Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 10
Struggling to lift her feet as if they were glued to the floor, Roel encouraged herself to move.
She walked towards the door as slowly as a convict on her way to the gallows and stopped in front of the man, then bowed her head with difficulty.
“Thank you. I was able to warm up because of you.”
The man simply twitched his eyebrows without a response. Just a step or two more and she would be outside. However, Roel found herself frozen in place, unable to move her feet.
Standing at the door, she felt the winter wind that seemed to tear at her flesh. The fear of wandering in the forest and freezing to death if she left now overwhelmed her. She couldn’t head straight to the village below the mountain; she had to cross the ridge to reach another village.
But the path over the ridge to the next village was treacherous, and the chances of freezing to death or being attacked by wild animals were high. Moreover, she had no food, making survival in the cold, harsh path nearly impossible.
She couldn’t descend to the nearby village either, for if she did, Roel would surely die at Roniti’s hands. The fear of death, either way, engulfed her as she contemplated leaving the cabin.
“Do you have a problem?”
Noticing Roel’s hesitation, the man who had been waiting for her to leave asked. Roel looked up at him, shrinking in on herself.
She didn’t want to die yet, especially not freezing to death in the cold forest.
She had to cling shamelessly to his kindness. Roel, having forgotten her fear that he might be a dangerous person, now saw him as her only hope.
“My, my ankle seems sprained. I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself badly if I try to go down like this…”
Roel stammered out her desperate lie.
“….”
The man frowned slightly and tilted his head. He was seemingly annoyed by her dithering. She was an uninvited guest, after all.
Her face flushed with his visible irritation, but she persisted, desperate not to be sent away. She would rather beg and cling to his legs than be expelled into the cold. On the brink, she swallowed the thorny shame and continued her lie.
“Could I stay until my ankle gets better? Just a day or two, I think I’ll recover quickly.”
“…Ha”
A heavy sigh crushed Roel mercilessly. She expected him to push her out immediately, telling her to leave without further nuisance. Watching the winter wind howl outside, she felt a terrible fear.
Please, please, save me. Roel clasped her hands together, pleading desperately.
“In exchange, I’ll help with the housework. I can’t go down the mountain yet, but I can move slowly…”
His indifferent gaze swept over her. Despite her trembling, pitiful figure, his expression remained impassive. He was clearly finding the intrusion bothersome.
Thud, the harsh wind closed the door loudly. Roel’s shoulders shivered with relief as the biting cold ceased.
‘I’ve survived.’
The tension drained from her body, feeling as though she had been on the brink of a cliff and had just stepped back onto safe ground.
“Thank you, truly.”
Roel repeatedly bowed and expressed her gratitude.
“Not for long.”
His offhand remark made Roel nod eagerly. She had a few more days to live.
Roel watched him cautiously, knowing she needed to prove her worth to stay. Being seen as useless could mean being expelled as soon as the next day. Roniti often complained about Roel’s lack of usefulness despite her hard work from dawn to late evening.
But Roel never dared to retort as she had nowhere else to go. Accused by Roniti of ruining household chores due to her clumsiness, no other lady would be entrusted with such tasks.
‘I need to do something.’
Feeling the urgency as her life was extended, she felt impatient. Roel wondered what she could do to avoid criticism.
“Have you had breakfast?”
Noticing the absence of any food smells, Roel asked cautiously. However, the man nodded.
“I did.”
“You did?”
“If you’re hungry, eat what’s there.”
He gestured towards the table where a piece of dry jerky and hard rye bread lay.
“Is this all you had for breakfast…? What about soup?”
In the cold winter, how could he work after eating only jerky? Roel knew a man of his size needed more food than she did.
At her question, the man sighed and approached. To see his face, Roel had to tilt her head up.
He tapped the table firmly and warned.
“This is all there is. Save your complaints for home.”
