The officer gritted his teeth, glaring at Cynthia’s retreating figure.
He was Captain Gail Declan, a comrade who had shared life and death with Masera.
‘How did the Brigadier General turn out like this? The country was on the verge of collapse because of the foolish Royal Family, and it was thanks to us, the underlings who were ignored, rolling around on the battlefield that it recovered so quickly.’
In the past, this country was the first to fall due to the Royal Family’s failed policies, which became the fuse for a long world war.
For a long time, countless young people had to sacrifice themselves for the country.
At that time, Masera wandered the battlefield as a boy soldier.
With his excellent eyes and genius shooting skills, his anecdote of annihilating an entire unit alone made the enemy countries tremble with fear.
In that way, Masera became one of the main players who ended the world war.
He was followed by a cruel tendency to indiscriminately kill without accepting prisoner surrenders, and the infamy of driving soldiers to their deaths to save nobles, but it was obscured by the praise of ‘war hero,’ and no one cared.
On top of that, he had a young and handsome appearance, so marriage proposals were sent from all over as if in competition.
‘But I was so surprised to hear that he was engaged to a ghost-like person from the Bariesa Royal Family. There must have been pressure from the powerful federal countries.’
He couldn’t stand the injustice.
At that moment, someone spoke to him.
“I find that white hair terribly disgusting, do you, Captain?”
It was Hayden, Eugene’s tutor.
When Captain Declan didn’t answer, he smiled awkwardly and walked away.
He felt suspicious, but decided not to report it. He thought that whether it was slander or a scheme, he hoped that man would turn a blind eye in return.
* * *
A dinner party with the officers who had returned from the operation.
Cynthia, wary of the awkward atmosphere, took a seat in the corner.
The officers, all with stiff faces, were talking about internal military affairs.
After a long time of difficult stories that could not be understood without military knowledge, someone said.
“She’s not even married yet, is it okay for her to be here with us?”
He said it with a smiling face, but he was treating Cynthia like an outsider.
At that time, Captain Declan laughed, “Haha.”
“Most of you probably don’t know what we’re talking about. She’s been in a peaceful countryside all her life, so she’s far from war.”
There were sharp thorns hidden in his joking words.
In response, Cynthia showed her unique innocent smile.
“That’s right. It’s difficult for me. So, please feel free to talk.”
Cynthia, who was used to being hated, didn’t care. Compared to what the Royal Family had done in the past, this was nothing.
‘What’s more painful than being hated is…’
Cynthia sighed softly.
“What luck. She’s like a jinxed girl who takes other people’s lives!”
“She survived by sacrificing my daughter!”
She was reminded of those who pointed fingers at her in her previous life for miraculously surviving alone.
‘The most painful thing was when even the people who hated and blamed me left, and I was left alone. So, I have to get along with everyone.’
First of all, winning Masera’s heart was the top priority. To do that, wouldn’t she have to get along with his colleagues?
‘Yes, I’ll bribe them to win their favor.’
Cynthia nodded, determined in her heart, when Captain Declan said.
“The Brigadier General is a war hero known all over the world, and his appearance is perfect, so marriage proposals are still pouring in. I’m worried that it might be burdensome to have such a popular fiancé.”
In fact, even after knowing about the engagement, there were people who sent marriage proposals or offered to become his mistress.
After that, the officers continued to provoke her with their flowery, roundabout way of speaking, but Cynthia, the target, didn’t hear them because she was so engrossed in thinking about what kind of bribes to give.
‘It’s not like she’s in a position to be jealous in the first place, but how can she be so indifferent?’
Masera was lost in thought, looking at Cynthia, whose expression didn’t change.
* * *
That night, Cynthia went straight to Masera.
“I’m thinking of going to the shopping district tomorrow morning. I’d like the Brigadier General to come with me.”
“I refuse.”
Masera, who was sitting in a shirt and sweater, said without taking his eyes off the book.
