Chapter 6 (Part 6)

In the darkened room, the window silently opened. The cold night air swiftly permeated the still room.

The curtains began to flutter in the breeze blowing from outside. Not being a heavy sleeper, Reina woke up startled by the faint presence.

What’s happening?

As she sat up in bed, she froze.

The figure of a man walking gracefully with the moonlight streaming through the window behind him was as beautiful as a painting. Mesmerized by his captivating appearance, Reina could only stare in a daze.

The man, half swallowed by shadow, soon revealed himself. A visitor both unfamiliar and familiar.

“Commander Patrick?”

Is this a dream?

Seeing the unexpected man standing before her, Reina thought she must be dreaming. Even after rubbing her eyes, he was still there.

What on earth is going on?

Not only was this the first time he visited so late at night, but he wasn’t the type to sneak into a lady’s room at midnight, making it all the more surprising.

“Shh!”

As she tried to speak, Patrick quickly approached and placed a finger on her lips. It was a feather-light touch.

In the quiet, dark mansion, even the smallest sound could be amplified, so they had to keep their voices down.

Yikes!

Reina quickly lowered her voice and asked him.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“Since we haven’t had time to meet alone lately, I had to come late at night. I apologize if you feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that….”

Reina thought she knew why he had come. It was probably because of what happened during the day.

“Is it because the necklace changed color?”

“…Yes.”

After hesitating for a moment, Patrick answered cautiously. Even in the darkened room, she could feel his eyes dimly reflecting the moonlight.

“It’s nothing serious.”

Reina smiled as if it were no big deal.

“You don’t really think it’s nothing, do you?”

“….”

She couldn’t answer right away. It seemed he had also noticed how much Duke Lennox believed in the necklace.

Though it was only a fleeting moment, he must have noticed the change in her father’s expression.

“Are you curious?”

“About what?”

“…The fated connection.”

Patrick stepped closer behind Reina. He tightly embraced her waist and buried his face in her neck. His refreshing scent gently enveloped her.

The moment his touch caressed her, Reina’s body shuddered. Unfazed, Patrick pressed his lips to her neck.

If he didn’t do this, he would be driven mad with longing.

Whenever it involved Reina, he kept experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions. He had gone through heaven and hell countless times because of her.

He thought things would be fine now that their hearts were connected, but this unbelievable situation had to happen, all because of that ridiculous necklace. When he heard it was imbued with magic, he brushed it off lightly.

Even if he heard they weren’t compatible, he tried not to care. Acknowledging it would have meant denying the blissful time they had spent together the previous night.

But the moment he witnessed the necklace change color before his eyes, he couldn’t ignore it any longer. The necklace, which hadn’t changed for him, turned red, indicating that the Earl of Selkirk was Reina’s match.

Seeing the subtle change in Duke Lennox’s expression and Reina’s flustered look, an indescribable emotion surged within him.

Damn it!

He wanted to take Reina out of the study immediately, but he couldn’t. Acting on instinct wasn’t an option.

Patrick tried to suppress his feelings. So, he clenched his teeth and fists, enduring the urge.

Was it a mistake to think it would be fine as long as her match didn’t appear? Why did he have to show up now?

With a rival suddenly appearing, Patrick couldn’t hide his anxiety and unease.

Normally, he would have planned ahead and acted accordingly, but now he couldn’t. Strangely, anything related to Reina made him impatient.

When he finally couldn’t contain it, Patrick acted impulsively.

How could he remain calm when another man who was fated to be with Reina had appeared? The threads of his patience, which he had been holding onto, suddenly snapped.

As a result, he could no longer endure and ended up sneaking into Reina’s room in the middle of the night. Something he would never have done otherwise.

Hiding his presence and entering the bedroom without anyone noticing wasn’t difficult for him.

But who in their right mind would sneak into a lady’s bedroom? With Reina’s destined partner now revealed, he had no more restraint left.

If he hadn’t come even at this late hour, he felt like he would go crazy.

An uncontrollable impulsive feeling. Unable to express it in words, Patrick felt that the word “love” alone couldn’t capture his emotions.

