Is the Price of Curiosity an Exceptional Man? - Chapter 3 (Part 6)
Chapter 3 (Part 6)
During training, she often cursed Patrick internally when she got cramps from exercises to strengthen her feet and ankles, but now she was grateful.
Who knew it would come in handy like this?
“You, you little…!”
As the man tried to grab her ankle, she lifted her leg and brought it down on his head.
“Aaagh!”
The man screamed in pain again and tried to grab her ankle, but he failed and staggered from dizziness.
Before he could retaliate, Reina’s foot struck his cheek again. She intended to keep hitting him until he passed out. Just then,
“Lady Reina, are you alright?”
The door opened with a hurried voice, and Patrick’s face appeared.
“C-Commander?!”
Reina, who had been fervently beating the man, froze. She was supposed to show a vulnerable side, but instead, she was caught enthusiastically hitting her kidnapper.
“…”
Patrick seemed momentarily taken aback by the situation and said nothing. An awkward silence filled the air between them.
“S-Sir Knight! Please save me! That woman is a witch!”
The man, sensing the situation, suddenly ran to Patrick, pleading as if he were the victim.
How dare he ask for help now after kidnapping me?
And calling me a witch in front of Patrick…
He was saying things that could cause misunderstandings.
The man clung to Patrick’s leg, pretending to be a victim.
“How dare a kidnapper act like a victim. You are truly shameless!”
Fortunately, Patrick ignored the man’s plea, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him.
“Ugh…”
The man’s legs flailed as he struggled to breathe.
“Do you even know who you kidnapped? This is Lady Reina Lennox, the niece of His Majesty the Emperor and the second daughter of Duke Lennox.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Patrick threw the man to the floor. The man groaned and looked puzzled.
“T-That can’t be! Who would think someone from the Duke’s family would be wearing such rags and hitting people? If I knew, I wouldn’t have touched her. Am I crazy?”
Every word the man spoke felt like a dagger to Reina’s chest.
Compared to a fancy dress, her current clothes might seem less glamorous, but they were made of high-quality material.
Common women usually wore trousers, while noble women rarely did, so it was understandable to mistake her. But calling them rags… Madam Emma would have cried if she heard that.
She wanted to think he mistook her for a poor woman because they met in a slum.
How many times will he embarrass me in front of the Commander…
Reina glared at the man so intensely that she forgot her upper body was exposed.
“That’s your problem.”
Patrick struck the man’s neck, knocking him out. Then he tore the man’s shoulder clothes, revealing a scorpion tattoo.
“A scorpion tattoo… So you guys were behind the recent suspicious activities.”
Patrick searched the unconscious man’s clothes, looking for the key to Reina’s shackles.
“He doesn’t have the key.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We’ll have to break it with a sword…”
Patrick suddenly jerked his head back mid-sentence. Reina tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he did that.
The moment she saw his reddened ears, she realized her chest was fully exposed.
“I didn’t mean to see your body, Lady Reina. I apologize.”
Still looking away, Patrick quickly covered her with a nearby blanket.
“It might hurt a bit, but please bear with it.”
He swung his sword over the shackles binding her hands.
The sturdy shackles broke in half so easily that Reina was too stunned to speak.
Is there anything he can’t do?
She wondered momentarily but quickly dismissed the thought. That wasn’t the important thing now. She had so many questions.
“How did you find me?”
After adjusting her clothes, Reina asked Patrick. He showed her an artifact she had never seen before.
“It’s a magical tool with a tracking function. The mage gave it to me as it’s still in development, and there’s only one.”
“A tracking function? I don’t remember carrying anything like that.”
Oh…
Reina suddenly remembered the talisman Richelle had given her. Considering how suspicious Richelle had looked when handing it over, it must have had a tracking function.
Richelle must have given it to her to secretly follow and find out who she was interested in since she wouldn’t tell her directly.
Though she was annoyed by Richelle’s nosy behavior, she decided not to hold a grudge since it led to this alone time with Patrick.
Come to think of it, ever since she received that talisman, she had been constantly running into Patrick. It seemed external forces were at play, given the series of unprecedented events.
