Although the Tin Knight’s remark seemed abrupt at first glance, Dorothea had become quite familiar with the Tin Knight’s way of speaking.

She understood the Tin Knight’s meaning precisely.

Since Dorothea had said, “Such a person is unlikely to appear,” it meant that such a person would definitely show up soon.

Her face momentarily contorted.

Dorothea reflexively wanted to shout that it couldn’t be, but she had to pause.

The experiences from their journey so far were too spectacular to simply deny the Tin Knight’s words.

Therefore, she began to coolly examine that possibility.

It would be far-fetched for a wild capable person with no connection to them to appear and clear the glass slipper test, but considering other factors?

First, quite a few powerful people were involved in this bride search. It was entirely “possible” that they might have used their power and wealth to hire outstanding capable individuals.

Moreover, the kingdom’s sacred treasure was involved in this matter. Just as Dorothea’s party had arrived in Lumière following the sacred treasure, there was a possibility that someone else might visit the city in search of the sacred treasure and consequently become involved in this incident.

Other than that… the possibility that someone connected to the Tin Knight’s party might be involved.

Surely not my teacher. It can’t be. It mustn’t be.

Dorothea shivered, hugging her arms as if feeling a chill.

The thought of her teacher stepping forward in front of people during the bride search commotion, saying, “I am the bride,” was a powerful mental attack that felt like it would melt her brain just imagining it.

Dorothea’s honest feeling was that she’d rather destroy another magic tower than face such a thing. Though that would be unfair to the magic tower.

“Adel.”

“Yes?”

“Tell Cinderella to come out of the house and go near the prince right now.”

“Oh, is that okay? According to the original plan, we were supposed to wait until the prince visited various houses sequentially and reached Zoluschka’s house…”

“I have a bad feeling. It’s better to settle this quickly. You’ll be faster than summoning undead, so hurry somehow! Here’s some hair dye!”

“Yes! Ah, the mask…”

“Throw away that useless mask except when playing peekaboo, and eat this!! Leave the sword behind and go!”

Although she looked slightly shocked at the words “useless mask,” Adelaide caught the small glass vial Dorothea threw and drank its contents in one gulp.

Her bright golden hair quickly turned brown, and her violet eyes turned green.

Although her outfit remained the same, with Dorothea’s perception interference magic in place, there was no risk of ordinary people noticing as long as they somehow dealt with the most crucial feature of golden hair and violet eyes and the large greatsword on her back.

Watching Adelaide sprint at a terrifying speed across the streets, no, across the rooftops, Dorothea inwardly prayed.

She hoped that just this once, the Tin Knight’s unnecessarily sharp intuition would miss the mark.

***

Meanwhile, at that time, Cinderella was quietly spending time at home according to the original plan…

“Hey, Cinderella. Go quickly and draw some water from the well.”

“What? The water container is already quite full.”

“Isn’t it good to fill it up more in advance? I don’t know why this child is so lazy. It’s noisy, go quickly.”

…or not.

Cinderella was simply dumbfounded.

Since when did she care about things like water?

This was clearly just an excuse, no matter how she thought about it.

It was to prevent Cinderella from catching the prince’s eye when he visited her house.

Did they notice that I was the woman who caused trouble at the ball?

For a moment she had such a suspicion, but Cinderella soon shook her head.

She had carefully observed her family’s reactions after returning from the ball, but there was no sign of them suspecting her.

Besides, all the dresses and carriages she had were currently entrusted to the black witch, so there was no physical evidence that could expose her.

In other words, this was just spite.

They didn’t think Cinderella would be the owner of the glass slipper anyway, but that was one thing, and this was just a wicked mentality of not wanting to see Cinderella get such an opportunity!

“Yes, I’ll go.”

Of course, Cinderella had no intention of just submitting to this.

Although she bowed her head obediently and slipped out of the house, instead of heading to the well, she hid her body in a nearby alley.

And then, crack, she smashed the bottom of the wooden water bucket on a nearby stone.

She planned to say that she had tried to go draw water, but fell on the way and the bucket broke, so she had no choice but to return midway.

Normally she would receive a severe scolding, but anyway, her victory was assured as long as she could just put her foot in the glass slipper in front of the prince.

The damn stepmother and trash sisters wouldn’t dare say a word about the water bucket, and moreover, they would have to pay for all the torment they had inflicted on Cinderella until now.

Of course, she had no intention of taking action herself.

It would damage the image of the kind and pitiful woman she had shown in front of the prince, and there would be gossip from others as well.

There was no need for such a bad move; just by letting the prince know about the torment she had endured so far, the prince would surely take care of it.

There would be its own hardships after being chosen as the prince’s fiancée, but Cinderella was confident she could overcome them. How could it be worse than her current situation, which was no different from slavery?

There were times when I was flustered in various ways, but I’m glad I met that witch after all.

It was when Cinderella was lost in such thoughts.

“—Are you happy?”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her without any warning.

“Eek!?”

Suppressing the scream that reflexively escaped, Cinderella quickly turned her body to look in the direction the voice had come from.

And, she muttered blankly, “…Madam Witch?”

Ebony-like black hair. A black dress. Beauty so outstanding that the expression “beautiful” seemed inadequate.

