Chapter 18: The Pretty Boy Shows His Kindness

  Half a year ago, Charlotte learned from the drunkard that none of her family members had been executed. Her father was exiled to Tansy Island, a very faraway place, and her mother's sister served Princess Ero in the palace. Charlotte felt comforted upon hearing this news, after all, as long as they weren't dead, there was still hope for a reunion!

  It turns out that the drunkard is Mary's father, and his attitude towards Charlotte is very strange. In a poor and shabby home, with an extra mouth to feed, not only did he not drive her away, but he was also very concerned about her! What's even stranger is that only Charlotte herself felt that the drunkard's attitude was abnormal, while Mary and her mother didn't think so. How could the drunkard be nicer to a stranger than to his own daughter?! Charlotte couldn't help but feel indignant on Mary's behalf.

  But soon Charlotte didn't have time to dwell on this issue, because she found a job, and unexpectedly, her first job was as a laundry worker in the Edward household. At first, when she knew that the master of the house was Edward, she thought about quitting, but then she changed her mind. She thought that serving in the Edward household would increase her chances of entering the palace compared to being a servant in another household. So, Charlotte endured her disgust towards this family and began her humiliating life as a servant, hoping to fulfill her wish of finding her mother and sister in the palace sooner.

  Time flies, and half a year has passed. Charlotte has been working as a laundry worker at Edward's house for four months. During this period, Charlotte deeply felt the difficulties of the common people. Looking at her hands, which were frozen with chilblains from washing clothes, they looked like a carrot that had burst out of its skin. It was hard to imagine that she was once a young lady who lived a life of luxury. However, doing manual labor has one advantage - none of the scenes where Charlotte imagined being bullied and punished by her master have occurred. A laundry worker can't even see the master! Charlotte is worried, if things go on like this, she will never be able to enter the palace in her lifetime. When can they reunite as a family?

  "Charlotte, come to my house today, uncle is at home and made a fresh apple pie."

  This middle-aged woman speaking is Charlotte's immediate superior, the overseer of all the laundry workers. She has two sons; her elder son died protecting Earl Edward, and her younger son is now twenty-two, a year older than Charlotte, serving as a guard beside Earl Edward's beloved son.

  "No, Uncle Hans bought fish today and specifically told me to eat at home."

  The drunkard can no longer be called a drunkard, since Charlotte came to live with Mary, the drunkard has quit drinking and gambling altogether, so Charlotte calls him Uncle Hans.

  "It would be a pity if you didn't come, so I'll save some for you. You must come to my house for dinner tonight!"

  "Oh, right! I just heard that today is Hans' inspection day, he shouldn't be able to pick you up from home, should he? What a coincidence! Li Siting has an afternoon off, let him send you back home."

  Liszt is the youngest son of this middle-aged aunt, Charlotte has always thought that the middle-aged aunt intentionally set her up with Liszt, so she often rushes out as soon as she "gets off work", just to avoid this situation. Today, the middle-aged aunt somehow got it wrong and actually came over to block her!

  She wrung out the last sheet and hung it on the wooden frame, Charlotte lifted her gray apron to wipe her hands, and politely declined.

  "Auntie, don't bother Lisiting, he can finally take a rest this afternoon, I'll be fine going back by myself."

  "I don't think it's troublesome."

  The white sheet behind her was pulled open, and a slender, tall man leaned against the wooden stake. His skin was very pale, and his blue eyes had an innate melancholy air, but his smile was exceptionally radiant. At this time, Charlotte turned around to see a stunningly handsome man smiling at her with a hundred flowers in bloom. Charlotte's face flushed uncharacteristically, it turned out that Charlotte always hid from the middle-aged aunt not because she disliked Liszt, but because she got nervous whenever she saw Liszt, what an incompetent heroine.

  "Hehe, Charlotte, brother will send you home."

  "Oh! I remembered something, I forgot to do one thing! I'll go first, Auntie goodbye! Brother goodbye!"

  Charlotte didn't know why she was always afraid when with Lestin, so she casually found a lame excuse and slipped away.

  "Alas! Lissten, Mom did her best, alas!"

  The middle-aged aunt shook her head and left, Lestin stared blankly at Charlotte's back, Charlotte walked hastily, carelessly stepped into a pit and staggered before standing firm, Lestin unconsciously took a step forward, Charlotte turned around to see Lestin still looking at her, immediately ran away in embarrassment, Lestin smiled helplessly, Charlotte was still childish, how long could he wait for her?

  "Are you saying our master's wife is really the king's mistress?"

  "This can't be faked, you see, the prince comes to visit her once a week, and it's always at night, leaving in the morning, what else could she be but his mistress?"

  Two maids were whispering to each other, when a smaller maid interrupted them and said

  "That's not necessarily true, Cinderella is so beautiful and kind, how could she be a mistress? I think she should be the prince's true love instead~~~"

  Those two were startled and both hit that little guy once.

  "Walk quietly! Speak softly or you'll die!"

  "What do you know! You little brat! If it's not a mistress hiding here, why doesn't she dare to come out even once? What is this woman who hasn't been exposed if not a mistress?"

  "Yes, without even a name, now young and beautiful, when the prince gets bored, it will definitely be a discarded fate."

  Cinderella hid behind the door, she didn't mean to eavesdrop, but recently this kind of gossiping had become more and more frequent, she could hear people talking about her wherever she went. The servants were saying that she was not legitimate, that she was the prince's underground lover, which made her extremely embarrassed. But what could she do? She didn't dare to risk her life by betting on whether the king would accept a wanted criminal as his daughter-in-law. Cinderella felt bitter and couldn't express herself, there wasn't even one person around her who could share her feelings. The prince loved her, but she didn't want to put pressure on him, especially since he had already promised to marry only her in this life. Cinderella believed that the prince would eventually marry her.

  "I'm telling you a secret, don't tell anyone else!"

  "What secrets could you possibly have! Stop being so mysterious and spit it out already!"

  "What a great secret! The Princess of Visen, who lent troops to the Duke of Windsor, has come to the palace!"

  "What's this supposed to be some big secret? The whole city knows."

  "I heard that the king intends to marry off the little princess and the prince, my cousin is a lady-in-waiting of Princess Ero and she told me, it's absolutely reliable."

  What they said after that, Cinderella didn't hear anymore, her ears kept echoing 'the king intends to marry the little princess and the prince'. The noble princess, or rather the princess who had just helped herself win a victory, such a match made in heaven, would the prince refuse? The more Cinderella thought about it, the more desperate she felt. She and the prince were deeply in love, but their love was doomed to sacrifice life and throne.

  It would be better if the Lucas family hadn't fallen, even if she was just an unloved daughter of the Lucas family, she had the courage to declare war on the princess, but now she has nothing.

  She returned to the room in a daze, Cinderella gazed at the luxurious prince's mansion, every detail of which showed off its master's grandeur, and she, a mere servant girl, had become an interloper here. As she carefully examined these exquisite decorations, Cinderella felt that each item was mocking her for overreaching herself. The servants, who were keenly aware of their master's mood, exchanged glances with each other and slipped away unnoticed by Cinderella. The last one to leave was in such a hurry that he forgot to close the door. When Cinderella came back to her senses, she found that she was alone in the room, and the servants who usually fawned on her had vanished without a trace. She laughed mockingly - look, no one here had ever taken her as their mistress, not even the objects!