The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner

There were three people in the wagon.

After untying his bound hands, I took out a hairpin and opened the locked cargo door.
The wagon had just exited the village and entered a narrow forest path.
And then, Carlos grabbed me and threw both of us out.

“Gasp!”
I nearly screamed. My vision spun wildly.
We tumbled through the snow, and Carlos quickly pulled me to my feet, dragging me behind a large tree.

‘Well, I got lucky. If I’d been kidnapped with Dumbford…’
I shook my head at the thought of the dazed Edford.
At that moment, perhaps sensing something wrong, the wagon ahead came to a sudden halt.

Chhk.
Carlos, back pressed against the tree, struck a match to light the fuse of a firework he had brought.
It was a small firework, but Masera, with his sharp eyes, might be able to see it.

‘If he’s still awake, that is.’
I crouched down and covered my ears.
Pop—! Bang!

Several fireworks shot up, filling the black dawn sky with bursts of light.
Carlos grabbed my arm.
“Get up, Cynthia.”

But even though I’d mentally prepared myself…
My legs gave out—I couldn’t move.
Before long, footsteps began to approach.
“Hah. I can’t even bring myself to leave you behind.”

With a regretful look, Carlos slung me onto his back and started to run.
Snowflakes brushed against my cheeks, my vision swayed wildly, everything was white.
As I zoned out, a strange sense of déjà vu gripped me.

“Don’t cry, baby sister. I’ll always protect you.”
Ah. It was a memory from my previous life. I remembered the sturdy back of my older brother, fleeing with me in his school uniform.
“What’ll I do if you go to heaven like Mom and Dad?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch over you from there. Mom and Dad are watching us too.”
I buried my face against Carlos’s shoulder.
* * *

The man who had been driving the wagon spotted Carlos in the distance, carrying Cynthia and fleeing into the woods.
A red-haired woman chased after him, shouting,
“Damn it, open fire! We don’t have a choice!”

They were still within range.
The three of them aimed their pistols at Carlos and Cynthia as the pair disappeared into a thicket of evergreen trees.
Bang—!

Gunshots rang out, piercing the early morning silence.
But none of the bullets hit. As they all missed, the woman shouted furiously,
“Are you really elite members of the Liberty Assembly? Your aim is trash!”

“Ugh, XX! What do you want me to do? These damn things won’t hit! Then why don’t you do it?!”
The three began sprinting harder to close the distance, while Carlos’s speed began to wane.
“Leave me and go. Go get help. They won’t kill me…”

Cynthia, having just snapped out of her panic, said this.
But Carlos adjusted her on his back and shook his head.
“I’m not that much of a bastard.”

He added with a bitter tone,
“Wouldn’t it be better if you ditched me instead?”
Now that I looked, Carlos was limping.

‘He must’ve twisted his ankle when we jumped off the wagon.’
Cynthia slid off his back and stood on her own feet. Her legs trembled from the echoing gunshots, but she forced strength into them.
“You were wondering how lucky I am, weren’t you?”

Trying to sound lighthearted, Cynthia pulled out all the fireworks hidden in Carlos’s coat and grinned.
“I’m curious too.”
She struck a match and lit the fuse.

A shiver ran down her spine, but she steadied her heart, thinking of her past-life family.
I can’t live my whole life chained to trauma. I have to overcome it.
“Die, you filthy remnant of the Bariesa dynasty!”

All three attackers raised their guns at Cynthia simultaneously.
With her eyes squeezed shut, Cynthia recited the words she had been repeating in her head, and opened them.
“…The war is over.”

Fweeee—!
At the same time, the firework in Cynthia’s hand launched into the sky.
It struck a branch just above the three attackers and exploded.

The snow piled on the branch tumbled down, blocking their line of sight, and misfired bullets thudded into the trees.
The woman brushed off the snow and snapped,
“This isn’t even funny…!”

Cynthia’s hands trembled as she lit another firework. Despite the freezing cold, sweat poured down her back, and she was dizzy, but she pushed her mental strength to the limit.
At last, the final firework launched—but it missed, soaring off into the distance.
Carlos grabbed Cynthia’s hand and pulled her toward him.

