167 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 167
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My head is buzzing. My mouth is parched and dry, as if filled with sand.
A fierce fire seems to rise from inside my stomach, engulfing my entire body. The inside of my eyes aches as if they're tearing apart.
"There's nothing particularly wrong, so I don't know why she's in so much pain."
Someone mutters, placing a hand on my head. He doesn't seem to feel the heat raging through my body, as he keeps repeating that it's strange.
"For now, keep watching her, and if anything seems off, call me."
I barely manage to open my eyes, and a familiar face comes into view. It's the Bishvarts Family's doctor. Next to him, Marie, Seril, and Blan are standing side by side, looking anxious.
"Are you awake? Can you tell me where it hurts?"
He was about to get up, but as soon as he meets my gaze, he asks with a delighted expression.
I try to open my mouth to answer, but only a metallic sound and hot air come out; no other sound emerges. My tongue feels stiff.
But the doctor, thinking I don't want to speak, spouts nonsense, saying, "It might just be fatigue."
"Get some rest."
Wait a minute. Can't you feel this heat? I really hurt. My head feels like it's about to explode.
I reach out to grab him, but my whole body is as if tightly bound, unable to move. It seems only my thoughts are awake. Only my eyes can move.
A moment later, the canopy curtains are drawn, and my vision darkens. "My lady, get some rest," Marie says in a whisper.
No matter how much I shout that it's not just fatigue, they act as if they can't hear me. A wheezing breath escapes my parted lips once more. At the same time, sleep begins to wash over me again.
I shouldn't sleep. I feel like I need to take medicine...
I try to force my flickering eyes open to fight off sleep, but soon my eyelids droop, and my vision blurs. My hazy mind is foggy, as if enveloped in mist. I try to slowly open and close my eyes, but I can't stop the drowsiness.
To make matters worse, a warm heat rises around my eyes. I feel like crying for some reason, so I crinkle my nose and sob softly. And then, as if surrendering, I quietly close my eyes.
I think I feel a warm stream of water trickling down my cheek, and then I lose consciousness.
Am I awake? Or have I regained consciousness? No, this is a dream.
I was standing in the darkness. I blankly look around, and the surroundings become familiar, and I begin to distinguish them. The first thing I see is the terrace window, with its white curtains swaying gently.
I reach out and open the window. It must be a night when even the moon hasn't risen, as the terrace railing barely reveals its faint form in the darkness.
It was so faint that it was difficult to notice the pure white foot resting neatly on it unless you looked closely.
I slowly raise my head and look at the owner of the foot. Roena was standing there with a blank expression. As I slowly examine her appearance, I realize that Roena looks very familiar, and I let out a sound, "Ah."
The tangled hair, the plain white dress without a single jewel, were all exactly like me before I died.
Did she feel that I had realized it? Suddenly, Roena smiles. It was a sneer. Her sharply gleaming eyes looked consumed by malice, just like I used to be.
She opens her mouth and says,
"This time, it's me."
And before I can even grab her, she falls straight down. Shocked, I rush to the terrace railing, but the body that has fallen to the ground is already lying there, limbs twisted grotesquely, dead.
As I blankly stare at it, something that looks like lights begins to gather one by one from somewhere. Torches and lanterns.
The imperial palace soldiers gather in groups of three or five, examining Roena's body. Then, as if someone has appeared, they quickly part to both sides.
A woman and a man, holding hands, approach Roena's body. Despite seeing the horribly mangled corpse, they remain very calm. The woman and the man talk for a moment, then give instructions to the soldiers.
Then people bring a white cloth and begin to wrap the body. It was a swift response. No one asked why Roena was dead there. They simply quietly clean up the surroundings.
But suddenly, the woman raises her head and looks in the direction where I am. As if she knows I'm standing on the terrace.
I gasp and quickly inhale with a small scream. The woman, a beautiful woman in a fancy dress, was me.
"Huck!!"
I raise myself halfway up and cough violently. I thump my chest with my fist, which is aching as if it's tearing apart from the sudden intake of air, and heave my shoulders.
Saliva dribbles down through my parted lips. My throat hurts. It felt like something was surging up from my throat.
In the end, I can't bear it and vomit up sour liquid. The blanket becomes stained and soaked with the liquid I've spewed out.
I feel like I had a dream, but I can't remember it. I just feel unpleasant. Irritation is rising.
"Marie."
I pull back the curtains and grope for the small bell on the side table. I shake it vigorously and call Marie's name. After a moment, the sound of the door opening is heard, and someone walks in.
"Marie?"
"Yes, my lady. Are you awake?"
"Bring me a new blanket. And some warm water too."
Marie, who has come into the room, skillfully pulls back the blanket and goes back outside. Before long, she returns with a new blanket in her hands.
Seril, who followed Marie in, approaches me with a small tray holding a cup of water.
Marie, surprised by my sweat-soaked appearance, asks, "Shall I bring you a wet towel?"
I shake my head. And I drink the water that Seril brought.
"When did I come into the room?"
Drinking the water seems to clear my head a bit. That's why I was able to realize that I had no memory of what happened after I collapsed at the temple.
