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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Chapter 2. Cinderella Lost Her Mother Young, and Was Left to Her Stepmother and Stepsiblings
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The bookshelf closed in an instant. Now, only the two of us remained in this small space, barely large enough for two people to stand.
The only light in this cramped space was the sliver that filtered through the densely packed books.
As the bookshelf blocked my view, a crushing pain seized my chest.
‘You useless girl!’
‘Stay there and reflect until the guild's business is done. You stupid Imeline...’
Imeline Violode.
I frowned, recalling the old name they used to call me.
My breath grew increasingly shallow.
Darkness. A small space. Trapped.
The combination of these three was enough to drive me mad. Without realizing it, my hands were gripping the bookshelf.
Just then, Eric’s hand stopped mine.
His red eyes gleamed in the darkness.
A voice came from outside.
“Why is no one on this floor? The office door is open too!”
The butler’s reprimand was met with a stunned maid’s reply.
“The Young Lord summoned the servants to the third floor for a moment... I apologize. I should have left a few behind...”
“Just come out for now. Lock the door securely...”
Along with the butler's voice, I heard the maid who had been in the room leaving.
I couldn't breathe properly. I bent over, gasping for air.
Eric whispered in my ear.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt...?”
I had no energy to answer. My stomach churned. My entire body screamed to be let out of this small space.
‘Let me out! You crazy bastards! Locking up a ten-year-old. Are you even human? Hey, you sons of bitches! Dad... Dad...! Please let me out... I-I was wrong...! I take back what I said. No, I take it back. I take it back...!’
The scream-like cries of a young Imeline Violode echoed in my ears.
But I wasn’t Imeline Violode anymore. I was Imeline Wedgwood. I wasn’t ten anymore; I was twenty-two...!
When he heard the maids and butlers all leaving, Eric released his grip on the bookshelf.
“Haaah!”
I made a strange noise and shoved the bookshelf open.
“Imeline Wedgwood! What are you—!”
I scrambled out on all fours. Eric reached out to grab me, but I shook him off.
Rushing to the door in a single breath, I gripped the handle of the office door tightly.
“L-let... let me out... Let me out...”
Between the rising nausea and my ragged breaths, my voice came out pitifully faint. I kept turning the doorknob, but it wouldn't open, likely locked by the maid.
Eric looked down at me with bewilderment, as if I were a frightened cat clawing at the door.
Two red eyes. The moment I looked into them, I froze.
Seeing Eric’s eyes looking down at me in the office, I was reminded of Duke Orleans looking down at me in the office from my dream.
“Ha... ha...”
I gasped for breath as if I had just sprinted.
My senses slowly began to return. And then, a realization hit me.
I was just caught rummaging through the Duke's office...
By this man.
Eric Orleans.
The Duke's only son.
‘I’m screwed...’
I looked up at Eric.
Eric scoffed in disbelief.
“What kind of show did I just watch?”
It wasn't a show, you bastard.
Swallowing the curse, I avoided Eric's gaze and tried to speak calmly.
“Th-the... b-butler said he would g-give me a tour of the ducal estate, b-but I g-got lost...”
But I couldn't stop stuttering.
“And you just happened to wander in here?”
“Y-yes, that's right?”
I answered, my body curled up defensively. Eric’s expression showed he didn’t believe a word of it.
Eric raised his hand. I gritted my teeth and lowered my head.
Even though I knew Eric wasn't the type to hit me, the memories of the past, triggered by the recent darkness, had taken hold.
Eric looked at me trembling and audibly ground his teeth.
“Again... you treat me like the world’s greatest ruffian, Miss Imeline Wedgwood.”
When I lifted my head at his words, Eric's furious face met mine.
Eric extended a hand to me. It was an offer to help me up.
The moment I saw the pity in Eric's eyes, my face flushed hot again.
Again. Again, the anger and contempt...
And that expression laced with a hint of pity.
‘Who do you think you are...’
I clenched my jaw.
I ignored Eric’s hand and stood up on my own. It was like a splash of cold water, snapping me to my senses. The thought that my face must be pale with fear enraged me.
Why does nothing go my way? Why!
“Now, care to explain? Why did you sneak into the Duke's office?”
“I-I just t-told you... I-I was just looking around the house...”
“That stuttering act again. Cut it out.”
This time I'm really stuttering because I'm nervous! It's not an act!
“Speak like you did in the drawing room. Like when you said Vivian's hair was just for show.”
“Th-that was...”
“Looking around the house? Does someone looking around the house open bookshelves?”
Eric’s red eyes shone with a piercing sharpness.
Damn it... I have no choice.
Thinking this, I glared at Eric.
“Then why were you inside the bookshelf?”
“What? This is the ducal estate. Whether I’m in a bookshelf or a bed is none of your business...”
“But this is the Duke’s office, and you snuck in here after dismissing all the maids who were supposed to be nearby by summoning them upstairs, didn't you?”
At my words, Eric’s face hardened.