“Screw the luck test. Let’s run.”
While Cynthia had been buying time, he had torn a strip from his shirt sleeve and tightly wrapped his twisted ankle.
But if they turned and ran now, they’d be shot for sure.

“So this is all the resistance we get? ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) I was going to at least ransom you before killing you. What a shame.”
Just as the man smirked and raised his gun—
“Well, goodb—”

Rrrraaaaaah!
In that split second, something enormous and dark burst from between the trees.
“A-a bear!”

The woman screamed and fell backward in shock.
Smoke was rising from the head of a baby bear trailing behind its furious mother.
It had been struck by Cynthia’s firework while eating winter berries with its mother.

“I burned the baby bear’s fur?”
I’m so sorry!!
Cynthia clamped her hands over her mouth in horror and disbelief.

RRAAARRR!
The enraged mother bear roared and began to chase the three fleeing attackers in the opposite direction.
“What are you doing?! Shoot it!”

“There’s no way a pistol will do anything to something that big! We’re low on bullets too!”
Shouting at each other as they ran off, Carlos let out a sigh of relief.
“Must be a bear that knows guns. Maybe it thought they shot at its cub.”

Gunshots echoed faintly in the distance.
Cynthia closed her eyes tightly and crouched. Carlos placed his hands over her ears and asked,
“Still scared of gunfire? You weren’t like that when you were little.”

Cynthia, who barely remembered anything from childhood, said nothing.
Then suddenly, a fragment of the original Cynthia’s memory flickered across her mind.
“Cindy, eat it secretly by yourself.”

It was a young Carlos offering her a piece of cake.
His smile, so kind and innocent, carried no ulterior motive.
‘What changed him?’

Cynthia thought perhaps the original her hadn’t given her heart to Carlos solely because he’d hidden the truth about her father’s murder.
“You survived thanks to your luck.”
Carlos smiled at her.

It no longer felt artificial. That smile now faintly resembled the one from her memories—the innocent grin of a boy.
Maybe it was the smile the original Cynthia had fallen for.
But did this man know he’d lost the one person who truly loved him?

Cynthia quietly looked up at the sky, now tinged with blue.
* * *
Masera, while searching the village of Kint, spotted fireworks bursting in the sky beyond the forest’s edge.

He had a strong feeling—it was a signal from Cynthia.
He immediately turned his horse toward the origin of the fireworks.
RRRAARRR!

Somewhere ahead, the sound of a beast’s roar and human screams rang out.
Soon, two men and one woman being chased by a massive bear came into view.
“Eek!”

Instead of asking Masera for help, the three flinched as if they’d seen a grim reaper.
Masera scanned the area. It was close to where the fireworks had been launched.
Then he looked back at the enraged bear and thought,

‘There must be a cub nearby.’
He pulled the shotgun slung over his shoulder into position.
BANG!

Unlike a normal gunshot, the heavy blast tore through the air like an explosion.
ROAR!
It seemed the bear got the message—it turned and fled back into the forest.

The three intruders glanced at one another, then bowed awkwardly and tried to leave.
But another gunshot rang out.
“Aaargh!”

One man screamed and fell, clutching his leg.
“Where is my wife?”
Masera dismounted and strode toward them.

‘This guy… his eyes are completely gone.’
The remaining two staggered back in terror.
“What is the meaning of this? A shotgun? Are you really going to kill us?!”

A shotgun didn’t pierce like a bullet; it shredded. It was a savage weapon.
“Seems you’re no civilian if you know that much.”
Masera slowly turned the barrel toward the man retreating backward.

“Aaaah! Agh!”
Another shot rang out, and the man writhed, clutching his bleeding arm.
The woman collapsed to the ground, face gone pale.

Then came Masera’s chilling command.
“Answer the question.”
Clack. The sound of reloading.

Terrified, the woman broke down and begged,
“She’s in the woods! I’ll tell you everything, just please don’t kill me!”
Masera ordered his adjutant to arrest the woman, then slung the shotgun over his shoulder.

Grabbing the fallen man by the hair, he said,
“Lead the way.”
“Urgh… gh…”

As Masera dragged him forward by the hair, a trail of blood was left in his wake.
Seeing Masera’s murderous expression, the adjutant trembled.
“He’s seriously pissed…”

Masera disappeared into the forest, dragging the man behind him.
Another gunshot rang out.