The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

* * *
It was finally time to arrive in the Lutemia Republic.

She never had the chance to see Anita again after that.
‘It’d be nice if she ditched that jerk and stayed at the official residence instead.’
The shame was that the jerk was the child’s father—so it wasn’t something a third party could easily intervene in.

When I went out to the deck, I spotted a Medeian newspaper someone had left behind—and my eyes widened in shock.
[List of Books Banned by the Federation]
Queen of the Eye of Lukins – A book that incites discrimination and hatred against Esats
“That’s the book Eugene was reading!”

According to Eugene, it was about a white-haired monster that eats children.
“…Who gave him that book?”
Hayden, the tutor, sometimes looked at me suspiciously, but I decided not to jump to conclusions.

With so many books, it was possible he gave it without knowing.
First, I had to check.
“Brigadier, do you know the book Queen of the Eye?”

I returned to the room and asked Masera.
“It’s a book that’s been classified as banned by the Federation.”
Masera answered like a walking encyclopedia.

“Just owning it is now enough to be investigated. The law was reinforced three days ago. I won’t buy it for you.”
“I’m not asking you to… I just wanted to know—where are those investigations conducted?”
Wouldn’t Masera be in danger too?

“I conduct them.”
So he’d be investigating himself?
First, I needed to confirm whether that book was still in Eugene’s room. He might have disposed of it after the law changed.
* * *

We finally returned to the official residence.
“Ah-choo!”
Unlike the relatively warm Medeia, Lutemia was miserably cold.

“Welcome back, ma’am.”
“Dalia!”
Overjoyed to see Dalia waiting to greet me, I hugged her tightly.

I also hugged the trainee maids waiting behind her in line. Just as I opened my arms for the next in line, I met eyes with Masera’s adjutant, Diego.
“Uh…”
“I’m fine, ma’am.”

Diego backed off cautiously, keeping an eye on Confucian-mindset Masera.
I handed out Medeian souvenirs to the servants, then called out to Eugene, who was obviously hiding in plain sight.
“Eugene, I brought you a train!”

“Eep.”
Startled, Eugene darted into his room.
Holding the toy train, I followed him inside.

“This one runs ‘choo-choo’ along the tracks. Cool, right? Don’t you find it interesting?”
Eugene turned his head away with feigned disinterest, but I caught his pale green eyes sneaking glances at the train in my hands.
“I’ll set up the tracks for you.”

As I opened the box and started assembling it, Eugene had quietly moved closer to my side.
While watching curiously, he pointed at one part and said,
“That’s the barrier that lowers before the train comes.”

“Oh, you really know your trains?”
“Yeah. I used to ride them a lot with my mom and dad…”
It was the first time Eugene had brought up his parents. He trailed off.

I didn’t pry or push.
“Now that I think of it, there was no snow in Medeia, huh? They probably don’t have scary Snow Queens either.”
I casually shifted the topic to bring up the book.

“Who gave you Queen of the Eye? I want to read it too—can I borrow it?”
“Mr. Hayden gave it to me. You can borrow it.”
Feeling happy thanks to the train, Eugene agreed readily.

A tutor giving a banned book—what on earth was he thinking?
As I reached for the book that had been shelved backward, there was a knock and Hayden entered.
He looked at me with an irritated expression and said,

“It’s time for lessons. Please leave.”
“Yes.”
As I answered with a shrug, Hayden glared at me sharply.

“What do you think you’re doing approaching Eugene?”
“I was trying to get closer to him. Is that a problem?”
“Do you really intend to take responsibility for a child who isn’t even yours? I worry that Eugene will one day be ostracized and discriminated against.”

“You don’t even know me. Why worry about things that haven’t happened?”
Cornered by my barrage of questions, Hayden /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ pointed to Eugene, who wore a gloomy face.
“Eugene is always anxious that he’ll be kicked out because of you.”

“I haven’t done anything—why would he think that? Maybe someone else planted that fear in him?”
Hayden placed one hand on his waist and lifted his chin.
“Who knows? Maybe someone is secretly tormenting Eugene behind everyone’s backs.”

