Chapter 1 – Part 9

Reina stammered, watching Richelle’s reaction. Seeing that she wasn’t backing down, Richelle’s fierce eyes momentarily showed a hint of puzzlement.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“W-well… there’s someone I’m curious about, so I wanted to compare….”

As Richelle approached with a murderous look, Reina’s inner thoughts spilled out without her realizing it.

“Hmm. Why do you want to see it if there’s someone on your mind?”

Richelle’s gaze, which had been glaring, was now filled with interest.

“I’m curious about that person’s… thing.”

“Is that person well-endowed?”

“….”

Feeling embarrassed by Richelle’s blunt question, Reina couldn’t answer immediately. Talking about Kyle’s thing was fine, but mentioning Patrick’s thing made her doubly embarrassed.

“So he is? What did he do to make you so curious? Did you see it directly?”

Richelle seemed to take it as a light joke.

“…Yeah.”

Reina hesitated but answered truthfully.

“What?”

Richelle’s shocked voice broke the silence between them. She seemed too stunned to speak, only moving her lips.

“Did you… sleep with him?”

Her voice trembled slightly as she broke the short silence.

“No. Not yet….”

“Then how did you see it?”

Richelle chuckled as if she still thought it was a joke, but then her eyes widened.

“Did you spy on him secretly?”

“…Yes.”

Unable to answer immediately, Reina’s reply came a beat late. Feeling embarrassed, her shoulders slumped.

“Are you crazy? Where? Are you a pervert? Why would you do that?”

Richelle shouted, unable to understand.

“I-I saw it by accident.”

“Where on earth could you see such a thing? Unless someone stripped in front of you, how?”

Reina couldn’t bring herself to say she had accidentally seen the knights enjoying the hot springs. If she said it wrong, it might seem like she had deliberately spied on them.

It wasn’t intentional, so it felt unfair to be misunderstood. How could she not see when n*ked bodies were moving right in front of her? Even if she covered her eyes, she had already seen everything.

“Could it be that day? The day you disguise yourself as a ghost? Did you see a n*ked body and get a nosebleed?”

“….”

Richelle, quick-witted as ever, accurately guessed what Reina had experienced.

Reina couldn’t answer, feeling as if her mistake had been exposed.

“It was, wasn’t it? Aha! No wonder you were acting suspicious.”

As the silence dragged on, Richelle began to laugh.

“So what? Are you saying you think about a man’s n*ked body every day now? What’s going on?”

“….”

“Really?”

When Reina still couldn’t answer, Richelle’s eyes widened in shock.

“A-actually….”

Reina didn’t want to admit it, but Richelle had already seen through her. She had no choice but to confide her worries.

“Is this what it means to be physically attracted? How do I resolve this?”

Reina was desperate. She wanted her mind to be free and to stop having nightmares. She didn’t want to be tormented by the king-sized club crushing her every night.

Richelle, who had been listening quietly, replied with a serious expression.

“You feel this way because you’re still innocent.”

“Innocent?”

Reina tilted her head.

“Of course. You must have been shocked by seeing a man’s body for the first time. It hasn’t been long since you started s*x education.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

While she had been learning basic etiquette from a young age, she only started bridal lessons and s*x education after becoming an adult.

“You’re still inexperienced. There’s so much more to learn. When the lessons get deeper, you’ll be surprised by many things!”

“Really?”

“Of course. You haven’t learned much yet, and suddenly you saw a man’s n*ked body. How shocked must your heart have been?”

Reina almost blurted out that she had seen several but only thought about one. She stopped herself just in time, realizing it would mean admitting to spying on the knights bathing.

She especially didn’t want it known that the person was Captain Patrick.  She had to make sure not to let anything slip.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing Reina’s suspicious behavior, Richelle’s eyes narrowed. Fearing she might be found out, Reina hurriedly changed the subject.

“Fine. Just tell me the solution if you have one.”

Worried that Richelle might suspect something, Reina was relieved to see her deep in thought. After a brief silence, Richelle spoke.

“As someone three years older than you… I think you are physically attracted. Did you check with the necklace?”

Richelle spoke cautiously.

“Yes… But it didn’t change color.”

“Really?”

Richelle tilted her head, puzzled, then spoke again.

“Then there’s only one solution.”

“What is it?”

A solution? Could I finally sleep peacefully?

Thinking she might finally get some peace, Reina’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“How about sleeping with him once? If you’re not sexually compatible, your feelings might cool off afterward.”

“….”

Reina’s high hopes were instantly dashed. Richelle’s absurd solution left her speechless.

How could she suggest sleeping with him after scolding me for being too young to think about s*x?

“Who was the one glaring at me with wide eyes just a moment ago, asking if I had slept with him? Besides, I haven’t even taken lessons on that part yet.”

Reina retorted with a look of grievance.

“That was because you did it without telling me. Now I’m giving you permission. Besides, I don’t think it’s bad to study in advance. The more you know, the better you’ll understand the lessons. So pre-studying will help you understand the class better.”

Richelle shamelessly justified her contradictory actions.

“What?”

When Reina grumbled, Richelle winked mischievously, as if she found it amusing.

“Well, if the s*xual compatibility is somewhat decent, it wouldn’t be bad to just go for it, right? But you shouldn’t show him the necklace, of course.”

“That’s true.”

Since it wasn’t wrong, Reina nodded in agreement with Richelle’s words.

“I’ll keep it a secret, so tell me. Who is it? Is it someone I know?”

Having said everything she wanted to, Richelle suddenly looked curious about who the person was, trying to wrap up the conversation.

“N-no. It’s someone you don’t know at all.”

Caught off guard, Reina lied immediately, but Richelle’s eyes were full of suspicion.

If she found out it was Captain Patrick, Richelle would be so shocked she might faint.

Avoiding Richelle’s curious gaze, Reina hurriedly left her room.

* * *

Would sleeping with him really make it better? Would my interest fade?

Reina couldn’t stop thinking about Richelle’s words as she walked back to her room. She didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed like a plausible alternative.

Thinking it over, it didn’t seem wrong. Since they weren’t sexually compatible, it was natural that her feelings would fade after sleeping together.

The problem was that Richelle’s advice was only half plausible. She didn’t know the person in question was Captain Patrick.

If it were someone she casually knew or a stranger, she could try dating briefly to see if they were compatible. But the person was none other than Patrick, the captain of the Lennox Knights.

Not only was he a virgin, but he also never showed interest in women, making it impossible to even consider seducing him, let alone dating.

Me and the captain?

Just imagining dating him made Reina chuckle. 

Could that even happen within the family?

She had met Patrick when he joined the Lennox Knights, but they only became close five years ago during training.

They grew closer when Duke Lennox assigned Patrick to be Reina’s personal trainer.

Although it was only about 30 minutes of separate training after morning drills, Patrick had diligently taught her the basics of swordsmanship until he became the captain.

So it was natural that she saw Patrick, who always showed a dependable and dignified demeanor like her brother Louis, as more of a family member than an opposite s*x.

She could tell he felt the same just by looking at his eyes. She especially felt it when he praised her and patted her head for following swordsmanship well, though he rarely did that nowadays.

That’s why the idea of having an intimate relationship with Patrick seemed absurd.

Moreover, Reina wasn’t ready to give her body to anyone yet. Although she had started s*x education classes upon becoming an adult, everything was still so unfamiliar and frightening.

She couldn’t understand why she became a coward only in these matters when she was usually fearless. But she couldn’t help feeling that giving up her body would make her no longer herself.

It might have felt unfamiliar because it was part of the transition from a girl to an adult. Not being confident enough to cross that final boundary made her reluctant to follow Richelle’s advice.