The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

* * *
It was the day of Carlos’s engagement ceremony.
After finishing my preparations, I stared down at the necklace in my hand.

What exactly was that brief dream?
“Remember, everything is here.”
“If you keep this as a token, my child will come one day to fulfill the ‘promise’.”
If—by some chance—it was a memory from the original Cynthia, that would mean the woman was her mother.

Was she fleeing with Princess Margarita’s keepsake? Considering she left it with a stranger, she must’ve been under immediate threat.
“What could possibly be inside this?”
I held up the necklace and examined it closely. The diamond was a deep blood-red, almost opaque.

There was no inscription.
Then the time came, and I rose to leave.
* * *

The Prime Minister’s residence, where Carlos and Valeria’s engagement party was being held, was dazzling even at night. It felt as though they had borrowed spring for a day—fresh flowers adorned every inch of the venue.
Wearing a neat velvet dress and a feathered hat, I stood beside Masera, who was escorting me, my face showing nothing but mild annoyance.
‘I’m just here for the food.’

But then I glanced at Masera, and my expression quickly softened.
‘As expected, the best view in this buffet is that man’s face.’
Masera had casually swept back his platinum hair. In his tuxedo, he radiated elegance and a quietly dangerous charm.

‘Down-hair Masera, slicked-back Masera…’
While comparing the two looks in my head, I leaned toward Masera and whispered as I observed the guests.
“There are so many people. I think I see foreign dignitaries too. I heard there’s a week between the engagement and the wedding, and the guests are all staying until then? Events ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ hosted by the Prime Minister’s family really are on another scale.”
His gaze, lowered slightly, fixed on the chattering Cynthia.

‘All I can see is that feather.’
He eyed the bobbing feather with discontent. It wasn’t like he could crouch to get a better view.
The moment I finally looked up at him, the crowd stirred.

“Oh my.”
Someone who immediately drew attention had arrived.
All eyes turned to a woman in a billowing white dress, adorned in glittering jewels.

But the problem was—she wasn’t the bride-to-be, Valeria.
‘Helene? Is she out of her mind?’
Despite having just been investigated and gossiped about, she showed up so brazenly.
She seemed like someone who had begun to come undone.

Whispers erupted around us.
“She came dressed more extravagantly than the actual bride?”
At someone else’s engagement or wedding, it was customary to wear understated colors and modest jewelry.

Yet Helene had arrived dressed like the main attraction.
“What the…”
Valeria, also in white, looked completely dumbfounded as she stared at Helene.

Carlos, too, furrowed his brows, unable to hide his displeasure.
No one could understand why Helene was going out of her way to cause such a stir.
That’s when it happened.

“So at last, we meet—the final princess of Bariesa.”
A man in a uniform with golden embroidery greeted Helene first.
It was Prince Sylvar Severus of the Lumantis Empire.

“It’s a pleasure, Prince Sylvar,” Helene replied, smiling gracefully as he kissed her hand.
With the war now over, efforts were underway to establish new monarchs in vacant territories.
At the center of this political maneuvering were the grand Lumantis Empire and the superpower Medeia.

‘So she wants attention to gain royal succession rights?’
Still, to steal someone else’s spotlight on their special day—what gall.
Prince Sylvar turned to me with a polite smile, even as I scowled.

“The youngest princess, I presume? You truly are worthy of being called the reincarnation of the Frost Queen. Rumor has it you’re the Princess of Fortune.”
He kissed the back of my hand with a slight smile.
I threw a sidelong glare at Masera, who was clearly the one spreading that ridiculous “Princess of Fortune” nickname.

“Have you heard the news? The former territories of the fallen empire are seeking new rulers. The lands once ruled by Bariesa are among them.”
Masera’s face tensed for a moment. A strengthened monarchy could potentially lead to the restoration of Lutemia’s royal system in the future.
“I hope those nations find good rulers. But, you know, they say the real rulers of a country are the people.”

