Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 150
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Lissette Roshan then sighed. She frowned as if she knew I was lying. The hand that ordered the maid, who was bringing refreshments, to step back and commanded the owner—as naturally as if she were in her own home—was quite irritable.
“Alright, I’ll be honest first. That would be fair.”
After a moment, she opened her mouth and said,
“I didn’t get up to go get the necklace. I knew I had to avoid the situation.”
It meant that she had taken everyone out because she knew someone was coming. Lady Roshan’s face, saying that, was calm. No, there was also a low-lying atmosphere like resignation. Perhaps another name for it was anxiety due to conscience.
Most likely, it was the Crown Prince’s order. There was no one else who could move Lissette Roshan. There was no way she could have committed such a bold act on her own.
It was evident from the fact that she was ashamed of her actions just now, unlike a woman who stirred up society. As I said before, Lissette Roshan’s conscience was much better than the Crown Prince’s.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel absurd. He acted like he would do anything for me, but in the most important parts, he stood back and watched, making me slightly angry.
The Crown Prince seemed to see me as a ‘pawn’ on a chessboard and thought it was okay to roll me around carelessly, overlooking the fact that Sir Ayres was in the hands of that ‘pawn.’
He was also missing the fact that Lissette Roshan was very lenient with me, making me a worthwhile opponent to try at least once if there were no instructions from the Crown Prince.
That arrogance made me laugh. I was fed up with the way he thought he could do anything because he was promised the Bischvarts Family.
I knew he was originally that kind of man, and that’s why I was afraid, but this was not it. Unless I was an empty doll, there was no way I could calmly accept this kind of treatment. I wanted to stop being swayed without knowing anything.
So, I pretended to be okay and kept spouting lies. I put on a very depressed expression, as if I was hurt by her honesty.
“Are you testing me again? Yes, that’s right. I did meet the Baroness of Flanders. But it’s natural to meet other people at a jewelry store, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. Is that a problem?”
“Didn’t she say anything else?”
“I said hello and was about to say something, but Lady Roshan happened to come back, so she just turned around and left.”
Lady Roshan stared at me intently, as if trying to find out the truth. I didn’t avoid her gaze. It was all true that we met by chance and that she turned around and left, so I had nothing to feel guilty about. I didn’t lie because I received a note, not heard the words.
“Okay. That’s a relief.”
She sighed again. A reddish glow was slightly rising on her cheeks. The way she conspicuously stroked her chest as if relieved was quite blatant. Lady Roshan really seemed to hope that I didn’t talk to the Baroness of Flanders.
After a brief interrogation, Lady Roshan returned to being a woman faithful to Cishe de Bishwaltz. If it had been the Crown Prince, he would have tried to find out the truth somehow, but unfortunately, Lissette Roshan didn’t have that ability. Or maybe she didn’t want to interrogate me. It was true that she was lenient with me.
“I’m glad nothing happened. It’s better that way. It’s perfect as it is. Now, let’s get up. I heard that good tea has come in, so shall we go buy some tea leaves this time? Sis will like it very much too.”
Her hand leads me. I obediently got up. The eyes of the shop owner, who had been watching from that corner, quickly scanned the jewels on the table. And he followed us with a servile expression.
Lady Roshan paid for the necklace. It was the most expensive of the gifts I had received so far. It was an amount that easily exceeded one or two high-end dresses embroidered with gold thread. It looked expensive at first glance, but when I actually heard the price, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
In an instant, a pouch full of gold coins was handed to the owner. The eyes of the fat shop owner, who was smiling with his mouth torn, were full of awe for Lady Roshan.
The eyes of the surrounding ladies were also focused on my neck. They looked at me and Lady Roshan with envious or admiring eyes, and then let out a sigh.
Perhaps before tonight, the rumor that she spent a huge amount of money for me would spread throughout society. Naturally, the number of women struggling to imitate me would increase.