His hands, which had been wrapped around her waist, moved up her soft curves to grasp her chest. He deliberately teased the prominent peaks through the fabric with his fingers.

“Ugh!”

“I tried to restrain myself for a while….”

Patrick buried his face in the mound.

“Do you know how much I’ve missed this scent, this sensation?”

He closed his eyes, savoring the moment, then untied the lingerie’s strap. The dress fell to the floor in an instant. He removed her underwear and licked Reina’s chest with his tongue.

“Ahhh.”

“I’ve been enduring this with great difficulty…. My patience is wearing thin.”

The hand that had been teasing her peak moved to her back, then smoothly slipped between her legs. Pushing aside her underwear, he gently caressed her lower entrance.

The ticklish sensation made Reina’s body flinch.

“Do you think our bodies are incompatible, my lady?”

The hand that had been leisurely exploring now spread through her entrance and slipped inside. Patrick noticed she was already wet despite no prior stimulation, and his lips curled into a faint smile.

In the dark room, his face bathed in moonlight exuded a precarious atmosphere. Just looking at him made her vision blur.

Along with the languid movements stirring inside her, she felt her strength slowly draining away.

Perhaps because it was the middle of the night, everything in sight felt like a dream rather than reality. Everything before her eyes seemed illusory.

But every time she felt her lower self getting wetter, she realized this was not a dream but reality.

They had intertwined several times, but it had only been two days.

Yet her body subconsciously remembered him. Even a little stimulation made her body heat up, as if it were not her own.

“I didn’t think so. I thought we couldn’t be more compatible….”

I feel the same. 

She wanted to say this but couldn’t bring herself to speak. Even though she knew Patrick was anxious.

The fact that he was doing something he usually wouldn’t must have been because he was worried her feelings might change. It was only natural since the Earl of Selkirk seemed like a good man even to him.

Moreover, it was Patrick who had helped resolve the incident caused by her curiosity. He knew better than anyone how strong-willed Reina could be, so he was probably worried she might end up being intimate with another man.

The problem was that his suspicion wasn’t entirely wrong. Reina couldn’t deny that she was curious about being intimate with the man her necklace had chosen as her destined partner.

If the intercourse with Patrick, who was deemed incompatible with her, she couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel with the man her fated connection pointed to.

Such thoughts were inevitable because of her family’s attitude.

They were convinced that she would be irresistibly drawn to the man for whom the necklace changed color. Their blind faith in the necklace’s power implied that physical compatibility was extremely important.

The unknown sensation made her want to experience it, but the thought of being intimate with anyone other than Patrick felt uneasy.

Even if this new man could take me to an unknown world, would it really be meaningful if he wasn’t Patrick? Would a physical connection without an emotional one truly be as blissful?

Moreover, if their bodies matched perfectly, what would happen to my heart? Is it possible to keep the body and heart separate?

Would my feelings for Patrick fade if I experienced a new world?

She reassured herself over and over that it wouldn’t happen, but she couldn’t completely hide her anxiety. Patrick, perceptive as he was, must have sensed the meaning behind her silence.

“Are you worried that my feelings might change?”

She finally broke the silence, but instead of answering, Patrick laid her down on the bed and climbed on top of her.

Her pink hair, imbued with the scent of spring flowers, scattered across the bed. Her hair, bathed in moonlight, shone brightly even in the darkness like a garden in full bloom.

“If I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have pursued you in the first place. No, I wouldn’t have even revealed my feelings. But now that I have, I have no intention of letting you be taken by anyone else, not even Earl Selkirk.”

In that moment, Patrick’s eyes burned with a fierce intensity. Reina had never seen him so possessive before.

She should reassure him that there was nothing to worry about, that it wouldn’t happen. But the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

“Are you anxious?”

“….”

Instead, other words came out, but Patrick couldn’t immediately respond either.

“Do you not trust me?”

“How could I not?”

Despite his answer, Patrick’s eyes wavered slightly.

“Don’t worry. My feelings don’t change that easily. Besides, what reason would I have to meet the Earl of Selkirk?”

It was the best reassurance Reina could offer.

After all, there was no chance of her being involved with Earl Selkirk. At most, they might exchange greetings in passing.