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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Worn-Out Male Lead Picked the Wrong Partner
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“...I heard the Vicente Count was an old man?”
Edford muttered in a dazed tone, as if he were dreaming.
Masera tilted his head, his face expressionless.
“He took the title in place of his debts. It’s old news, but maybe information travels slow in the countryside?”
The rumor that the Vicente Count was a debt-ridden old man was true.
But that was before he sold off the title.
The servants were utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events where that ‘unlucky white rat’ had become the ‘young lady of the count’s household’ overnight.
“Is it true? Cynthia was really the count’s own daughter?”
“That drunk who supposedly fell to his death down the stairs a few years back? They say he snuck her out because he lusted after royal blood.”
“Then why bring her here as a maid?”
“Probably couldn’t afford to raise her properly. Figured he’d feed her until she was old enough to sell off in marriage.”
“...So what happens to us now?”
The servants who had tormented Cynthia for so long began to feel afraid.
One of them puffed up and declared,
“She’ll let it slide. She’s a fool—too nice for her own good.”
“Right?”
A few servants headed to Cynthia’s room to help with her preparations.
They glanced at her cautiously, but Cynthia didn’t seem inclined toward revenge.
“Um... Cindy—no, Lady Cynthia. Please forgive our past rudeness.”
One maid with a shred of conscience bowed her head in apology.
Another maid poked her arm, her face saying why stir things up?
“What?”
Cynthia turned back with an innocent smile.
The maid who had already resolved to apologize wiped away tears.
“Everything. The times we hurt your feelings, the cruel words... I’m truly sorry.”
“Got it.”
A simple reply was followed by suffocating silence.
At some point, Cynthia had begun exuding an aura that made it hard to treat her casually.
The girl who used to cower and cry started smiling brightly no matter what was said. And if someone crossed the line with insults, she’d stare at them with that smile.
Silently, following them around all day.
That was when the bullying had started to taper off. Everyone had begun to realize she was someone not to be touched.
“This is the first and last apology I’ll accept from you all.”
After finishing her preparations, Cynthia handed a note to the one maid who had apologized to her.
“Read it alone in secret?”
After Cynthia left, the maid unfolded the note where no one could see.
“Come, Cynthia. Let’s go greet the man who’ll be your husband.”
The Queensguard Count took Cynthia’s hand, playing the part of a doting father.
“Yes.”
Cynthia smiled.
Even in her plain maid’s dress, she was beautiful, but decked out in an expensive gown, she looked every bit the noble lady.
He couldn’t read her thoughts, but she had a kind face. Lately, she’d grown more inquisitive, yet remained obedient.
She checked every box for what accomplished men would desire.
She has plenty of utility value.
She’d become his finest asset.
A satisfied smile on his face, he approached Brigadier General Masera del Vicente.
“You must be weary from the long journey, Brigadier General Vicente.”
“Yes.”
Masera gave a curt reply as he looked down at Cynthia.
Cynthia looked up at the much taller man.
His enigmatic eyes resembled a lake reflecting a pale purple sunset sky, or the auroras seen only in the frozen north.
A subtle gaze intertwined between them.
His eyes, fixed on her face, drifted to the red necklace around her neck. He paused, lost in recollection.
Meanwhile, Karos Queensguard watched from afar with an expression no different from Edford’s.
He’d heard from his father that Brigadier General Vicente was a wealthy 70-year-old man, which was why he’d brought Cynthia into the picture.
At least that way, she wouldn’t fall for the man and betray him.
But this young, handsome guy?
Father lied to me.
The Queensguard Count was a sly fox of a man. He’d even deceived his own son to get Cynthia handed over willingly.
Yet Karos remained arrogant.
But Cynthia would never betray me.
Her behavior and speech had changed a bit lately, but Cynthia was still Cynthia.
Fearful, ignorant, fragile—a creature who knew only Karos.
Cynthia’s trembling vow after accidentally killing someone was eternal.
Meanwhile, Cynthia, seeing Masera’s striking appearance, was convinced he was the male lead.
My choice was right after all.
That unparalleled presence, the halo that stood out even from afar.
He had to be the male lead.
Though she’d end up deceiving this handsome man... If she apologized sincerely later and explained her circumstances, wouldn’t he forgive her?
Cynthia beamed at him.
“Hello, I’m Cynthia Queensguard.”
“Masera del Vicente.”
His reply was brief, but his smile was kind.
He promptly offered his hand for a proper escort.
“I’d like to leave this filthy backwater as soon as possible.”
A strange man who spoke rudely in a polite tone.
Thinking to herself, Cynthia placed her hand atop his large one.
At that moment, someone approached.
“Lady Cynthia.”
It was Anita, the maid who had never joined in the servants’ bullying and quietly done her duties.
She handed Cynthia a parasol.
“They say the capital’s sunlight is much stronger than in this gloomy place.”
“Thank you.”
Did she know I’m sensitive to sunlight?
Cynthia smiled with her eyes and leaned in to whisper something softly.
Anita’s eyes widened slightly before returning to her usual blank expression.
“...Understood.”
Escorted by Masera, Cynthia boarded the luxurious carriage and waved out the window.
“I’ll write, Daddy! Take care, big brother and sister!”
She looked just like a pampered daughter who’d always been doted on by her family.
Unlike Karos and Edford, who merely blinked in response, the Queensguard Count and Helen naturally waved back.
“Send a letter the moment you arrive, my jewel.”
Helen aside, that old man’s no ordinary guy. Anyone would think he’s a doting dad.
Cynthia stuck out her tongue and turned away.
After Cynthia departed.
Not long after, the crack of repeated gunfire echoed through the mansion.
A few days later, the count’s estate was staffed entirely with new servants.
This was the Queensguard Count’s way of ‘silencing’ people.
It took a full three days to reach the capital.
The world beyond the count’s estate for the first time was fascinating.
The architecture here in the Lutemia Republic felt familiar somehow, along with the geography and environment.
Did the original author reference real places?
Masera was either the quiet type or had nothing to say—he hadn’t spoken a word the entire trip.
Even when spoken to, he kept his eyes on the newspaper, giving perfunctory replies.
“Brigadier General, what’s that?”
“A tree.”
“Wow, isn’t that building gorgeous?”
“Art Deco architecture.”
“Is the newspaper interesting?”
“Yes.”
Our conversations were a battle between heavy question marks and even heavier periods.
No enthusiasm, but he replied politely at least.
“Brigadier General, do you know what a crungie is?”
“No.”
“It’s a croissant smashed flat and made crispy.”
“Ah.”
The pointless exchange ended upon arriving at his mansion.
Phew, thought I was gonna die of awkwardness.
“You must be tired from chattering nonstop for three days. Rest up.”
His face said he was already sick of me.
“Lady Queensguard, allow me to show you to your room.”
Following their master’s lead, the mansion’s servants all had stoic, impassive faces.
Then, a boy who looked about eight years old approached and peered up at me.
“Who’re you?”
A pretty boy with black hair and sprout-like green eyes.
In a ribboned shirt with a prim expression, he was adorable like a little black kitten.
“Your son?”
At my blunt question, Masera brushed back his platinum hair and smiled.
“No. Picked him up on the battlefield and raising him.”
A lost kitten, huh. I knelt down and offered a handshake.
“Hi, I’m Cynthia. I’m about to marry the brigadier general...”
“Scram!”
Like a cat, he smacked the back of my hand and fled.
As I awkwardly glanced around, I caught the servants’ cold stares directed at me.
Something tells me no one here is happy to see me.
