2. Two Cinderellas
In a corner of the kingdom, there was a strange family.
This entirely female family was busily preparing for a certain purpose… Specifically, they were providing a talented education for a young girl left behind by their previous wife.
This girl's name was Cinderella.
In English, this name literally means 'Cinderella.'
To distinguish her from the French form of the same word that will appear later, and to make it easier for readers to understand, she will be referred to as "Shana" in this text instead of "Cinderella."
Now, this Shana, contrary to her innocent and adorable appearance, had been raised as a top-tier individual—excelling in both academics and martial arts, and possessing unparalleled courage—essentially the "king of kings" derived from the ideal image of women at that time.
If you wonder why—
"—King—"
It was because her stepmother, Tenmoku, had values that were, like her armored and single-eyed demon-like appearance, "slightly" odd.
This trait similarly applied to her two daughters.
In the kitchen, under the stepmother's watch—
"How many years have you been doing this same training?!"
The eldest daughter, Merihimu, grabbed a basket full of crow beans (a type of black soybean) as if performing a bean-throwing ritual to drive away evil before spring, and hurled them at the tattered Shana.
"Dodge them all! If you can't, just knock them to the ground!"
"Ugh!"
The girl, with eyes blazing like crimson flames, caught all of the flying beans, and with a hazel branch in her hands, knocked them down one by one with precise, sword-like movements.
However, no matter how skillfully she worked, the number of beans was overwhelming. A few had already hit her.
"Foolish girl! You're not having dinner today! Just eat the beans on the floor!"
"…Yes."
Faced with her elder sister's scolding, Shana replied with a defiant yet downcast expression.
"—King—"
"See? Mother is already disappointed by your incompetence! You'll be sleeping here tonight!"
The two left those words behind and walked out of the kitchen.
Left alone, Shana silently picked up the crow beans that had fallen to the floor.These pre-roasted beans were her dinner tonight. She wasn't experiencing this treatment for the first time. During this kind of training meant to improve survival skills in harsh environments, every time she made a failure like today, she had to sleep in the kitchen. She had already gotten used to this. During the process of picking up the beans, the ash drifting from the stove covered her long, fiery red hair that reached her waist. She was truly a real 'Cinderella.' Behind her— “So, you're sleeping here again tonight?” A voice, incredibly calm, asked her. It was Willamina, the second daughter brought by her stepmother. She wasn't a servant, yet she wore a long dress with a white apron and a white headpiece, in a bizarre maid-like outfit. Under her arms, she carried several thick hardcover books. “You have to translate all these books today. For every mistake you make, I will take away a bean.” “Start immediately.” Tiammate, who was also treated as the second daughter because she shared one heart with her, urged her. “Yes.” Shana replied and placed the few crow beans she had painstakingly picked into the basket she had brought. There was no time to rest; the studying began. As she translated those thick books, the beans were being taken away one by one. “You translated the meaning of that word incorrectly.” “Confiscated.” “Yes.” The study continued until the next morning— “The usage of that sentence is wrong.” “Confiscated.” “Yes.” In the end, in front of an exhausted Shana, only a small pile of crow beans remained. Even so, she did not complain; she silently ate the beans before going to sleep, preparing for tomorrow. Facing the difficult training silently, with the goal of soaring high as a ruler, she was a strong-willed and indomitable girl. In another corner of the kingdom, there was a girl. Her name was Sandorillon. Like Cinderella, this name also meant 'Cinderella.'It is also to clearly distinguish the name from the one mentioned earlier that this article uses "Yoshida" instead of "Sandorierong."
Although Yoshida was the daughter of a noble family, her beloved mother passed away from illness, and a few years later, even her father died in an accident. As a result, the only people left in the family were her, her late father's later wife, and the two daughters brought by the stepmother.
However, this stepmother's family—or more accurately, the stepmother's younger daughter—often took out their frustrations on her for no reason.
They kicked her out of her original room, forced her to live in a small attic on the roof, took her beautiful clothes away, and left her only some dull, mouse-colored clothes and wooden clogs.
