The Yandere Prince's Fleeing Cinderella Chapter 1

t.i.tle: The Yandere Prince's Fleeing Cinderella

Original: ヤンデレ王子の逃げ腰シンデレラ

*Had a little trouble with the t.i.tle. Its more literally The Yandere Prince's Preparing to Flee Cinderella but I took some liberties.

Author: 柳月ほたる

Link:

Summary:

The plain office lady Suzu has fallen into a one-sided love with the kinder than anyone, super-handsome Chief Serizawa. Popular among the female staff, he's nicknamed Prince Serizawa.

Though she had decided to mind her own social position by ending it with just longing, one day during overtime she witnesses Serizawa's outrageous behavior.

An odd love comedy about a good natured OL trying to draw back and a yandere boss who will absolutely not let her go.

Chapter One: I Can't Become Cinderella

In the course of one's life, there are several turning points.

For example, some might say life events like entering university, finding a job or getting married. Others might point to an encounter with a friend, teacher or even a book.

In some cases, only when you look back do you realize "that was a turning point".

Turning points vary from person to person, but for the heroine of our story – Takano Suzu – it was a single drinking straw.

◈◈◈

It was a Wednesday near the end of May, around the time people were slowly getting sweatier. Pus.h.i.+ng herself out of the cramped and crowded train, Suzu disembarked to the platform.

After carefully checking that her hair hadn't become disheveled, she fixed her bag onto her shoulder. Then, she sighed.

"I'm tired as expected…I should move closer to the neighborhood."

It was her fifth year at the company. She commuted to work at the same time everyday, but had yet to become accustomed to the train. Naturally, a seat couldn't be found so easily on such a crowded train, so she typically stood while taking care not to stand too close to strangers.

When the train shook and swayed, the high heels she'd chosen for the sake of appearance proved difficult to balance in. They'd been purchased last week in an effort to make her short legs seem just a bit longer, but she should have chosen heels that were a little easier to walk in afterall.

She carried this small regret in her heart and climbed the staircase headed towards the concourse. On the wall of the walkway, she noticed an enormous cosmetics advertis.e.m.e.nt. It hadn't been there the previous day and read 『You Too Can Be Cinderella』featuring a sparkling photo of a popular, young actress.

It really wasn't convincing coming from an actress who had always been beautiful, was it? The ill-tempered thought appeared and disappeared from her mind.

"Cinderella, huh…?"

Cinderella, an existence women across the world yearned to be.

Bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters, she changed into a beautiful dress with the help of a witch and took a horse-drawn carriage – transformed from a pumpkin – to the royal ball. There, she and the prince fell in love at first sight and married. It was that kind of simple story. That was the template of Cinderella's tale.

However, the ordinary OL who was able to evaluate herself and others wondered…

After the story concluded with a「Happy Ending」and she married the prince, was Cinderella really happy? She hadn't gotten much of an education during her servant-like years, so was she not bewildered at suddenly being thrown into upper cla.s.s life? Could she handle the people who swarmed around her for political power? Did she not worry for even a moment about the disparity between herself and her husband, the prince?

Yes, each person had a rank that suited them.

For example, Suzu was not too fat or skinny and had a face in the middle of the middle pack. Her hair had never been dyed and she wore clothes giving off an air of cleanliness while ignoring current fas.h.i.+on trends.

Anyone who saw her would say that a prince would not suit such an ordinary person. In a fairy tale, she would be Town Girl B and have a single line at most. Though she had the subtle youthfulness of a twenty-six year old, due to her quiet personality she hadn't had any remarkable love stories to date. When you become a withered woman that has never had a boyfriend, you tend to shy away from too gorgeous a man.

Therefore, Suzu had long since drawn up a life plan befitting her stature. Marry an ordinary man, buy an ordinary apartment and live a generally steady life. That had always been the plan.

However, Suzu was currently in love with a "Prince" who absolutely didn't suit her. He was someone above the clouds that Suzu couldn't reach no matter how far she extended her hand. Compared to him, I'm like a used tissue. If anything, I should apologize in dogeza for liking him.

When speaking of what one is able to do, it is better to understand one's position and hide such feelings. 'Maybe these feelings are mutual', there's no way that I would confess under such a megaton level misunderstanding. Suzu is spending her days thankful for just being able to support him at work.

