Chapter 8 (Part 9)

“My lady, Earl Selkirk has arrived.”

Nina informed her in the afternoon, as Reina had asked to be notified when Earl Selkirk visited the Lennox estate.

“Okay?”

Reina put on the necklace she had kept in the drawer and headed to the study.

Knock, knock.

She opened the door to the study as she knocked. The gazes of Duke Lennox and Earl Selkirk, who had been conversing, naturally turned towards the door.

“I know it’s rude, but I’m going to interrupt. I need to check something.”

It was best to check in front of Duke Lennox, so Reina set aside formalities and barged into the study where the two were together.

“Reina, what kind of rude behavior is this? I was going to discuss it calmly, but why are you in such a hurry…”

As Reina approached them, Duke Lennox couldn’t finish his reprimand. He stared intently at the necklace Reina was wearing with narrowed eyes.

Reina also nervously checked the color of the necklace around her neck.

There was no red light on the necklace at all. It remained transparent.

Even when she was with the Earl, the necklace didn’t change color. 

What could this mean? What was the reason for the color change that day?

Even though she got the result she wanted, Reina felt complicated emotions.

“The color isn’t changing, is it?”

Earl Selkirk looked at Reina with a puzzled expression. Duke Lennox also looked confused.

“It seems so. Excuse me, but could you stand up for a moment?”

“Of course.”

The Earl immediately stood up from the sofa, and Reina walked around him. She did so slowly, considering the possibility that the magic might act belatedly, but the necklace’s color remained unchanged.

This clearly meant it wouldn’t change.

“It seems I’m not your match, Lady Reina. It appears Sir Marionus is indeed your match.”

The Earl let out a hollow laugh. Duke Lennox also remained silent, looking stiff.

“How did you know?”

“Sir Marionus made it quite obvious last time. How could I not know?”

“Ah, I suppose so.”

Reina scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“So why did the necklace change color that time? Can you explain?”

“It seems it reacted to Commander Patrick.”

“Then why did you think it changed color because of me?”

“Because it hadn’t changed color in front of the Commander before.”

“Ah, I see how you could misunderstand then.”

Earl Selkirk nodded as if he understood.

“Earl Selkirk, I apologize for dragging you into this unnecessary matter.”

Duke Lennox immediately apologized to the Earl.

“No need to apologize. I’ve been overwhelmed with work lately, so this was quite entertaining.”

The Earl’s face showed no signs of displeasure. He laughed heartily as if he had genuinely enjoyed himself.

Seeing the Earl take it so lightly, despite the potentially offensive situation, made it clear he was a better man than she had thought.

Perhaps he had no interest in Reina to begin with. Maybe he also felt they weren’t meant to be.

“In fact, I had been feeling a bit less confident lately.”

The Earl added after his laughter subsided.

“About what?”

“No matter how much I tried to woo you, Lady Reina, you didn’t even blink. Human emotions are such that even if one’s heart is firm, it can waver when someone close tries to shake it. But not you. You only had eyes for Sir Marionus.”

“….”

“Knowing that I couldn’t win from the start is actually a relief. How could anyone win against a destined partner?”

“I’m sure you’ll meet someone you truly love, Earl.”

“I hope to experience a love like yours and Sir Marionus’. In some ways, I envy you. I also want to experience a love where we only have eyes for each other, a unique and irreplaceable love.”

“If it’s you, Earl, I’m sure you will. Should I lend you the necklace?”

“Reina!”

Duke Lennox glared at her as if to ask what nonsense she was talking about.

“Haha. No, thank you. Seeing you and Sir Marionus, I believe I can find my partner without the necklace. So, I’ll just accept your kind words.”

As their conversation with Duke Lennox was nearly over, Earl Selkirk stood up, bowed, and left the study.

With only the two of them remaining, Duke Lennox turned his gaze to Reina.

“What is going on?”

“I don’t know. The necklace keeps changing its behavior.”

Reina shrugged, indicating she had no idea either.

