Cinderella Did Not Leave Her Shoe - Side Stories IV Part 1

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Julian’s Confession -refrain

Surprisingly after the birthday gala, the King officially restored the good name of Castley at parliament. For some reason, my father merely shrugged stating he was surprised at how well prepared the king was.

‘Why did you decline his Majesty’s offer when he first asked?’ I asked my father.

He lifted and eyebrow and stroked his lip as he said, ‘You don’t know this, but the way his Majesty’s eyebrows descend when he’s troubled is rather amusing.’

He chuckled. I could not believe my father was playing this cat and mouse game just to see his Majesty distressed a little.

I couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking.

I had come for my usual tea party with the Prince Stefan and Lady Priscilla, but I had come with far too many pastries. So, I went to visit father beforehand to chat.

We sat in the Lord’s cafeteria.

He gave me a grave stare,

‘Fredericka, here…’

I handed him a tea cup, he looked at me and I stared in confusion. Didn’t he want a cup of tea?

He braced his head on his hand and groaned before asking, ‘Are you doing your wifely duties properly?’

Huh? Wh-why was he asking this?

‘I mean, most women, when they get married, they acquire a womanly aura, but with you, I can’t feel it. I’m worried that things are not alright.’ (Zuben: Em, the husband would like her to remain cute, daddykins – and you’re daddy, you’re never going to see your daughter as womanly)

‘Isn’t it because I have a cute face? Don’t worry, I’m doing my best.’

I am managing the manor and territory well. I am going my best! I appealed with my eyes.

Isn’t it really awkward to be discussing this with my father? Was it because my dressing is still girlish, or was it because I was always talking about the home things? Maybe possibly…?

But I am an adult!

‘I just…I just want to see the face of my grandchild soon. I want to hold my grandchild.’

It was that…

I left my father tiredly.

 

‘The Castley honour will gradually recover!’ Stefan said radiantly as he used a fork to cut into a slice of raspberry pie.

Was I the only one who was thinking he was in a rare excited mood today?

Priscilla sat by him looking cool and beautiful.

‘Has anything changed since?’ She asked grasping my hand with her pale delicate ones.

I wonder why it excites me so even though she was also a woman. Was it just me? I should ask Sylvia when next I see her. I need to know.

‘Yes, a bit. The Anti-Cajés faction have been coming to visit especially.’

With Eugene confined, the Duke was laying low. These days, the faction who had been made to drink boiling water by Cajés visited the Castley and Brennan homes frequently, even bribing Xavier to make sure they got an audience.

‘If they get too annoying, let me know.’ Stefan said leaning toward me.

I shook my head, ‘No, it’s a trifle.’

If the Prince got involved it might get complicated. We would sort it out eventually. Although it could not be compared to the castle, but the security around the Brennan Manor was perfect. After all, it was where the god of war lived. And the resident guards were big muscle machos, with rock hard muscles and stomachs that could eat anything. They were a friendly bunch, and I got along well with them.

But with the Prince wanting me to tell him if something happened…there must have been an incident.

I looked at Lady Priscilla and we exchanged a knowing smile.

Something had happened…

A few days later, Xavier came to find Volker and me during our walk in the garden. Volker was on leave.

‘The madame has a visitor.’

A visitor, but I didn’t have any expected guests.

‘For Fredericka? Who is it?’ Volker asked with a frown.

‘A young beautiful gentleman names Julius.’ Xavier said with a happy smile. It looked like he was enjoying using the words to tease Volker.

‘Send him away.’ Volker said dismissively.

I wonder if it was because of Xavier’s attitude, or because it was a male visitor, but he looked very unhappy and turned me around.

But even if it was a man, I needed to see who it was.

‘Xavier, take him to the gazebo.’ I said, while I calmed Volker’s moodiness.

We went to the gazebo that had a garden seats and a table, and sat together on a wide bench.

The young man was already seated, but he rose at my appearance.

‘I don’t know anyone names Julius.’ I told Volker.

But I suppose this Julius knew me. I squeezed Volker’s hand as we waited for Xavier to bring him round.

He walked behind Xavier.

He had a lithe body wrapped in a crisply pressed shirt, a vest and a pair of trousers. He had bright golden hair with golden eyes that were laden with tension.

