72 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 72
==========
Anyway, how could I refuse well? Very carefully, so as not to upset her. After a moment of contemplation, I decided to maintain the innocence I had shown a little while ago.
“I don’t love Your Majesty.”
“That’s something out of a fairy tale. Aren’t you tempted by what I have? Everyone will look up to you. Doesn’t that appeal to you?”
“But there’s no love.”
I almost bit my tongue when I said the word love, but I barely managed to endure it.
Marie laughed loudly again, as if my answer was very amusing. It was a mockery of me for mentioning ‘love’ and a condemnation of innocence.
“Oh, love… Oh dear, poor little Sissae. Do you know? A true woman doesn’t utter such words.”
“But Marie, that doesn’t mean you have to gain the favor of someone you don’t have feelings for.”
“Even if unimaginable power and beautiful jewels become yours?”
“Please, Marie, don’t shatter my fantasies. I’m no different from other girls. I dream of a small future with a wonderful knight who loves me.”
“Pfft, with such alluring eyes and a voluptuous body? Oh, I think I understand now. What I can give to you, Sissae, isn’t such a small pleasure. I almost missed finding someone I like.”
Her fingertips lift my chin. Cat-like, sly eyes were coming closer to me. Our faces were so close that I could feel her breath, which conveyed a strange tremor. Marie was on top of me, as if about to pounce.
“There’s nothing more enjoyable than making a dear friend into a true woman. I want to make you bloom like a flower. So allow it. Say you’ll entrust everything to me. Say you trust me.”
“If I do that? No, I trust you.”
At my words, Marie said ‘liar’ and kissed me lightly on the cheek. It was only a brief touch, but Marie had a blissful expression as if she had just taken in something sweet, and she let out a pleasant laugh.
Perhaps reading the wariness hidden in my answer was very easy for her. So she was able to maintain a peaceful court life, even while acting like an idiot, with all sorts of intrigues going on.
And what about the audacity to mock the Empress? Perhaps acting foolish and poking around the palace was a mask to protect herself.
How many people here can confidently answer that they know about the Emperor’s whore? No, does anyone even exist?
It was not unreasonable to think that even the Emperor would not know what kind of woman Madame de Châteauroux was.
“Now, get up. I’ll introduce you to my dogs, my dear.”
Dogs? I’ve never heard her say she raises dogs?
Even before returning, Marie had not shown interest in small animals such as cats or dogs that other noble ladies had. So I blinked my eyes and asked her again at her incomprehensible words.
“What kind of dogs?”
Marie drew a deep curve across her face and gave a strange smile. It was a true attitude, close to mockery, that allowed me to glimpse her hidden true nature.
She said with a confident face, as if she was sure that she could make me happy this time.
“You’ll know when you see them. And you’ll realize why I said I’d introduce you to dogs.”
Someone said that the first and second are different. It was a word that could be altered depending on how much difference was placed between the two, beyond the concept of numbers.
At least for me, the difference between the first and second was clearly felt. It was a very firm difference and favor that aroused everyone’s jealousy.
When I first visited Marie, we had clearly set a time. But now that I’ve come back to see her, I realized that I could spend the whole day with her.
That meant that even if I slept in the bedroom that Marie provided, no one would say anything. Since there was plenty of time, it was natural to see the ‘dogs’ she boasted about.
Marie pointed to the women sitting around the tea table, pretending to be elegant, and stared at me with a proud face.
As soon as Marie appeared, they reflexively stood up and tried to please her. Just like ‘dogs’ whimpering to receive their owner’s favor.
Yes, as she said, I could tell they were ‘dogs’ as soon as I saw them.
Marie had a few ill-mannered dogs with her, who could bite her at any time if she didn’t feed them, as if she had a bad taste in pets.
I approached the table, where they were full of wariness at the appearance of a new person named me, and whispered to Marie.
“They’re very ill-mannered.”
Not even recognizing their owner’s friend. Marie smiled in response to the added words.
“That’s why it’s fun to pull on their leash.”
Marie, no, Madame de Châteauroux introduced me to them as a girl from the Bishvarts Family. There was no other introduction, such as a friend or anything. Her words were simple, and it seemed as if she was trying to draw a line between me and her.
The women introduced themselves with bright expressions at Marie’s introduction. I listened to their names and wondered if they had been by Madame de Châteauroux’s side in the past, but I couldn’t come to a conclusion.
