Cynthia went to the shopping district, bought everything she needed, went to a café with Dahlia to eat winter strawberry parfaits, and bought street waffles, donuts, crepes, and buttered corn.
“We’re not there yet, Dahlia. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
“My lady, please remember that it is a sin to leave food unfinished.”
Dahlia, with her hands full of food, was a big eater, and Cynthia felt like she had found a soulmate in food.
‘…More than that, it seems like he doesn’t care at all.’
Cynthia recalled Masera’s indifferent expression as she looked at the guards who followed her, almost to a burdensome extent.
‘He’s such an enigmatic person.’
She sighed, gripping the handle of her parasol tightly.
Earlier, before leaving the official residence, she had once again asked Masera to go with her, but he flatly refused.
So, when she called it a date, he made the most serious face in the world.
“Dahlia, is Brigadier General Masera usually so shy and taciturn?”
“Yes.”
Dahlia, who had already finished her corn, nodded.
“He’s probably never had a girlfriend before, has he?”
There was a formula that male leads in romance fantasy novels were always single, so it wasn’t even worth asking, but she somehow became curious about his past and asked anyway.
Cynthia only knew that Masera was an orphan of war.
“He never had time for that.”
“Well, he must have been busy since he was always going on expeditions, right?”
“That’s also true, but he’s just someone who lives without any leisure.”
Dahlia recalled the Masera of the past.
Eyes devoid of emotion, a haggard and subdued atmosphere, a calm yet ruthless personality, but surprisingly, he was a man of compassion.
He never abandoned his subordinates on the battlefield, and after the war, he took in retired soldiers who were rejected by society.
Dahlia’s amber eyes turned to Cynthia, who was smiling while holding her parasol.
‘Perhaps, that bright and kind Princess…’
Might fill the Brigadier General’s dark shadows with light.
* * *
While Cynthia and Dahlia were in the shopping district, Maryseiren’s designer came to the official residence to apologize.
“I am truly sorry. A new employee came that day, and the dress disappeared with him in the middle of everything…”
“I understand. Just make it again.”
Masera, understanding his position as the victim of theft, nodded.
The designer clenched his fists.
“Brigadier General, you saved my life when I was about to be attacked by a gang. I can say with certainty that I will create a masterpiece that will never be seen again.”
“I said it back then too, you can just do it roughly.”
Masera took out a piece of paper from his pocket, signed it, and handed it to him.
“And this time, don’t put a limit on the cost.”
His expression was as solemn as usual, but somehow, it felt full of determination.
The designer, with wide eyes, swallowed the words, ‘How is that doing it roughly?’
Instead, he resolved to create a dress that would be incomparable to the one worn by the Duchess.
After the designer left, full of determination, Eugene approached Masera, who was drinking tea alone in the garden.
“Uncle, I don’t like white-haired big sis.”
Eugene had been diligently carrying out his plan to drive Cynthia away.
But when he gave her frogs and bugs, she thanked him, making him feel guilty, and when he put snowballs in her clothes, she sang strange songs like, ‘Do you want to build a snowman?‘ and chased him around all day.
Having failed all of his carefully planned operations, Eugene finally decided to speak directly to Masera.
Cynthia was no ordinary opponent.
“Why?”
Masera asked, putting down his teacup.
Eugene sat across from Masera with a serious expression.
“Because she’s a white-haired villain. Don’t marry her. I’d rather marry her and be tormented.”
Masera shook his head with a serious face to match Eugene’s.
“I have to marry her. I proposed first.”
Eugene, who knew ‘marriage = love,’ was startled and widened his eyes. He had thought that Cynthia, the princess of a bad country, was tormenting his uncle and forcing him to marry her.
In fact, Eugene had an underlying anxiety that he would be abandoned after the marriage. He feared that the bad princess who had taken over the official residence would order, ‘Throw that brat away.’
This was largely due to the influence of the servants and officers who harbored animosity towards the royal family, as well as his tutor.
“Does she torment Uncle by kissing him too?”
At Eugene’s question, Masera’s body twitched as he held his teacup.
