185 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards Episode 185
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Chatoul’s actions were obvious. She intended to prove the Witch was real, clarifying the merits and demerits of the situation.
I chuckled at her shallow trick, but most people remained silent about her actions. Whether they were slowly enjoying the sight of the Emperor’s concubine struggling, or if they had other intentions, most of the nobles invited today watched the beauty claiming to be a Witch and Chatoul with intriguing eyes.
This year, Madam was living a life that went back and forth between heaven and hell several times a day. The fact that the Emperor’s old body was rapidly deteriorating was no longer a secret. There was no way they wouldn’t know, with the temple’s private carriage rushing to the Imperial Palace every time. However, they couldn’t commit the sacrilege of openly discussing it, so they were just quietly waiting for the inevitable end.
The Emperor’s condition varied from day to day. Sometimes he was surprisingly fine, and other times he was gasping for breath so heavily that they wondered if they should open the prepared coffin.
The strong man who had once ruled the continent was now covered in gray, dull skin, burying his face in his concubine’s voluptuous chest and exuding the aura of death.
Just last year, the Emperor was indulging in alcohol and women, welcoming new prostitutes, but even he didn’t know that it was the last of his youth. Chatoul, who shared the Emperor’s bed more often than the Empress, also failed to notice that the shadow of the Grim Reaper was draped like a canopy over a corner of the absolute ruler’s bedroom.
It was only after the Crown Prince’s birthday that they could even mention the Emperor’s deteriorating health. The empire’s sun, who had led the party in a fairly healthy state just last year, had already called the doctor and priest over two hundred times this year.
One of the many rumors that swept through society was that Chatoul turned pale and burst into tears like a child when the Emperor, who had been sleeping peacefully with a calm expression all night, suddenly gasped as if he were about to die.
It was also said that the doctor who had calmed the Emperor’s seizure but failed to show any further recovery was beheaded at her command.
Chatoul’s foundation came entirely from the Emperor, so her anxiety was met with both sympathy and ridicule.
In the world of prostitutes, it was common to collude with old fortune-tellers or healers to cast spells on opponents or encourage abortions.
Since they traded on their fleeting youth, their anxiety about the future was greater than anyone else’s. So they tried to penetrate their future with all sorts of sorcery and slander.
Chatoul probably wanted the miracle that the Witch could show. So she wanted to see something believable with everyone else. Therefore, if the beauty claiming to be a Witch did not live up to that belief, she would face the most miserable death as previously declared.
The beauty opened her mouth calmly, as if she wasn’t afraid. Her confidently raised lips made it seem as if it was natural for her to prophesy in front of everyone. She was that confident in her words.
But as soon as she uttered the word ‘sword,’ a commotion arose from the back, and people began to part to the sides.
They cowered as if they had seen someone with a disease. The faces of the women quickly fanning themselves with their fans were filled with undisguised disgust and ridicule.
The source of the commotion was soon revealed. A obese man wearing a black Mask waddled forward. The nobles whispered the word ‘Grand Duke’ each time he passed.
“Look how much fatter he’s gotten since last year. He looks like a pig passing by. And he’s so lecherous with that body?”
“I don’t know if you can even breathe if you’re under him. You’d be lucky if you didn’t get crushed to death by his fat. To think that such a person is the empire’s only Grand Duke, it’s too shameful to live anywhere!”
That person is the Grand Duke?
I opened my eyes wide and stared at the one referred to as the ‘Grand Duke.’ He was covering half of his face with a black Mask and revealing the other half, but his cheeks, chin, and neck, which were fully exposed to people’s gazes, were so scarred by severe burns that it was difficult to look at him.
Numerous jewels were haphazardly embedded in the black clothes reminiscent of a undertaker, shaking back and forth. A fancy sword that seemed to be for decoration was precariously hanging from his thick waist.
