Chapter 2 (Part 2)

“Sis! Let’s play!”

Lilith approached Reina as usual, asking to play, but she was holding a bitter melon again. She seemed to like it, poking and tapping everything she saw with it.

She probably didn’t mean to torment her, but just seeing the bitter melon made Reina feel suffocated.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t bring that thing you’re holding.”

“Why?”

Her red jewel-like eyes sparkled as she tilted her head slightly.

“Isn’t it too pointy? You might get hurt.”

Reina deliberately pretended to be concerned about Lilith and explained the reason indirectly.

“It’s not pointy, though? Hmm…”

Lilith examined the bitter melon she was holding. Reina swallowed dryly, watching her.

“Maybe you’re right. Okay, I won’t carry it around anymore.”

Fortunately, Lilith was convinced by her.

Thank goodness Lilith is so understanding.

Reina felt relieved for a moment, thinking she had finally calmed her racing heart.

But the problem was that it wasn’t just one bitter melon that made her heart race. When she told Lilith not to bring the bitter melon, she brought a very thick zucchini instead.

Who on earth is giving her all this food!

Reina wanted to run to the cook and tell them not to give Lilith anything to hold, but she refrained, knowing it would be pointless.

“This isn’t pointy, so it’s okay, right?”

“No, that’s not okay either!”

“How about this? It’s pretty, isn’t it? Isn’t it okay?”

When she rejected the zucchini, Lilith brought a banana. A thick one, too. It seemed Lilith was currently obsessed with long and thick things.

Why are there so many similar-shaped things?

Bananas, zucchinis, sticks—all these were banned items for Reina.

Things she usually didn’t think twice about suddenly seemed suggestive, making her feel like she was possessed by a lewd spirit.

Why now, of all times…

Watching Lilith peel and eat the banana made her heart race.

“How can you eat fruit without washing it?”

Reina scolded Lilith for no reason.

“You’re going to peel it anyway. What’s the problem?”

Lilith, not understanding the problem, happily bit into the banana and chewed. Since Lilith wasn’t wrong, Reina couldn’t refute and had to watch her eat the banana.

Even though Lilith didn’t know, she kept tormenting her. The sister who usually seemed cute suddenly felt terrifying.

Maybe it’s better to avoid Lilith!

Reina tried to avoid Lilith and escape, but…

“It feels like you’re avoiding me, sister.”

Seeing tears well up in Lilith’s eyes as she finished the banana, Reina couldn’t bring herself to coldly avoid her sister running towards her.

“…”

This won’t do. Before my heart bursts, I need to give Lilith something else to hold!

To escape the current situation, she had to find something else that would catch Lilith’s interest.

“How about this?”

After much thought, Reina prepared a teddy bear that was currently in trend. It had a rainbow-colored ribbon around its neck. She hoped Lilith would like the colorful ribbon.

“…”

However, Lilith didn’t seem too pleased.

“Hello? I’m your friend. Let’s play together.”

Reina waved the teddy bear’s hand, smiling. Lilith’s lips curled up slightly.

Thank goodness.

Feeling relieved that Lilith seemed to like the teddy bear, she thought it was over. But the next day, Lilith was still swinging a thick stick.

“Why aren’t you carrying the teddy bear I gave you? It’s cute, isn’t it?”

“I’ll only hug it when I sleep. If I take it outside, it will get dirty.”

Although Reina was grateful that Lilith cherished the gift, her strategy had failed. She tried giving various other gifts, but Lilith didn’t like any of them. Eventually, Reina gifted her a carrier pigeon eagle, which finally ended the torment.

“Phew. Thank goodness.”

Reina thought everything was fine now that she no longer saw things that stimulated her heart. But that wasn’t the case this time either.

* * *

Reina thought Lilith was the one stimulating her, but the problem was with Reina’s body from the start. Even though she succeeded in diverting Lilith’s attention, Reina’s body kept heating up as if she were in heat.

Especially when she recalled the things she had seen that day, sensations she had never felt before started to creep up.

Am I really in heat?

The confusion grew day by day as her body heated up just from thinking about it.

Ah!

While walking to the training ground for early morning practice, Reina suddenly stopped. Patrick, who was talking with Deputy Commander Ford, turned his gaze towards her.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, but it felt like an eternity. In that brief moment, her heartbeat quickened, and she felt her breath catch.

It was as if the warm sunlight pouring from the sky was directed solely at Patrick, taking away all the light from the world.

His figure, with a gentle smile on his lips, seemed to sparkle alone in her eyes. Moreover, his lips looked so tempting that she felt an urge to touch them.

