How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 8

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But Laura had never been in trouble for bullying anyone in her life.

 

For her, ‘wrongs’ were not being aristocratic enough, not being the social butterfly, and not having any special talents.

 

She has never had a real emotional connection with anyone, and she doesn’t even know how to feel grateful.

 

‘Of course, that didn’t take away Laura’s misdeeds.’

 

Ignorance was not a crime, but it led to sin.

 

Therefore, ignorance was no excuse, and if she had done anything wrong, she had to pay for it.

 

As I believe that parents are responsible for the actions of their children, I tried to clear Laura’s past karma.

 

“I realized that what I wanted was real love, not a shell of you, Yves.” (Laura)

 

“You wanted true love? You? That doesn’t sound very convincing.” (Yves)

 

It was a sharp insight.

 

Laura, who didn’t know what true love was, was content to just keep Yves by her side.

 

‘Yves has great character reading skills.’

 

I knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer, but more than that, he seemed to have gotten to understand Laura perfectly.

 

And in such a short time, less than a few days.

 

As I admired his insight, I remembered that this was not the time for mere acknowledgment, and I argued back.

 

“If you don’t believe it, then you don’t have to accept it.” (Laura)

 

I didn’t say it to convince him.

 

Since I knew I couldn’t hide my emotions, I decided to be as honest as possible with Yves, but the discussion needed a little help building up.

 

The same words sounded ‘ah’ different and ‘uh’ different.

 

“But I’ve indeed changed.” (Laura)

 

Even if I told the truth, it was still subject to misinterpretation by Yves, with his negative filters in place.

 

“I thought being around you would make me happy because it made me feel superior, but I realized that’s not what I really wanted.” (Laura)

 

I try to explain why I changed.

 

“Because…” (Laura)

 

Yves interrupted my words.

 

“You’ve been acting weird since yesterday, for sure.” (Yves)

 

“Oh, right. Exactly.” (Laura)

 

‘Did we meet yesterday?’ I wondered for a moment, but then I remembered that I had regressed, and I shook my head vigorously and admitted.

 

“That’s unexpected, of course, I…” (Yves)

 

Trailing off, Yves pursed his lips as if searching for the right words, but he didn’t finish.

 

Unable to contain my growing curiosity, I absentmindedly repeated his words.

 

“Of course?” (Laura)

 

I realized my mistake in hindsight, because Laura’s appearance and voice made her sound nervous, even in a casual conversation.

 

And I’m still in the middle of apologizing!

 

I glanced at him, wondering if I had taken two steps backward in our relationship, where we had barely taken one step forward.

 

“…”

 

But Yves simply averted my gaze.

 

For the first time since I’d arrived in the room, those silver eyes had shifted away from me.

 

‘What the hell. You’re making me even more curious!’

 

But I didn’t want to make the same mistake again, so I stifled my growing curiosity and waited.

 

Until he spoke first.

 

“I was going to ask you that today anyway.” (Yves)

 

“What?” (Laura)

 

“I was wondering why you dared to tell me you were a saint so long ago, when it was only yesterday that the divine symbols appeared on your body.” (Yves)

 

But as expected, Yves abruptly changed the subject.

 

‘Perhaps he doesn’t want to talk about it?’

 

Reading his intentions, I obediently followed his lead and changed the subject.

 

“That’s right, it was a lie that would’ve been exposed if you asked me to show you the divine symbol, but I didn’t think of that at the time because I wanted to hold onto you somehow.” (Laura)

 

“Huh, I was a fool, I guess.” (Yves)

 

Sighing deeply, Yves stared off into the distance, as if in self-pity, and smiled bitterly.

 

The familiar expression on his face changed slightly, revealing another layer of charm.

 

‘Wow, that’s quite a beauty.’

 

The word beautiful could best describe this person.

 

I stare at him in a daze, my heart pounding with admiration.

 

“If you have anything else you want to say, please do. I’ll listen.” (Laura)

 

Before I know it, Yves’ gaze snaps back to me.

 

I’m stunned to see those cold silver eyes, and I blurt out my thoughts unfiltered.

 

“I was simply entranced by your beauty, Yves.” (Laura)

 

And then the atmosphere, which had barely warmed up, turned icy again.

 

‘I made a mistake again!’

 

I berated my brain for its momentary lapse and hastily asked a quick new question to distract him.

 

“But where is the divine symbol located?” (Laura)

 

It’s actually a question I’ve been meaning to ask for a while.

 

“…”

 

I was expecting an answer, but instead, he merely furrowed his brow slightly and said nothing.

