137 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards Episode 137
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In truth, it wasn't my place as a stepdaughter to dare speak about the next heir of the Count's family.
Wouldn't it be seen as blatantly revealing my ambition for the family? It was practically a self-defeating move.
But as I looked at my stepfather, his face a strange mix of joy and displeasure, Roena, staring blankly at me as if struck, and Mother, who quickly lowered her head to hide the glint of greed in her eyes, I felt I had done well to speak up.
After a moment, my stepfather cleared his throat and spoke to me. His face was flushed, as if he wanted to say he wasn't scolding me, and he spoke in a roundabout way.
"That matter should be discussed later. It's still too early."
Nevertheless, my stepfather didn't deny the possibility that the child to be born—if it was a boy—would be the heir.
This was tantamount to saying that he was considering that possibility. A dark shadow fell over Roena's face.
How long had it been since she had changed the warehouse key, which symbolized the family, to Mother's taste, and now he was talking about an heir?
Even she, with her kind heart, couldn't bear this. I would have felt the same. Cracks were slowly forming on her steadfast face.
"I should excuse myself now. Mother should rest as well."
Roena, who had been holding Mother's hand, suddenly rose from her seat. Her clasped hand was pulled away a little roughly, but neither Mother, nor, well, only Roena, showed any change in expression.
She didn't seem to notice Mother's gaze, which was fixed on her with a look of bewilderment, and only bowed to my stepfather.
A strange atmosphere hung in the air. Even my stepfather seemed very surprised by Roena's unexpected behavior. But this weak man soon nodded as if nothing had happened and offered Mother a few words that were close to well-wishing. Then he disappeared, fleeing as if running away. Roena was next.
Normally, she would have continued to talk to me or suggested we go out together, but there didn't seem to be any room for such leisure in her retreating figure, which was disappearing with quick steps.
The maids, too, were watching my stepfather and Roena, and soon disappeared as well. In the end, only Mother and I were left in the room.
"I congratulate you again,"
I said to Mother, breaking the pleasant silence. The voice that came out was so cold that even I felt it was chilly. Perhaps that was why Mother's shoulders twitched and trembled so faintly that she looked quite pitiful.
"Give birth to an heir, Mother. No, you must. If you remember the touch from just now. Somehow, give birth to a boy."
Only then did she meet my gaze and stammer out the words that had been piling up inside her. Her large, swollen eyes were already moist.
"You, you're a really bad daughter. H-how can you say such things? What if your stepfather doesn't look at me again?"
I retorted calmly, as if asking why she was asking me that, mocking her.
"Why? You have Roena."
"What?"
"Roena, who shook off your hand. You've taken such good care of her, even neglecting me, so now you should receive your reward."
I reached out and grabbed Mother's wrist. Mother tried to avoid my touch, even taking backward steps, but I was faster. I deliberately tightened my grip on her hand, as if to prevent her from running away, and a groan involuntarily escaped her lips.
"Isn't that right? Roena will surely take good care of you. More than I do. Maybe she'll even help prevent my stepfather from looking elsewhere."
I twisted my lips and smiled wryly.
"But I guarantee, my sibling will end up in the same situation as me. For the sake of Mother's well-being, you'll reduce the precious child in your womb to a worthless, so-called 'young master' or 'young lady'."
Mother cried out. She was struggling so hard to make a sound that she looked pathetic.
"That, that child is different from you. She's a kind, gentle, and good girl."
I echoed her words in a cheerful voice, as if singing a song. And I reminded her of one fact that Mother was trying so hard to forget.
"That's why she shook off your hand. She ran away without looking back. Like a young deer chased by hunting dogs."
I slowly released her hand. I didn't even feel like touching her belly anymore. So I took two or three steps back, as if to indicate that the distance between us had widened to this extent. And Mother stood there, frozen, until I had retreated that far.
"Or give birth to a girl, Mother. Wouldn't that be easier and better for pleasing Roena? How uncomfortable would it be to have a boy? Actually, I don't care whether my sibling is a boy or a girl."
The more I spoke, the more my joy doubled. Poor Mother, pitiful Mother. I felt like humming a tune. But I held back and continued to speak. That would be the least amount of respect I could show you.
"I noticed today that you seemed very uncomfortable with me visiting you, so I'll refrain from doing so as much as possible in the future. But please allow me to continue going out. I find it very difficult to try to please Roena like Mother does."
It was better this way. Rather than using a half-baked scheme to drive them apart, it was better to sow discord with something as certain as this.
By now, Roena would have run to Margo, bursting into tears and telling her every little detail of what she had experienced. And at the end, she would definitely ask, 'What should I do?' Just like she always had.
Then that sly raccoon would pat her and whisper kindly, as if it were nothing.
'Don't worry, Miss. I'll take care of everything. So please, rest.'
