133 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards Episode 133
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I stood up and sat down several times. I was panting as if I had been running for a long time. A metallic panting sound struggled to escape through my parted lips.
The stairs leading to the main gate were right in front of me, but even reaching out my hand was difficult. My throbbing body now ached as if I had been beaten.
It was around that time that Mlang appeared. Wearing a coat and gloves, perhaps on an errand, she saw me sitting powerlessly and her eyes widened. She threw the basket she was holding and ran to me.
“My lady, why are you in such a state?!”
My face was reflected in her round eyes. I looked as pale as someone who had been seriously ill for days. I shook my head and moved my lips.
“Could you help me up?”
But there was no way that skinny Mlang could firmly support my limp body. It seemed difficult even to lift me up, let alone support me.
“My lady, please wait a moment. I’ll go and get someone right away.”
Mlang took off her coat and draped it over my shoulders. She must have thought my shivering body was due to the cold.
She disappeared with a dash, and soon reappeared with a sturdy knight. Of the many knights staying at the Bishvarts Family, she brought Sir Halberd of all people.
He seemed to recognize at a glance that I couldn't stand up, and with the words, ‘Forgive my rudeness,’ he strode towards me. And without giving me time to prepare myself, he lifted me up and held me close in his arms.
It was only natural that my arms, which had lost their balance and were flailing in the air, instinctively grabbed his shoulders.
“I’ll go in first and tell Marie. Sir Halberd, please take care of my lady.”
Mlang scurried into the mansion before I could stop her. She was thinking of telling Marie to prepare the bed in advance.
Forgetting her errand—which was obviously Margo's order—and worrying about my condition first, Mlang's attitude was certainly appreciated.
But in this situation, the fact that she would do anything for me felt uncomfortable.
Good heavens, Sir Halberd holding me! What would the people in the mansion say if they saw this? I could already guess what they would say, and my head was starting to ache.
At the same time, I resented this ‘coincidence.’ Why Sir Halberd of all people?
“I’m glad I was passing by.”
He said in a soft, whispering voice. I told Sir Halberd to put me down. From the scent of the man lingering around my nose to the firm chest tickling my cheek and the distinct sensation of the shoulder blades touching my fingertips, there was nothing that wasn't uncomfortable.
That was because I was someone who had only just reached the stage where I could hold hands and dance after running away every time. This kind of contact was very bad for my heart.
Therefore, if I could only get away from his arms, I felt like I could gladly endure falling to the ground.
But when Sir Halberd saw my body leaning outwards, he tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me inwards. And as if telling me not to have any more foolish thoughts, he said to me.
“No, please bear with it for a moment, even if it’s uncomfortable. It would be better to cling to my neck, as my hands may slip.”
Once again, his steps, firmly supporting my body, were now unstoppable. He didn't even pretend to hear my words to put me down, and strode straight into the mansion. Countless gazes were piercing my face.
Normally, I would have pretended to be indifferent, held my head high, and met the eyes of all of them, but not now.
My head, which kept drooping, felt as heavy as if a heavy weight was attached to it. Through my ear, which was touching his chest, I could vividly hear his heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump, like beating a drum, very loudly.
It was strange. The voice scattering over the top of my head was so calm.
“My lady, you are truly an amazing person. You always turn me into someone else.”
Sir Halberd continued to speak like a monologue, even though I didn't answer.
“First, a ruffian, then a drunken sot, and now a pathetic man who can't control the turmoil in his heart due to worry.”
His voice flowed into my ear and ran towards my heart.
“Please don’t be sick.”
I reflexively tightened my grip on his shoulder. I felt like I was going to suffocate again at the sudden words.
At the same time, my earlobes flushed and a hot sensation flowed down my spine. A sweet heat was slowly rising.
In the meantime, we entered the hallway leading to my room, and Marie and the others ran up and hovered around, squealing.
They took about three steps back, as if they couldn't dare to reach out to me in his arms, and only repeated the words, ‘Sir Halberd, this way.’
A strange situation continued, as if they were escorting Sir Halberd. This continued until we arrived at the room.
Following Marie's guidance, Lustewin Halberd laid me down on the bed. It was a bedroom that I hadn't even revealed when Sir Ayres came to visit, so it felt strange to have it exposed like this.
Although it was an unintentional situation, my cheeks felt like they were burning at the thought that his footprints would be left in this way.
It was the same with him tidying up my sweat-soaked hair without leaving right away. As if he wasn't conscious of Marie and the others' gazes at all, his eyes were fixed solely on me.
“Thank you, Sir Halberd. I will never forget the kindness you have shown me today.”
At my words, the other maids quietly looked at Sir Halberd. Their faces were filled with indescribable strange emotions. Perhaps my expression was no different from theirs.
But Sir Halberd didn't move easily. He stayed in place until the doctor came into my room, examined me, and gave the appropriate prescription. As if he couldn't be satisfied until he confirmed that I was okay.
