156 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 156
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“I don’t feel good. Something’s fishy.”
Lüce Roshan muttered as she poured tea into her teacup. Her brow was furrowed as if she was displeased that information was slipping through her fingers, and it didn’t seem like it would smooth out anytime soon.
Someone with as much movement as Princess Dieunzel would be noticeable wherever she went, and news of her would quickly reach her ears. Especially in a case like this, where she was invited to a mansion for a gathering, rumors should have been circulating to some extent.
“I need to check first. It’s best not to tell His Highness until then.”
“I agree.”
Michael Ayres nodded in agreement with Lüce Roshan’s words. Even if it was a trivial matter, its value changed depending on whose name it was led under.
Gathering information was just gossip if a commoner did it, but if the words “Crown Prince” were attached, it couldn’t be taken lightly.
Lüce was very proud, knowing that her role was a great help to the Crown Prince.
Originally, she was taciturn and even kind—though she became quite a tomboy when it came to Mel—so it was difficult for her to endure among fierce women like wildcats, but she did it steadfastly without a single complaint.
This was not due to friendship-based trust, but rather because she was mindful of her affection for the Crown Prince, who charmed people with his bewitching face.
“Mel.”
“Yeah?”
“I hope this is a good sign.”
Michael Ayres looked at her instead of drinking his tea. Roshan was staring at him with a rather lonely yet happy expression.
“Because if you change, Idi will change too.”
“His womanizing is just a disguise. You know that, right?”
“That’s why I’m saying this. You’re cruel, but His Highness is twice as cruel. What could be worse than a womanizer who doesn’t give his heart?”
Lüce Roshan’s unrequited love was similar to that of the many women who followed Michael Ayres. She recklessly gave her heart without getting anything in return, and then she was lovesick.
They had been friends since childhood, but she fell in love in an instant and soon took on a blindly devoted appearance.
How could she fall so quickly? Michael Ayres was amazed and couldn’t understand his friend who was blossoming with love.
He was puzzled that she could give her heart to someone she had seen everything of, good and bad. What was so new about him? In what ways did she feel the Crown Prince’s charm that even he didn’t know?
Every time Michael Ayres frowned and shook his head, Lüce Roshan teased him with a shy smile. She meant that he was emotionally immature and didn’t understand how the heart could move in an instant.
‘The heart is like a garden. We admire the flowers we always see because they’re beautiful, but we soon become desensitized. Then, at some point, in a magical instant, we discover a new beauty that we had been missing and fall completely in love. Irresistibly. Mel, that’s what happened to me. That’s why I was robbed. I glimpsed something that you and Idi will never see. That’s why I’m such a miserable loser, hanging on like this.’
Whenever he heard these words, Michael felt strange. It was as if he had a premonition that he too would soon become a ‘miserable loser.’
Falling in love in an instant. Hadn’t he already experienced that moment of brilliant miracle? That’s why he was even more anxious.
Michael Ayres visited the Dieunzel household several more times at the Crown Prince’s command.
In the past, he would have been annoyed to meet the slippery old man and his steps would have been heavy, but since he had come to look forward to meeting the girl, he thought it was a decent thing to go and greet the young ladies. It was truly an amazing change.
The girl didn’t know, but Michael Ayres saw her quite a lot, not only in the drawing room but also in the hallway and garden.
It was close to a coincidence, so he didn’t reveal his presence, but if he had wanted to, there were quite a few opportunities to face her and talk to her. He could have naturally struck up a conversation with various excuses right away.
But he didn’t. It was fun to watch her face change little by little without others noticing.
On the surface, she was like a calm lake, but he enjoyed the joy of discovering small things like her eyebrows slightly rising, one corner of her mouth twitching, or the veins being etched on the back of her fist hidden behind her.
Just looking at her was never boring. The artificial smile she occasionally showed off, combined with her beauty mark, exuded a chilling allure that was even mesmerizing.
In fact, until this point, Michael Ayres had not been able to easily define the girl. She kept appearing before his eyes, but should he say that she was someone who aroused more interest? Anyway, she was the most concerning of all the women he had ever met.
However, he had been watching from afar with some caution, as the fact that her joining had not reached Lüce Roshan’s ears.
But if he had realized that fate was so playful that it could move people’s hearts at will, he would have been very careful about giving her his gaze.
When he saw the girl’s real smile again in a near-instant moment, he forgot to even breathe. Nothing came to mind as if his brain was concussed.
A seductive woman with sultry eyes? How could he have thought that?
The girl who revealed her true self was very lovely. Her expression, full of joy, was even pure.
When her softly flowing hair shone in the sunlight, it looked so sweet that his mouth watered for a moment.
There was nothing to miss, from her slightly swaying head to her softly curved mouth. Such a brilliant magic was hidden beyond a single layer, and he gasped for breath, clutching the area near his heart with one hand.