The cloak meticulously embroidered with gold thread was dragging on the floor, as if the length hadn’t been properly measured, drawing everyone’s glares and ridicule.
His blue hair, tied with a ribbon, barely covered his neck, and it scattered messily, catching on his collar with every step he took.
The man’s appearance, wiping the sweat that was constantly forming on his chin with a silk handkerchief in one hand, as if he was struggling just to walk, was quite unsightly. There was no imperial dignity befitting the Grand Duke anywhere.
But Chatoul and the others welcomed him as the Grand Duke. In particular, Madam puffed out her lips as if she was dissatisfied with not being able to hear the prophecy, and unhesitatingly poured out words close to complaining.
“I was just about to hear something interesting. How can you ruin the fun by showing up like this without warning? You’re really too much, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
I quickly examined the man called the Grand Duke and swallowed a sigh.
Is Theodore Bitrice not the Grand Duke? But I clearly saw the burn scars back then?
At times like this, I feel pathetic for having lived without knowing anything.
I thought I had lived fiercely, but looking back now, I was no different from a halfwit who knew nothing.
Even if I hadn’t had the opportunity to see the Grand Duke because I had never been invited to such a banquet before, I should have been able to hear rumors, but I don’t know why nothing comes to mind. It’s just frustrating.
The Grand Duke laughed loudly at Madam’s words and opened his mouth as if to appease her. His deeply sunken, rough voice was grating on my nerves. Everyone around him frowned and looked at him.
“Haha, can’t you just listen again now? There’s plenty of time, isn’t there?”
He was talking to Chatoul in a friendly manner. People continued to whisper as they looked at Madam and the Grand Duke.
“I had forgotten because he hadn’t come to the capital for a while, but I don’t know why he came.”
“Why else would he come? His Majesty is failing, so he’s nosing around in case something happens.”
“Listen to that voice. It really gives me the creeps.”
I covered my mouth with my fan and asked one of the ladies I had recently met in a low voice.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke, is that His Majesty’s brother?”
“Oh my, I guess the Bischwartz Young Lady doesn’t know much about His Highness the Grand Duke. Yes, that person is the empire’s only Grand Duke.”
“I see. Now that I think about it, his blue hair is the same as His Highness the Crown Prince. But does he always wear a Mask?”
“No. It’s been like that since he suffered a severe burn as a child. He was a really handsome man, but his face was badly damaged by that incident. He must have been very heartbroken, because he’s been wearing a Mask ever since, and his body has started to become obese little by little.”
“You said since he was a child? Then that means no one has seen His Highness’s bare face during that time?”
“Why wouldn’t they? Although it’s a bit disrespectful to say.”
The woman lowered her voice even more secretly and whispered.
“Who would want to see a face disfigured by burns? It’s better to pretend you don’t know. Besides, he’s become a lecher who doesn’t discriminate between women. They say he’s crazy about young and beautiful women, so Young Lady, be careful.”
“You mean him?”
“Yes. There are more than one or two Young Ladies who have been ruined by His Highness. Some even committed suicide because they couldn’t overcome the shame.”
The woman gleefully expressed her disgust for the Grand Duke. She said that she had already lost two wives, and there were ominous rumors circulating that they were killed by the Grand Duke’s abuse, not by illness.
She also added that one of the prostitutes who had dealt with the Grand Duke showed her the marks of strangulation and accused him of being a madman.
“He’s a pervert.”
The woman’s eyes, as she said that, were filled with a base joy at the reality that she could ridicule someone higher than herself. She gestured towards the beauty who was standing in a corner as if she had been forgotten by the people, and whispered again.
“By the way, how long is that Witch going to stand there?”
The Grand Duke had so much to say that he wouldn’t let go of Chatoul.
Even when Madam openly frowned and tried to leave, he followed her without noticing and kept talking.
Thanks to that, the people who had lost interest in the Witch began to gather in groups of three or five to enjoy the banquet, and I was also about to move towards those who were calling me. If it hadn’t been for the familiar voice quietly standing behind me and saying my name.
