Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 20
Susan’s carriage left the mansion. Surprisingly, Cinderella did not stop Susan from leaving to recuperate.
Whether it was because she couldn’t stop her or chose not to, only she would know. Since Susan was heading to an estate owned by the family, Cinderella might have thought she could follow her anytime if she wanted.
‘Phew, Susan won’t be back for a while. I can finally get close to Cinderella without worrying about her.’
It was quite bold of them to send Susan to recuperate at the family’s estate while still conning them. But they had already spent over a year trying to strip the family of everything. Their conscience had long disappeared. Having lived next to Cinderella for a year, using the villa didn’t bother them at all.
This was the downside of a novel based on a fairy tale. Despite their year-long scheme, no one had come to catch them. Even in wartime, and even with this mansion in a remote countryside, it seemed excessive. It was a world perfectly suited for con artists. With the kingdom in such a state, Cinderella’s rage and subsequent revenge on the stepmother and stepsister were understandable.
‘Huu, with Susan gone, everything now depends on me. Escaping isn’t an option. We’ve taken too much already. Befriending Cinderella is our only way to survive. Let’s do this.’
Rona walked down the corridor with her hands behind her back. With Susan gone, she decided to explore the mansion more thoroughly. Maybe she would uncover some family secrets she hadn’t discovered in the attic.
After wandering around, she arrived at a locked room. The door was more elaborately decorated than the others.
‘Is this the count’s room? Hmm, I’ll need a key to get in.’
She shook the lock and sighed softly before turning back. She could break the lock with a hammer, but Cinderella wouldn’t let her off if she did something like that.
As she wandered through the other rooms, Rona began to wonder.
‘There must be a room where Cinderella stayed before moving to the attic. Why can’t I find it?’
Could it be that Susan’s room or her own room was originally Cinderella’s? She couldn’t remember where Cinderella had stayed initially. Perhaps she should have asked Susan before she left for the estate. Clicking her tongue, Rona shook her head. Cinderella must have cleared it out when she moved to the attic.
In fact, the locked room was where Cinderella had stayed, but Rona had no way of knowing without entering.
Rona headed to Susan’s room. Behind that room, past the canopy, was the storeroom where the family’s treasures were kept.
When they first barged into the mansion with forged documents, Cinderella had shown them the storeroom.
Usually, Susan went in, and Rona didn’t pay much attention, but now she wanted to take a look since she was exploring the mansion. She turned the key Susan had given her, and the door to the storeroom opened. She jangled the keys and tilted her head.
‘Now that I think about it, this is strange. Cinderella doesn’t seem like a fool, yet she handed over the storeroom key so easily. Did she not think she was being swindled?’
It didn’t match Cinderella’s usual behavior. Why had she done that? Maybe it was just a careless plot device by the author who didn’t pay much attention to the details.
(In truth, the treasures in the storeroom were a small part of the family’s wealth, and most of it was protected by an illusion spell. But Rona was unaware of this.)
She stepped inside, her eyes widening at the sight of the dazzling jewels and treasures.
‘I understand why Susan suggested we run off with the storeroom’s treasures. But if we steal this, we’re guaranteed to face Cinderella’s bloody revenge.’
Greed is the bane of mankind. Stroking a sparkling jewel, Rona slapped her hand to shake off the desire. They had already spent a year embezzling the family’s wealth. To clear her karma, she needed to curb her greed.
Get out, just get out.
She knew she needed to leave, but her feet wouldn’t move. The glittering treasures seemed to beckon her to stay.
Forcing herself to ignore the tempting jewels, Rona closed her eyes tightly and stepped out of the storeroom.
At that moment, the eyes of a cat statue in the corner of the storeroom followed her. As the door closed and darkness fell, the jewel eyes of the cat statue glowed menacingly, but Rona did not notice anything unusual.
***
“Oh, how boring.”
A chuckle escaped Cinderella, who was lying on his bed reading a book. For a brief moment, his blue eyes flashed red.
Rona had entered the storeroom protected by an illusion spell and left without taking anything.
