* * *
What the hell is she doing?
Makia’s right-hand man and field commander, Stan, observed Cynthia and questioned her existence countless times.
“Oh, you’re a giraffe lover! Don’t you usually wear a giraffe headband?”
Once, she went up to Stan, and brought up when she had previously met him at the zoo. With her incredible eloquence, she had even gotten him to reveal a deeply personal story about how he came to love giraffes.
“It’s because it reminds you of seeing giraffes with your mother? You have such a beautiful heart.”
Once she caught you, you would completely lose track of time, so he usually tried avoiding her if possible.
Yet her radiant smile and constant praise kept drawing him into a conversational black hole.
It was because she offered a strange sense of stability and fulfilled his need for validation.
Since she couldn’t escape anyway, they allowed her to move freely within the building. But with her devilish charm, she managed to win over everyone she encountered.
Of course, some resented Cynthia’s cheerful demeanor.
“Hmph, I’ll go teach that naive woman a lesson about reality. Let’s see how long she can keep smiling.”
One Organization member went to her room, with the intention of making her cry, only to end up leaving with tears in their own eyes, clutching a tissue folded into a rose.
“She brought peace and comfort to my heart…”
It was almost absurd to see her holding ‘healing camps’ at night, lighting bonfires, and sitting around them with Organization members, chatting warmly.
“I joined the Organization to pay for my sister’s hospital bills and ended up doing all sorts of dirty work…”
“To throw yourself into this harsh world for your beloved family… It’s okay to cry as much as you need when things get tough. You have so many colleagues by your side.”
“Waaah…!”
With unconditional comfort and empathy, she even managed to make the cold-blooded Organization members weep.
Stan asked Makia if he was okay with this, but he merely shrugged.
Truth be told, Makia had been avoiding Cynthia because he was so tired of her chatter.
“She’ll be bound to me forever. What’s there to worry about?”
“Does she still believe she’s a fake?”
“Who knows. I never know what that woman is thinking. But why would she refuse my offer to make her queen? She’s an opportunist who chose a sham marriage just to survive.”
Could Makia have been brainwashed by her optimism too?
Seeing Stan’s worried expression, Makia smiled faintly.
“She’s not my type.”
“Of course.”
It was clear from the fact that he had risked exposing his identity to personally contact the Duchess and sneak into her room every night.
‘That man isn’t interested in anyone else.’
Of course, he had used seduction tactics when necessary, but there was definitely something different about his relationship with her.
Could feelings overcome a long-held revenge?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
“She can’t go back to that man anyway. She must be prepared for that.”
Makia stated as if he were convincing himself, and slowly turned away.
* * *
“Your will has been safely delivered, and evidence of your death has been leaked.”
Makia added as he handed Cynthia a plate of desserts.
“I see.”
Cynthia picked up her fork with a detached expression.
Makia watched her devour the desserts with the look of someone without a care in the world.
“How are you finding life here?”
“It’s good. I’m easily satisfied as long as I have a roof over my head and regular meals. I’ve made plenty of friends too. The people here are honest and straightforward, unlike the nobles who are so bound by etiquette.”
Makia tilted her chin and smiled.
“Are you sure you’re content living like this? The Brigadier General seemed quite fond of you. He’s the kind of man who would believe you even if you told him the moon was made of cheese. Even now, he’s the only one who refuses to accept your death.”
“Oh.”
She seemed too preoccupied with her dessert to give a proper response.
“Did you like that man?”
At Makia’s blunt question, Cynthia swallowed the dessert in her mouth and nodded.
“Yes. He’s handsome, just look at that face of his. He’s stoic but kind. He wears that fancy officer’s uniform with all the medals and decorations every single day. And sometimes, he says the most hilarious things completely deadpan. He’s exactly my type.”
‘He wears a full dress uniform every single day? What a lunatic.’
Makia, a soldier herself, wore a look of utter disbelief.
Dress uniforms were typically reserved for formal occasions. For a woman, it would be like going around the corner to work every day wearing a charity gala gown.
Well, even when he was at the facility, he always kept himself neat and tidy.
Makia raised his glass of whiskey, gaze falling on the necklace around her neck.
“Do you know the story behind the necklace you’re wearing?”
“I only know it’s a royal heirloom. Nothing more.”
His golden eyes, which had been narrowed, slowly widened.
A complex emotion, impossible to discern as joy or sorrow, began to seep into his closed lips and gaze.
