* * *
Cynthia looked down at the music box in her hand with surprised eyes.
It was a golden music box made with delicate craftsmanship. It was clear that it had been carefully preserved, as there wasn’t a speck of dust on it.
“Wow… this isn’t just any music box, is it? It’s so elaborate, and even the tiny patterns are perfect.”
As she carefully opened the lid, a toy soldier and a princess in a dress appeared, facing each other. A small bird floated behind the two figures.
It looked as if it was recreating a beautiful moment.
Princess Margarita must have thought it was a precious item to leave it with the Count’s family.
She tried winding the key-shaped spring, but the music box didn’t move at all.
“It’s a music box made by a famous artisan in the past, and it seems like a small part that makes up the spring is missing…”
He wore a regretful expression.
“The Princess asked us to repair it, but it was specially made, so there was no way to open it and see inside. I am sorry.”
At Count Hert’s words, Cynthia smiled brightly and shook her head.
“It’s meaningful enough as it is. I can feel someone’s precious memories that I’ve never experienced.”
Count Hert smiled contentedly as he watched Cynthia carefully caress the music box.
The day he took the music box to persuade Helene for the last time, Helene had shown a cold reaction.
“Princess Helene, this is…”
“Is that old-fashioned music box your skill and pride? Let me ask you something. How long are you going to be tied to the past?”
‘She didn’t recognize the value of the item the Princess left behind.’
Recalling the bitterness of that time, he said to Cynthia.
“Now that it has found its owner, I will return it. The person who made this was called ‘the artisan who polishes memories.’ I believe that you, Princess, will one day be able to hear the true melody of this music box.”
It was a remark that left a strange lingering feeling.
The Count, with a kind smile, looked back at Masera and Cynthia as he left the room.
“There was a beautiful aurora in the night sky. I think it would be nice if you two could enjoy it together.”
* * *
After Count Hert left, a slight awkwardness flowed between the two.
Soon, Masera stood holding Cynthia’s coat in both hands, silently looking at her.
Cynthia blinked, looking back and forth between the coat and Masera.
“…Why?”
“Don’t you like it? The aurora.”
“Are we going to see it? Okay.”
Cynthia smiled brightly.
Masera couldn’t tell how much of her smile was genuine.
Lost in thought, he paused when he realized that he had naturally put her coat on and wrapped her scarf around her neck.
‘I was unknowingly treating her like a Princess.’
It had become a habit. And he had been tamed.
He didn’t forget to put on the fluffy fur hat as a finishing touch.
The two went out into the garden and sat on the bench Cynthia had chosen. He still didn’t know why she had designated that bench.
Masera laid his coat down before having her sit.
A red aurora, filled with the Milky Way, sparkled in the dark sky.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t it make you feel good to see beautiful scenery?”
Masera was lost in thought.
Before, he hadn’t felt any special emotion when he saw flowers blooming, or a river, or the aurora. But after meeting her, he gradually began to attach meaning to them.
So, he uttered a somewhat romantic tale.
“It is said that if you whistle while watching the aurora, the dead will appear.”
“Huh? Was that voodoo?”
Cynthia’s face turned pale, remembering Eugene telling her in the past, ‘If you whistle, you can convey your heart’s story to those who have left.’
She had no idea it was an act of summoning ghosts, and she had whistled so much.
Masera didn’t notice her embarrassment, and was only focused on her leaning closer to him.
“I guess it’s similar. When I was young, I used to talk to my deceased parents while watching the aurora.”
His gaze swept over Cynthia’s gloved hands.
“My country used the ancient language of the Lumantis Empire. I used to say the things I wanted to say in that language.”
“Do you still remember it? Tell me.”
“It’s been a long time, so it’s hazy.”
Masera slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed, and opened his mouth.
“In my country, Nox means ‘protecting light,’ and Diem means ‘precious person.’”
A light that protects a precious person.
Cynthia was lost in thought, looking up at the sky.
Come to think of it, the Bariesa Dynasty’s legitimacy also came from the Lumantis Empire, so wouldn’t they have used the ancient language as the royal language?
