The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner Chapter 15

‘I can’t believe I got caught.’

 

Maceira sighed inwardly.

 

Thankfully, he was a master of keeping a straight face, so no hint of emotion slipped through.

 

Meanwhile, Cynthia had her hands clapped over her mouth as she stared at him with her wide eyes. She recalled that every dress she’d tried on had been dripping with pearls and jewels.

 

“Wait… don’t tell me all those dresses were custom-made? Each one would’ve taken years… Then when did you even start preparing them… For me…?”

 

Just as a whole tragic-romantic backstory was about to materialize in Cynthia’s head; something like, ‘We actually met as children.’ Maceira denied it without hesitation.

 

“No. The designer from the Mary Siren Boutique owed me a favor. She made it quickly.”

 

Cynthia’s budding emotion immediately disappeared.

 

Instead, she heard someone nearby gasping in a surprised voice.

 

“No wonder! I heard someone recently swept up all the highest-grade Mediterranean pearls and the purest diamonds. So it was Brigadier General Vicente!”

 

“The sweet princess melts even the heart of a stoic soldier. I’m jealous.”

 

Before he knew it, Maceira had become some hopelessly devoted husband who couldn’t live without his wife.

 

With a throbbing headache and a deep sigh, Maceira wished, more than anything, that people would please stop saying such things.

 

“I’m sorry for pushing the honeymoon idea,” Cynthia said with an apologetic look. “I didn’t realize you had so much on your plate…”

 

She seemed to think he had spent their entire budget on dresses and was now too broke for a honeymoon.

 

Maceira gave her a resigned look.

 

“Our financial situation isn’t that dire.”

 

“I know. But even wealthy people cut back on unnecessary spending. I’ll live frugally too! We can put newspaper on the windows and use less firewood—”

 

She had clearly gotten the wrong idea.

 

Now he was either a struggling breadwinner, or a miser who pinches every coin.

 

At that time, someone nearby raised a question.

 

“But those dresses—were they bought after being canceled? Or… intercepted?”

 

“I thought custom pieces couldn’t be canceled. So someone must’ve snatched them. They do have similar builds…”

 

“No way. Are you saying the older sister stole a dress made just for her younger sister? Even though it was the groom’s special gift for his bride?”

 

No one could even imagine that the Duke Lecanosa had done it out of some inferiority complex toward Maceira.

 

They could only assume it was yet another case of an older sister stealing from her younger sister.

 

“… Your Grace, I think I need an explanation.”

 

“We’ll talk later.”

 

Helene, pale as a ghost, tried to press the matter, but the Duke brushed her off and went over to greet the congressman instead.

 

The fact that he avoided the conversation entirely was practically an admission of guilt.

 

“Seriously, what kind of sister does that?”

 

“Unbelievable. Wedding dresses are sacred! Her poor sister must’ve been devastated.”

 

Judgmental glares rained down on Helene.

 

Helene was overwhelmed with humiliation and fury.

 

‘You’re throwing me under the bus to save your own honor? What kind of disgusting man does that?’

 

Helene wanted to scream that she had no reason to covet the pathetic maid’s dress.

 

However, she also knew she couldn’t say the truth that the Duke had done it out of spite his inferiority toward Brigadier General Vicente, a war orphan turned general. 

 

Because if she chose to protect her pride now, she’d lose far more in the long run. At least she had enough sense left to realize that.

 

Helene grit her teeth with a vicious look.

 

‘Just wait. When I get the royal authority back in my hands, I’ll pay you back for this a hundredfold.’

 

Cynthia could sense Helene’s brewing rage, but she had no desire to defend her. She simply watched, maintaining the calm, detached posture Helene was always so proud of.

 

* * *

 

“General, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much thought you put into the dresses… I said such careless things. You must’ve been upset when you saw them stolen.”

 

At Cynthia’s apology, Maceira slowly shook his head.

 

“Like you said, we can always do it again. I have the privilege of receiving custom orders in just a week.”

 

“But… why did you care so much about the dresses in the first place?”

 

Maceira’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she was confronted with a question he never wanted to hear.

 

“The heart is like a box. If you fill it with treasure, it becomes a treasure chest. Fill it with garbage, and it’s just a trash bin. Maceira, I hope you fill your bride’s heart with treasures.”