Startled, I forced a campaign-style smile, saying the most generic democracy line I could muster.
“A fine sentiment,” he replied. “The right to succession will go to someone who truly understands the will of their ancestors.”
As he said this, his gaze lingered on my red necklace, then he turned and approached Carlos.

“You have something on you.”
While Masera wiped something off his hand, I reviewed Prince Sylvar’s words in my head.
‘So he’s not just offering a title—there’s some condition… Could the inheritance be more than land? Maybe he meant governing authority itself?’

While I followed that train of thought, Helene had interpreted things her own way: that whoever possessed land of value had a claim to the crown.
And for that, she had prepared something.
It was the decisive reason she had shown up to someone else’s party acting like the star.

Wearing a victorious smile, Helene glanced across the room at someone.
The aide who had been waiting in the hallway caught her signal and rushed into the banquet hall.
“Duchess, gold has been discovered in Dias!”

His shout echoed through the room.
As if on cue, the orchestra stopped mid-note. The hall was instantly consumed by silence.
* * *

As though prearranged, people swarmed Helene with questions.
“You mean the land inherited from the Bariesa royal family? I suspected as much!”
“Congratulations! There’s still no news from Nox, right?”

“To think you’ve claimed a legacy of gold! It’s only a matter of time before the Medeian royal family invests!”
Having been robbed of her spotlight, Valeria clenched her skirt tightly.
When Carlos tried to console the shaken Valeria, she finally burst into tears.

“She’s going to steal the show at the wedding too, isn’t she?!”
“She’s just an attention seeker. She has to be the center of everything, no matter where she is.”
“Seriously, this is the worst day ever…”

Valeria’s friends tried to soothe her as they escorted her to the powder room.
Clink.
Meanwhile, Helene gently tapped her champagne glass with a teaspoon to call for attention.

“There’ve been many questions about Nox, the land Cynthia inherited. I’ve hesitated to say this, but I’ve come to a decision.”
Count Queensguard, who had been quietly sipping his drink, narrowed his eyes.
After pausing for effect, Helene continued.

“The rumors of vast resources hidden in Nox are all false. She deceived Brigadier Visente, a war hero and capitalist, into marriage. I’m revealing this for the sake of public interest—for both investors and the brigadier.”
A wave of shocked murmurs erupted.
Someone shouted from the crowd.

“But didn’t the Medeian royal family invest?”
“She committed fraud against a great royal house. I’ve kept silent all this time for the sake of family, but… my conscience can no longer bear it. Besides, isn’t it obvious by now that there’s still no news from Nox?”
Helene dabbed at her dry eyes with a handkerchief and lowered her head.

The dignitaries from Medeia whispered gravely behind their fans.
Count Queensguard, face expressionless, stared at Helene.
‘So in the end, you’ve turned your back on your own father. You think one gold vein makes you queen of the world.’

He approached her with a smile and murmured low.
“You’ll pay dearly for betraying me. I gave you so many chances.”
Family was no exception.

Helene met his gaze with a courteous smile.
“You’re the one who taught us survival of the fittest, Father.”
Meanwhile, the duke couldn’t hide the upward curve of his lips.

‘She’s turned against Count Queensguard. Things just got easier.’
His gaze settled on Cynthia, who was happily munching on a cookie.
All that was left now was to accept Dias as alimony and remarry Cynthia.

If Helene let slip even a single secret, he’d simply toss her into prison.
What Helene had failed to realize was that, blinded by her victory, she had made far too many enemies.
* * *

Still basking in her moment of triumph, Helene scowled as she faced Cynthia.
She’d expected her to look humiliated—but Cynthia was smiling brightly.
“Going for royal investment from Medeia? Funny, I heard their exploratory team already came and left Dias.”

Smiling with her eyes, Helene assumed it was just a final desperate bluff.
“Sure, keep watching. Once the truth about Nox is revealed to the world, I’ll be crowned the rightful heir.”
A lowborn maid daring to covet what was beyond her station—she would pay the price. Helene sneered openly.

Cynthia tilted her head, then whispered as she passed by.
“But… I don’t think striking gold in Dias automatically makes you queen.”