It Turned Out to be a Useful Fraudulent Marriage Chapter 10 - 2. Cinderella Who Loses Her Mother at a Young Age, Her Stepmother, and Her New Older Brothers

Mom pulled out a magnifying glass and tweezers from under the bed and started picking diamonds with Philip, sitting on the bed together.

 

“Hey, what are you doing? Come here and help too. Didn’t the gem on the brooch you bought at the market before look similar to a diamond? Let’s swap it. What do you think?“

 

Philip called to me excitedly, holding a pair of tweezers.

 

I glared at Philip and went over to the bed, throwing the dress around.

 

“What’s the point of having such gems? When are you going to exchange them for money? If the marriage breaks tomorrow, there’s no time to exchange such things in the capital!”

 

Mom and Philip widened their eyes at my shout. Mom pinched my arm hard.

 

“Ow!”

 

“Why are you talking such unlucky nonsense! Unlucky! Nonsense! Stop it!“

 

“Ow! Ow! It hurts!”

 

I looked at my arm that Mom pinched and glared at her.

 

There are only three days left until the wedding. Three days!

 

In the meantime, I told Mom all the bad rumors about the Duke and even tried suggesting to stop the wedding and run away. I even said that the Duke might actually be targeting our land.

 

But of course, none of those words resonated with Mom at all.

 

‘Cheating? So what? Is he a good cheater like Viscount Wedgwood? It doesn’t matter if he cheats! I can cheat too!’

 

Or saying—

 

‘Land? What land? Our tiny land on the coast? Why would the Duke bother with such land?’

 

That was the kind of response I got.

 

I lacked evidence to say that the Duke needed that small piece of land by the coast.

 

‘Documents! There are no documents!’

 

Now, is the only remaining option to wait until the day before the wedding for Mom to find out everything? And then run away to escape the Duke’s pursuit?

 

I really wanted to avoid that. The Duke is a terrifying person beyond imagination.

 

‘So in the end, the only remaining option is to mess around. They have to be the ones who break the marriage, not us….’

 

“Do you realize you’ve been acting weird lately?”

 

While I was absorbed in my crazy plan, Mom asked me quietly.

 

Mom said with a worried face. “Are you, by any chance…?”

 

“What?”

 

What’s this? I looked into Mom’s eyes and felt happy, wondering if Mom was really starting to take my words seriously.

 

Yes, Mom! Because that Duke is really a psycho, right? That was the moment I was about to say that.

 

“Are you afraid Mom will be snatched away by the Duke? Oh my, Emeline. You’re so immature… Don’t worry too much. Your mom isn’t going anywhere. I’ll always be your mom, Emeline.”

 

“…?”

 

Mom hugged me tightly. Then Philip glanced at me again with a stiff face and slowly squeezed himself between us.

 

I clenched my teeth as I embraced Philip and Mom.

 

‘Oh, damn it.’

 

“Mom… Huhuhu… I… I‘ll do better now…”

 

Philip choked out in a way that did not match his large stature.

 

“You, you little brat. Don’t you dare meet any weird women from now on… I’m telling you to stop going to that weird bar, whether it’s Roses That Bloom in the Night or something… I’m scared to death that people will talk about you in social circles….”

 

Mom slapped Philip on the back and began crying together.

 

“Can’t I… Can I go just for today…? There is a rumor that the princess will come to the Roses That Bloom in the Night….”

 

“You immature barat…! The princess is acquainted with young master Eric. Ah, it would be noisy. Hurry and gather…My daughter… My son… Huhuhu….”

 

Roses That Bloom in the Night.

 

It was a place for secret social gatherings of nobles where Philip often went.

 

Ah, poor Philip… Going there again to ruin some woman’s reputation… 

 

‘Wait.’

 

At that moment, a plausible plan flashed through my mind.

 

I quietly asked Philip while embracing Mom.

 

“Is it true that… the princess is coming there?”

 

✵ ✵ ✵

 

That night, I walked along the dazzling streets of the capital, covered in a robe.

 

The streets of the capital were more dazzling than one could imagine in the South.

 

‘When I was in the South, even at eight in the evening, everyone would be at home, relaxing their body and sleeping….’

 

Wealthy commoners and nobles strolled the streets dressed in obviously expensive attire. The streets were filled with beggars and peddlers trying to make a living.

 

‘Do they never sleep…?’

 

Most women were wearing dresses that exposed their collarbones and shoulders.

 

It was evident that the people from the capital not only lacked sleep but also didn’t feel the cold.

 

The flashing lights and the scent of perfume from the women and men in front of me made my head spin.

 

Southern hillbilly.

 

It was a moment when the mocking words I had heard since coming to the capital became real.

 

The capital’s night market was filled with traditional magical tools made from ancient magic stones, as well as new invention products utilizing electricity.

 

All these items are at such prices!

 

Tonight, I almost blew through the money I had saved up just to get drunk.

 

‘Pull yourself together, Emeline! You’re not Philip!’

 

Shaking my head vigorously, I resisted the temptation of various items as I walked, and finally stopped in front of a small stall.

 

The stall displayed shoes at unbelievably low prices.

 

I glanced down at the worn leather shoes peeking out from under my robe.

 

‘I didn’t prepare shoes….’

 

As I hesitated for a moment, the woman who seemed to be the owner of the stall quickly approached me.

