Chapter 4 (Part 6)

Why….

He couldn’t understand why the gaze that was once directed at him had shifted elsewhere. He wondered what was the problem.

What was absurd about this situation was that he couldn’t hold back his own feelings.

Before Reina started training as a knight, Duke Lennox had introduced her as his troublesome daughter. He wanted no one else but Patrick to take charge of her.

Patrick, who wasn’t yet the commander of the knights, seemed to believe that if he could tame the mischievous young lady, he would be able to fulfill his role as commander effectively.

In a way, by taking charge of Reina, Patrick was being put to the test.

Her first impression was exactly as Duke Lennox had described. A troublemaker who could go off in any direction.

However, she was surprisingly tenacious and tried hard to complete even the most grueling training, which Patrick found endearing.

That’s why he thought of her as a cute little sister. He never saw her as a woman.

There were a few knights who had a crush on Reina. She seemed unaware because they didn’t show it outwardly, but Patrick didn’t care about such things.

However, after noticing that Reina’s gaze towards him had changed, Patrick too began to feel a subtle shift in his emotions.

Am I really thinking of her as a sister?

Not having a real sister, Patrick couldn’t grasp what his own feelings were.

It wasn’t that he thought of having a special relationship with Reina. He believed that any momentary emotional turmoil would soon settle down.

But that wasn’t the case.

When she looked at him, especially when she occasionally glanced at his lower body, he felt his whole body bristle.

It wasn’t an obvious gaze, so the other knights didn’t notice, but Patrick, with his sharper senses, definitely did.

When she accidentally touched his body, his lower region felt tight. He had no idea how hard he tried to suppress the rising urge.

Perhaps because of that, his feelings grew stronger over time.

Whether it was curiosity or affection in her eyes, he found himself increasingly captivated by her gaze.

To the point where he wanted that gaze to be directed solely at him.

But at some point, she stopped looking at him altogether. She only tried to avoid him.

That was the first time he felt an indescribable emotion.

Whenever he was involved with the mischievous young lady, his judgment became strangely clouded. For some reason, he couldn’t maintain his composure when it came to matters involving her.

Patrick didn’t know why he was like this. He wondered if his emotions had always been this varied.

When he realized that she no longer looked at him, Patrick finally understood his own feelings.

He didn’t see her as a sister; he had special feelings for her.

“I can’t tell you how confused I was by your seemingly seductive behavior.”

Perhaps because they spent a lot of time together and grew fond of each other. Who would have known that he would fall for her charms without realizing it?

“When you’re around, I feel like a different person. I thought I could control myself, but why….”

“Commander, I….”

“I can’t accept it. When we were at the log cabin during the kidnapping, didn’t you clearly want me?”

Feeling overwhelmed by the situation, Reina tried to step back, but Patrick’s hand firmly gripped her waist, preventing her from doing so.

Even though she had undergone training, she could feel the difference in strength between them.

“Don’t think about running away anymore. Tell me honestly how you feel.”

“….”

“Was it all just my imagination? When you asked me to hold your hand, was it merely a request for help?”

“What about your feelings, Commander?”

Though he spoke as if he had feelings for her, he hadn’t said it outright. Reina wanted to know Patrick’s feelings for sure.

“I am drawn to you. So now, please tell me how you feel.”

“….”

Hearing what sounded like a confession, she couldn’t believe it.

Is it true? Does Commander Patrick like me? 

It felt like a dream. It was just recently that she thought she had been rejected.

As joy welled up within her, a heart-wrenching fact crossed her mind.

Why, when you have a fiancée….

The overflowing joy quickly turned into disappointment, frustration, and despair.

She couldn’t understand Patrick’s actions. 

Why would he say such things when he had a fiancée?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Seeing Reina’s expression darken, Patrick’s eyes filled with confusion.

“Y-you have a fiancée.”

“Ah….”

He too seemed to have momentarily forgotten about his fiancée in the expectation and fullness of possibly sharing mutual feelings.

How could he say he was drawn to me when he’s been engaged for five years? Isn’t this clearly an affair?

Given Patrick’s character, he wouldn’t cheat, but their current situation could certainly be seen as infidelity.

Reina’s eyes narrowed with strong suspicion. Then he chuckled and spoke.

“You don’t need to look at me like that. Lady Berkshire is just a fiancée in name.”

“A fiancée in name? What do you mean by that?”

What was she thinking of giving up on? And now he says she’s just a fiancée in name? 

Reina couldn’t understand what Patrick was saying.

“If she were my actual fiancée, we would have married long ago. It’s just a fake engagement, which is why we’ve maintained the engagement for so long.”

“A fake engagement? But you’ve been engaged for five years?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That doesn’t make sense! During that engagement period, you couldn’t marry another woman.”

Of course, just because the engagement period was long and he was older didn’t mean he couldn’t get married. Given Patrick’s status, many women would want to marry him regardless of his age.

“There wasn’t anyone I particularly liked. So, I pretended to be engaged to help her out temporarily.”

Oh, so that’s why.

Reina finally felt like her long-held curiosity had been resolved.

The fact that they had never attended a banquet together, that Lady Berkshire rarely went out, and that she was caught by the knights only once in five years.

Somehow, it all made sense.

There must have been a reason why hardly anyone knew about their five-year engagement.

“I plan to break off the engagement soon.”

“Suddenly? Then was there a special reason for maintaining it for five years?”

“Yes. Lady Berkshire had a man she loved. The problem was that he was a commoner-born royal knight.”

“Could it be that Lady Berkshire, who hardly ever goes out, went to the palace often to meet her lover?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Since they couldn’t meet alone, I always accompanied them, making it the three of us.”

Ah, so that’s why I never saw them alone together.

Patrick often had to interact with young ladies due to his duties. So, it was natural that no one would suspect anything seeing the three of them together.

Moreover, since Lady Berkshire only met him once every three months, it would have been hard to think of her as his fiancée.

“Did Baron Berkshire oppose the relationship between the two?”

“The Baron intended for Lady Berkshire to marry into a noble family.”

“Oh….”

“If she hadn’t been engaged to me, the Baron would have married her off to another man immediately. He didn’t like my friend at all. So, I temporarily became her fiancé, planning to wait until he received a title.”

“Why did you go so far to sacrifice yourself? What if he never received a title?”

Patrick chuckled and spoke with a confident look in his eyes.

“That’s not going to happen. I have no doubt that my old friend will earn a title through his achievements. You’ve probably heard his name before, my lady.”

“I’ve heard of him?”

Aside from the knights of the Lennox Order, there were hardly any knights Reina knew. For a commoner to receive a title, he must be exceptionally skilled….

Ah!

“Could it be, Sir Bill?”

“That’s right. I trusted my friend, so I protected his fiancée.”

“Oh my goodness. He was in love with Lady Berkshire…. I had no idea.”

She felt as if her mind had gone blank.