The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner Chapter 34

Maceira didn’t leave my side for the entire wedding reception.

 

Probably because he felt we had to look affectionate.

 

I, on the other hand, just wanted to chat comfortably with the ladies, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

 

What’s more, it was customary for guests to ask the bride for a dance at the reception, and oddly enough, I had a long line of eager volunteers.

 

“If you dance with a person blessed by the goddess of fortune herself, your investments will go through the roof!”

 

It wasn’t so much rational popularity as it was… being treated like a lucky piglet.

 

And Maceira? He broke his own rule of ‘being cool just for the reception’ and flat-out refused to allow it.

 

“That greedy guy. Trying to monopolize all the luck for himself….”

 

He didn’t care whether the people who requested to dance looked at him with resentment or not.

 

That’s how he stuck to me like a piece of gum until the banquet was over.

 

‘A soldier who faithfully carries out his mission once he locks in his target. How admirable.’

 

With a side of rigid rule-following, of course.

 

As someone who was hoping to make friends today, I could only gaze at him with a look of betrayal.

 

* * *

 

Our honeymoon destination was the capital of Medeia.

 

Thanks to Madame Lecanosa pulling some strings, we were invited as royal guests to the palace.

 

Before we left, I took Eugene’s hand, the same Eugene who had looked like he was about to cry through the entire ceremony, and gave him a warm smile.

 

“Are you sad your favorite uncle got married?”

 

“That’s not true.”

 

Unlike before when he hated even touching, Eugene didn’t shake off my hand.

 

“I’ll bring you a present. And when I get back, we’ll spend lots of time together.”

 

“No.”

 

“You’re just like the Brigadier General. Always saying no to everything.”

 

Eugene, who had been staring at me like a grumpy cat, hesitated before gently pulling his hand away.

 

“…I didn’t say I didn’t want the present.”

 

“What do you want?”

 

“A train.”

 

Maceira, who had been standing next to me and listening to our conversation, tilted his head.

 

“That will cost millions.”

 

With that stone-cold expression, it was impossible to tell if he thought Eugene meant a real train or if he was joking.

 

Anyway, after a long train ride, we boarded a cruise ship.

 

Since it was my first time traveling abroad, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. But Maceira, who had traveled to various countries in the past due to war, looked a bit bored.

 

While he sat in the cabin reading the newspaper, I said to him, “If we’re lucky, we might see a giant whale!”

 

“They have probably fled after years of naval warfare.”

 

“You never know. Oh, and there’s a party on deck with oysters and wine! You’re not coming? Fresh oysters are amazing.”

 

He stared at me with an annoyed expression as I tried to drag him to the deck.

 

“You can just go by yourself.”

 

“No. That’s too lonely.”

 

I was not the type to give up, and he knew full well that if he refused now, I would keep bothering him.

 

With a face that said he had already lost, he got up.

 

“If there are no whales, I’m going right back. After that, please leave me in peace for the rest of the trip.”

 

“Deal. But if there is a whale, you have to do everything I say for the rest of our honeymoon.”

 

Dragging him along, I pulled him up to the deck.

 

The first-class section was filled with elegant passengers sipping wine and slurping oysters while watching the sea.

 

The ocean was quiet, eerily so. Still and empty.

 

“That is the tragedy of war. The ecosystem has been destroyed. All those marine creatures wiped out by torpedoes and shellfire…”

 

One lady murmured somberly.

 

I covered my mouth in sympathy, putting on my best mournful expression.

 

“It makes me feel sorry. Humans are the worst…”

 

“In the future, when humanity invents even more advanced weapons, the wars will be an even greater tragedy and far crueler.”

 

Her words brought back memories of my past life.

 

A gray, lifeless world.

 

A land where even the squirrels, deer, foxes, trees, grass, and moss had died, poisoned by the wars of men.

 

“Eonni, did the cute dolphins die too?”

 

A black-haired girl tugged at my clothes and asked.

 

“They left. Whales and dolphins communicate with each other, remember?”

 

Surprisingly, Maceira, who had shown no interest in the topic, gave a relatively humane response.

 

“When will they come back?”

 

“When you’re all grown up.”

 

“Aw… What is the signal whales use? I wanna call them back.”

 

“Ultrasound emissions. You can’t do that.”

 

The girl looked heartbroken at Maceira’s blunt reply.

 

So I crouched down and patted her back.

 

“If you shout into the ocean for them to come back, a dolphin might hear you and let the others know it’s safe again.”

 

The girl’s eyes went wide.

 

“Really?”

