The chapters for 'Modern Cinderella' are very short so we get three chapters each time. Huzzah? Huzzah!

The story is told in very strict POVs between Fredericka and Volker, mostly Fredericka's. So there would be a few rewinds, like in the next chapter...

4 Volker: Was it alright to

return it as it is?

When we reached the carriage, I

noted the coat of arms. So in my arms, I must be holding the Castley daughter.

I stared at the fairy in my arms, if I recall correctly, she was engaged to the

heir to the Duke of Cájes. But it wasn’t something I paid particular attention

to. (Zuben: No…?)

Keeping my face neutral, I laid her

on the carriage seat. She whimpered a bit, but she showed no signs of rousing.

(Zuben: She has fallen asleep.)

I turned to the maid, who bowed low

and curtsied deeply.

‘Thank you so much for your kindness,

sir, I apologise for our impoliteness. My lady is Fredericka Castley, daughter

to Viscount Castley. I am Marie. May I ask your name?’

‘There is no need for grat.i.tude. I

am Volker Brennan, security officer for the ball. Please send your mistress to

rest quickly.’

Marie murmured her thanks and got

into the carriage.

I went to the guards and had them

escort the carriage until it was in Castley grounds.

‘Are they thieves?’ one of the

guards asked. I glared at the fool, and he quickly corrected his posture.

I returned to making my rounds at

the ball, but I realised the atmosphere was strange. Usually it was supposed to

be light and breezy but there was tension in the air and it felt like a secret

meeting instead of a ball. All the trappings of a lively ball were there; the orchestra were playing, the servants were busily

running about with drinks and nibbles, there were many young people milling

about, but only a few couples were dancing, instead, most of the ball’s guests were cl.u.s.tered about in groups chatting, but it didn’t seem like they were

having fun.

I called over one of the guards

posted in the ball rooms. The young man saluted.

In a low tone, I asked for a

report.

‘I will begin: Twenty minutes ago,

Eugene Cajes attended the ball with a young lady who was a commoner, who had

not been invited. He declared that he was cancelling his engagement with Lady

Fredericka Castley. She accepted it and left the ball. After that everyone has

been gossiping. That is all, your Excellency.’

‘Is that true?’

The thought that such a thing

happened to her so publicly made me more sullen than I expected. But I could

not care about such things.

‘I saw the whole thing with my own

eyes and heard it all with these eyes. I am not lying.’

‘I see. Return to your post.’

As I walked on, my fists were

clenched tightly and my strides were long and furious.

Lady Fredericka’s engagement was

broken. She accepted it and left the ball. How hard it must have been for her

to be humiliated in public like that. My head felt hot.

I had heard that Lord Eugene had

a princely character, and he had a reputation of not being lofty, which had

earned him the admiration of the young Ladies of Society.

But when Lady Fredericka saw her

fiancé escorting someone else to the ball, she must have been hurt. (Zuben:

LOL, he’s fallen so hard)

She buried the pain deeply and ran

away without crying. I suddenly remembered the handkerchief I had in my pocket

and the tightness in my heart ceased. I wonder why.

It was hard to imagine that she

would have fainted just because she ran into me, but if that was the case, I suppose

I should make her acquaintance. (Zuben: So you should, heheheheh)

But the case of Lady Fredericka was

a strange one indeed.

Even though I didn’t know about the

situation, I wish I had done more for her. Surely, the delicate Fredericka

would take to her bed for a time. I wondered if I should send her flowers or a

letter or visit? I heard a voice behind me and my thoughts were interrupted.

I consciously put Lady Fredericka

in the back of my mind.

The ball continued on till late.

But everyone returned to their homes in a subdued air, looking thoughtful. I

watched the young people go expressionlessly.

I remember Lady Fredericka’s eyes,

and thought that I wanted to see that fresh green glitter brightly.

♢

‘Welcome back, my Lord.’ My butler

greeted with a bow as I entered my house. He received my coat and bag and

walked with me as I returned to my rooms. When I entered my room, I made to

take off my coat and remembered the item in my pocket. Fredericka’s lost

handkerchief. I wondered if I should return it back with flowers.  I reached into my pocket absently and handed

the item to the butler,

‘Zuzie, please have this washed.’

My butler froze at the item I held

in my hand. Then he cleared his throat and asked, ‘Master, would you really

like me to wash it?’ his gaze fixed on the item I held out to him.

I looked at his worried expression and looked

at the handkerchief. It was not a handkerchief; it was a lady’s undergarment, a

nothing of light pink silk ribbons and lace.