Weren’t we like family…?

Reina’s gaze continued to follow Patrick. Her pounding heart seemed loud enough to hear in her ears. She couldn’t calm her mind.

The fact that she felt emotions towards Patrick that she had never felt for her brother Louis meant that her feelings had changed.

Out of curiosity, she looked at the other knights. The emotions that had surged up moments ago quickly subsided.

Perhaps because Patrick seemed to shine, the others looked relatively dull.

Should I just close my eyes and try to seduce the commander?

At that moment, Reina wanted to follow Richelle’s suggestion. To find out the answer to the indescribable emotions she felt only for Patrick, it seemed best to follow Richelle’s advice and mix bodies with him.

She didn’t want to try because it might become awkward, but it was too regrettable to give up without trying.

She knew it was selfish. But she wanted to be honest with her feelings.

So, just this once, she wanted to tempt him.

Even if she failed, it would be okay. She wouldn’t be disappointed. Since she had no expectations, she just wanted to try.

But.

After making the decision, she immediately faced a significant obstacle: Reina lacked the charm to seduce him.

The problem was that she had been close to him for five years. Upon reflection, Patrick and Reina had seen the best and worst of each other.

She had vomited during training, thrown tantrums when she couldn’t handle the training, and had been dragged away by her mother with her ear pinched right in front of Patrick.

She had shown many embarrassing sides of herself.

There was the time she arrogantly went hunting alone after learning swordsmanship and encountered a bear, and the time she almost drowned when she got a cramp while swimming in a lake.

If Patrick hadn’t followed her, Reina would have been long dead.

So, even if she tried to coyly say, “Do you want to do it with me?” or seductively ask, “Aren’t you curious about my body?” or tearfully plead, “Can you solve my problem?” she felt he would only respond with, “Are you unwell, Lady Reina?”

It might be better to command him.

Yes! Should I command him as a lady of the Lennox family?

If she grabbed the commander’s collar and said, “Let’s do it!” or mockingly said, “You’re a virgin, right? Should I help you out?” or “Do you want to feel good?” she wondered if he would comply.

She thought of countless ways to phrase it to Patrick.

However, knowing he wouldn’t obey any unreasonable command from her, she felt none of her words would work. He only moved if there was a convincing reason.

“Sigh.”

Reina let out a long sigh.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that seducing such a principled man was no easy task.

While she was glad Patrick didn’t pay attention to other women, who knew it would cause such great anguish.

But she wasn’t ready to give up. She planned to try.

Who knows, he might fall for her charm that he hadn’t noticed before.

Reina clenched her fists, steeling herself for what was to come.

* * *

“How about showing a different side of yourself? A woman he thought of as a sister might suddenly seem like a potential partner.”

Though Reina had resolved to seduce Patrick, she was at a loss for how to do it. Then, a savior appeared.

During a tea gathering, Lady Eglinton made an intriguing suggestion. It seemed unusual for Reina, who usually didn’t show interest in such matters, to be curious about how to capture a man’s attention.

“Would that really change his mind?”

“Of course! Especially for you, Reina. You might not realize it because you haven’t dressed up, but you’re beautiful.”

“Me, beautiful?”

Reina had never particularly cared about her appearance. Besides, Richelle and Lilith looked a lot like her, and seeing their faces every day, she had never thought of herself as beautiful.

“You might not know because you don’t care about your looks, but the Lennox family is famous for their beauty. Just look at your brother. Young ladies lined up to meet him. Honestly, with a good family, good looks, kindness, and capability… if only he weren’t such a playboy, he’d be perfect.”

Come to think of it, she often saw women who came to meet her brother falling head over heels for him.

The more Lady Eglinton spoke, the more Reina found herself nodding.

“If you, who usually dress plainly, suddenly appear all dolled up, everyone will be stunned speechless.”

Whenever she attended a banquet, she always wore dark-colored dresses and dressed up just enough to maintain appearances. Standing next to the glamorous Richelle, she felt like a wildflower next to a vibrant rose.

“That’s right. If it’s you, Lady Lennox, everyone will be surprised.”

The other young ladies also agreed with Lady Eglinton’s words.

If it had been only Lady Eglinton’s opinion, Reina might have doubted it. But seeing that others shared the same thought, it didn’t seem like they were just being polite.

Yes, it’s because I haven’t dressed up glamorously that he doesn’t see me as a woman! So if he sees a new side of me, different feelings will arise, right?

Though there might be some exaggeration, Reina hoped their words were true.