Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 14
In the winter, a ball would be held at the palace for Cinderella’s 22nd birthday. Ostensibly, it was a banquet to find a crown princess, but in reality, it was an awakening ceremony prepared by the king to usher in the birth of a powerful mage who could lead the kingdom to ultimate victory in the war.
However, Cinderella was skeptical about the ball. Having never felt his heart race at the sight of a woman, he doubted that day would be any different. Even if he were to go to the capital, where he would see many women, falling in love wasn’t something that came easily.
If that failed, he would have to resort to a special potion for forced awakening. Men of his family who couldn’t achieve perfect awakening took specially concocted potions to gain comparable power—but at the cost of severe side effects. His father was a case of such side effects.
‘Father hopes I will fall in love and achieve perfect awakening, but that’s not something one can accomplish just by trying.’
Cinderella glanced at Rona, who was doing the laundry. He was almost certain that Rona and Susan were con artists.
He had promised to meet his father at the ball this winter. Those who had scammed him, thinking the count was missing, would encounter his father at the ball.
He would deal with them properly then.
The fortunate thing for Rona was that Cinderella didn’t yet harbor a hatred strong enough to want them dead. At this point, he believed these con artists should be handed over to the border guards to face proper punishment.
Rona and Susan were not professional con artists; their efforts were clumsy. Though they had tormented him, Cinderella, who had lived in fear of assassination all his life, saw their actions as childish pranks.
They had dismissed the servants to make his life harder, but from Cinderella’s perspective, it was a relief. In a situation where it was hard to discern friend from foe, having fewer people around was convenient.
Now, with new servants, things were physically easier, but there were more people to keep an eye on, making him wary. None of the new hires seemed suspicious, though.
Despite knowing they were con artists, Rona’s continued friendliness softened his heart. Perhaps it was because he had lived so long without anyone to trust. Cinderella had led a fake life to avoid assassination attempts since birth, and aside from his father, whom he rarely saw, he had never had close conversations with anyone.
Rona’s eyes sparkled with an eagerness that was almost overwhelming. She seemed to be expecting praise, but that wasn’t appropriate. Cinderella responded indifferently.
“Uh-huh.”
Cinderella raised an eyebrow as if finding the situation amusing, then resumed washing. Rona’s shoulders slumped at the unexpected reaction. Cinderella, ignoring her gaze, was absorbed in the laundry.
Disappointed by Cinderella’s reaction, Rona bit her lip and rinsed her nightgown. Even though they had hired servants, it was just five, which might explain the skepticism.
‘Phew. Restoring things to how they were is impossible. Most of the former servants left the village, and Susan is reluctant to rehire those she previously dismissed…’
Her attempted escape had failed, winning over Cinderella’s heart was difficult, and obstacles seemed endless. If she hadn’t been so foolish in the past, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
Rona wrung out the water from her nightgown and stood up with a splashing sound. As she shook out the water from her nightgown with a sharp snap, she felt Cinderella’s gaze.
“Rona, you’re quite good at laundry. Have you done it often?”
“Uh, well, is there something wrong?”
Rona’s pupils wavered nervously. Every time Cinderella spoke, her heart skipped a beat, wondering what fault might be mentioned next.
As expected, Cinderella, drawing water from the well, spoke in a low voice.
“You said you’ve never done housework before. But you seem quite skilled at it.”
“Did I say that? With a shortage of hands, I have to wash my own clothes. Turns out it’s not that hard, haha.”
Rona responded awkwardly and laughed loudly. She vaguely remembered saying such things while tormenting Cinderella.
Whether it was due to the concussion or the mingling of memories from her past life, her recollection of the past was hazy.
Rona hung her nightgown on the clothesline in front of the well. She flinched when cold fingers touched her cheek.
Cinderella placed a hand on her cheek and said in a low voice,
“You have soap bubbles on you.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
Rona touched her cheek where the bubbles had been. Cinderella, hanging up laundry beside her, muttered,
“It was just a bit bothersome.”
“I see…”
Rona glanced at Cinderella working silently. That flawless, fair face looked more beautiful than ever today.
Wanting to help, Rona discreetly picked up a piece of laundry from the basket. Cinderella briefly glanced at her before resuming the task. There was no reason to refuse her help. In fact, Cinderella didn’t mind.
Rona felt pleased seeing Cinderella not objecting to her help. Compared to the initial refusals, this was a significant improvement.
‘Good. At this rate, I might be able to avoid the bloody revenge ending.’
