Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 43
“Well, Cinderella could have bought the same design at the shop…”
Rona held the small piece of underwear with both hands, examining it closely. She didn’t know Cinderella’s underwear size, but the size seemed similar to her own. Was she just being paranoid? There couldn’t be that many underwear shops in such a small village.
As she sighed, she noticed a strange stain and squinted her eyes.
“What is this stain…?”
In the center of the panties was a white, dried mark. Even if it was worn underwear, it was unusual for such a mark to be on the outside. Holding the underwear up high to inspect it, Rona clicked her tongue and lowered her arm.
It must belong to Cinderella. Why would another woman steal someone else’s underwear? Cinderella could buy anything she wanted now that she wasn’t being mistreated.
Rona decided to dismiss her unfounded suspicions. She quickly put the underwear back into the box, feeling uncomfortable like she was some pervert for inspecting it so closely. At that moment, she accidentally kicked the box with her leg, and it fell to the floor with a clatter.
Startled by the loud noise, Rona let out a small scream and then froze.
“What… what is this?”
The contents of the box scattered across the floor. The diary and other miscellaneous items weren’t the issue.
It was just…
Several pairs of underwear, including the one she had just inspected, spilled out onto the floor.
Rona’s eyes widened in shock as she picked up three pairs of underwear. Besides the red lace panties, which she had initially noticed, the other two were also the same design as the ones she had lost.
‘Could it be that Cinderella took them, not a maid? Why? Why would she take my underwear and put them in a box?’
Rona laid the underwear on the bed and inspected each one. Like the red lace panties, the other pieces also had suspicious white marks dried on them. She was sure there were no such marks when she last wore them. Seeing the stains on the outside, it seemed something unsettling had been done.
‘Could it be spit? Does spit leave such a mark when it dries?’
Rona frowned as she examined the underwear. Why would Cinderella spit on her underwear? If ‘she’ had wanted to insult her, she would have done it openly like before, not in such a shady manner.
‘No, maybe there’s a hidden side to her. But does it make sense to steal underwear just to spit on it…?’
Imagining Cinderella sneaking into her room to steal her underwear made Rona let out a groaning sigh. She had already experienced much worse, so this didn’t give her chills. It just didn’t make sense.
What should she do? Even if Cinderella was the underwear thief, she couldn’t confront ‘her’ directly. She had to stay in Cinderella’s good graces, especially with the day of revenge drawing near. Causing trouble now would be like walking into a trap.
As Rona sighed repeatedly, contemplating her situation, the door creaked open. Startled, she froze in place.
Cinderella stood at the door with a ferocious expression. He had immediately rushed over upon realizing Rona had entered his room again. He was already troubled by her excited anticipation of the ball and felt it necessary to confess to her before then.
But seeing Rona sneaking into the attic again made him wonder what she was trying to find. Certainly not the same thrill he was feeling. Suddenly, he remembered that Rona originally came to this mansion to con him.
‘Why would she sneak into the attic again? She wasn’t interested in the treasure in the storage… Wait, could she be a spy sent by an enemy family?’
Rather than make assumptions, he decided to ask directly. Having awakened his magic, he had nothing to hide from Rona or anyone else. Thus, he went to the attic and found Rona looking very flustered.
Cinderella walked over briskly and looked down at Rona with a menacing glare. His shadow fell over her trembling face, and his low voice resonated.
“Rona, what brings you to my room?”
“Well, I wanted to decorate it a bit…”
Rona glanced at the vase on the nightstand and answered in a small voice. It was a flimsy excuse, but she hoped it would work.
Cinderella crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow skeptically. His gaze moved to the vase on the nightstand.
“What?”
“Oh, the vase.”
Rona nodded vigorously. She hoped her excuse would work, but she was asking for a lot.
“You came to decorate my room?”
“Yes…”
Cinderella repeated her words, his tone full of disbelief, making Rona bite her lips nervously.
‘What an idiot. I should have come up with a believable excuse… This is bad. She seems really angry. I hope this doesn’t ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for.’
