Chapter 11

But to simply ignore it and move on—the seal bothered her.

‘If he went to the trouble of sending a letter, he must be up to something.’

Baron Larishi was a greedy man.

He would not hand over something as important as the seal so easily.

There was no telling what he might be scheming with the seal as bait.

‘Going alone would be dangerous, after all.’

But that did not mean she had anyone to go with her.

‘……Should I hire a mercenary with money?’

Yvette worried seriously.

If possible, she wanted to go with someone trustworthy. But no one came readily to mind.

‘It has to be someone Baron Larishi can’t treat carelessly, and someone who won’t cause gossip…….’

After thinking for a moment, Yvette suddenly raised her head.

Because a face that fit the conditions perfectly had just come to mind.

* * *

A few hours later.

Yvette stepped down from the carriage, smiled brightly, and spoke to the guard standing at the main gate.

“Hello. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“……!”

The guard, who had been staring straight ahead with a blank expression, opened his eyes wide the moment he spotted Yvette.

“Oh? Aren’t you the person who went in with Sir Bler last time?”

When he showed that he recognized her, Yvette smiled even more brightly.

“That’s right. You remembered perfectly.”

“What brings you here today?”

Perhaps because she was a familiar face, the guard’s attitude was more favorable than before.

Yvette glanced around and whispered into the guard’s ear.

“I’ve come because I have a personal matter with His Grace. Just tell him Yvette Blanche is here.”

“……Please wait a moment. I’ll check.”

Perhaps he had not completely lowered his guard, for the guard answered formally and stepped back.

Yvette told him to go ahead and waited with a composed face for him to return.

How long did she wait?

Having finished speaking with Noel, the guard approached her with a smiling face.

“His Grace says to come up right away.”

“I figured he would.”

Yvette answered calmly, but inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness. I was worried he might tell me to go back.’

As she followed the guard, the ducal mansion soon came into view.

Perhaps because she had entered last time while unconscious, the scenery felt unfamiliar, as if she were seeing it for the first time.

“His Grace is waiting in his office.”

When she reached the entrance of the ducal mansion, someone who appeared to be the butler greeted her.

Yvette followed his guidance toward Noel’s office.

After walking for a while, the servant stopped before a door.

“Your Grace. Lady Blanche has arrived.”

When he knocked, a familiar voice rang out from inside.

“Send her in.”

The servant bowed politely to Yvette and withdrew.

After confirming that he had disappeared down the corridor, Yvette cautiously grasped the door handle.

Her nervously pounding heart thumped loudly.

The door opened, and at last the scene of Noel’s office was revealed.

Perhaps he was not the type to tidy up while working, for books were scattered everywhere.

As the smell of old paper brushed her nose, Yvette unconsciously drew a deep breath.

Then, into her view, came Noel sitting at his desk wearing glasses.

Perhaps he had been in the middle of work, for documents were piled high before him.

When Yvette made her presence known, Noel slightly raised his head and looked at her.

“Don’t just stand there. Come sit.”

Noel gestured with his eyes to the chair across from him.

Was it because of the glasses?

Noel gave off a more intellectual air than usual.

‘He’s handsome even with just glasses on.’

Yvette, who had briefly had her gaze stolen by Noel’s face, shook her head.

‘Let’s focus. This isn’t why I came today.’

She quickly regained her composure and sat in the chair Noel had indicated.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted your work. I should have contacted you in advance.”

Yvette cautiously offered an apology as soon as she settled into her seat.

It had not been long since she asked for his help. She felt a little sorry for coming to him about something again.

“I was about to wrap up anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

Noel answered lightly and set the documents he was holding down on the desk.

Then his gaze fell on Yvette.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“Ah, well……”

Yvette trailed off slightly.

She had come intending to ask for his help. But now that she was before him, it was difficult to bring it up.

That was when it happened.

Noel, who had been studying her expression, spoke first.

“……From your face, it seems you have something to ask of me.”

His intuition was remarkably sharp.

At his pointed words, Yvette cleared her throat without realizing it.

“That’s right. Actually, I came because I have a favor to ask.”

“So it seems that whole ‘I can’t live without you’ business wasn’t entirely a lie.”

Noel muttered in a voice that could have been joking or serious, then continued.

“So, what is it you want to ask this time?”

“I’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s write up our contract.”

“……The contract?”

“Yes. The contract we agreed to write before.”

Yvette glanced around, then lowered her voice so only he could hear.

“Don’t tell me you forgot?”

“As if I would.”

Noel let out a soft laugh and opened his desk drawer. Then he pulled out a single sheet of paper and handed it to Yvette.

“You mean this?”

Yvette took the document he handed her with a bewildered expression.

At the top of the page, written in neat cursive, were the words ‘Engagement Contract,’ and below that, everything was left blank.

“You can write whatever contract terms you want in the blanks. Once you’ve written them all, just sign at the bottom.”

“What exactly do you mean by contract terms?”

“Clauses you want me to keep, things like that.”

“Aha.”

Yvette stared down at the contract.

‘So I write the conditions I want here.’

After thinking for a moment, Yvette held out her hand to Noel.

“Could you lend me a pen?”

“Here.”

Noel handed her the quill pen lying on the desk.

After that, Yvette slowly wrote down her conditions.

[Article 1. The contractual relationship shall continue until the curse on Yvette Blanche is broken.

Article 2. He shall faithfully cooperate with Yvette Blanche’s research.

Article 3. For the duration of the contract, he shall be responsible for Yvette Blanche’s safety.]

Having written up to the third article without hesitation, Yvette handed the contract back to Noel.

“For now, this is all I can think of.”

“Shorter than I expected.”

Noel slowly read through the contract.

Then his gaze lingered on the last article.

“But what do you mean by being responsible for your safety?”

“Exactly what it says.”

Yvette pointed at herself with a serious expression.

“It means protect me and keep me safe in any situation.”

“Is someone threatening you?”

At Noel’s question, Yvette flinched without realizing it.

‘Did he notice?’

As she widened her eyes and gauged his reaction, Noel let out a soft laugh.

“Well, it’s not a difficult condition. I’ll let it pass for now.”

With that, Noel picked up the pen.

“Now it’s my turn to write, is it?”

“Don’t write any strange conditions. Got it?”

Suddenly uneasy, Yvette leaned forward.

Noel lightly shrugged and looked at her.

“Who knows. I’m not sure what counts as strange.”

Then he smiled faintly and moved the pen.

Unlike Yvette, who had written three articles, Noel finished with two.

[Article 4. The contract period shall be one year.]

[Article 5. We shall not betray each other.]

Noel put a clean period at the end and handed the contract back to Yvette.

Yvette slowly read through the conditions and stopped at Article 5.

‘We shall not betray each other……’

She had no intention of betraying Noel anyway.

Betraying the person who held her lifeline was no different from saying she wanted to die.

“If you agree to the terms, just sign at the bottom.”

When Noel handed her the quill, Yvette quickly signed at the bottom of the contract.

“Is this all I need to do?”

“That’s right.”

Noel also finished signing, then pressed the seal bearing the Averon ducal family’s crest firmly onto the top of the contract.

Only after confirming the seal was stamped did Yvette speak.

“So from now on, we’re engaged for a year?”

“That’s how it works out.”

When Noel nodded, Yvette clasped her hands together and looked at him with earnest eyes.

“Then, in commemoration of becoming engaged, would you do me a favor?”

“……Is this why you insisted on writing the contract first?”

Seeing Noel’s eyes narrow, Yvette smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. But it’s something really urgent for me.”

“……What is it?”

When Noel showed interest, Yvette continued without hesitation.

“I need to get the family seal back from my uncle.”