How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 4

From Yves’ viewpoint, Yves undoubtedly desires to flee from Laura.

 

Needless to say, I could ease some accumulated resentment if I offered to break the contract first, but it appears I’ve just made matters worse, and I’m too tired to speak with him at this point. 

 

This was because I had been on the run for about two weeks before the regression, and I was mentally exhausted.

 

‘I can barely take care of myself right now.’

 

Laura causes Yves suffering, but he gets saved when he meets the heroine.

 

That was also an episode that was bound to happen no matter what route a player took.

 

‘Unlike Laura, who is destined to die.’

 

Swallowing a bitter laugh, I left the parlor first, leaving him behind.

 

I figured that if I regressed as expected, Yves would forget today’s event, and if not I decided to break the contract.

 

In any case, I’d given up on trying to mend our relationship. 

 

After that, Yves no longer came to visit, and I stayed in the room without leaving.

 

And so time passed.

 

“Miss, Count Leblanc is here.”

 

Time reverses itself.

 

⚝

 

After the second regression, I dragged my sick body over to meet Yves, who had been waiting for an hour.

 

With the tenuous hope that making a different choice would make a little change.

 

Today, in contrast to our previous conversation before coming back, I was sitting resolutely and wasn’t drawn in by his appearance or the desire to speak first.

 

In fact, I struggled to even straighten my back properly.

 

‘Despite doing the same thing three times, I still find the soreness to be uncomfortable.’

 

However, Laura maintained her composure as best she could, and when she met the intense gaze of silver eyes, Yves spoke abruptly with a frown.

 

“What are you hiding this time?”

 

It was a sarcastic remark.

 

‘I’m already having a hard time, so what could I possibly be hiding?’

 

Although the absurd question irritated me, I tried to carry on the conversation for the time being.

 

“Nothing at all,” answered Laura.

 

Laura’s high, sharp voice sounded like a quibble, even though I thought I’d spoken clearly.

 

In reply, Yves also had a tone as cold as a frigid north wind.

 

“Or are you protesting last night because you were unsatisfied?”

 

Last night?

 

‘I fell asleep in my big, fluffy bed, wondering if I was going to regress tomorrow.’

 

What on earth could Yves possibly find unsatisfactory?

 

I was puzzled by the question, unable to understand its intent, and then he shot me a frosty glare.

 

“You’re the one who refused it first,” said Yves.

 

Just as I was about to ask him to elaborate, it occurred to me that I had forgotten what it was that I had refused.

 

The events of the day flashed through my mind.

 

The cause of my body pains!

 

It was almost a month ago, so I didn’t immediately notice it, but to Yves, it was only yesterday.

 

‘It would have been nice if he clarified the subject from the beginning.’

 

Laura swallowed such complaints and nodded calmly. 

 

“I do remember.”

 

“So, what’s your problem?”

 

When he could have communicated better if he hadn’t omitted the subject.

 

… Like I could ever tell him that.

 

So I was about to say, ‘Nothing in particular,’ as I had before, when an idea came to mind.

 

‘I’d rather take this opportunity to break the contract with Eve.’

 

I imitated Laura’s personality, which I learned from memory.

 

Laura had committed a horrible thing, and I should have apologized then and there if I wanted to mend our relationship, but I thought that Yves would be even more wary of someone who suddenly changed overnight.

 

“I have more than a complaint, I’m actually fed up with you, Yves. So about the contract…” 

 

“What do you want me to do this time?”

 

Yves interrupted before I could finish.

 

“No, I’m sick of you. I don’t even want to see you anymore!”

 

“Don’t lie to me in plain sight, just tell me what you want honestly,” Yves sneered.

 

“Why can’t you believe me?”

 

“How can I believe you when the way you look at me is full of desire?”

 

What do you mean? My eyes are full of what? 

 

Unable to ask in detail, I bit my lower lip and remained silent.

 

Then, as if convinced that I had an ulterior motive, Yves pressed on.

 

“So now you want me to cling to you?”

 

A little, maybe?

 

Imagining Yves holding onto my skirt and pleading, then suddenly mumbled.

 

“Oh, there are many things.”

 

Caught off guard, I quickly shook my head before the misunderstanding grew bigger.

 

“I assure you, as a promise, I swear on the name of the goddess Astarte,” declared Laura.

 

“Then let’s do it this way.”

 

Naturally, I wouldn’t say I’m tired if you asked.

 

“…”

 

In addition, I realized that lying in the goddess’ name could actually result in my death, so I couldn’t bring myself to swear on a lie.

 

Yves, with his arms, crossed, made an expression like,  “So be it”.