 

Even more intrigued, I called out his name again, trying to keep my voice as soft as possible so as not to sound pushy.

 

“Lord Yves?” (Laura)

 

He seems to be struggling to speak…

 

‘Hmm, I wonder if it’s possible to be in a place where he can’t easily say it.’

 

Like, ‘that area’ that was still causing me faint pain! 

 

“It’s in…” (Yves)

 

The rambling thoughts that followed distracted me from focusing on Yves’ words, so I didn’t hear the most important part.

 

My eyebrows furrowed downward as best I could to convey my apology, and I asked cautiously.

 

“I didn’t hear you properly because I was momentarily distracted, can you say that again?” (Laura)

 

“In the roof of your… mouth.” (Yves)

 

“What? The palate?” (Laura)

 

In a sense, it was an unexpected location.

 

‘The palate… I don’t like the sound of that…’

 

Well, it was better than the area between my legs, but the soft palate wasn’t a great place either.

 

First, because it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing to look at someone’s palate.

 

Furthermore, from the game illustrations that I have seen in my collection, the divine symbols would glow when you used too much divine power.

 

‘The original heroine had a divine symbol on the back of her hand, and she looked beautiful in the illustrations, but I…’

 

At the thought of light emanating from my mouth, I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to imagine it anymore.

 

“What’s wrong?” (Yves)

 

“Oh, no, I’m just feeling a little dizzy.” (Laura)

 

“… Are you not feeling well?” (Yves)

 

He sounded worried, but his expression was subtle.

 

His eyes were wary, as if he didn’t fully trust me yet, and was trying to decide if I was lying or telling the truth.

 

I, on the other hand, couldn’t hide my joy at that small change. 

 

After a few regressions, Yves treated everything I said as a lie.

 

‘Finally, you understand my sincerity!’

 

I feel like we’re only one step closer, but then again, half the work was already done.

 

Besides, I wasn’t feeling well, so I nodded in agreement.

 

“Yeah. It’s just the aftermath of yesterday’s events… I have a sore back, aches, and pains here and there…” (Laura)

 

“Tsk, if you were sick, why didn’t you just call me to your room?” (Yves)

 

“I’m afraid you might get the wrong idea that I’m trying to make you do something weird like yesterday.” (Laura)

 

It wasn’t much to hide, so I said it casually, but for some reason, Yves’s face contorted into a grimace.

 

“You’re very strange today, I’ll come back tomorrow.” (Yves)

 

He stormed out of the room without a second thought.

 

‘What the hell, I thought he was being serious.’

 

Unable to keep up with the rapid pace of events, I stared blankly at the door of the room through which Yves had exited.

 

⚝

 

Yves Leblanc was deep in thought as the mansion receded into the distance.

 

The cause was Laura Laurus, who had changed overnight.

 

‘Did she really realize her mistake?’

 

In truth, he had been aware of something odd since the previous night.

 

Since last night, to be precise, right after the manifestation of the Divine Symbol.

 

Despite her insistence that it didn’t matter if it hurt, she’d been urging me to have a quick affair with her.

 

During the act, she’d briefly lost consciousness the moment the mark appeared, and when she awoke, she didn’t seem to know who she was.

  

Moreover, the biggest change was in her eyes.

 

Her gaze had always been on something other than Yves himself.

 

The beautiful appearance, the royal bloodline of the Euphrates, the shell of a Knight Commander of the Astarte Paladins.

 

It was a repulsive, nasty, sordid desire, like wanting to take possession of a coveted jewel.

 

But the Laura Laurus I met today was different.

 

She sometimes stared at Yves, mesmerized by his appearance, but that was a common reaction from those close to him, and aside from that, her gaze was straightforward and devoid of any selfishness.

 

There was something even stranger.

 

Normally, she would have said what she had to say and ended the conversation unilaterally, no matter how angry or offended he was.

 

As it turns out, her bossy attitude isn’t limited to Yves, who she sees as a weakling, but to anyone she encounters.

 

Of course, the other nobles were rumored to have bought their titles with money, so they treated her as though she didn’t exist.

 

As a result, Laura, who had always been a bit of a recluse, began to look down on others regardless of their status.

 

Ignorance makes for bravery, and since she was never invited to parties worthy of the highest nobility, she had no idea of their terror.

 

She was isolated and unable to fit in among the rising nobility, and was a loner until she met Yves.

 

Although Yves, who rarely socialized and had no interest in gossip, was unaware of her existence before she discovered the curse.

 

Regardless, she had always been a recluse, but today she had taken the precaution of waiting for an answer or gauging Yves’ mood.

 

With a vague hint of fear in her eyes.