Translator: Nox

88 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper

Shattered Glass Slipper Shards Episode 88

==========

No one in the palace was unaware that her temper was as fierce as a wild cat, especially these days.

Was she trying to test the waters, trusting in the Emperor's favor, or was she just a clueless wench who couldn't read the room?

Whatever the case, the new favorite was certainly no ordinary person.

I debated whether to wait and see Chatoul's face or come back another time. If I were to wait for another day, I would have to use Sir Ayres, but due to our tacit agreement, that was no longer a problem for me.

However, a part of me felt uneasy. But if I were to meet Chatoul in her current state of anger, it would be exhausting.

Above all, I had visited without her consent, so she might be even more furious. I could become the target of her anger. So, I decided to step back and aim for the next opportunity. Today wasn't the only day.

"Please don't tell her I came. I beg you."

I took off a brooch from my dress and handed it to the maid. She suppressed a bursting laugh and nodded.

Now, unless Chatoul beat her and interrogated her for the truth, my visit today would be completely erased from her mind. It was a silence proportional to the value of the brooch.

As I was returning, canceling half of my planned schedule for the day, someone approached and spoke to me.

"Are you the Bischwartz Young Lady?"

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled brightly at my answer and greeted me. Then, she introduced herself as a maid serving the Baroness of Flanders at her residence.

"The Baroness wishes to see you for a moment. Would you accept her invitation?"

"Isn't the Baroness of Flanders currently in conversation with Madame de Châteauroux?"

"Yes, but they are almost finished. The Baroness wishes to speak with you more than with Madame de Châteauroux."

That meant that somehow, she had heard that I had come to visit Chatoul and was turning back, and she had caught me.

It also meant that she was hastily saying goodbye to Chatoul to talk to me. Who was she to cut short that pleasant time and hold me back?

I was planning to find out about her anyway. But she was coming to me first, which was even more welcome. The thought of facing the infamous Baroness made me a little excited.

I nodded in response to their request. And I followed the maid. The maid led me to a carriage that must have belonged to the Baroness of Flanders. The Baroness was waiting inside.

I accepted her help and stepped into the carriage. And I greeted the Baroness of Flanders, who was sitting across from me.

"I am Sissae of the Bishvarts Family. You wished to see me."

"Yes. I really wanted to see you. How have you been, Miss?"

The Baroness of Flanders lowered the fan that had been covering her face and responded in a clear voice.

Perinnil, the Baroness of Flanders, with her skillfully styled auburn hair that fully revealed her seductive face, was gazing at me with a strangely radiant smile.

I was flustered by the unexpected encounter and couldn't speak properly. It had only been a few months since she had come to the Bishvarts Family, and now she was appearing as the Emperor's woman. How could I not be surprised?

Who would have known that the harlot who had pushed out Madame de Châteauroux was her?

After a long time, she was dressed much more elegantly than before. The small hat with colorful feathers, the elegantly styled hair, and the delicately made-up beautiful face were more sensual than elegant.

Her confident eyes were the same, but every gesture, every slight twist of her body, contained a cute charm that aroused desire.

The long neck under the stray hairs was reminiscent of a deer, and the full breasts that seemed about to spill out from under her clothes were too large for her small frame and caught the eye.

The highlight was her captivatingly deep smile. Perhaps it was because she had received a title, but she seemed a little less like a harlot than before.

Anyway, it was a reversal of the previous situation. The young harlot who had sat next to Theodore Young Master and maintained a prim attitude was now a respectable Baroness, watching me.

That meant that I could no longer speak down to her. Instead, I had to read her intentions while being mindful of her, and there could be no more absurd relationship than this.

"You are the first lady to maintain such a calm demeanor upon seeing me."

She continued, as if there was no need to receive greetings. The way she moved her fan slowly back and forth and rolled her pronunciation had something that made people anxious. It was this attitude that made me focus on her to hear what she would say next.

"This isn't the first time I've met you, Miss."

Her crescent-shaped eyes were extremely lovely, but the light hidden under the shadow of her eyelashes was not pleasant. It was a weak facade to mock the other person.

She listed the people she had met as if she were a child learning to speak, or as if she were recalling a long memory.

They were all women who had prominent figures in society as husbands. Perinnil referred to them as the wives of her guests. As she confessed, she had been a common harlot who couldn't even dare to raise her head in front of them, but now she was facing them with her chin raised in this way.

This was too malicious to be seen as a common act of arrogance. Using the two words "the Emperor" as a weapon, she made those noble women lower their heads like broken flowers.