‘The Young Lord summoned the servants to the third floor for a moment... I apologize. I should have left a few behind...’
The words of the maid who just left. I heard everything.
Not missing the crack in Eric's composure, I quickly pressed him.
“It's very suspicious, isn't it? As you said, Young Lord, this is your house. So why would you dismiss all the servants and search this room alone? Hmm... if we connect this to Madam Margaret Beaufort’s situation, we could write quite an interesting novel, don't you think?”
I glared up at him.
Eric's expression was no longer just cracked; it was completely shattered and in disarray.
His face flushed red and pale, and though he moved his lips as if to say something, only a sigh escaped.
I gave Eric an impish look and waved my hand dismissively.
My tension was finally easing, and my voice came out clearly.
“So. Let's pretend we didn't see each other. I was just admiring the expensive-looking furniture. Honestly, I don't even want to know why you snuck in here.”
Frankly, whatever reason Eric had for sneaking in here, I really didn't care.
Nobles have so much money and power; it must be hard for them to be as close-knit as my family, right? Why should I get involved in their complicated father-son relationship?
Besides, it's just been confirmed that Eric Orleans is too powerful and too dangerous for me to cooperate with.
With that in mind, I started looking for a suitable tool to open the office door, like a pen or a paper knife.
Just then, Eric muttered from behind me.
“So this is your real face.”
“Yes, yes. Think whatever you want...”
As I was about to give a careless reply, Eric spoke.
“But why didn't you say anything when Vivian insulted you and your mother? Especially when you were so outspoken in the drawing room.”
I frowned and turned around. Eric was staring at me, his expression like that of a languid jaguar.
“You knew?”
“Yes. Lily told me.”
Ah, so our Lily isn't very loyal after all. No, wait, since she's a maid of the ducal estate, I guess this counts as being loyal?
I put on an innocent expression and said in a sad voice.
“Because if I said something like that, my mother would be hurt...”
“And yet you had no problem hiring a forger to fake Vivian’s letter.”
From his coat, Eric took out the letter Philip had handed to the Duke earlier.
My eyes widened.
Eric said.
“Lily told me about this too.”
Damn you, Lily! Damn you, Philip! How could you not even realize you were being followed!
And you call yourself a con artist? Huh?! I told you countless times that you need brains to be bad. Countless times!
As my expression began to change, Eric grew triumphant.
“Then why did you pretend not to know? Huh?”
“Because...”
Eric frowned.
“Because Vivian was in the wrong, wasn't she? It's a fact that Miss Vivian Cavendish insulted you, and those who insult others must face the consequences. It’s a terrible thing to do, hurting someone like that.”
At Eric's words, I flinched and stepped back.
It wasn't that I didn't know hurting others was wrong. Or that people who do bad things should be punished.
It was just...
The problem was that this was the first time I had ever met someone in the real world who would say something so naive.
Oh, and... that Eric had noticed I was hurt.
For some reason, anger surged within me.
A good-hearted noble. Isn't that cheating? They already have money and power; do they need to take the moral high ground too?
If I had money and power and wasn't constantly harassed by terrible people, I would have lived a good life too!
“You naive young master...”
“What? You, just now...”
“I called you a naive young master. What about it?”
I glared at Eric.
I had no intention of using honorifics. I didn't know if this kind face of Eric Orleans was real or an act. But whether it was real or an act, it was equally irritating.
“No... if you were really a naive young master, you would have spoken up when Vivian sent the letter of protest. You would have said that Vivian’s insults came first. But you didn't.”
“...That was...”
Seeing his troubled expression, I realized this was the reason he'd looked uncomfortable since earlier.
I shook my head.
Then Eric said something unexpected.
“I hesitated for a moment. I was curious to hear your response. But hesitating was wrong. So for that, too... I'm sorry.”
Sorry.
For some reason, I felt angry.
I couldn't tell if he was genuinely sorry or if he was still pitying me. Or was this all an act? Like Baldeck?
With a cool expression, I took a step closer to Eric.
“Listen here, naive young master. Are you so naive you don't know what your father does? Or do you just not want to know? Either way, ignorance is a sin, Eric Orleans.”
Eric furrowed his brow.
“What is that supposed to...”
I studied Eric's expression closely. Did he truly not know, or did he have an inkling? Or did he know everything, and the kind face he was showing me was all a lie?
It was then.
Bang!
A sharp crack split the air.
I covered my ears, my eyes wide.
“Just now, w-what...!”
Eric answered dispassionately.
“Your brother and the Duke must have come across a bird on their walk. It's the sound of a hunting rifle.”
The moment I heard those words, I felt goosebumps all over my body.
A gunshot...?
I looked out the window.
In that instant, the image of Philip collapsing from a gunshot, with the Duke standing before him holding a rifle, naturally came to mind.
I opened the window. And without hesitation, I climbed onto the sill.
Eric shouted.
“You can't be... no, wait... I can open the door if you just... This is the second floor, Imeline Wedgwood!”
“So what!”
And with that, I leaped from the window.
