The Prince's Taste - Chapter 4.5
Even the memories that came to Judy Esther’s mind were mixed with fairy tales, so she couldn’t be sure. As Judy Esther dried her face, she leaned against the carriage wall. While she had a vivid memory of causing a ruckus with Richard and then being stabbed and collapsing, other stories just wouldn’t come to mind.
“I wonder if she lives around here?”
In the original fairy tale, Cinderella only received help from a fairy after working late into the evening. It was said that she used a carriage and quickly arrived at the palace, but that she had walked home afterward without the carriage in sight. She even arrived home before her stepmother and stepsister. If that were true, Ella must live close to the palace.
Ella would surely appear, right? There are only five days left until the founding festival ends.
Judy Esther glanced down at the clover she was holding.
It is said that happiness and unhappiness exist at the edge of the same blade. She had tried to avoid unhappiness, yet an unexpected accident had shattered the certainty of her future. Now, even she didn’t know what lay ahead. Was the story still following the original script?
Or had she, somehow, set an entirely new tale into motion? She couldn’t tell.
Frustrated, Judy Esther pushed herself off the carriage wall and threw open the window.
Outside, the streets were alive with celebration. Music and dance, food and drink, filled every corner. The grand avenue, usually wide enough for four carriages to pass side by side, was so packed with people that even two carriages could barely inch forward.
Amidst the laughter and chatter of the festive crowd, a woman caught Judy Esther’s eye. She was the only one who walked alone, her expression full of confusion. Her dress was old and worn, yet she shone brighter than anyone around her.
“Ella?”
She had merely opened the window for some fresh air, and now she saw the heroine? What kind of absurd situation was this? Could it be fate? If so, then she shouldn’t avoid it.
“Wait! Stop!”
Judy Esther leaned out of the carriage window and shouted at the coachman. Her voice came out hoarse and didn’t carry well. Clearing her throat, she shouted again,
“Stop!”
The carriage had barely come to a halt as she hurriedly got out. In a black-and-white world, a blonde woman who seems to hold all the colours to herself was undoubtedly the protagonist. Even if she didn’t know her face, she could recognize the heroine of this world at a glance.
“Cinderella… no, Ella!”
Judy Esther rushed back along the path she had taken. She called out Ella’s name loudly, but her voice was drowned out by the noise of the bustling street. Behind her, the coachman shouted in despair, “Miss! You can’t go off alone like that!” But Judy Esther pushed through the crowd in a frenzy to find Ella.
Chasing after the blonde, she eventually realised that she had lost Ella and she herself was lost, too. She had no idea where her carriage was. With a sigh, Judy Esther thought,.
“Well, it’s fine to enjoy the festival leisurely like this, right? I can ask someone for directions to find the Marquis Emers’ residence, and if that doesn’t work, I could always rent a carriage.”
As she wandered around, Adrian appeared incredibly beautiful. Born as a wealthy noblewoman in this wonderful world and enjoying all its privileges, it would be a shame to leave it all behind because of a man. She steeled herself once more, reminding herself that living long and thin was the best. As long as she could live comfortably, loved by her family just like now.
Of course, it would be even better if Richard were included. But being too greedy often brings trouble.
“I can’t have it all.”
Even knowing that it would end catastrophically, she had lost herself in her nights with Richard. Perhaps due to the original setting values, she was weak against him. In truth, who wouldn’t weaken when looking at Richard? But she, who knew that future, shouldn’t have allowed herself to be swayed.
It seemed there is only one way out of Adrian, and that is through exile, or to be more exact, serfdom?
“Maybe I should just head straight to the empire from here.”
Judy Esther stopped walking and looked up at the southern sky
“Though I don’t know about other places, I know Rumelern well. Shall we go together?”
Startled by the suddenly deep voice that came from behind her, Judy Esther turned around. A handsome man with silver hair and red eyes was looking down at her. She had thought Richard was the most handsome, but this man’s appearance was also extraordinary. If Richard was a pretty boy, this man was a ruggedly handsome figure.