Cinderella momentarily thought of Dorothea when she saw the person behind her, but soon realized it was a mistake.

Certainly, the overall characteristics were similar, but looking closely, there were considerable differences in facial features and detailed atmosphere.

If forced to express it, it was like different actors wearing matching clothes to play the same role.

Perhaps pleased by Cinderella’s address of “Madam Witch”?

The mysterious girl revealed a smile on her lips.

“I’m not Dorothy. But, they say friends resemble each other, so in that sense, you have quite good eyes.”

“Ah, yes. But, um…”

Cinderella’s question of “Who exactly are you?” couldn’t continue.

Because the girl asked a question first.

“Are you happy?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering? I’m asking if you’re happy?”

Inwardly, Cinderella wanted to retort, “If you suddenly ask if I’m happy without any context, how am I supposed to answer?” but she couldn’t.

This person, she’s scary.

Her appearance was undoubtedly beautiful.

Her innocent yet dignified attitude reminded one of a princess from a fairy tale.

But inside that beauty, in a deep place invisible to the eyes, something inexplicably sticky and gloomy could be felt.

So Cinderella carefully opened her mouth, trying not to offend the other party as much as possible, “I’m not sure what you’re asking if I’m happy about… I’m sorry for being slow on the uptake.”

The mysterious girl blinked her beautiful eyes a couple of times.

And, she smiled faintly, “No, there’s nothing to be sorry about. You and I are in similar situations, so there’s no need to be so cautious.”

“Similar situations?”

“Yes, I also received help from Dorothy. I’m happy about that, so happy that when I saw you looking like my past self, I wanted to talk to you.”

Only then could Cinderella understand the girl’s words.

The question, “Are you happy?” meant the current situation of having received help.

“So how about it, are you happy?”

Cinderella was about to answer that of course she was happy, but suddenly she had to stop speaking.

The witch told me not to talk about being involved with her.

In a way, it was natural.

There was a big risk that the act might be exposed if she wasn’t careful.

The other party seemed to already know that Cinderella had received help from the witch’s party, but she was also confused because the girl called her Dorothy, not Dorothea.

She wasn’t sure if they were close enough to use a nickname instead of her name, or if it meant she only knew her peripherally, not even knowing her name properly.

So, Cinderella avoided answering, “I, I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“…”

And at that moment, the expression disappeared from the girl’s face.

Cinderella sensed it.

Ah, I made a mistake.

“Zoluschka!”

What saved Cinderella in this critical situation was the voice of the little lion.

Adelaide, who had suddenly fallen from the sky, having run through some unknown route, immediately embraced Zoluschka’s waist and created distance backward.

The mysterious girl momentarily distorted her expression, but soon carefully examined Adelaide’s appearance and shrugged her shoulders.

At the same time, “something” that was about to bloom at the girl’s feet quickly lost strength and withered again.

While feeling relieved that the opponent had lost their fighting spirit, Adel didn’t let her guard down and asked:

“Who are you?”

“Hello, Dorothy’s Companion Miss. Nice to meet you… or maybe not, but I’ll say it’s nice to meet you here.”

It was an answer that seemed like an answer, but wasn’t really an answer.

If conversation was a game of catch with language, there was a strange sense of discomfort, as if the girl had let the ball thrown from this side pass by and was taking out a new ball to throw this way.

Adelaide realized.

The girl she was facing now wasn’t really looking at her opponent properly.

Whether aware or unaware of Adelaide’s impression, the girl took out a letter and threw it into the air.

The letter, with downy seeds attached, settled in Adelaide’s hand without falling to the ground, as if riding the wind.

“Give this to Dorothy. It’s an invitation.”

“I still haven’t received a proper answer to who you are.”

At Adelaide’s question, the girl smiled.

A smile as beautiful as a flower and as chilling as a ghost.

“—Ozma. Dorothy’s friend.”

As if that was all she had to say, the girl lifted the hem of her dress with an elegant gesture and bowed her head.

Suddenly, plant stems or vines grew wildly from the ground, completely enveloping her body in a bud-like shape.

Soon the entire bud swelled as if exploding, then scattered into countless petals.

However, the girl’s figure was no longer inside.

A sudden appearance, a sudden departure, and a sudden change.

Cinderella, who had been staring blankly at that sight, blurted out, “When I was young, I used to think I wanted to live like a fairy tale protagonist, but after actually experiencing it for a few days…”

“After experiencing it?”

“…This is not something to be done either. It’s bad for the heart.”

Adelaide smiled bitterly, “So, are you going to give up? He seems like he’d be very sad.”

At Adelaide’s words, Cinderella turned her gaze forward again.

There was the figure of the prince looking anxious in front of Cinderella’s house.

Cinderella stared blankly at that sight for a while, then slapped both her cheeks with her hands.

“No, once you’re on stage, you should do your best, anyway. My mother would have said the same if she were alive.”

At Cinderella’s words, Adelaide smiled.

And that day.

The rumor that the heir of the Lumière territory had officially accepted a new fiancée spread throughout the kingdom.

A mysterious letter. Remaining questions. Scattering flowers. Fervent applause. A bride blooming beautifully, shedding her ashes.

The curtains of one story had finally come to a close.

***

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