How humiliating it must have been for those on the receiving end? Even if she was her husband's concubine, she wouldn't be happy, but she had to be mindful of a woman who was just a harlot.

So, she would have bitten her trembling lips and forced a smile. She would have wished for that hellish time to pass quickly, not even knowing that her sharp nails were digging into her flesh.

After enduring and enduring, she would have finally returned home and thrown the vase, screamed, and stomped her feet like a madwoman.

I could imagine her scurrying back like a rat with its tail on fire, even without seeing it.

"...And now I have the pleasure of meeting you like this, Miss."

After finishing her words, the Baroness of Flanders, this adorable young harlot, began to stare at me intently, as if to gauge my reaction.

Her keenly moving eyes were sparkling as if she wanted something. Her eyes, full of longing as if urging me silently, even showed a hint of joy.

It was an extremely base pleasure that could be obtained from manipulating someone. And I knew exactly what she wanted.

But I couldn't show it to her so easily. I wasn't going to be played by a harlot.

So, I just smiled without any particular gesture. Perinnil probably wanted to see the attitude I had shown when I faced Theodore Young Master, so I thought I would wait and see what she would do.

Although I hadn't met her many times, the Perinnil I had seen was a woman with a more cunning side, almost like an evolved version of Chatoul.

In particular, her seemingly well-crafted prim eyes and sensual gestures were unmatched by other women.

Every gesture and every glance she showed was calculated and had a certain intention.

Therefore, it was unlike her to suddenly get excited about her given position and tease the other person like a novice. Unless it was a subtle way of turning the conversation around disguised as mockery.

That's why I was curious. What was she trying to gain through this kind of meeting?

After a while, she seemed to lose energy and folded her fan, placing it on her lap. Her drooping shoulders, as if she were tired, were pitiful enough to make me want to embrace her, but that was also one of the techniques to stimulate the other person's emotions.

Perinnil pouted and let out a sigh mixed with resentment. The first word that flowed out from her red-painted lips was the rude word, "boring."

"When I first met you, Miss, I thought this. Why are you pretending to dislike me? If it was an attitude that came out because you were conscious of other people's eyes, you wouldn't have sat there and talked. But now I understand. You would have maintained the same attitude even if I was a beggar. You are the one who is enduring Madame de Châteauroux."

"So, you were testing my patience?"

"Oh, Miss. Excuse me, but it seems you forgot to add the word 'dare.' If so, the offer I'm about to give you will be very interesting. Yes, this lowly woman dared to test you."

Perinnil finishes speaking and stares into my eyes. She wanted me to ask why.

But I didn't answer. An offer is only effective when it takes advantage of the other person's desperation, and I didn't need it at all right now.

Therefore, there was no need to follow her words. Above all, if the reason she wanted to see me was to make an 'offer,' then there was no need to sit here any longer, was there?

Of course, if I had met Perinnil before the rumors with Sir Ayres had spread, I might have been tempted by the offer she was making.

But if the future hadn't changed, there was no way Perinnil would have fallen like this - and the current situation wasn't too bad - so I couldn't make the foolish choice of taking his hand, which I didn't even remember. I didn't know how great the offer she was making was.

"It seems you're not curious about my offer. You don't seem interested at all, but Miss, won't you be even a little interested? It's not worth bringing you all the way here. But why does this look more attractive?"

She reaches out her hand. Her finger touches the tip of my chin. It's a light touch that I wouldn't have been able to notice easily if I hadn't seen it.

But it tickled. The touch that teased as if it would touch but not touch made me shrug my shoulders.

I raised my hand and stopped her hand. Perinnil laughs out loud as if she's having fun. Before I knew it, her body was close to me. Her voice, flowing out in a low tone, was soft and sweet, like she was seducing a man.

"I'm sure you're a virgin, but it's amazing how you can be so calm. That's why I like you so much. In many ways. Ah, if this wasn't a carriage right now, I could have made you happy. It's a shame."

"If that's the offer, can I leave now?"

"Actually, I was also at the Masquerade you attended that day. I wanted to see you and talk to you, but you disappeared as soon as the bell rang for midnight. What was the rush?"

"It seems you were feeling the same emotions then as you are now, Baroness of Flanders."

A moment of silence flows at my answer. Perinnil slowly blinked her pretty eyes, bit her lip, and then shrugged her shoulders.

She raised both hands without any sense of propriety - as if surrendering - and her face, returning to her seat, looked somehow dejected.