The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

Captain Gale Declan clenched his jaw as he glared at Cynthia’s retreating figure.

He was Captain Gale Declan, one of Masera’s closest comrades who had shared life and death on the battlefield.
‘The Colonel climbed all the way up here through sheer grit. This country, brought to the brink of ruin by the foolish royal family, only recovered so fast because of us—the ones they used to look down on—rolling in the mud of war.’
In the past, the nation had been the first to fall, its collapse triggered by the royal family’s failed policies, which in turn ignited a prolonged world war.

Countless young lives had been sacrificed for the sake of the country.
Masera himself had roamed the battlefields as a child soldier.
With his extraordinary eyesight and prodigious marksmanship, he once singlehandedly wiped out an entire enemy unit—an act that instilled fear across enemy lines.

In doing so, Masera became one of the leading figures responsible for ending the global war.
Despite his brutal reputation—refusing to take prisoners, executing indiscriminately, and allegedly sacrificing soldiers to save nobles—he was hailed as a “war hero,” and no one cared about the rest.
To top it off, he was young and strikingly handsome, prompting marriage proposals from all corners, each trying to outdo the other.

‘And then to hear he got engaged to the ghost of the Bariesa royal family? I was shocked. There must’ve been pressure from a federal superpower behind it.’
He simply couldn’t stomach the injustice of it all.
Just then, someone approached him.

“I find that white hair appalling… Do you feel the same, Captain?”
It was Hayden, Eugene’s tutor.
When Declan said nothing in response, Hayden chuckled awkwardly and walked off.

Declan got a suspicious feeling, but chose not to report it. Whether it was sabotage or some scheme, he rather hoped the man would take care of it for him.
* * *
That evening, there was a dinner with the officers who had returned from the mission.

Cynthia, aware of the awkward mood, quietly seated herself in a corner.
All of the officers wore stiff expressions as they discussed military matters.
The conversation was filled with complex jargon only someone with military knowledge could follow. After a while, someone remarked,
“She’s not even married yet—is it okay ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) for her to be hearing all this?”

Though said with a smile, the comment clearly marked Cynthia as an outsider.
At that moment, Captain Declan laughed aloud.
“She probably doesn’t understand most of it anyway. She’s been living a peaceful countryside life, far removed from war.”

The words sounded like a joke, but the barbs underneath were sharp.
Cynthia responded with her characteristic innocent smile.
“True. It’s all a bit difficult for me. Please, feel free to talk comfortably.”

Cynthia, who had grown used to being disliked, wasn’t fazed. Compared to what the royal family had done in the past, this was nothing.
‘What hurts more than being hated…’
She let out a small sigh.

“Luck? Don’t make me laugh. You’re nothing but a cursed woman who steals lives!”
“My daughter died, and you’re the one who survived!”
She was remembering those who had once pointed their fingers at her for being the only one to survive a miracle.

‘What hurt the most was when even the people who hated and blamed me disappeared—and I was left alone. That’s why I want to get along with everyone.’
Her top priority for now was winning over Masera. And to do that, she’d need to get along with his colleagues too.
‘Alright, time to win them over with bribes.’

As Cynthia nodded to herself in resolve, Captain Declan spoke again.
“The Colonel is a war hero known worldwide—and with his perfect looks, I hear he still receives endless proposals. Must be tough having such a popular fiancé, no?”
Even knowing he was engaged, people still sent proposals or offered to become his mistress without hesitation.

The officers continued tossing backhanded comments, coated in polite words, but Cynthia didn’t hear any of them—too busy thinking about what kind of bribe would work best.
‘Not that I have any reason to be jealous, but how can she just sit there so calmly?’
Masera stared at Cynthia’s unchanging expression, lost in thought.

* * *
That night, Cynthia went straight to Masera.
“I was thinking of heading out to the shopping district tomorrow morning. It’d be nice if you could come with me.”

