Chapter 33

From then on, Carlos kept spouting bullcrap.

But I was so caught up on the part where he talked about “Massera remarrying the grand duchy’s princess after divorce” that I couldn’t focus on the rest.

Normally, a female lead would be shocked and heartbroken at the male lead’s announcement that he’d moved on, but I clapped my hands in delight instead.

“That’s great!”

Carlos looked at me like he couldn’t believe that was my reaction, but for me, this was the best news possible.

Massera would use me wisely and protect me, and then even give me a divorce?

For a fake like me who could be exposed at any moment, this was the best ending.

As long as I didn’t die until then, I could get alimony, become rich, and live abroad surrounded by younger, fit men!

“Fufu, there are plenty of other men out there.”

I muttered to myself and turned away, leaving Carlos standing there in a daze.

Wait a second. But if this is a healing rom-com… could this just be a misunderstanding meant to stir up a bit of conflict?

And it’s not like a grand duke’s daughter, who has nothing to lose, would want a divorced man.

‘...In the end, am I the one who has to win over the prickly cat’s heart?’

Just trying to analyze and think through all this was giving me a headache.

In fact, my face had been stinging from being exposed to direct sunlight at the ceremony and I was low on sugar.

“I need to hurry and eat some cake.”

In the end, the conclusion I reached was that I needed to eat cake. With that, I quickened my pace.

Looking back, from Carlos’s point of view, I must have seemed like a glutton who was only thinking about cake instead of being heartbroken despite hearing the shocking truth.

***

As I left Carlos behind and headed to the reception hall, I ran into Major Rodriguez, who was dressed neatly in his uniform.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Your Highness.”

He offered his congratulations with a slightly forlorn smile.

It seemed he had learned that I was a princess of the Variessa royal family now.

“Are you going alone? Allow me to escort you to the reception hall.”

He felt more distant from before. Even his speech had shifted from casual to formal.

“Since we agreed to be friends, please speak comfortably with me like before. And I’d prefer you call me by my name instead of ‘Your Highness.’ That title feels awkward, like clothes that don’t fit.”

At my request, Major Rodriguez’s blue eyes widened slightly, then curved into the same smiling gaze he’d had when we first met.

“Yes, Lady Cynthia.”

All the way to the reception hall, I kept talking without pause.

“A wild boar kept digging up the sweet potatoes, so the village chief got fed up and went looking for a gun, but then he got tangled up with an arms smuggling organization…”

“Ahahaha, hahaha.”

He was the kind of man chatterboxes loved—someone who could follow along with topics that changed without context and react perfectly.

As we neared the entrance to the reception hall, the major suddenly stopped in his steps.

Massera could be seen talking to a woman with black wavy hair that flowed down to her waist.

“Why… is the General escorting her instead of you, Your Highness?”

I looked up at the major, who was muttering in disbelief.

“I’m being escorted by you instead of the General, aren’t I?”

“That’s true.”

“Right, well, let’s head in.”

I boldly passed by the two of them and entered the reception hall.

I didn’t even make eye contact, just in case.

This way, I could avoid the misunderstandings and conflict typical of rofan stories and made it to the desserts.

‘If I had gone through a conflict scene, I would’ve fainted…’

I was too tired to boil sweet potatoes just to serve up a refreshing moment. And sweet potatoes need milk, anyway.

“Well then, please enjoy yourself. I’ll be going now.”

Major Rodriguez gave a polite bow and left.

Just as I sat alone at a table, ready to finally take a bite of cake, people started coming up to talk to me.

Most of them were wives of officers directly under Massera, or ladies around my age.

“I heard that you’re under the protection of the Goddess of Fortune, Your Highness. Could you share a story about that? I’m curious.”

“The dress you wore today was made of diamond thread, right? It was so beautiful.”

‘Woah.’

It was unusual for people to approach me so warmly and start conversations.

Before I had even become a dishonorable member of the royal family, most people avoided me, saying I looked ominous.

Perhaps it was the influence of the ladies of the Ducal House of Lucanossa, who sat across from me with warm motherly smiles.

No matter their true intentions, I was just happy that someone was reaching out to me and being friendly for once as I had always been alone.

“Snow White, why don’t you try learning the Medeia language too? Even Helene is learning it.”

“I’d love to.”

At Madam Veraché’s suggestion, I nodded right away.

Since I already knew the Medeia language, this was my chance to be called a linguistic genius.

“Cynthia, will you be okay? Even the formal language gave you trouble before.”

Helene looked at me with a smile that mixed mockery and sweetness.

Her message clearly implying that a maid without proper education shouldn’t act out of line—but I didn’t care.

“Isn’t that exactly why I should study—because it’s hard?”

“I trust you won’t give up halfway, even if you’re a slow learner. You’re diligent, after all.”

Having just insulted me in an elegant, noble tone, she took a sip of her tea.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, she smiled and asked—

“Where did your husband run off to, leaving the bride all alone?”

“I don’t know.”

“Soldiers can be a bit thoughtless. I hope you can be understanding of him.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I was too busy replenishing my sugar levels with cake to care.

“I saw him talking with Princess Charlotte.”

Whether on purpose or out of cluelessness, a lady said something that didn’t need to be said.

The atmosphere turned tense, as if everyone knew that Massera had once received a marriage proposal from the grand duchy’s princess.

A lady who was obviously one of Helene’s followers spoke up excitedly.

“It is a marriage arranged between families, so you should be willing to tolerate at least that much.”

That was definitely intentional. And she’s not even pretending to act clueless.

“Everyone is a precious person to somebody. Enduring such things shouldn’t be considered a given. And what could the daughter of the grand duchy possibly lack that she’d get involved with a married man?”

At my question, the lady twisted her lips crookedly and replied—

“Leaving his bride alone and being with another woman—”

Naturally, I didn’t listen to the rest. I hadn’t asked because I wanted to know.

“If the grand duchy’s princess knew she was being suspected over just a brief conversation, don’t you think she’d be terribly upset?”

Seeing the flustered lady, I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. Then I clasped my hands together and gave her a gentle, kind smile.

“You must have only ever met such awful people to have developed such prejudices. My heart truly aches for you. I hope you meet someone virtuous who can heal your wounded heart and restore your lost faith.”

The lady, who had been trying to instigate discord in some way, spoke in a small voice, her face bright red.

“I heard rumors that you two weren’t on good terms, so I only said it out of concern.”

How did she know that? I was sure our acting skills had improved.

Just as I was startled by that, I felt something suddenly brush the corner of my mouth.

It was Massera, holding out a handkerchief.

Like the man he was who couldn’t stand anything messy, he wiped the cream off the corner of my mouth with the handkerchief.

“You’re not a child.”

“How long are you going to keep treating me like a ‘baby’ and fuss over me?”

I twisted his indifferent tone into something more like a tsundere’s.

“...”

Normally, he would’ve given a seriously grave look, but he simply tucked the handkerchief back into his coat, as if that had been his intention all along.

***

Thirty minutes earlier, in front of the reception hall.

While waiting to escort Cynthia, Massera bumped into Princess Charlotte.

They’d only ever exchanged a few words at banquets before.

“Congratulations on your marriage, General.”

“Thank you.”

“I heard you’ve recently started a frontier development project.”

As they spoke, like any two businesspeople would, Massera caught sight of Cynthia quickly passing him and entering the reception hall.

For someone who was always smiling, she had a grim look on her face.

‘Did she misunderstand?’

Just as it was gnawing at him, he saw Major Rodriguez following Cynthia inside. It looked clear they had come together.

‘Why is she being escorted by that man? I’m her husband.’

In the end, Massera was the one who ended up misunderstanding.