74 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 74
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Whether his confession of love at first sight was just lip service or not, his passion more than surpassed the fervor of adolescence. No, it burned even hotter, to the point where I worried I might get burned.
Every time Michael Ayres sent flowers, he always included a verse or two of beautiful poetry. Most of it was about confessing his ardent love for his beloved, which was tantamount to openly revealing that he had me in mind.
Marie took great pride in this and told everyone about it without giving me a chance to stop her. There was no time to stop her.
The verses that came out of her light mouth were told to another maid, and that maid jokingly told them to someone at a shop in the marketplace.
Thanks to this, the people who had a good source of gossip sang of Michael Ayres's pure heart while drunk.
To think that Michael Ayres would woo a young lady so passionately. I thought his heart was made of ice! But in the end, he was just a man. Huh? Hehehe.
At the same time, more and more people began to wonder about my appearance, which had moved his heart.
Before I knew it, the Bishvarts Family was crowded with painters who had been inspired by me.
Some wrote poems praising me as the ultimate beauty who had melted the Knight of Ice's heart. There were even those who wrote trashy songs about the romantic love story between Sir Ayres and me.
Everyone was focused on and talking about him and me as if they were crazy. The scandal involving Madame de Châteauroux had disappeared without a trace. As if it had never happened.
Ironically, I, who was being talked about by gossips, was an unparalleled innocent and lovely girl and a great beauty who showed off her physical allure.
It was as if the taunts of being a prostitute's daughter were a dream. Some even asserted that Roena was no match for me. Ironically, I was receiving all sorts of praise for the first time in my life from all over the place.
"Milady, aren't you happy?"
Marie must have found it strange that I frowned every time I received flowers from Michael Ayres. She carefully arranged the flowers, which I had lost count of how many times she had done, and asked me.
"No, I'm not happy."
Rather, I feel a sense of defeat. It was the first time I had felt my powerlessness so deeply.
All that reputation changed because of just one man... All my efforts to walk a tightrope between Madame de Châteauroux, Dibenzel, and Madame de Lavalier seem futile.
If it could change so easily, what have I been doing all this time? What's even more miserable is that the sharp gazes of the people in the Bishvarts Family have become much milder than before through the scandal with him.
Unfortunately, in people's minds, I was already Michael Ayres's lover.
They were making a fuss as if I would soon approach him, embrace him deeply, and kiss him if my illness got better! Even though the person in question doesn't even have the mind to do so!
I would rather they criticize us for not being a good match, but since one of the noblemen who mocked me received a duel request from Michael Ayres and became bloodied, who would dare to offend him?
The rumor that some young ladies who had boldly approached him, thinking that the Knight of Ice had finally turned his heart to a woman, had run out in tears also had a good effect on suppressing the criticism.
Rather, they came to praise his pure heart for me, which was truly maddening.
"Oh my, Milady! Sir Michael Ayres, you know. The one who rivals Sir Halberd. And you're not happy?"
"What does it matter? I don't care who he is if I'm not happy."
"But..."
"If you have time to gossip like that, go and prepare the bathwater."
"What about you, Milady?"
"I'm going to stand by the window and soak up the sun for a while. I feel like I'm going to suffocate from being in the room for too long."
She pouted with a dissatisfied expression, then bowed and went outside. I lightly clicked my tongue at Marie's appearance and stood by the window.
Ironically, Marie seems to think that since a knight with a reputation and skill equal to Sir Halberd is courting me, I no longer have to be inferior to Roena.
According to Seril, she has been going around with a more triumphant expression than usual, refuting all the praise Roena had received.
No, she said that I was the one who deserved such praise, and that she was teasing Margo's group.
Well, it's no wonder, since many people now think of me, Cis de Bishbalz, when they think of the Bishvarts Family's young lady because of this incident.
"But I didn't need this kind of help."
I muttered as I looked at the note that Michael Ayres had sent with the flowers today.
The letter he sent today did not contain the same sweet verses as usual. It only contained a short sentence that disturbed my mind.
[I dared to be rude because I wanted to help.]
He wanted to help me even at the risk of tarnishing his own honor, which was a nuisance in itself. But I couldn't criticize him for doing something useless because I could feel his upright heart.
However, I am just afraid of this courtship that is close to pure. How should I avoid him now? I've already rejected him twice?
Suddenly, I felt a gaze and turned my head in that direction, and I saw a man looking at me.
"Lustewin Halberd..."
I did not avoid his gaze and looked back at him. But that was only for a moment, and I turned away without regret at Marie's words that the bathwater was ready.