“Fua…”

She contemplated these incoherent thoughts at length and stifled a yawn. She was a little sleepy after studying for a professional qualification exam the previous night. And today was Wednesday. There were three days until the weekend so it was a morning filled with mental fatigue.

"Good morning Suzu-chan. What's wrong? That was a big yawn."

Someone clapped her shoulder at that moment and Suzu's heart gave a jump. Confused, she looked to her side and found a person she recognized well.

“C-chief Serizawa…?!”

The voice had come from a smiling man: Suzu's direct superior Chief Serizawa. Suzu's secret "Prince".

He had good taste today as well, looking especially cool in that smart suit. Before she could rejoice, she remembered that he had just seen that huge yawn and her cheeks burned in embarra.s.sment.

“You were up studying late into the night, weren't you. What was it this time?”

His pale brown eyes peered at her gently and her cheeks steadily grew warmer. If her heart rate were to be measured right now, it would surely be beyond the upper limit. Her staying up late having been seen through, Suzu faltered in her reply.

"Well, uh…it was business law. When I'm checking contracts, I often think that I need more knowledge…"

Suzu's work was mostly sales and clerical, but the amount she needed to learn seemed infinite. Even though it was her fifth year, there was still a lot to learn so she studied steadily at home every night. Currently, she was on the last leg of revising for the business law certification examination.

Serizawa frowned a little at her response.

"Suzu-chan's hardworking nature is your strong point, but mind your health. Don't overdo it and hurt yourself. Make sure to maintain regular sleeping hours. Understand?"

"Y-yes."

"Un, good reply."

He praised, patting her head. Suzu squeaked and drew back.

To Serizawa, she was just a subordinate. If anything, he would treat even an elementary schooler from his neighborhood the same way. But for someone like Suzu, who did not think of him as "just" a superior, it was hard to endure.

Stay in control, stay in control, she warned herself.

"Then, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Sorry.”

"N-no! I'm sorry to take up your time."

Serizawa looked at his wrist.w.a.tch before lightly lifting his right hand, then disappeared into the crowd. However, right before disappearing he said: "I've been meaning to tell you since Monday, but those new shoes really suit you." Suzu's cheeks were on the verge of exploding. By no means had she thought that he would notice her shoes.

Like that, Suzu's heart had been stirred up by the "Prince" – Chief Serizawa Toru – who belonged to the paper and pulp division of a major general trading company. Gentle light brown eyes peeked past moderately long bangs. Their overall faint color gave off a translucent feel, truly like an orthodox prince.

He always smiled calmly and was fair to everyone. She had never seen him raising his voice at anyone.

Moreover, it was difficult to imagine just how hard he worked from his gentle atmosphere and sweet features. It was no exaggeration to say that the paper and pulp division that Suzu belonged to was pulled along by Serizawa. Many successful deals were made by utilizing his personal connections around the world.

Furthermore, even though he was more excellent than anyone, he never looked down on people. No one would have blamed him for bragging a little but he was never arrogant or pompous or conceited. He was always humble and sincere to everyone from subordinate to superior.

Yes, Chief Serizawa was a great person. He was a person that Suzu was no match for; a G.o.d-like existence.

Thirty years old, unmarried and without a girlfriend. Due to those circ.u.mstances, he had many fans at the company. Female staff even nicknamed him "Prince Serizawa". After Section Chief Mayama of the construction machinery division got married three months ago, he became even more popular.

Therefore, Suzu knew her love was fruitless. I should be content supporting him at work as a member of the same division. Plain and ordinary Town Girl B should be satisfied with plain and ordinary Town Boy A.

Even though she understood that her love was not to be realized, the feelings wouldn't dissipate.

I like him, I like him, I really can't help but like him. I understand my own place, but I wish to be allowed to carry these feelings at least. I'll be content just staying by his side, she explained inside her heart.

Notes: Honestly, this probably has more than the average number of inconsistencies. I'm really sorry about that ≦(._.)≧ The language is a bit more advanced than usual – hope it's not just me? – so I relied on machine translations correspondingly. Might or might not do chapter two, but that'll probably be the last of it.

If anyone wants to pick this up, please feel free!! Just drop me a line so we don't overlap with the next chapter (unlikely), but more because I want to read it (´∀｀) This is R18, in case that motivates anyone~! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also, a little rushed on the proofreading, so please let me know if you spot any errors.