He bowed to us when he reached the gazebo,

‘My name is Julius, thank you for seeing me.’ His voice was a little high pitched for a man.

I offered a seat, and he took it gingerly.

Xavier immediately served tea. A maid had wheeled the serving trolley over.

Julius didn’t look at the tea and cakes as though he was afraid of it.

Volker watched him intently, but it seems that Volker didn’t suspect him anymore.

‘It’s nice to meet you, but I’m not sure where we know each other.’ I said, but Julius stiffened and nodded.

He gave a nervous smile.

I served tea, but he refused.

He took a deep breath and spoke, ‘I have come to apologise, because I have done something terrible to you.’

Volker moved sharply, but I was holding on to him. I smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.

‘Why do you say this?’ I asked Julius.

‘I’m sorry I put you through so much pain, but at the time I thought it was the best course of action. I didn’t want you to marry Eugene and have a sad depressing life.’

‘I thought it would be simple to just stop him. I didn’t think all those things would happen…I could have stopped him but I didn’t. I am the worst person.’

Volker stared intently at the golden head that hung low over his shoulders before asking, ‘Are you Julia?’

Julius nodded.

‘I am from Jiu village.’ (Zuben: Jiu. Julia. Julius)

Jiu village was a village at the outskirts of the Cajés lands.

‘It is situated in a mountainous area between the Duchy and state lands. We are poor because the soil isn’t very rich and it is hard to grow crops. So, we are indentured to the Duke’s service instead of paying taxes.’

Perhaps in memory of his trials, his fist clenched.

His soft blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

‘We worked very hard, but any mistake was punished with starvation – it didn’t matter if they were a child or adult.’

Everyone in the village were small and bony. I remember when I first encountered Julia or Julius, he had been short and small.

Now, even though he was still slender, he was tall and looked healthier.

At our meeting at the theatre, his impression had been totally different. It seems that spending time as Julia, Eugene’s lover, eating rich foods, had promoted a growth spurt.

‘When I visited the territory after my engagement with Eugene, were you there?’

He nodded.

At the time, I had been so excited that I was engaged to Eugene, but I soon found out what kind of person he truly was.

‘I served at the mansion at the time. Your family sent lots of bread to the territory in celebration.’

Volker looked down at me in askance, ‘Bread…?’ Such a thing was not normal. (Zuben: Well, it’s the thing to do when a territory is starved.)

‘The duke couldn’t even eat that much bread, so they were given to the servants. It was the first time we ate till we were full. And the bread was so soft, didn’t need to be eaten soaked in watery soup.’

I’m glad he got to eat some.

I remember when father had said he send bread,

“Bread?”

“Who doesn’t like bread?” was my father’s reply.

But when I arrived there, and saw the poverty of the people and the true character of the Cajés, I was thankful for my father’s idea. For the duration of my engagement with Eugene, my father continued to supply free bread to the impoverished villages in the Cajés duchy. They dubbed the bread “Castley Pan”.

Now, even after the dissolution of my engagement, my father’s company still supplies the bread but at a small price.

My father had said, “It would be a good thing to buy people via their stomach, just in case…”

As usual, I couldn’t tell if Father was joking or not.

‘That was the first time I met you, Miss Fredericka.’

Really?

I tried desperately to remember, but I couldn’t. Eugene had commanded me not to speak to the people or servants more than necessary.

Julius didn’t seem to mind that I could not remember. I thought it was best I let him speak until he felt he had said all he wanted.

But then Julius said, ‘You told me “I’m sorry I only have one,” before putting the tiny jar of jam in my hand.’

I remember: I had invited Eugene to go on a walk with me to deepen our relationship, but he retorted,

“Why would I want to walk with a woman?”

And so, I went by myself. As I walked through the garden, there was a tiny girl raking the leaves. She had looked so forlorn; I gave her the small jar of jam that I had put in my pocket to snack on when I was bored.

That cute girl was Julius?!

Julius laughed finally meeting my eyes.

‘Did you think I was a girl? I was really small, and my friends used to make fun of me that I looked like a girl. When you gave me that jam, I was so happy. I ate it as sparingly as possible but it was finished – gone too soon.’ He gave a dazzling smile.

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