I felt like his gaze was persistently following me, but I thought it must be my imagination. There was no way that the Knight of Clear Hearing would give Cis de Bishbalz such a desperate look.
It was also absurd that he was clenching his fists as if he was holding something back.
Because he is Lustewin Halberd. That's why I tried to dismiss it as something I had seen wrong due to boredom. No, I felt more comfortable thinking that way. For my own sake.
\*
My publicly known illness was so severe that I could not get out of bed. So I could not leave the Bishvarts Family even after the hot summer passed and the cool autumn came.
People thought of me as a very fragile girl, and they fiercely debated whether the coexistence of fragility and sex appeal was possible.
There was a rumor going around that Sir Michael Ayres's ideal woman was a beauty who looked like she was about to collapse.
Perhaps that's why women began to tighten their corsets too much to emphasize their frailty, resulting in broken ribs.
It was no secret that bone powder - the ingredients were not exactly known - that made the face pale was selling like hotcakes among noblewomen.
In any case, the months I spent disguised as being ill allowed me to do many things.
Especially in that Blan's disposition had been completely transferred to me. Completely shattering everyone's expectations that she would be beaten and kicked out. So she became my third maid after Marie and Seril.
Interestingly, the reason why this maid could be assigned to me was because Roena didn't want me to worry about such things while I was sick.
As soon as Roena saw that I was bedridden, she made a fuss and called a doctor. And she insisted on nursing me. Even the maids couldn't stop her.
She went in and out of my room several times a day, checking on my condition in detail. If I hadn't told her to leave because I was annoyed, she probably would have stayed with me all day.
Her extremity was so terrible that even my mother couldn't dare to oppose her. No, she acted as if she was more affectionate than my own blood.
Her worried eyes were only filled with me. If a maid was about to wipe the sweat from my forehead with a dry towel, she would become even more anxious and check my complexion.
No wonder Marie said with a sullen expression, 'Roena is really kind.' So she was only focused on making me feel comfortable, regardless of the situation with Blan.
Of course, Margo didn't just stand by. This unpleasant old woman raised suspicions about Marie's protection of Blan and gave me a suspicious look.
The fact that she asked why it had to be Blan out of all the maids was enough to raise doubts about me.
Above all, there were many maids who followed this old fox, so an unpleasant public opinion was easily formed.
But no matter how much she complained, it was Roena who made the decision in the end. Surprisingly, this young Bishvarts uttered an unexpectedly firm tone and dismissed Margo's complaints.
[I don't want to make Sis sad with such a trivial matter.]
Behind that, there must have been a longing for her mother, who had died after a long battle with illness. The sight of me lying in bed for a long time must have reminded her of the nightmares of the past.
In the end, the long-running key theft case ended surprisingly and anticlimactically - very luckily.
Through this, the Bishvarts Family's retainers realized that Roena Bishvarts valued her step-sister, whom she had only met recently, more than Margo, who was like her mother.
It was fortunate that my reputation among the maids and knights improved in a good way.
According to Marie, I was a more fragile young lady than Roena to them, and a patient who seemed to collapse at the slightest breeze. So there was a public opinion that they had no choice but to protect me.
All of this was thanks to the sweet scandal with Michael Ayres. It was because of the bizarre logic that I, who had captured his heart, could not be an insignificant person.
Therefore, I became the Bishvarts Family's pride, with a mournful beauty that could shake the heart of a cold-hearted knight to everyone.
No wonder they were giving me soft glances whenever I went out for a walk with Marie's support...
"Milady is so healthy, isn't it funny?"
Marie often combed my hair and gossiped about these outrages. But the pride hidden behind it could not be hidden, so her nose and chin were soaring towards the sky day by day.
"Oh, right, Milady. Sir Ayres sent flowers again today. Did you see them?"
I replied with a dry voice, "Yes." My room was already full of the flowers he had sent.
His flower offensive, which I thought would end in a month, continued even after several months had passed.
He always visited the Bishvarts mansion at the same time to bring flowers, so it was no longer a topic of conversation that the maids flocked to see him. The same was true of his gentle voice asking about my well-being.
Someone had asked him before why he didn't go into the mansion and meet me. Along with the words that it would be better to see his face than to just come and give flowers every day.
Then, Michael Ayres, with a shy face as if he had sold his unique cold expression somewhere, said, 'There is no more wrong behavior than to meet a lady who is not prepared,' which shocked everyone.
It was because Michael Ayres, who was as shy as a teenage boy, was something no one had ever imagined.
Not to mention that his chivalry in protecting a woman's bare face was praised.
