70 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards Episode 70
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“But, Miss!!”
Margo calls out to me as if screaming. Her face is deeply stained with bewilderment. I pretended not to notice and continued speaking.
“I don’t know what that important matter is, but if it bothers you that much, I’ll do it.”
“It’s not something for you to do, Miss.”
“I can endure it for the head maid. Roena would think so too, right? Surely you’re not doubting my sincerity and refusing my favor, are you?”
Her trembling face is quite a sight to behold. It’s almost a shame not to laugh out loud. Poor old woman, she seems to have realized that I’m trying to paint her as sick and remove her from this stage.
And that her claims won’t hold much weight since she’s already almost slipped up once before.
In fact, I was sincerely grateful to Margo for giving me the opportunity for this situation to arise. I had been wondering how to corner her.
Who would have known that her disregard for me would become a spear threatening her? The only pity is that she didn’t fall and get hurt. With such a skinny body, one bone could have easily dislocated.
I tightened my grip on Margo’s hand. And like throwing away a bothersome burden, I pushed her body towards Roena.
It’s only natural that she would lose her balance from the sudden pull. Her old and frail body swayed greatly again, leaning into Roena as if about to collapse.
Amidst everyone’s surprise, only my voice rang out loudly.
“Oh my, don’t overdo it.”
The meaning of her faintly trembling shoulders was clearly anger and shame. A strong will not to back down made Margo stand firm.
But unfortunately, due to Roena holding her hand, Margo couldn’t do anything. Really, nothing at all! She could only swallow a soft sigh and listen attentively to Roena’s words as she whispered something to her.
The sight of the old head maid listening and obeying the words of a girl younger than herself, a very lovely girl, evoked a strange feeling.
Her absolute loyalty to the young lady she served was separating them from those around them. Everyone held their breath and watched them, anticipating the events that would unfold.
After a while, whatever the Bishvarts Family’s young lady said, Margo nodded and straightened her body.
The way she smoothed her skirt with her wrinkled hands, tidying herself up, seemed almost like resignation. In the end, the beautiful Roena seemed to have chosen her foolish stepsister, who made her superior, over the old maid who was loyal to her.
Ha, she must be very precious to her, huh?
I barely managed to swallow the rising sneer. With the momentum shifted, even the maids around knew that she had no choice but to follow Roena and leave the stage.
But seeing this raccoon dog so easily giving up and remaining silent made me want to vomit.
Despite the absurd insistence and ridicule, the fact that she wasn’t vehemently arguing back was most likely because of Roena.
If I had come alone, she wouldn’t have so readily accepted the insults being thrown at her. So, that’s why I brought Roena along.
“Then Sissae, please take care of the rest.”
Roena says to me, holding Margo’s hand. She was looking at me with an almost tearful face, pale as a sheet. Was it guilt for ignoring her kind head maid? A single tear in the corner of her eye sparkled sadly.
Indeed, isn’t she just like the daughter of a family that built its foundation on commerce? Trying to settle the price of conscience with just a single tear. She’s nothing short of a robber.
But the problem was that not everyone thought this way. Most people would think of her tears as Roena’s affectionate heart, trying not to argue with her stepsister.
I smiled brightly and replied, ‘Don’t worry.’ And I stepped aside as if telling them to get lost.
The miserable losers, sacrificed to unreasonable logic and tantrums, turned their backs and left the stage.
Now, all that remained were Blan, looking at me with a glimmer of hope, Marie and her group, grinning at the reversed situation, and Margo’s side, with faces distorted in disbelief.
I slowly walked and stopped at the spot where the head maid had been standing. And I opened my mouth and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Even if someone is suspected of having moral flaws, it’s absurd to make them taste such shame. So, everyone, go and do your jobs.”
“What about Blan?”
Someone whispered in a small voice. It was coming from where Margo’s group was standing. I turned my head to see who this brave woman was, but everyone avoided eye contact and pretended not to know. Then Marie started to step forward, making a loud noise.
“The Miss told you to do your jobs, so what are you all arguing about? If you’re told to scatter, you should know and move quickly.”
I raised my hand to stop Marie. And I looked at everyone one by one and said in a soft voice, as if soothing them.
“It doesn’t seem right for me to arbitrarily judge what the head maid has done. Because that would hurt not only her but also Roena’s heart. Therefore, it seems right to decide on Blan’s punishment later. Don’t you think so?”
Clearly, the outwardly kind and gentle Roena would not be able to make a decision about Blan’s treatment and would be mindful of Margo’s feelings.
How could she say the words to drive someone out with her own mouth? The Roena we know was not that kind of girl.
