Chapter 4 (Part 3)

Knock, knock.

While lying on the bed reading a book after morning class, she suddenly heard a knock.

The only person who would interrupt her leisurely time was Lilith, but she would burst in without knocking, so it wasn’t her.

“Young Lady.”

The person knocking was Nina.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Duke is calling for you.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

Reina got up with a puzzled expression.

Did I cause some trouble?

She hadn’t gone out much recently except for attending the ball, and she hadn’t caused any trouble. So, she tilted her head in confusion and headed to the study.

“What brings you to call for me?”

After receiving permission to enter and opening the door, she saw Duke Lennox standing by his desk, reading documents.

“Reina, it’s about the training journal you wrote.”

“I’ve been submitting it regularly lately.”

Since she was scolded last time for not submitting it on time, Reina had been diligently writing and submitting her training journal on the promised dates.

So, if she were to be scolded for that, she would feel wronged. She hadn’t done anything wrong, so why?

“I didn’t call you to scold you. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“The opposite?”

Not understanding what he meant, Reina tilted her head.

“Your training journal. Since you wrote about your actual experiences, the descriptions are vivid and detailed. You did a great job. It vividly brings to life what kind of training the knights undergo and what activities they engage in.”

“Th-thank you.”

Since praise was rare, she felt more bewildered than happy. Feeling awkward, Reina scratched her head.

“So, can you bring what you’ve written so far?”

“All of it?”

Since it was written once a week for five years, the amount was considerable. Bringing it all at once was impossible.

“I’m not asking you to bring it all. Just bring the ones you think are well-written.”

“What are you going to use them for?”

“Actually, His Majesty has read them.”

“What? Th-the Emperor? Why did he read them?”

Reina shouted, shocked. She suddenly felt a cold sweat all over her body.

She had put effort into writing them to avoid getting scolded by her father, but she never thought they were good enough to show to anyone. They were just records to show she was training well.

“We were talking about you, and he showed interest, so I showed him the most recent one.”

“Why are you talking about me? You always scold me for being a troublemaker!”

“Even I want to boast about my child sometimes.”

“….”

She was speechless at the word “boast.” Thinking about it, boasting was much better than complaining about her being a troublemaker.

“So bring the ones you think are well-written.”

Reina’s training journals were stored in the basement of the knights’ lodge, along with other documents related to the knights.

“If you were going to look for them, why not keep them at the mansion? And why do I have to go?”

Couldn’t the butler do it? Why today of all days?

She was afraid of running into Patrick at the lodge. She hadn’t wanted to see him lately, but today especially, she didn’t want to face him.

She absolutely did not want to run into Patrick while wearing the lingerie Richelle had given her.

Of course, he would never see the lingerie she was wearing today, but she couldn’t help but feel conscious about it.

“I told you earlier. Bring the ones you think are well-written, and I’ll show His Majesty the ones that are good.”

Duke Lennox’s firm stance left no room for her to insist on sending someone else.

“Can’t I bring them tomorrow?”

“I’m meeting His Majesty tomorrow morning. So bring them now.”

“Alright.”

Since it was an order from the Emperor, Reina had no choice but to head to the lodge. She walked with slumped shoulders, dragging her feet.

She thought she hadn’t walked much, but she had already reached the lodge. The distance from the mansion was considerable, but it felt short because she didn’t want to go.

The lodge door was always unlocked since many knights came and went. Reina grabbed the handle without hesitation.

Please, don’t let me run into Patrick.

Hoping not to run into Patrick, she opened the lodge door. Inside, it was silent.

Are they out training?

Reina didn’t know the knights’ training schedule. Since they worked in shifts, she only knew someone was always in the lodge.

The silence suggested they were all out for external training.

Feeling relieved that no one was there, she headed to the basement storage. That’s when she saw Patrick coming up from the storage.

Huh? Wasn’t there supposed to be no one here?

Seeing only him and no other knights, she spoke first, surprised.

“Where are the other knights?”

“They’ve all gone for the sacred ritual.”

Ah, today was that day. 

The day they went to the hot springs for the sacred ritual, which happened every two months.

Usually, they went to the hot springs after early morning training, but sometimes they went later if they had work. Today must be one of those days.

Starting with Richelle’s sudden gift of lingerie, everything felt subtly off today.

“Y-you didn’t go with them, Commander?”

“Duke Lennox assigned me a task, so I couldn’t go.”

“Ah, it must be an important document.”

Seeing that Patrick’s hands were empty, it seemed he had left whatever Duke Lennox had instructed in the storage.

There was a safe in the storage, and Patrick, as the knight commander, kept the key. Being alone meant it was a special document requiring security.

“Yes.”

With Patrick’s brief answer, their conversation ended. Reina quickly stepped down the stairs, and Patrick gave a light nod before heading to the first floor.

Running into him alone was unsettling. Today seemed like the worst day ever. There were strange days in a year, and today was one of those days.

She felt she should stay in her room after completing her father’s errand.

Since it was for His Majesty, she needed to choose well-written journals, but she couldn’t focus.

Since Duke Lennox would review and select them, she decided to just bring about ten journals and headed to the first floor.

She expected Patrick to be gone by the time she came up, but there he was, sitting upright on the sofa. Startled, Reina froze.

“Ah, you’re still here?”

“I plan to stay at the lodge until the knights return.”

“Right. I’ll be going then since I’ve finished my errand.”

“Please do.”

After an awkward farewell, she was about to leave the lodge when she noticed the sky looked ominous. It had been clear when she walked to the lodge, but it had suddenly darkened.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

Patrick, who had approached from behind, looked up at the sky and said. Reina nodded involuntarily, but she had a bad feeling.

“I’ll just run back before it starts raining.”

“It will rain before you reach the mansion.”

“It’s fine. I’ll run fast.”

Shaking off Patrick’s hand reaching for her wrist, Reina started running in a hurry. She needed to get back as quickly as possible before the rain started.

However, Patrick was not wrong. Just as he said, dark clouds began to gather, and raindrops started to fall one by one. Then, it began to pour as if the sky had opened up.

“Young Lady, this way.”

Patrick, who had followed her, draped his coat over Reina’s shoulders and took her hand, starting to run.

Fortunately, the annex was near the training ground. It was a place rarely used and usually kept empty. There was no dedicated caretaker, so maids from the main building came to clean it two or three times a week.

Since the annex was the closest shelter, the two ran there to avoid the rain.

Today didn’t seem to be a cleaning day, as there was no one else in the annex. As soon as they arrived, they looked out the window. The rain, which had started as a drizzle, was now pouring down like a waterfall.

It was a sudden downpour, so they thought it would stop soon, but it didn’t. Thunder and lightning began to strike, making the weather even more violent. At this rate, it seemed like it would rain until the next day.

The view outside became blurry, and as the storm intensified, it seemed like a typhoon was about to swallow everything up.

Why does the weather always turn so bad when I’m with Commander Patrick?

“We’ll have to stay here until the rain stops.”

All of Reina’s training journals were soaked. There were still many journals left in the storage, so she didn’t feel too regretful, but if she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have gone to the lodge.

Why did father order me to bring them now of all times?