Chapter 6 (Part 4)

“Sister, what’s this necklace?”

Lilith, who had been quiet lately, caused trouble. Worried about the changed behavior of Reina, she rummaged through her room and found the family heirloom necklace from the Lennox family.

Seeing her bring out the necklace without knowing anything, one could tell she was indeed Duke Lennox’s daughter, with such a keen sense.

“Lilith, where did you get that? Did you rummage through my room?”

Reina’s eyes widened as she enjoyed tea with Richelle. She immediately jumped up and ran to Lilith.

“It was in the drawer.”

“You opened the drawer?”

“No. It was already open.”

Lilith looked innocent, as if she had done nothing wrong.

It seemed that while Reina had left the necklace on the open drawer and gone down to the parlor, Lilith had seen it.

“Lilith, give me the necklace!”

Reina spoke sternly. Lilith was quite stubborn, so she needed to be authoritative to break her will.

“No. It’s really pretty. Can’t you give it to me?”

But it didn’t work on her. They lived informally, so no matter how serious Reina tried to be, it didn’t work well.

“Not now, but I’ll give it to you when you become an adult.”

Changing her approach, she tried to persuade Lilith with kind words.

“No. That means you won’t give it to me.”

“No, I said I’ll give it to you when you become an adult!”

Worried that Lilith might damage the necklace, Reina tried to take it by force, but Lilith, determined not to let it go, started to run away.

“Reina, hurry and take it from her. She might damage the necklace.”

Richelle sighed deeply, looking at Reina as if to say, “How could you let Lilith find the necklace?” But she didn’t move. She just sipped her tea peacefully.

It meant that the one who caused the trouble should clean it up themselves.

“I didn’t know Lilith would rummage through my room.”

“Rummage? It looks like you didn’t store it properly.”

Geez, can’t she just help?

Though Richelle’s behavior was annoying, Reina couldn’t complain. She wasn’t wrong.

The current situation was caused by Reina’s failure to properly secure the necklace. Since it was her fault, Reina had to take responsibility and stop Lilith.

“Lilith! How could you rummage through my room? Aren’t you taking etiquette lessons these days?”

“It was in plain sight. So it’s not my fault!”

Lilith stuck out her tongue and ran down the hallway. She seemed quite upset because Reina had reduced their time together, citing fatigue.

“Stop right there!”

What should I do with this troublemaker?

Lilith, running down the hallway to avoid being caught, suddenly headed towards the study.

“Lilith, do you want to get scolded by Father? Didn’t I tell you not to enter the study without permission?”

If they interrupted his work, Duke Lennox wouldn’t just sit idly by. Of course, he adored his youngest daughter, so he wouldn’t scold Lilith but would reprimand Reina for not taking care of her.

“I’m going to ask Dad for this necklace!”

Just before she could open the study door, Reina managed to catch Lilith. She picked her up and took the necklace, but Lilith still managed to open the study door.

Inside, Duke Lennox was seen sitting on the sofa, conversing with a guest.

“Reina…?”

Duke Lennox’s face twisted, his eyes questioning the lack of manners.

Reina couldn’t just leave, so she put Lilith down and entered the study together.

“I’m sorry.”

She could have blamed Lilith, but she didn’t. The current situation was her fault for not properly taking care of Lilith.

Forcing Lilith to bow and apologize, she resisted, but once Reina let go, Lilith grabbed the necklace and ran to Duke Lennox.

“I want this necklace. But Sister doesn’t want to give it to me.”

Duke Lennox’s expression hardened upon seeing the necklace. He directed a stern look at Reina for not securing it properly.

I couldn’t help it! Who knew Lilith would rummage through my room!

Her silent plea through her eyes was of no use. Duke Lennox, instead of understanding, signaled her to clean up her own mess. Like father, like daughter, Richelle and their father was just the same.

At that moment, the Earl of Selkirk, sitting in front of Duke Lennox, said something surprising.

“The color changed… What an interesting necklace.”

Duke Lennox and Reina immediately turned their gaze to the necklace in Lilith’s hand.