“Bischwartz Young Lady.”
I covered my face with my fan and slyly turned only my eyes to the side. A man wearing a strange Mask was hiding half of his body behind a pillar and looking directly at me.
It’s the man who was standing next to the beauty. I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but I never thought I would meet him again like this.
“Beatrice… should I call you that? Or should I call you someone who’s hiding their identity?”
“Oh dear, that’s a voice full of disappointment. But well, there’s nothing I can do about it. For now, please consider me someone who’s hiding their identity. Until we have a proper conversation.”
He shrugged without denying my words. And he stepped back slightly, as if telling me to follow him.
I excused myself to the people around me and quietly left the hall. Before heading elsewhere, I suddenly turned my head and looked at where the beauty was, but she was already gone. Chatoul was caught by the Grand Duke and didn’t even know that the beauty was gone.
Beatrice found a secluded place in the Imperial Palace and was standing there waiting. It was a secret place where he could avoid people’s gazes, so it made my spine tingle. I don’t know how he knew such a place, but he seemed very familiar with the Imperial Palace’s geography.
“Could you please put on a slightly warmer expression? You always show me only a cold smile.”
He was acting as if he had a great friendship with me, shamelessly demanding affection. I was speechless at his audacity, but I answered in a calm voice as if nothing was wrong.
“Meetings with Beatrice have never been ordinary. That’s why my emotions keep changing.”
“How so?”
“At first, it was gratitude, then curiosity, then doubt, and now…”
“And now?”
Instead of opening my mouth to speak right away, I folded the fan covering my face. And I strongly stared into his eyes hidden within the Mask.
Since I knew the face of the man wearing a lie well, it was not difficult to imagine what kind of expression he was looking at me with. However, the brown hair that was dyed and flowing down over his shoulders felt a little awkward. It was as if it wasn’t him.
“I feel like I should be wearing the Mask you’re wearing instead.”
Theodore Bitrice’s appearance had a wild beauty that was no less than that of the Crown Prince.
Therefore, there was no way that someone like him would not be widely known. Isn’t the social world fond of beautiful things? Even if he showed his face slightly, it was obvious that he would be on everyone’s lips that day and his personal information would be dug up.
But I have no memory of him, either in my previous life or now. Despite his unforgettable appearance. Above all, if I assume that he is the Grand Duke, his insignificant presence is very suspicious.
Why? Why has this kind of person been buried all along?
This was a question that often came to mind whenever I saw the man.
But today, it seemed like some of my past doubts were being resolved. Because two guesses were possible.
One. After putting a fake person in the forefront, he himself wears a Mask like this every time, so most of the social world doesn’t know Bitrice’s true face.
The fact that no one has seen his face since he was burned was giving strength to this hypothesis.
Two. Bitrice has been pretending to be a fake noble until now. This man is a bold con artist.
Of course, considering the appearance he has shown so far, it was true that the former carried more weight. Strangely, I didn’t think the man in the hall was the Grand Duke.
Because a strange intuition was whispering to me. That this man is the Emperor’s young half-brother. The reason why I am treating him like a noble was also for this reason.
Bitrice let out a small laugh at my words and raised both hands above his shoulders, showing his palms. I don’t know what kind of surrender he was showing, but he seemed very amused behind the Mask.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think I can give you the Mask. Because if I take this off, I don’t think I can hide it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“A very rude yet simple question and my reaction to it. So I should quickly ask while you’re hiding your expression. Bischwartz Young Lady, have you made any progress since your father’s funeral?”
I didn’t answer and calmly waited for his next words to follow. Theodore Bitrice was similar to the Crown Prince, but he was more skilled at irritating people.
His gloomy tone was not only unpleasant but also made the other person feel repulsed. Perhaps it was even more so because he was talking as if he was hiding in a dark corner. A forced silence was descending.