“That’s strange. There’s no way it should be like this. Could there be a crack in the necklace?”

Duke Lennox’s gaze grew colder. His expression suggested he wondered if the necklace had been damaged due to poor care.

“That’s impossible. Look at this. There’s nothing wrong with it visually.”

When he extended his hand, Reina removed the necklace and gently placed it in his palm. Duke Lennox examined it closely.

“Hmm. It looks fine on the outside. So, what you said earlier is true?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said the necklace turned red because of Sir Marionus last time.”

“That’s right. It turned red in front of Commander Patrick.”

Reina spoke confidently.

“But didn’t you say it didn’t change color last time? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. It definitely didn’t change before, but now it seems the necklace is being fickle.”

“That shouldn’t be….”

Duke Lennox’s concern deepened as he stared at the necklace. It seemed he found it hard to accept the current situation because he had placed blind faith in the necklace’s power.

“Whatever the case, I’ll return the necklace to you. I don’t want to be swayed by it anymore. Do you know how confusing it has been for me?”

“If that’s how you feel, so be it. But I want to ask you one thing first.”

“What is it?”

“Is your heart still with Sir Marionus?”

“Of course. I found him even without the necklace’s help.”

After Reina left the study with a broad smile, Duke Lennox stared at the necklace. 

What could have caused it to suddenly malfunction when it had been fine all along?

Thinking alone wouldn’t change anything. Like Reina, he couldn’t stand unanswered questions, so he immediately went to see the wizard Kyle, who had created the necklace.

“It seems the magic effect is weakening. Can you check it for me?”

“I’ll take a look.”

Kyle, who received the necklace from Duke Lennox, began examining it closely.

“Ah….”

After a long observation, Kyle let out a small sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“The magic has significantly weakened. Since I made it when I wasn’t very skilled with magic, it seems there were some mistakes. I apologize.”

“Does that mean it no longer works?”

“It’s not completely ineffective, but it may not work sometimes.”

Ah, so that’s why.

Duke Lennox finally understood the situation.

The temporary malfunction had led him to force his opinion, thinking it wasn’t destiny.

Reina’s feelings had been the correct answer, but he had tried to ignore them. He hadn’t even noticed the necklace’s magic was faulty.

Blindly believing in the necklace’s magic had clouded his rational judgment.

Why couldn’t I trust Reina when she said she wasn’t attracted to Earl Selkirk?

“Do you want me to strengthen the magic?”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

The necklace that could find a sexually compatible partner had, at some point, transformed into a necklace for finding a destined partner.

Perhaps it was because s*xual life is important in a marriage that people began to think of it that way. It’s true that good physical compatibility can lead to a better relationship.

Even if there’s a brief fight, a passionate night can often dissolve the anger.

Because of this, at some point, it seemed that physical compatibility became the priority. Even though he knew that the most important thing was the heart.

When did I start thinking narrowly like a frog in a well?

It was wrong to believe solely in the power of the necklace and to think that Reina would be happy because of it. He firmly believed that since everyone else was like that, Reina would be too.

He followed the necklace to find happiness, but at some point, he started thinking that following the necklace would bring happiness.

My judgment was wrong….

Reina was right. Usually rational, he acted emotionally when it came to matters related to the necklace.

Why couldn’t I trust her words when she was speaking the truth?

At that moment, the Duke reflected on his actions, realizing that he had been heading down the wrong path while believing he was on the right one.

At the same time, he realized that Reina, whom he had thought of as immature and troublesome, had become a more mature adult in some aspects than he was.

Of course, she still had many areas to improve, but seeing her gradually becoming an adult brought a smile to his face.

Realizing that it was time to put the necklace away, Duke Lennox decided not to show it to anyone anymore.

He also decided not to tell Reina the whole truth. She had already found her match, so there was no need for her to know.

He wanted to keep this magical necklace as a family heirloom. Therefore, he decided not to pass it down to Lilith, who was not yet fully aware of its existence.

Lilith, too, would be able to find her match well enough without the necklace when she became an adult.