 

“These glass slippers have found their owner! I’ll give you a good deal!”

 

She said, offering me a translucent light blue glass slipper.

 

“Glass slippers…?”

 

It was soft and squishy, far from what one would call glass.

 

“Yes, indeed. These are the shoes from a popular newspaper serial novel these days. It’s author Scarlett’s work… In the story, the female protagonist drops her slipper and the male protagonist picks it up….”

 

The lady explained the contents of the popular novel in detail. Many famous lines gave me goosebumps, but this was the conclusion.

 

The woman explained the plot of the romantic novel in detail. Despite the chilling lines, the conclusion was clear: using these glass slippers, the commoner girl who was abused by her stepmother and stepsisters married a prince from a wealthy kingdom.

 

A royal and commoner couple.

 

The ending was predictable, of course.

 

Like these slippers being called glass even though they weren’t made of glass, the reality after the novel ended would be harsh.

 

“Would you like to try them on?” The woman asked.

 

I fiddled with the money in my pocket. Even among the cheap shoes, these glass slippers were particularly expensive.

 

“How much… Can you give me a discount?”

 

The woman’s expression brightened at my words. She quickly brought out a large mirror and said, “Half price! I’ll give it to you for half price!”

 

Half price?!

 

I hastily shed my robe. Beneath it, a beautiful billowing yellow dress was revealed.

 

The woman’s eyes widened as she looked at my dress.

 

“It’s a very expensive dress, isn’t it?!”

 

Of course.

 

Because this was my bridesmaid dress.

 

An expensive dress matched my mother’s wedding dress for her wedding at the Duke’s residence.

 

I tried on the glass slipper. Fortunately, Fortunately, it matched the yellow dress perfectly.

 

“If I had known you were a wealthy lady…”

 

I quickly took out a coin from her arms as I heard the woman mutter.

 

“Half price is a bit too much, so let’s settle for this amount. But still, we have a deal, right?”

 

The woman hesitated. She seemed pleased to have made more money but also appeared somewhat to feel cheated.

 

‘Judging people by their appearance isn’t good after all.’

 

I winked at the woman.

 

“Can I borrow those scissors instead?”

 

Without waiting for an answer, I picked up a pair of scissors placed next to the stall.

 

“Why do you need those scissors…?”

 

Snip, snip!

 

Ignoring the woman’s response, I took the scissors and promptly cut off the lower part and top of my dress.

 

The woman’s eyes widened.

 

“That was an extremely expensive dress…!”

 

I chuckled and wrapped the cut-off portion of the dress around like a shawl, looking at myself in the mirror.

 

Who cares if the dress was expensive? With this level of exposure, I had no competition! I could feel all the people in the market instantly turning their gaze toward my collarbones, ankles, and backside.

 

I discarded my robe by the stall and started walking in my shoes.

 

After walking for a few minutes, I saw a large building where noblemen were gathering near a passage leading underground.

 

They smiled at me.

 

I felt their eyes scanning me from head to toe. Sensing their blatant stares, I knew I had found what I was looking for.

 

Roses That Bloom in the Night.

 

In this shabby place with such a ridiculous name, I intended to make a big scene and ruin the wedding. It was perfect timing since the princess was supposed to be here tonight.

 

According to rumors… Of course, all the information came from Philip.

 

According to Philip, the princess was quite a flirt. And she hated it when a man she was interested in looked at other women.

 

‘How could it be that the princess had completely expelled that woman from high society?’

 

So, I absolutely must not come after the princess’s lover.

 

Recalling Philip’s words, I looked towards the men who were looking at me.

 

From head to toe, I glanced at them and put on a vague expression towards them.

 

“Oh, this is a bit…”

 

No matter how you look at it, you guys aren’t the princess’ type. Especially since she only cares about faces.

 

“W-what did you just say…!”

 

One nobleman snapped and spoke to me.

 

I snorted and waved my hand at the man.

 

His companion blocked him from approaching me.

 

‘What’s the matter? Is it okay for you to look at me, but not for me to look at you?’

 

Ignoring them, I approached the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the Roses That Bloom in the Night. When our eyes met, he abruptly said, “What happened at the Roses That Bloom in the Night….”

 

It was the password.

 

Before coming here today, I had given Philip some drinks to find out the second part of this passphrase.

 

“…is a secret during the day.”

 

The gatekeeper nodded at my words and opened the door for me.

 

It’s so easy to have this passphrase. Well, it should be easy for intoxicated nobles to remember.

 

When the door opened, a gorgeous hallway unfolded before me.

 

It was truly a secret social club that even had a code phrase.

 

Oh, how exciting.

 

I shrugged and walked through the door.

 

Of all the operations to ruin my mother’s wedding, this had to be the most exciting.

 

✵ ✵ ✵

 

“Do we really have to meet in a place like this?” Eric Orleans looked at the oddly dark lighting of the Roses That Bloom in the Night and spoke with apparent discomfort.

 

The woman sitting across shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Why not? It’s perfect for our secret rendezvous spot. Dark, secluded, and… sexy.”

 

The woman, dressed in a glamorous gown, crossed her legs. Her red lips parted into a smile

 

Eric sighed and replied shortly, “What nonsense.”

 

The name of the woman sitting across from him was Ella Von Denik.

 

She was the heir to the throne of the empire ruling the Hellenia continent.