I was once again the main character of the topic. It was once again clearly imprinted on the socialites.
It was an excessive achievement for a girl who had not yet debuted, but I was not simply happy. It was because I knew what kind of price I had received this gift for.
It was compensation for what happened just now. She wouldn’t doubt or test me, but it was a shallow trick to appease me because she was still using me while calculating my usefulness. As if telling me not to forget that I belonged to her.
I felt like laughing at the attitude that if she threw me a jewel, I would readily prostrate myself. How was this any different from appeasing a naive child? The fact that she only saw me to that extent, no, the Crown Prince’s intention to have me be grateful for this level of treatment was disgusting to the point of nausea.
The clearly drawn line of respect was doing its best to guard against any possible lax attitude—that I might run wild under the Crown Prince’s name.
What was even more miserable was the current reality of having to accept the necklace as if nothing was wrong and saying thank you.
“Thank you, Lady Roshan.”
I clenched the note in my hand and smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong. At the same time, I thought that I should somehow meet Perinnil and hear her story. It was clear that it was a dangerous task, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity they had pushed me into. I also wanted to see the Crown Prince’s face distort.
In fact, just not throwing away the necklace that was strangling my neck like a shackle right now was enough to say that I was doing my part. What a great self-control this was. I was proud of myself.
Anyway, at this point, I was starting to wonder if I should get out of the game that the Crown Prince had set up. Even if this was also part of the play he had set up, it was worth taking a chance on. Unless he was a god, he couldn’t control all the words that came out of Perinnil’s mouth.
So, I endured the rest of the shopping with superhuman strength. It was a terrible endurance that I wouldn’t have been able to bear if I hadn’t been looking forward to the amazing meeting scheduled for the next day.
Not everyone in society can like me. That’s natural. But if someone who was working hard to flatter me just yesterday to get into Lady Roshan’s eyes suddenly pours out criticism with a sharp expression, even I can’t help but sigh.
I didn’t realize that the outing I had ventured out to meet the Baroness of Flanders would be tainted like this from the start.
In order to eliminate the noise, I went out into the street under the pretext of taking a walk, without even taking a maid. Then, I happened to meet a familiar woman, but I had no choice but to stop because I made eye contact. It was because I was afraid that there would be talk behind my back that I didn’t greet her when I saw her.
But as soon as I exchanged a few words, I regretted that I should have just pretended not to know her. It was because the woman, as soon as she confirmed that Lady Roshan was not by my side, immediately revealed her true nature and began to run wild.
The idiot, whose name I didn’t even remember, was growling at me after lowering her voice as much as possible, as if she was conscious of other people’s eyes.
I don’t know if she hadn’t learned how to speak indirectly, or if her usual way of speaking was at the same level as a rag that had been sucked on, but the words that came out were quite rough for a noble lady. It started with calling me a ‘pimp’ and spewing abusive language at me.
I don’t know how a noble lady knew all these words, but it was quite thick, which was amazing. I thought she must have had a hard time speaking in a quiet voice all this time.
Anyway, the woman’s point was simple. I used Sir Ayres to forcibly join the Crown Prince’s group, and now I was using my younger sister to seduce him. There was no such thing as such nonsense.
“Lady Roshan is the one who will be the Crown Prince’s partner. Stop being greedy and get out of here.”
Was she a follower of Lady Roshan? No, the greed in her eyes was too disgusting to think so. I could clearly see her intention to push me out like this and take my place.
I waited patiently until she finished speaking. In the past, I would have been equally angry and raged, but at this point, it was rather interesting.
It was different from the past, when I endured the insults pouring into my ears because I was afraid of being hated by the socialites—although there was nothing more to be hated—so there was nothing more to be afraid of.
So, when she finished speaking and gasped for breath, I lowered my voice as much as possible and responded calmly.
“Do I have a younger sister?”
“What are you talking about? Don’t change the subject. You should be ashamed! If you have a conscience, stay away from Lady Roshan.”
