Chapter 4 (Part 1)

God was so cruel.

How could He do this to me? 

It was so awful that it made her wonder.

Why is this happening to me!

Reina felt like cursing at God. She didn’t know why, but she kept running into Patrick today.

The pain of being rejected meant she no longer thought about his body, which was a relief, but the ache in her heart didn’t get any better.

She thought the best way to heal from a painful wound was not to see the person, so she used the excuse of being sick to avoid the training grounds.

But who would have guessed she’d run into Commander Patrick in the hallway early in the morning? It seemed he had just stopped by the study of her father after finishing early morning training.

“Lady, are you feeling alright?”

Seeing her looking perfectly healthy, it was obvious her claim of being sick was a lie, but he asked with a concerned look.

“Oh, I have a bit of a cold.”

Reina was so flustered that she didn’t even know what she was saying. She just wanted to end the conversation with him quickly.

“Have you taken any medicine? If not, how about taking the medicine that the knights take?”

Why does he keep talking to me? He should just do his business and leave.

It wasn’t unusual for Patrick to keep talking since they usually conversed, but the more they talked, the more suffocating it felt. Yet, she couldn’t just ignore him.

“I took some medicine, so I’ll be fine.”

“Then please rest well.”

Even though they exchanged only a few words, all her nerves were focused on him, making her feel drained already.

I might really get sick at this rate.

Her body, which was fine, seemed to scream in pain as soon as she saw Patrick. Her whole body tingled, and her chest hurt as if it were being squeezed. She hoped this would be the last time she ran into him today.

But it wasn’t.

As she went down to the first-floor dining hall for lunch, she saw Patrick with Tom and Walker.

Why am I running into him again?

“Oh? My lady, you said you were sick, but you look fine.”

Unlike Patrick, the oblivious Tom openly suggested that Reina was faking it. Walker’s expression immediately hardened. It seemed they all knew but pretended not to.

Why can’t he keep his mouth shut!

What should she do with this well-meaning but clueless person? She couldn’t just stuff a big piece of bread into his mouth.

“Stop talking nonsense and go inside.”

Patrick gave Tom a look, and he immediately shut his mouth, but as they went inside, leaving her alone with Patrick in the hallway, an awkward atmosphere settled.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Oh? I think I’m better than before.”

Patrick asked with a concerned look, as if he hadn’t heard what Tom said earlier.

I appreciate the concern, but please, can’t you just not talk to me today?

Reina answered half-heartedly and blatantly avoided his gaze. She wanted to act as if nothing was wrong, but since she couldn’t, it was better to avoid him like this.

However.

Even though she tried not to leave her room, she kept running into Patrick during brief moments like going for meals or attending classes.

When she ran into him again, she wanted to turn her head away but couldn’t show it, so she pretended to be surprised.

“We keep running into each other a lot today, my lady.”

As expected, he spoke to her again.

“Indeed.”

She tried to act nonchalant, but her voice came out awkwardly.

Since he was a commander of the Lennox family’s knights, it wasn’t unusual to run into him. But why was she running into him so frequently in the mansion today when she usually had to go to the training grounds to see him?

It felt like God was playing a trick on her.

What did I do wrong!

The problem was that the study was on the same floor as her bedroom. Although they were at opposite ends, it was unusual to run into him so often.

It felt like she had the worst luck, making her heart race every time she saw him, to the point where she wondered if she could survive this.

This can’t go on!

She couldn’t keep avoiding Patrick forever. She needed a different plan since she couldn’t keep being startled every time she ran into him.

Is there any other good way?

At that moment, a phrase from a book popped into Reina’s head: “The pain of love can be replaced by another love.” She hadn’t thought much of it when she read it, but now the situation made her recall it vividly.

It didn’t seem like it would be easy to sort out her feelings, but she decided to try looking at other people.

She decided to start with people who frequently visited the Lennox estate.After putting on her necklace and stepping into the hallway, she surprisingly didn’t run into Patrick at all.

Just a moment ago, she ran into him so many times even though she didn’t want to!

It didn’t seem like the necklace had that kind of power, but it felt like it was telling her that he wasn’t her destined partner, making her heart sink.

The next day, Reina attended training after carefully storing the necklace in her room. It was natural to leave it behind since she’d run into Patrick.

She could bring the necklace and find a man who’d changed the necklace color, but she didn’t want to. It felt like confirming once again in front of Patrick that the necklace wouldn’t change color for him, and she didn’t want that.

When training began, Patrick took his usual spot on the platform. Although their eyes hardly met, Reina deliberately looked at the ground and avoided sending any glances his way throughout the training.

After training, Reina carefully observed the young knights resting around her. She tried to observe without any bias.

The first person Reina’s gaze landed on was Toby, who was cheerfully talking beside her. Being in his teens, he still looked quite young and had a cute appearance.

Especially his deep blue hair made his face look even cuter.

I don’t feel anything other than thinking he’s cute.

Reina turned her gaze to Walker.

With his attractive ash-brown hair, he often wore a relaxed smile, perhaps because he was a noble. His witty talk seemed to make him popular with women.

It might have been because of his soft and handsome noble appearance, but sometimes his sly smile was annoying, so he was a pass.

Besides him, there was Ferguson with his charming smile, Jake with his distinct and strong impression, and other young knights she looked at one by one. Reina felt they were more like family without blood ties rather than men.

Even after seeing their bodies in the hot springs, she felt nothing. It didn’t make sense to suddenly develop feelings now.

The more she looked among the knights, the more she realized Patrick was the only one she had special feelings for.

This won’t change anything! I guess I should go to a social gathering?

Thinking it would be better to meet new people rather than those who felt like family, Reina picked up an invitation to a ball she had hardly attended except when hosted by the royal family.

* * *

“Wow, Reina. Clothes really do make the person.”

Lady Eglinton, who came shopping with her, looked at Reina with wide eyes. Feeling embarrassed, Reina scratched her head.

“Then I should wear this.”

The sky-blue silk dress and transparent necklace chosen by Lady Eglinton suited her well. They planned to attend the ball together tonight.

Although there were many balls, the reason they chose to attend tonight’s ball was that Patrick wouldn’t be there.

The knights of the Lennox family, who were also part of the Royal Third Knights, had gone to meet the border Marquis with Duke Lennox. Recently, pirates had been causing trouble.

It hadn’t been long since they cleared out the capital’s troublemakers, and now the sea was acting up.

Originally, the knights of the border Marquis were supposed to clear them out, but it was difficult, so the Royal Third Knights were dispatched to help.

In that sense, tonight’s ball was perfect for Reina to attend while wearing the necklace.