How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 124

Amid the certainty that I could spend my whole life with this person, I heard Yves Leblanc’s voice calling my name.

 

“…Laura?”

 

Perhaps because I had been lost in deep thought, leaving a prolonged silence, his face was visibly anxious.

 

He was worried that speaking out of turn might make me dislike him.

 

‘Yves feels awkward about sharing his thoughts or emotions with others.’

 

He was especially clumsy with those who had stepped into his inner circle.

 

Due to the trauma of being abandoned by his family as a child, he had chosen never to let anyone close enough to hurt him again.

 

Because of this, Yves grew up lonely, without a single friend to confide in.

 

In the original story, he appeared somewhat close to the high priest of the Euphrates Kingdom, but even that was only by Yves’ standards.

 

He was the type to maintain enough distance to walk away unscathed, even if betrayed.

 

‘And yet, once he opens his heart, he gives everything away like a fool.’

 

I recalled the scene from Endymion’s bad ending route, where he devoted himself to Selene, even sacrificing his life, only to be cast aside like a worn-out shoe.

 

“I apologize for showing you such a pathetic side.”

 

Abruptly apologizing, Yves began reproaching himself.

 

“It’s my fault… I was too weak to protect you properly… I acted selfishly and blamed you.”

 

Lost in thought while admiring his face, I finally snapped back to reality and waved my hands in denial.

 

“No, not at all! To me, you’re actually quite adorable.”

 

I meant every word, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to reach him.

 

“…I’ll make sure this never happens again.”

 

“Why are you saying that? I told you I like it. You can be as selfish as you want.”

 

“You’re lying…”

 

This was unexpected.

 

Yves Leblanc, who was sharp as a ghost when it came to reading people, still couldn’t accept what was plainly written on my face.

 

Maybe his belief that no one could ever love his true, unfiltered self was just too deeply ingrained.

 

Lately, I’d been making steady efforts to boost Yves’ self-esteem in every way possible, but when I thought about it, it had barely been a year.

 

On the other hand, his self-deprecation and sense of inadequacy had been with him his entire life.

 

No matter how much I expressed my affection, those deep-rooted negative beliefs wouldn’t be easily erased.

 

Here, I’ll have to be patient and keep reassuring him until he truly feels secure.

 

The reassurance that no matter what he shows me, I’ll still care for him.

 

Having sorted my thoughts, I cupped Yves’ cheeks to keep him from avoiding my gaze and spoke.

 

“Yves, look at my face. Does it seem like I’m lying?”

 

“…No.”

 

“Right? Then why didn’t you believe me?”

 

“I thought you were annoyed by my pointless whining or disappointed by my tears, so you were mocking me on purpose.”

 

“That’s impossible! No—more than that, have you really thought of me as that petty and despicable all this time?”

 

It was a bit of a shock.

 

That Yves had such an image of me in his mind.

 

In his fluster, he shook his head violently, forgetting I was still holding his face.

 

“Not at all! It’s just… you were silent for so long, I thought maybe you didn’t want to talk to me anymore, that you were ignoring me.”

 

Listening calmly, I realized this wasn’t just Yves’ self-esteem issue—it was entirely my fault. I’d been lost in my own thoughts instead of focusing on the conversation right in front of me.

 

Finally realizing the reason our communication had gone awry, I removed my hand from his face and lowered my head.

 

“Forgive me. I was too captivated by Yves’s beauty to respond properly.”

 

At that, Yves, who had been kneeling on one knee beside the bed, gently pressed my hand against his cheek and spoke.

 

“Lift your head, Laura. You’ve done nothing wrong. I was the one who misunderstood on my own.”

 

His silver eyes, reminiscent of the cold moonlight, held a comforting warmth. It was easy to recognize—this was Yves’ longing, directed solely at me.

 

“Still, about marriage…”

 

“Hm?”

 

Ah—

 

My true feelings had slipped out.

 

Calm down. As much as I yearn to marry him, it’s impossible until we resolve Selene’s regression.

 

Just as Yves worried, I was an existence that could vanish at any moment. The whereabouts of the original Laura’s soul were already a concern, but more than that, if Selene regressed, there was a high chance Nanna would completely erase me.

