Ch#300
Fragment of the Broken Glass Slipper Side Story 5 Episode 7
Indeed, Cisse showed different reactions the more Roena changed little by little. It seemed the venom that had permeated her had somewhat subsided.
Thus, Roena tried even harder. Correcting habits wasn't easy, but she did her utmost to show Cisse.
A little more, just a little more. If time passed like this, perhaps she and Cisse could meet not as parallel lines, but on the same path.
Of course, reactions from those around her to the sudden changes were mixed. Roena felt fear for the first time seeing someone's furrowed brow, but she endured with a composed demeanor.
There were times she felt intimidated, but she held back. For the sake of seeing a kind Cisse, she could gladly bear this much.
However, contrary to Roena's hopes, their relationship did not easily change. The death of their father and the troop conscription due to the grand duke's rebellion had reversed Roena and Cisse's situations.
Cisse, who had been quite intimidated by her hatching from the egg and shining even more brilliantly than before, seized control of the family with her mother immediately after the count's funeral.
Due to the rebellion, most who followed Roena had left the territory, leaving no one in the mansion to protect her.
For the first time, the balance of power was broken. No, it had reversed. Everyone who had followed Roena was replaced in an instant.
It was unfair treatment, but no one dared to protest. They merely shrank back and watched cautiously. In these difficult times of civil war, being expelled from the count's family would be disastrous.
Because of this, no one boldly defended Roena in front of Cisse. They pretended not to notice even as Roena was demoted from Lady to Roena, and then to 'wench.'
On the contrary, they felt a strange pleasure in the fact that a noble lady was doing the same work as them and bullied her.
For the first time, the people around her became Roena's 'enemies.'
Roena was surprised and frightened by this. She realized that others could pretend to love her, and that all the affection she had received so far stemmed from her appearance and status, which saddened her.
This is what Cisse meant. I truly knew nothing.
Once she realized the reality, her mind became rather at ease. Thus, Roena did not cry much even when Mago left her side because of Cisse. Instead, she felt ashamed that she had clung too much to Mago all this time.
'Mago, I tried to change, but I still had a long way to go. So it's natural that Cisse hates me.'
In the life at the bottom, the beauty that everyone had praised endlessly became useless. Unless it became an object of ridicule, it was rather inconvenient. The 'tears' once praised as pearls became targets of contempt. None of this helped sustain life at all.
Roena came to know how foolish her life had been. Ironically, though Cisse had thrown her into the muck, she used it as a stepping stone to cultivate her inner self, like a lotus blooming in the mud.
Like a snake shedding its skin, she cast off the childish, tantrum-throwing Roena of her youth and realized self-growth as a more mature being. Like processing raw stone into a beautiful jewel, Roena's inner self was growing brilliantly.
Thus, she did not find life at the bottom so despairing. It even had its own amusements.
The maids' lives were especially so. Through them, Roena realized that this place was similar to high society. The only differences were the quality and level of life; the way people lived was the same everywhere.
Jealousy and rivalry toward each other, affection for a favored man—these were no different between noble ladies and lowly maids. Rather, the maids who honestly expressed their feelings without hiding behind fanning themselves with fans were far better.
Even when they clashed fiercely against each other, they left no room for inner resentment. It was entirely different from the noble way of suppressing and enduring unfair situations inwardly until ultimately destroying oneself.
Through them, Roena understood the meaning of the pretentiousness Cisse had spoken of. Having entered a noble family from commoner life, Cisse's perspective was bound to differ.
That was why they had always been at odds. Shouting at each other with no common ground was no different from echoes.
'Is there anyone as foolish as me?'
Roena was ashamed of her past self, who had strutted around boastfully with book knowledge. If only she had realized sooner, but the situation had long since deteriorated to the worst.
Cisse's heart was already firmly locked, refusing even to meet her eyes.
The relationship, warped by inferiority complex and lack of communication, had become too cold and cruel for both. It was heartbreakingly tragic.
Of course, Roena did not know that Cisse's emotions were based on inferiority but were far more complex and dark. Nor that it was the wandering of a wounded soul.
If someone had acknowledged Cisse's value, if they had communicated with her, it wouldn't have fallen apart like this.
But the maids ignored Cisse. Unaware of noble family dynamics, they subtly mocked and tormented her. It was petty jealousy toward her who had risen in status by meeting a good mother.
Thus, all the maids, led by Mago, banded together against Cisse. Since it was done so secretly, Cisse was powerless and suffered helplessly. She became increasingly isolated.
When Cisse, unable to endure, lashed out and was punished, she was pointed at as a bad-tempered woman. They whispered as if to say, what could be expected from her birth.
Count Bischwaltz grew fed up with Cisse's behavior and lost interest, while her mother, watching the count's mood, paid her no mind.
Roena noticed a strange atmosphere among the maids but did not pay much attention.
The irony of wanting Cisse's gaze while being ignorant of what went on around her became the starting point of the rift.
Roena was merely skimming the surface like licking a watermelon rind. She thought the maids' disobedience was inevitable during Cisse's early days of lacking ability. And dismissed Cisse's behavior as mere inferiority complex.
Thus, Roena knew that Cisse felt fear when she transformed, but did not realize the deeper meaning. Nor how Cisse lived her inner feelings.
So when she met Cisse again, she dared to pity her. Mistaking her own growth as complete, she arbitrarily judged Cisse, hoping that her changed appearance would open Cisse's heart even a little.
But what returned to Roena was an even deeper, intense hatred. The pitch-black emotions permeating Cisse exuded a suffocatingly toxic aura.
'You're clever and beautiful, Roena. There won't be another girl as perfect as you. I knew it. Even knowing that, I raged. Because I thought I could win. Why? Because I believed you'd live forever as Mago's puppet. But you changed. You broke out of your shell. To fly to unreachable heights. Then what am I? What have I done? How can you smile like that? Why do you still look at me with such arrogant eyes?'
'Because I realized it. Because I came to know it. Because I understood everything you said. So I can smile in gratitude.'
'In the end, I helped you, didn't I? Hahaha.'
Cisse laughed. Astonishingly wretchedly. It contained a profound sadness that tore at the listener's heart.
Roena mustered courage and approached Cisse. Holding her hand, she spoke in an earnest voice.
'We simply didn't understand each other. Our time was short. So look at me now, sister. I love you. I need you. I like you so much. Let's stop this. Love me.'
'Understand?'
Cisse stopped laughing and sneered at her.
'What understanding? Are you saying you understand the futility I feel? You dare? Don't make me laugh.'
She reached out and gripped Roena's neck. The cool grip, like a snake, brimmed with shudder-inducing malice.
'Just die. Wail in agony. Drown in deep despair and break. Beautiful Roena, whom everyone adores. I don't love you. So we can never understand each other. Forever.'
Fragment of the Broken Glass Slipper
Novel by Yeolmae
Author: Yeolmae
Publisher: Kwon Tae-wan, Woo Cheon-je
eBook Publication Date: 2024-05-07
Production: CL Production
Address: 1108-ho, 41 Digital-ro 31-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul
This book is published as an eBook by KWBOOKS under contract with the copyright holder.
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