“Or do I have a beautiful cousin? Or even a pretty maid that I can use?”
“I won’t stand still if you keep changing the subject and pretending not to know.”
“I’m not changing the subject. How could I ever do that.”
When I smiled kindly, gently curving the corners of my eyes, she was about to die from anger. Seeing that, I wanted to laugh out loud in a vulgar way.
The rough Sis of the past was wriggling and trying to come out. There was no maid standing next to me, and no one was watching, so it would be good to loosen my tongue from time to time, wouldn’t it? So, I smiled brightly and continued to speak.
“If you’re upset, you can be a pimp too, you bitch. All you have to do is lift your skirt in front of the lecherous Crown Prince, so what’s the problem?”
At the same time, when I blatantly scanned her face and body, the reaction was vivid. Look at her face turning red and grinding her teeth.
She had an expression that she knew why I was looking at her face and body. Seeing her face covered in shame, a moment of pleasure flooded over me. The feeling of annoyance at the word ‘pimp’ was getting better.
Still, she seemed to know her place quite well.
I clicked my tongue softly and continued to speak.
“Or should I ask Lady Roshan? She’ll listen to anything I say.”
“Y-you, you!”
“Ah, that’s right. I heard that Mrs. Tintoretto is the best when it comes to etiquette education. Should I introduce her to you? It’s not bad to relive your childhood memories.”
When I indirectly told her to go and learn etiquette again, she was about to foam at the mouth. If a passerby saw her, they would think that a crazy woman was going crazy alone.
The words that I wouldn’t have been able to say if another lady had been with her came out smoothly because she had attacked me alone. So, I felt refreshed somehow. It felt like the old indigestion that I had been suppressing all this time was going away. I had been shaken and dragged around lately, so wouldn’t that be the case?
“Even if I greet you politely, I don’t think you’ll know what to do, so I’ll just step back for the sake of the lady’s honor. If you ever learn how to communicate effectively in the future, please greet me with a smile then. Then I’ll go first.”
I wanted to do more in my heart. But I couldn’t keep wasting time, so I deliberately bumped her shoulder and passed by. Then I heard a thud behind me. It seemed that her legs had given way due to excessive anger. It seemed that her nerves were quite tough, as much as her foul mouth, so she didn’t faint. Unfortunately.
Besides, it seemed that her maid had appeared late, and a sharp scream was echoing loudly. I quickened my pace and got as far away from the street as possible. Fortunately, the woman didn’t call my name until I disappeared. It was a wise decision.
The note that the Baroness of Flanders had written was one of the back alleys where brothels were gathered. That place, where buildings were intertwined like a maze and it was difficult to find the way, was famous for having corpses coming out several times a day.
The traces of crimes that had occurred overnight were only revealed to everyone’s eyes when the sun was shining brightly.
In other words, it was a very scary and difficult road to go alone. So, I asked Arina for help. It wasn’t that difficult to coax her since she had visited me yesterday. All I had to do was give her a few more coins and ask her to tell me someone who could guide me.
Arina was also a street child, so that kind of road wouldn’t be a problem for her, but I didn’t want to take her with me, so I inevitably used this method.
When I smiled at her worried gaze and asked about her father’s condition as if nothing was wrong, she quickly offered to help. She said that a boy named Jack knew that road very well.
Was he about thirteen years old? The boy, whose face was full of the world’s dirt, unlike a child, cleverly flashed his eyes and demanded money first.
He said that there were many adults who said they would pay later and then just took the money, so he had to take care of the payment first.
“But you’re not going to go inside, are you? If you go in with that outfit, it’s like saying you want to be sold to a brothel.”
Besides, he was so fearless that he rudely licked his tongue, which was so annoying that I wanted to kick him. I could see the yellow sprout of someone who could do anything for his own benefit—even if it was murder. If he grew up like this, he would become a swindler or an unnamed thug.
