How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 81

Though, I suppose it would seem pretty narrow-minded to keep the little things to yourself.

 

Yves was having a similar thought, and he bit down hard on his lower lip and furrowed his brow, almost afraid to finish his sentence.

 

As if feeling sorry for himself.

 

Of course, now that I had both hands on his face, I could see the change in his expression. I watched his face contort in self-pity.

 

“Cute.”

 

The thought that popped into my head came out of my lips without filtering.

 

“…!”

 

Yves’s frown turned to surprise in real-time.

 

‘I made a mistake… No, but he’s cute.’ 

 

Starting to feel bad for saying something so inappropriate that it ruined the mood, I quickly corrected myself.

 

I figured it was a good idea to play the game before the low self-esteem Yves could twist my response and take it the wrong way.

 

Therefore, I became even more brazen.

 

“Look, I heard what you were really thinking, and I’m not disappointed, I just think it’s cute.”

 

“…”

 

“You saw with your own two eyes, didn’t you, Yves, that what I just said about you being cute was purely from my heart, without any thinking or calculation.”

 

Then his pale white skin turned red in an instant, and his heart, which had been beating loudly, became even louder.

 

Judging by his reaction, it was as if he was finally realizing that I liked him and was embarrassed.

 

“…please.”

 

“What?”

 

“Please… put your hand… away.”

 

“Why, are you embarrassed?”

 

As if pierced to the core, his silver eyes flickered this way and that.

 

Feeling strangely vindicated, I continued to say things I knew he would be ashamed of.

 

“Well, what the hell, we’ve confirmed each other’s feelings, and kissed each other’s lips.”

 

Turning red from face to ears to the nape of his neck, Yves pursed his lips, unable to retort.

 

‘This makes me want to torture him even more.’

 

A sudden urge to cry out to him flashed through my mind, but I brushed it away.

 

The reason was that he hadn’t yet given her his complete trust.

 

‘I’ll give it a try when I’ve rebuilt his confidence and our relationship is more developed.’ 

 

Putting the impulse aside for later, I continued, “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you look cute no matter what you do, so you should be more honest with yourself.”

 

I said, emphasizing each word, hoping it would come across as sincere.

 

“Oh, except for the obvious lies.”

 

“You’re really…”

 

“What?”

 

“…consistent.”

 

“Me?”

 

It was the most ridiculous thing I’d heard all day.

 

‘In what way?’

 

It wasn’t that I was offended by being told I was similar to Laura, I just didn’t understand.

 

I mean, she was different from me from the inside out.

 

Even Selene and Endymion, who remembered her before her regression, noticed something odd at once, and my personality was the exact opposite of Laura’s.

 

‘Well, at least he doesn’t know the old Laura.’

 

But it was the original Laura who used the curse to force him into a ridiculous contract.

 

So I’m puzzled by his claim to be the same.

 

“Like what?”

 

I asked, scratching my head, and suddenly the corners of Yves’s eyes curved upward.

 

“I like… the way your eyes are always the same.”

 

“…”

 

He trailed off. Yves beamed a dazzling, halo-like smile.

 

‘Wow, I thought my heart was going to drop. At least give me a little warning so I can prepare myself.’ 

 

The unreal beauty’s laugh, which some might call a treat, was deadly enough to leave me momentarily breathless.

 

So stunned was I that I removed my hands from his cheeks and absentmindedly checked my chest for a heart.

 

But that wasn’t the end of the attack.

 

“I like your lack of consideration for your own interests.”

 

“…”

 

“And I love how you always… tell me what I most want to hear.”

 

He blurted out a string of words that sounded so foreign to me that I wondered if they were the same person, unable to make eye contact because I was too embarrassed to look at him.

 

“So please don’t hate me.”

 

“No… you know… um…”

 

They say you lose your memory when you see a pretty person.

 

My eyes locked with Yves, who looked up at me pleadingly, and I forgot what I was supposed to say.

