Chapter 1 – Part 7

Reina thought about her brother’s recent change.

He had inherited their father’s looks and hair color, and his eyes were the same deep purple as Richelle’s. He was well-mannered, handsome, and capable, but he had one flaw.

That was his free-spirited nature, which didn’t turn away any woman who came his way.

‘The young master loves only me.’

‘No! It’s me.’

Reina had witnessed several times the scenes where young ladies from various families fought at the Lennox mansion over her brother. Moreover, the ladies fighting over him changed each time.

How many women has he been involved with?

She used to click her tongue at the sight of the ladies fighting.

She couldn’t understand her brother’s behavior, nor could she understand the women who clung to him despite knowing he was unfaithful.

That’s how it was….

But recently, Reina had witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Her brother Louis, who never turned away any woman, had come to his senses and was now devoted to one woman.

To Reina, Vivian and the other ladies who pursued Louis all seemed attractive. So how could he settle down with just one woman?

Seeing him cut ties with all the women he had been seeing and even getting engaged to Vivian made Reina think Louis had lost his mind.

It didn’t make sense for a person to change overnight.

But after seeing with her own eyes that Louis only had eyes for his lover Vivian, she had no choice but to believe what she saw.

So, she had been thinking that maybe Louis had been struck by lightning or something. Because otherwise, the situation didn’t make sense.

But now it seemed there was a different reason for his change.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Of course. I’ve also had s*x education.”

She had heard from her tutor that the sensation felt during intimacy could vary depending on the partner.

If you find someone who matches well, you lose your reason in that moment, become engrossed in each other’s bodies, and end up seeking only that one person to the point where you can’t accept anyone else.

How important must s*xual compatibility be to make brother Louis not only settle down with one woman but also get engaged?

“How is this possible? What kind of necklace can make a person change so suddenly?”

“That’s the power of love.”

“Really?”

“Of course, with the help of magic.”

Meeting a wizard in the Solloi Empire where they lived was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.

There was only one wizard in the empire, and even he had not shown himself for a long time, so her father’s explanation was still lacking.

Louis had stopped his cheating before the wizard officially appeared, which made it even harder to believe.

Seeing Reina’s skeptical look, the Duke added more to his explanation.

“In search of a way to curb Louis’s cheating, I finally found a wizard on Lux Continent.”

The Duke told her that he had traveled to Lux Continent to find a wizard to stop Louis’s cheating and had received a necklace that revealed s*xual compatibility.

He also mentioned that Richelle had met her current lover thanks to the necklace.

“If it’s a magical necklace, isn’t it possible that both my brother and sister are under its spell?”

Finding it hard to believe Louis’s change, Reina suspected he might be under a spell.

Still finding Louis’s change hard to believe, Reina suspected he might be under a spell.

“It seems to me that the necklace has a stronger power beyond just revealing s*xual compatibility. If you’re curious, why don’t you experience it yourself? I hope you find your match soon.”

The Duke then flashed a sly smile.

Is that something a father should say to his daughter?

Since it sounded like he was permitting a free s*xual life before marriage, Reina could only look at her father with a cloudy gaze.

But the Duke didn’t seem to care about her gaze. He still had a smile on his lips.

“What if it’s someone strange?”

“That won’t happen. Trust your body.”

“What? Are you sure?”

Trust my body…. 

Reina felt uneasy with the ambiguous answer and looked at her father, but he just laughed heartily without answering.

“Stop laughing and explain it to me!”

“I firmly believe that the necklace will lead you to your match. So just take my words lightly and think of the necklace as something that will help you meet your destined partner.”

“Alright.”

Changing the expression to “destined partner” made Reina feel she could accept the necklace.

Why didn’t he just call it a destined partner from the beginning instead of talking about s*xual compatibility?

Grumbling, Reina took the necklace and left the office, putting it in her drawer as soon as she entered her room.

Will I ever need this necklace?

Having no interest in men, she thought she wouldn’t need the necklace for a while. She guessed it would be about five years before she might use it.

* * *

“I never thought I’d take this out of the drawer.”

Who would have guessed that she would take out the necklace a little over a month after shoving it into her drawer?

Lying on her bed, Reina looked at the necklace in her hand and chuckled. No matter how she thought about it, the current situation was just too absurd.

What was even more ridiculous was her curiosity about whether the color would change in front of Patrick.8

Who would have thought that after seeing his lower body, she would suddenly want to take out the necklace she had no interest in when she received it?

Maybe it was because of something Richelle had said to her before.

After receiving the necklace from her father, Reina had gone to Richelle to ask about it. That’s when she also learned why the Duke of Lennox had referred to it as a necklace for finding one’s destined partner.

‘You won’t have to worry about anything. In my opinion, it doesn’t just reveal s*xual compatibility. It shows you the person your heart is drawn to, which is why Father thinks of it as a necklace for finding a lover.’

According to her, people who are sexually compatible are drawn to each other not just physically but emotionally as well. So it was natural for Reina to think that her growing interest in Patrick might be related to this.

There was no other way to explain her helplessly wavering heart against her will.

“Right. It’s not like I suddenly became strange.”

As she continued to look at the necklace, Patrick’s face floated above it, and soon her mind was filled with thoughts of him.

Could it be that Patrick and I are sexually compatible? Is that why I keep thinking about his body?

If we are compatible, could he be my destined partner? Do we have a special connection?

It was funny to think of Captain Patrick as her destined partner, but if the necklace changed color, Reina felt she could understand her strange behavior.

Inadvertently, she found herself hoping the necklace would change color.

The thought of a love beginning with physical attraction….

If Patrick were the partner, it wouldn’t be bad, and she couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t hide her excited expression.

* * *

As Reina walked toward the place where the knights were while wearing the necklace, everyone’s eyes turned to her.

Since she only participated in the dawn training and not the other sessions, their gazes were filled with curiosity.

Especially since she had left the training earlier that morning, claiming she was unwell, it was natural for them to find it odd.

However, Reina ignored the stares directed at her and looked around for Patrick. As expected, she couldn’t focus on talking to the knights since the necklace hadn’t changed color when she was with them.

“Lady Reina, is something wrong?”

Toby, who had been practicing alone, approached her with a surprised look as soon as he saw her.

Since she had rushed to the training ground to see if the necklace would change color, she couldn’t think of an excuse.

“I felt better, so I came to make up for the training I missed this morning.”

Oh no, what nonsense am I spouting?!

In her haste, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, which unfortunately was that she intended to continue the grueling training. At that moment, Reina wanted to smack her own lips.

“What? In that outfit?”

Only then did she realize she was wearing a dress. She had been so focused on whether the necklace would change color that she had forgotten she was in a dress.

Since she usually wore specially tailored pants for training, it was understandable for Toby to find it odd.

“Haha. I guess I’m still not fully recovered and not thinking straight.”

Reina pretended to be unwell and gently placed her hand on her forehead.

“It seems so. Your face is getting redder. Lady Reina, you should go inside and rest.”

Toby looked at her with concern.

“Should I?”

Although she said she would, she couldn’t just leave. Despite her words, her eyes were anxiously searching for Patrick.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“N-no. No one.”

With no more excuses, she had no choice but to turn back toward the mansion.

Then, she saw Patrick walking toward her. He must have been returning from a visit to the mansion after being summoned by her father.

“Are you feeling better? Why are you here…?”

He ran to her as soon as he saw her.