164 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 164
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I quietly nodded, signaling my consent. Jack then reached out and carefully picked up a cookie. His movements were as quiet as a well-trained dog.
“Anyway, the Witch’s will was a bit strange.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
Jack looked at me as if he found it very odd that I was interested in the Witch’s will. He shook his head once, but his eyes were still reluctant as he opened his mouth.
“I can’t read, so someone else read it to me, but I don’t know if it’s right. What was written on her clothes was ‘Let there be progress’ and ‘The wheel is turning.’”
“Are there any other Witches who have come to the capital besides her?”
The boy, with cookie crumbs all over his mouth, answered, “No.” His sharp, twinkling eyes narrowed as if trying to discern my intentions.
I gestured to Arina that she could lower her hand, then quietly drank my tea. At first, Jack quietly ate his cookies, watching me carefully, but soon he and Arina began to argue over which cookie to eat.
His voice was small, but the intensity of his grumbling grew, as if he had forgotten where he was.
So I was able to quietly sort out my thoughts without any guard up. About the Witch’s death that Jack had told me about.
In my previous life, the Witch was very much alive until I received the Love Potion.
The day after Roena, with the help of others, attended the ball and caught the Crown Prince’s eye, even when I went to see her, fuming with resentment, she was still wearing her old skin, cackling and laughing at me.
But the Witch is dead? The old woman who was fine even during the Founding Day?
If her death was a suicide, it wouldn’t be strange, but if it was a murder, it would be a huge problem. Wouldn’t it be so, since she predicted the rebellion? For that, I could only think that someone knew about it and killed her. If she was really killed by someone, that is.
If so, who killed that dirty woman…? No brilliant solution comes to mind, no matter how hard I try. So many people had passed by.
The Crown Prince who heard the prophecy? Or another noble trying to silence her? No, it could have been an ordinary person.
Since she had gradually expanded her recognition based on curses and abortion slander, there must have been many people who were grinding their teeth.
Therefore, there is a considerable possibility that she was killed based on that resentment. But why is it so unsettling?
“Isn’t it almost His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday?”
Arina, who had been bickering with Jack, suddenly opened her mouth and asked me. The child’s face was shining like a child waiting for a gift.
Ah, come to think of it, they used to distribute food to the slums on the birthdays of the royals. It was the only day you could avoid starvation without working. Stalls were set up everywhere on the streets to distribute bread and stew.
Even though it was rough bread, each person was given a thick loaf the length of a child’s forearm, so the more family members there were, the more bread they received. That’s why some people brought out babies who hadn’t even opened their eyes yet. I, too, had the experience of receiving and eating it.
“Yes.”
“I was able to eat delicious bread last year, will I be able to this year too? Musicians came out at night and played dance music. It was really fun. Are you going to the ball, Miss?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Wearing a pretty dress? I heard the Crown Prince is so handsome. Have you ever seen his face?”
“Yes.”
“I want to go too. How wonderful would it be? How beautiful would it be?”
Jack raised his hand and smacked Arina on the head. It meant not to say such nonsense.
Arina pouted and stroked her throbbing head. Judging by the fact that she didn’t complain about being hit, it seemed she knew what Jack was worried about.
Jack made a noise as he drank the drink given to him, then opened his mouth again and said to me.
“But Miss, did you know? There’s a rumor going around that the Count here is looking for something amazing.”
After realizing that I was getting information by listening to Arina’s stories about the streets, this clever child often passed on what he knew through her. It was as natural as if he had to.
So I made sure to take care of Jack’s share when Arina received her reward. Of course, he received less than Arina, but Jack still seemed satisfied with just that much. He hadn’t even tried the ‘work worth receiving silver coins’ that he had mentioned before.
“For it to reach your ears… I need to crack down a bit.”
“Information originally circulates from the bottom up. But the atmosphere is a bit unusual.”
“Unusual? What do you mean?”
“The thugs are restless. People I haven’t seen before are gathering in the alleys.”
Jack asked me.
“What on earth is going to happen?”
I answered, “Nothing.” But I felt strange too, so I had no choice but to close my mouth and sink into thought.
Jack wisely sensed that I was in a bad mood, took Arina’s arm, and got up from his seat. Arina had been back and forth to the mansion countless times, but today, Jack, who was visiting this place for the first time, was acting as if he knew the structure of this building better.
I didn’t get up from my seat. Jack, as if he knew I would do that, almost dragged Arina, who kept looking at me with lingering feelings, out of the room.
Seril, who was waiting in front of the door, would escort the children to the front gate, so I didn’t have to worry about meeting other people.
Silence fell in the room where the children had disappeared. It was the perfect atmosphere for thinking alone.
“Thugs gathering in the back alleys… What kind of gift is it that’s causing such a commotion?”
As Jack said, something was happening, but the problem was that I couldn’t figure it out at all. Should I go see Roena, even though I don’t want to?
My stepfather still hadn’t asked me what gift I wanted to buy.
From the time Mother became pregnant, or rather, from the time I pulled Margo down from the position of head maid, his attitude had become slightly estranged, so I could somewhat foresee it, but the truth was that my mouth felt bitter.
I guess he wants me to know my place and restrain myself.
Did I reveal too much of my inner thoughts when I pulled Margo down? But if it hadn’t been to that extent, he wouldn’t have even thought of kicking Margo out. Because my stepfather is as soft as a ripe fruit.