 

“Keep, keep calling me cute.”

 

Oh, I must be crazy, ‘I thought he was a puppy, but he’s a fox.’

 

I kept thinking that he was different from the original Yves, but he was so different.

 

In the game, Yves has always been a loyal puppy, giving his devoted love to Selene without expecting anything in return.

 

It was also a far cry from his frustrated behavior just a few minutes earlier, when he said she was going to be disappointed in me.

 

‘That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly developed a higher self-esteem or changed his personality.’ 

 

Perhaps, being the sharp-eyed Yves that he was, he realized that I was susceptible to his good looks and played the beauty game.

 

The problem was, unlike my mind, which calmly discerned his intentions, my emotions were violently agitated.

 

“I, I, I will!”

 

“Can you promise me that?”

 

“I’ll swear to God if you don’t believe me.”

 

His eyebrows were knitted together, and he had a pitiful expression on his face, but at the mention of an oath of God, his face instantly stiffened.

 

“…Miss Laura, I assure you that I warned you that an oath of God is not to be taken lightly.”

 

It was the usual Yves.

 

‘Wow, was that an act?’ 

 

Of course, I doubt he meant to deceive me, but the sudden change in his countenance was quite shocking.

 

“It wasn’t all an act, I just thought Miss Laura would like it if I did this…”

 

Yves must have read my expression, because he quickly excused himself with a grimace.

 

“Well… there’s nothing wrong with that…”

 

There was so much I wanted to say, but I hesitated for a moment, trying to choose the right words that wouldn’t cause misunderstandings.

 

But the silence was too long, and I knew it would make him uneasy, so I quickly organized my thoughts and spoke.

 

“Like I said, I like your honesty, Yves, especially when you’re embarrassed and don’t know what to do.”

 

At that, Yves’ face calmed down a bit, and then flushed bright red again.

 

“I must say, I admire Miss Laura for being so… blunt.”

 

“You were just as bad!”

 

I exclaimed. I shuddered despite myself.

 

When it came to saying like, I admit I did it more than Yves, but when it came to making awkward comments, Yves spoke more.

 

“I didn’t say anything I was embarrassed to say.”

 

“You may not have realized it, Yves, but it was embarrassing for me to hear.”

 

“I never saw Miss Laura look embarrassed during our conversation.”

 

“Are you sure you saw it right? Earlier, I looked incredibly embarrassed when you confessed to me while smiling.”

 

“Weren’t you just dazed at the time?”

 

“I was mesmerized, yes… but afterward, I thought it was kind of embarrassing.”

 

Although there was a slight pause, I answered confidently, knowing that I was telling the truth.

 

But Yves still gave her a questioning look.

 

“Are you doubting me?”

 

“You asked me to be honest, so I’ll be honest, I don’t trust you that much.”

 

“No, you don’t. Why would I lie about something like this?”

 

It was a ridiculous point, but I was also pleasantly surprised.

 

There was a sense of playfulness in his demeanor that came from his previous attempts to gloss over the topic at all costs.

 

And there was trust in it.

 

It was as if Yves was confident that telling me what was on his mind wouldn’t ruin our relationship.

 

It was as if a barely disconnected heart had come through.

 

‘Plus, the atmosphere seems more relaxed.’

 

Lately, Yves had been showing me a lot of different expressions, but there was still a certain restraint.

 

But now, after such a short conversation, I find myself feeling lighter and more at ease with Yves’ ever-changing expressions.

 

I was overwhelmed with joy that our conversation had finally worked.

 

Suddenly, I remembered a question I had forgotten.

 

“By the way, Yves, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

 

“What do you mean, earlier?”

 

Yves asked in a confused tone, wondering if this was too much to ask.

 

“Well, when I was just sitting on your lap, you turned your head for a second, and we made eye contact, and I was wondering why you stayed still.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“That?”

 

“…I thought time had stopped, my head was all white, and I was just looking at you like I was in a trance.”