However, looking at the tacky dresses with jewels plastered all over them, I felt like I was reminded of my past self, who was so caught up in vanity that I couldn’t tell right from wrong.
Anyway, the dogs were very capable slanderers. They meticulously tore apart new jewels, dresses, and trendy hairstyles, and complained about the maids who served them. Then, they began to take out secret rumors circulating in society and ridicule them.
I sat next to Marie and listened to what they were saying. But most of it felt like it was at a level that couldn’t be heard.
The dogs’ conversation skills were too poor when considering the conversations I had at the Dibenzel mansion. Their words were full of jealousy, and there were more accusations close to certainty than plausible inferences, so there were many fictions to be filtered out.
If there was anything better about their conversation than the young girls at the Dibenzel mansion, it was that there was always flattery towards Marie at the end of their words. Isn’t this a prime example of a great flatterer?
Marie was happy to enjoy all the flattery that was pouring in on her. She looked pleased as she watched the dogs bickering and whimpering. It was as if she was resolving her inferiority complex based on her origins in this way.
Anyway, these chatterboxes will surely talk about me very passionately when they return to society. Should I see this as a loss or a gain? I couldn’t tell.
The tea time lasted for an hour. I had to expend a lot of patience to endure this boring time. This wasn’t tea time, it was torture.
But Marie released the dogs only after hearing all the praises she could hear in her life.
“It’s a pleasant time for the ears.”
She giggled vulgarly, revealing her teeth. I remained silent and did not agree with her words. But Marie said to me, as if she was not disappointed.
“I need dogs to follow me around. That way, I won’t be pushed back. It’s better than fighting alone.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Everyone who despises me. People who are jealous of me. Does Sissae have anyone you hate?”
I didn’t answer. Marie smiled softly, as if she expected it, and took my hand.
“If I were you, I would hate the Bishvarts Family. I would hate them very much. If I were Sissae, I really would.”
Was it said that the latest trend is to sprinkle small gem powder on top of eyelashes that are rolled up abundantly?
Strangely, my gaze was going to her eyelashes and eyes rather than Marie’s words. What kind of gaze am I making in her eyes? What kind of face am I making?
Ah, thankfully, I was smiling as if nothing was wrong. As if I had heard an interesting story. The voice that came out was also very calm.
“Why do you think so?”
“Sissae, I’m dull and stupid, but I’m not foolish. The only weapon I have to live here is ‘intuition.’ So don’t ask me why. I’ll be too sad. Now, I have to think about how I can make you a woman. Also, which dog I should attach to you.”
“Dog… are you talking about?”
Marie blinked her eyes and smiled coquettishly. And she whispered to me as if asking something obvious.
“They have to be at least that much to be my friend, right? I’ll attach dogs with good bloodlines to you. His Majesty will surely allow it. Rather, he might be very excited and send words of encouragement. Everyone’s bored these days.”
A bright red tongue licks her lips. Ah, the Madame de Châteauroux I knew was here. She said.
I need something fun. So, dear Sissae, make me happy.
The meeting with Chatoul reached the third and fourth times, and later became almost a daily routine. People ridiculed me for receiving the favor of a whore.
But behind it was jealousy of me, who had caught the eye of a woman at the pinnacle of power.
How did you move the heart of that fickle whore?
Some even said that Madame de Châteauroux had opened her eyes to homosexuality through me. Since there were few among the high-ranking people who did not indulge in this noble hobby, it seemed that the whore, tired of the Emperor’s old genitals, had taken me in as a toy to please her.
It was around the time when these rumors swept through society that Madame de Lavalier called me. She was furious, as if I had tarnished the honor of the Bishvarts Family.
“You’re determined to trample your own honor to the ground. Don’t you know what’s attached to your name?”
I replied in a calm voice.
“People always want something stimulating. It’s just that I became the target, and it wouldn’t have changed no matter who stood in that place.”
“So you should have been more careful. What good does that vulgar woman do for you that you keep meeting her? What are you!”
“But no one gives me a definite answer. So I had no choice but to act.”
“What?”
“I was curious about the people I should meet in the future.”
Who could approach me, who was of humble origin? I was asking that. Even Madame de Lavalliere herself was not even thinking of introducing me to their group.
If not, she should have called me to the tea time she hosts a few times and made me known. But it was only Roena who was invited to that gathering.
Lavalliere put her hand on her forehead and remained silent for a moment. The rising and falling shoulders gradually subsided, as if she was trying to calm her excitement.
I turned my head and looked around the drawing room. A boring time was passing.
