“…We waited for Dia one street away, but Dia never showed up.”
Tears surged uncontrollably from her eyes as Gloria said, “Cinderella suggested we go back to look for Dia, but we still couldn’t find her after returning to the library. The stall owners nearby said they saw a middle-aged man with reddish-brown hair drag a golden-haired woman into an alley, so we suspected—”
“We suspected it was Father who kidnapped Miss Claudia hic…!”
Cinderella clutched Ye Tang’s sleeve, unable to accept that her father was even more despicable than she had imagined. Cinderella sobbed uncontrollably and even started hiccuping as she cried: “Madam, please save Miss Claudia… Please save her hic…!!”
“Hic, Miss Claudia stayed behind alone to hold Father off for us…! It was our fault, we shouldn’t have left Miss Claudia alone. No, it was Cinderella’s fault hic, Cinderella shouldn’t have—”
If Kim Hora hadn’t agreed to meet Hans with that strange man from the library, none of this would have happened today. If Cinderella hadn’t lost control of her body to Kim Hora, Kim Hora wouldn’t have gone off on her own to see Hans.
Disgusted by her own weakness, hating herself for being the wedge Father used, regretting her past choices, Cinderella clearly realized for the first time: She could no longer let others manipulate her life. She couldn’t give Kim Hora any more opportunities. She had to take control of her own body and her right to choose. She couldn’t drift aimlessly anymore.
May shook her head with tears in her eyes, clutching the coachman’s hat to her chest: “No, this isn’t Miss Cinderella’s fault. It’s mine. If I had insisted on bringing Miss Claudia back, this wouldn’t have—”
Ye Tang took a deep breath. She knew the situation was urgent and words of comfort could wait until Claudia was found.
But right now, there were a few things she had to tell the girls in front of her: “It’s not your fault. The fault lies with Hans, the one who kidnapped Dia. Self-reflection is fine, but you must never mistake who you should truly blame.”
With that, Ye Tang stood up. She told Ian to prepare bathwater, instructed Hope and Fian to stoke the fireplace warmer, and ordered the maids to take Gloria and Cinderella to bathe and change clothes—the two girls hadn’t used umbrellas, and the snowflakes on them had long melted into water. By now, Gloria and Cinderella’s dresses were soaked and cold; if they didn’t warm up soon, they would surely catch colds.
“Mother! I want to go too!”
“Madam, me too—”
Gloria and Cinderella tried to pull away from the maids.
But Ye Tang shook her head: “No.”
“May, come with me. Sorry, I can’t let you rest. You’re the only coachman in our house, and I need your strength right now.”
It was already beyond May’s expectations not to be punished. Her eyes reddened as she hurried after Ye Tang, saying excitedly, “As long as Madam needs me, May will serve you forever!”
Ye Tang hummed in acknowledgment and flung open the door. A blast of icy snow-filled air rushed into the room, startling the person who had just touched the doorknob from outside into a daze.
“Claudia?”
The one standing stunned at the door was none other than Claudia. She was covered in filth, even her striking face smeared with mud and grime, like a little lamb that had just crawled up from a muddy patch.
“Sister!”
“Miss Claudia hic!”
Gloria, who rarely called Claudia “sister,” rushed over. Cinderella didn’t care about Claudia’s dirtiness either and hugged her while crying.
Claudia hadn’t felt like crying at first. She blankly, even somewhat dazedly, endured her sisters’ embraces and looked at Ye Tang with confused, bewildered eyes.
Ye Tang smiled faintly, pulled the girls inside, and then stroked Claudia’s face: “Lia and Rela were both very worried about you. You’re not hurt, are you?”
Vaguely realizing her sisters were crying so heartbrokenly because they thought something had happened to her, Claudia froze for a moment, then stammered slightly: “N-no, I’m fine… Father suddenly appeared behind me and dragged me into an alley toward the commoner district. I was a bit scared then. But now, I’m okay.”
Claudia had never made close friends before, and her sister Gloria was just as unaccustomed to weakness as she was. Thus, the two sisters from Hedelin House weren’t good at comforting people.
Facing Gloria with her tear-streaked face and Cinderella who kept hiccuping nonstop, Claudia could only honestly explain: “I followed Father for a while. He thought I was too scared to resist. At a crowded crossroads, I shoved Father away hard and dashed into an alley.”
“To shake Father off, I kept circling around. I didn’t know how long I ran or where I ended up… Only after completely losing him did I dare ask people around where I was. They said I was near Hope Road, so I made my way there first, then came back home…”
Seeing that her explanation didn’t stop her sisters’ crying, Claudia started feeling like crying too. She cast a pleading look at Ye Tang.