Just as she was about to continue the conversation, Frank and Ferguson, who had been waiting outside, entered. Their bodies were soaked, indicating it was raining outside.
“Take him away. I’ll escort Lady Reina back.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two men tied up the unconscious man with a rope and carried him out of the log cabin.
“Is there something happening in the capital?”
As the commander of the Royal Knights, Patrick had the authority for immediate execution. He should have dealt with the man right away.
Yet, he chose to hand him over to the guards, which raised questions.
“Recently, some unsavory elements have appeared in the capital. But it’s nothing for you to worry about, Lady Reina.”
It seemed Patrick’s recent busyness was related to this issue.
“Is that why you’ve been so busy lately?”
Though the Deputy Commander had said it was nothing, it seemed something was indeed happening in the capital.
“We’re on high alert for any unexpected incidents. So please refrain from wandering around like this, even if you’re following me.”
Reina’s eyes widened momentarily. It seemed Patrick had noticed that she and the others were following him.
“When did you find out?”
“I knew from the beginning.”
“Oh….”
No wonder he had disappeared so quickly that they couldn’t keep up. He had noticed them from the start. She felt a sense of futility.
“I don’t know why you were following me, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me directly. If it’s something I can answer, I will.”
“….”
Reina immediately grabbed Patrick’s arm and looked at him.
‘Is it true that you have a fiancée?’ The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. She just stared at him, her eyes trembling slightly.
“Do you have something to say?”
Patrick asked with an awkward expression.
“No, it’s nothing.”
I can’t bring myself to ask.
This was the perfect opportunity to ask if he had a fiancée, but she ended up squandering it. She had even ordered Olive to investigate.
She was afraid that if the word ‘fiancée’ came out of his mouth, her heart would shatter.
At the same time, she realized that they were in an awkward situation. She had momentarily forgotten about it because of the fiancée issue.
She recalled what had happened in the study yesterday but tried to push it out of her mind. Seeing that Patrick hadn’t mentioned it, he seemed to consider it a non-event.
She didn’t want to bring it up and create an awkward atmosphere.
When she didn’t respond, Patrick stood up.
“Lady Reina, can you stand? Since we’ve finished our business, it’s best if we leave now.”
I wish I could stay with him a little longer….
Being alone with Patrick in one place was a rare situation, and she felt regretful about leaving.
She felt guilty, thinking that all this had happened because of her careless thoughts, and wondered if she could use this incident to evoke his sympathy.
However, Reina’s personality wouldn’t allow her to do that. So, she offered a simple apology.
“I’ve caused a lot of trouble for the knights. I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I don’t need comforting words. It’s all my fault. Because of me, you had to suffer, and the other knights must have had a hard time searching for me.”
“Please don’t think you’ve caused any trouble.”
Patrick replied firmly.
“What?”
“In fact, I should be the one apologizing. I thought it would be better for Duke Lennox to explain it to you directly, but since you’ve apologized, I can’t keep it to myself.”
“You have to apologize to me? Why?”
“Actually, we were looking for bait to communicate with those guys. It was too dangerous to use just anyone as bait. We couldn’t disguise the knights as women either.”
“….”
“Then, by chance, I saw you following me to the streets. I watched you, hoping for a chance, and luckily, you caught their attention. Thanks to you, we were able to catch them easily. I’m grateful for your sacrifice for the public good.”
“So, you used me?”
“I temporarily used you to find their hideout. I’m sorry.”
“….”
She was so shocked she couldn’t speak.
Even if he didn’t see me as a woman, how could he use me in such a dangerous situation?
She should be angry for being used without her consent, but she felt more hurt than anything else.
“Didn’t you worry about me?”
Of course, Reina was the one who caused the trouble first, but she couldn’t help but resent Patrick for using the situation to catch the human traffickers.
“I was worried, but you handled it well before anything serious happened.”
Patrick’s lips twitched as if he was trying to suppress a smile, probably recalling the scene of her kicking the man.
“….”
I guess he doesn’t see me as a woman.