In the Midst of Revenge on Cinderella (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“Dinner time is almost here.”
At Sylvia’s words, I straightened my back from sweeping the floor. Having skipped lunch and moved around more than usual for the first time in a while, I was extremely hungry, so her announcement was very welcome.
As I stretched my arms high to loosen my stiff muscles, Sylvia kept nervously biting her lips, watching me carefully. Now that I noticed, she had been hovering anxiously beside me since earlier, clearly wanting to say something.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… Lady Reneola.”
Sylvia hesitated before cautiously continuing.
“When a new maid arrives, we have something called an initiation ceremony.”
Judging both by the ominous sound of the word “initiation” and Sylvia’s expression, it was clear this wasn’t a pleasant event. Then again, who would welcome me right now?
‘Yet even in this world, such outdated customs still exist.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“They’ll probably start as soon as you go to the dining hall now. Everyone, including Lady Reneola, has gone through it once, so I hope you won’t take it too hard.”
All the way to the dining hall, Sylvia fretted endlessly over whether I’d suffer emotional wounds.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
I gave Sylvia a reassuring smile, but seeing how deeply worried she was made me suspect the prank would be quite harsh, and my heart tightened slightly.
‘You already expected something like this when entering the castle.’
I took a deep breath and slowly opened the dining hall door.
The dining hall was already packed with people. Every long dining table was fully occupied, suggesting all the maids had gathered. As I entered, every gaze instantly fixed on me. Their stares were icy, their faces expressionless.
‘Really, I keep getting all the attention again.’
In my previous life, I’d always been an ordinary passerby who never stood out anywhere.
I shook my head inwardly and sat down. The maids’ sharp eyes followed my every movement. Sylvia, unsure what to do, hesitantly sat beside me.
‘When will they start?’
Surely they wouldn’t just keep glaring at me like this.
Just then, kitchen maids placed soup and bread in front of me. Immediately after, the head maid rang the bell signaling the start of the meal. A familiar scene from movies and dramas instantly flashed through my mind.
‘They’re going to spill the food on me!’
I imagined the maids giggling as I sat there dumbfounded, blinking in shock with soup poured all over me.
I subtly touched the soup plate with my finger—it was lukewarm. Hmm, at this temperature, I wouldn’t get burned even if it spilled on me. Reassured, I stayed alert. Even if it wasn’t scalding hot, I had no intention of taking it lying down.
But no matter how long I waited, nothing happened. They simply sat perfectly upright in front of their food, staring at me expressionlessly.
‘What’s going on? Why is everyone just watching?’
What exactly were they trying to do? After pondering for a while, I finally figured out what they were up to.
The dining hall was filled with an eerie silence and palpable tension. By collectively refusing to pick up their cutlery, they were silently pressuring me—trying to break my spirit by making me feel guilty for preventing everyone from eating.
‘Huh?’
I nearly laughed inwardly. Seeing their solemn expressions, I’d assumed they’d prepared something grand, but was this really it? I’d expected some low-grade scheming or at least open attempts to discipline me, given it was called an “initiation.”
Frankly, I’d have preferred having soup dumped on me—at least then I’d have gotten properly riled up. This was nothing.
Though being stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes was slightly uncomfortable, compared to the shock of having my chest pierced right before my eyes, this felt like child’s play.
‘I’ll just pretend I’m filming an eating show.’
When I started eating as if nothing were wrong, sighs of disbelief poured out around me. Ignoring them, I neatly spread butter and jam on my bread and took a hearty bite. The bread was tough, but hunger was the best seasoning—it tasted like honey.
The quiet dining hall was filled only with the sounds of my cutlery clinking against the plate and my chewing. Sylvia, who had been nervously watching me from the side, finally resolved to pick up her spoon. Immediately, the maids, including Ginger, shot her sharp glares.
“Good heavens, how can she eat that right now?”
“Everyone’s starving because of her, yet she has the nerve!”
“See? Just like the rumors said—she’s definitely not ordinary.”
Since they spoke loudly enough for me to hear, I deliberately took another bite of bread while looking their way, prompting the maids to gasp in horror.
Because I remained calm instead of panicking as they’d expected, the maids grew flustered and started murmuring among themselves.
I slowly blinked toward Ginger, who was grinding her teeth in frustration. Then I picked up the teacup served with the meal. Raising my pinky finger exaggeratedly, I sipped my black tea with perfect nonchalance, watching her closely—her face instantly crumpled in dismay.
[This is the timeline separator]‘Ah, I’m stuffed.’
Because everyone had stared at me as if questioning how I could possibly swallow another bite, I stubbornly finished every last crumb out of sheer defiance—and now I felt like my stomach might burst. To aid digestion before bed, I went for a light walk with Sylvia.
