Captain Carlton stared intently at Masera, who was speechless with shock.
“She managed to avoid a sun burn thanks to the sunscreen, but it seems she overdid it, relying only on that.”
“What should I do now? Is it life-threatening?”
At Masera’s question, who felt the seriousness of the words ‘genetic disease,’ the Captain smiled gently.
“It’s just that she’s weak because she can’t photosynthesize, so be careful of the sunlight and make sure she eats fish and takes her vitamins. Easy to say, but hard to do.”
He handed Masera the vitamins, once again scolding him.
“It must have been hard to even see the tennis ball properly because of the sunlight. Why didn’t you just lose? I would have lost even if I had a healthy wife.”
The Captain patted Masera on the shoulder, who seemed lost in thought, and added,
“In the end, it will all pile up as regrets. Why did I put off such a trivial thing, as if it were so difficult?”
The Captain had lost his fiancé to a genetic disease in the past, quit his job at the hospital, and joined the war as a military doctor.
This was why Captain Carlton had recognized Cynthia’s genetic disease and kept providing her with vitamins.
“I gave up everything and went to war, but I couldn’t die easily. I guess I’m being punished.”
Masera quietly watched Captain Carlton’s retreating figure.
***
After showering, Masera returned to the bedroom and looked down at Cynthia, who was sound asleep.
Dahlia must have diligently washed her and changed her into pajamas, as she smelled of peaches infused with rose water.
‘Was her unusually red cheeks because of the sunlight?’
As long as they were careful of complications, it wouldn’t interfere with her life, but…
“How warm is the spring sunshine? I want to lie in a field full of flowers and bask in the pouring sunlight.”
He recalled Cynthia’s voice, smiling brightly in the shade.
At the time, he thought it was just a passing remark, but for her, who was vulnerable to sunlight, it was the most desperate wish.
‘I was too oblivious. How could I, as her husband, not have noticed that?’
How much effort had she put in all this time to avoid showing it?
How much suffering had she hidden behind her bright smile?
He deeply understood what it was like to be treated as ‘defective.’
He, too, had spent his childhood anxious that he would be discarded as useless.
‘What’s so hard about losing?’
He didn’t even know what her wish was, yet he made assumptions.
“……”
Masera cupped Cynthia’s cheek and lowered his head towards her. In his eyes, which were closing in as if to meet hers, her closed silver eyelashes were reflected.
He let out a soft sigh and pressed one cheek against hers.
Like a snowman who loved the sunlight, he had been holding back and enduring, afraid that she would melt away and disappear.
He didn’t know whether it was fear or affection.
“Ugh…”
Just then, Cynthia opened her eyes with a groan.
She found Masera looking at her and asked him in a serious tone, like a priest hearing a confession.
“Are you perhaps repenting for your sins?”
Masera helped Cynthia, who was struggling to sit up.
Watching her sit on the edge of the bed, he slowly nodded.
“I admit defeat for the sin I committed. It was an unequal game from the start.”
“Hmph, forget it. I don’t want to win by forcing things.”
Cynthia deliberately pouted, and Masera reached out and tucked her lips in.
“Instead, how about you tell me a wish that I can grant?”
“Are you going to exercise your right of refusal in such a petty way?”
Masera smiled sweetly and leaned towards her.
“Then will you grant my wish, since I won in a petty way?”
“I’ll listen to what the wish is first.”
The man who always had a solemn face was now wearing the mischievous smile of a boy.
Cynthia fanned herself, trying to cool her flushed cheeks.
He picked up the water glass on the bedside table and took out the pill he had received from the Captain.
“He said you’ve been taking vitamins every day.”
“I’m trying to get stronger so I can win. Is that cheating?”
“No, it is not.”
He denied it firmly.
“My wish is for you to take your medicine well and eat a lot of fish so you don’t get sick.”
“Why fish of all things…?”
She grimaced, recalling the canned fish she had eaten to the point of nausea during her time as a maid.
“Will you grant it?”
“Well, it’s not difficult.”
As soon as he heard her answer, Masera put the pill in his mouth and drank the water.
