“What are you planning to do now?”

A sharp, high-pitched voice echoed in the study.

Baron Larishi looked up at his fuming wife with a tired expression.

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Blanche’s inheritance. What are you going to do about it?”

“What can I do about the money that’s already gone to that girl?”

As Baron Larishi answered irritably, the Baroness stared at her husband with disbelief.

“So why did you just let that child go! You should have persuaded her, or tied her up and locked her in a room!”

As Baroness Larishi shouted angrily, Baron Larishi covered his ears with both hands.

It meant he didn’t want to hear anymore.

“It’s too noisy, I can’t stand it anymore. I still have a lot of paperwork to deal with, so you should leave now.”

As he ordered her out, the Baroness glared at him and said,

“You’ll see, dear. If you don’t find a way to get that money back, know that I’ll be filing for divorce first!”

With that chilling threat, Baroness Larishi left the study.

Only then did Baron Larishi lower his hands from his ears.

“…This is truly maddening.”

Anxiety appeared on the face of Baron Larishi, now left alone.

Although he didn’t show it in front of his wife, the Baron was actually burning up inside.

“In a month, it’s the day I’m supposed to pay back Viscount Magnus, what am I going to do?”

Baron Larishi, relying solely on Blanche’s inheritance, had frequented gambling dens and ended up with an unmanageable debt.

Fortunately, his acquaintance Viscount Magnus had paid off the debt on his behalf, so he avoided immediate trouble, but…

At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to pay back that money, let alone put food on the table.

‘Maybe I should have locked that girl in a room as my wife suggested.’

Then he could have somehow siphoned off the money before Yvette took possession of all the assets.

Baron Larishi anxiously stroked his chin.

‘Should I try to catch that child even now? But how can I get her back when she’s already left?’

It was then.

Baron Larishi’s wandering eyes suddenly fell on the bookshelf.

He noticed a small safe beneath the haphazardly arranged books.

‘Come to think of it, that was there!’

Baron Larishi’s gloomy expression brightened instantly.

Hurriedly approaching the bookshelf, Baron Larishi pulled out the safe that was placed in the corner.

It must have been neglected for a long time, as dust had accumulated all over the surface of the safe.

Baron Larishi shook off the dust from the top of the safe, then carefully unlocked it.

A dangerous smile appeared on his lips as he looked inside the safe.

“…With this, I should be able to lure that girl back.”

Blue eyes, strikingly similar to Yvette’s, gleamed dangerously.

***

“Ah, I’m so stiff.”

About two weeks after arriving in Wheatley.

Yvette groaned as she got up from bed.

Even though she had just woken up from sleep, her muscles were all stiff as if she had exercised all night.

That wasn’t all. She felt dizzy with even the slightest movement, and nauseous.

In short, her body was in a total state of crisis.

‘Why is this happening?’

Yvette pressed her forehead with one hand.

It wasn’t this bad from the beginning.

For the first week after arriving in Whitley, she only had occasional headaches or indigestion.

But after another week passed, her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Herbert worried about her, personally prepared all sorts of healthy dishes for her.

Not only was he good at housework, but he was also good at cooking. It was truly an admirable skill, but unfortunately, Yvette was in no state to appreciate his culinary prowess.

She threw up all the food as soon as she ate it.

As a result, her body, unable to properly absorb nutrients, only got worse.

As if she might die at any moment.

‘…Surely, this can’t be because of the curse?’

Yvette shook her head at the sudden thought.

She had met her destined partner before her twentieth birthday, so the curse was as good as over.

“Ugh.”

Yvette staggered as she got up. Just maintaining her balance without falling brought out an involuntary groan.

She gritted her teeth and headed towards the bathroom.

Her body felt sticky, probably from sweating during the night.

Thinking she should at least wash her face before drawing a bath, Yvette stood in front of the sink.

As she moistened her face with cold water, the unpleasant feeling subsided a little.

‘My face looks quite worn out.’

Yvette paused for a moment while examining her complexion in the mirror.

She had noticed a change that she had been unconsciously overlooking until now.

‘…Has the flower withered?’

Yvette hurriedly lowered her collar and checked her back.

There, she saw the flower turning black and withering.

‘This can’t be happening.’

Yvette was utterly shocked.

Her tattoo was in a position that she couldn’t see on her own unless she deliberately used a mirror.

As a result, she hadn’t paid much attention to it in her daily life.

Regaining her composure with difficulty, Yvette glared at the flower blooming on her back.

That flower had bloomed when she spent the night with Noel.

At that time, she thought it had simply bloomed because she met her destined partner, but…

‘Could it be that it’s withering because I haven’t met Noel since then?’

As soon as that thought occurred to her, Yvette unconsciously started pulling at her hair.

‘What should I do? Should I go find Noel even now?’

It wasn’t certain yet whether her condition was related to Noel.

But she felt that if she stayed still like this, she might die.

Yvette took a deep breath.

It seemed best to meet Noel first, regardless of the outcome.

Once she made up her mind, it was only a matter of time before she put it into action.

Yvette asked Herbert to draw a bath, then quickly washed herself.

Since there was no separate maid to attend to her, she had to do all the preparation herself.

Of course, it wasn’t particularly difficult as she had been doing it well on her own all her life.

After changing her clothes completely, Yvette hailed a passing carriage and asked to be taken to the Averon Duke’s residence.

‘Please still be in the capital.’

Unlike Yvette Blanche, who spent most of her time in the capital, Noel Averon was someone who spent more time in his territory.

He might have already returned to his domain.

Yvette clasped her hands together and prayed to a god whose name and face she didn’t know.

‘I’ll live a good life from now on. So please, just save me one more time. No, if you’re going to save me anyway, please let me live a normal lifespan.’

As she was praying, the carriage she was riding in stopped in front of the Averon Duke’s residence.

Yvette placed a silver coin in the coachman’s hand, then staggered towards the main gate of the mansion.

Befitting the wealthiest family in the empire, the Averon Duke’s residence was so enormous that it couldn’t be taken in at a single glance.

Her amazement at the scale beyond imagination was short-lived.

As two guards blocked her path, Yvette had no choice but to stop in her tracks.

“You cannot enter without permission.”

The guard said firmly, looking Yvette up and down.

It was clear to anyone that they were regarding her with suspicion.