147 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 147
==========
A few days later, I met the Crown Prince and Lady Roshan again. I don't know how the unofficial duel that unfolded at the Bischwartz Family reached his ears, but the Crown Prince stared at me as if he knew everything.
It started with him saying, with a sickeningly flamboyant smile, "That guy started practicing swordsmanship like crazy." No one didn't know that the 'guy' the Crown Prince was talking about was Sir Ayres.
That day, Sir Ayres stayed until the end, had the Leather artisan measure his finger size, greeted Sir Halberd once more, and then received my escort.
I tried not to talk about the results of the match as much as possible, but Sir Ayres was so disappointed that he was the first to mention that it had ended in a draw once again.
His face was filled with worries about the wall blocking him, saying, "I wanted to say, 'I have won,' while kissing the Bischwartz Young Lady's hand."
I couldn't comfort him. No, I couldn't. I hoped that the frustration he was feeling wasn't because of me.
Very cowardly, I was suddenly afraid that Sir Ayres was realizing the huge obstacle that Sir Halberd was because of me. I was scared that I was creating another Cishe with my own hands.
In my previous life, Sir Halberd had never struggled with any other troubles except for me. He had never faced off in a rematch to settle the score from Founding Day. The same would have been true for Sir Ayres.
But if I was causing them to dig into each other's wounds, if that was really the case, I felt like I would regret it so much.
It was the same just from Sir Halberd recalling Roena from the past on his face.
Sir Ayres had to become a better 'past me,' not the 'foolish me' of the past, but he kept twisting in strange directions.
Was my expression not good? The Crown Prince puts me on the spot as if testing me while drinking tea.
"Did you tell him to settle the score?"
"No. It just started when my younger sister, Roena, mentioned that Pulcher was curious about the outcome of the match."
At my answer, the Crown Prince twisted his lips as if he found it ridiculously funny. I couldn't tell if it was mockery due to me or something else.
I just thought that my bad habit of suspecting the other person was coming out again when he loosely lowered his shoulders, made a familiar shape with his fingers, and Lady Roshan, who had been silently listening to our conversation, silently started drinking tea.
It was like a never-ending test.
There was no trust between the Crown Prince and me. That's why every time something like this happened, I was constantly suspected, guarded against, and put to the test.
But it was only once or twice that I dodged around, repeatedly asking if Pulcher really ordered it, if it wasn't a coincidence, and probing my intentions.
I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion as this war of nerves continued. I felt like the hair on my whole body was standing on end.
On the other hand, unlike before, the Crown Prince seemed to be in a bad mood because I was avoiding his questions very well and glossing over them.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at me as if he was measuring something, then smiled. And when he asked me, 'What do you know?' I felt like goosebumps were rising because his momentum was so ominous.
"That Pulcher wants to approach Your Highness too much. I have questions about that."
"Why? Can't it be seen as a mother's extreme love for her prodigal son?"
Instead of answering, I looked at him without avoiding his eyes. The Crown Prince's expression changes subtly at my appearance of slowly blinking as if asking why he was doing this when he already knew. His twitching lips were trembling slightly as if he didn't know whether to smile or get angry.
"Do you not trust me?"
In the end, I was the one who broke the silence. The Crown Prince takes a relaxed attitude as if telling me to continue talking while drinking tea.
At the same time, a hand that seemed to belong to Lady Roshan strongly grabs my hand under the table. It was silent encouragement to speak calmly.
"I don't know what you want from me. All I wanted was respect as the Bischwartz Young Lady. But since you think even that is too much, I don't know what to do."
I took a deep breath. I struggled to suppress my pounding heart due to nervousness and continued to speak. My head was spinning as I thought that my future actions would be determined by each and every word I uttered.
"Lady Roshan treats me like a friend. Sir Ayres adores me. What about Your Highness?"
My mouth feels dry and parched. I need something cooler than warm tea. No, more than that, I wanted to slap the Crown Prince's smooth face, which was smiling as if he was having fun.
How refreshing would it be if that face, which was more beautiful and even more seductive than a woman, was distorted by embarrassment?
"You said you coveted me."
I licked my lips slightly. It wasn't something a virtuous young lady would do, but my instincts were telling me to do so. So I did it without hesitation. Without avoiding the Crown Prince's eyes.
"If that's the truth, please give me your trust now. Or kick me out as I am. Since Roena is here, it doesn't have to be me as the young lady to go around with."
This is a gamble. A foolish bet where I bet everything on one card.
It was a reckless bravado that I could do because I knew that even if the Crown Prince kicked me out as I was, Lady Roshan or Sir Ayres wouldn't.
For example, Lady Roshan's hand, which was holding my hand, was trembling with tension. She was looking at the Crown Prince with desperate eyes as if she really didn't want to let me go. As if telling him to stop suspecting me now.
"Our meeting was unusual. I'm sure you agree with that."
After a while, he opens his mouth and speaks. I responded in a polite voice.
"Of course, Your Highness."
"If it was a relationship that would have ended as it was, I would have remained as I was back then. But being inside the boundary means something different. You said that if I coveted you, I should give you my trust?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I feel suffocated. Because I'm scared. Because I'm afraid."
