Chapter 11

Massera frowned as he looked down at Cynthia, who had fainted again.

“What an annoying woman.”

Rising from his seat, he tossed a blanket over Cynthia and left.

***

After the engagement ceremony, it took a full two days for me to come to my senses.

The dream of my past life was so vivid that the sounds of sirens and air raid broadcasts from that time still seemed to be ringing in my ears.

But here, the war is over. This life is comparatively easy!

I opened my eyes vigorously.

“Hic.”

With a gasp, Eugene, who had been watching me, scurried away like a cat that just knocked over a flowerpot.

I stared up at the ceiling and blinked.

“Have you finally awakened? I should’ve taken into account how delicate you are and protected you. I’ve failed as someone serving a lady. I’m sorry.”

Dahlia, who must have been caring for me the whole time, apologized while pressing a cold washcloth to my forehead.

I smiled softly.

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m not that weak. Though I probably looked like one of those fainting goats that fall over from hearing loud noises.”

“There are goats that faint?”

“Yeah. Supposedly, they’re used as bait to distract wolves so that sheep can escape.”

Through the slightly open door, I could see Eugene peeking in this direction.

He looked genuinely fascinated by what I was saying. But the moment our eyes met, he quickly vanished again.

Dahlia then spoke up.

“I’m sure the General has been informed that you’re awake, so he’ll probably be here soon.”

“No way. He’s clearly the typical workaholic who prioritizes his job over his fami—”

As soon as the door creaked open and I saw the handsome man walk in, I immediately went mute.

Dressed in his combat uniform, Massera had probably come straight from training.

He came this fast? I thought I’d take this opportunity to gossip about him. Then again, even tigers show up when you badmouth them.

Massera walked up with firm steps, looked down at me, and gave a silent nod with his usual expressionless face.

“As long as you’re awake.”

“That uniform suits you well. Were you so worried abou—”

“No.”

He cut me off firmly and turned to leave before I could even start small talk.

That man sure is cold-hearted…

“The General was probably worried. He’s just not good at expressing it…”

Dahlia rushed to smooth things over.

But it was as clear as day that he just came to show his face and act like he cared.

From what I vaguely remember, the male lead only found out the fake bride’s true identity in the original story after she had completely wrapped him around her finger.

It was also why he so desperately turned a blind eye to her lies.

How am I supposed to draw out that cold man’s burning devotion though? Just thinking about the long road ahead made me hungry.

“Dahlia, I’m hungry.”

“Of course you’d be. I’ll bring you some porridge.”

“I want a full feast.”

“But it could be hard on your empty stomach.”

“Then a feast with porridge included…”

I gave her a pitying look, but Dahlia remained cold.

In the end, I had to eat flavorless rice gruel.

***

As Massera walked back to the training grounds, he recalled what had happened that day.

“The air raid siren hasn’t been lifted yet.”

“Don’t leave me all alone, please.”

Cynthia had lived in the countryside, away from the eyes of the revolutionary forces, and that place had hardly been affected by the war.

Naturally, she probably would’ve never heard an actual air raid siren before.

‘She’s only ever read about the war in newspapers, so why does she act like she’s lived through it before?’

“Oh, General. I actually just had something I wanted to ask you. Are most of the people working here former military personnel?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just want to understand and get along with them better. After all, there must be some lingering trauma from the war and—”

“There’s no need to try so hard.”

“What?”

“How could someone like you, who’s lived in comfort and knows nothing of war, possibly understand?”

Even then, she acted nonchalant about it, but there was a hint of bitterness in her voice. As if she were hiding a deep wound.

‘Which version of her is the real one?’

In frustration, Massera ruffled his platinum-blond hair.

Just then, a small hand tugged at his sleeve.

“Uncle.”

It was Eugene.

Eugene looked up at him with somewhat uneasy eyes.

“What is it?”

“If you make a mistake with a noble, do you get hit?”

“No. Who told you that?”

“A maid named Rose said so.”

Rose was a maid who had come with Cynthia from the Queensguard estate.

Considering what happened at the engagement ceremony, it was clear that the cunning Count Queensguard had an agenda—but for now, he was observing.

“Did you do something wrong to someone?”

Fiddling with his little fingers, Eugene hesitated for a moment before finally confessing his mistake.

“I gave Cynthia noona a frog that was hibernating to scare her. But she didn’t get scared at all. She just said thank you and said she’d take good care of it. That the frog is sleeping because it’s cold now and we can meet it again in spring.”

Massera recalled the glass fish tank that sat on the window sill of her room.

It was decorated with pinecones and fallen leaves, and even had a strange label that read “Froggie’s Bedroom.”

‘So that’s what it was. A frog house.’

“From what you said, I don’t see any reason you’d be punished. Did someone hit you?”

Massera’s gaze turned cold. It was because Eugene had a frightened expression on his face since earlier.

“Actually, when it was time to light the lamps after dinner yesterday…”

Eugene struggled to speak, as if what he had witnessed was too traumatic to talk about.

“The maid who came with Cynthia noona hit Marie and Jeannie. She said they didn’t clean the bathtub properly. That Cynthia noona told her to punish them.”

Marie and Jeannie were still just young trainee servants.

As he listened to Eugene, Massera’s eyes gradually narrowed.

***

Thanks to Dahlia’s harsh meal restrictions, I felt extreme hunger. I couldn’t even sleep from how hungry I was.

“I’ve seen many war orphans get sick from suddenly eating greasy food on an empty stomach. I’ve experienced it myself, too.”

Dahlia said this with a sorrowful look as she handed me a bowl of rice gruel.

That kept me from being more persistent, but I felt like I was way past the “empty stomach” phase by now.

In the end, I decided to sneak out of my room just to grab a little food from the kitchen.

“Hm? The kitchen servants should’ve gone home by now.”

I blinked in surprise when I saw light coming from the kitchen.

As I cautiously approached, I could hear someone angrily scold another person from inside.

Yikes, the head cook here must be a total grump. They’re still chewing people out at this hour?

“Are you trying to upset Lady Cynthia?!”

“But then, it would mess with the rations…”

Smack!

That was unmistakably the sound of a slap. It wasn’t just simple nagging after all.

“Who’s upset about what, now?”

I asked as I stepped into the kitchen at once.

There stood Rose with a whip in her hands and some young trainee servants with tearful faces.

“M-My lady, w-we’re so sorry!”

The girls, who looked no older than their early teens, began begging for forgiveness the moment they saw me.

“Rose, what on earth do you think you’re doing?”

Even when I was working as a maid, violence under the guise of discipline was disturbingly common.

But such punishments were usually overseen by the master, so no servant was allowed to discipline another servant without their master’s permission.

“I never told you to hit anyone.”

“Of course you didn’t, my lady.”

At my words, Rose bowed her head, pretending to be obedient.

“You’re a generous and tolerant lady, and not the official lady of the house yet—so you don’t have that authority. It’d be a problem if the General were to hate you after all.”

Her tone made it sound like I had given the order but told her to make it seem like it was all her idea.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

She planned to make me the villain of this estate.

That way, no one would bother to investigate if I’m killed later.

Even without this, I was already busy trying to figure out how to get rid of the spies who had leverage over me.

Lowering her whip, Rose spoke.

“Shall we end their punishment here, my lady?”

“Why do you keep talking like I ordered you to do this?”

“Oh, of course you didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Just as Rose flashed me a sly smirk, I felt a sudden chill down my back.

When I turned around, I saw Massera standing there with a cold expression.