“No.”
Masera, dressed in a shirt and sweater, didn’t even look up from his book as he spoke.
“You could go with Dalia or Diego—”

“I knew you’d say that. ‘Go with Dalia or Diego.’ You say that every time.”
Having practically memorized his script by now, Cynthia shrugged.
“I’ll buy you a really delicious parfait. I heard it’s full of sweets and fresh fruit!”

“I’m not a child.”
He ran a hand through his platinum hair, frowning faintly.
Cynthia looked genuinely shocked—as if she had truly believed that parfait was the ultimate, irresistible offer.

Masera raised an eyebrow at her outfit.
“And what is that bizarre thing you’re wearing again?”
She was dressed in a strange patchwork dress, stitched together with plaid fabric.

“What do you mean bizarre? This is a handmade, eco-friendly reform dress. What’s wrong with it?”
“I’ll say it again—I’m not poor. Please just buy something new.”
Deciding it was a waste of time to argue, Masera waved her away, signaling for her to leave.

“Anyway, since you don’t want the parfait… I guess I have no choice.”
Masera watched her give up surprisingly quickly—and then remembered something Dalia had told him.
“Some of the other maids said she wears ridiculous clothes—why does she do that?”

“It’s not that she’s pretending to be modest or down-to-earth… I accidentally tore her dress and patched it up, and she’s still wearing it.”
He had thought she was silently protesting—but that wasn’t it.
“When I told the other staff the truth, they assumed she was just trying to embarrass me… but that’s not it either. I think she’s wearing it on purpose so I won’t feel ashamed.”

‘Dalia’s completely fallen for her, hasn’t she.’
Feeling slightly guilty, Masera pulled out a check, signed it, and handed it to Cynthia.
“Don’t worry about money. Spend as much as you want.”

A person’s nature comes out in how they spend money. He was curious to see what she would do with it.
Also, he didn’t want to be mistaken for someone poor anymore.
Cynthia’s red eyes widened as she glanced between the check and Masera.

“You won’t regret this? I’m seriously going to buy everything I want. I can completely drain this, you know?”
Just as he expected—money always showed someone’s true self.
As Masera silently scoffed, Cynthia, who had been bouncing out of the room in giddy excitement, suddenly turned back to him.

“Oh, right. You guys were talking about drilling earlier—for underground resource exploration, right? That was about Nox, wasn’t it?”
The land gifted to Masera by the Queensguard family had shown signs of oil, and preparations for drilling had begun, with investors already involved.
Even some of the officers had invested, which was how it had come up in conversation.

‘But we didn’t even mention the name Nox. How did she know?’
It was something that would reach Count Queensguard soon enough—but depending on what he tried, it could become a hassle.
Like the servants they’d dealt with before, there was more than one shady loose end.

‘Not that it would matter even if he annulled the engagement and reclaimed the land. He wouldn’t be able to afford the operation costs.’
Drilling could take over ten years. Without trust, no one would invest.
Masera had already calculated all the variables the Count might try to leverage.

“Colonel, you should start near the rabbit-shaped mountains to the west. I’m sure you’ll find treasure there.”
This… was one variable he hadn’t accounted for.
Masera’s eyes widened slightly at her unexpected remark, then returned to normal.

“Based on what?”
“My luck. You’ve seen it plenty of times.”
Smiling brightly, Cynthia twirled and left the room.

Masera, almost without thinking, opened a drawer and looked at the “wealth-bringing jewel ring” she had made out of a bread twist tie.
‘I forgot to throw that away.’
He closed the drawer again without touching it.

* * *
Outside the room, Cynthia walked down the hallway happily clutching the check.
‘Time to buy everything I want. I’ll be rich anyway.’

She had felt a strange sense of familiarity even on the road to the capital.
After researching Medeia and the desolate Nox region…
She had realized something stunning.

This world’s geography was an exact match to the world she had lived in before.
And Nox—would one day become the site of a massive oil discovery.