it might just be art

Another notable thing is that we never once learn what our protagonists' original name is nor do we learn anything about the circumstances that lead to her being transmigrated. There are only a handful of things we can assume about her. This is something you see more often in such stories where the isekai element is wholly disregarded and only used as set dressing- which is why it's totally understandable for a new reader of Cinderella's Stepmother to see it as such. But even in those stories, we usually see a bit of their life before, even if it's only by them talking about what they were doing or loved ones left behind.

The first change we see in terms of the line the protagonist draws between the original Mildred and herself is when it comes to Iris and Lily, Mildred's biological daughters. Below is how we first see the protagonist talking about them, where they are Mildred's daughters- not the protagonist's daughters. Which obviously that is true- but after this point you almost never see the protagonist make that distinction again.

During the debutante ball, a mere 17 chapters later (or about 2 months in story time), we see our protagonist reflect on how Lily and Iris have grown. There is absolutely no separation here- "I" is the only pronoun used. We don't even get a passing comment from our protagonist stating how she has come to see these girls as her own. They simply are her daughters, always have been and always will be.

As the story progresses, we see this separation between our protagonist and Mildred thin in other ways. But none so definitively as the way she considers her children. The main thing we see is the modern sensibilities of our protagonist being more integrated in with opinions Mildred could have very reasonably held given her situation: a key example being the tea party that is held with the Queen Dowager. We see that there is still separation between our protagonist's "self" and Mildred.

The disagreement that follows regarding Mildred selling the fabric flowers is interspersed with our protagonist's modern day perception of what she sees as antiquated values.

(Side note the transition in these panels from a close up of a hand lifting Mildred's mourning veil into a wedding veil is spectacular). Our protagonist's feelings could very well be a reflection of real sentiments held by the original Mildred, but they are still colored by a modern voice. We see that layer of separation return- something that by this point in the story we have not seen much. But 20 chapters later when Mildred is confronted with the truth that her daughter Lily will not be able to be a painter due to the sexist views held by most of society- any reference to modern values is gone. Mildred is rightfully furious; however, very notably, not once in her internal monologue is there even a mention of "this world" or any reference to Mildred as a separate being from herself. Despite the fact that this situation is a perfect one for our protagonist to feel her modern view clash with the society she lives in. While not entirely noticeable on first read, the discrepancy stands out on rereads.

The story has this wonderful quiet narrative of our transmigrated protagonist fusing with the original Mildred so thoroughly that she seemingly forgets that she was not from this world all together, save for brief moments where her modern ideas or tidbits come in handy.

But okay, what does any of this have to do with justifying the isekai element? What it looks like is that we just had someone transmigrate for no reason if she was just going to become Mildred but a little different anyways. And that is where I am going to lead you to the second bit of classic isekai storytelling trope that this story does remarkably well: trust in the original story. (Spoilers to follow of course) Mildred's conviction that she is in Cinderella's story despite loads of evidence to the contrary provides some fun narrative tension as the story unfolds. This is a common isekai trope as an easy way to generate conflict and tension between its characters; and typically, they resort to making the protagonist inhumanely obtuse and stubborn. This makes a protagonist look like a raging idiot and an asshole for disrespecting basic autonomy. Cinderella's Stepmother lulls you into this common trope without immediately revealing the reasoning behind it. Except for the weird way in which any of Mildred's thoughts about this *not* being Cinderella's story keep being quashed.

What beings as a case of Mildred being interrupted and forgetting progresses into her getting headaches and cloudy vision. And then it becomes glaringly obvious that Mildred isn't conveniently forgetting about this for story reasons- something in the world is making it so that she cannot reach the logical conclusion that this is not Cinderella's story as she knows it. Which immediately raises so many questions. What force is acting upon her? Is it the same thing that made her transmigrate? Why is it so crucial that Mildred think this is Cinderella's story? It turns something I usually roll my eyes at into a point of genuine intrigue.

And then it delivers fully upon that intrigue. The reveal that the fairy's protection acting upon both Mildred and Ashley's despair makes everything fall into place. Mildred likely wanted to ensure her children were cared for- which explains why our protagonist is so fixated upon them and is violently protective of them to the point where it alters her entire personality at times. It also explains why Iris and Lily were the first thing that our protagonist starts thinking of as hers. Meanwhile, Ashley wished to have a loving family- or specifically for Mildred to love her. Our protagonist transmigrating meets both of those conditions- and by ensuring that Mildred thinks this is Cinderella's story, it further ensures that Ashley's wish will be fulfilled. (Regardless of the fact that the current Mildred would love Ashley either way).

The slow merging of the protagonist and Mildred's personality and memories? The way that the modern world was being referenced less and less as the story went on? That was the fairy's protection making sure our protagonist was able to adjust to the world by *erasing her memories.* It is truly saddening watching Daniel ask Mildred to tell him her real name and for her to sob with the realization that she cannot remember.

The best part is that the mystery isn't even over! We still don't know exactly what Mildred and Ashley's wishes were- we can only guess at them based on how the protagonist has acted/the bits of mental manipulation we do see. We don't know what Daniel's influence will have over Mildred's memories- will breaking the contract restore her memory? Does she want her memories back? Is it true that Mildred died in the original world? Is that why she never seemed to bring up an incident that led to her transmigration? Because the protection erased it so she wouldn't be freshly traumatized?