Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 8
“No, Cinderella is probably busy tending the garden. We don’t have a gardener, either.”
Seeing Susan about to rush out, Rona quickly grabbed her shoulder and shook her head. Susan folded her arms with a dissatisfied look.
“The darn garden… Your hands come first. And as for Cinderella, it seems I’ve been so distracted these past few days that I forgot to torment her. I’ll call her to do the dishes and give her a good scolding.”
“No, the garden must always be well-maintained. It’s not enough to trim it all day. If the garden becomes messy, it will attract all the ghosts in the neighborhood.”
Rona wiggled her fingers and mimicked a ghost, causing the blood to drain from Susan’s face. It seemed the ghostly wails over the past few days had effectively frightened her.
Susan, looking off into the distance as if imagining things, made a disgusted expression.
“Ugh, you’re right.”
“And I’ll handle tormenting Cinderella myself. A young person like me should do the hard work. Susan, you aren’t as strong as you used to be, right?”
Recently, even Susan’s hair had begun to show signs of graying. It was time for her to start taking care of her health, or she might quickly deteriorate.
Susan rubbed her cheek at Rona’s considerate words. She had been feeling her strength waning recently.
‘Lady Rona seems to have matured since the concussion incident. She wasn’t someone who showed such consideration before.’
Susan had been very surprised to see Rona change so drastically after her injury. Her speech had softened, and she seemed unfamiliar with the mansion she had lived in for over a year. Now, Susan thought it might have been a good thing her head was injured.
Kindness was a useless virtue for a con artist but necessary for a normal human being. They couldn’t hustle like this forever—it was a dangerous life where they could be caught and harmed at any time. They hadn’t been born with wicked hearts. It was easy to con people during wartime chaos, and they had come this far as a result.
After this, Susan and Rona planned to live honestly. This would be their last scam.
‘This is the last time. Just once more and it’s over. Cinderella is pitiful, but so are we.’
The downfall of the viscount’s family was due to an investment scam. Afterward, Susan had raised Rona with the little remaining family wealth. They lived comfortably for a while, but then the hardships began. During wartime, the world was full of con artists preying on naive women. Having suffered, they turned to conning others in return.
In such a world, why bother being kind? They wandered, pulling small cons, thinking they were just repaying what was done to them.
One day, they ended up in a rural village and learned of a noble lady living alone in a mansion. They decided this would be their last scam.
Susan, massaging her temples, nodded in agreement. She felt her body was not as it used to be.
“Huu, thank you, Lady Rona. Seeing Cinderella not react to anything I do makes it unrewarding and frustrating to torment her…”
“Yes, as we age, we must watch our blood pressure.”
Rona nodded and supported Susan, who was about to fall back. Leaning against the armrest of the chair, Susan agreed with her.
“Yes, indeed. I’m getting old. Huu, I’ll seriously think about hiring some workers. After all, we’re doing this to make a living.”
At Susan’s sighing words, Rona’s face brightened. Her efforts to frighten Susan over the past few days hadn’t been in vain. Looking at Susan’s haggard face, she felt a twinge of guilt but was relieved to keep her promise to Cinderella soon.
***
‘Hiring workers is one thing, but when will I be able to befriend Cinderella?’
Two weeks into following her around, Rona was gradually becoming mentally and physically exhausted due to Cinderella’s consistent attitude. Sometimes Cinderella would look at her with curious eyes, but that was it. Befriending her seemed like it would take forever, even with the news of hiring workers.
Today, Rona was again standing a few steps behind, openly watching Cinderella wash rags by the well. Cinderella knew Rona was behind her but acted as if she were alone.
Swallowing her frustration, Rona quietly approached the well and stood there, waiting for Cinderella to look back.
“Haa…”
Cinderella paused while washing the rags and let out a low sigh. The androgynous voice contrasted with her beautiful appearance. The lower tone made Rona’s shoulders tremble slightly.
‘She must be annoyed because of me. Her voice is so husky. It oddly suits her, given her pretty face.’
