Chapter 22

Cynthia went to the shopping district and bought some necessities, then went to a cafe with Dahlia to have a winter strawberry parfait, and ate street waffles, donuts, crepes, and buttered corn.

“We’re not done yet, Dahlia. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“I could say the same, my lady. You should remember that leaving food behind is a sin.”

With both hands full of food, Dahlia was a big eater, and Cynthia felt as if she’d found a kindred spirit in eating.

‘...But I thought he didn’t care at all.’

Looking at the overwhelming number of escorts who had followed her, Cynthia recalled Massera’s indifferent expression.

‘...He really is so confusing.’

She clutched the handle of her parasol tightly and let out a sigh.

Before leaving the residence, she’d tried once again to invite Massera to come along, but he flatly refused.

When she called it a date invitation, he gave her the most serious look in the world.

“Dahlia, has the general always been so shy and blunt?”

“Yes.”

Dahlia, having already finished her corn, nodded her head.

“He must’ve never had a girlfriend then, huh?”

In romance fantasy novels, it’s practically a rule that the male lead is single, so there was no point in asking, but she was curious about his past.

After all, Cynthia only knew that Massera was a war orphan.

“He didn’t have the time for that.”

“True, he must’ve been busy because of the war.”

“That too, but he’s someone who’s always lived without much breathing room.”

Dahlia thought of Massera from the past.

Though his eyes were devoid of emotion, his presence sunk in desolation, and his personality both calm and cold, he turned out to be surprisingly warm-hearted.

After all, he never abandoned his subordinates on the battlefield, and even after the war, he took in the retired soldiers whom society had turned its back on.

Dahlia’s amber eyes settled on Cynthia, who smiled softly as she held her parasol.

‘That bright and kind princess…’

Couldn’t she be the one to shine light on the shadows that haunt the general?

***

While Cynthia and Dahlia were at the shopping district, the designer from Mary-Siren came to the residence to apologize.

“I am truly sorry. That day, a new employee came in, and midway through, they disappeared along with the dress…”

“I understand, so just make it again.”

Massera, understanding the man’s position after being robbed, nodded his head.

The designer clenched both his fists tightly.

“General, you saved me from that group of bandits. So I promise to create a masterpiece of the century.”

“Like I said back then, it’s fine if it’s simple.”

Massera pulled out a piece of paper from his coat, signed it, and handed it to him.

“This time, let’s not put a cap on the cost.”

His face bore his usual solemn expression, but somehow it felt full of resolve.

Wide-eyed, the designer swallowed his words, ‘How is that simple at all?’

Instead, he vowed to create a dress that would be incomparable to what the Duchess had worn.

After the designer left with firm resolve, Eugene approached Massera, who was drinking tea alone in the garden.

“Uncle, I don’t like that white-haired lady.”

Eugene had been diligently carrying out his plans to drive Cynthia out.

But when he gave her frogs and bugs, she would just thank him, making him feel guilty. Even when he put snowballs in her clothes, she’d follow him around all day singing weird songs like, “Do you wanna build a snowman?”

Having failed all his best plans, Eugene finally decided to speak to Massera directly.

After all, Cynthia wasn’t an ordinary opponent.

“Why?”

Massera set down his teacup and asked.

Eugene sat across from Massera with a serious expression on his face.

“Because she’s a white-haired villain. Don’t marry her. I’d rather marry her and get bullied instead.”

With a serious look on his face as well, Massera shook his head as he looked at Eugene.

“I have no choice but to marry her. I proposed first.”

“Uncle, you said you loved her first?”

Eugene, who believed that “marriage = I love you,” widened his eyes in surprise. He had thought that Cynthia, the princess of the bad country, was bullying his uncle into a forced marriage.

In truth, Eugene harbored an underlying fear that he would be abandoned after their marriage. He was afraid the evil princess who had taken over the residence would command, “Get rid of that brat.”

This fear was largely influenced by the servants, officers, and tutors who harbored resentment toward the royal family.

“Does she also bully you by kissing you, uncle?”

At Eugene’s question, Massera’s body flinched as he held his teacup.

