Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 20
“Hic.”
Roel didn’t understand why she was sad. While she should rejoice in their misfortune, she felt unjustly wronged, sorrowful, and hurt instead.
Why did they hate her so much for what she had done? Why did they make life so unbearable for her, who had nowhere else to go? Couldn’t they have been a bit nicer? Just a little kinder? She was truly, truly lonely and struggling.
The injustice of years endured at their hands, the satisfaction of giving them their deserved punishment, the guilt of having taken a life—all these emotions surged within her simultaneously.
To avoid being caught by Kyden, she held her breath and wiped her tears. She turned away to hide her crying. He approached her, still oblivious.
“Stop the sewing for now, and get ready for bed.”
“Ah, yes.”
Roel bowed her head and folded the scattered clothes. Kyden sat beside her, picking up his garments. Then, he noticed Roel’s face flushed red.
“….Did you cry?”
“No.”
Roel hurriedly shook her head, but was unable to hide her trembling voice.
Her small, frail body, blurred and tender face, trembling voice—Kyden’s brow furrowed.
“Are you scared?”
He misunderstood her tears as fear of being trapped in the cabin. The forest was too cold and harsh for a small, fragile woman to endure. She must be eager to return home. He soothed her fears and anxiety.
“There’s no need to worry too much. We can try to go down to the village in a week.”
“…”
“If the snow stops, we’ll be able to go down.”
Roel was shocked at the mention of going down to the village. It was the last thing she wanted to imagine.
“With the snow piled up so high, how can we go down?”
“I’ll clear it soon.”
“You think you can clear all that snow quickly?”
“Yes.”
As soon as the snow stops, spending about three days and nights clearing the accumulated snow would make it possible to descend to the village. He had never been so diligent about clearing snow before. But leaving Roel, who was scared enough to cry, alone bothered him more.
However, Roel’s face darkened even further, and her small body began to tremble.
‘What should I do.’
Crossing the snow-filled mountains was impossible, and descending to the village was out of the question.
If she chose not to go down to the village and stay in the cabin, would he understand? Surely, he would find it odd and suspect something.
She felt trapped, with nowhere to run. It was like being caught in a lie after deceiving many. The fear was intense, and made worse because she had no escape. It was making her anxious and panic.
Overwhelmed, Roel burst into tears again, this time without the strength to hide it. She simply let out her sobs in the face of her dire situation. Once the crying came, she was unable to calm herself easily.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Kyden awkwardly tried to comfort her, but her crying didn’t stop despite him saying it would be okay. He sighed deeply, even more troubled.
Being distant from gentleness, he was unaccustomed to dealing with people, let alone consoling a crying woman. He was annoyed but unable to leave her alone, so Kyden paced restlessly around her sighing in frustration.
As the sky darkened and Roel couldn’t calm herself, Kyden had no choice but to pick her up.
“Cry if you need to, but you might collapse at this rate.”
He whispered to take it easy as he tucked her into bed, but she continued to cry.
The temperature dropped quickly with the night. Roel’s shivering also increased. Noticing her clothes were slightly damp, Kyden frowned. He realized she hadn’t dried off properly before dressing.
“Crying like that will make you cold.”
He scolded lightly as he removed her clothes, then stripped off his own.
Roel curled up like a child, motionless. Kyden warmed her cold hands and brought her small feet closer, massaging them. Despite staying indoors all day, he couldn’t fathom why she was so cold.
After covering them with the blanket again, he pulled her cold body close. Their bare skin touched and shared warmth. The slight trembling of her frail body felt pitiful to him. But there was nothing more he could do, except to ensure Roel wasn’t cold.
As the sounds of her sobbing lulled him towards sleep, Roel spoke with a quivering voice after a long bout of crying.
“What, what if the snow doesn’t stop?”
“Hmm?”
“What do we do if the snow doesn’t stop? We can’t go down, can we?”
“…That would be the case.”
Roel decided to hope that the snow wouldn’t stop. She prayed for it to keep falling until spring, burying the cabin so deeply that no one could find it.
She clung to this fragile hope and managed to calm her uneasy heart. Just as Roel’s breathing began to slow and steady,
“…Even if the snow doesn’t stop, I’ll find a way to get us down. It’ll be possible once the wind eases.”
Kyden’s well-intended assurance only triggered another bout of sorrowful tears from Roel.
It seemed everything he said made her cry. Should he just keep quiet?
He looked down at Roel, who was now hiccupping through her sobs, with a bitter expression.
