After fleeing from the royal palace in fear of the prince seeing her in her plump physique, Cinderella returned home, where Ms. Vandertramp and her assistant Dora were already waiting for her. In fact, they had been following Cinderella the whole time inside the forest and was thus aware of her success in reaching the ball.
"Oh, Ms. Vandertramp! What shall I do?" cried Cinderella as she started sobbing and tried to elucidate her own situation.
"There is no need to say anything now, my dear," replied Ms. Vandertramp tenderly after glancing at Cinderella's missing shoe. "I know everything."
Only after perceiving Cinderella's astonished expression did Ms. Vandertramp begin to explain everything. "Dora and I have been following you around in the forest and thus know of your encounters. I found your grandmother before you did and paid her to act out everything."
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Cinderella in disbelieve. "No, I don't believe you! You liar! She was my fairy godmother!"
"Silly girl, do you really believe in fairy godmothers?" answered Ms. Vandertramp, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the naivety of Cinderella. "It was all but a show! I paid for your dress, your coach, your jewellery and your shoes. Of course, they were taken from your inheritance."
"But....but it all seemed like magic!" cried the confused Cinderella as she gently wiped away large drops of tears on her cheeks.
"Yes, there was some magic involved, I won't deny that. I bet if I have personally given you all those presents, you wouldn't accept any of them," elucidated Ms. Vandertramp coolly. "Your grandmother happened to know a teeny weeny bit of magic, and after I went to see her, she promised to help her own granddaughter if I paid her a decent sum. So, I paid for everything, and she simply presented them with her magic."
"But....but how about the ball?" enquired Cinderella as she wiped away large drops of tears on her cheeks. "I......the prince saw......saw me like this!" The moment she got to this part, Cinderella started sobbing again.
"Yes, yes I know, I saw it. In fact, I was there the whole time at the ball, quietly observing you," responded Ms. Vandertramp. "Don't you worry, my dear. You are so hopeless that even magic cannot make you slender. That dress I bought you was especially designed to make you look slimmer - it was all but a psychological thing, you see. You definitely felt thinner, didn't you?"
"Ye...yes, I did feel a lot thinner," muttered Cinderella reluctantly as she grew calmer again. "But....but how do you explain the fact that my dress returned to normal after I ate that slice of chocolate cake?"
"Well, that's where the magic came in," shrugged Ms. Vandertramp. "That was deliberately done to punish you for eating. I still cannot believe that you were still tempted by the food despite your grandmother's warnings. It looks like you really are hopeless. But all that doesn't matter anymore now, for the past is the past. We have to look to the future. From his expression, I can positively assure you that Prince Charming had completely fallen in love with you the moment he set his eyes upon you. So, don't you worry, my dear! He will almost definitely come to our house looking for you in a few days' time."
"Wait a minute," exclaimed Cinderella with sudden realization. "Don't tell me that my losing my shoe was also a part of your plans?"
"Oh, yes, of course!" replied Ms. Vandertramp proudly. "I especially designed the shoe so that the material inside is very slippery and has very little friction. So when you start running away for whatever reason, it can easily slip from your foot so the prince can pick it up and use it to remember you!"
