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!”
“Julius-sama!? Where, where is he!?”
“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!”
“That expression of hiding his sorrow is also beautiful!”
“How dreamy…”
“I wonder what’s troubling him? If he discussed it with me, I’ll a.s.sist 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.
Instead of being filled of manly appeal, it’s more adequate to call that appearance as delicate androgynous beauty, his facial features were really well-proportioned.
They were currently narrowed in an expression of distress, but those blue eyes emitted brilliance just like sapphires.
Long blond hair spilled in a gentle wave, and coupled with those looks brought about an air of refinement.
His height was just somewhat above average but he looked taller than his actual height probably because of his slender build.
That physique may appear frail at a glance, but when observed by a.s.sessing eyes, they will notice the hidden flexible muscles which were trained thoroughly.
From what can be perceived from his outward appearance, he was probably around 20 years old.

“His” name is Julius Rosenberg.
From the n.o.ble 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 pa.s.sed, this unfounded rumor spread among the n.o.ble society out of nowhere.
At that time, it was only to the extent of being a popular conversation topic as a mere gossip, and the rumor also vanished naturally before long.
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 das.h.i.+ng 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 s.h.i.+rts and slacks instead of dresses. A person who dressed as if she were a man, that is the Beautiful Crossdresser.
And yet, even if she wore clothes for men, the mannerisms and the coquettish nature peculiar to women showed from her behavior.
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.
Julius’ popularity among younger girls in particular was tremendous, and an organization called [Protection Squad²] comprised of the people who longed for him was formed secretly.
Of course, since Julius is not a royalty even if he is a n.o.ble, 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 n.o.ble 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.
Maxian Evriac is the second son of a Marquis and Julius’ friend since childhood.
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 embarra.s.sed, right?”
“No, it’s not that I’m embarra.s.sed…”

Julius, as a man, also thought that it’s a good thing being seen favorably by beautiful girls.
…However, it’s another story when those gazes are not caused by [Julius as a man].
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.
Shortly after he became old enough to understand what’s happening around him, Julius realized that those around him thought he was a woman.
No, it’s more accurate to say they misunderstood that he is [a woman acting like a man].
Of course he himself knows that he is no doubt a male and flatly denied such misunderstanding.
He denied it but———–

“You guys. It seems like you misunderstood somehow, but I’m a man, you know?”
“Aah, poor you, Julius-sama. Because you became a sacrifice for the sake of your House, you’re saying such things.”
“Y-yeah? Do you really get it? I’m saying that I’m a man…”
“Yes, of course I understand. I will see to it that it will reach other people so please be relieved.”
“…You don’t really get it, hey.”
“? Is there something you want done? You look like you do. If there is something you need me to do, please say it without holding back.”
“…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.
Once a person established an a.s.sumption, it’s difficult to overturn it. Julius always feels that strongly.
Because his body is no doubt male, it will surely clear up people’s misunderstanding if he took off his clothes and get naked.
But undressing in the presence of others and showing his body to random people is impossible for Julius who was strictly disciplined to constantly behave gracefully since childhood.
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.