“Well then, based on the same baseless logic, couldn’t I just as easily accuse you of secretly bullying him?”
Time to put my bedtime argument simulations to use.
For now, I decided not to confront him about giving Eugene the banned book. If he knew I had it, he might create a smokescreen and escape responsibility.

But then—
Eugene suddenly stood up and gently pushed me with both hands.
“Go.”

His voice trembled with the urge to cry.
“Just go away. Teacher is someone I like.”
“You don’t like me?”

“I said I don’t! Leave me alone. Take the train too.”
Seeing the boy speak with a face on the verge of tears made me feel sorry for him.
His real feelings didn’t seem to match his words. Was there a reason he couldn’t say them?

“Okay, Eugene. I’m sorry.”
I gave a lonely smile and turned around.
As I left the room like a defeated soldier, Hayden flashed a triumphant smile.

Even if I’m retreating for now…
Standing in the hallway, I pulled the book from inside my coat with a resolute expression.
The banned book, Queen of the Eye.

I’ll tell Masera everything and make sure that scheming manipulator gets what he deserves.
Then I found a notebook stuck behind the book. It looked like study material.
It must’ve gotten caught when I grabbed the book in a hurry. What are kids learning these days, anyway?

“…”
As I looked through the worksheets, I grew puzzled.
“This is… kindergarten level?”

Eugene’s not stupid—this makes no sense.
* * *
After Cynthia left, Hayden alternated his cold stare between the train on the floor and Eugene.

It would be troublesome if Eugene and that woman got closer. She seems strangely perceptive.
In the past, Hayden had sided with the Empire and informed on Esats. He was a traitor.
After the Empire’s fall, he hid his identity and became a tutor here. Working in an officer’s household would attract less suspicion.

The only reason he passed the strict background check was because Eugene—who didn’t easily open his heart—had chosen him.
Of course, it helped that Hayden knew Eugene’s mother was Esat.
In truth, he was using Eugene as a shield to stay here.

“You promised not to get close to that woman. Did a cheap toy like this change your mind?”
“But…”
“She pretends to be nice to win you over, then plans to kick you out.”

Eugene wanted to say that he didn’t think Cynthia was a bad person—that he wanted to get along with her.
“And I heard you talked to that Esat officer recently. What will you do if your secret is exposed?”
The secret being that Eugene’s mother was an Esat.

“She only suggested apologizing because I said something mean first…”
“Getting involved with Esats is suspicious to begin with.”
Hayden resolved to thoroughly put the child in his place before he got too bold.

“People act nice on the surface, but deep down, they all hate Esats. That Cynthia woman is ostracized too, just for looking like one.”
“I’ve seen lots of people dislike her at first and then grow to like her.”
Hayden sighed and looked around—only to realize the Queen of the Eye book was missing.

He had secretly hidden banned books in Eugene’s room, planning to one day accuse Masera of being a spy for the Empire.
I hid them well so they wouldn’t be discovered—who took it?
Then he remembered Cynthia’s coat, which she had adjusted awkwardly as she left.

That wretched woman stole it!
Raking a hand over his face, Hayden scowled.
“You still think you’re a young master? If you keep disobeying me, I’ll have no choice but to tell the Brigadier that your mother was a criminal who ran from justice.”

Threatened, Eugene looked down at his toes, clearly shrinking.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please don’t hate me.”
To Eugene, Hayden was the only person who knew the truth and still didn’t hate him.

“If you just do as I say, you won’t be abandoned.”
It was only natural for a young child—especially one who had already experienced abandonment—to be afraid.
Should I hate my mom? Blame her for everything?

Eugene’s pale green eyes deepened into a darker teal.
Before coming to the official residence, his life had been a cycle of hiding and running with his parents.
As he recalled that gray, silent world, Eugene slowly closed his eyes.

“Dad… What did Mom do wrong?”
“Eugene, your mother did nothing wrong. What’s wrong is the world itself.”
To a child’s mind, it was still impossible to understand. Even now.

Beyond the darkness of his closed eyelids, he remembered walking hand in hand with his mom and dad.
I just… I just want to see Mom and Dad again.