How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 43

His silver eyes were fluttering slightly, showing a faint hint of fear.

 

‘I wonder if he’s afraid of how I’ll react.’ 

 

The memory of what the curse had done to Yves earlier made me feel even more sympathetic. He’d had a difficult childhood of his own.

 

Through no fault of his own, he’d been cursed unnecessarily by a god with too much power.

 

‘Moreover, the original Laura, who was the only witness to the curse, showed great distaste for the back of his hand.’ 

 

Maybe that’s the reason he’s watching me.

 

Not being the kind of person to give someone with low self-esteem a lecture about how annoying it was to keep asking the same question, I let out a small sigh and opened my mouth.

 

“It’s not gross, I told you the other day, it was pretty, like a pearl.”

 

“…”

 

“Oh, but I’d be embarrassed if you took it all off, so please keep your shirt on.”

 

“…I see.”

 

His voice was low enough that I couldn’t tell if he was sobbing or groaning, but he slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

 

He left about three buttons undone, and then looked at me like someone permitting me.

 

After I nodded, noting his significantly reduced flesh color, he slowly approached me, his face still tense.

 

As I absentmindedly studied his body, I inwardly panicked at the sight of his chest muscles, which were more toned than I remembered.

 

Even if I compared him to Adhad, the official muscleman, he wouldn’t be far behind.

 

‘Is he the type who looks skinny when dressed?’ 

 

Yves usually wore a paladin’s uniform, but it was designed to fit snugly, so it didn’t seem to show much muscle.

 

‘They say memories are glorified, so that’s a lie.’

 

After the first day of the possession, the muscles on his chest, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, were far more impressive than the glorified memory.

 

Overwhelming, to say the least.

 

Moreover, the snake scales happened to be in the center of his chest, accentuating his pronounced sternum.

 

‘This makes me look like a pervert.’ 

 

I’ve never been one to pay attention to a man’s muscles or body, but Yves’s face and body were too perfect for my liking.

 

“…”

 

“Oh, your pectoral muscles are beautiful, so I just stared at them for a while, and I’m not saying they’re gross or anything, so don’t get me wrong this time.”

 

I realized that the silence had grown long while I was admiring his amazing pecs, so I told him my honest feelings.

 

‘Misunderstandings always end up where they started.’

 

I wouldn’t call it a complex, but since he seemed to care about being rejected by others because of his curse, it was better to say what was meant than to try to spin it and create another misunderstanding.

 

Furthermore, the compliment was not given in a conspiratorial manner, but from a genuine appreciation of the artwork, so there was no need to hide it.

 

However, Yves made a quizzical face, and then gave a somewhat bemused glance before replying.

 

“…I don’t.”

 

“Well, that’s good, then, but let’s get started.”

 

Turning to face Yves, I gingerly placed my hand on the side of his chest, near the collarbone.

 

His milky skin felt warm, but his pearl-like scales were cool.

 

‘Oh, so cool.’ 

 

I hadn’t noticed them on his neck because of the narrow range, but they felt like snake scales.

 

‘Well, of course they are.’

 

Because they were real snake scales.

 

“Uh…”

 

“I’m sorry. I probably touched you too much.”

 

“Are you teasing me on purpose?”

 

“No, of course not! They’re cool and smooth and strangely addictive, so I just had to touch them.”

 

“Now that I’ve heard you say that you touched it to fulfill your selfish desires, will you please do the real cleansing?”

 

“Hmph, okay!”

 

I coughed lightly, shamelessly, even though it stung a little, and then calmly closed my eyes.

 

As I closed my eyes to concentrate on the purification, I could still feel the tingling of Yves’ ample bosom despite blocking my vision.

 

‘What the hell, I look like a severe pervert. Calm down. Just take a deep breath.’

 

I calmed myself and thought back over my thoughts.

 

‘Yes. I thought it wasn’t a curse, it was too much power, and I needed to take it away.’ 

 

Suddenly, I felt a familiar energy in my palm against the surface of Yves’s skin.

 

Divine power.

 

I had felt it many times before.

 

But it was subtly intertwined with something else.

 

Something I hadn’t sensed when I first purified it, something similar to holy power but distinctly different.

 

‘Is this divine power?’

 

As I slowly absorbed the energy, I felt much better than when I first purified it.

 

My stomach only rumbled slightly.

 

“Hah…”

 

Yves’s breath tickled against my ear.

 

I flinched slightly at the closeness of his breath, but the purification wasn’t over yet, so I closed my eyes and concentrated.

