How a Villain Defies Destiny – Chapter 12

Author: Nikss

“I haven’t seen you eat anything in a while, so… Do you want me to heat it again?”

“No, thanks.”

Thankfully, Yves didn’t press further.

I was relieved he didn’t ask, but my mind was in turmoil.

In the story, Yves was almost misogynistic.

‘Oh, so Laura was the trigger for Yves’s hatred of women?’ I thought.

It was a fair guess.

After all, Yves had been stalked, poisoned, and otherwise suffered many hardships, and because of his royal status, very few people had ever tried to harm him directly.

As a result, Yves now seemed less likely to be a misogynist and more like someone with a mild case of intolerance.

‘Wait, Laura took away Yves’s virginity, but is that okay?’

In a way, I was in the same position as Yves, but unfortunately, Laura was the one who unjustly did it, so there was nothing I could do about it.

“Did you poison it?”

Just as my thoughts were about to drift into self-pity, a voice interrupted me.

“You weren’t drinking, and you were looking at me frighteningly, so I asked if you tried to poison me.”

“Of course not!”

To prove that the dizzying sentence was not untrue, I picked up the teacup in front of me and downed it in one gulp.

I took a one-shot of lukewarm black tea and pointed to the teacup Yves was holding.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll drink that too.”

Just then, there was a footstep and a small laugh from across the table.

‘Am I hallucinating?’ I questioned my ears for a moment.

The Yves I knew would never, ever laugh out loud.

Startled by the sound of laughter, I looked at his face, but there was no trace of laughter.

“It was a joke, you shouldn’t take it so seriously.”

A joke? Joke you mean??

Contradictory thoughts jumbled in my head, ‘Are you kidding me?’ and ‘Yves was joking with me?’ Does that mean we’ve repaired our relationship and built some kind of rapport?

The thoughts that filled my brain were causing negative emotions.

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

‘Let’s just calm down.’

Calming my rising emotions, I answered calmly.

“Perhaps I’m just more sensitive because I haven’t been trusted by the Count for so long.”

“…”

“But I don’t want to be misunderstood by the Count in the future, so I think I’ll respond seriously, even if it’s a joke.”

In other words, don’t play this kind of prank on me.

“I’m sorry, I was mean, I’m sorry.”

Then, to my surprise, Yves apologized.

Although he didn’t bow his head, his downward gaze and long lashes cast shadows that made his darkened silver eyes look pitiful.

‘That face is foul.’

Even if it was murder, even if it was a mistake, he’d be forgiven, I thought to myself and moved on.

After all, it seems harmless enough, and Laura has her karma to deal with.

“It’s okay, I’ve done things in my life.”

“I know.”

As if he hadn’t been apologetic before, Yves quickly returned to his normal self.

It was almost shameless now.

‘The more I get to know him, the more I realize he’s not who he’s portrayed in the game.’

In the game, Yves was cold, sensitive, and demanding.

Very much a fussy principled person.

But the person I met in person was different.

He was cold, but he also had a subtle bite to him, and he wasn’t so sensitive or demanding.

I could tell by the way he was sitting here with me right now.

‘Honestly, I thought it would be harder to improve my relationship with Yves.’

Little did I know that this extreme dislike would dissipate to the point where we could have a normal conversation in less than two weeks.

Maybe it was Laura’s influence on Yves in the game that changed the worst part of my job.

“May I ask why you don’t want to be recognized as a saint?”

I was staring down at my empty teacup with only a trace of red streaks on it when I heard Yves’s voice, unmoved.

It’s clear that he wants an answer, no matter what.

“First of all, I don’t want to be in front of people, and as you know, Count, I’m not very social.”

“That’s…”

Yves trailed off, his lips twitching as if he wanted to make a point, but he fell silent.

He knew Laura’s sociability better than anyone, so he didn’t bother to argue.

‘Even with zero socialization, I have to say that Laura and I are opposites in style.’

If she’s a runaway train with broken brakes, I’m a car that’s been put in neutral and turned off.

