The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

* * *
Brigadier General Steve opened his eyes in bed. He blinked groggily, then smiled with relief.
“Haha, it was a dream. Of course something like that wouldn’t actually happen.”

What a nightmare. One of the worst, even. So he thought, as he closed his heavy eyelids once more—only to hear a bright, ringing female voice.
“Wake up, brave hero.”
The voice was as warm as sunlight. Eyes still shut, he wondered:

‘Am I dreaming of meeting a beautiful goddess?’
Through his half-lidded gaze, a radiant woman shimmered with iridescent light.
Mistaking her for a goddess, he impulsively grabbed her hand.

“Where am I? Is this the fated place where our bond begins?”
“This is the infirmary for the weak and pitiful.”
As she replied like the gatekeeper of hell, Steve stared at her and let out a scream.

“Hrk!”
At the same time, the tissue stuffed in his nose popped out with a poof.
Cynthia stood with the afternoon sun behind her, smiling faintly.

She was no goddess. And all the things he desperately wanted to believe had been just a dream—were, in fact, reality.
“…It wasn’t a dream?”
He murmured with a vacant expression.

At the same time, the calculator in his head began whirring, processing how much money and opportunity he had just lost. The realization overwhelmed him.
“Ah.”
He had been defeated again—by that war orphan.
Now that he’d bared his true intentions, it was certain she’d become an obstacle to any Medeia-related business from here on out.

Worse, some of the investors who pulled out upon his advice were his superiors and political connections.
Crushed with despair and humiliation, he buried his face in his hands.
“Ack, are you feeling unwell?”

Realizing that her actions had caused Brigadier General Steve to faint, Cynthia peered closely into his face.
‘If you die, I’ll go to prison for accidental manslaughter!’
Startled by how close she was, Steve’s eyes went wide like saucers.

“No, I just…”
“Are you okay? I guess I’m a little too strong… I’ll pay the hospital bill.”
Cynthia gave a sheepish smile as she released his face.

Steve then noticed that he was still holding her hand.
“Ah, I apologize. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Uncharacteristically modest, nothing like his usual libertine self, he quickly let go of her hand.

‘Wait… shouldn’t I be the one getting the apology? Why did I just apologize?’
Just as he was about to raise his voice and unleash his fury, Cynthia tucked a lock of long hair behind her ear and smiled innocently.
“Sorry for slamming the door open, Brigadier General Steve.”

Her snowflake-like hair sparkled in the sunlight, her pale pink cheeks, ruby-like eyes, and softly sloped eyes gave her an overall impression of purity.
Seeing that sunshine-like smile of hers, his anger melted away instantly.
‘The goddess of fortune…’

As he stared dazedly at Cynthia, the heavy sound of military boots approached and stopped beside them.
“If you’re awake, it’s time you leave.”
Masera stood over Brigadier General Steve, eyes icy.

“I was just about to,” Steve replied, rubbing his reddened ears as he rose and shrugged on his uniform coat.
Cynthia stood as well and said,
“Um, if you’re going to the hospital, the medical bill…”

“It’s nothing. If a princess with a hurt arm slams open a door, how hard could it be, really.”
Steve gave a sidelong glance at the bandaged arm before striding out of the infirmary with his usual pride.
Masera watched him go, feeling deeply unpleasant.

He’d known Steve long enough to recognize that expression—that was jealousy, the kind a man wears when something he long desired has been taken away.
And why, pray tell, were his ears flushed like that?
Cynthia, now seated again, looked up at Masera with a gentle smile.

“So, what do you think about my suggestion—going into business with the Medeia royal family?”
Did… did that smile make his heart flutter? No, it was the same smile she gave to everyone.
Still, Masera nodded.

“Very well. I’ll forward it to the Medeia side right after signing.”
Cynthia kept that smile on her lips as she gazed out the window. Whatever she was thinking, there was a wistful, even lonely air about her.
Masera recalled the queen’s words:

“If you get along well with the princess, I’ll give you a gift.”
Was this what she meant?
How had Cynthia managed to persuade the queen into such a major deal overnight?

