Chapter 299: The Witch and The Ash-Covered Bride (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 299: The Witch and The Ash-Covered Bride (9)
The reason the Tin Knight’s party had decided to stage such a grand play was simpler than one might think.
There were too many people.
To be more precise, the problem was that the ball had been split into several events.
“This might be more disadvantageous for Miss Cinderella than we thought, you know?”
“Is that so? I saw her try on the finished dress, and she was as beautiful as a princess from a fairy tale…”
“It would be fine if she could compete on beauty alone against her rivals at a single ball. However, if they’re selecting candidates from several different balls and then choosing from among them, her appearance will become just one of many evaluation criteria, not the absolute standard.”
Beauty, after all, delivers its most powerful shock upon the first meeting.
Even if the prince were to be smitten by Cinderella’s beauty and lose his heart to her, the impact would inevitably weaken after seeing her face a second and third time.
In contrast, the power and wealth of a family were assets whose value did not diminish with repeated confirmation.
No matter how outstanding Cinderella’s beauty was, and no matter how crazy the prince was for pretty faces, Cinderella, a daughter of a fallen noble house, was at a severe disadvantage when competing against other young ladies backed by formidable powers like royal and ducal families (not by the Tin Knight's party's standards, of course, but from a general perspective).
Therefore, a new method was needed.
The first option was to strengthen Cinderella’s backing to a level where it wouldn’t be overshadowed by her competitors.
[The Tin Knight suggests that since Adelaide’s faction is growing larger, they could just use that as her backing!]
Adelaide’s Lennart forces were currently expanding their influence at a terrifying pace in the border region between the kingdom and the Empire.
It wasn’t as if they were starting from scratch; they were absorbing the legacy of the Empire and the support flowing in from two of the Magic Towers, so in a way, it was only natural.
But the Scarecrow shook his head.
“Hmm, I don’t know. It might have been effective if the timing were a little earlier, or conversely, a little later, but right now, it’s a bit ambiguous. I’ve been gathering information here and there, and the people here aren’t very well-informed about the political situation in the central continent.”
It was an era where information spread slowly.
The kingdom’s nobles did their best to keep their eyes and ears open, gathering intelligence from the central continent, but due to the limitations of distance and means, they often mistook outdated information for the latest news.
1. Patch 1.2 notes: The Lion Duke’s bloodline is still the most prestigious family in the Empire.
2. Patch 1.3 notes: The Lion Duke’s bloodline was implicated in a rebellion and fell from grace.
3. Patch 1.4 notes: The survivors of the Lion Duke’s bloodline are rapidly building a powerful new faction centered around Friedel.
If one were to list the status of the Lion Duke’s bloodline like this, the information the kingdom’s nobles currently perceived as the “latest” was from version 1.3.
Among those who believed the Lion Duke’s bloodline had fallen, presenting them as Cinderella’s backing was highly unlikely to end well.
With a bit more time, the information would be updated, and their support would become a source of strength, but for now, it was no help at all.
Thus, a new angle of approach was necessary.
As she was now, Cinderella was merely a beautiful young lady whose family background paled in comparison to her looks. But what if they added a little… spice to the mix?
“Do we really have to go that far? Honestly, I think we’ve already fulfilled our contract with what we’ve done so far.”
Unlike her excited companions, Dorothea wasn’t actually that enthusiastic about this operation.
She figured that providing a dress, a carriage, and other equipment, along with beauty care and even a crash course in etiquette, was more than enough.
The rest of the party didn’t try to force her, instead continuing to brainstorm the plan among themselves.
However.
[The Tin Knight says that what’s needed here is for a ninja to burst in, slaughter—no, beat down the enemies, and kidnap Cinderella!]
A flinch.
“If a magical spectacle is impossible, we’ll have to substitute it with a physical one. If there are no casualties, the other party might sense something is off. So, for the sake of horror, how about I just cut off my head and have Sir Tin Knight carry it around?”
A flinch. And another.
“Th-that’s a bit too gruesome, don’t you think?”
[The Tin Knight insists that a performance is all about impact!]
“It’s not like anyone will actually be harmed.”
“Hmm…”
“What do you mean, ‘Hmm…’? I’ll smack you all! Seriously! Hey!”
The Tin Knight, who had no brakes.
The Scarecrow, who wouldn’t use the brakes even if he had them.
The Lion, who tried to act like a brake but just ended up getting dragged along for the ride.
Watching these beings, whose very existence was a disaster for mankind, try to turn a splendid ball into a grotesque horror show, Dorothea felt like her insides would burst if she didn’t intervene.
It was, in fact, exactly as the Tin Knight and the Scarecrow had planned—a truth that would have earned them a beating with her staff if she ever found out.
“What? A play?”
And so, the four Fairy Godmothers called Cinderella over and began to whisper their wicked plan in her ear.
A normal girl would have been horrified by this terrifying scheme and begged them to stop, but Cinderella had a formidable personality of her own.
“Wouldn’t a woman who says she’ll be content with a single, dream-like night be more pitiful and heart-wrenching to the prince than one who actively tries to stay by his side? I’ll do my best to act in that direction.”
“Capturing the prince’s heart with a little drama is one thing, but we also need to give him a justification to persuade everyone else afterward. How about something like, ‘The child born from this woman’s womb will become a great hero’? No, that might be too much pressure on the kid. Let’s go with, ‘Their name will be recorded in history in some way or another.’ That way, the prince can confidently declare her his partner, don’t you think?”
“I’ll handle talking from a distance using the skeletons. I used to do theatrical performances when I taught children. It brings back memories.”
