Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 51
Tilting his head to the side, he responded nonchalantly.
“Why are you acting like this? Who said anything about killing you? I said I’d let you off, didn’t I?”
“T-Then you won’t kill me, right? Not tear me limb from limb, throw me into the air, and revive me again and all that?”
“Why would I do that? I’m not going to do anything like that.”
Cinderella leaned against the wall with an exasperated look. Rona watched him and swallowed nervously. Seeing his astonished expression, it seemed he had no such intentions at all.
‘The story has really changed. I’m safe.’
Her body relaxed, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She asked again to confirm.
“Really? Say it again, you won’t do that?”
“I won’t do anything like that. Well, it might have happened if you had continued trying to scam me.”
“Oh god. I won’t, I swear!”
Rona’s heart started pounding hard again. Her heightened voice made Cinderella stifle a laugh.
Even with her flaws, her panicked behavior was endearing, like a frightened puppy. But he wasn’t ready to reassure her completely just yet. He wanted to tease her a little more, especially considering her past actions.
With a deliberately grumpy expression, he said,
“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not going to kill you.”
“Okay. Thanks. Then I’ll leave tomorrow, no, today. I’ll take Susan and…”
Now that her scam had been exposed, there was no way she could stay in this house. Although Cinderella had said he wouldn’t kill her, who knew when he might change his mind?
With her head bowed, Rona mumbled bitterly. As the novel neared its end, it was time for the villainess to exit.
Though she felt a pang of sadness, having grown somewhat attached, once the scam was revealed, she and Cinderella were nothing more than strangers. In fact, they were worse than strangers — a scammer and her victim. Fortunately, she had received a promise of mercy despite her lowly attempt.
‘The future head of a count’s family would surely meet someone far better than a fallen noble lady trying to scam him.’
Thinking this, she felt relieved they hadn’t gone too far. If they had crossed the line in her moment of weakness, she might have expected more from their relationship. However, it seemed Cinderella had a different plan.
But Cinderella’s expression darkened when he heard Rona talking about leaving.
“What are you talking about? Where do you think you’re going?”
“Huh?”
He quickly thought of a reason to keep Rona in the mansion. He had planned to tease her more, but the sudden announcement of her departure startled him, prompting him to say whatever came to mind.
“Well… what about all the money you spent? You’ve been spending someone else’s money lavishly, so you have to pay it back, right?”
Cinderella then glared at her belatedly, thinking he needed to scare her enough to stop her from leaving.
Rona, who had been resigned to leaving, felt a chill run down her spine. Paying back the money hadn’t even crossed her mind. She had thought Cinderella was just a naive noble when he handed over the warehouse key, but it seemed he had planned to demand payment for everything later.
Or maybe he gave them the key to have a reason to exact revenge without feeling guilty. Thinking of the novel’s scenes of his brutal revenge, it seemed quite plausible.
Rona’s hesitation was misinterpreted by Cinderella, who saw her as even more guilty. His expression turned harsher.
“Were you planning to just leave without paying back? How shameless. You’re not leaving this house until you repay every penny. And forget about going to the ball or dreaming of an ordinary man. Understand?”
“If I… can’t leave this house, how am I supposed to pay it back? How do you expect me to repay it?”
Cinderella, quick to anger, rattled off his words, only to add an afterthought. Rona, shrinking back, responded in a barely audible voice.
Why bring up the ball and an ordinary man? Was he implying she, a mere scammer, had the audacity to think she could attend the ball? Tears welled up in her eyes from the injustice.
Cinderella, arms crossed, glanced at her teary expression and quickly turned away. Though he had lashed out, seeing her near tears made him feel guilty. The woman before him was a scammer, albeit a pitiful one. She might try to escape at any moment, so he had to make sure his point was clear.
Steeling himself, he spoke coldly.
“I don’t know. But you’re not leaving. Figure out how to repay it.”
“Then… I’ll do the housework. I’ll do everything myself, just like you used to. You saw me before. I’m good at laundry. I’m not great at cooking, but I can clean… No, I’ll learn quickly if I do other things too.”
If she couldn’t leave, there was only one solution. Like Cinderella in the past, she would handle all the chores alone. Being scolded while doing housework was far better than having her limbs torn apart in the air.
Cinderella listened to her and his eyes gleamed. He found her suggestion amusing and his mind wandered to less innocent thoughts.
“You shouldn’t say things like that carelessly.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Your face says it all.”
