125 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 125
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“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
The Crown Prince asks me. Perhaps he thinks he doesn't need to hide his identity anymore because he has subordinates, he took off his hat and swept his fingers through his hair. Nowhere on his face without the hat was ‘Idi.’
“I was suddenly wondering where the name Idi came from. That’s what I was thinking.”
“You often have such useless thoughts. And it’s questionable whether it’s even true. But that’s what makes it so intriguing, wouldn’t you say?”
“Are you changing the subject?”
“Oh, can’t you show me the consideration of pretending not to notice?”
He mimics my words exactly and smiles slyly, which makes him look very annoying.
As I stand there speechless, feeling absurd, he opens his mouth in a soft voice and says,
“It’s a childhood nickname. A name I really hate.”
“Then you must have hated it when I called you that?”
“I wonder? I don’t even know why I told you to call me ‘Idi.’”
He’s such a strange person. I can’t figure out why he would ask me to call him a nickname he hates.
The problem is that to maintain the contract on equal footing with him, I need to at least understand his inner thoughts, but I can’t even get a grasp on them. This is a real problem.
How can I meet his level? Or rather, how can I get one step ahead? This is the problem I will have to solve in the future.
A carriage that appears to belong to the Roshan family approaches from afar. At the same time, the subordinate who had been standing far away watching us approaches the Crown Prince and whispers something in his ear.
Pretending not to care, I stand there blankly, only slightly opening my ears, and I hear the words ‘We lost him.’ So, he had other intentions after all?
But pretending I heard nothing, I waited for the carriage to stop and got inside, where I saw Lady Roshan sitting across from me. She greeted me with a nod and remained silent.
Soon after, the Crown Prince got in, and the carriage began to move. They remained silent and looked elsewhere until they arrived at the Bischwartz estate.
It was when the carriage stopped at the estate's gate that the Crown Prince opened his mouth.
“Don’t attend the Founding Day celebrations for a few days. His esteemed Pulcher is eagerly waiting.”
Saying this was no different from promising to be my shield.
Does this mean I don’t have to worry about the Empress anymore? I feel a sense of relief.
“Do I have to be sick again?”
He gives a faint smile at my words. It was as faint as the daytime moon, so faint that it was hard to tell he was smiling unless you looked closely.
“Then that would be even better. The sicker you are, the better. Well, let’s part ways now.”
After saying that, he opens the carriage door and gestures. It means to get out quickly. He waves his hand as if to say it’s okay even if I don’t say goodbye, which is strange. He’s urging me as if he’s suddenly lost his composure, which is suspicious. But there was no reason to continue the conversation, so I had no choice but to part ways like this.
The carriage immediately departed as soon as my feet touched the ground and disappeared. Feeling absurd, I stared blankly after it, but it only accelerated and never slowed down.
The Roshan family’s carriage quickly disappeared from my sight. I looked so foolish standing there blankly.
Thus, the second day of the Founding Day passed. Leaving behind only a lingering question without gaining any particular insights.