The problem was that there were more maids who followed Marie than maids who followed me. Considering that Marie had once said that she would soon absorb even the maids who served Mother, it was safe to say that most of them had come over to our side. So she wouldn't be helplessly defeated like in the past.
As I finished speaking and turned to leave, Mother rose from her seat and grabbed my hand tightly. Then she quickly continued to speak, but all that came out were excuses, excuses, excuses.
To summarize, she said that she had acted this way for our future, so what was she supposed to do if I acted so coldly?
"You say it's for us, but if you ever have to choose between Roena and me in front of my stepfather, you're the kind of mother who would choose Roena without hesitation. Right? So where is the action for me in all of that? Of course, I'm not trying to blame you. It can't be helped. So don't pass off all of this as if it's my fault."
Was she shocked by my words? Mother's hand easily fell away. Hot tears streamed down her faintly trembling cheeks.
"But if I were told to choose between Mother and Roena in front of my stepfather, I would always choose Mother. Even if I suffered any disadvantages."
I lowered my head and kissed Mother's cheek. I could feel the salty tears on my lips. It wasn't a very pleasant taste.
"Rest, Mother. I'll rest too. I'm telling you in advance, I'll be busy in the future, so I won't be able to suddenly visit you like I did today."
"W-when will you stop doing that?"
It was laughable and pathetic to see Mother, who had coldly turned me away when I came to visit, now groaning as if she would die if I didn't cling to her. Could she have dared to imagine showing such a figure just a moment ago?
"Who knows? Maybe you'll find out soon."
I didn't give her a definite answer. I simply smiled softly, as if I hadn't spoken coldly just now, and said goodbye.
Whether she had caught on or was just tired of it, I didn't know, but Mother didn't hold me back any longer. She just stared at me with a look as if the world had collapsed, biting her lip as if trying to hold back the tears that were about to flow, like a tragic heroine.
Actually, how could I not know? What you were plotting. A foolish daughter was trying to ruin the peaceful life you had finally grasped, so you were trying your best to stop it. Even if it meant using the extreme measure of 'turning away'. But the method and the target were all wrong.
So I closed the door and left without looking back. I had shown consideration so that the tragic heroine left alone on the stage could sort out the situation by herself while monologuing.
Click.
The door to my heart closed.
\*
The news of Mother's pregnancy spread beyond the Bischwartz Family to even the relatives. But no one was purely happy about it. They kept their mouths shut for fear of something unfortunate happening and watched each other's reactions.
Even Lavalliere, who cherished my stepfather, sent a letter of condolence to Roena along with a congratulatory gift, so what more could be said? Far from being happy, most people were praying for her to give birth to a girl.
In the meantime, my stepfather was anxious that I might rashly speak about the 'heir' as I had done in Mother's room. So he called me to his study separately and asked me to be quiet until a decision was made.
"This is all for your mother and you."
His attitude of quickly appeasing me with a kind voice, as if he was worried that I might be upset, was too weak for the head of the Count's family. And the fact that he so easily believed my promise to do so.
"And would you go and comfort Roena? She seems to be depressed these days, and her expression isn't good. Margo says that she's upset about something, but she won't tell me what it is. But if you go, she might feel better. You've been getting along well, haven't you?"
I replied that I had already gone to see Roena and had been rejected by Margo. The situation that I had prepared for just in case had worked out perfectly.
I hadn't gone all the way to the door, but Marie, whom I had sent on an errand, had said, 'She said no,' panting, so I had done my part.
"Roena did that? She said she didn't want to see you? That's unexpected. There's a time when she rejects you."
"Maybe it's because of the head maid."
I added with a sad expression.
"The head maid keeps blocking the way between Roena and me. I don't know if it's just my imagination. She even condoned my maid being bullied. Mother knows about this too."
Margo was doing her best to protect Roena from me, but my stepfather, who didn't know the full story, couldn't help but be puzzled.
So he had no choice but to be fooled by my words, which were filled with tears and earnest appeals.
"I don't know if I should dare to say this, but oh, please look kindly upon me, considering it a statement made out of ignorance. The head maid seems to see me as Sis, not Cishe de Bishwaltz."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because my maid told me, 'I heard the head maid firmly blocking Roena from opening the door and shouting that she wouldn't meet you.' That's why I'm saying this. Or should I tell you about other cases?"
My stepfather was listening intently with a troubled expression. So I squeezed out my voice even more and pretended to sob.
"The head maid is definitely a great woman who is loyal to the Count's family, and she deserves to be respected for that, but sometimes her authority goes too far. But most people probably don't think so."
"What do you want to do?"
I held back the laughter that was about to burst out and said more pitifully.
"I don't want anything. I just want to be closer to Roena. So please help me. I thought that if I waited and waited, it would be resolved, but that was wrong. As long as the head maid is there, I'll be rejected like today at any time."