"Yesterday evening. You've been sleeping ever since you collapsed."
"What time is it now?"
"It's night."
Did I sleep for a whole day? I look at Marie and Seril as if asking why they didn't wake me, and they begin to make excuses as if they feel very wronged. They said they tried to wake me, but they couldn't because I wouldn't wake up.
"I didn't wake up?"
"Yes."
It's strange. I don't usually sleep much, so I've never slept this long or deeply before.
Moreover, I'm very sensitive, so if someone calls me or shakes me, I wake up quickly, no matter how tired I am. But to have slept straight for a day without eating anything... I couldn't understand it.
"Why did they say I collapsed?"
"The doctor said that there's nothing wrong with your body, my lady. So he said it would be better to just leave you alone until you woke up."
Judging by how long I slept, they said it must be because I was overworked. But I definitely felt like I had a fever...
I was about to wave Marie and Seril away when, as if suddenly remembering something, I asked them,
"Did any letters come?"
"No."
"I see. You may leave now."
Marie and Seril quietly slip out of the room.
Even after they leave, I sit blankly for a while, then rummage through the drawer of the side table and take out the letter that I had crumpled up and stuffed in there. And as if afraid that someone would see it, I light a candle and burn it.
I couldn't fall asleep until dawn, so I leaned blankly against the bed. When morning came, I went down to the dining room and found Mother already sitting there, looking more depressed than usual.
She barely acknowledged my greeting and seemed to be deep in thought, moving her lips as if she was about to speak.
But that was only for a moment. When she saw Roena entering the dining room, she pressed her lips shut and waited for the food to come out.
"You must have been very tired."
Roena asks me in a friendly voice. I nod listlessly and reply, "I guess so."
There have been a few times when the three of us have had breakfast like this when Father wasn't around, but it's never been this quiet. I feel down today, and the feeling isn't good.
It's not so much because I'm having a meal with Roena, but just that a chill runs down my spine, as if something is about to happen.
The gloomy weather, which had been threatening since dawn, with raindrops starting to fall little by little, was like that. Judging by the way the raindrops are gradually getting thicker, it seems like it will rain even harder.
"Why aren't the letters coming..."
Mother, who had been eating in silence, mutters as if sighing. She must have boarded the ship by now, so why isn't there any news? She places her other hand on her swollen belly and speaks in a way that seems strangely lacking in energy, like someone who is weak.
"You don't look well."
At my words, Mother raises her eyes and looks at me. And as if she had been waiting for it, she begins to complain. She said her stomach and back hurt so much that she couldn't bear it.
"I didn't hurt this much when I was carrying you in my womb. A real rascal must be coming out."
"Tell a maid to massage the parts that ache."
"That's only temporary. But it's better than nothing."
Mother takes a napkin and wipes around her mouth. And she drinks lukewarm water several times.
Since having the child, Mother has become extremely careful about what she eats, so she hardly drinks anything other than the tea that Father gives her.
"I should get up first."
Mother was acting as if Roena wasn't there, only making eye contact with me. It was completely different from when Father was around, so Roena was looking at her with a very bewildered expression.
Ever since she said she was jealous of having a younger sibling, the relationship between Roena and Mother had become noticeably awkward.
When Father was around, she tried to show that she was no different than before, but it was just an effort, and it wasn't sincere, so it was even more awkward. But she had never been so unilaterally ignored as she was today.
"Shall I support you?"
"No. Didn't you say you collapsed yesterday because you were tired? So you should eat more."
"Get some rest. You must do that for the sake of your sibling."
"I will."
Mother comes to me and kisses me on the cheek. And without looking at Roena, who is looking at her, she takes the maids and leaves the dining room.
Roena, with her shoulders hunched, stares at Mother's retreating figure and bites her lip.
The area around her eyes was warm and flushed. Her eyes, swollen and clear as if she was about to cry, were shaking weakly as if she had been hurt.
"Is she angry with me?"
"She cherishes you so much, there's no way."
Roena raises her voice at my nonchalant reply. She was about to say 'but,' as if she wanted to refute my words no matter what. So I quickly cut her off.
"Mother was the one who took better care of you than me. She's just not feeling well. Maybe she's just more depressed because it's a rainy day. Why are you being so sensitive?"
"But..."
"I'll get up first too."
"Aren't you going to eat more?"
"I don't feel well. I need to rest."
Roena presses her lips shut at my curt reply. It's ridiculous how she obediently backs down, as if she thinks it's a loss to say anything more.
I stifle a snort and brush past her. No, as I brush past her, I suddenly see Roena, dead with her limbs twisted in a deformed way, and I stop in my tracks.
At the same time, without even realizing it, I grab her hand and turn her towards me. Roena, suddenly having her wrist grabbed, looks at me with wide eyes, as if she's very surprised.
"You..."
"Sissae?"
What on earth was that I just saw? What was that...!!
Wasn't Father the one who was going to die?
Wait, Father?
Suddenly, the dining room door opens, and the butler comes in with a pale face. And he says to us, who are looking at him, with a stern expression.
"You must come to the drawing room."
The sound of thunder rumbles. I slowly let go of her hand and take a step back. I had a bad feeling.
