Cinderella Wasn't Me

At the ball I attended with Jemon, he made a mockery of me, and the Marquis’ servants, who served him as a King, also laughed at me.

“How dare you, the daughter of a baron, love him? She thinks that only by coming here, she can be happy! Out, out!”

Some of the people who hate me were the ones Jemon loved the most. Jemon’s mother, the Marchioness of Daybrick, was one of them.

She served me tea and slapped me in the face.

**Literally. It’s not a metaphore.

As time passed, my feelings for her grew worse, but I could understand even by force.

I knew that Mrs. Weger, the Marchioness’ old family, had harassed her and overwhelmed her with her poor emotional control.

But that’s what Jemon said.

“My mother seems to have misunderstood something, and I hope you understand her.”

As hard as it seemed, the words he spoke bravely wounded me.

From those words and deeds I knew clearly how much Jemon felt for me.

From then on, it was not hard to guess the end of my relationship.

And more urgent, cruel and rude than I expected, the end came.

“It was better not to see it.”

The love story with Jemon was cruel from beginning to end.

It was natural for my self-esteem to drop.

After coming suddenly to the north, my daily life was in a state of chaos, even forgetting his presence.

If I hadn’t seen the handkerchief, I wouldn’t have done it anymore.

I thought for a moment about throwing things away, but I shook my head.

Even so, it was not possible to throw away the objects of goodwill as I vented my anger.

Whoever gave it to me would not be interested in me throwing away his handkerchief.

Come to think of it, is Cesium Daybrick gonna be okay?

Jemon’s hatred of him was not normal, but since he was engaged to that lady, the daughter of the Duke of Gretel, the situation must have been worse.

And the day he becomes Marquis, maybe…

“We won’t see each other again, but what the hell.”

Worried about someone who wasn’t that close to me, it’s kind of silly.

I picked up the handkerchief and put it in the drawer.

* * * * *

“My mother seems to have misunderstood something, I hope you understand.”

Jemon’s room was a disaster.

The table collapsed and the tea cup broke.

The Marchioness who grabbed her hair, sobbed with her torn hair tangled in her hands.

When he arrived in a hurry, he didn’t look at her, but went straight to his mother.

It was the same thing that he did when she had barely calmed her down and made her stop crying, and fixed her dishevelled clothes.

“What?”

“I know you must have been very surprised. But you also know my mother’s condition.”

“… I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Terryl, my mother is the most precious person to me. If you say something wrong, I have no choice but to rethink our relationship.”

I have not yet uttered a word, and he kept his mouth shut with a wary eye, even though he had only waited in silence until he had calmed the Marchioness.

My breathing was tight.

I really couldn’t say anything.

My silence, Jemon interpreted as he pleased.

“Thank you for understanding. I’m going to calm my mother down and leave, so wait in the living room.”

I was pushed off my back and kicked out of Jemon’s room.

My head is a blank.

What’s happening now.

He was always nice to me. He acted like I was the first.

You must have seen my hair torn out by it, and you must have seen the tea water pouring on me, but you never asked me if I was okay.

The fairy tale fantasy was fragmented, and by the time I was covered in ashes.

I was miserable and heartbroken as if I had been kicked out into the street barefoot.

And then, of all things, I could feel someone’s eyes.

Did you hear the loud noise? Cesium, sitting in a specially made chair, looked this way.

The startled eyes, one after the other, turned to my head and my clothes.

“… Ah.”

My heart suddenly sank.

“No, I’m fine…”

I tried to explain my situation in a hurry, but I couldn’t speak because of the emotion that had swept over me.

Do I look pathetic?

“….”

“There’s nothing to feel sorry for. It’s just that it’s obvious. Even a lover is someone important, but, of course, a mother is more important. Jemon was just surprised. The Marchioness misunderstood him…”

Are you making excuses to Cesium or trying to convince yourself?

The more gibberish I spoke, the worse I felt, and I finally shut my mouth.

He listened silently to the strange me, took off his coat and handed it to me.

Anyway, whether I put it on or not, I’ll be a laughingstock for the servants.

But I prefer not to show my weakness.

I bit my lips and said, “Thank you,” and received his coat.

Knowing that I was ashamed, he bowed his head and passed me by.

There was no more interference, no more clumsy sympathy.

I was grateful for the consideration.

I knew Jemon’s hatred, so it counts. I tried to think badly, but it didn’t seem to be as bad as I thought.

Maybe there’s some misunderstanding…

No, what are you thinking?

I can’t believe that once I’ve been helped, my heart has become so soft.

I shook my head and headed for the stairs.

Time to think pointlessly, I had to rush to the living room on the first floor.