He smiles silently, revealing his teeth, as if he was satisfied with my honest answer. But it's strange that I hear auditory hallucinations like a beast growling. There was a well-fed predator here.
"Trust is a precious thing that can't be given carelessly. It's also something that can't be created with just a few words. So I can't say for sure. Of course, I can promise not to suspect you. I will do so if you stay as you are."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Was he telling me to be put inside the boundary but not to expect anything more than that? I raised my teacup to cover my lips and swallowed a bitter smile.
I should be grateful just for the fact that I wouldn't be tested anymore. I couldn't be more comfortable because I didn't have to worry about my nerves snapping.
But something felt uneasy. I felt like I was missing a lot of things.
Even if Lady Roshan had begged so earnestly, it was impossible not to be suspicious from the very beginning that he was keeping someone by his side like this.
It was the same from the fact that he said he couldn't give me his trust but wouldn't suspect me. This was no different from acknowledging that my existence was somewhat useful to them.
But he doesn't even think about revealing it and only makes ambiguous suggestions. In the end, it was up to me to find out what was useful. So I had no choice but to use my head a little more.
High society? The Empress who told him to approach her? Countless names and events repeatedly came to mind and disappeared. But there was nothing that could be directly linked to 'usefulness' anywhere.
Was I overreacting?
The sigh that was about to leak out through my parted lips felt as fleeting as the air around me. I felt a throbbing pain near my temples, as if I was getting a headache.
At that moment, the Crown Prince's words flashed through my mind.
'Our meeting was unusual.'
I felt strange for a moment. He wasn't using the word 'first' for the unusual meeting.
He was using a double meaning expression as if everything was strange. Why? There was nothing special except for the first meeting?
Wait, everything was strange?
I felt like my body was freezing in an instant. Cold sweat dripped down my stiffening spine as my fingertips turned cold and stiff.
I barely closed my lips, which felt like they were about to scream, and looked at the Crown Prince. He was drinking tea with a calm expression.
Oh my god, the Crown Prince knew. The offer that the Baroness of Flanders had made to me.
How? No, more than that, since when? But why is he leaving me alone?
The answer to this was revealed from the Crown Prince's next words.
"Come to think of it, I heard that the Countess is pregnant. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
As I was smiling awkwardly, Lady Roshan added strength to the hand she was holding. Ah, I was still holding her hand. My emotional turmoil must have been revealed. I felt uncomfortable as if I was sitting on thorns.
"The Count will have a bit of a headache because of the heir issue. Don't you think so?"
It wasn't something I could easily answer about the heir, so I just nodded weakly. The only one who was enjoying the reaction, which could be positive or negative, was the Crown Prince.
"Because even if he has a son, he can't easily designate him as the heir. Because he won't try to take it away."
"What is the reason for saying that?"
"I'll give you the Bischwartz Family, into your hands. I will do my best to make you Cishe de Bishwaltz."
He presents the most delicious bait to determine my usefulness. As if it wasn't a lie that he coveted me, he shows one of the excellent cards he has and tempts me to take his hand.
He doesn't even tell me what the act is for, but he maintains a kind attitude with a friendly smile on his face. Ah, could there be a sweeter deception than this in the world?
"If that becomes proof of respect for me, I will gladly accept it, Your Highness."
I, who was accepting his offer as if I didn't know anything, was a pitiful flower soaked in deception.
"The Empress will be very happy because of you. It's a very happy thing. Ah, that's right. From now on, letters from Chatoul's wife will reach you. It's hard to stop them anymore. So I hope you understand."
He's not saying that it's hard to stop her, but that he wants me to use her to disturb the Empress's mood. This must be the fundamental reason why he's leaving me alone. So I had no choice but to accept it with tears in my eyes.
Because it's clear that they will take care of it even if the reputation I've diligently built up is disturbed.
"And did you ask if I coveted you?"
At the same time as the Crown Prince continues to speak, he winks at Lady Roshan. But she didn't get up from her seat. Instead, she looks at the Crown Prince and opens her mouth.
"I told you. I said I'm the one who makes the flowers bloom. You've been watching all along, so stop now. I can't stand it anymore."
"I asked you to leave your seat because I was afraid you would get angry, but I won't stop you if you insist on listening. Then keep watching. Because I still have a lot to say."
Lady Roshan's brow furrows. She was very angry. But the Crown Prince takes a comfortable attitude, leaning back on the sofa as if it was nothing.
"Every time I meet you, I send Mel far away. I don't think you should be with him. The reason is none other than that."
"Idi!"
Lady Roshan calls his nickname, but the Crown Prince's words continued.
"Because Mel is afraid. It's not even gossip to have your woman stolen by a friend in high society, so wouldn't he be afraid that such a thing would happen to him? Mel is a very loyal knight to me."
His eyes, narrowed long and narrow by sarcasm, were reminiscent of those of a beast. I couldn't move under his greedy gaze as if he was eyeing his prey.
"Why does Mel value you more than the trust we've shared? So, do I covet you?"
The beast laughs. Licking his lips, very slowly.
"You shouldn't say such things carelessly anywhere, Bischwartz Young Lady. Because men easily burn up at such obscene words. To the point where they think they want to trample on their friend's fears without a care."
