TTMLPTWW – Chapter 133

* * *

Cynthia opened her parasol as she returned to the official residence and saw that the snow had stopped and sunlight was streaming through.

She brushed the snow off the garden tea table, sat down, and looked out at the winter trees, where flowers bloomed here and there in scattered patches.

“So pretty.”

Suddenly feeling the urge to bask in the sunlight, she reached a hand beyond the shade of her parasol—then quietly folded it closed.

Though she couldn’t enjoy the sun for long because of her sensitivity to light, she liked the warmth of it gently brushing her cheek.

She remembered how, in her past life, her brother once made her a ring out of clover.

“It’s a lucky ring. If one leaf falls off, it becomes a ring of happiness.”
“What if two fall off? Wealth?”
“Two leaves mean faith. If only one’s left, then it’s a ring of hope.”

That sensitive, poetic brother dying in the war. She still couldn’t believe it.

As Cynthia quietly sat with the memory, her eyes fluttered closed.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

The cold winter wind carried a familiar scent, and it stirred her from her light nap. She slowly opened her eyes.

A broad, uniformed chest—the one she liked best—filled her view.

Masera was standing in front of her, blocking the sunlight, watching her.

“How long have you been standing there?”

Cynthia rubbed her eyes as she asked. He turned his gaze away with a soft sigh.

“About five minutes.”

She took his outstretched hand and stood up.

Her whole body ached, and her back gave a stiff creak—hard to believe it had only been five minutes.

As they walked back toward the residence, a passing aide gave them a pitying look, glancing back and forth between Cynthia and Masera.

“Brigadier General, why were you standing out there for an hour? Is this some kind of submission training…?”

Five minutes was all the time it took for Masera’s lie to be exposed.

* * *

“…Are you that sure the Brigadier General won’t abandon you? Then why haven’t you confessed the truth to him yet?”

Late at night, standing on the terrace and gazing up at the sky, she suddenly recalled the Duke’s words.

Even if Masera found out he had been deceived, he would pretend not to know, or gloss over it in the name of understanding, as he always had.

Thinking back, he had always been on her side since their wedding.

The problem was, a man willing to risk his life for his wife might also take on any sacrifice once he knew the truth.

With his soldier’s sense of duty, he was the most dangerous variable in her plan.

That’s why she couldn’t tell him.

‘How am I supposed to leave my stoic, one-woman man…’

She deeply understood the pain of the one left behind—but now, she was learning what it felt like to be the one doing the leaving.

“You’d be just fine on your own.”

“Whatever happens down the line, try volunteering. With your luck and charisma, you could lead an expedition team or something.”

My sister must have been worried about me being left alone one day, that must be why she kept saying that before she died.

“Strange. Why am I thinking about my sister and brother so much today?”

Was it because there were so many stars in the sky tonight? Ugh. Melodramatic much.

Cynthia rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, trying to wipe away the sadness and longing along with her tears.

Clack—

Just then, the door opened, and Masera stepped inside.

He paused the moment he saw Cynthia, her eyes flushed red, and narrowed his own.

“Brigadier General?”

Before she could even offer an excuse for her tears, he crossed the room in steady, disciplined strides and pulled her into a firm embrace—cutting off her attempt at a cheerful smile.

“Why are you crying.”

“Guess I got caught.”

“Is it because of me?”

“No, I was just thinking sad thoughts for a moment.”

Masera went quiet for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was filled with hesitation—and apology.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what…?”

“As your husband, I was too caught up in my own anxiety to see how you were feeling.”

Still holding her close, he buried his face in her shoulder.

“I assumed you’d always had an easy life. I only ever saw the bright side of you and treated you carelessly.”

Even when things were hard, Cynthia never showed it.

She hadn’t grown up pampered in a greenhouse—she’d grown up as a maid, suffered from war trauma and a congenital illness, and still managed to smile through it all.

To the point where it was easy to forget she might need help at all.

But now that he realized how much she’d been quietly enduring, a wave of guilt crashed down on him.

“I don’t really know how to comfort someone. I’m afraid that one word from me could have irreversible consequences.”

So that’s why he never asked—no matter what happened, no matter what he knew.

Cynthia gripped his broad, solid shoulders tightly and closed her eyes.

