Meanwhile, Brigadier General Steve, who had been planning to withdraw his funds to disrupt the project anyway, wore a sneering expression.
He and Masera had a long-standing rivalry.
‘Exploring the least promising mountain range first? Does he really believe there’s oil buried there? He’s walking into his own doom.’
“No need to feel any lingering attachment, I see.”
He said it openly and rose from his seat. Then, he lowered his voice so that only those around him could hear.
“The chances of failure are high anyway. He’s obviously trying to drag it out and squeeze money out of us.”
Those who had been hesitant also decided to withdraw their investments.
Brigadier General Steve’s investment had been quite substantial, so it could have been a significant blow, but Masera didn’t seem to care at all.
Meanwhile, Cynthia was inwardly mocking them.
‘The moment you desperately wish for a regression will come soon, you fools.’
* * *
After the banquet, I trailed after Masera, constantly hesitating.
‘What should I say? Although it’s intended to be an act of a loving engaged couple, should I say thank you? Or ask what his intentions are? Or tell him to stop calling me Princess because it’s cringeworthy? But why does he trust me?’
Then, I bumped my nose into Masera’s back as he suddenly stopped.
“Ouch.”
Masera’s twilight-like eyes looked down at me as I rubbed my nose.
“Are you going to follow me all the way to my room?”
“Yes.”
I nodded my head without realizing it, and then I realized that his expressionless face was gradually turning serious.
“No, I have something to say.”
“Say it.”
“It suddenly disappeared.”
I hadn’t quite finished organizing what I wanted to say. I would have been ready just as we arrived in front of the room.
“Aside from luck, do you have any other basis? I’ve taken a gamble based solely on your words, so I want to be sure.”
Masera, who always ended his sentences with a period, was unusually asking a question.
‘I am a modern person from the future, and this world is based on actual history and geography, so what I say is correct.’
If I said that, I would end up in a mental ward, so I decided to give him some important information.
“There’s a record in the documents inherited from my mother that mentions ‘hidden assets.’”
It wasn’t a lie.
When I was a maid, I had glimpsed a secret document of the Bariesa Dynasty while cleaning the Count’s room.
It was thanks to the fact that the staff didn’t know the traditional language, so they didn’t pay attention to security.
……The hidden assets are inherited by Princess Margarita. It is left in a place that only she can know.
The Count didn’t seem to know exactly what it was either.
But I knew that the assets were oil resources buried in the Nox region.
In fact, after spending an astronomical amount of money on exploration for over 10 years and about to give up, oil was discovered in the least promising mountain range due to an earthquake.
Are you going to miss a benefactor like me who will save you a huge amount of money that you would have spent for 10 years! You better do well!
I can’t even take credit for this, it’s so frustrating.
“I think it was left for future generations because resource extraction was difficult with the technology of the time.”
“If.”
He stepped closer to me.
“If the result of me trusting you completely is not good, what are you going to do then?”
If this development fails? Or is he assuming a situation where I join hands with the Queensguard and use him?
Or…… when the fact that I am not a real royal is revealed?
“I’ll apologize.”
I looked down at my toes with a gloomy face.
“And I’ll take as much responsibility as I can.”
That’s why I told you the location.
Even if I succeed in development quickly and you abandon me before I can properly seduce you, I have nothing to say. As long as you save me. But I’ll take some money to retire.
“How?”
His breath from above lightly ruffled my bangs.
“I’ll work hard to compensate for the damages, or I’ll pay with my body…….”
As soon as I finished speaking, I saw his military boots stepping back.
“Please refrain from saying such vulgar things in the middle of the night, especially in front of my room.”
“By peeling onions in the kitchen…… huh?”
I raised my head and looked at Masera.
He used to make expressions that he would never normally make when talking to me, and he was doing it again now.
“For a Princess to use such frivolous language.”
Again! He’s trying to make me cringe.
“I, well, the word Princess feels a little awkward.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“A sweet nickname like pudding or chocolate…….”
