Chapter 46

I immediately went into tattletale mode and rushed to find Massera, but he wasn’t there.

Apparently, he had a mountain of work piled up due to the trip.

‘It’s hard to catch even a glimpse of him the day after our honeymoon.’

After waiting for a long time in the empty bedroom, bare except for the bed, I heard he’d returned to the residence and rushed out to greet him.

“General, I have something to discuss with you in private.”

“Let’s do it tomorrow. I have a lot of work to get to.”

He turned on his heel and practically fled to his office.

Since he said he was busy, I had no choice but to wait patiently in the room.

“…Why isn’t he coming? I’m dying of sleepiness.”

Even as dawn approached, he still didn’t come to the bedroom. Later, I heard through Dahlia that—

“The General said he’ll only sleep with you on consummation nights.”

“Wow.”

Is this the “separate bedrooms” cliché of arranged marriages?

He clearly has no intention of doing anything intimate with me, so isn’t this basically his way of saying we’ll be in separate rooms forever?

It seemed like Massera was officially starting to keep his distance from me.

“Fine. That’s one thing.”

I jumped up and threw on a sweater.

“But this is about Eugene—someone everyone at the residence cares about.”

How can he pretend not to notice when there’s so much sadness in my voice?

Determined, I headed straight to Massera’s office.

“General?”

His office was empty, but his uniform coat was hung up and the fireplace was still burning, which meant he had to be somewhere in the room.

‘Is he sleeping?’

Deciding it was something I had to say even if I had to wake him up, I marched confidently toward the adjoining room.

Click.

The sound came from the bathroom door opening straight ahead.

Through the foggy steam billowing out like mist, I locked eyes with Massera as he emerged, shaking out his platinum blonde hair.

He had been bundled up the entire honeymoon, but now he was exposed. At least he still had his pants on.

“Gasp.”

I covered my eyes with my hand and stepped back.

But I had already seen everything through the gaps in my fingers.

Well-defined combat-trained muscles, broad shoulders, a chest as wide as the sea, a lean waist, and forearms veined and toned as he held the towel.

Analysis complete: Massera had the face of a noble prince, but the body of a beast.

“…”

But it wasn’t just a body to be admired. His body was covered in scars left behind by war.

‘Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, burns…’

The evidence of his fight for survival was carved clearly across his skin.

Thanks to my past life, I could identify the cause of most wounds at a glance.

I, too, had once been covered in scars just like his.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, I covered my eyes with both hands and said—

“General, I’m sorry for coming in so suddenly. But it’s urgent.”

“What was so urgent…”

At that moment, the scent of fresh soap and the lingering heat from his bath seemed to rush up close.

“…that you came here looking like that, without an ounce of fear?”

At his dry tone, I glanced down to check what I was wearing.

I was dressed quite modestly, wearing a nightgown with a sweater thrown over it.

“Isn’t this practically full armor?”

Standing there like that—isn’t he the one without an ounce of fear?

I seriously don’t understand the PG-rated male lead standards where pajamas that look like casualwear are considered scandalous…

At that moment, the corner of his mouth raised crookedly and he stepped closer.

“Just because I mentioned consummation, did you decide on the date and come here on your own?”

“No.”

“I never intended to do that in the first place, and even if I did, nothing would change between us.”

“I said that’s not what I’m here for.”

Ugh, you’re the one who needs to put some clothes on!

The more I backed away, the closer he came, which made things extremely difficult. At this rate, you’d think he was the one desperate for consummation.

Before I knew it, I was backed up against the wall, staring into his cold eyes.

Oh, he’s trying to scare me off.

“You’re standing there practically naked and trying to intimidate me?! Fine! If you’re going to take it that far, I guess I’ll just join in!”

I whipped off my sweater.

Time to show him just how terrifying someone in their second life can be.

As I wrapped my arms tightly around him, he flinched and retreated slightly, then grabbed my shoulders.

“What do you think you’re—”

“I’m doing exactly what you wanted, Mister 'Answer-Is-Already-Decided.'”

“Mister what?”

As if his pride and competitiveness as a soldier kicked in, the hands that were on my shoulders slid to my waist.

He pulled me into a tight embrace and said—

“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.”

If I back down now, I lose.

I had just as much competitive spirit, so even with my cheek pressed against his firm chest, I tried to keep my composure.