 

“No, there’s no such–”

 

I pinched the back of Maceira’s hand before he could destroy her innocence. Then I quickly picked her up.

 

“Should we shout ‘Whales, come back!’?”

 

“Whaleeeees, come back! Scarlett is waiting for you!”

 

Her name must have been Scarlett. She shouted with all her might, her tiny fists clenched tight.

 

“They must have already abandoned their home.” Said some stiff-looking man who seemed to have the same dry emotions as Maceira, he smiled and smoked a cigar.

 

“Just like the Esatians who can’t return to their homeland after it was destroyed.”

 

You were a discriminator. 

 

He glanced at my silver hair and let out a sigh.

 

But before I could respond, Maceira spoke first.

 

“Why don’t you go home and enjoy some sausages then? Oh, wait. You’re from a war criminal state. Guess you’re also one of those who had to abandon their homeland.”

 

For some reason Maceira took my side.

 

No, more like he saw an opportunity to publicly shame the man once he realized he was from a war criminal country.

 

The cigar guy flinched as other passengers turned their attention to him.

 

“What makes you so sure I’m from there?”

 

“Your clothes. Top to toe, you’re covered in your country’s exports. Don’t act like you’re hiding it.”

 

“Tch. Justice belongs to the victor, huh? As if any country hasn’t started a war at some point.”

 

Maceira glared at the grumbling gentleman.

 

“Then you should have won.”

 

The passengers around us glared at the man with hostile eyes.

 

“You’re like a member of a merciless slaughter group! Get out of here!”

 

“It’s bad luck to even be on the same ship as you! Maybe we should drown you in the ocean!”

 

Under the barrage of insults, the man beat a hasty retreat.

 

“Seems luck isn’t with you today,” Maceira muttered. “No whales in sight either, so I’ll be heading back.”

 

Maceira tried to return to the guest room with a cold face.

 

At that moment, Scarlet, who was still clutching my hand, pointed out to sea.

 

“Look at that, eonni. It’s a rainbow!” 

 

Beneath the arc of color stretched across the sky, a spray of water shot up like a fountain.

 

Wooooong!

 

Soon, a mysterious howl and a high wave hit the calm sea. Then a massive body rose above the sea and arced through the air before splashing back down.

 

Kkiiiii!

 

The whale’s cry rippled far and wide.

 

Waves crashed into the cruise ship, rocking it slightly.

 

People screamed in a mixture of admiration and surprise at the incredible scene that they would only see once in their lives.

 

Glittering like jewels, the whale vanished into the depths once more.

 

“Was that… a humpback? You almost never see them here. Maybe it lost its way after its habitat was destroyed. What a stroke of luck!”

 

A nearby passenger explained excitedly.

 

“Humpbacks are good whales. They save other creatures. There’s a story that one even saved some naval soldiers when their ship was bombed.”

 

Hearing those words, I poked Maceira, who was looking at the sea with a strange expression.

 

“Told you. If you’re lucky, you’ll see one. And that wasn’t just any whale, it was a kind, lucky one. You should be shouting, ‘Thank you, luck whale!’ right about now.”

 

Maceira, who had been stone-faced all evening, let the corners of his lips twitch up slightly. He had the look of a man who had just lost a bet.

 

“From now on, I’ll call you Lucky Princess.”

 

Oh god.

 

* * *

 

Having lost the whale bet, Maceira was stuck trailing after Cynthia on her cruise adventures. Which mostly consisted of eating.

 

“You enjoy eating that much?”

 

“Of course! Eating delicious food makes me happy.”

 

The onboard casino was packed with people hoping to cash in on the luck whale’s blessing.

 

“Using your luck on something like that means you’ll pay the price later.” Said Cynthia.

 

Soon, the crew announced that the fireworks show would begin. “The fireworks will start soon. It will be a good memory of your trip.”

 

Maceira figured she would probably start bothering him again.

 

However, she looked at Maceira with a calm expression, her smile was gone.

 

“Let’s head back to the room, Brigadier General.”

 

“You’re not watching the fireworks? I thought you would be the first one out there.”

 

“I just… want to rest. It’s a premium suite, after all. I bet the soundproofing is great, right?”

 

‘What does that mean?’

 

Maceira blinked, replaying her words in his head.

 

It was because he realized too late that, unlike trains where there were two rooms, cruise ships only had one room.

 

“You’re tired too, right, Brigadier General?”

 

“I was planning on enjoying the fireworks and making good memories…”

 

He blurted out words that were not in his mind, but she shook her head and tugged at his sleeve.

 

“Just stay with me.”

 

Cynthia looked up at him like a pitiful little rabbit.