Missing Cinderella

“… I see.” 

Siella slowly got up from her seat and approached the window. Outside the window, she could see the servants managing the garden just in time. Siella wonders if the person Edwin saw was among those people. It occurred to her that the person who made it to the hallway in front of her bedroom was someone like a gardener. 

But that may not be the case either. Perhaps that person and Edwin often ran to each other in the garden, so that person may not necessarily be a gardener. 

What was clear, however, was the fact that the person was one of the employees residing in the mansion. There is a person inside the mansion in contact with Kyle. 

Siella opened her mouth to make sure Edwin knew who it was, “Prince Edwin, by any chance, among the people gathered over there….” 

But just before she could finish her word, Siella was suddenly taken aback by an unexpected sight she witnessed. Siella could feel Edwin’s curious gaze at her, but her eyes were glued to a distant place. 

“… What’s wrong, noona? Is there anything strange out there?” 

Edwin eventually stood up from his seat after Siella and approached the window, asking her. But Siella couldn’t answer Edwin’s question. 

Just a while ago, she immediately recognized Nocturm’s crest engraved on the carriage that had just entered the mansion. But the person who got off the carriage was someone Siella had never expected. 

It was none other than Leonard. And Leonard was even escorting Camellia down the carriage. 

“Oh….” 

‘It’s Camellia noona,’ Edwin muttered softly as if he had only seen Camellia. With her gaze fixed on Leonard’s smile, which made her think back of the last time Eschert was with Camellia and had an unusually friendly smile, Siella opened her mouth. 

“Prince Edwin, did Miss Camellia go out today?” 

Edwin nodded his head and said yes. When he said earlier that Camellia went out of the bedroom, it doesn’t mean just that, but he meant that she went out of the mansion. Siella couldn’t take off her eyes from the two people in the distance as she listened to Edwin’s words. 

Camellia was putting her hand on top of Leonard’s large hand after getting off the carriage. Just like that, Camellia and Leonard walked slowly inside the mansion while talking to each other with smiles on their lips. 

“By any chance, did she tell you where she’d be going?” 

“Yes, she told me that she would be looking at a place to stay later.” 

A place to stay. Siella felt as if a corner of her head went cold. 

“I was distressed, but noona said that she couldn’t stay here forever and said that she would have to go out on her own sooner or later and find a place to live.” 

The more she listened to Edwin’s words, the clearer she felt it. 

“It was difficult since she couldn’t go back to her old house, but thankfully, she said that a Count helped her.” 

The more she listened to Edwin’s words, the clearer she felt that. It was like having some ominous feelings. Siella had a hunch that she would never be able to leave the mansion with him tomorrow night, just as she had promised Leonard. 

“That’s why she went out earlier because she said she’s going there today. Uh, noona told me where it is. It was….” 

“… Elion.” 

It was a manor adjacent to the port, located near the Duke’s mansion that even Siella can go to in a carriage. 

The moment Siella whispered to herself the name of the place of refuge she had selected from Leonard’s list yesterday, Edwin widened his eyes in amazement. 

“Oh, right. That’s right, it was Elion! She said it was Elion. Wow, how did you know, noona?”

Haa…. Eventually, Siella couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing. The last one she held onto was actually a useless one. Should she be glad that she realized it sooner before she was stabbed from the back of her head?

Siella looked down on Leonard and Camellia as they disappeared into the mansion with her cold sunken eyes, then she turned around without hesitation. She decided to cleanly dump Leonard, someone who she could no longer trust. 

‘In any case, I was also thinking of cutting off contact with Leonard again after I leave the mansion.’

I can do it. I can do it alone. Leonard, who’s supposed to take care of things in the middle, was just left out from the plan, but nothing had changed. This shouldn’t be difficult. Yes, this is not difficult. 

“Prince Edwin.” 

With her back facing the window, Siella barely managed to raise the corners of her mouth and looked at Edwin with a smile. 

It’s still alright. Yes, there’s still room to fix this d**n situation. There’s still a way out. 

Siella smiled as she repeated those words in her head over and over again. At this point, she had a strange feeling that somehow, Camellia knew something about her and was doing something to block her path. Even so, she still managed to laugh. 

“This may be sudden, but I have a favor to ask you, Prince Edwin.” 

She hoped that the forced smile hanging on her lips now would feel like a natural smile to Edwin. 

“A favor?” 

“Yes. I have a favor that only Prince Edwin can grant, so I hope you’ll listen to my request.” 

“Uh….” 

“Can you please do me a favor?” 

“Uh, if it’s something I can grant, then of course! I would love to!”

As she looked at Edwin’s pretty smiling face, Siella calmly pressed down on her chest boiling in rage. It was to the point that she wanted to run to Leonard at any moment, strangle his neck and laughed maniacally. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Edwin came to Siella’s bedroom earlier than she expected the next day. Edwin knocked on her door three times without saying anything as promised yesterday, and Siella greeted him with a smile. 

Edwin’s brilliant silver hair was neatly combed and fixed today, revealing his pure and bright face. 

“Camellia noona left right after breakfast because she said she had some business to do. That’s why I was also able to come earlier as well.”

“I see.” 

Siella softly answered and stood in place, pondering for a moment without realizing it. Who is Camellia meeting today and what is she going to do? Siella just couldn’t figure out what Camellia’s purpose was, as if she was trying to take over the whole mansion. 

Camellia is already Nocturm’s benefactor who can have everything she wants without having to do anything on her own, and she’s also the female lead of this world. Why? For what reason? She was puzzled by Camellia’s behavior that she couldn’t understand at all. 

Camellia seemed to really care for and protect Edwin when she first arrived at the mansion holding Edwin’s hand. Even if she washed her eyes now and looked, Siella couldn’t see that look again. It was evident from Edwin’s continued visits to Siella and his attempts to spend more time with her. 

‘All Eschert did was to attach a knight to Edwin.’ 

As the days went by, Siella became more and more attached to Edwin, someone who was still innocent even when he was strangely neglected. The more time she spends with the child, the more she becomes aware of the child’s sweet and innocent nature. But that being said, there was nothing Siella could do for Edwin. 

Siella was fully aware that something inside her had been broken beyond repair a long time ago. Those terrible memories that come back whenever she forgets them, the trauma that it caused her, and the various aftereffects that clings on her like a lump were all proof of that. 

As a result, she was in a situation where it was difficult for her to even properly take care of herself, so it was nearly impossible to take care of a child who was as equally vulnerable as her. 

Swallowing a bitter smile, Siella handed Edwin a letter she had prepared in advance. 

“I should just hand this to the attendant who would come, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Is this a secret?” 

“Yes.” 

Does it really make him happy that we have a secret? Edwin nodded vigorously and smiled broadly, showing his white teeth. 

(T/N: Camellia be really getting on my nerves.)