“Princess Margarita gave the necklace to a refugee woman as ‘payment‘ for hiding her. In truth, the princess was being pursued by those who wanted the necklace and entrusted it to the woman to avoid having it stolen. As a result, the refugee woman was killed because of that very necklace.”
His thick, heavy voice carried a somber weight.
“That refugee woman was Masera Guise’s mother. In a way, Princess Margarita is responsible for his mother’s death.”
The moment he finished speaking, her once busy fork screeched against the plate before halting.
Cynthia’s eyes shimmered, their irises darkening to a deep crimson.
Makia smiled faintly, pleased that he had planted guilt in her heart.
‘She’ll be even more tormented when she realizes she’s the real princess.’
Human nature was predictable, after all. When burdened by guilt toward someone they loved, people often chose to leave, clinging to unacknowledged devotion and sacrifice.
“So that’s why he hated the royal family…”
She murmured sadly, then picked up a piece of bread and took a large bite, her cheeks puffing as she mumbled through the mouthful.
“Even so, he bought me delicious food, gave me gifts, and saved me every time I was in danger… It’s truly touching. Thank you for sharing just how truly generous and accepting a man the Brigadier General is!”
What is she even saying?
Cracks began to appear in Makia’s composed smile.
A normal woman would have burst into tears or pretended to be calm but worried.
“Mmm, this bread is really good. Was it baked here?”
Is it normal to be talking about bread in this situation?
She seemed to possess a completely different perspective from anyone else.
He figured she was unusual, but he could never quite grasp what she was thinking. She then asked:
“By the way, what was the last thing Helene said to you? She was so deeply in love with you that she believed every foolish thing you said, just like Brigadier General.”
Her tone implied she was certain Helene and Makia had met.
Caught off guard by this unexpected counterattack, Makia stared at her blankly for a moment before slowly regaining his composure and smiling.
“Just a farewell.”
He changed the subject with his signature bright smile.
“Tell me if you need anything. I can afford to feed you well and buy you gifts. And I’m not bad-looking, am I?”
“Well, apparently my sister liked handsome men. But didn’t you say the People’s Liberation Front was behind the terrorist attacks? Were you trying to rescue Helene?”
This woman spouts too much nonsense.
Makia stood up and straightened his clothes.
In the brief silence, he offered a meaningless smile and left the room before she could speak again.
He was the one who had thrown in the towel and retreated first.
* * *
Late into the night.
The two Organization members on the night shift were lingering outside Cynthia’s room.
“Are you sure she ate the chocolate?”
“She took it, ate it, and said it was delicious. She’s probably sleeping like a log by now.”
They had recently learned that a low-ranking member had come into a large sum of money. After enduring their relentless threats, the member finally confessed the source of the funds.
Cynthia possessed a wealth of valuable assets.
Since she was being personally looked after by their leader, they couldn’t openly steal from her, so they opted to drug her with some chocolate laced with sleeping pills, and steal it in secret.
Creak-
The two quietly opened the door and confirmed that Cynthia was sound asleep, they then bound her hands and blindfolded her in case she woke up.
“Where the hell did she hide it?”
“Shh, keep your voice down. What if someone hears us?”
One of the Organization members, frantically searching the room, suddenly felt a chill and turned around, stifling a scream.
Cynthia was sitting up in bed, staring at them. The blindfold was nowhere to be seen.
“W-What? How did you wake up already?”
She grinned at them and asked:
“If you eat chocolate and pills together, which one do you think melts first?”
With that, she spat out the pill hidden inside the chocolate and added:
“The answer is, ask Stan, the giraffe lover.”
The panicked member began to threaten her in a menacing tone.
“Your hands are tied, you can’t do anything. So tell us where you hid the jewels if you don’t want to die.”
“But you can’t kill me, can you?”
As she fidgeted with her bound hands, she suddenly lifted them up with a triumphant ‘Ta-da!’
“I noticed you bound me quite loosely, were you afraid of leaving any marks?”
The two men stared blankly as the ropes easily came undone. Their faces turned deathly pale as they noticed something else.
“I wanted to repay your little chocolate-sleeping-pill-surprise, so I had a surprise even prepared for you.”
Behind Cynthia, who wore a radiant smile, Organization members emerged from their hiding places, aiming their weapons.
It was Chief John Wick and his men.
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What a nightmare she is for them