Chapter 1 – Part 2

After finally sending Olive off, who looked at her with concern, Reina slowly walked to the entrance of the forest alone.

This forest was known to be blessed by the gods and was owned by the Lennox family, but she had never been there before.

Though she was worried about the unfamiliar path, there was a trail, so she could walk without straying off in the wrong direction.

The autumn scenery of the forest looked peaceful beyond comparison. The sounds of insects, the gentle breeze brushing her cheeks, and the chirping of birds calmed her heart.

But as she delved deeper into the forest, her once calm heart began to stir with excitement. The more she thought about the knights leaving her behind, the more indignant she felt.

Is this ritual supposed to make them stronger? Are they against me improving my skills?

Determined to give them a piece of her mind when she saw them, Reina found herself breathing heavily. The sound of crunching leaves under her feet echoed her agitated steps.

I might get caught at this rate.

Realizing her footsteps were too loud, Reina stopped. If she continued like this, she would likely be discovered. They weren’t ordinary people; they were knights of the royal order.

Even the slightest noise would alert them, so she had to be cautious enough to even control her breathing. She resumed walking, holding her breath as much as possible.

Fortunately, she was still far from them, so she wasn’t discovered. After walking for a while, she heard the loud voices of men from an off-trail area.

There it is!

As soon as she started hearing the voices, she moved in their direction instead of following the trail.

Since the path wasn’t smooth, she had to be even quieter. If the knights heard her footsteps and realized she was approaching, they might chase her away.

As she got closer, she recognized familiar voices.

Looks like I found the right place. Now I can finally see what fun things they’re doing without me!

As she approached a large tree that would reveal the knights, Reina wore a victorious smile.

She felt both excited and nervous at the same time. Her heart started pounding as she was about to witness what she had been so curious about.

Finally, finally…!

As she slowly pushed aside the long leaves blocking her view, Reina’s face quickly turned red.

She was so shocked by what she saw that all the blood rushed to her head and nose, causing a nosebleed.

In her sight were the knights, robust and n*ked, enjoying a bath. The water wasn’t deep, only reaching their thighs, and most of them were slightly bent over, using their hands to splash water on their bodies.

The rising steam obscured their faces, so she couldn’t tell who was who, but their bodies were clearly visible to her.

Stunned by the sight of their lower bodies, Reina stood there, mouth agape, unable to move. She felt dizzy, and her heart pounded violently.

***

So, the sacred ritual meant cleaning their bodies and grooming themselves in a hot spring?

The place the knights had so carefully hidden from Reina was indeed a hot spring. Given that it was related to a sacred ritual, it seemed the hot spring water was blessed by the high priest.

The reason Duke Lennox had been so stern, and the knights had kept their destination and activities a secret from her, was because they worried the word “hot spring” might pique her curiosity.

What do they take me for?!

No matter how curious she was, Reina wasn’t the type to secretly peep at n*ked men out of some bad hobby.

If they had told her earlier that they were going to a hot spring as a group, she wouldn’t have followed. Instead, their secrecy had only made her curiosity grow, leading to the opposite effect.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have followed them secretly….

Even though she didn’t want to see the men’s n*ked bodies, her eyes kept drifting toward them. When she felt the blood trickling down her face and dripping onto the ground, she snapped back to reality.

Reina deliberately lowered her gaze, trying not to look at their n*ked bodies. At the same time, she used fallen leaves to try to stop the nosebleed.

I need to get out of here quickly!

She needed to turn her head and leave immediately, but at that moment, something caught her eye.

A…club?!

It was something so large and heavy that it couldn’t be compared to the others. Although it wasn’t fully er*ect, it was still making its presence known.

Thinking she had seen wrong, Reina slowly turned her head, trying to confirm the unbelievable sight she had briefly glimpsed.

Then, once again, a man’s member, significantly larger than the others, came into view. She hadn’t seen wrong.

Gulp.

Reina swallowed her saliva without realizing it.

Is that the legendary… big one?

She had heard that the size of a man’s member varied and that its size was directly related to their confidence.

At the time, she hadn’t understood the exact meaning, but now, seeing it firsthand, she could grasp the significance of those words.

Was there really someone among the knights hiding such a gigantic thing in his pants?

The steam made it hard to see the knights’ faces, but Reina was determined to find out the face of the man with that enormous member.

Who on earth is it?

Reina slowly lifted her head, trying to see the man’s face through the hazy steam. What she could see was a head of sky-blue hair.

Huh? There’s only one person in the knight order with sky-blue hair.

With half-closed eyes, she confirmed that the owner of the big member was none other than the knight commander, Patrick.

Patrick Marionus, the second son of Viscount Marionus.

He was known as a genius in swordsmanship from a young age, and Reina had heard of his reputation. She had seen Duke Lennox trying several times to recruit him to the third knight order.

Thanks to her father’s efforts, Patrick joined the third knight order as an apprentice knight and was recognized as a full knight in less than a year. Eventually, at the age of 23, he became the knight commander of the Lennox family.

Becoming a knight commander at such a young age was nearly impossible, but he had both the skill and luck to secure the position.

When the commander of the first royal knight order retired, the position became vacant, and the commander of the third knight order moved up to fill it.

As a result, the position of the third knight order’s commander became vacant, and Patrick took it.

The third knight order was strictly merit-based, and aside from the former commander, there was no one better than Patrick.

Since skill equated to rank, no one opposed him becoming the knight commander at a young age. Even the vice-commander Ford, who was much older, actively recommended Patrick.

And now, two years later, he was performing his duties as a knight commander excellently.

But Patrick wasn’t just exceptional in swordsmanship; he was also remarkable in that area! Reina raised her right thumb in admiration of his impressive member.

As a result, her nosebleed, which had momentarily stopped, began to flow again. Even holding it with her hand was no use.

Am I going to die here from excessive bleeding?