Epilogue

After all the situations were resolved, Reina’s life flowed peacefully.

She continued her leisurely routine of waking up early for training at dawn, followed by lessons to cultivate her mind and body.

Of course, this was only true within the Duke’s estate. The social scene was quite the opposite. The social circles were abuzz for a while with stories about Lady Berkshire.

The gossip was about how she betrayed her lover, Bill, tried to switch to his friend, and ended up being miserably abandoned by both, ultimately being forced to marry a young man from a minor baron’s family.

The opinions of the gossipers were mostly similar. They said Bill Melville was too good for her, and she lost everything because she didn’t know her place and got greedy.

Reina heard all these stories from Lady Eglinton. Although her relationship with Patrick hadn’t been revealed to society yet, she felt reluctant to attend social events.

Because Lady Berkshire had bragged about being engaged to Patrick, it was inevitable that his name would come up at any gathering, and Reina didn’t want to hear any of it.

So, she quietly stayed at the mansion, taking bridal lessons and waiting for Patrick to return.

He had said he would be back in a week, but now, two weeks had passed, and he still hadn’t returned. It seemed there were troublesome issues in dealing with the pirates.

She wasn’t worried, but she missed seeing Patrick’s face. However, those feelings were about to end soon.

She had received a letter saying that he had finally managed to eliminate all the pirates and would be returning today.

Since there was no specific time mentioned, Reina had been restless since early morning.

She couldn’t focus during her dawn training or her bridal lessons. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Patrick.

But as the morning passed without any news, she grew increasingly frustrated.

“When will he arrive?”

Unable to wait any longer, Reina decided to walk to the knights’ lodge. The knights would head there first upon their return.

“Lady Reina, what brings you here at this hour? Is there something you’re looking for?”

Since it was an unusual time for her to visit unless she had business, Knox gave her a curious look.

“When are the knights returning?”

“Well, I’m not sure. Shouldn’t they be back by today?”

Knox looked uncertain. Just then, Deputy Commander Ford’s voice came from behind him.

“They’ll be arriving soon.”

“Really?”

Reina’s face lit up at the thought of seeing Patrick soon. Ford’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he watched her.

“If you’re going to wait, please make yourself comfortable on the sofa inside the lodge. I’ll call you when they arrive.”

“I’d be grateful for that.”

Leaving the puzzled Knox behind, who seemed to wonder why she was waiting for the knights, Reina entered the lodge.

Except for Ford and Knox, everyone else seemed to be on duty, as the lodge was empty. Reina sat quietly on the sofa, waiting for Patrick, and gradually closed her eyes.

She had been too excited about meeting Patrick to sleep well the night before, and she drifted off without realizing it.

“Lady Reina?”

She heard someone calling her. Thinking she might have misheard in her sleep, she turned to the other side, but then she felt a heavy sensation on her shoulder.

Reina’s eyes snapped open. The sight of Ford smiling warmly greeted her.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yes.”

As she rubbed her eyes and tried to get up, he brought good news.

“The knights have arrived.”

“Really?”

Reina jumped up from her seat and immediately went outside the lodge. There, she saw Patrick walking at the front.

Is this a dream?

Although she was already awake, seeing his face after such a long time made it hard to distinguish between dream and reality. After rubbing her eyes again, she saw the knights getting closer.

As soon as Patrick spotted Reina, he quickened his pace and was soon right in front of her.

“Patrick!”

Blinking her eyes several times, she rushed to hug him. The familiar scent she missed filled her nose.

It had only been two weeks, but it felt like much longer. Just feeling his scent again made her heart calm down.

“I’m back.”

Patrick also hugged her tightly and planted a kiss on her neck.

“Welcome back.”

“Have you been well while I was away?”

“Of course.”

“Did you resolve the issue with Earl Selkirk? What did he say?”

“Why? Are you worried?”

“Yes. I’ve been worried.”

Since they couldn’t exchange letters individually while he was away, it was inevitable that they couldn’t share their daily lives.

Reina could hear about Patrick through Duke Lennox, but he couldn’t know what had happened to her while he was away.

“Fortunately, he wasn’t upset. He’s a good-natured person and laughed it off as a unique experience.”

“Do you regret letting him go?”

“He wasn’t my partner to begin with. My destined partner is right in front of me, so what’s there to regret?”

Reina grabbed Patrick’s collar and pulled him closer. Willingly following her lead, he gently cupped her face and lowered his lips to hers.

“Oh!”

The moment their lips met, a gasp of surprise was heard from those watching. However, they paid no attention and deepened their kiss, softly intertwining their tongues.

They were aware that the knights were watching, but they couldn’t stop. His broad shoulders, firm muscles and frame, soft lips… it had been long since she last felt his touch.

Now that they could openly declare themselves as lovers, there was no need to worry about others’ opinions.

When their lips finally parted, Patrick straightened himself as if nothing had happened, showing an unruffled demeanor. The knights were the ones left in shock.

“What on earth is this?”

Of course, some had already suspected, but most seemed deeply shocked.

They looked back and forth between Reina and Patrick with eyes that couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Knox, who had spoken to her earlier, now seemed to understand the situation.

“It seems the Commander is someone who loves even his family.”

Tom, who lacked tact, made an inappropriate comment for the situation.

“Hey, hey. Watch your mouth. You don’t want to upset Lady Reina with your words.”

Given that they had always been close like family, it wasn’t entirely unexpected that he wouldn’t see Reina as a woman.

“Clueless fools.”

Walker scolded him. He seemed to have already figured it out.

“I didn’t know Lady Reina could be so bold.”

Knox added, still looking surprised.

“Try falling in love. You’ll change just like me.”

“Is Lady Reina teasing me too?”

Knox looked aggrieved at Reina’s teasing.

“Alright, everyone, enough already.”

Ford, who had approached unnoticed, sided with Walker. Judging by his attitude, he seemed to know about Reina and Patrick’s relationship, and it appeared his guess was correct.

“Did you know, Deputy Commander? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You’re the fool for not noticing when it was so obvious.”

Walker answered Tom’s question in Ford’s place.

“What was so obvious?”

It was natural not to suspect since Reina had often been seen alone with Patrick.

“You saw him drop his sword and run into the mansion when he heard about the engagement.”

“I thought he had an urgent matter to attend to….”

“Good grief, you fool. How can you be so clueless?”

“The Commander’s gaze changed.”

“What nonsense? How did his gaze change?”

“Forget it. With your lack of awareness, you’ll be single forever.”

“What? No matter how clueless I am, that’s too harsh.”

Walker and Tom bickered back and forth.

Reina smiled brightly at the two of them and then turned her gaze to Patrick. He responded with a gentle smile. At that moment, the sunlight pouring over them shone brilliantly.

Seeing their affectionate interaction, Tom and Walker stopped arguing and laughed as they looked at each other. Soon, the laughter spread to the other knights in front of the lodge.

It was a peaceful afternoon with warm sunlight and an unusually gentle breeze.

<The End>