81 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 81
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But his gaze remained the same until the end. He acted as if he cared for Roena on the surface, saving me, but I knew it was just a light whim toward a pebble he tripped over. No, would even passing dust be better than me?
My rebellious spirit flared, and I raised my head haughtily, glaring at him, but the Crown Prince stroked the chair he was sitting on as if it were more precious.
The knights guarding him shouted that I was rude and disrespectful, but his expression didn't change. Well, he did laugh for a brief moment. As if my struggles were amusing.
But when I lowered my gaze, trembling, overwhelmed by the murderous intent he exuded, he waved his hand dismissively, as if even that was tiresome.
You are nothing. No, were you even human? A crude beast. You will have to crawl like that for the rest of your life.
To me, being dragged away like a dog, his gesture was received with the above meaning. No, I would have felt better if he had uttered even one of those words.
But the words he spoke were mostly ceremonial shouts, revealing nothing of his true feelings.
That's why I was scared of him. I was afraid. I was terrified by the thought of him erasing my very existence. The Crown Prince is not human. He couldn't be human. He was fear itself.
I was newly grateful for the Wolf Mask that covered his eyes. It was a miracle made possible by the realistically long fur creating shadows.
If I were to receive that inorganic gaze again, I might scream uncontrollably. Just thinking that the clothes touching my shoulder were his made my skin crawl.
In any case, knowing his identity and remaining silent was a great sin, so I had no choice but to show even a small courtesy. I bent my knee and bowed. Fortunately, the voice that came out was calm.
"Please forgive me for not paying my respects sooner. If you wish, I will greet you again."
"Enough. What's the point of dragging out such meaningless words? More importantly, now that you know my identity, what will you do?"
"If you allow me, I would like to step back. I am not worthy to serve your noble self."
"That's a surprisingly charming thing to say."
He reaches out and wraps his arm around my waist. I was pulled in limply, like a doll with a severed string.
I wanted to push his shoulder away and get away from him, but I couldn't dare to touch the body of the empire's little sun so disrespectfully. Especially since an important figure in this position would never come alone.
"I heard you haven't even debuted in society yet? And it hasn't been long since you went under the bitch. But you figured out my identity so easily."
"It's an excellent mask, but how can it hide His Highness's magnificent and beautiful appearance? You shouldn't doubt the girl, but blame the craftsman who made the mask."
"Ha. Kerula, you really know how to use your tongue."
"I am honored that you are pleased."
"Yes. Keep using your mouth to please my ears. What rumors did you hear that made you so terrified and want to disappear as soon as you knew my identity?"
The Crown Prince's other hand lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. I was afraid he would crush my jaw at any moment if he didn't like what he saw.
The Crown Prince I knew was capable of doing just that. Is that why? The sweet nickname Kerula felt like a name called to a cow before being taken to the slaughterhouse.
I wish he was Theodore Vitraice instead. No, Lustewin Halberd would have been fine too.
I raised my arm and slowly wrapped it around the Crown Prince's hand that was holding my chin. Like praying. It was a kind of base struggle to leave fingernail marks on his arm if he twisted my neck.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn't seem to mind. He didn't even get angry that I dared to touch his body, which meant he was more interested in the answer that would follow.
"It's a natural instinct as a woman. Didn't I tell you? I need a handsome beast to protect me. But the wolf in front of me is too strong and huge to handle, so I have no choice but to step back."
"Didn't you hear that the wolf hunts foxes?"
"Oh, Your Highness. If you intend to enjoy stimulating my shame, please have mercy. I am not yet ready to know the opposite of purity."
"Then why did you come to a place like this? Was it the bitch's coercion? But that bitch doesn't seem to want to introduce you."
I forced the corners of my lips to pull up into a smile. And in a low voice, I whispered and carefully took my chin out of his hand.
"I must have looked too insignificant to introduce."
"No, it's the opposite. Didn't I say? There are many people in this hall who would greedily lick your feet. Would there be any beast that would leave such a delicious, plump Kerula alone?"
The arm around my waist was tightening. I tried to lean back as much as possible to avoid him, but the Wolf Mask coming close to my face wouldn't even allow that.
He was getting close enough to feel his breath. His deeply sunken voice was sweetly seductive and lewd.
"You said you wanted to become a true woman? I'll make you one."
"Then can I order Your Highness around?"
"Huh?"
"Or do you love me?"
At my words, his face stopped approaching. If I had been any later, my lips would have been taken. I spoke again to the Crown Prince, who was marveling as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.
"Can I become Your Highness's favorite concubine? I told you, I won't lock myself in a room and cry. I'll really bite fiercely. I'll be more persistent than anyone else in the world. If that's uncomfortable for you, cut off my head as soon as you take me. Or let me go."