If you are angry with him or arguing with him, you will have to wait there and do something.

But when I stepped on the stairs, I didn’t look ahead, so I lost my balance.

The shoes still wet with tea are slippery and my eye level has changed dramatically.
I couldn’t scream and I closed my eyes tightly. My body was about to roll down the stairs, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me.

“Oh, thank you.”

Holding my heart in awe, I raised my head.

I tried to express my gratitude correctly.

The person who helped me, of course, must have been a passing servant.

The only person close to me was Cesium and me, but he could not walk.

Someone else who passed by would have helped me.

Of course I thought about it.

“How can you…”

What I saw was someone on two feet and a rolling chair behind them.

It was also his arm that held me.

How’s this guy standing?

He said he couldn’t walk. Apparently, until recently, he was sitting in a specially made chair…

Oh I get it.

“It’s a dream.”

As soon as I realized, I woke up from my dream.

The corridor of the Marquis of Daybrick was absorbed into other side of my consciousness, and I saw a blue sky and a curtain in front of my eyes when I woke up.

I’m more familiar with this room now.

“Surprised, daughter. I can’t believe you can sleep in a fog.”

My father’s sarcastic comments of admiration have become familiar.

It was sad to get used to this.

“Well, are you sure I’ve been here for three years?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s strange. After this ‘ritual’, I’m supposed to be your foolish daughter. Why isn’t my father making progress then?”

“That’s bullshit.”

Yes, it’s been three years since I came north.

It felt like 30 years ago.

After getting all the necessary studies, I had been practicing fencing all day long, every minute and every second.

When I got my knighthood I was proud to learn fencing well. But that was for a short time.

After that, the training became more strenuous, and I wanted to take away the Sir Rihan’s humble title if I could.

During that time, a lot has changed. The country is not limited to human beings.

The biggest change was in the capital.

The emperor was killed.

The story I heard from my father came to my mind.

“He disguised himself as a soldier, but it was obvious. It’s clear the Duke of Tanitar has done his job.”

“Isn’t he the new Emperor?”

“It’s just a Tanitar puppet. He managed to find a man who had no power but blood.”

“You’ll have to go through the line of succession.”

“I have to do something urgently, so I can’t go right away. Then you have to go first. We have to show the face of the next successor Rihan anyway.”

The death of the previous Emperor and the rise of the new Emperor.

In the capital, something was moving.

We didn’t know if the consequences would reach Whitefall, but as lords of this land we had to confirm.

And today was the day to leave for the capital.

I got up from my seat and stretched out for a long time.

Since it was obvious that I would rest as I went down to the capital, my whole body screamed at my father’s insistence that I would do so in a few weeks.

All night long, without rest, I swung my sword and did not stop even after dawn. Then, finally, I was going to faint a while ago.

“Now that I think about it, you’re so bad. I haven’t even visited the capital for a year, how can I have a fight until I faint?”

“What do you mean, fainting?” She was discharged and fell asleep. “How do stunned humans dream?”

“Is it okay to tell your mother the same thing?”

“…”

The predator who stabbed my weakness looked at me.

If it’s an act that shouldn’t be done, don’t yawn in the first place.

“How’s my mother’s cold?”

“As always. I’ve called the Divine Legion, so I should be better off today.”

If my father’s words that my mother was too weak were not exaggerated, she has not yet adapted to the land of the north.

Even if it weren’t serious, I couldn’t expect a younger brother even in jest.

She still has a bad cold these days, and it has hardly stopped her from seeing me.

Even with a healthy body, she struggles with the cold in the north, and when she catches a cold, they wonder if she will be able to recover.

He called a doctor, but she still had to be careful.

Come to think of it, it was also a three-year change that made her seem weaker than before.

“I’ll be down soon, too, but go to the capital and keep your mail steady.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll do my best not to worry you.”

I could hear a horse whinnying outside.

It was time to start.

“Farewell, Father.”

* * * * *

Twenty-two years ago, in the summer of 498.

Whitefall was attacked by a beast.

Although there was no damage to the dukedom, most of the Duchess Rihan’s maids were killed or seriously injured.

It was difficult to fill the void in a hurry, as aristocrats were scarce in the north.

Necessarily, the Duke of Rihan asked the Imperial Family to hire a maid.

It’s a land of cold, harsh winters. No one volunteered.

Only after the promise of enormous rewards from the Imperial Family, a few noble ladies, who had pushed their backs, traveled.

One of them was Izzlette, daughter of Baron Winterglass.

“Thank you for coming to the cold, hard land. I am Elizabeth Rihan.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Izzlette from Winterglass.”