TTMLPTWW ~ Chapter 53

* * *

Masera, sitting with Cynthia in the glass greenhouse, hesitated as he fiddled with the small gift box in his coat pocket.

It was an opal hairpin he had bought at the store, but he had missed the timing to give it to her.

‘Next time I need to apologize, I’ll give it then…’

Wait. Does that mean I’m planning to make another mistake? Thinking about it again, he felt a bit pathetic.

In the end, he took out the gift box and placed it on the table.

Cynthia’s red eyes, which had been eating cherries, blinked quickly.

“What’s this?”

“I bought it as a reconciliation gift.”

“Just how badly did you want to apologize?”

Cynthia’s cheeks flushed with delight. She quickly opened the box and examined the opal hairpin from all angles, smiling happily.

“Wow, it’s really pretty. You chose one that goes well with my hair color? I’ll wear it every single day. Thank you!”

Cynthia put the pin in her hair and showed it to him.

“Is it pretty? Does it suit me? Please give me a sincere, positive response full of praise and appreciation.”

Masera, who had been staring at her with a blank face, slowly opened his mouth.

“…It’s pretty.”

Masera was overwhelmed by an unbelievable feeling as he watched Cynthia, who was as delighted as a child.

“The beginning is hard, but when you see the happy smile of the person you love, you’ll feel like you’re ruling the whole world. There’s not just the joy of receiving, but also the joy of giving.”

It was just as the chatty flower shop owner had said.

If you treat someone carelessly, you suffer from guilt, and if you show kindness, you feel happy together. This was something that naturally occurred in relationships between people.

‘But she’s not someone I love.’

Such a thing will never happen.

Masera repeated this to himself again, avoiding Cynthia’s beaming gaze.

“Eugene! Come quickly and eat some cherry cake!”

At Cynthia’s call, Eugene, who had been playing ball in the garden, came running and sat down next to her. Somehow, he seemed more polite.

“Say ah-”

“Ah.”

If it had been before, he would have refused grumpily, but now he even obediently ate the cake she fed him directly.

“Isn’t it delicious? The Brigadier General bought it.”

“Yeah. It’s delicious.”

Eugene, with his cheeks flushed red, now seemed like a tail-wagging puppy rather than a wary cat.

Just as Masera was sighing at the sight of Cynthia, who had even won over Eugene, it happened.

“You look like a family. It’s nice to see.”

The maid who brought Eugene’s fork and milk smiled warmly.

‘Family…’

Is Cynthia able to give affection because she’s experienced family love?

Masera was overcome with a strange feeling as he watched Cynthia and Eugene smiling at each other.

* * *

The next day was the day to attend a tea party at the Duchy at the invitation of the Dowager Duchess.

“From now on, you’ll be interacting with many people as the Brigadier General’s wife. Think of it as playing the role of a staff member at headquarters.”

So, I’m like the Minister of Foreign Affairs, right?

Building connections, making a good impression on superiors, and knowing how to play the game – social life is the same everywhere.

Diego handed me a notebook like a biographical dictionary as I sighed.

“These are the people attending today.”

“Thank you as always.”

“I’m just doing my job.”

I wore a calm dress and put on the hairpin Masera gave me in my updo.

I requested strong makeup, but my personal stylist maid strongly objected, saying it would look ghostly.

‘I guess I’ll have to see Helene regularly from now on. I’m not thrilled about it.’

Still, there’s no need to be hostile based on personal feelings. I’ll have to pretend to be friendly sisters anyway.

I headed to the Duke’s mansion, imagining the things that might happen during the tea party.

The Duke’s tea party was held in the central garden with a magnificent fountain. Aren’t they really cold? Do people here have immunity to cold?

I walked into the tea party venue, shivering.

“My sister, welcome.”

Helene greeted me with a bright smile. Somehow, she seemed genuinely welcoming today.

“Snow White has arrived. I heard you were injured, are you alright?”

The Dowager Duchess, Madam Hills, and Madam Verace looked worried as they saw the bandage on my hand.

“I’m fine. And thanks to the Dowager Duchess and my aunts, I had a really enjoyable and happy honeymoon.”

“Is that so? Tell us all about it. We’ve been looking forward to hearing about it.”

I sat at a table with them and shared stories from my honeymoon.

Roughly, seeing a river that had turned into muddy water, the Ferris wheel breaking down, meeting people on the pilgrimage route and agreeing to become pen pals, becoming friends with the priests at the cathedral and arranging for free exorcisms if we ever get possessed by demons, and so on.

The ladies listening to the stories burst into laughter.

“It sounds fun just hearing about it. Life won’t be boring.”

As we were chatting about various things, Helene stood up and drew everyone’s attention.

“The development project for the Nox region owned by my sister has begun. As it’s a legacy of the Bariesa Royal Family, there’s a possibility that large amounts of resources are buried there, so exploration has started under the leadership of Brigadier General Vicente.”

She continued with a grin.

“At the next formal dinner, we plan to hold an investment briefing for my sister. If anyone is interested in investing, please let my sister and me know.”

Why is she suddenly acting like she’s helping? I looked at her with suspicious eyes.

Just then, a man who looked like an aide approached Helene and whispered something in her ear.

Helene, who had been listening intently, looked at me with a mixture of regret.

“Cindy. Did you know there’s been some bad press about your business?”

“No, I didn’t.”

The murmuring around us grew louder, as if the news had already spread.

Helene let out a deep sigh and patted my shoulder.

“A famous explorer who visited the place exposed that Nox is a barren wasteland with nothing, and that claiming the land has value is a far-fetched lie. Apparently, critical articles keep coming out.”

Soon, I could hear the conversation between the ladies at the next table.

“There was a series of bankruptcies recently due to investments in diamond mines, right? It turned out there was nothing there.”

“I heard a wealthy officer went bankrupt because of that and died penniless.”

“Brigadier General Steve was smart to quickly recover his investment. They say the real deal is in Diem, which the Duchess inherited.”

So they’re trying to expose Nox as fake while claiming their own land is the real deal.

I don’t know what’s in Diem, but is this really necessary?

Following the previous incident, with news like this coming out, it was enough to instill fear in people. They would probably try to cut their losses quickly, even if it meant taking a hit.

“The biggest problem is that the money that went into the business so far is coming back as a huge debt, right? Even wealthy people are collapsing in an unprecedented way.”

People whispered, predicting that even Masera del Vicente would go completely bankrupt.

“This is why they say marrying the wrong person can change your fate. If he had married the daughter of another wealthy family, this wouldn’t have happened, right? Even if there were issues, they would have the funds to cover it up.”

Someone said this openly and cackled.

“The war hero was fooled by the white rat princess. Won’t he end up getting divorced at this rate?”

They seemed to be crossing the line, thinking he had become a pauper overnight.

They eventually shut their mouths after receiving fierce glares from the Dowager Duchess and the princesses.

Helene covered her mouth with a bewildered expression and then held my hand.

“Cindy, as your sister I’ll help you. If we get help from my husband, you should be able to avoid bankruptcy…”

So this was how they planned to put me in their debt and under their control.

I shook my head.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just accept your beautiful intentions.”

Thinking I had completely given up and was planning to liquidate the business, those who had been openly mocking me smiled broadly.

What demons, finding joy in others’ misfortunes. Should I call for an exorcist?

“Princess, we’ll help you, so don’t worry too much. We’re family, aren’t we?”