The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

* * *
Bang—!

As the gunshots grew closer, my entire body tensed and cold sweat broke out.
The dizzy spells that blacked out my vision had slightly eased, but I was still just as scared and strained.
Step by dragging step, I barely made it to the training range.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Startled by the rapid gunfire from the range, I dropped to the ground with a thud.
But I had promised myself I would overcome this. Acting like this in a country where firearms are legal was just embarrassingly fragile!

Just as I tried to push myself up on shaky legs, a hand reached out to support me.
What kind-hearted soldier was this? I looked up to check.
“Are you here for a test of courage?”

Masera asked in a tone I couldn’t tell was scolding or affectionate.
“I came to get stronger.”
At my reply, he gave a gentle, smiling glance with his eyes.

“The war is over. There’s no need to overexert yourself.”
Bang-bang-bang—!
Another burst of gunfire rang out. He placed a firm hand on my trembling shoulder.

“When I was a child soldier, before being sent to the front, I was chosen to join the Youth Honor Guard. We performed ceremonial drills and rifle routines to impress high-ranking officials.”
It was essentially a performative parade.
As he pulled the rifle from his back to demonstrate, he cleared his throat awkwardly. He looked oddly shy.

“Would you like to see it?”
“Yes. I’m dizzy, so show me quickly.”
I replied that way because it seemed like he had been building up to it. Though, I was genuinely curious.
If it was him showing me—even if it involved a gun—I felt like it would be okay.

“This is one of the rifle ceremony techniques.”
He began spinning the rifle smoothly with one hand.
From what I remembered from military variety shows, it was a really difficult move.

The rifle twirled in the air, spun, and landed back in his hand, rotating again. I clapped.
“Wow! You’re like a magical girl!”
How could a dazzlingly handsome officer spinning a rifle not look cool? But why was he suddenly showing off in front of me like this…?

Having finished the demonstration, he subtly gauged my reaction.
“I only show this to you. I’ve had no reason to do it in front of anyone else since I got my rank.”
“Oh, I’m so honored.”
But seriously, why?

As if reading the question in my gaze, Masera adjusted his officer’s cap and spoke.
“I thought… maybe it’d make things a little less scary.”
Had he figured out that I was trying to overcome my fear? Now that I looked closer, there was a googly eye sticker on the rifle.

I definitely didn’t put that there. Did he put it there to help me not be afraid…?
He gently held my hand and stepped forward.
“Isn’t it better together than alone?”

As I searched for a way to endure this on my own, he was offering to endure it with me.
A strange ache stirred in a corner of my chest.
Don’t get weak, me! Don’t forget your resolve to protect that man with the heart of a strong and brave warrior!

And yet, I was clinging to him like a frightened little koala.
* * *
Bang—!

Even though she had confidently declared she would overcome her fear, Cynthia had her head tucked inside Masera’s military coat, hiding.
Her small body flinched with every gunshot. She looked like a puppy caught in the rain, being protected.
Masera, now fulfilling his own selfish desire, had an awkward expression on his face.

‘I didn’t mean to enjoy this…’
Just then, a voice rang out behind them with a snide tone.
“You’re not a kangaroo. Did you really drag someone who hates this place to a shooting range? And in this weather?”

Brigadier Steve, who had come by the officers' quarters on business, was now watching the two of them.
Cynthia poked her head out and looked at him with ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ a click of her tongue.
“The Brigadier was the one dragged here. I’m doing exposure training because I’m scared of gunfire.”

“You could just shoot a gun yourself. Once you do, you’ll see there’s nothing to fear.”
Steve lifted the corners of his mouth smugly and added,
“If you’d like, I can let you use my officers' quarters’ state-of-the-art indoor shooting range. I’ll even give you private lessons, just for you.”

Masera’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Why are you offering my wife shooting lessons? Especially when your shooting score is lower than mine.”
“But you don’t have a warm indoor range, do you?”

“I’ll build one tomorrow.”
As the two men growled at each other, Cynthia smiled sweetly.
“It’s okay. I already know how to shoot.”

Both men turned to look at her at once.
Steve looked puzzled.
“You know how but you’re still scared?”

“I wasn’t born afraid.”
‘I’ve been through war a lot longer than you.’
Cynthia let out a sigh and shook her head.

Steve smiled again.
“Then could you show me your skills? In a soundproof rubber-bullet indoor shooting range…”
Was he the range owner or something? Why was he being so persistent? Cynthia looked genuinely fed up.

Masera gave Steve a dead serious look and led Cynthia away from the scene.
‘There really are a lot of guys who try to flirt with her.’
If I thought she was beautiful, then of course other men would too.

I’d already noticed plenty of men stealing glances at her during social gatherings.
But I couldn’t just tell her to stop smiling because her smile was too pretty.
‘The ones coveting what’s not theirs are the real problem.’

One of the many sins I had committed was snapping, “Do you smile at everyone like that?”
“Brigadier.”
Sitting side by side in a shadowed spot, she turned to look at him.

Her ruby-like eyes seemed to sparkle even more today.
“Thanks for helping me.”
Masera stared blankly at her smiling face.

‘Should I really ban that smile?’
* * *
Masera, clad in a dark suit and coat, sat in a dim room. The faint ceiling light flickered now and then.

‘Why?’
As the fingertips of his gloved hand hovered under his chin, his quiet thoughts cast long shadows.
‘I don’t think she hates me enough to throw me in the trash.’

The one who used to boldly—and even forcefully—cross lines, now seemed to have taken a step back.
She often wore an expression like someone hiding an unavoidable circumstance.
“Brigadier. I had no choice, I swear.”

Pulled from his thoughts, Masera looked across at Oliver Visente.
Unlike in the past, when he had sneered about being a butcher’s son raised as a war orphan, Oliver was now desperately begging.
‘No choice.’

It was the excuse Masera hated most.
Oliver had escaped from the gambling den by offering the remaining property of his illegitimate son, Stephan, as collateral.
He had then approached officer’s wives trying to borrow money in Cynthia’s name and was eventually caught.

‘If the adoption laws hadn’t recently changed, Count Visente would’ve used my assets as collateral too.’
Why would any organization lend such a large amount to an aging man with no power?
By doing so, he had entangled not just himself but Cynthia and the Duke’s house as well.

‘Their goal is the royal bloodline.’
The organization, which had recently undergone a leadership overhaul, was clearly targeting royalty.
The first generation had been spies abandoned by the Empire; the second generation were likely their children or close affiliates.

This was the conclusion Masera reached after interrogating Oliver and connecting it to the incidents involving the Libertist group.
‘And maybe revenge, too.’
Masera slowly lowered his eyes. Past the tail-chasing thoughts, Oliver continued to plead.

“I do care for my only son. I lost all the money he saved and was disowned, so I gambled to win it back and fix our relationship…”
The rationalizing and lying were revolting.
Masera habitually drew his pistol and aimed it.

Oliver’s face turned deathly pale under the barrel.
“P-Please spare m—”
Masera, suddenly reminded of Cynthia, put the gun away.

“Your son has no assets left to be used as collateral. As of today, I’ve seized all of it.”
“Wh-what?”
Faced with being arrested again, Oliver’s face contorted with terror.

“Count Visente still owes me a debt.”
Masera let out a soft sigh and added,
“Accept reality and live like a slave, or run away into fantasy and end it all. Up to you. But if you bother my wife again—”

He rose to his feet and gave a chilling warning.
“I’ll make sure you find out exactly how a butcher treats animals.”