I could feel the heat growing on my

face as a blush crept up.

‘No, that isn’t it.’ I said in a

bit of a panic.

‘Master, what does this mean? Why

do you have a lady’s undergarment in your pocket? Have you gotten yourself...? How did this...?!’

I held my hand out trying to calm

him down.

‘I don’t know what you are

thinking, but it is not it.’ I took back the underwear and searched my

pockets again; there was nothing but the undies. I could not understand it.

(Zuben: The power of the mind)

It was supposed to be a

handkerchief that Lady Fredericka had dropped, I may not have seen it clearly

but I recognise the size and colour. No one could have crept up on my and

replaced the handkerchief with underwear, unless they were magical.

So then…

I had picked up underwear from the

start?!

How?

No matter how I think about it, I

didn’t know. (Zuben: Well you were busy falling for the fairy in your arms)

What do I do?

‘Master, do not be embarra.s.sed. You

can give me the underwear.’

I released the breath I was

holding, and handed Xavier the embarra.s.sing item.

♢

After a bath, I was having a stiff

drink and talking to Zuzie, really Xavier, about the item I had retrieved. We

decided it was Lady Fredericka’s.

‘I noticed that one of the cords

had broken, therefore it would have fallen off.’

So that meant…I covered my face

with my hand.

‘That means…’

‘It means that Lady Fredericka was

wearing it when you met her.’ Zuzie announced. How could he say such

embarra.s.sing things with such a straight face?

Despite my age, I haven’t dated

many women. But I am very confident about my experiences. Yet, I don’t think

any woman had ever used their underwear to get my attention.

‘She will be embarra.s.sed when we

return this to her.’ I said

‘Yes.’

‘But it would not be good to keep

silent about it.’

‘That is correct.’

‘But could it really be sent back?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Should we dispose of it?’

‘In the event it is a treasured

item, I don’t know whether we can take responsibility.’

‘I don’t wish for that. Even though it would be washed by

a maid, the Lady may find it disgusting that a man had seen her shed undergarment. 

'And with the engagement cancellation,

she might have a distrust of men’ Xavier added quietly.

‘But she should have noticed the

loss of her underwear, so I’m sure it would become a matter of concern for the

young lady.’

I sighed, ‘That is likely.’

It looked like Lady Fredericka knew

me, and I also gave my name to her maid. She may already think I know something

about her missing underwear.

‘Xavier, I am going to call on Lady

Fredericka tomorrow. Get some flowers prepared, and get this washed by the maid

and wrapped.’

It felt wrong to touch it directly

now that I knew it wasn’t a handkerchief, so I put it in my handkerchief and

handed it Zuzie. He took it without a word and left my room.

‘Earlier,’ Marie told us, ‘a

servant came to tell us that his Master; General Brennan wished to call on

Fredericksama; would she be at receiving guests?’

Oliver quickly replied that I would

be at home, but this bothers me a lot. Why did he reply without asking me?! I

really have to find a way to be absent. But that General Volker was moving too

quickly.

But Oliver responded to the

messenger without consulting me or my father. I cannot fault Oliver, he is an

amazing butler.  In some instances I

think he even surpa.s.ses his master. As peers, no as really rich peers, we have

a lot of visitors at our household, so Oliver usually answered calling cards

without input from my parents. It was more expedient.

Thus, we have come to this…

Was there nothing I could do, ah?!

What should I do?!

I would never have thought he would

come to my house. We have never been acquainted in the past. It must because I

ran into him while I was disorientated from my foolishness. Fainted when he saw

my fallen panties, and he carried me gently to the carriage. He wanted to check

my condition; how gentlemanly.

Perhaps, he impress upon me that

military will train me into a wonderful lady from being a disappointing one.

What is this, you fell in love?!

Not only is he strong, he is fast and gentle. What kind of woman is your perfect

bride? (Zuben: Another character whose thoughts go from hither to yon orz)

‘I will prepare for his visit.’

Oliver announced, ‘Marie, dress Lady Fredericka and get her something light to

eat. And Lady Fredericka, please tighten your lips and arrange your thoughts so

that words like you just said don’t come out of your mouth.’

Eh?! I said all that out loud.

I gave a sheepish smile, ‘I will.

Thank you.’

Very much.

Father and Mother had weird smiles

on their faces, I know from experience that it doesn’t bode well for me.

‘Well I will go to the kitchen.

Marie,’

I took my shabby disreputable self

gracefully to my room with Marie.

