How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 50

Hearing the unfamiliar name, Yves’ face stiffened.

 

‘Who?’ 

 

Though he searched his memory, the name was unfamiliar.

 

As someone who prided himself on knowing most of Laura’s surroundings, he was pretty sure he didn’t recognize the person.

 

That made it all the more unnerving.

 

At the same time, watching her call someone else’s name to my face made me feel a mixture of emotions that are hard to describe.

 

I felt ridiculous, outraged, and upset, but I also felt something I couldn’t define.

 

Annoyance, anger, resentment…

 

It was hard to put a name to it, but one thing was for sure, I felt sick and dirty.

 

Just as he felt like he’d been stuck in the mud, Yves called out to her in a sullen voice.

 

“…Miss Laura.”

 

“…”

 

But alas…

 

His name never left her lips.

 

💫

 

A familiar ceiling came into view.

 

‘What’s going on?‘ 

 

I must have gone to the back of the Astarte temple…

 

‘I was in the middle of sayin’ goodbye to Huluppu when I blacked out.’ 

 

Why was I in my room?

 

I was curious to know if I had met Huluppu in the spirit world or if I had traveled with him physically.

 

If I traveled physically, Huluppu could have used a teleportation-like ability to send me to my room, but…

 

‘If not, then Yves carried me.’ 

 

Slowly, I rose to my feet. I moved around my body, but nothing hurt.

 

‘What time is it?’

 

There was no clock in the room, but it was daylight outside the window.

 

I brushed my hair and changed my clothes out of habit…

 

‘Wait, but why am I in my pajamas?’

 

If I was unconscious and Huluppu had moved me, I should have been wearing the garments reserved for priests.

 

‘But if Yves carried me, shouldn’t it be the same?’ 

 

I wasn’t wearing a dress that required me to wear a corset, I was wearing a full, loose-fitting priest’s robe, and someone had changed me into pajamas while I was asleep.

 

‘I can’t be sleepwalking.’

 

Before I knew it, I was dressed and out of the room with no destination in mind.

 

“Awww, it’s dark!”

 

I almost screamed in surprise. The hallway would have shrieked for me to leave if I hadn’t immediately realized the identity of the figure standing there.

 

“No. But, Lord Yves, what the hell are you doing here?”

 

“…”

 

I was about to chastise him for standing in the doorway, so close that I could feel the dark shadows as soon as I opened it, but for some reason, he didn’t answer.

 

“Lord Yves?”

 

“…”

 

Despite repeatedly calling his name, Yves didn’t respond.

 

‘What’s wrong?’

 

His face seemed whiter today, but I wondered if the curse was making him unwell.

 

“What’s wrong, are you sick?”

 

Sensing something was wrong, I reached out to touch Yves’ forehead.

 

‘You’re not just feverish, you’re cold, aren’t you?’ 

 

It was cold enough to fool me into thinking he’d been outside for hours in the dead of winter.

 

“…you’re cold.”

 

I was so stunned by his cold body temperature that I didn’t hear what he said, wondering if I should get a blanket and wrap him up.

 

“I’m sorry, can you say that again?”

 

“…Are you feeling well?”

 

It was ridiculous. If anyone looked sick right now, it was Yves.

 

“That’s what I’m asking, what happened to you? Why are you so cold?”

 

“…”

 

When I asked, removing my hand from his forehead, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but his tightly set jaw didn’t budge.

 

It was a clear refusal.

 

Not wanting to get into an argument with someone who didn’t look well, I didn’t probe further.

 

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to, but you shouldn’t be doing this, go to your room and rest.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

He replied, a beat too late.

 

‘Your refusal cuts like a knife.’

 

I’m baffled by his bizarre demeanor, but I don’t let it show. For now, it was important to raise Yves’s temperature.

 

‘Sending him back to his room, even by force… well. That’s going to be tough.’

 

Pushing Yves, who was much bigger than me, back to his room by force was not an option.

 

After a moment’s deliberation, I chose the next best thing. I decided to grab his wrist and drag him into my room.

 

As if in pain, he was easily dragged along without much resistance.

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

“I thought you might be too cold.”

 

He obediently followed me to the front of the bed.

 

“Wait!”

 

I tried to sit him down, but he resisted with great force.

 

“I may have just been lying down, but I’m not that dirty.”

 

“…!”

 

I tried to assure him that I hadn’t drooled and was clean, but strangely enough, his reaction only intensified.

 

“Please, don’t touch my body.”

 

I felt like a pervert when he said that.

 

‘What did I do…’ 

 

And I felt a little resentful.