 

Even if I were lucky enough to escape Nanna’s elimination, Yves’ memories would still disappear entirely upon regression.

 

If my memories remained intact, I’d reach out to him again and again—but whether Yves would come to love me once more was uncertain.

 

Our current relationship as lovers had been the result of near-chance circumstances, after all.

Thus, to secure a happy ending with Yves, stopping Selene’s regression was essential.

 

Steeled in my resolve, I tightly grasped Yves’ hand and declared without hesitation, “Yves, I swear I’ll make you happy!”

 

Despite the abruptness of my words—completely out of sync with the flow of our conversation—Yves still answered earnestly, though visibly bewildered.

 

“Thanks to you, I’m already happy now.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

It wasn’t the kind of question one should ask someone who claimed to already be happy, but since I hadn’t done anything yet, his words—”I’m happy because of you.”—left me reflexively puzzled.

 

However, Yves Leblanc didn’t seem the least bit upset and continued speaking.

 

“Having you by my side is my greatest joy.”

 

He’s insane. The way his ears turned red, how he shyly averted his gaze yet still stole glances to gauge my reaction—it was adorable.

 

‘They say when you’re so happy it feels overwhelming, you want to break something… Is this what that feels like?’

 

Whether it was my heart pounding noisily or my reason paralyzed by how cute Yves was, I couldn’t tell, but I acted on impulse.

 

“I really, really like you.”

 

“Wait, Laura—!”

 

Before he could stop me, our lips met.

 

Afraid he might push me away if he disliked it, I recklessly pressed forward—but the moment our soft lips touched, Yves obediently closed his eyes.

 

His long lashes trembled faintly, as if unsure what to do.

 

Meanwhile, I didn’t stop there. Tilting my head slightly, I slipped my tongue between his tender lips.

 

Since I had caught him mid-sentence, invading his mouth was easy—but the real problem came next.

 

‘What do I do now?’

 

Despite my boldness, this was my first relationship, and naturally, my first kiss.

 

In my past life, I’d experienced it indirectly through various media, but this was my first time in practice—clumsiness was inevitable.

 

‘Am I supposed to swirl my tongue inside?’

 

But I couldn’t dwell on it for long—something clicked against the tip of my tongue.

 

At the same time, Yves flinched as if burned.

 

‘Maybe I should just stop thinking.’

 

There was no need for me to take the lead, nor did I have to try too hard to do it right.

 

After all, it was both our first time.

 

Letting go of the pressure, I focused on the sensation.

 

Yves Leblanc’s tongue gently touched mine, and soon he slowly began to match my movements.

 

We explored each other carefully and cautiously.

 

It was a clumsy, awkward kiss, far different from the passionate and fiery ones I had read about in novels.

 

Still, my heart pounded violently as if it might burst, and my entire body grew hot.

 

‘Wait, how do I breathe again?’

 

Normally, I had no trouble breathing through my nose, but with my mind blank, nothing came to me.

 

Just as I thought I’d have to pull away to avoid suffocating, Yves’ tongue brushed against the roof of my mouth.

 

“…!”

 

But then something strange happened.

 

A faint light shimmered, and Yves’ divine power was absorbed into me.

 

At the same time, Yves’ eyes widened in shock as he abruptly pulled away.

 

Gasping for breath, he stammered, “Laura… just now… did a light come from the divine mark?”

 

“Mmm… It seems I may have purified your curse, Yves.”

 

As I voiced my guess, I removed his glove—just as expected, the area where scales should have been was now smooth skin.

 

‘Why did it absorb on its own all of a sudden?’

 

Normally, absorbing divine power required two conditions, my will and the god’s consent. But just now, I had no such intention, and I certainly hadn’t made any request to the god.

 

Yet, this unintended phenomenon had occurred.

 

‘What’s even stranger is that not all of Yves’ divine power was transferred.’

 

Thanks to Selene’s divine power, I could now sense foreign energies in fine detail—and surprisingly, Yves still retained a significant portion of his original divine power.