 

‘It seems like I’ve dug a deeper hole.’

 

I planned to break the contract first, then gradually show Yves that I was not lying, but I ended up digging my own grave.

 

Knowing that the more lies I told, the worse things grew, so I told the truth I had sworn to the goddess.

 

“I’ll be honest with you. I still have the same feelings for Yves, but I want you to stop being my toy. And I’m willing to break the contract.”

 

I thought maybe he’d see through my sincerity this time.

 

But contrary to my expectations, I heard Yves’ furious voice.

 

“After all you’ve done, you decided to break it now?”

 

This was not the reaction I expected.

 

“I thought you’d like it, but why?” asked Laura.

 

If I wasn’t mistaken, he looked incredibly angry now, with veins sprung on his forehead.

 

“Ha, so that’s what you were originally aiming for. Now that you have what you desire, you can terminate the unnecessary contract before it causes you any trouble…”

 

“No, it’s not that!” 

 

I cut off his words in a hurry.

 

‘Just talking to Yves makes me feel weird.’

 

Frustration washed over me at the repetition of the situation, despite my best efforts to avoid creating misunderstandings, but it was important to clear up his misconceptions first, so I added a clarification.

 

“No, it’s just that I’ve been thinking about it, and I think it was very rude of me to ask Yves to be a toy.”

 

“You’re just now realizing that now? That’s great,” said Yves.

 

A chill, almost freezing, radiated from him, not even a cynical smile.

 

Yves was the scariest thing I’ve seen since I came to possess Laura.

 

‘There must be something wrong with Laura’s brain.’

 

You wouldn’t have the audacious notion to toy with Yves unless Laura’s brain, which controls her survival instinct, was incapacitated.

 

Maybe it’s the do-everything-you-want, have-everything-you-want mentality like there’s no tomorrow.

 

For now, I apologized to Yves because I needed to proceed the day tomorrow.

 

“Once again, I apologize. Could you please take it as a mistake of a girl blinded by love?”

 

Yves, who had been giving me a cold stare, snorted, “A girl blinded by love…”

 

Are you laughing at me for making old-girl comments?

 

‘That’s not fair. Laura may be an adult, but she still looks like a child in the mirror!’

 

Moreover, I’ve been looking through memories from Laura’s perspective like an audience member at a movie.

 

I hadn’t identified myself with Laura.

 

The words came out unconsciously because I lacked the awareness that she was me, and I had a strong perception in my head that she was a spoiled adolescent girl who didn’t get the love she deserved.

 

‘But Laura is a sinner, so I have to endure it.’

 

When I stressed that I wasn’t putting up with her because of fear, but rather because she was a sinner, I pouted and offered more clarification.

 

“Of course, I don’t think that just because I apologize, I’ll be forgiven.”

 

Yves nodded weakly, as if in agreement with my words.

 

“However, I want to show you a change from now on when I realize my mistake.”

 

Yves’ silver eyes caught my attention, and I spoke firmly, remembering that to convey sincerity, I had to look the other person in the eye.

 

“I was just saying that I think breaking the contract would be the first step.”

 

Yves clicked his tongue lightly and loosened his arms.

 

Not exactly pleased, but as if he’s willing to continue the conversation.

 

“So you did it for me?”

 

“Yes!” answered Laura.

 

“Well, whatever the intentions, I cannot trust Lady Laurus with my secret.”

 

Yves’ words felt like a slap in the back of my head.

 

‘I’ve only been considering things from my perspective.’

 

I thought he’d be thrilled that I’d be the first to offer to break the contract.

 

Yves’ side of the story hadn’t even crossed my mind, I had just believed Laura was deceiving him and forcing him to sign an unfair contract.

 

But for him, this contract was something that he had to abide by while suffering humiliation.

 

Such was the weight of being a member of Euphrates Royalty and the head paladin of the Temple of Astarte.

 

I expressed my regret for my limited perspective and one-dimensional thinking.

 

“… I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it that way.”

 

His brow furrowed even deeper as I meekly admitted my faults.

 

“Pardon me, but since you seem to mean it when you say you don’t want to see me, I’ll assume you’ve rescinded your earlier order and won’t be visiting for a while.”

 

Yves’s pace seemed to have eased ever so slightly as he left the room.

 

‘It might be just me seeing it that way.’

 

Alone with my thoughts, I let out a long breath and sank against the couch.

 

It was the next best thing since I wanted to go straight to bed but didn’t have the stamina to walk to my room.

 

‘Maybe I should get a snack and rest here.’

 

Eating sugar was the fastest way to regain stamina.

 

“Is anyone outside?”