Translator: Nox

198 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper

Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 198

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In her previous life, Roena captivated the Crown Prince at a ball and rose to the position of Crown Princess.

Everyone was appalled by the unconventional act of choosing a partner after only meeting a few times, but the Crown Prince pushed so hard that everyone had no choice but to accept it.

At that time, I was in no position to use my power in society, so I had to watch Roena emerge as the flower of society.

In fact, it was generally accepted that she would become Empress, as the Emperor was known to be handing over the throne to the Crown Prince soon.

Lavalliere used this to reveal how Mother and I had tormented Roena, and we were banished from the family and confined to a shabby mansion on the outskirts of the capital.

The soldier who brought us to the mansion spat on the floor, saying that we should be grateful to Roena for not being imprisoned at her earnest request and live our lives thanking her.

Although we were not tortured due to our status as nobles, it was not good to live in a mansion where all the doors were broken and the cold wind was blowing in, wearing only a thin dress that exposed our ankles. I, who was a little healthier, could endure it, but Mother could not.

The frail Mother soon caught pneumonia and began to fall ill frequently. In fact, she would have recovered easily if she had taken medicine quickly, but no one cared about our health, so Mother's condition worsened day by day.

If Roena hadn't pleaded with the Crown Prince to find us much later, Mother would have died on the dirty bed.

But death was inevitable. Roena sent a doctor, but he said there was no hope.

In addition, Seril, who came to find me on Roena's orders, grinned and cursed us, saying that it was our own fault and we should die quickly.

She cackled, saying that Roena had sent money for us but would not give it to us. In fact, since we had never received it, we could not know if Roena had really sent money for Mother and me.

However, everything was a mess. Dirty water and a bed full of mites, furniture covered in dust, and even a moldy, dried-up piece of bread.

Mother endured and endured in it, but she continued to cough up blood and gradually moved towards death. It was common to be afraid of being bitten by rats while sleeping.

The opportunity to start over, the favor Roena had given us, was nothing more than a nightmare of repeated misery. People said that we had to pay more severely for our sins and recited Roena's mercy like a song.

We were ridiculed even on the day Mother passed away. In fact, now that I think about it, it is difficult to say for sure whether Mother passed away. She disappeared from my sight before I could see her last moments.

That day, I thought I should feed Mother something warm, so I went outside for a while and came back empty-handed. But Mother, who should have been lying weakly on the bed, was nowhere to be seen. I searched every corner of the mansion and called out your name, but I couldn't find you.

I went outside and asked if anyone had seen Mother, but everyone spat at me and punched me.

The story of the evil stepmother and stepsister who abused the Crown Princess was so famous that it was performed by street troupes.

Seized by a strange feeling that might have been anger, frustration, sadness, or fear, I held onto my throbbing body and returned to the mansion. And for two days, I sat blankly on Mother's bed without eating, drinking, or moving.

Strangely, I couldn't sleep. I felt like my soul had been worn away. Is that why? The will to live did not arise.

Maybe Mother was tired of this life and left. I even came to think this.

In the meantime, Seril came again and ridiculed me. She pointed her finger and giggled, saying that Mother was tired of someone like me and ran away. She said that Mother's illness was just an act to leave me.

After talking for a long time, Seril said that she didn't know why Roena was showing me mercy and threw me a pure white dress with no patterns. It was very thin and light, unsuitable for the cold mansion. Like a shroud.

So I said to Seril.

'Tell Roena. Tell her to come see me. She is the only one who can decorate my last moments.'

And I jumped off in front of Roena, who ran in a hurry.

It was a death that I had been trying to forget, overwhelmed by the shock of returning and the determination not to repeat that day.

But here I am facing it again. It's like forcibly digging up the memories of that day, as if to remind me of the past. I wanted to cry at the cruel fate.

Is this the reason for my failure, my arrogant behavior of being confident that Mother would not get pneumonia again because everything had changed a lot? No, with even my adoptive father dead, why did I think Mother could escape the Scythe of the Reaper?

Why am I so foolish? I wanted to live a better life, but I miss my previous self. The reality of having to face the fact that Mother might die was bitterly approaching.

I had finally received confirmation of the documents that would allow me to take control of the mansion. Still, things were much better than before on the outside. Why is everything going wrong like this...?

So I rubbed my cheek against Mother's hand and murmured pleadingly.

"I forgot that you left before. So please wake up. You said it was just the two of us. Don't leave me alone. Please. I'm begging you like this."

The most earnest plea in my life was flowing out through my parched lips.

Mother must not leave me yet. You must not leave me alone. It couldn't be.

I put strength into the hand I was holding and kept murmuring. Wake up and look at me, I said.

At that moment, Mother miraculously opened her eyes with difficulty and looked at me. And she moved her lips and asked me.

"...The baby?"

I stared blankly at Mother for a moment as if frozen, then quickly gestured to the midwife holding the baby.

The baby was fast asleep after eating his fill of the wet nurse's milk that the butler had prepared in advance. The midwife opened her wrinkled lips and said as if to reassure me.

"He ate the wet nurse's milk very vigorously and is sleeping well. He is a strong young master."

At the word "young master," Mother smiled faintly as if she was happy. Her pale face was as cold as a corpse.

Mother reached out to hold the baby. The baby's face, tightly wrapped in thick cloth, was very small. But his features were as harmonious as Mother's.

It was strange that I felt like I saw my adoptive father in this situation. It wasn't because the baby's hair resembled my adoptive father.

It just looked like he was definitely my adoptive father's son. It wasn't just me who thought so, as everyone mentioned the dead adoptive father and wiped away tears. Thanks to this, there would be no gossip, so it was a fortunate thing.

