Brigadier General Steve woke up in bed. He blinked groggily, then smiled in relief.
“Haha, it was a dream. There’s no way something like that could actually happen, right?”
It was the worst nightmare imaginable. Just as he thought that and was about to close his heavy eyes again, he heard a woman’s clear voice.
“Wake up, hero.”
At the sound of the warm, sunlit voice, he thought with his eyes still closed.
‘Am I dreaming of meeting a beautiful goddess?’
Beyond his bleary vision, he saw a beautiful woman with an iridescent glow.
Mistaking her for a goddess, he grabbed her hand.
“Where am I? Is this the fateful place where our destinies begin?”
“This is the infirmary in the residence, for sick people.”
Hearing Cynthia speak like a gatekeeper of hell as she looked down at him, he screamed.
“Hck!”
At the same time, the tissue stuffed in Brigadier General Steve’s nose popped out.
Cynthia, backlit by the afternoon sun, smiled brightly.
She wasn’t a goddess. And everything he wanted to believe was a dream was all real.
“…It wasn’t a dream?”
He muttered with a hollow look.
At the same time, the calculator in his head spun rapidly, and he was overwhelmed by the thought that he had lost a huge amount of money and opportunity.
“Ah.”
He had lost to that war orphan again.
Now that he had openly revealed his true intentions, he was sure to be a stumbling block in all Medea-related businesses.
More than anything, among the investors who had pulled out their money after hearing him were his superiors and connections in the political and business world.
Feeling despair and defeat, he pressed his face into his hands.
“Oh, are you not feeling well?”
Cynthia, realizing that Brigadier General Steve had passed out because of her, grabbed his face and surveyed at him.
‘If you die, I’ll go to jail for manslaughter!’
Brigadier General Steve’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden closeness.
“No, I’m…”
“Are you okay? I just happen to be really strong… I’ll pay for the medical bills.”
Cynthia smiled awkwardly and let go of his face.
His eyes found his hand still holding onto hers.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Unlike his usual flirty self, Brigadier General Steve quickly let go of her hand as if he was being considerate.
‘Wait, shouldn’t I be the one getting an apology? Why did I apologize?’
Just as he was about to scold her and get angry, Cynthia brushed her long hair behind her ear and smiled innocently.
“I’m sorry for flinging open the door so forcefully as well, Brigadier General Steve.”
Hair like snowflakes sparkling in the sunlight, pinkish white cheeks, large ruby-like eyes and innocently drooping eyes, giving an overall pure impression.
Seeing her sunny smile, his anger vanished.
‘The goddess of fortune…’
As he blankly stared at Cynthia, the heavy sound of military boots approached and stopped beside them.
“If you’re awake, why don’t you leave.”
Masera was looking down at Brigadier General Steve with cold eyes.
“I was just about to leave.”
Brigadier General Steve rubbed his reddened ears, got up from his seat, and put on his uniform jacket.
Cynthia followed him and said.
“If you’re going to the hospital, the medical bills…”
“It’s nothing. How hard could a Princess open a door, especially with an injured arm?”
Brigadier General Steve glanced at her bandaged arm and left the infirmary haughtily.
Masera watched Brigadier General Steve’s retreating figure, feeling unpleasant.
In Masera’s eyes, who had known him for a long time, that expression was… close to the jealousy he felt when he had something he wanted taken away.
And why did it look like his ears were flushed?
Cynthia, who had sat back down on the chair, looked up at Masera and smiled brightly.
“What do you think of my suggestion to do business with the Medea royal family?”
Did that smile bring him joy? It was a smile that was fair game to anyone.
Masera nodded, thinking to himself.
“Very well. I will send word to Medea as soon as you sign.”
Cynthia stared at the window across from her with a smile. He didn’t know what she was thinking, but she looked somehow wistful and lonely.
He recalled the Queen’s words.
“If you get along well with the Princess, I will give you a gift.”
Was that what she meant?
How did she manage to persuade the Queen in one night and achieve such a great result?