“Um, what should I do? Should I rush in with Sir Knight and help subdue people?”
[The Tin Knight declares that it’s time for the Lennart Mask to make another appearance!]
“Sit down, you idiots. Except for the tin can, none of you are to go anywhere near the prince. If the invisibility magic happens to wear off, we can at least claim he’s just a suit of armor. If our real faces are revealed, it’ll be a catastrophe.”
“That’s true.”
Cinderella nodded earnestly at Dorothea’s words.
Dorothea probably meant that it would be a headache if her identity was exposed, but from Cinderella’s perspective, the mere sight of the other three in front of the prince was a threat in itself.
The other two might fall into the realm of personal taste when compared to Cinderella’s beauty, but the witch was in a different league entirely, at least half a class above.
No, considering her attire, it might be a full class difference.
And so, what became of the prince whose heart was stolen by the sinister plan of the wicked Fairy Godmothers?
“Find her! Before that evil witch takes her away, we must find her, no matter what!”
To put it crudely, he had lost his mind.
His actions, turning the entire domain upside down and forcing every eligible young woman to try on the glass slipper, bordered on madness.
Naturally, there were those who found this behavior unpleasant.
“Wait just a moment. We heard you publicly declared that you would take the owner of this glass slipper as your bride. Is that true?”
“This action by the Lumière Count family is an insult to our Hartfield Marquis family!”
“Other young ladies were chosen at the ball as well. Why do you give that woman such special treatment?”
The servants and knights of the other chosen ladies protested the prince’s actions, but the prince was remarkably steadfast.
“I express my sincerest gratitude to the young ladies who have shown this unworthy man their favor. However, you must understand this. For the other ladies, there are countless other suitable options even if it is not this humble man, but for her, if I do not save her, it will be the end! A pitiful woman’s life is at risk of being sacrificed in a suspicious ritual, toyed with by the schemes of an evil witch. How can I turn a blind eye to this and dare to speak of my noble blood?!”
“Th-that may be so, but there is still the matter of courtesy between us—”
“Curse me if you must! I will gladly accept a slap to the face! What is such meager pain compared to the passion that burns within my heart?!”
Watching the scene remotely through Dorothea’s bone mouse, Adelaide broke out in a cold sweat.
“I-It’s incredibly effective. A little too effective, perhaps…”
Sophia smiled.
“It was worth giving him all those excuses to use. And it seems it’s not just the prince who’s fervent, but the other young ladies as well, wouldn’t you say?”
She was right.
“The slipper! If the slipper fits, I’ll be the prince’s bride! The next lady of Lumière!”
“I never even tried before because the other candidates were so strong, but this time…!”
“Just shove it on somehow! What’s a little pain?!”
The only ones who objected to the prince’s search for the owner of the glass slipper were the other candidates who had been on the verge of being chosen, had it not been for Cinderella’s play.
Those who had little chance of being chosen in the first place were, on the contrary, fervent supporters of this sudden event.
After all, it meant they now had a chance, too.
“But wouldn’t they know that they aren’t the owner of the glass slipper, at the very least?”
To Adelaide’s simple question, Sophia gave a simple answer.
“Because the witch sealed their memories, of course.”
“Pardon?”
“Whether it actually happened or not, it means they can use that excuse. A terrifying servant who could break through the count’s formidable security and abduct a person. For a witch who can command such a servant so casually, nothing she does would be strange, would it?”
In a way, it was a side effect of making the play too spectacular.
The mysterious ‘witch’s’ abilities had been so hyped up that rumors were spreading, painting her as a bizarre transcendent being capable of anything.
The party had anticipated this, but the problem was that the rumors were starting to drift in an unintended direction.
“But who is this witch, anyway?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It must be the witch of that cursed forest!”
“Indeed, for a witch with the power and audacity to cause such a ruckus in the count’s domain of all places, it can only be the Witch of the East!”
Hearing the whispers of the people around them, the heads of the Tin Knight, the Scarecrow, and the Lion all turned in unison.
There, for some reason, stood a witch, chewing her fingernails and practically screaming ‘I’m anxious right now’ with her entire body.
[The Tin Knight comforts Dorothea, saying that her master wouldn’t kill her over a small misunderstanding!]
“Wh-who said anything? I’m perfectly fine!”
Though her expression was clearly that of someone who was anything but fine, the Tin Knight dared not point it out.
One should only strike when the opponent was fine and the blow would land satisfyingly, not when they were truly cornered.
Other than Dorothea showing signs of anxiety over this affair reaching her master’s ears, the operation was proceeding smoothly.
While the Lumière territory was vast, once the search was narrowed down to unmarried women of marriageable age, the number of candidates decreased significantly.
In fact, giving them two days was a generous buffer, just in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
[The Tin Knight raises a question, saying that even if the glass slipper has a much stricter size limit than a normal shoe, with so many people, isn’t it possible someone else’s foot might fit perfectly?]
Eager to turn her thoughts to anything else, Dorothea responded to the Tin Knight’s words.
“Of course, I’ve prepared for that. I’ve placed a curse on the slipper so that anyone other than Cinderella who wears it will feel an unbearable sense of displeasure and discomfort. If someone with mediocre skills tries to remove the curse, the glass slipper itself will break. In other words, for the test to be passed, a candidate would need to have a foot size and shape similar to Cinderella’s and be skilled enough to ignore or break through the curse. What are the chances of someone like that showing up at just the right moment? …But why are you grabbing your sword?”
[The Tin Knight says that when a trailer drops, you obviously have to prepare for the main event!]