The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

* * *
Masera didn’t leave my side the entire banquet.
It was probably because he thought he had to appear affectionate.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment. I had hoped for a moment to chat freely with the other women.

At banquets, it’s customary for guests to ask the bride for a dance—but oddly, the number of requests was overwhelming.
“If you dance with her, who’s said to be blessed by the goddess of fortune, your next investment will be a hit!”
It wasn’t a rational sort of popularity, more like I’d become a symbol of good luck, like a fortune pig.

And Masera, breaking his own rule of “being cool at social events,” flat-out refused to allow it.
“That greedy man… trying to hoard all the luck for himself…”
He didn’t care at all about the resentful looks thrown his way by would-be dance partners.

So he stayed stuck to my side like gum until the banquet ended.
A true soldier—once given a mission, he sees it through.
Only, with a touch of rigid principle.

I wanted to make friends, too. So I stared at him with no small amount of resentment.
* * *
Our honeymoon destination was the capital of Medeia. Thanks to the influence of the Grand Madam of Recanosa, we were invited as honored guests to the royal palace.

Before we left, I held Eugene’s hand—he had been sulking the entire wedding—and gave him a gentle smile.
“Are you upset because the uncle you like got married?”
“That’s not it.”

Unlike before, when he flinched away at the slightest touch, Eugene didn’t pull his hand away.
“I’ll bring you a gift. And when I come back, let’s spend lots of time together.”
“No.”
“You’re just like the brigadier—you say no to everything.”

Looking up at me like a sulky cat, Eugene hesitated before slowly pulling his hand away.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want a gift…”
“What do you want?”

“A train.”
Masera, who had been standing next to us listening, tilted his head.
“That’ll cost hundreds of millions.”

With a face so unreadable, I couldn’t tell if he thought Eugene meant a real train or if he was joking.
Anyway, after a long train ride, we boarded a cruise ship.
It was my first trip abroad, so I was quite excited. But Masera, who had traveled across countries during the war, looked a bit bored.

As he sat in our cabin reading the newspaper, I said to him:
“If we’re lucky, we might see a huge whale.”
“They probably all left after the long naval wars.”

“You never know. And there’s going to be an oyster and wine party on the deck. Aren’t you coming? Fresh oysters are amazing!”
He looked at me with a face that screamed annoyance, as if I were a nuisance trying to drag him outside.
“You can go alone.”

“No way. It’s lonely.”
I was not someone who gave up easily, and he knew that if he refused, I’d keep pestering him. With an expression of defeat, he got up from his seat.
“If there’s no whale, I’m going straight back. After that, please leave me alone for the rest of the honeymoon.”

“If we do see a whale, then you have to do whatever I say for the rest of the trip.”
Dragging the reluctant man, I went up to the deck.
In the first-class area, elegantly dressed guests were enjoying oysters, wine, and the ocean view.

But the sea looked deserted—quiet and still.
“It’s so sad, how the war destroyed the ecosystem. Many marine creatures died from torpedoes and shelling. Thinking of all those lives lost to human greed…”
I heard a woman say.

I covered my mouth with my hand and nodded with a sorrowful face.
“It’s sobering. Humans should be ashamed…”
“When we reach the era of highly advanced warfare, it’ll be even worse.”

That remark brought to mind my past life—a gray world, stripped of green, of life.
War had poisoned the land, killing squirrels, deer, foxes, trees, grass—even moss on rocks.
“Big sis, did the cute dolphins die too?”

A little girl with black hair tugged on my clothes and asked while gazing at the sea.
“They went somewhere else. Whales send signals to one another.”
Masera, who usually ignored conversations like this, surprised me by replying with a rare human touch.

“When will they come back?”
“When you’re all grown up.”
“Aw… what kind of signal? I want to send one telling them to come back.”

“Ultrasonic waves. You can’t do that.”
At his flat denial, the girl’s face darkened with disappointment.
I quickly crouched down and gently patted her back.

“You just have to shout to the sea, ‘Come back!’ A dolphin friend who comes to check if it's safe will pass the message along.”
Her eyes widened.
“Really?”

