Chapter 8

Syd’s eyes went wide at the sight of her face, which looked as though she might collapse at any moment.

“Oh no, we need to get you inside right away.”

He furrowed his brow and held out his hand to Yvette.

“If the young lady would permit me, I will support you to the mansion.”

“Thank you. I’ll take you up on that.”

Yvette was in no state to be worrying about appearances.

Quite literally, she felt as though the life was draining out of her body with every passing moment.

As soon as permission was given, the knight took her hand and draped it over his shoulder.

Then, as lightly as lifting a feather, he scooped her up in his arms.

‘I’m fairly sure he said he would support me.’

This was not support—this was being carried like a princess.

Yvette’s thoughts ended there.

The moment she was in the knight’s arms, she fainted dead away.

* * *

“……so that’s what…… did.”

“The physician…… the cause…… was it……?”

“Well…….”

Murmuring. She heard someone talking above her head.

Yvette grimaced and opened her eyes.

Perhaps she had had her eyes closed for quite a while, because her vision was blurry.

Yvette blinked several times until the scene before her came into focus.

“Oh, I think she’s opening her eyes?”

One of the voices conversing above her head announced that she was waking.

Then a face she seemed to have seen somewhere before suddenly intruded into her field of view.

“Are you with us?”

Yvette blinked slowly.

Her blurred vision cleared, revealing a familiar face.

“……No-el?”

Perhaps her voice had gone hoarse in the meantime, because the end of the word cracked.

Yvette coughed softly and pushed herself upright.

The sudden movement made her head ring with a ‘ping,’ but it was not as bad as before.

As her body swayed, Noel reflexively reached out.

“You need to be careful.”

He steadied her upper body so she would not collapse and tucked several plush pillows behind her back.

“……Where am I?”

Yvette leaned back against the pillows as he directed and blinked slowly.

Perhaps she was still dazed, because her head felt fuzzy.

“They said you collapsed, so I had you moved to my bedroom.”

Noel answered briefly and laid his hand on her forehead.

Perhaps she was running a fever, because his hand felt relatively cool.

“How do you feel?”

“……I don’t know.”

Yvette answered as briefly as possible.

Because her mouth was too dry to string together a long sentence.

When she clutched her throat and grimaced, Noel immediately gave an order.

“Syd. Bring water at once.”

“Yes, sir!”

The knight called Syd scrambled into motion the instant the order was given.

‘So that knight’s name is Syd.’

If not for Syd, she might be lying collapsed on the bare floor by now.

Yvette thought she would have to thank him properly later, and turned her gaze back to Noel.

“If anything hurts, tell me. I’ll call the physician.”

Noel said, removing his hand from her forehead.

As the cool sensation faded, Yvette let out a sigh of regret without realizing it.

Just then, Syd returned with the water at the perfect moment.

“Here, I’ve brought cool water.”

Syd, who had brought the entire pitcher, poured water into a glass.

The moment Yvette received the glass, she drank it down without hesitation.

‘Ah, I feel a little more alive now.’

After drinking the water, her parched throat felt much better.

“……Thank you, Sir Bler.”

Her voice, clear again, slipped out between her lips.

When she expressed her thanks, Syd playfully winked one eye.

“Please, just call me Syd. For a lady as beautiful as you, this much is nothing at all……”

“You chatter too much, Sir Bler.”

Noel, who had been quietly watching, spoke in a warning tone.

At that, Syd glanced at him and quietly edged backward.

“Hahaha. Then I’ll be on my way before His Grace scolds me. I hope you recover soon, young lady!”

With that cheerful farewell, Syd exited like the wind.

At last, only Noel and Yvette remained in the bedroom.

‘What should I do now?’

Yvette quietly gauged Noel’s mood.

She had come to him intending to talk about the curse from the start.

But now that it came to speaking, the words would not leave her mouth.

‘He won’t think I’m crazy, will he?’

To suddenly tell someone she barely knew that he was her destined partner.

She imagined she would find it absurd if the roles were reversed.

‘But what choice do I have? What am I supposed to do about being cursed?’

Yvette swallowed a sigh.

Either way, if she did not want to die, she had no choice but to rely on Noel’s help.

“You look like you have something to say.”

That was when Noel broke the silence first.