“Are you really not going with me? I’m actually asking you out on a date…”
Masera recalled Cynthia’s flushed face and innocent smile.
There were many women who courted him, but something was different.
He decided to define the unfamiliar feeling he had felt since he first saw her as ‘discomfort.’
Seeing Masera’s expression, Eugene nodded with conviction.
“Hmph, bad villain. But I can’t beat her with my current strength. I’ll make her cry buckets when I grow up.”
“I already made her cry.”
At Masera’s words, Eugene, who was picking up a cookie, looked surprised once again.
“So, is that big sis taking revenge on me for that?”
“No, you little villain.”
Suddenly, Cynthia’s voice cut in.
Seeing Cynthia, Eugene was startled and hid behind Masera.
Masera tilted his teacup and crossed his legs.
“So, did you spend my money to your heart’s content?”
At his sarcastic tone, Cynthia lifted her chin with a triumphant expression.
“Of course.”
She proudly presented the receipt with the list of purchases.
Contrary to expectations that she would have bought clothes, shoes, or jewelry…
There were only a bunch of useless things like aquarium decorations, yarn for sweaters, and a puppy doll. What on earth did she buy a hammer and saw for?
But it wasn’t like she spent less because she was being considerate.
“Why did you buy aquarium decorations? There aren’t even any fish.”
“I’m going to decorate the house for the frogs that are hibernating.”
At Cynthia’s answer, Eugene’s eyes showed curiosity, but he quickly pursed his lips, pretending not to care.
Masera pointed to the yarn part with an expression that he couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Are you perhaps trying to knit a sweater? I’m saying this in advance, but I don’t need one.”
He was imagining Cynthia making a sweater with a bizarre design and trying to make him wear it.
“The cat in the garden had kittens. I’m going to make sweaters for the baby kittens to wear to prepare for the cold.”
“That’s a relief then. It’s a bit suspicious that you even bought a hammer and saw, though.”
“I’m going to build a house where the cat family can stay warm.”
Masera sensed that he would end up making it when Cynthia brought a gift box that a servant was carrying and handed it to him.
It was a bribe he had bought to give to the officers.
“These are macarons from a famous dessert shop. I waited in line for a long time to finally buy them. I also bought ingredients to treat the officers to dinner.”
Masera looked at Cynthia without a word.
She seemed to be trying to make an effort in her own way, but he wondered if it would be of any use.
“Eugene, you eat one too. And let’s decorate the frog house together later.”
Cynthia smiled brightly as she handed Eugene a macaron.
Eugene, who had unknowingly reached out his hand, suddenly flinched and stepped back.
“You shouldn’t get close to people with white hair, Eugene. Because you’ll be hated by people too. The Esatain people are bad monsters who spread epidemics in the past.”
He remembered the words of his tutor, Hayden.
The picture of the white-haired monster eating people in the book he showed was enough to instill fear in the child.
‘If it’s known that my mother had white hair, everyone will hate me, right?’
Eugene’s mother was also an Esatain.
Eugene was conscious of his surroundings and avoided Cynthia, but he couldn’t help but approach her. It was because Cynthia reminded him of his late mother.
In the end, feeling confused, Eugene ran away with a pale face.
“Eugene, hello! You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you?”
As Eugene was walking through the garden, dejected, an Esatain officer with silver-white hair greeted him happily.
He was an Esatain officer who had fled to the Federation as a refugee before the empire was destroyed by the invasion.
The Federation, which included the Republic of Rutemia, had accepted a large number of war refugees and Esatains from various countries.
Eugene’s tutor, Hayden, was also one of those who had defected to this side, and he held ideologies that hated the Esatains.
“Don’t act friendly with me! White-haired monster!”
Eugene clenched his fists and shouted.
Eugene’s green eyes flickered uneasily as he saw the Esatain officer looking embarrassed.
He felt guilty about his actions, but he didn’t want to be kicked out of here.
“…Monster?”
And Cynthia, who had followed him, worried about Eugene’s pale face, witnessed the scene.
