Chapter 3 (Part 2)

Could it be that he witnessed or found out about what happened with Commander Patrick?

Reina felt so flustered by Duke Lennox’s question that she answered hastily, unable to erase her anxious feelings. The Duke hadn’t said anything, luckily, but her heart was still pounding from her own guilty conscience.

Facing her father’s red eyes gave her the eerie feeling that he knew everything.

However, since he hadn’t mentioned anything, it seemed he hadn’t noticed yet. If he knew what had happened earlier, he would have definitely scolded her, calling it a disgrace to the family.

“Shall I continue cleaning?”

Still not completely reassured, Reina asked cautiously, watching the Duke’s reaction.

“No. I’d like you to leave immediately.”

With the Duke’s cold response, she was practically chased out of the study. It was a relief that he hadn’t gotten extremely angry, but it still left her feeling uneasy.

I shouldn’t have tried it on.

Reina had never coveted someone else’s belongings. She had grown up so wealthy that she lacked for nothing.

She already had plenty of land given by her father, so she had enough funds to get anything she wanted at any time.

But she had been momentarily tempted by the sight of the gleaming golden armor.

Feeling guilty, she had tried to fix things somehow, but since the Duke had chased her out, the situation had ended there.

Her heart started pounding from anxiety, but as she moved further away from the study, her heartbeat began to calm down.

As long as nothing else happened, it should be fine, right? Besides, it seemed like Father didn’t know about what happened with Commander Patrick…. Yes. He doesn’t seem to know for now, so let’s just pretend he doesn’t.

Thinking that her father would take care of things, Reina’s worry began to fade. As she walked to her room, she shrugged her shoulders.

But as the memory of what had happened with Patrick resurfaced, her previously relaxed shoulders began to slump like a worm.

It was just an accident. How could I have attacked him?

As she tried to deny her mistake, the hard sensation that she had touched through the clothes came to mind, and her face began to flush without her realizing it.

The fact that he had become aroused meant he had reacted to her.

Did Commander Patrick also have feelings for me?

She tried to brush it off, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. 

Commander Patrick losing control of his body…? How could that be?

Could he also have been interested in me?

Hadn’t he given me a kind look recently? If he had no feelings, he wouldn’t have reacted that way.

Even though she knew it wasn’t true, Reina wanted to interpret things in a way that suited her.

Could I seduce him if I tried?

Her thoughts led to absurd fantasies, filling her with an irrational confidence that she could seduce Patrick.

With a mixture of anticipation and excitement, a bright smile spread across Reina’s face. However, her expectations were soon replaced by disappointment the next day.

* * *

That night, her dreams were oddly different.

The club that had tormented her so much before now held her hand and danced with her, only to suddenly roll away in another direction.

Normally, no matter how much she screamed for it to stay away, the club would always roll towards her. But now it was rolling in the opposite direction.

“Wait!”

She shouted urgently at the club, screaming herself hoarse for it to come back, but it neither changed direction nor stopped.

“W-wait!”

Reina woke up, flailing her arms in the air.

“What kind of dream was that?”

The club, which had always chased her despite her protests, was now moving away even when she called it. Although it wasn’t a nightmare, it was still a disconcerting dream.

As a result, she didn’t feel very cheerful upon waking up.

The strange dream, coupled with the accident she caused yesterday, made her feel more anxious as the dawn training session approached. The confidence she had felt just yesterday seemed to have plummeted.

Will I be able to face the Commander?

Reina had no confidence to face Patrick.

Yesterday, she had hastily shouted that it was a misunderstanding, and Patrick had said he understood, but she couldn’t fathom the meaning behind his words.

‘I understand what you’re saying, Lady Reina. I’ll consider it a mistake and let it go.’

If that’s what he meant, it would be a relief.

‘I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t get it. I now know that you’re a strange person, Lady Reina.’

It could have meant that as well.

Could he be misunderstanding me as a strange woman? A woman who is overly interested in men, or an uncontrollable troublemaker?

Reina clutched her head in frustration. She had no idea how to react when she met him.

“I don’t feel like going to dawn training today, somehow.”

Since she began training, she had never once wanted to skip it. But lately, there had been more and more days when she didn’t want to go….

Reina took out the talisman she had been carrying and looked at it.

“Is it because of this….”

The talisman Richelle had given her seemed to be causing her grief. Ever since receiving it, she had been getting entangled with Patrick in absurd ways.

Could it be possible to make such mistakes in succession, which wouldn’t normally happen?

No, my thoughts are too extreme.

Reina shook her head, denying her thoughts. It was too far-fetched, no matter how she looked at it.

Deciding not to blame the talisman, she put it back in her pocket. Then, she headed to the training ground with a heavy heart.

* * *

“Lady Reina, you’re here.”

When she arrived at the training ground, the knights greeted her with smiles. She greeted them back and then stood next to Toby, who was in a corner.

Once the knights had lined up in formation, Patrick walked briskly and stepped onto the platform. His demeanor was as usual, but Reina tried to avoid his gaze while watching him.

Huh?

At first, she thought she was the one avoiding his gaze, but it wasn’t so. It was actually Patrick who was avoiding her gaze.

Whenever their eyes seemed about to meet, he would abruptly turn his head.

Determined, Reina tried to lock eyes with him from the platform. But until the training ended, he never once met her eyes.

Am I imagining things, or is he doing it on purpose? Is he going to call me out after training to talk about what happened yesterday?

His awkward demeanor made her anxious that Patrick might bring up yesterday’s incident after training, but he didn’t seek her out even then.

“….”

Reina tried to catch Patrick’s eyes while he was talking to the Deputy Commander, but he still avoided her gaze.

Her determination grew stronger.

Just as she resolved to meet his eyes and stared intently, Patrick walked into the mansion.

“Sigh.”

As Reina let out a deep sigh, Jake approached and asked,

“Did something happen between you and the commander?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been glaring at him with sharp eyes since earlier.”

“….”

She had only been trying to meet his eyes, but it seemed like others thought she was glaring.

“Oh, no. That can’t be.”

“Right? The commander wouldn’t do anything wrong.”

Jake spoke with certainty that Patrick couldn’t have done anything wrong.

“Y-yes. Haha.”

Reina forced a smile and mumbled.

The mistake was mine.

She sighed deeply again.

She had intended to pretend nothing had happened, but it didn’t feel good when the other party blatantly avoided her.

Even though she worried about making it obvious, she felt a bit hurt by Patrick’s behavior of acting like nothing had happened.

What are these feelings?

Reina couldn’t understand the unfamiliar emotions she felt toward Patrick.

Should I just explain yesterday’s incident first to clear this awkwardness?

She considered calling Patrick to talk about yesterday but shook her head. Calling him out while he was deliberately avoiding her might worsen the situation.

The more guilty one feels, the longer the explanation tends to be, and trying to clear a misunderstanding might only add more suspicion.