“You’ve gained a jewel you must never let go of. The wise and good are rare, you see.”
Masera reflected on the queen’s cryptic words, a little bewildered.
‘If the Medeia royal family and Cynthia end up sharing legal ownership of the Nox land, there’ll be inheritance issues down the line. Isn’t that essentially cutting her own family out?’

No matter how good and kind she pretended to be, Cynthia was still the daughter of Count Queensguard. That made her impossible to trust completely.
After all, no woman would betray her own family over some marriage of political convenience.
And there was no way Cynthia loved him…

“And it’s not flattery. I did all that because I wanted the general to like me.”
It sounded like she was putting in effort because she had feelings for him, but… she wasn’t the type to pine after someone.
She was firmly give-and-take.

There was a sense of strategic necessity in everything she did.
‘…I really don’t know what she’s thinking.’
He’d survived enough hardship to read most people like a book, but her?

She seemed sunny on the outside, yet always kept a shadow tucked away somewhere—unreadable.
Still, hadn’t she helped him escape a dangerous situation and gain a massive benefit?
Masera stood tall, feet together, and saluted her.

“To the princess who aided me, I offer my sincerest thanks.”
Cynthia made a playful face.
“Do you really have to be so formal? I’m not a stranger.”

“That is, in my view, the highest form of gratitude. Do you want something else?”
“Let’s build the cat house together. I tried to do it on my own, but I can’t.”
“Understood.”

Masera nodded. He had secretly been waiting for her to ask for his help.
‘She finally asked me for something.’
He clenched his fist. Somehow, this thrilled him even more than the Medeia deal.

* * ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ *
Back in my room, I walked in with a bounce in my step.
‘Truthfully, I meant to tell him about the queen’s investment later…’

I had originally planned to bring it up only after confirming that Masera wouldn’t kill me—and would protect me instead.
But when I saw him throw himself under the falling signboard to shield Eugene and me, I became certain.
He didn’t want me to die. If I was in danger, he would save me.

Not only that—he had even brought me flowers and a gift to apologize first.
I smiled as I looked at the baby’s breath in the vase.
The Count’s plan to have me killed within a year probably hadn’t changed.

So rather than dragging things out, it was better to establish my value and ensure protection early.
The secret to persuading the queen was figuring out that her main advisor was none other than her daughter—the crown princess.
The crown princess had a prophetic gift. Everything she touched turned into a massive success. She had to be something like a reincarnator or transmigrator herself.

In fact, she had already laid claim to all the places I’d been planning to get to first using my knowledge from my previous life.
“Your Majesty. If the resources buried in the Nox territory are revealed, it will become a target of the great powers—and even world peace could be threatened.”
Historically, the area would become known for its massive oil reserves.

And this would eventually ignite the worst modern war.
My family, and I myself, died in that war.
If the crown princess truly had foresight, she would already know this—and be inclined to agree with my proposal.

“I’ll arrange it so that the succession rights go to the Medeia royal family—right after my husband.”
I had already prepared for my own death.
There was no way I’d let Count Queensguard—who would sell off the country if it profited him—get hold of Nox.

The Lutemia Republic was a nation built and protected through countless sacrifices.
Masera surely felt the same. So I had to protect it too.
That’s why I decided that the best path was to place it under the protection of the world’s current strongest power—Medeia.

Even though the marriage law dictated that if I died within a year, Nox would revert to the Queensguard family, there was still a way.
‘I’ll just write a will.’
A will overrode marriage law.

And there’s no way Count Queensguard would ever imagine that a girl barely twenty would have already drafted one.
I opened a sheet of paper and began writing. In the silence, only the soft scratch of my pen could be heard.
“By the time you read this, I’ll no longer be in this world…”

“Ugh… huuuhhh…”
Was writing a will always this sad?
I hadn’t even finished a few lines, but tears were already blurring my vision. Even though I’ve already died once, I still feel like I’m dying all over again.

“This won’t do. I’ll finish it next time.”
I tucked the unfinished will into the back of a drawer and locked it with a key.
“When you’re sad, you should peel onions.”

I needed to peel some onions and score myself a late-night snack. Humming to myself, I trotted off toward the kitchen—
—unaware of just what kind of disaster that will would bring in the future.