Missing Cinderella

Siella went to Eschert as soon as morning dawned. She heard his voice telling her to come in as she knocked on the door of the room Eschert used as office while he was staying in the mansion. Without delay, Siella entered the room. 

Eschert was sitting in front of his desk and was busy doing the work he had put aside while preparing for the banquet. He opened his mouth without even raising his head. 

“What’s the matter? From this early hour.” 

“I have something to tell you.” 

Eschert recalled that the other day Siella said those words, the first major conflict between the two of them arose. Maybe that was why. For some reason, Eschert raised his head to look at Siella afterwards. 

But Siella doesn’t seem to mind at all. She was just, as usual, staring at him with an expressionless face like a doll. And it was a face Eschert knew very well. 

“What is it you want to tell me?” 

Siella didn’t hesitate even for a moment and directly said out loud, “Tomorrow is the day Kyle is supposed to visit me. Do you know that?” 

“…” 

She could read the embarrassment that passed across his face in an instant. His reaction was so obvious it made her want to laugh out loud. 

“You really don’t have any interest in my safety at all….” 

At that moment when Eschert was about to reply to Siella’s muttering to herself, Siella asked him, twisting her words. 

“Then, did you know that my brother was one of the guests staying in the annex right now?” 

He didn’t know what she meant by that, but Eschert nodded his head. “I know. I personally checked the list of guests who attended yesterday’s banquet.” 

He was worried that Kyle would be hiding in the mansion. That’s why Eschert personally wrote a list of invited guests to the banquet, and even personally received the guests in front of the banquet hall on the day of the banquet. It was extremely burdensome, but he did it for Siella’s safety. 

Of course, he was also aware of the fact that Siella’s brother, Leonard Leroy, had attended the banquet. Considering Siella’s position as his fiancé, he sent an invitation to Leroy and even greeted him personally. But Eschert was surprised to know that Siella, who didn’t attend the banquet yesterday, knew that Leonard was attending. 

However, Eschert only stared at Siella in silence and shook off his questions. Siella soon opened her mouth. 

“Then word here spreads quickly.” 

It was a dry voice. Eschert had no idea what Siella was going to say. Before long, Siella declared, “At this point, I am going to leave the Duke’s mansion with the Count.”

(T/N: Yes, finally girl~ we’re near to the ‘disappearing/leaving’ part.)

Eschert’s beautiful face, which had stiffened for a moment at those words, crumpled like a piece of paper. Siella stared at his face for a moment and slowly approached his desk where he was sitting. 

“In any case, I don’t intend to rewrite the contract.” There was no need to renew the contract that was extended every year. Edwin has returned to the Duchy after all. “You wouldn’t have taken my words lightly if you had thought of it a little bit.” 

What’s more important of all is that Eschert breached the contract. Siella doesn’t trust Eschert anymore. She wouldn’t believe anything that Eschert would say. Because it was all lies. 

Even if it wasn’t a lie, now she knows that Escher was the type of person who could change his words anytime. Siella could no longer continue her relationship with Eschert. She believed his words like a fool, and it’s just a waste of her to have endured everything for five years. 

“I want to terminate the contract right now and leave….” 

Siella put the contract she brought out of her drawer to his desk. She pushed it close to him so that Eschert could see it. 

It was the contract Siella had reread over and over again last night after she went back to her room and parted ways with Leonard. Among the many promises woven into the contract, there was no clause that states she must return something for the past five years. 

In the first place, there was no single clause in the contract Siella and Eschert originally agreed to that could demand compensation from the other party that breached the contract. There was only the clause that a party may request to terminate the contract at any time if the other party was judged unfaithful to the contract. Moreover, extension of the contract stipulated that a new contract would be rewritten under the agreement of the two for a period of a year only if Edwin couldn’t be found. 

Each year that Siella renewed her contract, she received her assets from Eschert that were exactly twice the value of the previous year. And in exchange of paying Siella a great price, Eschert can be free from his marital problems until he finds Edwin. 

That was all there is to it. Their relationship was only bound by a contract. 

“Since you’ll need time to organize things, I’m thinking of waiting that much.” 

The only consolation she had was that Eschert had paid dearly this time around. Siella decided not to dwell on what had been lost. She decided to only think of her future. 

“I decided to look for a place to stay through Leonard. I plan to leave this mansion as soon as the place has been decided.” 

Protecting one’s ego costs money. So, if she hadn’t had the money she had earned for the past five years…. If I don’t have that, would I have been this confident of expressing my intention of leaving in front of Eschert? 

Lightly swallowing her sneer, Siella firmly added, “But still, if possible, I hope that you could terminate the contract as soon as possible.” 

Staring down at the contract with a hard expression, Eschert raised his head. “Asking me to terminate the contract….” 

Eschert had been muttering to himself like that and had a very strange expression on his face. His expression was very unfamiliar and was difficult to describe at a glance. 

Siella involuntarily took a step back from the desk where he was sitting. As if it was a signal, Eschert opened his mouth again. 

“… Do you have to express your complaint in this way?” 

Eschert, who had been staring at Siella as if he couldn’t understand anything, gently closed his eyes. He let out a long  sigh as if he was becoming really tired of this situation. Siella blankly stared at his quivering eyelashes long enough to cast a shadow under his closed eyes. 

‘Complaint?’ 

Complaint? Did I hear it right? 

“In this way?” Thinking about it for a while, Siella burst out laughing at her instantly despondent heart. It was at that moment she personally experienced the feeling that it was too ridiculous she couldn’t get angry. 

“In what way are you talking about?” 

Eschert softly murmured with a sneer at Siella’s question, “Are you asking because you don’t know?” Siella looked at Eschert with confusion in her eyes. “Aren’t you being extreme all this while?” Eschert gently opened his eyes while saying that. “If you have any complaint, then make it clear what exactly you’re complaining about and what you want, anything, from me.” 

(T/N: Can’t help but roll my eyes on this one.)

As if Siella was being pathetic, he was staring at her as if he was looking at a child unnecessarily fussing over something. 

“If that is so, then we wouldn’t have to tire our emotions like this in the first place. We wouldn’t have wasted time meaninglessly like now either.” 

Eschert let out a sigh after saying that and casually pushed aside the contract in front of him. He then returned to working on his documents, which she had been focusing on until Siella came. 

Siella watched Eschert’s actions, but soon couldn’t stand it and burst out laughing again. 

“Look, Eschert, I’m not done talking yet.” 

“Is that so? Unfortunately, I have no more time to waste listening to your complaints.” Eschert replied insincerely, his eyes still fixed on the papers. “Do you know how much time I’ve wasted so far?” 

That’s because of you. 

After receiving Eschert’s criticism, Siella also decided that it was pointless to have further conversation with him. 

(T/N: I feel like sitting on a combat jet and firing missiles at Eschert. Eschert is angry because he knew he was in the wrong and Siella had pointed it out. He deserves it.)