My Husband's Cinderella (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
Just as they were enjoying a simple appetizer, the main course arrived immediately. The savory scent of seared meat filled the air right from breakfast.
Before Chloe lay a beautifully plated lamb steak, lightly seared on the outside.
“I heard you adore mutton, so I procured a freshly slaughtered young lamb. The juices overflow—it’s truly exquisite.”
Kalis gave a subtle wink, saying he’d specially prepared this dish just for her.
He sat perfectly upright and began slicing his steak. After savoring a slanted cut, he lavished the dish with praise, embellished with every possible flowery phrase.
Chloe picked up a small piece of steak that had broken off, then set it down again. Immediately afterward, the fork in her hand dropped almost onto her plate.
At the clatter, everyone’s eyes turned simultaneously toward her plate, then naturally shifted toward Chloe herself.
“Your Highness.”
Though her face bore an air of elegance, her gaze was icy cold.
Her voice, addressing Kalis, remained flat and uninflected—decidedly chilly.
“Forgive my boldness, but I do not care for mutton.”
“But… previously, when the chef asked about your favorite foods…”
At his continuing excuse, Chloe released the knife she held in her other hand. It struck the plate limply, producing a loud metallic clang.
“That was…”
A hint of amusement tinged Chloe’s voice as she spoke.
“Because Your Highness enjoys mutton, I answered as I did, hoping meals might be prepared to suit your preferences.”
Her reply poured cold water over the atmosphere. Kalis, caught off guard and embarrassed, merely sipped his wine.
“Shall we continue eating?”
She’d been utterly exasperated by Kalis’s demand for praise, but now that he’d fallen silent, she felt she might survive.
She deliberately chose only the garnishes. Perhaps because his culinary skill was truly exceptional, even the vegetarian portions weren’t entirely unpleasant.
“Um…”
Just as the meal descended into oppressive silence, a frail voice broke through the quiet.
“M-Mistress…”
Surprisingly, the unfamiliar address came from Helena.
Her large, round eyes stared fixedly at Chloe. Her trembling eyelashes accentuated her doll-like beauty even further.
It was a pity to see such a lovely face wasted on hollow pretense.
“Speak.”
“W-What did you do at the royal palace?”
“Why does that interest you?”
“I was just curious about what princesses usually do…”
Helena flushed, her cheeks reddening—not from shyness, but from shame.
Her determination to persist with the act, despite her embarrassment, was truly remarkable.
“What could I possibly have done that’s so grand? I merely spent my days with family.”
The word ‘family’ was unusually emphasized.
Immediately afterward, both pairs of eyes darted restlessly. Untrained in dining etiquette, Helena trembled even in her legs from nervousness.
‘Should I reveal the truth? Or…’
Disgust boiled over. Chloe thought these people were precisely the “vermin” Coon had mentioned.
Must she truly endure such discomfort just to play along with their schemes?
Or should she accept them, however falsely kind they pretended to be?
Chloe chose the latter.
Certainly not because she craved their goodwill.
Abandoned and denied a divorce, Chloe had no path left. She would do anything to buy time.
“I confided in them about worries that had arisen while we were apart.”
Worries.
This time, she stressed a different word. Instantly, both their shoulders flinched involuntarily.
“My family listened attentively and afterward gave me sincere advice.”
It felt cruelly ironic to romanticize such bitter memories.
Yet even more cruel was Chloe’s present reality.
“W-What sort of worries do you have, Mistress?”
“Well…”
“…”
“Were we ever close enough to share such private matters?”
Helena’s mouth snapped shut the moment Chloe’s icy retort landed.
Her lips parted and closed several more times before she finally stuffed food hastily into her mouth to end the exchange.
Perhaps due to the awkwardly concluded conversation, the rest of the meal ended quickly.
Unlike Kalis’s plate, which was scraped clean, Chloe’s remained nearly untouched.
Kalis’s expression upon seeing her barely-touched steak was so amusing that Chloe wished she could preserve it to revisit whenever she felt down.
For dessert, a tart topped with figs was served.
Thoroughly bested once, Kalis remained silent.
It was as if fortune favored her—the fig tart was another dish Chloe had often requested to suit Kalis’s taste.
By now, he’d changed tactics—clearly intending to win points through entirely different means.
He poured tea into Chloe’s empty cup, handed her a napkin, and even presented her with a rose folded from the napkin.
Each time, Chloe mirrored Kalis’s actions toward Helena—pouring her tea, offering a napkin, and gifting her the paper flower Kalis had given.
Helena’s gradually twisting expression was quite a sight to behold.