Ye Tang smiled as she hugged the girls. She patted each of their heads in turn and praised: “You all did very well today. You protected your family, protected your sisters. You are all children who make me proud.”
“Madam…”
Cinderella’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The madam had actually called her a sister to Miss Claudia and Miss Gloria, and said she was a child who made her proud?
Ye Tang gently pressed her index finger to Cinderella’s lips as she tried to say she didn’t deserve it.
“Rela, I hope you understand: I have no intention of stealing your mother’s place in your heart. I don’t want to and can’t replace your birth mother. Only when you truly wish to be my daughter and see me as your mother should you call me ‘Mother.’ Until then, don’t force yourself to treat me as anyone. You’re not living under someone else’s roof in this house either. If you want to become independent soon, I won’t stop you. But if you want to stay, Dia, Lia, and I would welcome it.”
Ye Tang wasn’t the real Anna Rochel, nor did she want to become the real Anna Rochel.
She was herself.
She wanted to accept Cinderella, so she accepted her. She didn’t need to explain anything to Anna Rochel, nor feel sorry toward her.
Because the one here now was her. And her conscience told her: She couldn’t bear to blame Cinderella. She wouldn’t blame a girl kind enough to try driving away her own father with words to protect a sister with no blood ties.
“Cinderella, I ask you too.”
Claudia, eyes red, grasped Cinderella’s hands.
“Please don’t call me ‘Miss.’ If you can’t call me ‘sister,’ then at least call me Dia.”
“Call me Lia too!”
Gloria placed her hand over her sister’s and Cinderella’s: “Cinderella, to me, you are my little sister! No matter what you think!”
“—”
Cinderella’s shoulders trembled, and tears streamed down her face.
But this time, her bawling wasn’t from sadness—it was from joy.
Kim Hora wanted to curse: “What garbage melodrama is this! This three-cent sob story can only fool those maids’ tears!” But instead, her own parents popped into her mind.
Her parents favored her younger brother, beating, scolding, and kicking her for nothing while saying, “Can’t you learn from your brother, Kim Hora!?”
Learn what? What could she learn from him?
When she was his age, her grades were much better, but her parents never praised her. Whatever she did, they assumed the worst; her brother just had to be normal to be hyped as an unprecedented genius.
To escape that hellish home, she started hooking up with old men on social apps, doing shady deeds.
But even in that underworld, there were hierarchies. Pretty girls got designer bags and luxuries just for dinner with old men. Someone like her? Even after full service, old men complained she was ugly. If she snapped back once, they’d beat her.
She’d tried begging “besties” and “friends” for help.
No one saved her; instead, some spread her shameful secrets as jokes. Saying she was ugly inside and out, jealous of her brother, unwilling to let their parents favor him.
Kim Hora became a walking punchline.
So she had an epiphany: Only by becoming a beauty who captured a top-tier man’s heart could someone like her turn things around. Otherwise, she’d be a loser among losers forever.
Men were stepping stones; good men were trophies women fought over. Every woman was her rival, every beauty an obstacle.
To reach the top, kick away rivals, crush obstacles.
One person at the pyramid’s peak was enough.
But—
Why were Cinderella and her wicked stepmother and evil sisters hugging?
Cinderella was a goody-two-shoes; fine, no grudges against stepmother and sisters. But… no, the rightful wife and her kids—how were they accepting a bastard child?
They should be mortal enemies, fighting to the death. How had they united, standing together now?
…Ridiculous. What real affection existed between women?
So-called family bonds, friendships, girl friendships were all scams.
Thinner than cheese in a burger.
“Madam, the hot water is ready.”
Ian’s report prompted Ye Tang to lead the three girls toward the bathroom. After stuffing Claudia, Gloria, and Cinderella inside, Ye Tang returned to the living room.
“Sorry you had to see that, Daisy.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Daisy and Ye Tang exchanged air kisses.
In truth, she didn’t find what she’d just witnessed laughable at all. On the contrary, she was happy that Ye Tang’s family had opened up to each other.
As for what displeased her… Hans Hedelin. She committed that name to memory.
She was sure Anna would soon become a carefree merry widow. Guaranteed.
…
“Cough cough…”
Hans coughed a few times. Angrily wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he felt the few copper coins left in his pocket and planned to head to the tavern for a beer to warm up.
The tavern’s business was as brisk as ever, though a few regular old drunks who showed up daily were uncharacteristically absent today.
Unexpectedly, Claudia, Gloria, and Cinderella from Hedelin House all came down with fevers in the middle of the night. The three chilled girls bonded closely and caught colds together.