Rowan finally finished yelling at the maps like they had personally offended him. He straightened up and pointed at the glass shoe.
"Alright. Shoe size surveys from towns near the palace first. Then villages. Then markets. Based on height range and age from the ball. And we collect names—real names."
I nodded. It made sense. Without magic, we needed logic.
"We'll find at least twenty girls with similar shoe size," Rowan warned me. "Maybe more."
"I know," I said. Cinderella wasn't the only one with feet.
"And," Rowan added dramatically, "we're not just shoving shoes on feet at random. That's how accidents happen."
I almost laughed. He was serious.
Within an hour, messengers and guards went out with lists, sketches, and the shoe. It was surprisingly chaotic. Some girls tried to talk their way into being the mysterious girl. Some mothers tried to push daughters forward. Some fathers tried to negotiate marriage before the shoe even came off the pillow.
Rowan came back with reports for a little lunch break.
"Seven girls so far," he sighed, "and three of them fit the shoe. One of them even had the same hairstyle."
I blinked. "Three?"
"Yes. Three. Apparently the world has more than one foot size."
He looked at me like this was personally my fault.
Still, I was calm. Ella told me to take my time to find her. So I would.
* * *
Drizella kicked the door open so hard I thought it might fall off its hinges. Cinderella followed her, hugging a basket of vegetables like it was a newborn.
"We have news!" Drizella yelled.
I looked up from my bread. "If it's about bread prices, I already cried about that this morning."
"No!" Drizella threw her hand in the air. "The prince is looking for a girl from the ball!"
I blinked. "What?"
"Yes!" Drizella continued, voice shaking with excitement. "She left behind a shoe!"
I stared at her for a full second. "Just one shoe?"
"Yes! A tragic single shoe of destiny!"
Before I could deal with that nonsense, Mother stormed in like she smelled opportunity. "What shoe? What destiny?!"
Drizella puffed up. "Mother, the prince is using the shoe to find her. Every maiden in the kingdom must try it on!"
Mother gasped so loudly I think birds outside heard it. "Every maiden? Even—"
"Yes!" Drizella squealed. "Us!"
I sat there, processing, while my brain went full modern mode.
'Oh no. This is literally the Cinderella story. The shoe thing. The weird shoe logic that doesn't work in real life. How… how is this happening without magic? At least it's happening, I thought without magic transformation shoe event will be skipped by the writer. But thank god.'
I tried to stay calm as thoughts stacked up like bad pancakes.
'But one shoe size can't possibly identify one girl. At least fifty girls could fit that shoe. There should be face recognition. Interviews. Something. Anything.'
Drizella, of course, was already acting like a military general.
"Think logically," she said, pacing. "Most noble ladies were at the ball. We are noble ladies. And our feet are average! Therefore we are already top candidates for love and royalty."
I choked on my bread. "How is that logic legal?"
I almost gave a side look to our foot which can consider auditioning for 'Big Foot' movie.
She ignored me and kept going.
"And if multiple girls fit the shoe, they will have to test other hints. Height. Hair color. Dancing style. Perfume. Maybe even handwriting."
I stared at her. "You… actually thought this through."
Drizella looked offended. "I am an intellectual when needed."
I whispered to Cinderella, "She stepped on seven feet last night."
Cinderella whispered back, "Eight. One was her own."
Before we could enjoy that moment, Mother clapped her hands so sharply I nearly dropped my bread.
"Girls! We must prepare! Our future depends on shoe sizes!"
Then the house exploded.
Drizella tried to smoothen her feet so that it glides into the future of Queens.
Mother pulled out dresses we all hated.
I crawled under my bed looking for the politeness I threw away last night.
Cinderella quietly unpacked vegetables because she was the only responsible person here.
Drizella kept ranting as she stuffed more ribbons into her hair.
"If the shoe fits many girls, the prince will have to check dancing skills too! I, for example, am very skilled."
I rolled my eyes. "You stepped on people like they were landmines."
Drizella waved me away. "Art requires casualties."
Mother shouted from the hallway, "Posture! Elegance! We cannot lose to random shoe sizes!"
At that point, even Cinderella gave up pretending the world made sense.
I just sat there thinking, The prince better have a backup plan, because this kingdom is not ready for the shoe lottery of love.
* * *
Rowan wiped sweat from his forehead. He has returned from his last search trip for the day.
"Nine girls. Four fit. Two cried when it didn't lead to marriage. One tried to kiss me. And one mother threw bread at the guards for 'wasting their daughter's youth.'"
I tried very hard not to laugh.
"And," he continued, "there are rumors now, Your Highness. Apparently you fell in love with a market baker, a tailor's niece, and a girl from the cheese district."
I blinked. "…Cheese district?"
Rowan nodded gravely. "It's real. And dangerous."
I leaned back, amused and strangely relaxed. If Cinderella wanted time, the world would certainly give it to her—loud and messy and ridiculous.
The palace was finally quiet after a full day of shoes, questions, and emotional injuries among strangers.
Rowan looked like a man who had aged ten years in twelve hours. Ink stains on his cheek, hair all wrong, uniform wrinkled.
He dropped into a chair across from Prince Adrien and let out a tired noise that didn't sound human.
"Well," Rowan declared, "today was terrible."
Adrien tried not to laugh. "How many girls tried the shoe today?"
"Sixteen." Rowan rubbed his forehead. "seven fit. Two refused. One tried to sell us cheese. And one fainted, but I think she practiced beforehand."
Adrien blinked. "Cheese?"
"Yes. Cheese. True love and dairy—apparently a powerful combination."
Adrien leaned back. "Any leads?"
"No," Rowan sighed. "Only a dozen hopeful families and many suspicious ankles."
Silence fell for a moment.
Then Rowan glanced at Adrien.
"You're very calm for someone supposedly searching for love. Most men would be tearing their hair out."
Adrien shrugged. "I'm not most men."
Rowan shot him a look. "And you already know who she is. Which should make you feel worse."
Adrien smiled to himself. "A promise is a promise."
Rowan groaned dramatically. "I hate promises."
Adrien sat forward slightly.
"You should also search near the forest roads tomorrow."
Rowan frowned. "Forest roads?"
"We met some girls there," Adrien said simply. "Catching an independent horse. Before the ball."
Rowan's eyes widened. "Girls. Plural."
Adrien stayed quiet.
"So the bold one and the soft one from the woods… different girls?!"
Adrien nodded once.
Rowan stared. "And you met both without protection? Why are you like this?"
Adrien ignored that question. "They probably aren't nobles. Check the cottages, farms, and village houses."
Rowan nodded slowly. "Finally. A clue that doesn't involve fainting, screaming, or dairy products."
Adrien let out a quiet laugh.
Rowan stood up and stretched. "Tomorrow we search the forest area, then loop toward the market district."
Adrien hesitated for barely a moment, then said casually,
"I may join the search parade tomorrow. Fresh air could be useful. And I might spot her faster than reports."
Rowan stared at him. "Fresh air? This is shoe-based warfare, not a picnic."
Adrien only smiled, which annoyed Rowan further.
But deep down, Rowan knew it made sense. The prince wasn't frantic like a storybook romantic. He was patient. And still hopeful.
Tomorrow would be interesting.
-----------------------------------
SIDE NOTE: Even I have difficulties finding my shoes due to my wide feet. I had an experience where the shopkeeper directly said they don't have my size. Even now I have to pre order shoe for me sometimes. So funny🤣😆
If you like my story then give it a star and share it with your friends, this will help me to keep motivated and write new stories.