How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 76

But even as I stood there dumbfounded, his story continued.

 

“If we move now, I think I’ll collapse before we get to the quarters.”

 

‘Don’t lie!’ …came to the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

 

Judging by the fact that he’d been dazed for quite a while earlier, and the fact that his voice had cracked for a moment, he seemed to be in real pain.

 

So, instead of questioning him, I cautiously asked, “Are you sure you can’t move? Even if I try to help you?”

 

“…I don’t think Miss Laura would be able to help me.”

 

He must have imagined me supporting him because his answer was a little slow.

 

‘Well, I suppose he thought it would be impossible for me, who can’t even lift a finger of his, to support him safely.’

 

What’s more, he was a strong, muscular man, despite his slender appearance.

 

Perhaps I wouldn’t be able to support him to our quarters, and we’d collapse together.

 

“So please, for my sake, will you stay like this for just a little while longer?”

 

In the end, it was Yves who won.

 

‘Let’s just pretend I’m a human stove.’ 

 

Without much selflessness, Yves offered me his knee out of consideration.

 

Not wanting to show my nervousness, I tried to distract myself with as little physical effort as possible.

 

If I got lost in deep thought, I would forget whether I was sitting on a wooden chair or a bed.

 

‘Now that I think about it, why was Xenon talking to me earlier?’

 

At first, I was nervous because I assumed Selene had set me up, but when I reflected on the situation, I realized that wasn’t the case.

 

Also, when he asked me if I didn’t want to be a saint, it seemed like he was asking me out of pure curiosity, not to start a fight.

 

Besides, even though I quickly left the office, I could have caught him if I wanted to.

 

‘Maybe Xenon is…’

 

Just as I was about to enter my own world.

 

“Miss Laura.”

 

A muffled voice interrupted Laura’s musings.

 

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

 

Yes, I was uncomfortable at the moment.

 

Barely able to forget how close I was to him, Yves had snapped my consciousness back to reality.

 

But I couldn’t bring myself to say it outright, so I blurted it out.

 

“Yeah, well… it’s bearable.”

 

“But your ears are red.”

 

“…!”

 

I breathed in a sharp intake of breath. My heart wasn’t beating as fast as it had been earlier, so I hadn’t expected my ears to be red.

 

‘Calm down. There’s still time for an excuse.’ 

 

Having managed to compose myself, I racked my brain furiously for a very short time.

 

‘I could say that my ears are not red because of Yves, but because I’m not used to being in proximity to the opposite gender…’

 

Just in time, a suitable excuse popped into my head, and I was organizing how to say it naturally.

 

“I apologize. I forgot for a moment that Miss Laura has delicate skin.”

 

Suddenly, Yves apologized.

 

‘Out of the blue?’ 

 

Not understanding the connection between having delicate skin and reddened ears, I didn’t respond, but he continued.

 

“I thought you wouldn’t get cold if you were just huddled up, but I guess I didn’t pay attention to your ears and nose.”

 

He thought maybe they were red because of the cold wind.

 

‘Wait, are you sure it’s not just the cold that’s making me blush?’

 

As it turned out, my heart rate was lower than when we were face-to-face, and I hardly felt any heat rising.

 

Clearly, I was the one who was mistaken.

 

‘Perhaps my heart beat too fast, and I interpreted it the wrong way.’ 

 

I’m starting to feel self-conscious about shoveling for the umpteenth time, when suddenly something warm touches my right ear, and momentarily startled, I spit out a strange sound.

 

“Hmm…!”

 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on, I just didn’t realize it because I was distracted.

 

‘I wonder why Yves is fiddling with my ear.’

 

With his bare hands.

 

Needless to say, I tried to swat his hand away from my right ear.

 

“What are you doing!”

 

But Yves shrugged off whatever was happening and replied, ‘It’s no big deal.’

 

“Don’t you think you’ll get warmer if I touch you like this?”

 

“It doesn’t matter if it’s warm or not.”

 

“Then what’s the problem?”

 

“It’s that…” I trailed off.

 

There were so many things I wanted to say.