 

“I was just following my late mother’s advice. A wedding only lasts a day, but for the rest of your life…”

 

It would remain either a memory you take out like a jewel, or a wound you never dare reopen.

 

‘Still… why did I go that far?’

 

Did Cynthia really need a good memory from him just because of his mother’s words? Even he didn’t know.

 

Frustrated by the sentimental turn his thoughts were taking, Maceira gave up on finishing the sentence.

 

“Oh, I get it now,” Cynthia said, nodding earnestly. Then without warning, she grabbed his hand.

 

“I’ll try to make sure you have good memories too. I don’t have much right now, so this is all I can give, but I’ll spoil you someday, I promise.”

 

She spoke like a poor suitor proposing with nothing but love, and slipped something onto his finger.

 

Maceira glanced down at his middle finger.

 

There was a ring made of gold bread bag string. With a candy, barely the size of a bean, glued on like a gemstone.

 

“…What is this?”

 

“A gemstone ring that brings wealth!”

 

“I told you I’m not poor.”

 

Maceira was dumbfounded. So that’s what she’d been fidgeting with under the table.

 

Cynthia smiled.

 

“Material things don’t last forever. What stays with you is the feeling. Something that’ll make you smile when you remember it.”

 

It was the kind of thing only someone who’d lost everything could say.

 

To be exact, it was similar to the will his mother had once told him, after losing her husband and everything else to the war.

 

Maceira stared at her blankly without realizing it, before brushing his hair back, as if snapping himself out of it.

 

“General, where did you get that ring? It’s quite unique.”

 

The businessmen who had come to chat with him asked while looking at the ring on his hand.

 

Maceira replied calmly.

 

“It brings wealth.”

 

“Oh! Is that one of those upcycled luxury pieces? There’s been a trend of eco-friendly high-end designs lately.”

 

Maceira simply nodded, playing along.

 

From there, he was roped into yet another string of boring conversations. Strangely, though, everyone seemed to avoid looking Cynthia in the eye.

 

“Is it just me, or is everyone avoiding eye contact with me?”

 

When Cynthia expressed her doubt, someone told her the truth.

 

“You didn’t know? You’re the talk of the town, Princess. After seeing that… well, it’s hard to meet your eyes! Not that we’re guilty of anything, ha ha!”

 

Somewhere along the way, people had started calling her ‘Princess’ unironically. Every time she heard it, Cynthia cringed with secondhand embarrassment.

 

Cynthia, who had been feeling awkward, opened her eyes wide as she read the newspaper article from the person

 

“Wha—?!”

 

『The Beautiful Princess Who Inherits the Legend of the Frost Queen, Cynthia Queensguard 

 

Born with the same appearance as the first Frost Queen, she proved the legend of dodging tens of thousands of arrows.

 

She easily dodged a giant chandelier falling on her head, sensed hidden traps throughout the venue, and charged through a storm of bullets to subdue her foe.

 

Most shockingly, she could read the minds of her opponents through their eyes.

 

By sensing the thoughts of an assassin disguised as a guest, she swapped out their poisoned drink with another, foiling the plot.

 

Has the blessing of the Goddess of Fortune once again descended upon the royal line of Bariesa?』

 

‘Isn’t that just an sci-fi action movie plot?’ Cynthia stared at the paper in disbelief.

 

Meanwhile, Maceira stood chatting with a group of officials, quietly looking down at the ‘ring that brings wealth’ on his finger.

 

‘She really likes putting meaning into things, huh…’

 

‘Maybe that’s how she lives without worry.’

 

Just then, the duchy’s butler approached him with a polite smile.

 

“It looks like it’s going to snow a lot in the afternoon. Perhaps it would be best for the Princesses to rest and catch up. We’ve prepared a room for you and Her Highness.”

 

Maceira glanced up at the gray sky, then turned to Cynthia for her opinion. Cynthia, who was holding a parasol, rubbed her reddened eyes and said.

 

“I’ll head in first and get some rest. It’s cold, and being outdoors all day wore me out.”

 

“I was thinking the same.”

 

They were promptly shown to their room, one that carried a certain awkward atmosphere and silence.

 

“Since you’re going to get married soon, you’ll be sharing a room, right?”

 

The two who couldn’t answer the butler’s question were eventually assigned the same room.

 

The room was large, but there was only one bed.