Chapter 9

It was the moment Yvette swallowed yet another sigh.

Noel, who had been thinking something over for a moment, spoke.

“Before that, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“That flower on your back. Do you know for certain when it bloomed?”

Noel asked Yvette with a serious face.

It was the most serious expression he had shown all this time.

“I told you earlier. It bloomed the day we spent the night together.”

Yvette looked at Noel as if to ask why he was stating the obvious.

At that, Noel slowly shook his head.

“That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking whether you know what we were doing when it bloomed.”

“What we were doing when it bloomed? Well, obviously, when we did that sort of thing……”

Yvette stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips firmly together.

Because a certain image had flashed through her mind.

‘No, is it really all right to imagine something I don’t even remember this vividly?’

Yvette shook her head vigorously and barely managed to shake off the flesh-colored spectacle unfolding in her mind.

“I mean. What exactly is this ‘that sort of thing’ you’re talking about?”

Watching her face grow redder and redder, Noel let out a deflated laugh.

At his persistent questioning, Yvette wore an incredulous expression.

“Are you teasing me right now?”

“No. I was simply curious.”

Noel met Yvette’s eyes and continued calmly.

“As far as I remember, nothing happened between us that day.”

Yvette’s mouth fell open, and she stared at Noel.

It felt as though she had been struck over the head.

“……Wait. Are you saying we didn’t sleep together that day?”

When she asked, stammering, Noel nodded calmly.

“B-but you said I pounced on you back then!”

“That part is true. You said you didn’t want to sleep alone and dragged me onto the bed.”

Noel answered with a light shrug.

“……Then what about saying you didn’t leave marks so I wouldn’t be in trouble? Was that just something you said?”

“It meant exactly what it said—that I didn’t leave any marks. If there had been suspicious marks, it could have caused misunderstandings among my subordinates.”

Unlike Noel, who maintained a composed attitude throughout, Yvette was on the verge of her head exploding.

She barely restrained herself from tearing at her hair and forced the words out with difficulty.

“Why didn’t you just tell me honestly from the start?”

“You were the one who told me not to answer.”

“No, even so! Do you have any idea how much trouble that caused me!”

Yvette shouted and then bit her lip hard.

She wanted to argue further, but getting angry over something already past would only waste her breath.

Besides, not having spent the night with him did not change the situation.

She was still cursed, and the fact that Noel was her destined partner remained the same.

She could tell just from how much better she felt when his hand had touched her forehead earlier.

‘……Wait. Does that mean even light contact has an effect?’

If that were true, it might actually be for the better.

It would mean she could sustain her life without having to do that sort of thing with Noel.

“……For now, let’s just let this matter go.”

Yvette, who had been stewing alone, spoke reluctantly.

“You’re not going to press me further?”

Noel asked as if surprised.

He apparently had not expected her to let it go so easily.

“What good would it do to say more about something already past? It’s not as if that would break my curse.”

Yvette let out a deep sigh and swept her hair back with one hand.

“Rather than that, it’s more efficient to have a productive conversation.”

Seeing Yvette’s atmosphere change so quickly, Noel blinked slowly.

Interest welled in his gaze as he looked at her once again.

“……A productive conversation. What kind of conversation do you mean?”

“Obviously, a conversation about how to break my curse.”

Yvette said this and looked Noel straight in the eye.

“If what you say is true, it means the flower blooms on my body even with light contact. Which means, in other words, that I can only live if we have physical contact.”

At her serious words, Noel wore an inscrutable expression.

He looked somewhat skeptical, and at the same time somewhat intrigued.

Either way, Yvette decided to be grateful that he was listening to her.

“You said you carried me to the bed and held me that day, right?”

“……I did.”

“Then the physical contact we had that day must have been just an embrace?”

Instead of answering, Noel gave a slight nod.

“And my body started getting worse about two weeks after that…… So that means one embrace lasts roughly two weeks.”

Yvette muttered with a serious face.

‘Maybe the duration of the effect varies depending on the kind of contact.’

The exact details would require experimentation, but judging from the situation so far, it was entirely possible.

‘The problem is that I need Noel’s consent to experiment at all.’

Yvette quietly studied Noel’s expression.

Seeing him listen seriously to all this absurd talk about curses and whatnot, he seemed like he might help……

“Um, Noel.”