“And I understand why you don’t tell me everything either. Why you never show when you’re hurting. It’s probably for the same reason.”

Cynthia wasn’t the type to talk about her feelings. She was more the type to deflect and hide behind a joke.

“What’s tortured me the most… wasn’t jealousy or desire. It was the anxiety and fear I felt for you.”

His arms tightened slightly around her back. And then, finally, the words he’d held back under the weight of fear came spilling out.

“You’re now a strong contender for the throne. Even if you leave me to claim it, all I’ll be able to do is… let you go.”

At first, his only goal was to keep those who sought to use Cynthia and seize Nox from succeeding.

If she’d ever desired the crown, he was ready to stop her—even by cruel, merciless means, if that’s what it took.

That was, until the first time he saw her smile.

Now, all he could do was hold her close in the eye of the storm, with guilt for the darkness he once harbored, and desperate sincerity.

“Even if you come to hate me, I won’t be able to let you go…”

Masera clenched his hand tightly around her hem.

His platinum hair that always carried the same familiar scent brushed softly against her cheek.

He was about to reveal the one thing he never wanted exposed—the most vulnerable part of himself.

“You’re the most precious person in my life. You’ve become my weakness, my breaking point, and more important than my own life.”

But no matter how earnestly he ran toward her, she always kept a certain distance. Even when she looked him in the eye and smiled, it still felt like watching her back as she walked away.

Cynthia gently tilted her head and pressed her cheek against the crook of his neck.

The place where they touched gradually warmed.

It was a small touch—but for him, someone constantly plagued by anxiety, it was a vast relief.

Masera cradled her head in his hand as she leaned on him and spoke.

“I want you to be happy by my side. I dare to hope.”

Cynthia patted his broad back.

“I know. You’re afraid I’ll be miserable if I stay by your side, so you can’t bear to let me go.”

She cupped Masera’s cheek, hidden in her embrace, and made him look at her.

“You’ve had a hard time too, haven’t you? I never really said anything real—just joked and chattered.”

Cynthia pressed her forehead against his and whispered.

“The more you love someone, the more scared you get… the more you want to hide it. My feelings are no different from yours.”

Masera’s eyes rippled like waves before dawn.

He finally gathered the courage to ask something he never had before—about her feelings for him.

“Am I… someone special to you?”

Cynthia pulled back slightly to look at him and smiled softly.

That smile was achingly sweet—and unbearably painful.

“I’ve failed countless times. And every failure came with losing someone. So the more someone means to me, the more afraid I am of losing them.”

A shooting star streaked across the pitch-black sky, trailing a shimmer of light through the stars.

Behind Masera, framed against the night sky, Cynthia saw the memories of those she’d cherished in her previous life flicker past.

Her rose-colored eyes curved gently.

“I lost the tennis bet, so I didn’t get to say it before… but can I make a wish anyway? I’ve had dozens of wishes until now, but I’ve finally settled on one.”

When Masera nodded silently, Cynthia cupped his cheek and smiled against his lips.

“You’re the most precious person to me too, Brigadier General. So please… believe these words that will never change.”

Though born with exceptional sight, his eyes had always groped through the dark—until now, when light finally reached them.

As she closed her eyes, Cynthia’s silver hair fluttered in the cold night breeze.

He buried his face in her soft, pale neck and breathed in her scent as deeply as he could.

From the very moment she met Masera, she’d known he was the male lead of her world. Somewhere deep down, she’d known this might happen.

‘Was I already falling for him back then?’

As the moonlight faded behind slow-moving clouds, Masera lifted his face slightly and whispered to her.

“It’s too late to turn back. If you want to divorce me, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Those breakup terms totally suck for me. You win…”

Cynthia mumbled, sounding disgruntled.

Masera, who had always kept a straight face even through her most outrageous jokes, laughed aloud for the first time.

He realized he wouldn’t survive a single day without her jokes anymore.

🫰🏼🍓🍓🍓💜🍓🍓🍓🫰🏼
Hey All! I hope you like this translation!
My updates may be slow, but I do read/edit my chapters!
If you’re enjoying it, show me some love?
💕💗 https://ko-fi.com/stanrofanscans💗💕

✨Wanna read more of my translations?✨
💖https://linktr.ee/stanrofanscans💖