‘That’s mine? Is he going to taste-test my medicine now?’
He stared at Cynthia, who was dumbfounded, and pointed to his mouth.
…!
Only then did she realize what he was trying to do, and her eyes widened.
“Seriously? That’s what you’re going to do?”
Masera nodded silently and closed the distance.
In the strange atmosphere, Cynthia felt his breath on her cheek and involuntarily closed her eyes.
‘So devilishly charming…’
She never dreamed that she would be taking a pill from that man’s mouth.
Soon, Cynthia swallowed the water and the pill that flowed in and slowly opened her eyes.
At the same time, his eyelids slowly lifted, revealing eyes that had turned a deep violet.
He parted his lips slightly and whispered in a lowered voice.
“In case it was poisoned.”
Of course, it was a lie.
***
The next day, Duke Rukanosa came to see Cynthia.
Cynthia, who had recovered to some extent, greeted the Duke in the drawing room.
The Duke conveyed his perfunctory concerns about Count Queensguard and then got to the point.
“I have filed the divorce papers with Princess Helene. It will be finalized next week.”
Now that Count Queensguard, who would have made all sorts of demands, was unconscious, it seemed he was quickly finishing things.
“But why are you reporting that to me…”
“I thought you might not trust me, so I came to propose again after the divorce. If you become my wife, I will stand by your side and protect you.”
Count Queensguard was the one who held Cynthia’s lifeline, but paradoxically, he was also the knight who would protect her.
He thought that he would be the only one who could protect the fake princess who had lost her powerful supporter, so she would agree to remarry.
‘She must be tired of playing the clown disguised as a princess, and she must want to escape before the Brigadier General finds out about her lies.’
What kind of reaction would she show if she later learned of his true feelings?
“You proposed to me knowing that I was a fake? I’m really touched, Duke. No, Henry…”
The Duke, lost in a fantasy of Cynthia being moved and hugging him, wiped his burning face.
“Why are you so set on marrying me? Because I’m docile, save my husband’s face, and respect him?”
She, who always maintained a gentle smile, suddenly looked at him with a cold face.
“Have you never considered that that’s just a fantasy of your own?”
The Duke blinked, speechless.
“What…”
“The Brigadier General did that first. He respected me even though I was a hated royal. Compared to that, you humiliated my sister in front of others with a wedding dress, compared and belittled her, never took her side, and never acknowledged her achievements, did you?”
The Duke, facing Cynthia who was firing back quickly, involuntarily turned his head. She, with her clear eyes, was far more headstrong than Helene.
“Was it because the Brigadier General’s attitude of acknowledging my value that I seemed like a good person? If it were the opposite, you might have thought I was terrible because I wasn’t aristocratic and refined like my sister.”
When he made eye contact again, Cynthia had returned to her usual cheerful face.
“Just so you know, smart people never act obediently without a reason.”
***
The Duke, who had come outside, turned to look at Cynthia, who was seeing him off.
“I don’t know why everyone says they’ll protect me. I’m the kind of person who survives even if I fall onto a battlefield.”
‘Seeing that strength makes me want to give up even less.’
Just then, Masera, who was passing by while talking to officers, noticed the two and stopped.
Cynthia waved her hand cheerfully.
“Oh, where are you going… huh?”
Masera, who had quickly approached, suddenly kissed Cynthia on the cheek.
Then, he glared at the Duke with a cold gaze.
‘He’s making a ridiculous provocation.’
He’ll abandon her without hesitation once he knows she’s a fake anyway. The Duke twisted his lips as he watched.
“Why suddenly… a public display of affection—I mean, kiss…”
Cynthia, flustered, stepped back, conscious of the surrounding gazes.
Masera, who wrapped his hand around the back of her head, pressed his lips firmly against her cheek again, then lightly kissed the corner of her lips as he finished, giving her a languid smile.
“My parents always do that when they run into each other…”
“Oh.”
How petty, bringing up the invincible memory of his parents.
He stood tall with his back straight and tilted his head.
“I kissed my wife. Is there a problem with that?”
Cynthia belatedly discovered the Duke glaring at Masera as if he wanted to kill him.