 

All I had done was push with all my might on Yves’ back to get him to lie down on the bed…

 

‘Honestly, wasn’t it worse when I touched his chest to purify him last time?’

 

Compared to that day, today was almost like I hadn’t touched him at all.

 

“Okay. I will never touch your body again, not even for cleansing.”

 

When I said this firmly, meaning that I would not purify him in the future, Yves seemed to suddenly recognize that I meant it.

 

‘The power of purification is indeed great.’ I was able to subdue Yves, who had been resisting fiercely.

 

There was even the illusion that he was fidgeting.

 

“…I’ll cancel.”

 

“Cancel what?”

 

Although I understood what he was saying, I purposely pretended not to.

 

“…”

 

Then Yves was silent.

 

The words came out of my mouth again, almost embarrassing.

 

‘Ugh, you look sick, so I’m holding it in.’ 

 

I felt like teasing him a little more would make him feel better, but I decided to wait until later.

 

After Yves had fully recovered, I figured I wouldn’t feel guilty threatening him with not purifying him.

 

I turned to Yves, who hadn’t budged from his position in front of the bed, and spoke softly.

 

“You’re treating me like I’m a lecher, when I’m just…”

 

I deliberately trailed off. To make sure Yves was listening.

 

The silence lengthened, and his gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, flicked in my direction for a moment, as if puzzled.

 

He was definitely listening. 

 

I coughed lightly, then added an afterword, “I was just worried about you, so I brought you to bed to raise your body temperature.”

 

“Worried?”

 

Now that’s a question…

 

The irritation I’d been holding in bubbled up.

 

“Of course I was. If I hadn’t been worried in the first place, I wouldn’t have come through the door and simply passed you by when I saw you standing there.”

 

Without any rebuttal, Yves just shook his head.

 

“Now, what do you say? If you want to rest here, get into bed, or I won’t bother you anymore.”

 

Looking unusually languid today, Yves’s silver eyes turned to me.

 

It felt like he was gauging my reaction, so I shrugged, as if I didn’t care what he chose.

 

Then, after a long pause, he spoke slowly, “…I need you to stay with me.”

 

“What?”

 

“Miss Laura, I would… like you to stay by my side.”

 

“…”

 

I wasn’t expecting this.

 

‘No. Well, I can do that.’ 

 

Because when someone’s sick, they’re lonely, and they want someone to be with them.

 

I stayed still, trying to clear my head of the jumbled mess that was his unexpected request.

 

The silence lengthened, and Yves looked pitiful, like a puppy caught in the rain.

 

“Lie down.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m going to stay with you, so just go lie down on the bed.”

 

“…Can I lie on the floor?”

 

“Are you kidding? Like I said, my bed is clean.”

 

“That’s why I want you to lie on the floor, I don’t want it to get dirty because of me.”

 

I froze in place, ‘Although I’ve been thinking that he’s got a weirdly low self-esteem ever since.’

 

It never occurred to me that he would think that laying down would make someone else’s bed hotter.

 

To break the momentary stiffness, I asked in a deliberately sarcastic tone.

 

“’Do you drool?”

“…”

 

In normal circumstances, Yves would have responded bluntly, but he must have sensed my intentions because he said nothing.

 

I persisted, “Why don’t you deny it? Do you really drool in sleep?”

 

With a look in her eyes that said she was going to keep teasing him until he answered.

 

“I’ll just go back to bed.”

 

With a faint sigh of resignation, Yves lay down on the bed.

 

Making sure the covers were tucked tightly around him, I got into bed and pulled up a wooden chair.

 

“I didn’t mean for you to be this close…”

 

Yves muttered to himself in a disgruntled voice, but I snorted and didn’t even listen.

 

“If you need to go to the bathroom, you can just leave.”

 

“Forget it, just close your eyes.”

 

“…”

 

Realizing that nothing I said would get through to him, I meekly closed my eyes.

 

Looking at Yves’s face, which was unusually gentle, I suddenly remembered the younger Yves from yesterday.

 

‘The younger Eve is more reticent,’ I thought.

 

Of course, it was technically Huluppu.

 

💫

 

‘And he never told me what was ailing him.’

 

Last night. I’d fallen asleep while I studied his face.

 

‘Yesterday, when I woke up again after parting ways with Huluppu, I found myself lying in my bed.’

 

And when I woke up this morning, Yves was back to his normal self, as if nothing had happened.

 

‘I should say I’m relieved.’

 

I exhaled softly as I glanced at Yves, who remained silent beside me.

 

Just then, Nishana burst into the room.

 

“So, Laura, what do you think?”

 

“Um… the idea that it’s now autumn?”