“You seem to be very surprised. Dissolve this medicine in water and get a good night's sleep. Then you'll be fine. Marie and Seril, massage my lady's arms and legs for about 2 hours.”
He, who had been standing silently like a statue, bowed politely as if it was now okay only after the doctor finished the examination. And he followed the doctor out of the room.
As soon as Halberd left, Marie came to me without even trying to hide her flushed cheeks. This noisy maid was so excited, as if she didn't know what she was doing right now.
“Oh my gosh, my lady! Sir Halberd carried you here. Oh my, oh my, what happened? Huh? Please tell me.”
My head throbbed at the boisterous voice. I felt like my eardrums were about to burst. I frowned and let out a small sigh.
Seril and Blan ignored Marie and began to undress me. Their touch was as careful as handling feathers. They were watching me carefully, lest I feel uncomfortable.
“They say it's good to warm smooth stones and rub them on your sore arms and legs. Would you like to try that?”
“Yes.”
Meanwhile, Marie kept moving her lips and fidgeting. She was impatient because I didn't even respond to her words.
She, who had no integrity or restraint when it came to rumors circulating within Bishvarts, looked like she was dying to know about what had just happened.
Was the previous warning not enough after all? Marie was growing up much more impudently than I thought. I found it very unpleasant.
“Seril and Blan, step back for a moment. It will take some time to prepare the stones.”
At that moment, Seril's gaze turned to Marie. A faint smile, like the moon at noon, hung on her thin lips. Blan also quietly moved away from me, pressing her lower lip with her upper lip.
As if they had guessed something, they quietly left the room without asking anything back. It was a very wise way to handle things, compared to someone.
The stupid Marie was looking at me with expectant eyes, thinking that I had dismissed the maids in order to talk to her alone.
“Marie.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“This is the last warning.”
“Yes?”
Marie blinked her eyes and opened her mouth wide. Her foolish, dazed face was ridiculous. Just by looking at her rolling eyes, I felt like I could tell what she was thinking.
‘Why is my lady being like this to me now?’
“You can only wag your tongue at me when you're talking about the other children. But why don't you still know that? You're too dull. How can I trust you like this? I'd rather think of someone else.”
Even if she was a fool, she couldn't help but think of the word ‘head maid’ in the part about ‘trust’ that I mentioned.
Perhaps she was aware of this as well, as she immediately ran up on her knees, grabbed my hand, and began to beg for forgiveness. Marie's face was as white as a sheet.
“I was wrong. Please forgive me. I was presumptuous.”
I reached out and stroked her cheek. And I whispered in a subtle tone.
“Sometimes I think you don't need a ‘tongue.’ Would it have been better if you were mute?”
I savored her terrified expression and continued to speak.
“I don't want to put you in Capsa.”
When I asked her again, ‘Do you understand?’ Marie shook her head up and down rapidly, panting as if she was about to lose her breath.
Her eyes widened greatly at the word ‘Capsa,’ as if she was recalling the terrifying memories of the past.
“Try to act while always thinking about the word ‘Capsa’ in your head. Then you'll show a better side of yourself.”
As I poked her forehead with my index finger and spoke, tears fell from her eyes. Unlike her heavily distorted eyes, her trembling lips were drawing a long arc, creating a forced smile.
Ah, poor Marie. Why did you act like a reckless child who couldn't see what was in front of you when you were so scared? How foolish.
I cupped her cheeks with both hands and whispered sweetly, ‘Shh, don't cry.’ And I wiped away her tears with the back of my hand.
Marie sobbed like a child and then forcibly began to hold back her tears. It was probably because she instinctively felt that something big might happen if she cried any more than this.
A moment later, Seril and Blan came in with the warm stones. They simultaneously examined Marie's teary eyes and swallowed hard. Seril, in particular, had a very stiff face.
But that was only for a moment. When I told them to come closer, they put on a nonchalant expression as if nothing had happened. Then they massaged my arms and legs with more care than usual.
Funnily enough, Marie was working the hardest. She silently began to massage my shoulders without saying a word.
Thanks to that, a pleasant silence enveloped me. My stiff body was gradually relaxing.
I slowly blinked my increasingly heavy eyelids and let out a soft yawn. As the tension was released, sleepiness rushed in as if it had been waiting.
“My lady, the meal… I guess she’s asleep.”
“Shhh. Let’s leave quietly.”
“But shouldn't we wake her up later? She has to take her medicine.”
“That's something we'll decide after watching.”
The voices were getting further and further away. Darkness was seeping in. Peace came to my muffled ears. My mind, soaked in a daze, was becoming hazy as if enveloped in fog. And then, blackout.
That's how I fell into a deep sleep as if I had fainted.
When I opened my eyes again, it was around noon the next day. And it wasn't that I woke up when it was time to wake up, but that Marie and the others forcibly woke me up because of a guest who would be visiting soon.
“Sir Ayres said he will be visiting soon…”
Blan hesitated and handed me a letter in her hand. The letter, stamped with the Aires Family seal, contained only one sentence.
I will visit you at noon.