At his pointed words, Yvette lightly bit the tip of her tongue.

‘I’m not ready yet.’

But if not now, the chance might never come again.

Having gathered her resolve with difficulty, Yvette cautiously opened her mouth.

“……To be honest, I came because I have a favor to ask of you, Noel.”

“A favor.”

Noel tilted his head to one side.

“It must be an important favor, to come all this way in that condition.”

“Yes. It’s a matter of life and death for me.”

Yvette answered seriously.

“……Let’s hear it, then.”

Noel leaned comfortably back in his chair and gave a small nod, as if to say, go ahead and try.

Unlike the deeply tense Yvette, his very posture radiated ease.

‘Either way, it’s all or nothing now.’

Yvette squeezed her eyes shut.

If she could not secure Noel’s help somehow, she was as good as dead.

She had gone to the trouble of buying a house—dying there in less than a month would be far too unfair.

After taking a breath, Yvette finally spoke.

“……You won’t believe this, but I’m a body that dies without you.”

At last, the bomb dropped.

Yvette cautiously opened her eyes and checked Noel’s reaction.

‘Surely he won’t throw me out for saying something strange?’

She was much better than before, but her condition was still not good.

If she were thrown out now, she might meet her end in less than a week.

And then, after some time had passed—

Noel, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“……I didn’t know I was such an important existence to you.”

Noel said with a soft laugh.

From his reaction, it seemed he had not taken her words badly.

“To explain, it’s a bit long, but you really are an important person to me. When I say I die without you, I’m not joking either.”

Yvette answered more seriously than before.

Noel watched her with eyes full of interest.

“Hearing you say that makes me all the more curious. Why is it that you die without me?”

“……That’s because I’m under a curse.”

Yvette took a breath and began to slowly explain her curse.

Of course, she made no mention whatsoever of the original story or of Kerbel, the mastermind behind it all.

She felt that bringing up such things would only undermine the credibility of her words.

‘Still, his reaction doesn’t seem bad.’

Even as she spoke, Yvette kept checking Noel’s expression.

Fortunately, Noel seemed to be listening attentively to her explanation.

“……In conclusion, you’re saying that I’m your destined partner. The flower blooming on your back is the proof.”

“To sum it up roughly, yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

When Yvette nodded, Noel’s lips pressed into a straight line.

As if pondering something, he looked at Yvette with a careful face.

“Then the reason you collapsed today is also because of that curse?”

“It’s not certain, but it’s very likely. The flower withered while I wasn’t seeing you.”

Showing him once would be more effective than saying it a hundred times.

Thinking that, Yvette slightly pulled down her clothing.

The dress she wore today had a design with a slightly open back, so she could easily show him the withered flower.

“Here, look. You can see the flower has withered, right?”

As her white skin was revealed, Noel raised one eyebrow.

His relaxed gaze wavered slightly for the first time.

“……You were shy before, and today you’re excessively bold.”

At his words, Yvette flushed slightly and glared at Noel.

“Stop saying useless things and just look. This is a matter of life and death for me.”

Only after being scolded did Noel examine Yvette’s nape.

When his gaze reached the blackened, withered flower, his expression stiffened slightly.

“So you’re saying this flower wasn’t withered before?”

“Yes. It didn’t look like this at first. You saw it then too, so you should know.”

“……Then?”

When Noel asked in confusion, Yvette hesitated and whispered in a small voice.

“Th-that day, when we spent the night together.”

At her air of revealing some enormous secret, Noel wore a faint smile.

“Aha. That day.”

“Actually, I thought the curse was broken then. But it turns out that wasn’t the case.”

Yvette let out a sigh as if the ground were sinking and adjusted her slightly lowered clothing.

“How peculiar. Normally, when the conditions set by the caster are met, the curse is broken—that’s the standard.”

Noel stroked his chin with an inscrutable expression.

Yvette strongly agreed with him and muttered as if wronged.

“Exactly. Anyone would think the curse is trying to bind us together.”

“That’s not entirely wrong. It’s true that the curse binds us.”

“That may be so, but……”

Yvette let her shoulders droop helplessly.

Even so, she doubted Kerbel had intended this situation when he cast the curse.

‘It’s probably just that I have terrible luck.’