It looks fine and moves when you push it with your hand, but it’s extremely inefficient and unusable as a means of transportation!

‘Well, it runs smoothly once it starts.’

I neatly left it out because I didn’t really need to tell Yves.

“And I like to live simply.”

If there’s one person who’s the furthest thing from the word simple, it’s Laura.

Vanity and extravagance were common among the aristocracy, but she was unique among them.

This was evident in her dress, which was worse than a kindergarten fancy dress on the floor on the first day of my possession.

‘I struggled with that for a while.’

Most of the dresses in my closet were of a similar design, so I cried and mustered up the courage to keep wearing them.

Of course, at first, like any other possessed, I went to the wardrobe department and tried to get a new dress to match my plain, boring everyday clothes.

The family money was all that Laura had left.

But after a quick scan of her memory, I had to change my plans.

Laura, the aforementioned runaway train, hadn’t gotten rid of her temper in the dressing shop.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I can’t imitate the way she lunges at someone who’s arguing with her like a fighting chicken.’

In the end, Laura used the Viscount Oahnnes’ party as an excuse to ask the butler for a new dress and summoned her favorite dressmaker to order a new outfit without ever leaving Baron Laurus.

The problem was that all the samples Madame brought in were Laura’s original tastes, so I didn’t buy any of them, and it would be a while before the new clothes were ready.

It takes time for a new outfit to be completed.

So I was forced to pick and choose from a closet full of dresses and wear the ones that looked decent.

‘It was a good thing I was able to get the maids to take off all the excessive decorations because I was tired of the makeshift and cumbersome.’

Moreover, a few days ago, I overheard the maids chattering.

They said, ‘Don’t you think the recent close acquaintance with Master Yves has softened the Lady’s personality a bit?’

From their point of view, they seemed to attribute the fact that I was less irritable than usual and my capricious orders were noticeably less.

Even though I know Yves was suffering from my one-sided, unrequited love.

‘Well, I suppose I should be grateful that we can spend time together in the sitting room, but never under the illusion that it’s between us.’

Normally, it would be strictly forbidden for an unmarried man and woman to be alone in an enclosed space.

However, it was tacitly allowed for Laura Laurus, a rising noblewoman who was rumored to be a social troublemaker, and Yves Leblanc, a faithful and noble man who didn’t bat an eye at being pursued by numerous noblewomen.

Furthermore, the night Yves and Laura did the deed, they had sneaked in without the employers realizing what was going on between them.

It was assumed that Yves had a weakness for the nasty Laura, which was why he visited the barony every day.

It was the only case where Laura’s bad reputation helped.

‘Should I rejoice or mourn this?’

With a faint sigh, I snapped out of my train of thought and glanced across to find Yves’s gaze fixed on the table, just as troubled.

‘Is it such a shock that I said I wanted to live a simple life?’

Though I didn’t say it to convince him, I told him a story that was close to my heart.

“Isn’t it strange that I have a divine pattern in the first place? I’m not denying the symbol, it’s just that I’ve never seen it before, and it’s a bit creepy that I can’t guess what kind of god it is.”

And so it was.

There are many gods in this world, aside from the seven most widely recognized ruling gods, but none of them match the pattern of the divine pattern that appeared to me.

“That’s why I’m thinking that a great saint who has been blessed by the seven ruling gods will appear, not an unheard of god like mine.”

Inwardly, I atoned to the nameless god who had favored me.

‘I apologize for treating you like a nobody.’

Still, I believe that an omniscient God would understand my feelings.

“A saint who descends from the Holy Kingdom to the Oracle and is favored by a god that doesn’t even exist… is a bit strange.”

He was probably examining the divine pattern on me as well.

“…”

This time, Yves couldn’t retort.

Judging from the lack of words, he hadn’t found out what kind of god it was yet.

“Enough of this useless chatter, let’s get back to work.”

Yves, who had remained silent for some time, put an end to the conversation as if he didn’t want to hear anymore.

I didn’t stop him as he nonchalantly left the room. He had already served his purpose.