“Are you really not coming? I was asking you out on a date too…”

Massera recalled Cynthia’s flushed face and innocent smile.

Though many women had courted him before, something felt different.

He chose to define that unfamiliar feeling he’d had since first seeing her as “discomfort.”

Seeing Massera’s expression, Eugene nodded as if convinced.

“Hmph, that evil villain. I can’t beat her with my strength now though. Once I grow up, I’ll make her cry her eyes out.”

“I already made her cry.”

At Massera’s words, Eugene, who had been munching on a cookie, looked surprised once again.

“So she’s getting her revenge on me instead?”

“I am not, you little villain.”

Cynthia’s voice suddenly cut in.

Startled to see Cynthia, Eugene quickly hid behind Massera.

Massera swirled his teacup in hand and crossed his legs.

“So, did you spend all the money you wanted?”

At his sarcastic tone, Cynthia raised her chin with a triumphant look.

“Of course.”

She proudly handed over the receipt listing her purchases.

Contrary to his expectations that she’d buy clothes, shoes, and jewelry… It was full of useless things like fish tank decorations, yarn for sweaters, and dog plushies. He even wondered what on earth she had bought the hammer and saw for.

It wasn’t as if she’d spent modestly out of caution either.

“Why did you buy fish tank decorations? You don’t even have fish.”

“To decorate the house for the frog that’s hibernating.”

At Cynthia’s answer, Eugene’s eyes sparkled with curiosity before he quickly frowned, pretending not to care.

Massera, looking like he couldn’t take it anymore, pointed to the yarn.

“Are you planning to knit a sweater with this? Just so you know, I’m not interested.”

He was imagining Cynthia bringing him a bizarrely designed sweater and trying to make him wear it.

“The cat in the garden gave birth, so I’m going to knit sweaters for the kittens to protect them from the cold.”

“That’s a relief then. Although, it is a bit suspicious that you bought a hammer and saw as well.”

“I’m going to build a house so the cat family can stay warm.”

Just as Massera had a feeling he’d end up being the one to build it, Cynthia took a gift box the servant had been carrying and handed it to him.

It was something she’d bought to hand out to the officers and bribe them with.

“These are macarons from a famous dessert shop. I had to wait in line forever to get them. I also bought ingredients to serve dinner to the officers.”

Massera looked at Cynthia silently.

She seemed to be trying in her own way, but he wondered if it would do any good.

“Eugene, you should try one too. And let’s decorate the frog’s house together later.”

Cynthia handed Eugene a macaron with a bright smile.

Without thinking, Eugene reached out his hand but suddenly flinched and stepped back.

“You mustn’t get close to people with white hair, Eugene. If you do, people will come to hate you too. The Esaht people are bad monsters who spread plagues in the past, you know.”

It was because the words of Hayden, his tutor, had come to mind.

The pictures of white-haired monsters that ate people in the books he showed were enough to instill fear in the child.

‘If people find out my mother had white hair too, they’ll all hate me, won’t they?’

Eugene’s mother had also been an Esaht.

While conscious of his surroundings and trying to avoid Cynthia, Eugene still instinctively found himself drawn toward her. Seeing Cynthia reminded him of his late mother.

Feeling overwhelmed by confusion, Eugene ran off with a pale face.

“Eugene, hi! You’ve grown so tall!”

As Eugene trudged gloomily through the garden, an officer with silver-white hair greeted him warmly.

He was an Esaht officer who had fled to the Federation before their nation was destroyed by the empire’s invasion.

The Federation, including the Luthemia Republic, had taken in many war refugees and Esaht people from various countries.

Eugene’s tutor, Hayden, was also one of those who had sought refuge here, but he held deep hatred toward the Esaht people.

“Don’t act friendly with me! You white-haired monster!”

Eugene clenched his fists and shouted.

Seeing the Esaht officer’s embarrassed expression, Eugene’s green eyes wavered anxiously.

He felt guilty about acting this way, but he didn’t want to be chased out.

“...Monster?”

And Cynthia, who had followed out of concern after seeing Eugene’s face turn pale, witnessed the scene.