“No. That’s not—”
I pinched the back of Masera’s hand before he could ruin the child’s imagination. Then I picked her up into my arms.
“Shall we shout, ‘Come back, whales!’ together?”

“Whales, come back! Scarlett is waiting!”
The girl—her name must have been Scarlett—shouted with all her heart, tiny fists clenched.
“They’ve probably already abandoned their home.”

A gentleman nearby, with the same dry tone as Masera, chuckled while puffing on a cigar.
“Just like the Esats, who can’t return home because their habitats were destroyed.”
So he was a bigot.

As he looked down at my silver hair and sighed, Masera suddenly stepped in.
“You should go home and enjoy some of your country’s famous sausage. Or are you fleeing your homeland because it’s a war criminal nation?”
To be precise, it wasn’t like he was defending me—he was publicly shaming the man for being from a war criminal nation.

The man flinched at the sharp stares around him.
“What makes you so sure I’m from a war criminal nation…?”
“You’re wrapped head to toe in products from your country. Did you think no one would notice?”

“Ha! They say justice belongs to the victors. How many nations haven’t started wars?”
Masera narrowed his eyes with a chilling expression.
“Then you should’ve won.”

People began glaring at the man with hostility.
“You look like one of those merciless slaughterers! Get lost!”
“Just being on the same boat as you is disgusting! I should throw you into the sea myself!”

Overwhelmed by their threats, the man finally fled.
“Seems your luck’s run out today. There’s no whale, so I’ll be going back.”
Masera turned to leave with his usual cold expression.

Just then, the girl clutching my hand pointed to the sea.
“Look, unnie! A rainbow!”
Beneath a rainbow shimmering over the ocean, water burst into the air like a fountain.

Wooooooong—
A mystical call echoed as a giant wave rose across the calm sea. A massive whale broke through the surface in a majestic arc before slowly splashing back into the ocean.
Skreeeee—

Its cry rang wide across the water. As it crashed back down, the splash made the cruise ship rock slightly.
It was a breathtaking sight—something most people wouldn’t witness even once in a lifetime. The onlookers gasped and screamed in awe.
The whale vanished into the sea beneath a sparkling spray like rainbow-colored jewels.

“That’s a humpback whale! They’re rare here. Must’ve wandered in because its habitat was destroyed—what incredible luck!”
A man nearby explained with excitement.
“Humpbacks are gentle creatures. They’ve even been known to rescue others. There are stories of them saving naval crews from sunken warships during bombings.”

As I listened, I nudged Masera, who stood beside me, staring out at the sea with an odd expression.
“See? I told you, we might see one if we’re lucky. And it was a kind, lucky whale too! Hurry, say ‘Thank you, lucky whale!’”
Masera’s usually expressionless face twisted just slightly, as if saying, Fine, you win.

“I shall call you Princess of Fortune from now on.”
Ugh!
* * *

Thanks to the lucky whale and the bet he lost, Masera was forced to follow Cynthia around on her cruise tour.
Mostly, what she did was eat.
“Do you enjoy eating that much?”

“Of course. Eating delicious food makes me happy.”
The casino they passed was overflowing with people hoping to ride the ‘lucky whale’ wave, but Cynthia said:
“Wasting luck in places like that means you’ll have to pay for it later.”

“A fireworks show will begin shortly. It’ll make for a lovely memory.”
The crew announcement made Masera think Cynthia would start nagging.
But instead, she turned to him with a serious expression.

“Brigadier, let’s just go back to the room.”
“You’re not watching the fireworks? I thought you’d be the first one out there.”
“I just want to rest. It’s a premium suite… soundproof, right?”

…What did she mean by that?
Masera mulled over her words and his face suddenly changed.
Unlike the train cabin, which had two separate rooms, the cruise suite only had one. And he’d just realized it.

“You want to rest too, don’t you?”
“I’m going to watch the fireworks to make memories.”
He blurted out something completely out of character in his panic, but Cynthia only shook her head and tugged on his sleeve.

“Just stay with me.”
Cynthia gave him a look as pitiful as a baby rabbit.