“All right! Next step for consummation!”

At my bold declaration, he flinched again.

Then, hearing movement, Massera whipped his head around.

I followed his gaze and ended up locking eyes with Diego, who stood frozen in place, mouth agape.

Thud.

It was the sound of the report Diego had been holding slipping from his hand.

Diego was staring at the two of us, tangled in a tight embrace. To anyone, it would’ve looked like a heated scene.

“…Oh my gosh.”

It was an exclamation from Diego, who usually held a composed and intelligent image.

“I’m sorry for inter—”

So shocked he couldn’t even finish his sentence, he turned and bolted.

Silence and awkwardness soon enveloped us, and I could see the goosebumps rising on Massera’s skin.

He must be feeling embarrassed.

“Hey, let’s call a truce for a second.”

I was just as embarrassed, so I raised the white flag first.

He let go of me, as if pushing me away, and quickly threw on a robe.

Then he turned back to me with a fierce glare like a growling beast.

“I think it would be best for you to go back now. Your plan to throw yourself at me has failed.”

“Forget the physical combat or whatever and just take a quick look at this.”

I held up the book I had placed on the side table.

His dawn-colored eyes, narrowed and wary, gradually widened.

“Did you actually manage to get your hands on that book?”

“I didn’t get it myself. The tutor gave it to Eugene. I think he’s teaching him strange ideas, so we should probably fire them.”

I quickly stated my business before any further misunderstandings could happen.

“Are you telling me to chase out the person Eugene depends on the most?”

“Yes. It doesn’t look like he’s dependent on him because he likes him. It feels like he has no choice but to follow him, like he’s being oppressed.”

Since Massera was finally listening, I continued—

“I think he’s trying to instill hatred toward the Esahts.”

I also told him about what happened with Major Rodriguez.

Massera, who had been silently listening, gave a small nod.

“Understood.”

“But how did that tutor end up in the residence in the first place?”

“Eugene is a child who rarely opens up and is extremely wary. We went through twenty tutor interviews, and Hayden was the first one Eugene didn’t reject.”

As he poured wine into a glass, his gaze drifted like he was reminiscing.

“Is their background information solid?”

“He’s a scholar who defected from a colony occupied by the empire. His credentials as a university professor and his published papers have been verified.”

Just because someone was from an imperialized colony didn’t mean they all hated the Empire though.

In fact, there were bound to be traitors who had assimilated into the empire's ideology.

“I stand by my belief that anyone who teaches hatred is not qualified to be a teacher. In the end, adults who discriminate against and hate others will be the ones hated by everyone.”

And a child raised with such teachings would grow into an adult who repeats the same cycles of conflict and war.

***

After Cynthia left, Massera stared blankly at the book she had left behind.

He was thinking back to the air raids on the duchy that had happened in the past.

The duchy had been bombed for taking in Esaht refugees.

Within an hour, countless people were killed or wounded, and the city was reduced to ruins.

Massera had been assigned the mission of finding the daughter of an allied naval admiral who went missing during a bombing at the time.

Her husband, a lieutenant colonel, had maintained composure and commanded the scene, but he seemed strangely absent-minded.

It was said that the admiral’s daughter had clung to him, leading to a loveless marriage. There were also vague rumors that the lieutenant colonel despised his wife.

“We’ve found Lady Groenendaal. She’s alive, but…”

She had been found in a horrendous state three days after she went missing, and eventually passed away in a military hospital.

After reporting the results to the military, Massera exited the hospital ward and saw the black-haired lieutenant colonel standing, facing a brick wall.

With his head bowed low, tears were falling at his feet.

“Blinded by rage, I couldn’t see your true feelings… Please don’t forgive me.”

His murmured confession was filled with belated regret and loss.

Do you realize such things only after everything is over?

As Massera walked on, lost in thought, he came upon a black-haired child standing with his back to the sunset.

The boy was looking at the lieutenant colonel from a distance with a sorrowful expression.

“Are you Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal’s son?”

At Massera’s question, the boy—his arm bandaged and his face covered in scattered plasters—shook his head.

“I thought he was my dad…”

Mumbling, the boy rubbed his eyes with his wrapped arm and then quickly ran away.

That was Massera and Eugene’s first meeting.