However, she couldn’t agree with Margo’s actions to drive Blan out either. If I stepped in to defend Blan, it would be even more obvious.
She would just hesitate and waver, and in the end, she would follow the words of the person who was beneficial to her and make up her mind.
For Roena, ‘beneficial’ was a situation where she could show off her kind and generous nature.
When I said that I wouldn’t dispose of her arbitrarily, most of the maids nodded with understanding expressions.
The same was true for Margo’s group; they seemed to be relieved, even though they were wondering why I wasn’t acting against Margo.
“So, Blan, get up.”
The quick-witted Marie quickly approached Blan and helped her up. I gestured to Marie and moved my feet.
There were some who were still lingering and unable to take their feet off the ground, perhaps feeling a sense of emptiness at the play that ended so futilely for a stage that was prepared so grandly.
Was that why? The sound of the dress hem dragging on the floor felt so loud. And so did the sound of Marie and Blan’s footsteps following behind me.
There was no physical pain, but Blan’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, as if she had been mentally squeezed a lot.
Well, even someone with a bold temperament would have a hard time being calm if they stood in front of people who were hostile to them.
Above all, someone with a personality like Blan’s would have even more fear in a situation where they were being forcibly suppressed.
In other words, even without shouting loudly and stomping her feet, she could make the other person shrink back enough with just her eyes. Just like Madame de Lavalier did to my mother.
When she arrived at the room, Blan almost collapsed and fell to the floor. Marie was fussing over Blan’s side, looking at me anxiously. Even though she said she was a thief and didn’t like her, she seemed to care about her in her own way.
I told Marie to brew a cup of tea. Marie hesitated to move her feet, as if she had some lingering feelings, but when I gestured again, she finally moved her feet. In the room that Marie had left, only Blan and I remained.
“You impudent thing.”
Blan’s shoulders flinch. I continued speaking in a cold voice.
“What right do you have to spout such nonsense? What are you going to do if you don’t stay still?”
“But you came here, Miss.”
She says, sobbing. “You said you would help me.” The tears that fell drop by drop were wetting the floor. The tears that fell in spots on the back of her trembling hand looked hotter than boiling water.
“You promised that flowers would bloom.”
“The sprouts are tangled in a group of weeds, so what more should I do? I don’t have enough hands to remove the weeds, so why do you resent me? Above all, I never asked you for anything. You started it. But I showed mercy and helped you, so why are you resenting and threatening me?”
“If I get kicked out of here, there’s nowhere else I can work.”
“You mean there’s no other job where you can earn this much income.”
“Yes. Who would give a job to a girl with such a scandal? Please, please help me.”
I didn’t answer and remained silent. This was because I knew that this action would put a great deal of pressure on Blan.
Blan was lying on the floor, wailing. She was making sounds close to sobbing and spewing out things that I hadn’t even asked her about. It was a struggle to survive.
Like a wounded dog desperately wagging its tail to avoid being killed, she began to beg, showing me everything she had.
“You may not believe me, but I didn’t say anything. The head maid kept grilling me about who told me to steal it, but I said I didn’t steal it. I desperately denied it. She threatened that I would be kicked out of the mansion and wouldn’t leave in one piece, but I didn’t give in. So, Miss, please, please. Please don’t let the promise you made to me crumble like sand.”
Blan’s body, accustomed to a plentiful income, her eyes, raised by luxurious items, and the sweet fantasies she had about handsome knights were enough to make a person a coward.
She no longer seemed to be able to dream of a life of struggling with a few coins and chewing on dry bread. Or, even if she did, she would have dismissed it as a nightmare. The greed to steal a colleague’s hairpin was proof of that.
“As I said before, your punishment will be decided together with Roena.”
Although it’s a very undesirable thing to do. I swallowed the last words quietly.
The door opens and Marie enters. I took a sip of the tea she handed me. Marie was rolling her eyes around as if trying to find out what had been said in her absence.
I put down the teacup and continued speaking.
“In the meantime, I think you need to learn how to lie low. Shut that arrogant mouth, hide those nasty hands, lower your eyes to the floor, and try to learn how to obey. By the time you’ve learned the word ‘obedience,’ the weeds may have been pulled out. Or maybe you can help me pull them out. Marie.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“I want you to help Blan. I want her to know humility. Can you do that?”
It’s a kind of shield. This will ease some of the hardships she’s been through. Marie nods with a face full of joy.
I gestured for her to leave. Marie smiled with a triumphant expression and grabbed Blan’s arm, pulling her towards herself.
Blan, with her face messed up with tears, kept bowing to me. She smiled sadly, as if she was relieved by this alone.
It was a very boring face, with some of the meanness and venom that I had seen when I first saw her gone.