 

In the original story, Selene was able to completely remove the curses of her targets after a single purification.

 

‘I don’t know how it works, but it’s probably her special ability, different from mine.’

 

Suddenly, my head spun.

 

‘I wonder if this is the best I can do today.’

 

To be honest, Enheduane had taught me about divine power, but only in theory, not how to use it.

 

So technically, it shouldn’t have been any different from when I first purified his curse.

 

It was simply to reassure him, but I was in much better shape than I had been the first time.

With that thought, I slowly opened my eyes.

 

Yves’s face was just inches away.

 

“Now, wait a minute. Isn’t that a little too close?”

 

“Last time we did the cleanse, you seemed to get worse right after it was over, so I was keeping an eye on you this time.”

 

Even so, I wondered if it was a bit too close, but it was clear that he was worried about me, so I nodded meekly.

 

‘I thought my heart was going to drop.’

 

I heaved a sigh of relief, and at that moment, I felt the blood drain from my body.

 

My vision blurred, and my body felt like it was collapsing. I couldn’t tell if I was standing upright or if I had fallen.

 

‘A staggered attack is lethal.’

 

My senses slowly returned.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Huh… yeah.”

 

I heard Yves’s voice and opened my eyes, relieved that I hadn’t fallen, seeing that I didn’t hurt anywhere.

 

“…!”

 

I couldn’t see it with my eyes closed, but I knew Yves was holding me up so I wouldn’t fall, but apart from that, there was something wrong with the position.

 

“Why… am I… like this?”

 

“I thought you were going to fall, so I sat you down.”

 

“Well, why am I sitting on Yves’ lap?”

 

There was no plush couch in the apprentice priest’s room.

 

Just a single chair.

 

But that’s where Yves was sitting, and I was sitting on his lap.

 

“I thought you might collapse if I sat you down by yourself.”

 

“I see.”

 

I answered calmly, but my pounding heart was hardly calming down.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

An awkward silence.

 

I glanced at Yves’ still untucked shirt, aware of the blood rushing to my cold body.

 

Thankfully, the snake scales were definitely gone. It wasn’t as quick as Selene’s, but the worst of it had subsided.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Why was Yves so quiet?

 

Still sitting on his lap, I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face.

 

The distance was so close that I couldn’t manage my expression, and I didn’t want to make eye contact.

 

‘How long are we going to be in this position?’ I wondered.

 

I finally spoke up, eyes were fixed on the floor.

 

“Look, since we’re done, would you mind heading back for the day?”

 

“Are you sure, you’re okay?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I shook my head in dismissive disbelief, a sentence I’d heard so many times today.

 

“Okay. Would you please stand up?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Hmm, ‘Oh, this is bad.’

 

I thought I was okay, but I wasn’t. However, my mind was clear and I didn’t feel any physical pain.

 

“Miss Laura?”

 

“…I’m sorry, I can’t move.”

 

There it was. I had no strength anywhere in my body except my facial muscles.

 

‘Nodding was all I could do.’

 

Then Yves’s brow furrowed.

 

“Are you sick?”

 

“No. I just don’t have any strength in my body, nothing hurts.”

 

“…”

 

“Look at my face, isn’t it perfectly calm? I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to be sick, and I have a terrible temper.”

 

“…”

 

I wasn’t trying to comfort or reassure him, I was just being genuine.

 

I once thought to myself, ‘Thank goodness I died painlessly in my previous life.’

 

Cleansing Yves of the curse was my way of repaying him for helping me, but even so, I wouldn’t have offered to do it so easily if it had been accompanied by such unbearable pain.

 

After staring at me for a long moment, Yves took a deep breath.

 

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

 

My body suddenly stiffened.

 

I’d felt a similar sensation when I’d purified his curse earlier, but now my vision was heightened.

 

The next thing I knew, I was in Yves’s arms.

 

‘Being held like a princess… I must have been possessed by another world.’

 

More than the saints, crown princes, temples, teleportation, and other elements that define fantasy worlds, I found it strangely more fantastical that something like ‘carried like a princess’ could exist in my previous life, but could never happen to me.

 

Before I knew it, I was in bed.

 

Yves laid me down on the bed with a very careful touch, as if I were a glass that would shatter if handled incorrectly.

 

My heart tingled as I met his silver eyes, which seemed to scrutinize my face.

 

“Get some rest, and I’ll be right outside the door, so if anything happens, just call me. “

 

“Why would you be at the door if the next room is yours?”