Chapter 7 (Part 4)

Lady Sandra visited Patrick again today right after his early morning training, so Reina was in no mood to be happy.

Feeling down, she attended her classes and returned to her bedroom, only to find Richelle waiting for her.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

Reina asked worriedly, knowing that Richelle only waited in her room when there was something urgent or bad news.

“It’s not that something’s wrong. It’s just that Father said something strange a little while ago.”

Richelle tilted her head to one side.

“What strange thing?”

“He’s trying to set you up with Earl Selkirk. For someone who’s so obsessed with the magical necklace, he suddenly wants to match you with someone else….”

“What? Even though I said I didn’t want to?”

Reina was so shocked that she interrupted Richelle before she could finish.

“Reina, you know something, don’t you?”

Seeing the change in Reina’s expression, Richelle seemed to sense that there was something she didn’t know.

“Ah, well….”

In this situation, lying would only get her caught quickly. Since it was going to come out anyway, it might be better to come clean first.

After hesitating for a moment, Reina carefully opened her mouth.

“It’s been like this since the color of the necklace changed.”

Richelle’s mouth dropped open, clearly not expecting this.

“The color of the necklace changed? Really? Why didn’t you tell me? Who is it?”

“Well, it seems to be Earl Selkirk.”

“Seems to be? Does that mean you’re not sure?”

“A while ago, Lilith barged into the study with the necklace. The color changed while I was holding it, and the people with me were Earl Selkirk and Commander Patrick.”

“Then you can’t be sure which one it is?”

“The thing is, I already confirmed before that the necklace didn’t change for Commander Patrick.”

Reina was honest with Richelle. She had no choice because she knew Richelle would press her to confirm who it was.

This was why she hadn’t told Richelle everything, but now that she was caught, there was no other choice.

“Well, Reina, knowing your personality, you would have gone around the knights with the necklace if it had changed color for someone you liked. So it’s certain that the person the necklace changed color for is Earl Selkirk, right?”

Richelle looked puzzled.

“….”

When Reina didn’t answer, Richelle nodded as if she understood.

“Ah, so you don’t really like Earl Selkirk, do you?”

“….”

Reina couldn’t answer this time either, as Richelle had hit the nail on the head.

“Well, you did mention that the man you liked didn’t make the necklace change color. Could it be….”

Richelle’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Reina. Reina’s heart pounded, worried that Richelle might guess it was Patrick.

In truth, it wouldn’t be a big problem if Richelle knew about her feelings for Patrick. She knew him well, just like Reina did.

But for some reason, Reina felt a little embarrassed to openly admit it. Richelle had been well aware of how Reina and Patrick’s relationship had been all this time.

From the fact that Patrick was the one who solved Reina’s troubles when she caused problems, to how he would sigh deeply whenever he was with Reina, despite seeming carefree otherwise – Richelle knew it all.

So if she found out about their relationship, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

“This is such a mess! How can you have a man you like, and then suddenly a suitable match appears, and it’s none other than Earl Selkirk?”

However, Richelle’s words were completely different from what Reina had expected. It seemed she hadn’t realized the one Reina liked was Patrick.

“What do you mean by a ‘suitable match’? What does that mean?”

Just as Reina was about to answer, an uninvited voice suddenly interrupted the two. Lilith had barged in between them.

Reina and Richelle’s faces turned pale, as they hadn’t expected her sudden appearance.

“Lilith? Why are you here?”

Reina urgently looked towards the door.

She hadn’t heard the door open, so she wondered when she came in.

Even though she wasn’t as sensitive as Patrick, Reina could usually sense such things, making the current situation bewildering.

“Me? I was hiding under your bed.”

“Why were you under my bed?”

“Playing hide-and-seek with the tutor. Hehe.”

Lilith often played hide-and-seek with her tutor. Everyone knew how well she could hide, making it difficult to find her.

They should have been cautious before discussing important matters, but they hadn’t been.

Realizing now that she had seen Lilith’s tutor wandering the hallways earlier, Reina couldn’t help but lament.

