Translator: Nox

69 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper

Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 69

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In any case, I extended an invitation to her for a marvelous play. The choice that followed was entirely Roena's.

"If you don't want to, it can't be helped."

"Did you come to me because of this?"

Roena asks. I smiled softly and answered as if she were asking something obvious.

"Then, would I have another reason to come find you?"

Because there's nothing more delightful than watching eyes full of guilt become soaked with hurt.

Roena, as if shocked, kept moving her lips as if trying to say something with her mouth wide open, but no voice came out. I let out a faint sigh as if deflated and turned my body.

"If you don't want to, it can't be helped. I'll go alone."

Had I taken even one step? Suddenly, she was grabbing my hand. Roena's face, which I turned to look at, looked somehow desperate and sad.

"You listened to my story just to ask me to go with you?"

"Then what else would it be?"

"Why did you do something you didn't have to?"

For a moment, I felt speechless. I struggled to roll my head, which felt numb as if my thoughts had stopped, and calmly replayed her words. It was because I didn't understand what Roena meant by those words.

Then, I realized that the image of me reflected in her eyes was distorted with pity, and I hardened my face.

Ha, so that's what...?!

"Sis, why do you hurt yourself like this? You have a kind nature that wants to help the maid Blan, so why do you speak so twistedly and try to hurt others? Even if you didn't speak like that, even if you didn't act so spiteful, if you had told me from the beginning, I would have gladly, happily helped you."

It happened in an instant that the hand I was holding was pulled towards her. I was embraced by Roena without even being able to defend myself. No, it ended up with me embracing her.

I struggled to get out of the unpleasant feeling of insects crawling on me, but I couldn't do anything because of her hands tightly hugging my waist.

She was so tightly attached that even when I pushed her shoulders, she didn't even show any signs of letting go.

"Wouldn't you mind letting me go, please?"

I barely managed to squeeze out the words with my teeth clenched. If I grabbed her hair and kicked her, I could get her off, but it was still too early to touch her body.

Roena said in a muffled voice while hugging me. She mumbled in a low voice as if acting spoiled and even rubbed her cheek against me.

"I'll go with you. If we go together, Sis will definitely be able to see Margo's good points. I'll help you."

"No, what you have to do is just stand quietly next to me. No matter what anyone says, don't step forward. That's all."

"Is that all I have to do?"

She raises her head and asks me. I don't know what she's thinking, but her red, flushed cheeks and overly sparkling eyes were quite unpleasant.

"I asked if that's all I have to do."

"Yes. Then it couldn't be better."

"Okay. So, next time, tell me honestly. Don't hurt yourself too much."

I didn't answer. It wasn't even worth it. But Roena, thinking my silence was a yes, smiled brightly and released her hands from my waist. The place where her freed hands went was my hand.

I pretended to straighten my skirt and refused Roena's hand. Roena looked at me with a sullen expression for a moment, but as soon as I took a step, she immediately started following me.

When I opened the door, I saw Marie confronting Roena's maid. Marie's cheeks were flushed red as if they had had a fierce, unheard argument, and her nose was flaring excessively as if steam was coming out.

When Marie saw me coming out with Roena, she raised her chin with a triumphant expression. As if to say, look at this. The expression on Roena's maid's face crumpled at the same time.

I said to Marie.

"Lead the way."

Although there was no subject, Marie understood perfectly and bowed her head.

A strange procession began shortly after, with me behind Marie, Roena behind me, and her maid following Roena. The destination was the ridiculous stage that Margo was writing and directing.

---

The stage, which I thought would be filled with shouting and yelling, was quieter than I expected. It was just full of coldness. But the positions of the actors were quite plausible.

Margo was standing like a queen, and Blan was sitting down a few steps away from her, bowing her head.

Maids were lined up around them, and their expressions were very comical because they were relatively contrasting.

The faces of the group following Margo were full of joy, while the maids following Marie or those who were neither were terrified.

It was only natural that everyone's attention was focused on me when I entered in that state. Margo discovered Roena standing behind me and widened her eyes as if surprised.

Then, she approached Roena with quick steps and began to speak in a soft voice as if coaxing her.

"Lady, what brings you here? You shouldn't be here."

It was as if I was invisible. At Margo's actions, a sneer crept onto the lips of the group following her.

I subtly stuck my foot out to the side and stepped on Margo's skirt. Perhaps because she was a skinny old woman, she staggered greatly and almost fell just by stepping on the hem of her skirt.

