Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 4
‘Eek—’
Rona felt she finally understood what the saying meant, ‘if looks could kill’. Cinderella’s face, emitting an aura of ‘don’t come any closer’, was as harsh as frost in midsummer. Avoiding her gaze, Rona carefully approached her while clutching her dress.
‘Look at those eyes. I did torment her a bit, but…’
Faint memories flitted through her mind. Maybe it was more than just a bit. Fortunately, Rona hadn’t used physical violence against Cinderella. Upon closer reflection, it was Susan who had done more of the tormenting. That much was certain.
‘What’s done is done. I can’t do anything about Susan. I need to save myself.’
Having already decided to cut ties with Susan in her heart, Rona grabbed the railing and glanced at Cinderella. Despite their eyes meeting, Cinderella continued mopping the floor silently, as if she were alone.
‘She seems to hold a lot of resentment. If only I had my past life memories from the start, things would be different.’
If that had been the case, she wouldn’t have entered this mansion in the first place.
With a heavy heart, Rona sighed deeply. The sound was loud enough to make Cinderella flinch. She then turned completely away and started cleaning the stairs.
‘Hmm? Her build is better than I thought. The heavens are indeed fair.’
Cinderella had a surprisingly broad frame. If her body had been as delicate as her beautiful face, it would have been bothersome, but this was somewhat comforting.
Rona, staring intently at Cinderella’s back, finally spoke.
“Cinderella.”
“What?”
Cinderella looked up at her with cold eyes. Talking to someone who clearly hated her was agonizing. Rona nervously forced a smile.
“Why don’t you take it easy with the work?”
“Ahh… okay! I’ll work even harder, Sister.”
(T/N: Cinderella uses ‘Unnie’ here, which is a term of address that a younger girl uses for an older girl. It’s different if it’s from a younger boy to an older girl—Noona or Noonim.)
Cinderella’s eyebrows twitched momentarily as she responded. Her tone was gentle, but her expression was full of displeasure. Even though her words were sarcastic, Rona couldn’t back down now.
She cautiously approached Cinderella and nudged the bucket away with her foot.
“Stop for now. You look tired. Where are all the maids?”
“What are you talking about? Stepmother sent them all away. She said one worker was enough for this house. I remember you agreed with her at the time.”
Cinderella pulled the bucket back and resumed mopping, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.
‘Did I really? What was I thinking?’
Rona bit her lip. Backing down now would mean heading straight to hell in a year’s time. She anxiously hovered around Cinderella.
“Really? I must have been crazy then. We should call the maids back… No, there’s another mop here. Let me help.”
“Don’t. I’ll do it.”
Rona picked up a spare mop from the bucket, but Cinderella quickly snatched it away. Looking down at her now empty hands, Rona stubbornly spoke again.
“No, seriously. Stop cleaning. How can you clean this huge mansion by yourself? We need to hire workers.”
“Are you still not feeling well? Didn’t the doctor tell you to stay in bed longer?”
Rona flinched at the cold question. Cinderella’s icy demeanor was understandable. The memories of being tormented wouldn’t wash away overnight. Feeling humiliated again, Rona wanted to retreat.
‘You expected this. Did you think things would get better immediately?’
Determined, Rona decided to push through once more.
“I’m perfectly fine. Give me that. I can’t stand to see you suffering.”
“Ah.”
Rona took the mop from Cinderella’s hands and grabbed her hand firmly. Startled by the sudden contact, Cinderella remained silent and motionless.
‘Huh? Her hands are really rough. She must have suffered a lot.’
Rona was surprised by how rough Cinderella’s hands were. They were so thick and coarse that she could believe they belonged to a man if she closed her eyes.
Not only were they rough, but they were also larger than her own hands. It was hard to imagine such sturdy hands from someone with Cinderella’s delicate appearance.
Comparing her soft, small hands to Cinderella’s rough ones, Rona’s eyes wavered. She couldn’t remember when she had come to this house, but it had been over a year. During that time, Cinderella’s hands had become rough from doing all the household chores alone.
‘Haah, no wonder she hates me. We’ve made her work until her noble hands became like this.’
Gently stroking the back of Cinderella’s hand, Rona felt sorry for the torment she had inflicted before realizing her past life. Of course, this apology was also a means of survival, hoping to build a good relationship with Cinderella.
At that moment, Cinderella shook her hand and spoke softly.
“…Let go.”
“Sorry. It’s just… seeing you cleaning all the time. I’ll tell Mother to hire some workers.”
Rona held Cinderella’s hand tightly as she spoke sincerely. To avoid being the target of revenge in a year, she needed to start treating Cinderella well right away.