‘Fasting only hurts them, not me.’
Remembering the maids’ faces as they stubbornly refused to touch their utensils just to keep an eye on me, I couldn’t help but chuckle. They’d probably lie awake all night from hunger.
“Lady Reneola, I was truly amazed!”
Sylvia, who had initially been so shy, now clung to me affectionately, her eyes sparkling.
“You’re the first—and probably the last—person to finish a meal in the Silent Dining Hall. Everyone else either trembles in fear or breaks down crying before they can finish. I was the same myself. Ginger even ran out of the dining hall back then!”
Calling it a childish tradition, Sylvia laughed with evident satisfaction now that it had backfired so thoroughly.
“By the way, you said you’d be sharing a room with Ginger, right?”
Sylvia suddenly asked with concern. When I nodded, her expression grew even more uneasy.
“Be careful, Lady Reneola. That girl never shares a room with anyone because she’s so sensitive—it’s suspicious that she’d agree to share with you so readily. She enjoys tormenting others, and since the Silent Dining Hall didn’t work, who knows what she’ll try next.”
I recalled Ginger glaring at me while I calmly ate. Her face had flushed red with fury. Indeed, I’d realized on the very first day that her temperament was far from ordinary.
“I wish I could’ve shared a room with you instead, Lady Reneola. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve spoken to the head maid beforehand.”
Sylvia drooped her eyebrows, looking genuinely regretful.
“And besides Ginger, there are other girls you should watch out for too…”
But instead of listening to Sylvia’s detailed rundown of the second prince’s maids—however helpful her intentions—I asked her something far more important.
“Sylvia, have you heard any news about how the war with the Pyton Kingdom is going?”
“Oh! The castle’s been in an uproar lately precisely because of that.”
“Why?”
“His Highness the First Prince has sent word of victory! Everyone’s ecstatic about finally winning after years of war. They’re all busy preparing for his imminent return—there’ll be a homecoming ceremony, victory celebrations, and many other events.”
Oh no. I have even less time than I thought. The original story truly begins after the First Prince returns, and I’d planned to escape before then—but it seems that’s impossible now.
Out of habit, I bit my nails and asked Sylvia, “Have you ever been to the royal library?”
“Just once. I went there on an errand for the head maid.”
“What’s it like? Is it big? Are there lots of books?”
“Of course! They say if a book isn’t in the Hillik Kingdom’s royal library, it doesn’t exist anywhere else.”
As expected, I’ll need to find time to visit the royal library regularly. As I nodded inwardly, Sylvia continued.
“That’s probably why even the librarians struggle to find specific books sometimes.”
Sylvia laughed as if it were amusing, but I found it anything but funny. If even the librarians can’t locate books easily, just how enormous must this place be? At least the books are categorized by subject, right?
“I heard the Chief Librarian’s lifelong dream is to organize the entire library. Books on politics or economics—subjects frequently requested by royalty—are kept separately, but they get terribly flustered whenever someone asks for something obscure. Last time, they searched day and night for three whole days just to find a book requested by His Highness the Second Prince. They sighed that the prince was extremely angry.”
“…What about books on magic or fairies?”
“No! Half the Hillik Kingdom was built on magic—it’s practically our foundation, so of course those sections are perfectly organized!”
Sylvia clapped her hands together with a bright smile. My hope, sparked by this first positive answer, instantly collapsed with her next words.
“The librarians were incredibly proud—they said there are as many as seven thousand books!”
“Se-Seven thousand?!”
Damn it. I’ll grow old and die before I can read them all.
Already feeling a headache coming on, I pressed my hand to my forehead—but Sylvia’s eyes lit up.
“But Lady Reneola, you must be very interested in magic too!”
Sylvia, who clearly harbored romantic notions about the fantastical, looked delighted to discover a shared interest. Unlike her, who squealed like any ordinary girl her age, I kept sighing inwardly.
‘Looks like I have no choice but to go with that method after all.’
I’d really hoped to avoid getting involved, but there was no way I could read all seven thousand books myself. I grabbed Sylvia’s hand as she eagerly offered to lend me all her personal magic books.
“Sylvia.”
“Yes, Lady Reneola? Please go ahead. Oh! Should I lend you books about ghosts too? There are many famous collections of ghost stories!”
“I’ll borrow those later. For now, how do I get permission to go outside?”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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Shes smart. I love her for this.yeah dont care about the ruin reputation
Girlboss. YEAH LETS GO PLAYING VILLAINESS UNTIL THE END!
Shes really got caught by the demon king. Good luck for the grim future