Chapter 17

“It seems you like the cake here.”

Noel, who had been watching her with interest, spoke.

Yvette continued putting cake into her mouth and said,

“Yes. I like it more than my fiancé.”

At her pointed answer, Noel let out a short, hollow laugh.

“Isn’t that a bit cold toward your fiancé?”

“My fiancé is the one who made me this way.”

Yvette answered haughtily, then focused on the cake again.

After a few movements of her fork, the palm-sized cake had more than half disappeared.

“You said you were grateful to me before. I suppose that was just words after all.”

When Noel muttered as if he were genuinely hurt, Yvette paused and set her fork down.

She glanced at Noel with a softer gaze than before.

“Did I say something that upset you?”

“And if I said you did?”

When he answered with a face devoid of humor, Yvette thought for a moment and then spoke.

“……Want a bite of cake? Eating this should make you feel better.”

Yvette stabbed a piece of cake with her fork and held it out toward Noel’s mouth.

Noel looked at the cake she offered with a rather incredulous expression.

“……You’re going to appease me with cake?”

“People feel better when they eat something sweet. Try a bite, Noel.”

Yvette smiled brightly and made a small “ah” sound.

Noel let out a laugh as if dumbfounded, but obediently accepted the cake Yvette held out and ate it.

It was fortunate there was no one around.

If anyone had witnessed it, it would have been more than enough to land on the front page of the next day’s newspaper.

“How is it? Do you feel better?”

Yvette asked Noel after cleanly finishing the last piece.

Noel elegantly swallowed the cake in his mouth and said,

“It’s too sweet.”

“Cake is meant to be eaten for its sweetness. Noel really doesn’t know anything.”

Yvette clicked her tongue and set down the fork she was holding.

“Anyway, what’s important right now isn’t cake.”

“That doesn’t sound like something the person who stared at nothing but cake the whole time should say.”

Noel muttered, gesturing to the empty plate, but Yvette pretended not to hear him.

“Since we’ve met today, why don’t you tell me which families I shouldn’t get close to before you go.”

“……And why should I do that?”

“Whatever the truth is, people see me as your fiancée. A person who’s supposedly your fiancée can’t go to a party hosted by Averon’s enemy, now can she?”

Yvette whispered in a small voice so no one else could hear.

At that, Noel tilted his head with a composed face.

“Enemy? I have such a thing?”

“Wow. Do you realize how unlucky that just sounded?”

When Yvette let out a small exclamation, Noel gave a light shrug.

“I hear it so often that I’m not sure.”

“Stop joking around and answer seriously. Do you really not have any enemies? At the very least, any rivals you’re concerned about?”

She had read the original work to the end, but she did not remember detailed settings like conflicts between families very well.

So she had asked just in case she might cause trouble, but……

She had momentarily forgotten.

That the man before her was not the type to leave an enemy be and simply watch.

“Then this is a good time to learn. There is no family in this empire that would dare make an enemy of Averon.”

At his shameless answer, Yvette quietly clicked her tongue.

“What confidence.”

“I worked hard to make it that way.”

Noel answered lightly and gestured to the plate Yvette had cleanly emptied.

“If you like it, shall I order more?”

“No. If I eat too much, my measurements might come out bigger when they take them later.”

She wanted more so badly it was killing her, but Yvette barely suppressed her instincts.

“Come to think of it, you said you came out to buy dresses.”

Noel, who had been leisurely tapping the table with his fingertips, spoke.

“If you’d like, I can introduce you to my personal designer. What do you think?”

“……Averon has a personal designer too?”

“Of course.”

When Noel nodded, Yvette let out a small exclamation inwardly.

‘As expected of a ducal house—there’s nothing they don’t have.’

It was a moment when she felt anew that he was a great noble.

“I’d be grateful if you introduced me, but what if the designer feels uncomfortable?”

“If it’s my request, she’ll agree. She’s that kind of person.”

“……You’re not planning to threaten the designer, are you?”

When Yvette asked half-jokingly, Noel wore a harmless smile.

“As if.”

Seeing that somewhat contrived smile, Yvette thought,

That man is definitely going to threaten the designer.

“I’ll just leave it to someone else, so don’t go threatening innocent people.”

Yvette hurriedly shook her head.

She did not want to corner an innocent designer just to get a dress made.

Anyway, even if it was not that person, there were plenty of designers she could entrust with dresses.

“Threatening was a joke. Naturally, I’ll ask for her consent.”

“……Your personal designer is a woman?”

When Yvette asked with wide eyes, Noel smiled subtly.

“Why. Are you jealous because she’s a woman?”

“What? Of course not.”

Yvette said with a straight face, shaking her head.

“I’m much more comfortable with a female designer than a male one. That works out well.”

“I’ll ask her when I get back today.”

“You know you absolutely must not threaten her, right? I’ll be asking about it later.”

“Noted.”

With that, the two left the café.

While waiting for Syd and Filia to return, Noel said to Yvette,

“Leave the party matters to me. I’ll pick out the least bothersome places for you.”

“……The least bothersome places?”

When Yvette asked in confusion, Noel curved the corner of his mouth crookedly.

“You’ll understand what I mean once you go.”

“Now that you say that, I’m suddenly starting to feel uneasy.”

“There’s nothing to be uneasy about. We’ll be going together anyway.”

Noel glanced at Yvette and continued slowly.

“The designer will come by soon, so have your dress fitted then.”

“Then there was no point in coming out to the city today.”

When Yvette muttered as if sighing, Noel bent down to meet her eye level.

“No point, you say.”

Then he whispered low.

“You met me, didn’t you.”