Ah, this is bad…

Who would have guessed that Lilith was hiding under her bed? If she had known, she would have sent her away. But it was too late now, so what should she do?

“By the way, what do you mean the color of the necklace changed? Are you talking about that necklace from before?”

It seemed Lilith had heard everything and had a rough idea of what was going on.

“Lilith, can you forget what you just heard?”

“Hmm? But I haven’t finished the game of hide-and-seek yet.”

Lilith gave a look that said she had no intention of forgetting, then left the room. There was no telling who she might tell if she went out like that.

“Lilith!”

Reina hurriedly left the room to chase after Lilith, but she was nowhere to be seen.

How fast could an 8-year-old run? 

Reina had underestimated her. Lilith was so small that she must have hidden somewhere.

Reina had no choice but to search the mansion for Lilith. She soon saw her tutor looking around on the opposite side.

“Have you seen Lilith? She was hiding in my room a while ago but left.”

“I haven’t seen her. I’ve been looking for her, but she’s not easy to find, Lady Reina.”

The tutor looked troubled. It seemed the hide-and-seek game had been going on for quite some time.

“I’ll let you know if I catch Lilith and tell her the game is over.”

“I would be very grateful if you did.”

After finishing her conversation with the tutor, Reina opened each door on the second floor, looking for Lilith, but she was nowhere to be found.

Where did she go?

Unable to find her in the mansion, Reina eventually had to go to the garden.

Lilith’s specialty was climbing trees. So, she had to consider the possibility that Lilith had jumped into a tree like a squirrel from the balcony.

Could she be hiding among the flowers in the garden? Or maybe she climbed up a tall tree? 

As she looked around, she saw Louis approaching her.

He seemed to have something to say, but now wasn’t the time to be curious.

“Have you seen Lilith?”

“Oh, Lilith?”

Louis acknowledged her and chuckled. His ambiguous response puzzled her, but he then spoke again.

“You found a man who’s a perfect match?”

“W-who said that?”

Reina stuttered at the sudden mention of a “perfect match.” Louis then said something unexpected.

“Lilith told me.”

“Lilith? Did you meet her?”

“I was taking a walk in the garden, and she came down from a tree and told me an interesting story.”

“Lilith only understood part of my conversation with Richelle, though?”

It was strange since Lilith wouldn’t have explained in detail.

“Yes, that’s right. Instead of repeating the conversation she overheard, she asked me what ‘perfect match’ meant. I was so surprised that I almost broke the flower I was smelling. After calming down, I asked her what was going on, and she told me about your conversation with Richelle.”

“….”

Should I have given a vague answer when Lilith asked earlier?

The problem was that Lilith was as curious as Reina. Since Richelle and Reina hadn’t answered her, she must have asked Louis.

“So you and Earl Selkirk are compatible, congratulations. He’s a really good man.”

“Brother, what if someone hears you? Can’t you just say it’s a magical necklace?”

Hearing about a perfect match with a man she didn’t like filled her with discomfort.

No, it’s not true. Please!

“It’s a magical necklace that shows a perfect match. It means the same thing, so what’s the problem?”

Louis shrugged.

“Brother!”

If only I could sew that mouth shut!

Reina approached Louis and slapped his lips. Instead of being annoyed, Louis just laughed, finding her actions cute.

It was clear he had said that on purpose to see her reaction.

He always treated Richelle and Lilith so kindly but acted mischievously only towards Reina.

He enjoyed putting her in awkward situations and watching her troubled expressions. He had no idea how much it burned her up inside!

“Do our parents know about this?”

“Only Father knows. So please don’t tell Mother yet.”

“Well, we’ll see. Seeing you react so strongly to the word ‘perfect match’ makes me want to tell her right away.”

“Are you really going to do this?”

Reina wrapped her arms around Louis’s neck and pulled him to her side, determined to stop him from saying such things again. Despite the considerable pain it must have caused, Louis laughed heartily, finding it amusing.

He was truly an annoying brother.

Reina barely resisted the urge to poke his eyes with her fingers.