“Like the meaning of Nox, Brigadier General, you have protected many people.”
She turned her gaze back to Masera.
“Brigadier General, I want to help the Diem people regain their homeland. I saw sadness on people’s faces.”
Masera’s lips tightened slightly before returning to their place.
It was because he was reminded of his own country, which had been swept away by the storm of war and disappeared into the back of history, remaining only as a memory.
“Let’s do that.”
Masera cleared his throat, unnecessarily tugging at his tie.
Cynthia looked down at his large hands, neatly placed on his lap. It seemed like there was a strange tension in his fingertips.
Even if you find the heritage, isn’t it more important to protect it? If you ruin it like Helene, it will be useless.
It was a sudden thought.
“Brigadier General, you oppose the restoration of the Bariesa Royal Family, right?”
At Cynthia’s cautious question, Masera, who hadn’t answered for a while, nodded.
“Even if they inherit the throne of another country, there is a possibility that they will one day destroy the system here. Another war will break out in the process.”
He leaned back against the backrest and raised his head.
“That is very dangerous.”
Masera, who uttered a low warning, faced Cynthia.
“Do you perhaps want to become a monarch?”
“No. It’s not my thing at all. It’s a job where you have to sit all day and resolve complaints, right?”
Masera breathed a sigh of relief.
The revival of the Bariesa Royal Family was intertwined with a battle between huge forces.
‘Just looking at the fact that the organization approached the Duchess…’
The arms smuggling organization was an international dangerous force, and if they wanted to, they could throw a country into chaos.
They would try to subtly and slowly ruin her, just like they did with Helene.
At first, the goal was to keep the royalist forces in check, but now, only the determination to protect Cynthia remained.
“I don’t want a war to happen. Not now, not even in the distant future.”
Cynthia, who had been lost in thought while watching the aurora, spoke in a subdued voice.
* * *
It was already Carlos’s wedding day.
The weather was sunny, and the garden where the outdoor wedding was held was full of fresh flowers. If it weren’t for the chilling cold, one would mistake it for spring.
Cynthia appeared, arm in arm with Masera, who was dressed in a neat dress uniform.
Masera was talking with the officers, and Cynthia naturally blended in with the women.
Many nobles from the Medea Kingdom also attended the wedding, and they also flocked around Cynthia, who had recently discovered oil.
Among them was Grand Princess Charlotte, whom she had seen on her honeymoon.
When Cynthia greeted the Grand Princess with a nod, the Grand Princess kindly curved her eyes.
At that moment, Helene smiled haughtily and subtly intervened.
[“Our youngest sister can’t speak Medeian, so I’ll translate for her.”]
‘She seemed to understand well enough with her senses, but it seemed like she couldn’t communicate.’
Meanwhile, the expressions of the Medeian nobles turned cold at Helene’s appearance. Helene, who had previously insulted the Medea Royal Family in a public setting, couldn’t be seen favorably.
Grand Princess Charlotte looked at Cynthia with a subtle smile.
[“I’m finally able to offer you congratulations. Crown Princess Diana must trust you a lot, Princess. I heard that she entrusted you with the oil business investment and the branch of the foundation.”]
Helene translated the Grand Ducal Princess’s words and conveyed Cynthia’s words of gratitude, while also adding a lie.
[“Cynthia said that she was surprised by the Crown Princess’s courage to invest a lot of money in a very small possibility. Even I, her older sister, was about to misunderstand and step in to resolve it. She says she’s lucky that it turned out well.”]
The expressions of the Medeian nobles and the Grand Ducal Princess stiffened.
[“That’s, what kind of rude…”]
This was tantamount to saying that the Medea Royal Family had invested without thinking.
At the desired reaction, Cynthia opened her mouth as Helene sneered.
[“Why are you telling lies, Sister? I never said that. And I’m better at Medeian than you, so you don’t have to translate for me.”]
Helene’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw Cynthia refuting fluently.
Unlike what she thought she had understood with her senses, Cynthia was perfectly fluent in the unique pronunciation used only by the authentic Medeian nobles.
