111 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 111
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Young and beautiful maids might turn their eyes to knights, but if one dreams of a fateful love like in novels, it's worth going to a crowded square.
Marie's innocent fantasy, which she had hidden deep in her heart, was directed towards this.
Was that why? She constantly chattered on with dreamy words throughout her work. At times like these, Marie was a better storyteller than any novelist or comedian.
Originally, she had a knack for slandering others. In the midst of that, as her imagination materialized, a story so amusing that it could steal the soul of the listener was flowing out.
Blan, who used to ridicule Marie, was completely captivated and even begged her to tell him what happened next.
"It would be nice if you could go out with us on the Founding Day, Miss. I heard that quite a few people are disguising themselves and going out without taking an afternoon nap."
Surprisingly, her fantasy was extending to me. She seemed to mistake my silence for tacit consent close to permission.
Well, Marie's attitude of clasping her hands tightly around her chest and blushing on both cheeks was like that of an actor performing a skillful act, so it didn't look too bad.
With a voice close to excitement, she began to elaborate on her fantasy of me dressing up as a maid and leaving the mansion through the back door.
In particular, the story of hurriedly lowering my body when I was in danger of being caught by the knights and servants in the mansion sounded very plausible, to the point of admiration. She also subtly probed me at the right time.
"What do you think, Miss? Don't you want to try it?"
"That's not a very tempting offer. Why, do you think a fateful encounter you imagine will happen to me too?"
"How wonderful would it be if you accidentally ran into Sir Ayres preparing for the competition? That would be really amazing."
Other noble young ladies might want to experience the festivals of commoners, but it wasn't a very appealing proposal for me. The memories of my previous life, when I suffered from poverty, were still vividly etched in my mind.
Above all, since it was my first festival since entering the Bishvarts Family, it was better to spend time taking a nap than to do something that could be criticized. So I waved my hand and uttered words of refusal.
"But that's not going to happen, so stop imagining and fix my hair properly. It's time for us to think about what kind of hairstyle to do with this dress."
It was two days before the festival that Michael Ayres sent a polite letter requesting to meet me briefly on Founding Day.
The content was that he wanted to receive encouragement from me before going to the swordsmanship competition.
Feeling burdened by his actions, I asked him in a letter if it would be okay to cheer him on by letter, but he said in a rare, firm tone that he wanted to meet me in person.
And he even showed the meticulousness of sending a request to visit the Bishvarts Family so that I could no longer refuse.
Of course, my mother and Maries were delighted. They urged me to cultivate my beauty until the day Sir Ayres visited. So, practicing enduring while looking at the Crown Prince's portrait had to be done before going to bed.
Around this time, I had reached the level of enduring up to counting to ten. I also became quite skilled at answering briefly while imagining his voice. At this rate, it seemed like I wouldn't embarrass myself at the Founding Day.
The problem was that I knew nothing about the Crown Prince. So I thought I should find out about the Crown Prince through Michael Ayres, who was visiting this time. Because there was no one closer to the Crown Prince than him.
On the day, my mother came to me from dawn. She shook me awake, who couldn't come to my senses due to drowsiness, and made me wash my face immediately.
And to create the perfect dress line, she made me finish my early breakfast with a few pieces of fruit and a glass of water.
After that, what they did to me was tightening the corset so much that my waist would break. They pulled the strings so tightly that I thought my ribs were cracked.
As I was just panting because it was difficult to breathe, they put on the dress sent by Madame Dobigné.
They trimmed the clothes with quick and skillful hands. They smoothed out the wrinkles, rearranged the waistline with silk strings, and were busy shaping the line, such as gathering the chest in the middle.
Madame Dobigné sent me a dress with a special design. The dress, which followed the latest trends but was made neatly without any discomfort in moving the body, revealed the clavicle and the secret valley of the chest very elegantly.
In particular, the embroideries that stretched down like vines below the pelvis to imply 'light' symbolizing victory were very unique and beautiful.
Above all, the skirt that flowed down softly like waves below it was a part where I couldn't help but admire Madame Dobigné's skill.
Blan chattered playfully, saying that Sir Ayres would definitely fall in love if he saw this appearance.
Marie next to her was saying, 'He's already in love,' but she didn't care at all. Only Seril was silently doing her job.
