“Haaaah…. this again?”

Julius, who was standing at the corner wall of the ballroom currently hosting the dance party, sighed while placing his hand against his head, in reaction to the high-pitched cries of the girls in dresses.

“Your popularity is immense as ever, Julius.”

“Will you give me a break, Maxian?”

Maxian Evriac, Julius’ friend who was standing aside, said a joke mixed with admiration, but only received a tired answer in return.

He is a young man with short, light brown hair. He also has well-proportioned features but when compared to the androgynous Julius, he still gave off a masculine charm.

He is of the same age but he’s slightly taller than Julius and also has a larger build.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, right?”

“No, it’s not that I’m embarrassed…”

Julius, as a man, also thought that it’s a good thing being seen favorably by beautiful girls.

The ladies’ admiration towards him right now is for the [Beautiful Crossdresser Julius] and is somewhat different from the real him. In a manner of speaking, it is for a fictional character who doesn’t exist.

Therefore, no matter how much favorable glances he received, Julius is in a complex state of mind and can’t honestly be happy.

“Haaaa….”

“?”

Moreover, this isn’t a story that started just recently.

No, it’s more accurate to say they misunderstood that he is [a woman acting like a man].

He denied it but———–

“You guys. It seems like you misunderstood somehow, but I’m a man, you know?”

“Y-yeah? Do you really get it? I’m saying that I’m a man…”

“…You don’t really get it, hey.”

“…No, I give up.”

No matter how many times Julius personally declared he’s a man, it was interpreted as [a brave woman who acts as a man and killed her true self in order to succeed their House] and he was not taken seriously. On the contrary, it resulted to sympathy.

Because his body is no doubt male, it will surely clear up people’s misunderstanding if he took off his clothes and get naked.

For similar reasons, it’s out of question to make someone touch his body to make them understand. In the first place, it’s impossible to solve the misunderstanding about his gender if he won’t let them touch fairly private parts.

Such being the case, the misunderstanding can’t be cleared up. In the end, only a small fraction of his relatives knew that Julius is a man, and a great majority of the people see him as a beautiful woman in male clothes.

“…Goodness.”

Today, while also being showered with high-pitched happy voices, the [Beautiful Crossdresser] Julius breathed a sigh.