“Just go with Dahlia or Diego…”
“I knew you were going to say, ‘Just go with Dahlia or Diego.'”
Cynthia, who had already memorized his repertoire, shrugged.
“I’ll buy you a super delicious parfait. I heard it’s full of delicious cookies and fruits?”
“I’m not a child.”
He frowned slightly, sweeping back his platinum blonde hair.
Then Cynthia made an expression that she couldn’t believe. She seemed to think that it was the best way to win him over that he couldn’t refuse.
Masera raised one eyebrow, looking at her outfit.
“And why do you keep wearing that strange dress?”
She was wearing a bizarre dress sewn together with checkered cloth.
“What’s so strange about it? What’s wrong with a handmade, eco-friendly, upcycled dress?”
“I’ll say it again, I’m not poor. Try to buy new clothes if possible.”
Masera, thinking that arguing would be a waste of time, waved his hand to tell her to leave.
“Anyway, if you don’t want the parfait… then there’s nothing I can do.”
Masera, watching her give up so quickly for once, suddenly remembered his conversation with Dahlia.
“The other servants say she wears ridiculous clothes, why is that?”
“It’s not that she’s deliberately trying to be frugal and down-to-earth… it’s a dress that I accidentally ruined and repaired for her.”
He thought she was protesting against his indifference, but it wasn’t.
“I told the servants the truth, and they said she was trying to get back at me for making a mistake, but that’s not it either. Everyone sees everything she does negatively, so I can’t help it… I think she’s wearing it on purpose because she’s afraid I’ll be embarrassed.”
‘Dahlia has completely fallen for her.’
Feeling regret, Masera took out a check, signed it, and handed it to her.
“You don’t have to worry about money, you can use it as much as you want.”
People reveal their true nature in front of money. Her tendencies will be revealed depending on where she spends this money.
He also had a slight desire to no longer be treated as poor.
Cynthia, who received the check, widened her red eyes and looked back and forth between the amount on the check and Masera several times.
“You won’t regret it, right? You’ll really buy everything you want? I’m confident I can clean you out?”
As expected, in front of money.
Masera was silently sneering at her when she, who was about to leave with a visibly excited gait, turned to him.
“Oh, right. You were talking about drilling and construction with the officers earlier. You’re talking about Nox, right?”
There was a possibility of oil deposits in the Nox area that he had received from Count Queensguard, so he was preparing for drilling work by gathering investors.
There were investors among the officers, so the story naturally came out.
‘Nox’s name didn’t even come up, how did she know?’
It was a story that would soon reach Count Queensguard anyway, but he didn’t know what kind of troublesome things he would do.
Like the servants he had dealt with before, there were more than one or two shady things about him.
‘Of course, it’s useless to plot to break off the engagement and get the land back. The Count won’t be able to afford the huge cost of the work.’
Since the work takes at least 10 years, it was impossible to gather investors without a certain amount of trust.
He had calculated in advance the various variables that the Count would take.
“Brigadier General, start by the rabbit-shaped mountain range in the west. You’ll definitely find treasure.”
He hadn’t thought of this variable.
At Cynthia’s unexpected words, Masera’s eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.
“On what basis?”
“The luck I have. You’ve seen it many times.”
Cynthia, who was smiling brightly, turned around and left the room.
Masera unknowingly opened the drawer and looked at the ‘gem ring that brings wealth‘ that she had made for him with a bread bag tie.
‘I forgot to throw it away.’
He left the ring as it was and closed the drawer again.
* * *
Cynthia, who came out of the room, walked down the hallway with a happy heart, holding the check.
‘I’m going to buy everything I want. We’re going to make a lot of money anyway.’
She had felt a sense of déjà vu from the way to the capital.
After that, she looked up Medea and the wasteland Nox area…
This world was perfectly consistent with the geography of the world she lived in in her previous life.
And the Nox area was where a huge amount of oil would be discovered in the future.