“You have obtained a jewel that you must never let go of, you. A clever and kind person is rare.”
Masera recalled the Queen’s meaningful words, feeling slightly confused.
‘If they held joint ownership of Nox with the Medea royal family, there will be inheritance issues in the future. Isn’t this an act of excluding his house?’
No matter how kind and good Cynthia acted, she was still Count Queensguard’s daughter. That meant she was not someone he could fully trust.
She wouldn’t betray her family because of a man she married for political reasons.
And it wasn’t like Cynthia loved him…
“And it’s not an act. Everything I did was because I wanted Brigadier General to like me.”
It sounded like she was trying hard because she liked him, but she wasn’t the type to have a desperate unrequited love.
She was quite clear about give and take.
Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was out of necessity.
‘…I don’t know what she’s thinking at all.’
He had lived through hardships and prided himself on being able to understand the inner thoughts of most people.
But she seemed so innocent and cheerful, yet she was hiding a dark side, so he couldn’t figure her out at all.
But thanks to her, he had gained a great advantage and escaped the crisis, hadn’t he?
Masera, standing straight with his legs together, saluted her.
“I sincerely thank the Princess for her help.”
Cynthia made a sulky face at this.
“…Do you have to be so formal with me? We’re not strangers.”
“This is the best way I know how to express my gratitude. Is there anything else you desire?”
“I want to make the cat house together. I tried to do it myself, but I couldn’t.”
“Alright.”
Masera nodded, he had been secretly waiting for her to ask for help.
‘She’s finally asking me for help.’
He clenched his fist tightly. Somehow, he seemed more excited than he was about the contract with the Medea royal family.
***
I returned to my room with my shoulders raised.
‘Actually, I was going to tell him about the Queen’s investment later…’
I was originally going to do it after I had faith that Masera wouldn’t kill me and would protect me.
But when I saw him throw himself under the falling sign to shield Eugene and me, I was convinced.
He didn’t want me to die. And that he was someone who would save me if I was in danger.
Besides, he even bought me flowers and gifts to make up with me.
I smiled as I looked at the baby’s breath flowers in the vase.
Count Queensguard’s plan to kill me within a year would not change.
So rather than dragging it out, it would be better to have my value recognized in advance and be protected.
The secret to my persuading the Queen was that I had figured out in advance that her main advisor was her daughter, the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess had an amazing foresight and everything she touched turned into a gold, so she was definitely an extraordinary person, like a reincarnator or transmigrator.
That’s because she had already invested all the places I was trying to based on the knowledge I had from my past life.
“Your Majesty. If the resources buried in Nox are revealed, it will become a target for the great powers and even threaten world peace.”
According to history, a huge amount of oil would be discovered there.
And this would later become the fuse for the worst modern war.
My family and I died in the midst of that war.
If the Crown Princess really saw the future, she was likely to know this fact and agree to the proposal.
“I will make the Medea royal family the next in line for inheritance after my husband.”
I was thinking ahead to when I died.
I couldn’t hand this over to Count Queensguard, who would sell out this country.
The Republic of Rutemia was a country that many people had sacrificed their lives to protect.
Masera would have felt the same way, so I had to protect him too.
So what I came up with was to receive protection from Medea, the strongest country in the current era.
Although the marriage law meant that Nox would return to House Queensguard if I died within a year, there was a way.
‘I need to write a will.’
A will holds precedence over marriage laws.
Count Queensguard would never dream that I, who had just turned twenty, would prepare a will in advance.
I unfolded the paper and began to write something down.
In the quiet, only the sound of writing could be heard.
「By the time you see this, I will no longer be in this world…」
“Sob… Hng…”
Is will writing always this depressing?
Tears welled up in my eyes before I had even written a few lines. I had died once, but it was still so sad.
“I’m too sad to do this now. I’ll just finish it later.”
I put the half-written will deep in the drawer and locked it with a key.
“When you’re sad, you have to peel onions.”
I should peel onions and get a late-night snack. Thinking that, I ran to the kitchen.
Not knowing what kind of trouble this will would cause in the future.