‘Let’s make you an omelette with

your favourite cheese! And some minced meat.’ She said as she skipped ahead of

me.

How many times do I need breakfast?

And why minced meat?!

‘I was worried about my lady this

morning, you didn’t each much earlier. You are hungry now, I feel relieved.’

‘Love you loads but could you

change mince meat to steak fillets instead?’

‘Woohoo!’ Marie clapped her hands

happily, and my heart grew lighter without noticing there was a dark air in my

room. (Zuben: Hmm, Author sama, you better not be planning nonsense.)

… ‘A discovery?’

‘Not only seeds but can bear

fruit.’

‘Is it not expensive?’

‘It’s a n.o.ble. Look at the hands’

‘That is it…’

(Zuben: Don’t ask me what that is

about)

I had always a.s.sumed that he was a

very serious straight-laced person. There weren’t many rumours about him in

Society, but I haven’t heard any one ever say he was a bad person. Even

Eugene, my former fiancé, and his friends had said though training with him was

tough, he was still a fair person.

So, I had thought to begin with an

apology for my behaviour. I felt incredibly awful pretending to faint last

night.

But when the General and his grey

haired attendant were presented, my intuition screamed “different”. He was not

as I expected.  He had a bouquet in his

hand and something small. His rugged face was a bit ruddy around the cheeks,

and he looked nervous.

Ah, it might be bad if I

apologised.

‘Lady Fredericka, are you well? I

am sorry to intrude upon your rest, do you remember me from last night? Volker

Brennan?’ he greeted as he presented the lovely bouquet of yellow and orange

flowers.

‘Of course, I remember, General

Brennan. I am very ashamed I showed you such an unsightly me last night.’ I

replied with a curtsy. ‘I hope to beg your pardon for running into you. And

thank you so much for carrying me when I fainted.’

‘It was no trouble at all, Lady

Fredericka.’ The general replied. There we are; all very mature.

I looked at the bouquet; they were

flowers that I liked. I gave them a good sniff and smiled widely as I thanked

the General again for them. He gave an awkward laugh.

‘Lady Fredericka,’ he said,

clearing his throat, ‘actually last night, I picked this up. Is it yours?’

As I suspected, he had seen the

fallen knickers.

Although I did not tell him, he had

taken the time to bring it back to me, and it was wrapped tidily and

beautifully as well! Despite the possibility of being labelled a pervert if he

had been wrong, he brought it to me. Perhaps he thought I would be uneasy if I

did not know where I left my knickers. I had been prepared to be condemned. But

he was honest and sincere. He is a treasure of our country! (Zuben: hahaha a treasure...)

What a relief. Let’s peacefully eat

breakfast of delicious omelettes and croissants with Marie and enjoy long

morning baths…Oh my goodness, I’m getting carried away. I’m so sorry.

‘Well…maybe,’ I said as I collected

the wrapped item. I opened it and it was the knickers that I lost yesterday. It

had been washed and folded so one would not know what it was at first glance.

‘Oh dear!’

I could see the General’s shoulders

tense up 『pucci』at the sound of my high pitched exclamation. His servant’s face stiffened

almost imperceptibly.

I squirmed a bit but I said in a

happy tone,

‘Thank you so much General Brennan! This was

my favourite; I thought I had lost it forever. I had been depressed about it

all morning. Oh I am so happy.’

I clutched the packet to my chest

and twirled around. I look happy, right? Can you not see? I twirled to face

Marie and my smile turned embarra.s.sed as I handed the package to Marie.

Alas, he seemed to be embarra.s.sed.

I approached the General and grasped his hands. His hands were large and his

fingers were long like my fathers. But they felt different; his palms were

hardened with calluses. Yet, they were warm.

‘If so…then I am glad. That is very

good.’ He replied. He seemed to understand the exuberance and excitability of a

young girl.

‘Lady Freedericka - tea is served in the

drawing room.’ Oliver appeared. Nice timing, very convenient.

Oliver led us to the drawing room,

where I served the tea and cakes. General Brennan seemed relieved. The

atmosphere was filled with tension as we drank tea, yet I somehow promised to

go to see a play with him.

At this time, my father and mother

appeared looking somewhat strange.

‘I am Fredericka’s father, Frederick

Castley, thirty-nine years old.’ Father said.

‘I am Fredericka’s mother, Pamela

Castley, thirty-eight years old.’ Mother said in greeting.

Wait, what? Why are Father and

Mother declaring their age?!

(Zuben: So that the General can be

a.s.sured, he is not the same age or older than mother and father)

♢