Chapter 017: The Stepmother

In the final analysis, the reason Cinderella couldn't be with the prince was all that dragon's fault.

Although this was what Wang Bo had initially hoped for, ever since he learned that the country girl the prince liked was Cinderella, he changed his mind.

If the prince merely liked a country girl, Wang Bo certainly wouldn't have helped Prince Kit.

But this country girl was none other than the famous Cinderella.

That alone was enough for Wang Bo to change his mind.

After all, in the fairy tale, the prince and Cinderella living happily together was the perfect resolution.

Even someone as unromantic as Wang Bo wouldn't forcibly alter that resolution. After all, he had grown up reading fairy tales, and Cinderella's story had brought him no small amount of joy in his childhood.

So Wang Bo changed his mind.

At worst, he would work a little harder, help the prince stabilize the domestic situation, then leave this country and travel through the fairy-tale world, fulfilling a childhood dream.

But now, a dragon had forcibly changed that ending.

This made Wang Bo very unhappy.

Especially since this dragon was likely a transmigrator, Wang Bo felt it was time to go to the Kingdom of Shuna and confront this dragon that shouldn't have appeared in Cinderella's story.

Having made up his mind, Wang Bo took his leave of Prince Kit and left the palace.

Prince Kit escorted Wang Bo out of the palace, watching his departing carriage with a heart full of bitterness.

Last night, after his dream girl had left, the prince wanted desperately to bring her back. He begged his father to allow him to be with her.

But his father, the king of this country, told him a cruel truth.

The duke was growing estranged from the kingdom.

"I can feel that Sland is dissatisfied with me and with this country," the king said to the prince in a cold voice. "He believes he saved this country, but I haven't given him enough in return, so he's very unhappy."

"Tonight, he was humoring me the whole time. I can feel that the friendship between us won't last long."

"One day, when his dissatisfaction with me reaches its peak, he may leave this country."

"If he leaves with the dragon, it will be a disaster for us."

"I can allow you to marry the woman you love, but you must remember: the day Sland leaves this country, when the Kingdom of Shuna invades, not only you, but the one you love may die as a result."

"On the other hand, if you marry Princess Selina, with the Kingdom of Zaragoza as your support, even if Sland leaves, you can rely on Zaragoza to protect your kingdom and the one you love."

The prince couldn't help asking, "Father, why don't we give the duke what he wants?"

The king said helplessly, "It's too late now, my son. I am old and won't last much longer, and soon you will be crowned king."

"So, you have the right to choose your future."

"To be, or not to be!"

After a night of deliberation, the prince made his painful choice.

To be.

So the next day, he became engaged to Princess Selina, and the news spread throughout the kingdom, earning countless blessings.

Meanwhile, Wang Bo, who had already left the palace, did not know that Prince Kit's choice of Princess Selina of Zaragoza was partly his fault.

He was now eager to go to the Kingdom of Shuna and confront that dragon.

But before that, Wang Bo suddenly thought of something.

Since the prince hadn't married Cinderella, that meant Cinderella was still living under the oppression of her stepmother and stepsisters.

Wang Bo hadn't forgotten how vicious Cinderella's stepmother was in the story. So he felt it was his duty to rescue Cinderella.

At least he could give her a stable and comfortable life.

As for how to find Cinderella, it wasn't difficult, since the country he was in was just a small one.

The population was small, and unmarried girls were even fewer.

Unmarried girls with stepmothers were rarer still, especially if they were country girls.

Combining these factors, it took Wang Bo only three days—no, to be precise, two and a half days—to find Cinderella.

Cinderella lived in a country castle near the capital.

Even though it was just a country castle, it showed that Cinderella had once lived well; few country folk could afford a castle.

Wang Bo got out of the carriage, stood at the gate of the country castle, and signaled the steward to knock.

The steward nodded and knocked on the gate of the country castle.

A well-dressed noblewoman came out from inside.

This noblewoman was nearly forty. Though she had crow's feet, she was well-preserved, not appearing old but rather mature, charming, and still attractive.

Anyone who saw her would be deceived by her dignified demeanor.

Wang Bo guessed that this was Cinderella's stepmother. On the surface, it was hard to imagine that this dignified noblewoman was a vicious stepmother.

'You can't judge a book by its cover' was truly the perfect phrase to describe her.

After coming out, the dignified noblewoman saw Wang Bo and showed a surprised expression, quickly bowing her head in greeting. "Your Grace."

Wang Bo raised an eyebrow. "You know me."

The noblewoman said, "I once saw Your Grace at the prince's banquet."

Wang Bo said, "Oh." There had been too many people at that banquet; he really hadn't noticed this woman. "I'm here to find someone today."

The noblewoman asked in surprise, "May I ask whom Your Grace is looking for?"

"I'm looking for the original owner of this house," Wang Bo said. "The little girl you've been bullying."

A flicker of panic passed through the noblewoman's eyes, but she quickly calmed down. "Your Grace, you seem to be mistaken. I am the owner of this house. Only my two daughters and I live here."

Wang Bo said impatiently, "I don't have time to waste words with you. I'll give you five minutes. If I don't see that girl, I'll have your head cut off."

He had no sympathy for this vicious stepmother.

The steward rudely drew a sword, swung it, and cut off a lock of the stepmother's hair. "You have only five minutes, human."

Seeing the fallen lock of hair, the noblewoman's scalp tingled with fear.

In less than three minutes, Wang Bo saw a girl covered in dust, dressed like a dirty doll, standing before him.