Cinderella Contract

After separating from Prince Yuri, I look around for Asena. What should I do? It will be troublesome if I’m separated from him. If I go to the top of the stairs I might be able to find him! With that thought, I head towards the large staircase at the center of the ballroom. About halfway up the staircase, I accidentally bump into a woman who is rushing to the top.

“Oh!” Not again… I trip on the stairs and lose my balance. My hands fly into the air and my eyes shut tightly as I anticipate the impact.

“Hey! Careful where you’re walking.” My eyes open at the sound of a rough and surprised voice.

“Huh?!” I hadn’t fallen. Did this man save me? My eyes met the man who embraced me as I fell. He has short, scarlet hair that falls over the sides of his face. His matching scarlet eyes catch my gaze. He looks at me with a frightening, harsh glare.

“What are you staring absent mindedly at?! No wonder you fell…” It seems I can only understand part of what he’s saying. All my attention was focused on that fact that he is still embracing me and his face is very close to mine. I blushed.

“U-um, thank you. You can let go of my hand now.” I said sheepishly.

“Why is your face so red?” He looked confused until he looked down. “Ah!” We quickly separate and he awkwardly averts his gaze. He mutters something quietly to himself. “Ah, well…um.”

“I-I’m sorry! Thank you.”

“Hey!” As I attempt to walk away, I realize something isn’t right with my footing. Oh no… The heel of my shoe is broken. Of course. “You probably won’t be able to walk in those.” He thought to himself before speaking. “Give me your hand.”

I obediently hold out my hand and he carefully takes it. He was trying to help with my footing. How nice. After descending one step at a time, he guides me to a less crowded area. “Wait here.” His voice is harsh, but I don’t sense any hostility. I waited for him to return obediently. After a while, another man approached me.

“What are you doing here? Do you feel unwell?” His voice was soft, yet mature. Although he is most likely older than me, he has a youthful aura.

“Oh. No, I broke my heel.” Without realizing, I was staring at the man who addressed me in a friendly manner. He had scarlet hair just like the man I’m waiting for, but his is messy and slightly darker. He also has matching scarlet eyes, however his right eye is covered with a patch. I wonder what happened? His face looked older, with a scruff on his chin. I must be lucky, it has just been one handsome man after another tonight.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. I might be able to prepare a quick substitute…”

“Hey. What are you doing here?” The man who asked me to wait returns and looks at the man who is now talking to me.

“Hm? Oh, so you know this lady?” The man with the eye patch asked, looking amused.

“Hell if I do.” How rude! The younger red head spoke harshly and averted his gaze.

“Cyril, language. You’re reverting to your usual self.” So the one who saved me earlier is named Cyril.

“Hm! Shut up. I thought you’d lay off for once, but here you are getting on my case.” The man name Cyril’s voice got hostile towards the older man. He turned to me. “Here, wear this. Make do with this for now.” His voice softened when he spoke to me.

“Thank you very much. You found these for me?” I took the shoes gratefully.

“It was just by chance.” By chance, huh? I giggled to myself at his awkwardness.

“I am indebted to you. I’ll make sure to return them afterwards.” I bowed.

“There’s no need for that. I said never mind it! Leave it at that.” Speaking these words harshly, Cyril glares at me and walks away. What just happened? As I remain dazed, I feel weight on my head.

“He’s just shy. I’m pretty sure he looked all over for those shoes, so please accept them.” The older man smiled.

“Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about it.” He pats my head slightly then goes after Cyril, the man with harsh eyes. As I watch his back absent mindedly, I feel someone touch my shoulder. Asena.

“I’m sorry. It took a while to find you.” Asena says this indifferently then examines my new dress. “So that’s your change of clothes. It suits you well.” I blush slightly at the awkward compliment.

“Th-thank you.” I stuttered.

“Prince Yuri has good taste.” Asena reaches for me, and in surprise I close my eyes. “Your hair.” Huh! He gently touches my hair. I can feel his slender finger tips combing through the ends of my hair. After a while, the sensation stops. I timidly open my eyes and they meet the glance of a satisfied Asena. “It’s alright, you don’t have to get worked up.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s natural that as your partner, I’d look after you.” He spoke without any emotion in his voice. I look at the hand that was just playing with my hair. “Are your shoes taken care of? You’re wearing a different pair than you come here with.”

“Those were lent to me. When I’m almost fell down the stairs, I broke my heel."

"The man you just met is the Prince of Ingrays, Cyril.” He’s a prince too?! “I’m sure there was no way you would know. He didn’t say anything unbecoming of a prince, did he?”

“He did… However, he seemed to become more careful with his words after a while.” I thought about my encounter with Prince Cyril, who is also a prince apparently.

“He probably inadvertently showed his true feelings when you were rescued. At any rate, you should feel lucky to have talked to three princes in such a short time. So I guess that leaves the host, Prince Claude, right?” I follow where Asena’s gaze fell and see the beautiful man I met before I entered the ballroom. Him?! So he is a prince… He was surrounded by a crowd of women.

“It seems he doesn’t have a partner. Perhaps he plans to find one in the ballroom.” I look at Asena.

“Does such a thing happen?”

“That one is capable of it.” The way Asena talks about the Prince Claude is as if they are acquaintances. For a moment, my eyes meet Prince Claude’s but I quickly avert my gaze in surprise. I feel a quiet amusement from Asena. “Would you like to mingle amongst them?”

“No, I…” I shook my head, feeling awkward from his suggestion.

“You’re right. The world that the monarchy and the commoners live in are different.” Ouch. There he goes again. Although I know it is true, the way that he is so blunt about it is shocking. “Unless it is necessary, you should try to avoid it as much as possible.”

“I see…” I felt a coldness in his words. With a bitter smile etched across his face, Asena lets out a sigh. I wonder what made him like this about the monarchy.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Asena looked awkward.

“No, I understand what you mean.” As I said this, Asena’s eyes spring open in surprise. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

“He’s coming over here…” Hearing his whisper, I follow his line of sight and see Prince Claude making his way towards us. He was followed by his entourage of women. What?? He’s coming here?!