Missing Cinderella

Suddenly blocked in her tracks, Siella stopped dead and looked back at the group of men standing around her with her at the center. Among the six or so people, there were familiar faces, while others looked like strangers to her. On the other hand, they all knew Siella. They clearly had intentions when they stopped and grabbed her. 

“Miss, where have you been all day today?” 

Siella suddenly felt the strong grip on her wrist and jerked back in surprise, almost as if she was attacked. When their eyes met, the man who unknowingly grabbed Siella flinched. Just a moment ago, the man felt like Siella would disappear somewhere. He had casually removed his hand, but the moment Siella looked at him, he realized that it was extremely rude for him to touch any part of a noble lady’s body. 

Siella shook her hand away as she bit her lip, but before she could, Nina stepped forward. 

“What is that? Are you crazy?”

Grabbing the man’s wrist roughly and pulling his hand away from Siella, Nina glared at the man in disbelief. 

“What are you doing? Where do you think you’re putting your hands on the Lady?”

“…”

“Have you really lost your mind?”

Nina asked, glaring at the man with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Nina’s aggressiveness made the man pause then hesitate, taking a step back. 

Siella pressed her lips together and fumbled in her arms. She gripped the sheath of the dagger tucked in her coat’s inner pocket with all her might, feeling the hardness of the embossed scabbard against her palm. 

“Siella, are you alright?” Nina asked Siella in a low whisper, studying her complexion with concern. 

Siella slightly nods her head and her grip on the dagger’s sheath tightened even more. Holding onto the scabbard like this made her feel a little relieved. 

Taking a shaky breath, Siella cleared her throat and turned her head to look straight in front of her. The knight, who had been standing directly in front of her and had her full attention, lowered his eyes in confusion.

“What has brought you all to stand in my way like this?”

“Th, that….”

The knight hesitated and looked around him, but everyone avoided his gaze. He soon realized that no one was willing to help him out of this predicament and narrowed his eyes.

“The Duke has given the orders to find the Lady!” 

The knight spoke loudly, as if to say, ‘whatever happens, happens.’

“And when we find the Lady, he told us to make sure to hold her where we found her…!”

“…”

Siella was speechless. She hadn’t expected Eschert to look for her, much less that he would utilize his people just to find her. She looked around her in disbelief, but no one seemed to refute what had been said. 

Everyone remained silent, with a confused Siella at the center of the room. After the silence fell, the silence ensued for a long time. Then at some point, someone spoke. 

“Siella.” Eschert showed up belatedly. 

“You, what on earth are you….”

Siella stared at him with incomprehension in her eyes. looking at him, Siella felt the confusion she felt moments ago dissipated. After a long time, Eschert opened his mouth. 

“Everyone, go back! And you….” Eschert ordered the knights, and then fixed his gaze on Siella again, “Let’s go inside first. Go inside and… haa, I need to talk to you.”

Siella didn’t reply and just turned and walked into the mansion. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Eschert took Siella to his office. Siella obediently followed him into the office and took a seat. 

“Did you go out again today just like yesterday? And where did you go without telling me anything?” 

The question reminded Siella of what Dennis had told her during the day. That yesterday was the last time she could leave without permission. Siella thought about calling him out for his presumptuous behavior, but she decided that it wouldn’t make a difference. 

“There’s no reason for me to report to you every time I go out.”

“…”

“I just don’t want to waste my time on someone who probably doesn’t want to know where I am.”

“You don’t think I wonder about your whereabouts?”

“Isn’t that so?”

Feeling offended, Eschert raised one eyebrow and glared at Siella, then let out a sigh. 

“I don’t understand why you think that – ”

“Is Miss Camellia feeling any better?” 

Siella quickly changed the subject. She was curious as to why Eschert sent his men to find her, but she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Or more accurately, she didn’t want to spend time talking to Eschert any longer. 

“… Fortunately, she’s feeling a lot much better.”

“Then, that’s good to hear.”

With a curt reply, Siella glanced at Eschert. 

The clothes wrapped around his body were wrinkled here and there. Even his hair, which was usually neatly swept back and pinned up, was disheveled and covered his forehead. It wasn’t like him to be dressed like this, he would always maintain a neat appearance as if he wouldn’t let even a single needle slip in. 

Come to think of it, he had been this way since yesterday, when he had burst inside the study where Siella was having her meeting with Lancellot. He was as disheveled then as he was now. 

‘Something must have happened.’ 

In deep thoughts, Siella fixed her gaze on Eschert as he slowly opened his mouth. 

“This afternoon, the butler found Edwin collapsed in the hallway near your bedroom.”

“He collapsed?”

Following Camellia, Edwin also collapsed?

“What happened? Why would the Prince… is he alright?”

Siella asked urgently, and Eschert answered in a low voice. 

“Edwin is fine. Luckily, the butler found him quickly and he’s been properly treated by the doctor. It’s just that….”

“What?”

“I wonder why Edwin was found collapsed in front of your bedroom.”

“…”

Haa, a bark of laughter escaped from Siella’s lips as she stared at Eschert. 

“Are you suspecting that I made Prince Edwin like that? Was that why you sent people to find me?”

For a moment, she was surprised to hear that Edwin had collapsed. Siella soon had to struggle to hold back the rage that was boiling up inside of her as she turned to face Eschert. 

“You… are such a foolish person.”

“… What did you just say?”

She felt really stupid for trusting this kind of person all this time. Siella couldn’t help but laugh again as she looked at Eschert, whose expression hardened as if he had been provoked by her accusations. 

“The one who found out about Prince Edwin’s abuse in the past and reported it to you was me.”

“You did.”

“I was also the one who discovered it and reported to you the truth Miss Camellia had hidden from you, Eschert.”

“I know. That’s true, but why exactly does that matter now…?”

“You still don’t get it?”

After everything that I’ve told you, you still really don’t get it? 

Siella continued, not bothering to hide the pathetic look in her eyes. 

“Did you think I was trying to win your trust or some kind of trifling favor or something?”

“…”

“You still don’t seem to realize that I was the only one in this mansion who truly cares about that child.”

Eschert’s stiff face looked quite smug even at this moment. After a short laugh at its ridiculousness, Siella spoke up. 

“I am saying this because I feel really sorry for Prince Edwin. Are you even aware of the fact that there are people in this mansion who have been bought by others?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just as it is.”

“…”

“It means that all the time you’ve been away and left this mansion unattended, it has been seamlessly taken over by someone.”

Siella looked at Eschert coldly. 

“If you are thinking of living here with Prince Edwin from now on, you’ll have to deal with that first.”

“…”

“Organize the mansion, and get rid of your delusional notion that only people who follow you are here.”

The frozen Eschert, because of Siella’s cold voice, spoke up.

“I don’t see how you can be so sure of that now….”

“The man Kyle planted in this mansion had gone to my bedroom.”

Before Eschert could finish his words, Siella cut him off. 

“If even a man who had been confined in a faraway place could have bought people from here, isn’t it needless to say?”

(T/N: Sorry for the rant, but….

Eschert really thought that everything was under his control. Even the wisest man gets tricked sometimes, so how do you think someone like Eschert, who is as stupid as he can get, not be tricked by the same man he confined inside an island for many years? Eschert be really testing the limits of our patience [urgh!].)