She was leaning so strangely that it was a wonder she didn't fall forward. If it hadn't been for her instinctive reflexes, she would have been humiliated in front of everyone.

Margo looked at me with a reddened face as if she knew who had made her stagger. But she had pulled her foot away as soon as she was about to fall, so there was no evidence.

I moved my lips with a nonchalant expression and asked, "What?" Then, I shrugged my shoulders as if puzzled and said aloud.

"Oh my, that was almost a disaster, wasn't it? I didn't realize the head maid's body was so weak. I'm really worried. If she can't even distinguish the person in front of her, I mean."

Margo's eyes flashed with resistance for a moment, but she very skillfully countered my words.

"Lady, thank you, but my body is very strong. This Margo still has the same energy as when I was young."

Nevertheless, the old fox was still not greeting me. It was as if she was being stubborn.

I pretended to be worried and put on an exaggerated voice.

"But just a moment ago, you couldn't even walk properly, could you? Oh, poor Margo. It's not that I don't understand your loyalty to the family. But if your body is so bad that you can't take care of your health, you should have rested first. How much would Roena's heart ache, who relies on you? Goodness, even your face is turning red now, are you getting a fever?"

Covering her nose with a handkerchief after taking a step back was clearly a deliberate gesture.

My actions, suspecting that she had a contagious disease, made everyone watch Margo. There was no way she couldn't understand my attitude.

Margo looked at Roena as if asking for help. No matter how long she had served the family as the head maid, I had the upper hand in terms of status, so there was no way she could directly antagonize me. So, the only answer she could choose was Roena.

But I was first. I looked at her and gestured with my eyes.

You haven't forgotten that I told you to stay quietly by my side, have you?

Roena bit her lip with a pale expression. Her wavering gaze was alternating between me and Margo.

The woman she followed like a mother, or the half-sister who made her feel superior.

The choices were truly insignificant, but it was comical how she couldn't easily give an answer, as if she was worried. Without knowing that this very concern was giving Margo a great sense of despair.

I put on a kind voice and said to Roena.

"Roena, I think it was really good that you came here? Otherwise, no one would have known that the head maid's health had deteriorated so much."

Silence flowed. Everyone's eyes were on me. It was as if they were saying, "What is that crazy bitch saying now?"

In fact, they were the ones who had witnessed her cornering Blan with a clear voice just a moment ago.

But I, who was making such a head maid, who had a momentary slip, into a person suffering from a disease close to contagion, seemed crazy. The attitude of demanding Margo's departure in a nonchalant voice was also the same.

"Why don't you take her quickly and show her to the doctor?"

Margo speaks in a deeply subdued voice as if suppressing her anger. This cunning old badger did not show rebellious attitudes such as stuttering or clenching her fists, even though she was very angry.

"Thank you for your concern, but I am very healthy. Really. Lady, please believe me."

"But the way you can't distinguish people nearby, and the way you act like you don't know how to greet people, is not the usual head maid. So admit it. The disease caused by aging is not your fault. Especially if it's a decline in this area, I can't help but sympathize."

I tapped my head with my finger. Everyone was holding their breath at the blatant mockery that she had become stupid in the head as she got older.

Roena took a step forward as if to say something, but nothing happened because I stopped her. Her eyes were shaking at my words, which were repeating "promise" once again.

Margo is looking at Roena pitifully, who is not doing anything for her.

There was no resentment or distrust towards Roena in that gaze. It's truly great affection.

A sharp silence flows through everyone's mouths. I was the only one shamelessly spouting words as if I didn't know anything.

"So Roena, we have to help the head maid. You can do it, right?"

"But Lady, I'm doing something very important right now. I think it's okay to get a checkup from the doctor after I finish this work."

"What could be more important than the head maid's health? Everyone is worried about your health."

"It seems that the Lady completely thinks I'm sick."

Margo whispers in a voice that is very angry. Her voice, which seemed to be unable to overcome her emotions, made her look really sick.

Instead of answering, I reached out and grabbed Margo's wrist. A unique musty smell rises from the sagging flesh of the old age. The bones beyond the skin were so thin that they resembled branches.

"Poor thing, you're too skinny. No wonder you're staggering. You should rest after all."

Everyone's faces are filled with absurdity at the voice that gently mumbles as if feeling sorry for her.

Margo is pitiful? That's ridiculous. It seems that their shocked voices are clearly audible.