 

‘Even if you’re treating me like a child, isn’t this crossing the line?’ 

 

To be honest, by my standards, lending me his lap when he told me I shouldn’t sit on a cold surface. 

 

And offering me a warm embrace when he told me he was cold are things you do with someone you like.

 

However, different people have different thresholds for touching, so I tried to be as understanding as possible.

 

And I didn’t want to be the person who was offended by something that was done with pure intentions.

 

But touching ears was a behavior that was hard to understand, even if it was purely innocent due to the difference in values.

 

‘In a way, I probably made things confusing for Yves by overreacting, so… No. Let’s calm down a bit.’

 

At first, I understood Yves’ good intentions and tried to point out his behavior.

 

But then I realized that I was blaming him for my mistake, saying that he was also at fault.

 

Recognizing that this could easily turn into an argument, I took a breath and spoke carefully.

 

“I think it’s rude to touch someone’s body without asking for their consent.”

 

Apart from the rambling thoughts in my head, I kept my voice calm.

 

But Yves quickly agreed and apologized, “I thought I had caused Miss Laura’s ears to get cold, and I felt like I had to do something about it, so I jumped into action, and I’m sorry.”

 

“I hope you understand now.”

 

I whined with a faint hint of grumpiness, which Yves quickly picked up on.

 

“I didn’t mean to offend you, and I apologize again.”

 

Although I couldn’t see his face, I could tell by the tone of his voice behind me that he was sincere in his apology, or at least I knew he was.

 

‘You’re so sorry, it’s actually pricking my conscience’.

 

It wasn’t that I was offended that Yves had touched me, it was that I was embarrassed that I’d been the only one making a big deal about it.

 

‘It’s a good thing we’re not facing each other, though’.

 

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to be as coy as I am now.

 

“It’s okay, I was just surprised, and I only pointed it out because I was worried that you might do the same thing to someone else you know in the future and get the wrong impression.”

 

“I’ll take your advice to heart, Miss Laura, but you shouldn’t have to worry about that at all.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you know I wouldn’t do this to anyone but Miss Laura.”

 

“…”

 

“Besides, you’re the only one who can see and touch my bare hands in the first place.”

 

“I suppose…”

 

While I understood the curse in my head, my resentment toward him grew.

 

‘Why do you have to be so mean!’ I thought to myself.

 

‘How can I not be mistaken when he keeps doing this to me?’ 

 

Feeling completely guilty, I suddenly have a new worry, that Yves might hear my heartbeat.

 

The thumping was loud enough to be clearly audible in my ears.

 

And given how quiet it was in here, it was likely to be transmitted to him, who was just a few inches away.

 

My heartbeat thumping like a derailed train…

 

‘But does it also feel different?’

 

I nervously put my right hand over my heart, and it was definitely different.

 

Sure, it’s a little faster than normal, but it’s more of a whisper than a roar.

 

‘So, what is this noise?’ 

 

The path from the Pontifical Palace to the Temple of Nanna was usually heavily traveled, but it was a cold winter, so no one was passing by.

 

This was because there was a passageway that connected the buildings from the inside without going through the main entrance.

 

The only people here were me and Yves…

 

‘No way, Yves?’ 

 

The thought that the source of the resounding echo could be Yves was unbearable. I immediately pressed my left ear close to his chest.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“There’s a sound…”

 

The sound was unmistakable.

 

The same thing I’d thought was coming from my heart just a moment ago, the sound that had sent me into a panic for fear of being found out by Yves.

 

‘Why?’ 

 

My first thought was that Yves had some sort of heart condition, because of all the misconceptions I had accumulated over the years.

 

But then a very common and universal question came to mind.

 

‘Does he really like me?’

 

This was followed by a positive thought, ‘I wasn’t mistaken after all!’ and a negative thought, ‘Isn’t there something else going on here?’ 

 

I’m an overthinker, so I knew that if I left it at that, it would just lead to more questions, so I decided to ask him outright.

 

“Hey, Yves, do you like me?”

 

Though I was mortified, I decided that it was better to ask outright than to go back and forth between hot and cold in my head.