Anyway, let’s go see Roena. I don’t want to see her face, but I can’t help it.
I got up from my seat. She’s been so busy following Pulcher and going here and there to socialize that it’s been a while since I’ve seen her face.
What kind of expression would she make if I went to see her in the midst of all this? For some reason, my head already felt like it was starting to ache.
But I couldn’t meet her. Roena had suddenly gone out after receiving a letter from the Imperial Palace.
Roena’s maid, whose name I don’t even remember, who came out of the room, said in a slightly boastful tone that she couldn’t help it because it was an invitation from the Crown Prince.
But considering that she said she couldn’t help it, she was clearly showing off, so I could quickly understand what she was saying.
She was saying that even though I belonged to the Crown Prince’s group, I was only getting Michael Ayres’s halo, and that Roena would be the one to be chosen by him.
What an arrogant look. She was acting stupid, as if she didn’t know that Marie had taken control of most of the mansion’s maids, and that I was the one who controlled her. How could she be so foolish? Did she believe that Mlang, the head maid, was on Roena’s side?
I wanted to slap her on the cheek, but I held back because I didn’t want to cause a commotion. As always, Roena’s maids and followers were the problem. I don’t know how fortunate it is that Mlang isn’t among them.
After becoming the head maid, Mlang’s body became very busy. So she had stopped doing Roena’s hair. She occasionally touched her hair at her request, but she was generally interested in taking care of the Bishvarts Family’s household affairs with Mother.
There was always an old butler by her side, and Mlang was moving her lips as if memorizing what he was telling her, listening to his words.
Her personality wasn’t kind, but she was very diligent and not as fierce as Margo. She often listened to the people around her without being stubborn.
So Mother liked Mlang, and Marie was still watching her movements without complaint and cooperating.
Mlang, who quickly subdued the maids with Marie’s full support, secretly came to me and told me this and that, as if to repay me, even though she was busy with the flood of work.
She believed that doing so would help me. She was similar to Marie in that she was fidgeting and watching my mood to gain even a little more trust, but there was a huge difference in the degree of purity.
Mlang was serving me with all her heart. So, whenever I saw her, I sometimes felt a different emotion than I did with Arina.
“I don’t know what kind of gift it is, but they say it’s such a great item that the Master is moving.” The butler is not opening his mouth easily either.”
Since I couldn’t meet Roena, I called Mlang and asked her about the recent events, and casually brought up the story about the gift.
Mlang told me in a soft voice that she was also carefully poking around here and there because she wanted to know about it too.
It must be a precious item. Something so precious and so precious that it can’t be moved quietly.
If the rumor spread, someone else could preempt it - the Count’s power is very weak - so they were being very careful.
It was a gift for the Crown Prince who would succeed the Emperor, but it was such an overreaction that I wondered if they wanted to look good.
“Pulcher told Roena that she was expecting a gift.”
“The Empress?”
“Yes. Roena said it, so it must be true. That’s why she rarely went to the Master and asked for help.”
“The Empress…”
Is it an overreaction or a well-founded feeling that the Empress is constantly being mentioned in Roena’s affairs? There is no one to give me a definite answer to this, so I am just frustrated and even feel helpless.
“Miss, did I say something unnecessary?”
Mlang carefully asked again. She looked worried, as if she thought my frowning was her fault. I shook my head and denied it.
“No, that’s not it. Mlang, you’re doing very well.”
Her cheeks turned red, as if she was happy with the rare compliment. Even though she looked skinny and neurotic, Mlang was quite cute at times like this.
“Call me anytime. I’ll do anything for you, Miss.”
I patted Mlang, who was bowing deeply and uttering loyal words, on the shoulder a few times and thanked her. She was shivering and rejoicing, as if she was happy with that trivial contact.
“Just keep doing this in the future, cute Mlang.”
“Yes, Miss.”
I gently stroked her cheek once and left the spot. Now, Mlang will diligently move her body to fulfill her duty as the head maid again.
By the way, when will Roena be back? Even if she comes back now, it will take some time to change her dress and wash up. But knowing her personality, she will somehow come to me. She’ll say that she came to see me first, and that she’s really happy.
Walking down the long hallway, I glanced out the window. There was still quite a bit of time left before the sun set. So let’s wait slowly.
But Roena didn’t come to me until the sun went down that day. Even considering the time it took to return to the mansion, wash up, and eat, she had spent quite a long time, but I couldn’t see a single shadow of her.
It was surprising when I thought of Roena, who followed me around and whined for me to be with her.
I don’t know if Roena has changed or if Margo has stopped her, but the truth was that I felt strange.
And Roena didn’t come to me the next day, or the day after that.
According to Marie, she heard that I was looking for her, but she didn’t move from her room and spent all her time with Margo. I didn’t know what she was up to.
The stepfather sent a butler the day before he boarded the ship to ask what I wanted to buy. I replied that what I wanted to buy was in the capital, so he didn’t have to worry about it.
Whether that was the right answer or not, the money pouch that the stepfather sent was handed over through the butler that evening. It was added that I could buy anything I wanted with this money, and if it was not enough, I could ask for more. I felt like laughing at that shallow trick, but I quietly received the money pouch without showing it.
The Empress and the stepfather seemed to want to make Roena stand out more than anyone else on the Crown Prince’s birthday. Even while disregarding my pride, which was known as one of the Crown Prince’s group.
