Chapter 6 (Part 2)

Reina was at a loss for words, feeling utterly dumbfounded.

“You must know everything since you heard the story, right? That Commander Patrick and I love each other. We plan to get engaged as soon as your engagement is canceled. So, it’s best to give up on the ridiculous idea that your engagement can’t be broken.”

Barely managing to open her mouth, Reina spoke, and Lady Berkshire laughed.

“If I don’t accept the engagement cancellation, you two won’t be able to get engaged.”

“Do you not think that Commander Patrick will unilaterally break off the engagement?”

“You know well that he’s not the kind of man who would coldly reject a crying woman. He’s a gentleman with good manners. Do you think he can heartlessly cast me aside?”

“…”

“If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have sacrificed himself to get engaged to me in the first place.”

Reina couldn’t refute Lady Berkshire’s words.

She wasn’t wrong. Who would think of protecting a friend’s fiancée? It was something only Patrick could do.

He wasn’t the kind of man to break the oath he took during the knighting ceremony, which included respecting and serving women. Lady Berkshire knew this well and seemed to be trying to exploit it.

Given his polite and upright nature, he wouldn’t treat a woman heartlessly, so he would try to break off the engagement in a way that minimized her hurt.

The problem was that this process could take a long time.

In a situation where they were already trying to limit their meetings, an unexpected obstacle had appeared.

Reina was so incredulous that she could barely speak. She managed to open her mouth and said,

“Why are you doing this? Shouldn’t you be grateful that Commander Patrick helped you? Why are you being so shameless?”

“I loved Bill too. But what can you do when love has its limits? Bill neglected me for his honor and power. But Commander Marionus didn’t. He filled the void.”

“I heard you barely met Commander Patrick.”

“Is the number of meetings important? The actions he took towards me are what matters. I’ve never seen a man as courteous and well-mannered to women as he is. Isn’t it natural to be attracted to such a wonderful man?”

“Don’t you consider Commander Patrick’s feelings?”

Reina’s voice grew clearer as she got slightly agitated by Lady Berkshire’s absurd words.

“Soon, he will feel the same way.”

Lady Berkshire’s eyes were filled with confidence as she answered.

“How can you answer so confidently when you heard that he became my lover?”

“Why, you ask?”

Lady Berkshire glanced at Reina and then gave a seductive smile.

“Because I’m more attractive than you.”

It seemed that her confidence stemmed from her belief in her own appearance.

Objectively speaking, Lady Berkshire, with her mature allure, was indeed more attractive to men than Reina, who had just become an adult and still had a fresh, youthful look.

Even Reina had thought the same when she first saw Lady Berkshire.

Is it because she thinks I’m easy?

Patrick, who had never shown interest in the opposite s*x, had opened his heart to Reina for the first time, which might have inflated Lady Berkshire’s confidence. Reina still had an innocent charm.

“Do you think appearance is the most important thing? You should consider other aspects too. For example, think about the family. Honestly, I can offer Commander Patrick more than you can. Although that’s not why he chose me.”

Since she couldn’t win in terms of appearance, Reina had no choice but to bring up her family. She thought that grounding Lady Berkshire’s baseless confidence in reality might help.

“Are you admitting that Commander Marionus chose you for material reasons? He is a man who can receive a title even without your help. So why don’t you stop trying to tempt him with such things? If you hadn’t swayed him, Commander Marionus would already be my man.”

Lady Berkshire insulted their relationship by suggesting that Patrick liked Reina for her power, wealth, and family.

What an absurd statement.

While Reina was speechless with disbelief, Lady Berkshire continued.

“The person who suddenly appeared and took Commander Marionus away is none other than you, Lady Lennox. He hasn’t given any woman a second glance for the past five years. If you hadn’t appeared, the place next to him would have been mine.”

“Do you think Commander Patrick is the kind of man who would marry a friend’s lover?”

“Wh-what does it matter if they were a friend’s lover? That’s all in the past.”

Lady Berkshire suddenly stammered. It seemed she interpreted things in a way that was favorable to her.

She seemed to think she could tempt Patrick over time, but that was because she didn’t know his true character.

There was no way he would ever covet a friend’s woman. It was a ridiculous notion. Lady Berkshire seemed to be under a significant misconception.

Lady Berkshire stood up abruptly, as if she had said everything she wanted to say. She left without even saying goodbye.

Reina could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.

“She was a tougher opponent than I thought.”

Coming to her senses belatedly, Reina clicked her tongue.

Could it be that strong self-love leads to such thoughts?

Though it was absurd, there was nothing to be done at the moment, so Reina decided to observe the situation for now.

However, she needed to find out if Lady Berkshire’s claim about breaking up with Sir Bill was true. So, as soon as she returned to the mansion, she called for Olive.

“Find out as soon as possible what the current relationship between Lady Berkshire and Sir Bill is.”

“Understood.”

Not long after Olive left, she knocked on Reina’s bedroom door with the information she had gathered.

“Ah, um. Most people don’t know that Sir Bill and Lady Berkshire were in a romantic relationship because they rarely met. So, it’s unclear if they’ve broken up, but no one has seen them together recently.”

“Weren’t they meeting with Commander Patrick recently?”

“Yes. It seems they haven’t met since the three of them were last seen together at the palace.”

It was the day when the knights had witnessed Patrick and Sandra together. Reina, who was listening to Olive’s report with a calm expression, couldn’t help but be surprised by what Olive said next.

“Recently, Lady Berkshire has been attending social gatherings, claiming to be Commander Marionus’ fiancée. Considering that, it seems they have indeed broken up.”

“What?”

Lady Berkshire, who once wouldn’t leave the house to marry Bill, was now boldly attending social events and boasting about her engagement to Patrick. It was infuriatingly selfish.

How could someone be so self-centered?

After Olive left the room, Reina stepped into the hallway to ask Patrick about the situation. She spotted him coming out of the study.

Patrick noticed Reina and greeted her with a courteous bow. Instead of returning his greeting, she looked around to make sure no one was nearby.

“No one is here….”

Before Patrick could finish speaking, Reina grabbed his hand and pulled him into a nearby empty room.

“What is going on?”

As soon as she closed the door carefully, Reina asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I just met Lady Berkshire, and she said she has no intention of breaking off your engagement.”

“That can’t be. I’ll talk to her myself.”

Patrick seemed completely unaware. It appeared that Lady Berkshire intended to hide her true feelings and exploit his sympathy to seduce him.

Did she not mention that she and Bill had broken up?

“Is Lady Berkshire still seeing Sir Bill frequently?”

Reina asked cautiously, watching Patrick’s reaction.

“I heard they haven’t been able to meet often lately.”

“Why? Weren’t they supposed to get married once he received his title?”

“That’s what we thought, but the territory he was granted is far from the capital, so he’s currently on leave and has left the capital.”

Sigh. Was this her plan all along?

While Bill was temporarily away from the capital, Lady Berkshire was clearly trying to win over Patrick’s heart. She probably intended to switch to him the moment his feelings changed.

Although Reina was confident that Patrick would never fall for her, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.