Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 13
It was more than just better than nothing—it was clearly better. There was no longer any need for ‘her’ to do housework. Cinderella, no longer forced, was now doing housework out of boredom. The new servants had initially tried to stop ‘her’, but when ‘she’ said ‘she’ did it to pass the time, they just shrugged and let ‘her’ be.
Rona’s triumphant look, as if waiting for thanks for hiring the servants, didn’t sit well with Cinderella. It was Susan who had dismissed the servants, but Rona had supported her at the time. Annoyed, Cinderella replied curtly. Rona, unsure of Cinderella’s mood, hesitated before speaking.
“There are five servants. We could only find five in such a hurry… But I help with the housework too, so it’s like there are six of us, right?”
Rona added that she was also doing housework when she noticed Cinderella’s indifferent expression.
‘This damn rural village, Susan said it was hard to find people who had experience working for a noble household or who hadn’t been dismissed previously. Five was quite a good number. I did my best to change Susan’s mind, and I’m filling in the gaps myself.’
Rona’s green eyes sparkled with eagerness, resembling a puppy waiting for its owner’s praise. Cinderella, taken aback by Rona’s look, turned her gaze aside.
Since hitting her head hard, Rona had changed a lot. Acting friendly, now even volunteering for housework—it was wearing down Cinderella’s resolve. Why was she pretending to be friendly? It was as if she knew Cinderella planned revenge. If not, there was no reason for her to act like this.
‘She’s not even my real family.’
When they first arrived at the mansion, Cinderella had been suspicious of their shoddy documents but had accepted them nonetheless. Though the documents were lacking, it was true that ‘her’ father had left for the war and had not been in contact for a long time. And despite their worn appearances, their manners and speech carried a noble air, which had convinced Cinderella not to suspect a scam at first.
But soon, ‘she’ noticed inconsistencies. They claimed to have met ‘her’ father in a completely different region from where he had gone. There were many other suspicious behaviors, yet Cinderella allowed their actions to go unchecked.
‘She’—or rather he—had to maintain the appearance of weakness until fully awakening his magic to avoid detection by enemies. If it became known that he could use magic, enemies might come for him.
Men born into the Loren family inherited strong magical powers. However, during childhood, only weak magic could be used, and there were stringent conditions to become a powerful mage.
These conditions required reaching adulthood, experiencing two autumns after that, and falling deeply in love to the point of an intense heartbeat. This was due to a curse placed by a jealous dark sorcerer long ago.
This secret was discovered by the Loren family’s rivals, who envied their wartime achievements, leading to frequent deaths of Loren men before they could fulfill their potential.
To avoid assassinations, the family kept the birth of their sons a strict secret. Cinderella’s father had also been raised in secrecy and was one of the few men who survived. Now it was Cinderella’s turn.
Thus, he was raised as a girl from birth. After puberty, his father cast a spell not just to change his clothes but to make his appearance more feminine, maintaining the illusion of the opposite gender. This spell, powered by his inherent magical energy, continued even in his father’s absence.
By the time he was five, his father had moved to a townhouse in the capital, leaving Cinderella alone at the main house. Then, a continental war broke out, and time passed with only letters exchanged.
It had been a long time since he had seen his father, and the spell was weakening, causing his body to become more masculine and his voice to deepen. Yet, his naturally beautiful face allowed him to still pass as a woman with the right attire—for now.
‘Father’s spell will last until early winter at most. Anyway, by then I won’t need to dress as a woman…’
After meeting the first awakening condition of experiencing two autumns, he would become strong enough to fend off most assassins. However, it was an incomplete awakening.
To fully awaken, he needed to fall in love, which was not an easy task for someone who had lived as a woman until adulthood.