Could the Earl of Selkirk be Lilith’s match? But the age difference is too great!

Looking in shock, she saw that the necklace Lilith was holding tightly was now transparent.

The color changed?

For the color to change, it should be red, but the necklace showed no red hue, leaving Reina bewildered.

What exactly changed about this faulty necklace?

Though Duke Lennox seemed slightly unsettled, he calmly asked the Earl seated in front of him.

“Did you see the necklace change color?”

“Yes. Just now, when the little lady held the necklace, it changed from red to transparent.”

Then he said something even more surprising.

Reina looked at Duke Lennox with confused eyes. If it turned transparent, it meant it was red when Reina was holding it.

Not Lilith, but me?

Was there someone compatible with me in this room? 

She had concluded the necklace was faulty, so why?

In the study were Duke Lennox, Reina, Lilith, and the Earl of Selkirk… No, that wasn’t all.

Reina finally noticed Patrick standing behind Duke Lennox. She almost screamed in surprise but managed to hold it in.

Why now, of all times….

Feeling embarrassed, Reina’s face turned red. Why did he have to be there when she was being so impolite?

And at the moment the necklace changed color!

Reina glanced at Patrick, trying to gauge his reaction. Though his lips were tightly shut, she could sense his face slightly contorting.

Oh no, what do I do!

She had told him the necklace didn’t change color when they were together. Now he would think the Earl of Selkirk was her match.

If she hadn’t mentioned the necklace, he wouldn’t have known. Talking about it seemed to make things worse. Feeling guilty, Reina couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Patrick.

Unaware of this fact, Duke Lennox alternated his gaze between Patrick and the Earl of Selkirk with an intrigued expression before letting out a deep sigh.

“Reina, you know this is the Earl of Selkirk, right?”

“Yes.”

Reina shifted her gaze to the Earl of Selkirk.

He was a vassal of the Lennox family and had become an earl at a young age.

Reina wasn’t particularly close to him. She only knew him as her father’s vassal and had never had a personal conversation with him.

However, she knew well about the earl. After inheriting the title in his teens, he focused on reviving his family and hadn’t even gotten engaged.

Many young ladies were interested in the earl, so whenever she attended social gatherings, news about him naturally reached her.

But Reina didn’t think highly of him. He was two years older than her, and Duke Lennox often praised him for being mature for his age, comparing him to her.

Being frequently compared to him, how could Reina have any good feelings for the man?

Unable to express these thoughts outwardly, Reina greeted him with a forced smile.

“Nice to meet you, Earl of Selkirk. It’s the first time since we last greeted each other.”

“It’s nice to meet you like this as well.”

After the greetings, Duke Lennox signaled Reina to leave. Not that he needed to; she already planned to leave.

How could she stay calm knowing the necklace had changed color? She just wanted to leave the study as quickly as possible.

“I apologize for the interruption.”

Reina bowed politely to the earl and left the study. Lilith, whom she dragged out, had a pale face.

“Sister, I’m sorry.”

Having finally grasped the situation, Lilith handed over the necklace as soon as they left the study. Despite being stubborn, she was perceptive enough to realize her mistake.

She must have understood the gravity of her actions, seeing Duke Lennox’s consistently stern expression.

If only Lilith had given it back sooner. What was the point of returning it after causing so much confusion?

Though it was too late, having already shown an unseemly side to the Earl of Selkirk and Patrick, she couldn’t get angry at Lilith.

“From now on, don’t come into my room without permission. And don’t open the study door without permission either!”

Reina ended the situation by lightly tapping Lilith on the head.

“Okay.”

Seeing Lilith so dejected, she couldn’t hold a grudge. What could a child who knew nothing have understood about her actions?

The fault lay with Reina for not securing the necklace properly. She shouldn’t have left it where Lilith could see it. So, there was no one else to blame.

At least Lilith wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Though she occasionally caused trouble, she showed signs of growth after reflecting on her actions.

Still, to prevent a repeat of today, Reina needed to hide the necklace securely.