When Yvette cautiously called his name, Noel nodded as if to say, go on.

Yvette wore a sales smile and crept slowly toward him.

“You remember I said I came because I had a favor to ask, right?”

“I remember. Why?”

“I think now is the right time to make that request.”

Yvette paused for a beat, then carefully continued.

“Could you think of it as saving a person’s life, and have a little physical contact with me?”

* * *

Noel Averon had long been a man who did not easily trust people.

The power amassed under the name Averon was tremendous, and there were far too many who coveted it.

Perhaps because of that, there was no shortage of people who approached him with unsavory motives.

As a result, Noel was not easily shaken by anything short of extraordinary.

‘But this is a bit baffling.’

Noel swallowed a hollow laugh as he looked at Yvette.

Normally, the moment she brought up the word ‘favor,’ he would have thrown her out without hesitation.

But now, he was only more intrigued by her.

Because no one with ordinary nerve would dare make such an absurd request of him.

“……Physical contact—is this what you mean?”

Noel narrowed his eyes and placed one hand beside Yvette’s head.

As his face drew closer, Yvette visibly panicked.

She apparently had not expected him to be this forward.

“No, that’s not what I……!”

Noel raised his hand and cut off Yvette’s flustered rambling.

Then he whispered low into her ear.

“You’d better close your eyes.”

At the voice that seemed to resonate in her throat, Yvette’s shoulders trembled faintly.

When she clamped her mouth shut and did not move, Noel slowly closed the distance.

And at the moment their lips were about to brush—

“Wait, stop!”

With a startled cry, Yvette covered his lips with both hands.

“……?”

Noel looked at Yvette as if to ask what she thought she was doing.

Only after confirming he had stopped did Yvette hurriedly pull her hands away.

“Th-this isn’t the kind of physical contact I was talking about!”

She shouted, her face slightly flushed. At that, Noel blinked slowly and asked.

“……Then?”

“Physical contact doesn’t have to mean kissing. Holding hands or an embrace should be enough.”

Yvette fanned her reddened face with one hand and continued.

“Of course, I’m not asking for help without giving anything in return. I’m a person with at least that much conscience.”

A reward.

Noel let out a soft laugh the moment he heard her words.

“What kind of reward are you thinking of giving?”

“Hmm, money is out since you have more than I do. And giving you land seems odd too……”

After thinking for a moment, Yvette cautiously spoke.

“How about a wish?”

“……A wish?”

“Yes. Except for anything illegal, I’ll do whatever you tell me to.”

How about that? Not bad, right?

Yvette looked up at Noel with sparkling eyes.

She seemed quite pleased with her own idea.

‘A wish. Anyone listening would think we were children.’

Noel swallowed a hollow laugh and nodded.

“Let’s go with that.”

Noel answered briefly and curled the corners of his mouth slightly upward.

“So, what do I need to do now?”

“First, I think it would be good to study the curse a little. We can check what kind of contact makes the flower bloom, and how long it lasts.”

“How do you plan to conduct that research?”

“The best way is to test everything one by one. For example, hold hands today and watch how long the effect lasts?”

“So you mean to advance step by step?”

“I think that would be more comfortable for both of us. It’s a bit much to suddenly start with a kiss with someone you don’t even like, isn’t it?”

Yvette avoided Noel’s gaze and cleared her throat softly.

“……Anyway, I think it would be fine to start with something light like holding hands today.”

Of course, only if that’s all right with you.

Yvette, who had hurriedly added that, checked Noel’s expression.

“If that’s what makes you comfortable.”

Noel smiled softly and readily offered his hand to Yvette.

Then Yvette, after hesitating a moment, placed her hand over his.

The moment their palms overlapped, Noel laced his fingers with hers without hesitation.

A lukewarm warmth passed through their joined palms.

“Your hands are on the cold side.”

“……Are they? I can’t really tell.”

Unlike Noel, who seemed unbothered, Yvette could not even look him straight in the eye.

She had thought this bit of physical contact, something even children did, would not faze her.

Perhaps because of the situation, it felt strange.

Yvette forced down her fluttering feelings and quickly let go of Noel’s hand.

Perhaps because she was nervous, her hand felt sweaty.

“I think this is enough for today.”

“Isn’t that too fast? What if it has no effect?”

“Then we’ll move on to the next step. That would mean holding hands isn’t enough to have an effect.”