Moreover, the younger daughter pushed all the heavy household work—fetching water, making fires, cooking, doing laundry, sweeping the floor—onto her alone, tormenting her to her heart's content. As a result, her once proper appearance became haggard from all the hard labor, and her hair grew messy, leaving her looking exactly like a neglected young woman.
Today, she was still in a corner of the kitchen, her whole body covered in stove soot and dust, diligently doing housework. It was then that—
"Oh my, what's this, all this dust?"
The person who ran her finger along the window frame with a "swoosh" sound and then held her finger out in front of Yoshida was the stepmother's younger daughter, Thiria. Although she looked glamorous like a life-sized French doll, her heart was that of a terrifying sadist.
The dust on her fingertip was actually just a tiny trace that anyone paying attention could notice. But her purpose was purely to bully, and that was enough.
"Honestly, how can you clean like this? If you cut corners, my sister will get dirty! It's really a headache, don't you think, sister?"
"Yeah, I hate getting dirty the most, Thiria!"
Thiria's other arm rested on the neck of her sister—the stepmother's elder daughter, Surat, who looked just like her. Surat merely echoed her sister's words without any independent opinion.
"You can't cook properly, and even your cleaning is terrible. I think we really need to consider whether it's necessary to keep you in the house. Probably, Mother would have such thoughts too, wouldn't she?”Suddenly asked this question by Tilia, her stepmother, Ogata, was taken aback. She hurriedly replied:
“Eh, r-really? Her cooking is also very good, and she cleans the house too…”
Her usually 'handsome' and imposing face immediately softened under the sharp gaze of the second daughter.
“Ugh… I didn't say anything… um.”
Tilia, with her blue eyes, chose her target carefully and finally fixed her gaze on Yoshida.
“Redo the cleaning. I will have you keep doing it until I approve. After finishing here, move on to the courtyard. Then prepare the meals and mend the clothes—you still have a lot of work to do.”
Yoshida could only obediently comply with this step-sister who was actually in charge of the household. Though part of it was due to her gentle and compliant nature, in this era, it was extremely difficult—or rather, impossible—for a girl with no home to live on her own.
By night, as usual, Yoshida, exhausted from the day's chores, finally returned to her room—a dark attic under the roof, lying on a rough straw mat.
“…Hah…”
She let out a long sigh, yet did not cry, merely reaching her hand into the pocket of her apron.
“Come on, come out quickly.”
Saying this, she took out some crumbs of bread from her pocket and placed them on the floor.
In her unfortunate circumstances, her only joy was talking with the mice living in the attic (though it was a very empty pleasure, there really was nothing else to do), and also—
“The castle is so bright tonight too…”
She looked out at the king's castle from the attic window.
Before long, a rustling sound came from the corner of the attic, and two mice emerged.
Although they looked as if wearing mouse skins, they were really just mice.
“Chirp chirp (This is too much.)”
One of the mice had a relatively handsome face and a slightly thin body.
“Chirp chirp (Stop talking. Getting a chance to appear is already good enough.)”
The other appeared bigger and bulkier, a large mouse.Yoshida called the handsome mouse Sato, and the big mouse Tanaka, and took care of them constantly.
"People on the street are all talking, saying that His Highness the Prince is about to hold a ball to select a bride..."
The girl rested her chin on the window frame and said to the mice:
"A humble little girl like me probably still can't participate, right?"
Hearing her sigh-like, discouraged voice, Sato and Tanaka immediately encouraged her:
"Chirp chirp (That's not true. When the old master was here, you were genuinely a young lady, weren't you?)"
"Chirp chirp (Exactly, exactly, Yoshida, you're the kind of person who will shine if you just train a little. Although the biggest problem is figuring out how to train.)"
"Hehe, constantly complaining is useless anyway. Okay, I'm going to sleep... early tomorrow morning—I still have to... get water..."
As soon as she lay down on the straw mat, the girl, exhausted, immediately fell asleep.
The mice, so as not to wake her, tried to stay quiet and silently ate the breadcrumbs Yoshida had given them.