For some reason, his nose felt so stuffy that he tried to block it with his other hand, but his flushed skin was so hot that he couldn’t bear it, even though it was his own.
Michael Ayres desperately moved his body and leaned against the wall. His heart was beating so hard that it hurt. His languidly melting head couldn’t think properly. His eyes kept wanting to capture the girl.
‘What the hell is this? Why is this happening!’
He gritted his teeth and asked himself. Even when he ran dozens of laps around the training ground as part of his training, his legs didn’t tremble.
But now they were shaking as if he had been rolling around for days. Meanwhile, she had returned to her usual expression and was walking further and further away with another young lady.
In the past, when Lüce Roshan expressed her feelings for the Crown Prince, she worried about Michael Ayres. She was concerned that he, who had so many similarities to her, might have his heart stolen for no reason at some point, just like in her case.
‘What people are mistaken about is that you have to have a reason to feel love for someone. But that’s not true, Mel. Even a very trivial trigger can give you an intense feeling that shakes your soul. For example, even in a very ordinary situation where you and I are drinking tea, I can suddenly find you lovely and recognize feelings that I hadn’t realized before. I’ve already been defeated by the sudden realization and am being swayed around, right? But what about you?’
Lüce Roshan was right. He too was being swayed by something that had suddenly come upon him, and he couldn’t come to his senses. He had only seen one smile, and he had only given her his gaze by chance, but he had realized his feelings. Absurdly.
As mentioned earlier, Michael Ayres’s emotions were often extreme. There was no in-between. But he didn’t think deeply because it wasn’t difficult to live in the world with just coldness and violence. The problem was that his basic personality was as cold as ice, but he sometimes became extremely ferocious when he got angry, so it was quite good for sending warnings to his enemies who looked down on him.
It was even easier because it was done under the Crown Prince’s full support.
Therefore, he believed that he could continue to express his emotions in this way until he died. It was a thought he could have because he had never considered the possibility of falling for someone.
But after realizing his feelings, his emotions became even more erratic. They ran wild like a horse that had lost its reins. At this time, neither coldness, passion, nor violent heart were needed. He acted awkwardly like someone who was just learning about the world.
On the outside, he was still the Knight of Ice Michael Ayres, with snowstorms raging, but on the inside, he was as soft as a ripe fruit, and the sweet smell was wafting out. He didn’t know how to deal with the feeling he was experiencing for the first time.
He knew very well that his coldness hurt people. And he also knew that this was very effective in warding off annoying women like flies.
But it would be very difficult if this attitude was applied to the girl as well. He couldn’t even imagine her looking at him with frightened eyes. No, he was unfamiliar with himself worrying and being anxious like this in advance.
His brain, sizzling with an unknown heat, was making him look like a fool. It felt like just yesterday that he was laughing at the fools in love, but now he himself had become one.
How could this be happening? Michael Ayres covered his head and pondered. He didn’t even think about the fact that there were people who were terrified by his sudden foolish behavior, and he tried to calmly look back at himself, who was suffering because of the girl who kept appearing before his eyes.
But he couldn’t. What was captured in his retina was that smile that was so bright that it looked sweet. He was smiling like her without even realizing it.
‘I feel like an idiot.’
In the end, he had no choice but to visit Lüce Roshan and report the current situation. She was the only one who could help him.
So, for the very first time, since they had been entangled as friends, he showed a miserably distorted expression. He confessed that he was a feverish fool, uttering a voice full of anguish.
“This is pretty good, though? After I realized my feelings, I cried every night until my pillow was soaked. And then I worried countless times about how to meet Idi the next day, how to treat him. Have you even tried talking to her?”
“No.”
“Why? You’re diligently going in and out of the Dieunzel household. Then there must have been at least one opportunity to talk to her?”
“What if she gets hurt by my way of speaking like the other young ladies? That’s why I can’t.”
“Goodness. Are you sure you’re the one saying that, Mel?”
“You’re talking nonsense. Then who else would have said it? Are you deaf? Don’t look at me with that stupid expression. It’s unpleasant.”
Lüce Roshan quickly distorted her face and sighed deeply.
“…No, I’m just surprised. I know what you’re worried about. Even I, a longtime friend, can suddenly feel my heart turn cold, so how much more would other people? Anyway, if you don’t know how to treat her, why don’t you show her a different side of yourself than usual?”
“A different side of myself?”
“Yeah. Be kind.”
“Be kind?”
“What woman would hate a kind man? Above all, it wouldn’t be difficult if you followed your brother’s example?”
Michael Ayres remained silent. Judging by his slightly twitching brow and very unpleasant expression, he was letting her know that he didn’t like her suggestion very much.