At that moment, the sound of a bell rang, signaling midnight. The time for my appointment with Madame de Châteauroux was approaching.
"Cut off your head?"
"Because my honor is at stake."
"What honor is there in something that can be done in a moment..."
"There is someone I adore."
At that moment, the arm around my waist seemed to lose strength. I quickly pushed his shoulder away. Perhaps because he didn't expect me to escape like this, the Crown Prince's body was pushed back surprisingly easily. I turned my back on him and started running.
Ding. The bell rang, I don't know how many times.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn't chase me. I looked back with a sense of unease, but there was no sign of his shadow. He must have thought it would be better to find a new woman than to chase after a mere plaything.
Had I been running so hard? Since the distance between the garden and the carriage was so far, I had to grab the hem of my skirt and run. Only when I was out of breath did I finally reach the main gate where the carriage was.
I grabbed Chatoul's hand, which was reaching out to me through the open door, shouting, "Hurry!" As soon as I got on, the carriage started moving as if it had been waiting.
"It seems like you had fun?"
Chatoul looked at me, panting, and giggled. Her dress was crumpled and torn, as if she had been rolling around for a while.
"Well, which gentleman did you give one of your earrings to?"
I reflexively groped my earlobe. My left earlobe was empty. It must have fallen off while I was running in a hurry.
"I'm sorry. I think I lost it while running."
Chatoul smiled as if it was okay. And she raised her hand and pounded on the wall of the carriage. As if it were a signal, the speed of the carriage increased.
Chatoul began to change into pre-prepared pajamas with the help of a maid. Her movements were so natural that she was not affected by the shaking of the carriage.
She let out a light sigh of annoyance, as if she was tired, and let down her hair, which had been piled high. As soon as two maids clung to her, her appearance changed.
There were red bruises on her chest, clearly made by a man, but no one pointed it out.
She yawned lazily after finishing her transformation and muttered.
"I think I attended too late today. Let's leave a little earlier tomorrow."
"Is there a tomorrow?"
Chatoul said to me as if asking what I was talking about.
"Is there a masquerade that only opens for one day? I'll be attending two more times in the future."
Oh, my god. I swallowed a sigh that was about to burst out and closed my eyes. It wasn't because of the fear of having to attend more banquets like beasts.
It was an outburst of fear that I might meet the wolf I had barely shaken off a little while ago again.
In the past, I was so focused on Roena and Sir Halberd that I didn't have the energy to look around. There was no one in society who showed me their true feelings, and I was too busy dealing with those two alone.
That's why, even now that I've returned, I hardly remember what the Crown Prince did or what happened. All I know is that the Crown Prince I met before being dragged to prison was terribly scary.
I had vaguely remembered that he had a philandering nature, but I didn't realize that he was a person who went to masquerades and swung his lower body around.
In fact, how many noble women can boast of chastity? Even if it is barren land that cannot bear seeds, the social world is a place where you can be raked by other kinds of rakes at least once.
Masquerades, especially masquerades, were the only places where you could throw away your own honor.
Unless you were dragged in as someone's relative, even a pure virgin who had not been touched by a man was given unlimited opportunities to taste hot pleasure if she set her mind to it. It was rather old-fashioned to pretend to be innocent as if you didn't know anything.
In the place where the masquerade was held, there was a doctor waiting with medicine to prevent pregnancy, and a bathroom was prepared to cleanse the body soaked in pleasure.
Lifting your skirt as your instincts led you was the greatest honor you could show there.
How ridiculous would it have been to mention love in such a place? The very act of coming to such a place would deny that you were a virgin.
Above all, he must have been speechless that I, a toy of Chatoul, dared to act coquettishly and mention being a 'favorite concubine'. That's why he must have forgotten to put strength in his hand.
It was also a crime to push his noble self and run away. It was a wonder that he didn't order a knight to drag me back.
This was either because he didn't think it was important enough to order his subordinates, or because he expected Chatoul's actions on every day the masquerade was held, or both. I hoped that the reason I was able to escape was the first.
Among those involved in society, there was no one who didn't know that there was nothing more troublesome than touching a virgin who was consumed by evil.
In the past, there had been several scandals that had erupted for that reason, and in severe cases, some people had even lost their lives. It was because of the father who had applied for a duel for the sake of his daughter's honor.
Therefore, if you were in such a position, you would either have to compensate by taking a large sum of money, or keep her in your room as a mistress, even if it was annoying.
But the Crown Prince I saw didn't seem to have the kindness to give alimony or give a room in the palace to a woman he might have slept with once.
He would rather cut off her head, saying that something annoying had stuck to him, than leave a scandal that would shackle his actions alone. It was so suspicious that he had even been engaged to Roena in the past.