The makeup was done more carefully than usual. She even emphasized the mole on the left eye by painting it with ink. She also trimmed and colored her thick eyebrows nicely. A peach-colored rouge settled on her cheeks.
I quietly blinked my eyes and stared at the mirror. Inside it was a lovely girl with a beautiful appearance.
Nowhere in the deep brown eyes under the richly curled eyelashes can you see the dirty girl from the streets. Not even the previous skeletal figure!
"My daughter, you are so beautiful."
My mother's eyes welled up with tears. The Maries were also looking at me with proud expressions.
"Isn't it too tight? It's hard to breathe."
When I muttered in a sullen voice, my mother waved her hand as if I was saying something terrible.
"Oh, you. Everyone does that. This is how you show off your flower-like, delicate, and innocent beauty."
"Are you telling me to faint in front of Sir Ayres?"
"Then there would be nothing better."
I felt like I was taken aback by my mother's words. I thought she was demanding something absurd.
But I couldn't just refute it, because the reason my mother met my stepfather was because she fainted in front of him. So I couldn't just trample on her romance for this act.
"...I'll try."
"When Sir Ayres comes, I'll call a maid. Come out to the drawing room then."
"Yes, please."
My mother kissed me lightly on the cheek and left the room. Her triumphant steps, as if she had completed her mission, were funny even to me. My mother's mood was soaring as high as the sky.
As soon as my mother's back disappeared, I immediately dismissed the other maids except for Seril.
"Seril, you used to belong to Margo's group, right?"
"Yes, Miss."
"Among your close friends, is there a maid who is experiencing financial difficulties?"
"There is, but what's going on?"
"I need to get help from her. I was wondering what Roena talks about when she has tea time with her friends."
"Miss, that's..."
I shook my head and stopped Seril from speaking.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not what you think. I just felt the need to learn what kind of stories noble young ladies share with their friends. In fact, who would tell me such a thing?"
"Then what should I do?"
"If she says she needs money, lend it to her generously. And tell her that she only needs to do one thing."
"What is it?"
"If she happens to serve Roena during tea time, she should remember the stories they told and tell you. You don't have to remember it exactly. Just tell me what you remember."
Some of those who followed Roena had some connections in society and shared the information they got from there with her.
So Roena was always one step ahead of me and could prepare everything. Not only Madame de Lavalier, but also her friends brought her the news she needed, so all she had to do was prepare for it.
Seril was very surprised while being bewildered by the first task given to her. Wasn't Marie the one who had been in charge of this kind of work? So she seemed very worried about whether she could do it well.
"But what if that child tells the head maid or Miss Roena about my request?"
I smiled instead of answering. If Roena knew, she would be filled with a sense of superiority and try harder to share better information, but if Margo knew, it could be an opportunity for Seril to fall completely to me.
Neither is a loss for me. But I can't tell her this completely.
"So you're not asking for it from the first day you give her money. You gradually tame her so that she can't bear it without the money you give her. Then you can tell her that you won't give her money if she tells Margo. If she has the talent to get that much money elsewhere, she wouldn't cling to you from the beginning."
"Yes. I will do that."
"Okay. I'll trust you."
I put my hand on her cheek and whispered softly.
Although the beginning wasn't good, I'm gradually leaning towards you because of your efforts, so I trust you more than Marie these days.
Seril, who had been acting like a demon from hell, seemed confused and very moved when I said I trusted her. Above all, she would be tasting deep joy in the relief that she no longer had to be afraid of me.
People inherently think about what they receive later and place more importance on it. Even if you make them feel wronged a hundred times, if you treat them well just once at the end, they will smile brightly as if nothing happened.
Especially if you dilute the fear that has been deeply ingrained in your heart like now, they will appreciate it as if you were their savior. This is why Marie and Seril are so easily swayed.
Besides, Seril is the maid who made great contributions to sending Roena to the Imperial Palace ball before. If I coax her well, I could use that bold drive for me.
"There's no law that says you can't taste what Marie tastes. Right?"
"I will work hard."
She bows deeply. I patted her back lightly.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Marie carefully entered. She informed me that Sir Ayres had arrived and was now in the drawing room.
Marie's face was flushed as she said that. It seems that Marie was the one who guided him to the drawing room.
I answered that I understood and got up from my seat. And I headed to the drawing room where Michael Ayres was waiting.