Dinner was drawing to a close. Amidst the heavy silence, Chloe called out to Helena.
“Miss Helena, you asked me what my worries were.”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
“Spring is coming soon, so I wish to design the garden. I’ve just discussed with my family which flowers would be most lovely.”
“Yes?”
“Repeating last year’s exact flowers seems rather dull.”
Helena tilted her head in confusion and blinked. As her eyelids fluttered open and shut repeatedly, she fell into thought.
In contrast, Chloe wore a faint, aloof smile.
“Since the dessert doesn’t quite suit my taste either, I shall take my leave first.”
Chloe sent back her dessert plate, pristine as new.
After bidding farewell first, she left the stunned pair behind and headed upstairs.
Kalis likely wouldn’t take Chloe’s words at face value. On the contrary, he’d probably assume she’d confessed everything to the royal family.
Given his poor relations with the royals, he couldn’t very well ask outright—he’d be left to suffer in silence alone.
Yet, as she’d initially thought, this was merely a temporary measure with a time limit.
Since the royal family had turned their backs on her, there was no way to improve the duke’s household’s situation—sooner or later, Kalis would grow suspicious too.
She had to do something before that happened.
A rustling sound reached Chloe’s ears as she slept, rousing her from slumber.
‘…What was that?’
Fumbling awake, she drew back the curtains to brighten the pitch-black room.
Soft moonlight spilled in, illuminating the chamber. As Chloe glanced around, she felt puzzled.
‘Did I imagine it?’
Nothing else had changed. In fact, everything remained so perfectly undisturbed it seemed suspicious.
‘Perhaps I mistook a dream for reality.’
Just as Chloe was about to return to bed—
Something lay on the small side table beside her bed. The dim moonlight made it hard to discern the object clearly.
Cautiously, she reached out and brought the item into the moonlight. Gradually, its form became distinct.
‘A letter?’
A thin paper envelope. Hardened sealing wax. From any angle, it was unmistakably a letter.
‘Why would anyone send me a letter all of a sudden…?’
As Chloe pondered, a gentle voice echoed in her memory.
‘I’ll write to your home soon. We’re close enough for that now, aren’t we?’
Coon—the mysterious man who’d claimed to be her friend just days ago.
Chloe examined the sealing wax closely. Though family crests were commonly engraved, this letter bore none.
So it really could only be from Coon…
‘But it’s only been two days since we parted.’
Normally, a letter took anywhere from three to ten days to reach its recipient after posting.
Though exceptionally swift delivery was possible, it came at a steep cost. Thus, people typically used standard methods unless the matter was urgent.
Coon surely wouldn’t pay such an absurd sum just to exchange letters with a mere friend—yet there was no other explanation.
‘He refused to reveal his identity easily… could he be someone important?’
But that would contradict Chloe and Coon’s first meeting.
The shelter Chloe managed was meant to aid the unfortunate—certainly not a place a noble’s heir would visit.
Unless, being from a foreign land, he simply hadn’t known about the royal-sponsored shelter.
‘Whatever the case…’
Whatever the case, Chloe found no answer.
She abandoned her speculation and opened the letter. Immediately, a fresh lemon scent wafted from the slightly torn envelope.
An inexplicably uplifting fragrance. Before she knew it, Chloe wore a faint smile.
“To my dear friend.”
The opening line that greeted her first. A special address reserved for one person alone.
Truly unexpected—but astonishingly, it was him.
She couldn’t fathom how a letter undelivered even by evening had reached her room.
The servants, who’d practically stopped visiting her chamber, certainly wouldn’t have kindly placed it there.
‘Could it be Jane?’
The only plausible explanation was that Jane had secretly slipped it in while she was away.
‘Thank you. Even worrying over my letters like this.’
Chloe resolved to bring Jane an armful of her favorite desserts tomorrow.
Her heart, buoyant as a hot-air balloon, urged her to read the letter at once. She shifted to a spot where moonlight fell more brightly and began to read.
It would’ve been easier to read after dawn—but her heart wouldn’t wait.
“Writing a letter to a friend is entirely new to me, so I’m a bit shy. Please forgive any awkwardness in my tone.”
The bluish light lent the scene an even more mysterious ambiance. His elegant handwriting blended beautifully with the sentimental glow.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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Well done girl. Direct hit in the middle of the forehead.
Yes, she is your mistress who revealed the secret. Helena proves stupid, but the Duke, as usual, will forgive her after two tears.
Yes, she is your mistress who revealed the secret. Helena proves stupid, but the Duke, as usual, will forgive her after two tears.