“Isn’t that more awkward and uncomfortable?”
Everything else is fine, but for some reason, the title of Princess was uncomfortable. Is it because it stimulates my sense of guilt?
“Then shall we call each other by our names?”
“That feels even more unpleasant.”
Thinking that any further conversation would be a waste of time, he tried to go into his room.
I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him.
“Ah, wait a minute! Masera! I have something else to say!”
“Keep it to yourself, Cynthia.”
It was the moment I confirmed that calling each other by name was also not a good idea.
I grabbed the doorknob that he was trying to close and pulled it, saying,
“Uh-oh, my finger is going to get cut off! My hand!”
At my precarious cry, the door that had been like a wall became slightly loose.
Like a rhinoceros, I rammed into the door gap and said like a mosquito,
“Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for taking my side today…….”
There was a moment of silence.
Through the crack in the door, I could see about three boxes of macarons stacked on his desk.
“Are those the macarons I bought? Did you take them from the other officers? Bad! Greedy!”
“……Please stop saying thank you and leave quickly, Princess.”
The man behind the door only took out his hand and waved it as if telling me to get lost, then slammed the door shut.
‘That man would be a hard diatomaceous earth bath mat even if he became a regretful male lead. I won’t leave until I turn him into a soft, fluffy microfiber bath mat!’
I turned around, vowing inwardly.
* * *
The next day, the kitchen of the residence was unusually quiet.
A servant who returned at the shift change put on an apron and lamented.
“See, does he even care about us? He only says thank you when he needs us…….”
At that moment, another servant urgently shushed and put a finger to her lips.
“Why?”
The bewildered servant was startled when she saw someone.
It was because she found a woman with white hair peeking out from behind the shelf.
“Did you see a ghost? Why are you so surprised?”
Cynthia, whose eyes were bloodshot, asked. For some reason, she was peeling onions.
“Oh, no…… what I just said meant…….”
“How little the Brigadier General usually takes care of you. You must have had a lot of grievances.”
“That’s not it!”
The servant cried out with an almost tearful face.
Cynthia, who came to the kitchen, excitedly told the story that everyone was impressed with yesterday’s banquet, and that Major General Isaac’s eyes seemed to be on the verge of tears when he ate the Ratatouyou that reminded him of his father.
When the chef Zad, who was tired of her endless chatter, sarcastically told her to peel onions if she was bored, she actually started peeling onions.
“It’s true. Major General Isaac said…….”
Just as her chatter was about to resume, soldiers carrying cookie boxes suddenly rushed in.
“This is a thank-you gift from Major General Isaac to the chef and kitchen staff. He said he was impressed with the food he ate yesterday and wanted to convey that he would like to visit again.”
The soldier delivered the Major General’s message, saluted, and then rushed out again.
It was proof that Cynthia did not take all the credit for the banquet preparation for herself.
Everyone in the kitchen crew was surprised and widened their eyes.
The servants, realizing that they had misunderstood Cynthia, wore embarrassed expressions, and one of them stepped forward and apologized.
“I’m really sorry for being rude all this time, Princess. I’m ashamed of myself for judging you rashly.”
Starting with someone who took courage, everyone apologized to her.
“If you’re sorry, peel onions with me. It’s too spicy and there are too many.”
At Cynthia’s words, the servants sat around her and began to peel onions, sobbing.
It was like a tearful scene of reconciliation, but the onions were terribly spicy.
‘Yes! I’ve even won over the kitchen staff. I have to tell them to eat late-night snacks every day.’
Cynthia, who had not been able to eat late-night snacks comfortably because she had been conscious of others, smiled brightly.
At that time, Dahlia, whose face was flushed as if she had been running around for a while, entered the kitchen.
“Princess, you were here. A guest has arrived…… why are you peeling onions while crying?”
“I peel onions when I’m sad. Who’s the guest?”
“It’s Major Rodriguez.”