"Valerian. This child is Valerian."

Mother said in a panting, crawling voice. Whispering that it was the name my adoptive father had given him before he died. Tears streamed down her cheeks, sparkling like light.

The sight of the baby yawning and pursing his lips was like a miracle. So Mother repeatedly told me the baby's name.

"Your brother's name is Valerian. Valerian de Bischwartz. Our Lian."

Soon after, Mother sobbed as if she couldn't bear it. Her face was filled with relief and she was panting as if she was about to faint, but she seemed to be regaining her strength and her complexion was gradually returning.

"Fortunately, the bleeding has stopped. The crisis has passed."

At the same time, the doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief. He widened his eyes as if he had just discovered me, then nodded with a kind smile.

"I'm glad. That you didn't leave me."

My younger brother, Valerian, nicknamed Lian, was in Mother's arms, frowning as if the surroundings were noisy.

At the sight, the midwife was moved that he would become a strong man, and Mother sobbed again and gasped for breath. And she mumbled that she was sleepy. Still, she couldn't easily close her eyes because I was anxious.

I pleaded with Mother. I felt like a child.

"If you promise to open your eyes again like you just did."

"I promise."

I turned my eyes slightly to look at the doctor, and he nodded as if it was okay.

So I gave Mother a short kiss on the forehead and murmured that she had worked hard. And I followed the doctor, who was leaving the room for a moment to get medicine.

"Will Mother be able to regain her former health?"

The doctor was sitting in the drawing room, drinking the water that the maid had brought as if to take a breather. He frowned at my question and shook his head.

"She has suffered a lot of mental anguish and has lost too much blood this time, so it is difficult to guarantee. She will be much weaker than before. She will be sick often."

"To the extent that she will be lying in bed all the time?"

When I hurriedly added, recalling the nightmare of the past, the doctor said that it was not that bad.

"She will just get tired easily and get tired quickly. And she will catch a cold often when the seasons change."

"You can spend as much money as you want, so don't spare any good medicine."

"Yes. And congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Congratulations to you too, young lady. So please fill this out."

Before I knew it, the butler was standing in front of me with stationery, an envelope, and the family seal. He said to me in a casual voice as he looked at me. As if he had forgotten what had happened earlier.

"You must inform everyone of this happy news."

Perhaps because the tension had been relieved, my whole body ached, but there was still a lot to do. But I should be glad that the worst didn't happen.

I swallowed the rising sigh and picked up the pen. And I began to write letters to the family members.

The content was one. The news that Valerian de Bischwartz, the heir to the family, was born.

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Lian's birth was met with formulaic congratulations and sinister jealousy.

Due to the old superstition that demons might harm the child, relatives who did not know the child's face spread ridiculous rumors, spouting nonsense, due to the custom of not revealing the child to relatives for 100 days.

It was only because the guardian pressured them on my behalf that they didn't keep talking endlessly.

Only the dead adoptive father's sister was purely happy. Madame de Lavalier came in person to congratulate Mother on the news that a son had been born.

Everyone was dumbfounded because it was the first time, but Lavalliere had a nonchalant expression on her face. No, her contempt for Mother was still there, but she seemed to be suppressing her feelings for the child of her dead brother. It's really amazing.

Perhaps blood was that precious, everyone was so frozen that they almost fainted when she bought a gift and handed it over.

It could be said that Madame de Lavalier was showing the kindest and gentlest attitude of all the appearances she had shown to Mother so far. Such a gentle tone. I doubted whether the person in front of me was Lavalliere herself. So much so that Mother froze and even shed tears.

She almost sobbed as soon as Madam said she would come back to see Lian's face. She was so overwhelmed with the feeling of being recognized that she cried so much that the people around her were embarrassed.

Lavalliere handed over a handkerchief with a sullen expression, and Mother was very moved and said that she wanted to show Lian to her as soon as possible.

Turning our heads and sighing at the not-so-bad sight was the only thing we could do.

The Madam met Mother and met me separately in the drawing room to talk about Margo. The Madam cherished Roena so much that she loved her like her own daughter.

So she treated her acquaintances well. In particular, her trust in Margo was great.

That's why she didn't want to believe it when I sent a letter about Margo. She repeatedly emphasized that there must have been some misunderstanding.

However, when I mentioned the testimonies of the people, the story that Margo had gone to see a Witch, and the fact that the handwriting on the doll was the same, she sighed with an astonished expression.

"So what do you want to do?"

"We'll have to do it according to the rules."

Madame de Lavalier did not have enough influence to control the elders of the family or the people of the mansion.

She can only exert her power in the 'Lavalliere' mansion. So the only way to save Margo would be to persuade me.

Lavalliere regarded Margo's actions as a choice for Roena and was very sorry. She wanted to give the old vixen a chance somehow, but when I didn't allow it, she kept drinking tea as if she was thirsty.

If Margo disappeared, Roena would have almost no one to rely on, so she seemed to want to keep her in the mansion somehow.

"The worst thing is that she doesn't admit her sins. I wouldn't be so angry if she had obediently confessed her sins."

The Madam frowned at my words as if she was in trouble. She was very troubled by the reality of having to choose between the family's heir and her beloved Roena.

Her heart was with Roena, but if she, the great elder of the family, turned away from the child who might become the heir, the traditional discipline could collapse.

The Madam was a person who hated the fact that I was taking control of the Bishvarts Family with the guardian at the forefront. So she wanted to pass the position on to their legitimate bloodline. That was Roena and my younger brother Lian, who was born this time.