Missing Cinderella

Chapter 38 

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Siella was slowly adjusting to her life in her new home after getting settled in Jenard. The house she and Nina haggled over and finally settled in was located just off the main street of Jenard Viscounty. It was next to a large winery once owned by a noble family, the first asset to be sold when they went bankrupt. 

After Siella cleans up the long-abandoned winery, she plans to build a nursery in its place and run it. but that was a problem for later, and for now, she was spending most of her day getting the house cleaned up and organized. The two-story house, along with the winery, had been neglected for so long that she had her hands full, starting with cleaning and ending with repairing and refurbishing everything that’s broken. 

“I think it would be better to just throw this away and buy a new one. What do you think, Siella?” 

Nina asked, carrying the nightstand from the hallway on the second floor. After they finished organizing the first floor, they started cleaning the second floor in the afternoon. 

Without Nina and Lena’s help, Siella would never have been able to quickly clean up the house on her own. Siella even felt a strange sense of satisfaction as the organization went according to plan. 

“Maybe if we keep it in the warehouse, it will have some use in the future.”

“Mm, I’m afraid we can only use this as firewood.”

When Nina spoke with a straight face, Siella laughed, embarrassed, and nodded her head. 

“Then I guess it would be better to do just as Nina said.”

There was no need for firewood in Jenard as the area doesn’t have much change in seasons, and usually had mild weather. 

“Since you agreed, I will go out and throw it away.”

“Uh, no, let me.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it.”

Siella half-forcibly snatched the nightstand from Nina’s hand, who was looking at her in disbelief. 

“I can lift this much.”

“Hmm, but that makes me uncomfortable.”

“I can do it.”

Nina squinted her eyes and stared intently at Siella’s slender wrist. She held that intense stare for a moment, then nodded her head, as if she had made a decision. 

“Well, I’ll let you since you’re feeling better.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful out there.”

“Yeah.”

Nina resisted her urge to follow Siella out, feeling uneasy like she had left her child in the waters. It reminded her of what Lena told her last night. 

Nina hadn’t been able to argue back at Lena’s scolding that Siella must have been frustrated with her following her around when she wasn’t even a child. As far as Nina is concerned, Lena had a point, so she resolved not to follow Siella too closely in the future, even if it makes her a little anxious. 

[“I think I can only breathe if we leave this place. This place… is so suffocating.”]

She didn’t want to remind Siella of that stifling sensation again, especially since she said she felt suffocated as if she was going to die soon. 

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Siella set down the nightstand outside the fence, then turned around and scanned the path she had been walking. Just carrying the nightstand all the way here had drained her of all her strength. She didn’t have energy left to retrace her steps, and there’s still a long way to go. She decided it would be better to rest for a while before returning home. 

‘I can’t be this weak….’ 

Siella let out a small sigh and looked out at the green fields before her. When the dealer first introduced her to this place, she thought that this vast field seemed so good. She loved the unobstructed view without feeling the slightest bit claustrophobic. It seemed like it would be fun to look at it from inside the house. 

But now that she was here, she was starting to worry. 

‘Is it really possible for me to organize everything here?’

She liked the large field when she first came here, but she realized now that it was too big. 

Would I really be able to keep this big place clean? I wasn’t even thinking of making this place marvelous. I had a feeling that it would take several years just to create something worth seeing. I was determined to do everything by myself since this was my first home, but that was probably too much ambition in the first place. 

‘I think it would be better to hire workers.’ 

She couldn’t rely on Nina and Lena, who were still helping her big time. Although Siella was still a little afraid of letting strangers into her place, mostly men, she knew she had to face that fear. 

I didn’t leave the Duke’s mansion just to live here alone in isolation. I didn’t leave the Duke’s mansion to be isolated in this place. I left the gates of that huge mansion to be a human, to live like everyone else. In other words, I couldn’t just cower in fear. I had to be brave and face it – by any means. 

‘I will be happy.’

Not sick, but healthy and happy – because I decided to live like that, as I promised Edwin. 

Siella then took another short deep breath and raised her head. But it was also at that moment. 

“… Apple?”

Out of nowhere, a ripe apple rolled down the street and hit Siella’s right foot. As she stared down at the bright red fruit in disbelief, a soft voice flowed into her ear. 

“I see that it rolled all the way here. I’m sorry, but could you toss it this way?”

Siella reflexively turned her head in the direction of the voice. When her eyes met with the handsome man’s, it took her by surprise. 

The man assumed that she hadn’t heard him and spoke again, “That’s my apple. I’d appreciate it if you could toss it this way.”

“Ah…”

Siella picked up the apple that had rolled down to her. She threw it outside the fence to the man standing there as hard as she could. 

“…”

“…”

Drop. Siella stared down at the apple that had fallen right in front of her. After a few moments, when she realized what she had done, her face turned red as the apple. She didn’t even dare look up to see the man’s reaction. 

Siella bit her lip and quickly picked up the apple. She was about to throw it again, this time with the intention of doing it properly. 

“I think it would be better for me to go over there for a bit.” The sound of the man’s laugh sounded soft against Siella’s ears. “No, come to think of it, it would be better if I just gave that apple to you as a gift.”

“…”

“It’s delicious.”

Clutching the apple tightly, Siella let go of her lower lip she had been biting and looked up. The first thing she saw was his blue-gray eyes, filled with laughter as much as the voice that tickled her ears just moments before. The next thing she noticed was the jet-black cane he held in his left hand, leaning slightly against his body. 

It was then that Siella realized he was either a sickly man, or someone who had some difficulty walking for some reason. And perhaps that was why, after a not-so-long hesitation, Siella slowly approached the man. 

“I had lunch a while ago, and I am not in the mood to steal anyone’s apple right now, no matter how delicious it is.”

The man standing on the other side of the fence grinned at Siella, showing his pearly whites. 

“Sounds like you think differently when you’re hungry.”

“You’re good at understanding other people’s words.”

The man’s smile grew wider as Siella responded to his word, pretending to be calm in an effort to forget the embarrassing incident. 

The man tilted his head to one side and cheekily said, “In that case, I’ll have to make sure not to drop my apple again.” 

(T/N: It’s good that Siella’s adjusting to her new home. On another note, is this finally the ML? [narrowed eyes])