She was still under the curse, and the fact that Noel was her destined partner remained unchanged.

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

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

If that was true, it might actually be better this way.

It meant she could stay alive without having to do “that” with Noel.

“…Let’s just move on from this for now.”

Yvette, who had been grumbling to herself, reluctantly spoke up.

“You’re not going to press the issue further?”

Noel asked, seemingly surprised.

He apparently hadn’t expected her to let it go so easily.

“What’s the point of talking more about something that’s already passed? It’s not like my curse will be lifted by doing so.”

Yvette sighed deeply, running a hand through her hair.

“Instead of wasting time on that, it would be more efficient to have a productive conversation.”

Noel blinked slowly, observing Yvette’s sudden change in demeanor.

His gaze on her was once again filled with interest.

“…By productive conversation, what exactly do you mean?”

“Obviously, a discussion about how we’re going to break my curse.”

Yvette said this while meeting Noel’s gaze directly.

“If what you’re saying is true, it means that even light contact can make the flower bloom on my body. In other words, we need to have physical contact for me to survive.”

Noel made an inscrutable expression at her serious words.

He seemed both skeptical and somewhat intrigued.

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

“You said you hugged me and carried me to bed then, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then, the physical contact we had that day was just a hug?”

Instead of answering her question, Noel nodded slightly.

“My condition started to worsen about two weeks after that… So it seems a hug lasts about two weeks.”

Yvette muttered with a serious face.

‘Perhaps the duration of the effect varies depending on the type of physical contact.’

While the exact details would need to be tested, it was a plausible theory based on the situation so far.

‘The problem is that I need Noel’s consent to do any experiments.’

Yvette quietly observed Noel’s expression.

Judging by how seriously he was listening to this nonsensical talk about curses, it seemed like he might be willing to help…

“Um, Noel.”

When Yvette called his name softly, Noel nodded as if to say ‘go on’.

Yvette put on her business smile and slowly moved closer to him.

“Do you remember when I said earlier that I came here because I had a favor to ask?”

“I remember. Why?”

“I think now might be the right time to ask that favor.”

Yvette paused for a moment, then carefully continued.

“Could you perhaps engage in some physical contact with me? Think of it as saving a person’s life.”

***

Noel Averon had long been distrustful of people.

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

As a result, there was no shortage of people who approached him with ill intentions.

Because of this, Noel rarely became flustered unless it was for a very good reason.

‘But this is quite perplexing.’

Noel swallowed a chuckle as he looked at Yvette.

Normally, he would have thrown her out without hesitation the moment she mentioned a ‘favor’.

But now, he found himself even more intrigued by her.

It would take quite some nerve to make such an outrageous request of him.

“…By physical contact, do you mean something like this?”

Noel said, narrowing his eyes and placing one hand next to Yvette’s head.

As his face drew closer, Yvette’s visible discomfort was apparent.

She clearly hadn’t expected him to be this forward.

“No, that’s not what I—!”

Noel raised his hand, cutting off Yvette’s stammering.

Then, he whispered lowly into her ear.

“You might want to close your eyes.”

Yvette’s shoulders trembled slightly at his voice, which seemed to reverberate through her.

As she pressed her lips together and remained motionless, Noel slowly closed the distance.

Just as their lips were about to brush—

“Wait, stop!”

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

“…?”

Noel looked at Yvette with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What are you doing?’

Only after confirming that he had stopped did Yvette hurriedly remove her hands.

“Th-this isn’t the kind of physical contact I meant!”

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

“…Then?”

“Physical contact doesn’t just mean kissing, you know. Holding hands or hugging should be enough.”

Yvette continued, fanning her reddened face with one hand.

“Of course, I’m not asking for help without offering anything in return. I have enough conscience for that.”

Something in return.

Noel chuckled as soon as he heard her words.

“What kind of compensation did you have in mind?”

“Well, since Noel has more money than me, it feels odd to offer that. And giving land seems a bit much…”

After pondering for a moment, Yvette carefully spoke up.

“How about granting a wish?”

“…A wish?”

“Yes. I’ll do anything you ask, except for illegal things.”

What do you think? Isn’t that good?

Yvette looked up at Noel with sparkling eyes.

She seemed quite pleased with her own idea.

‘A wish, huh. Anyone listening would think we’re children.’

While inwardly chuckling, Noel nodded.

“Let’s go with that.”

Noel answered briefly, slightly curling up the corners of his mouth.

“So, what should I do now?”

“First, I think we should research the curse a bit. We need to see what kind of physical contact makes the flower bloom, and how long the effect lasts.”

“How do you plan to conduct this research?”

“The best way would be to experiment with everything. For example, we could hold hands today, then observe how long the effect lasts.”

“So you want to progress step by step?”

“Wouldn’t that be more comfortable for both of us? It would be a bit much to start with kissing someone you don’t even like.”

Yvette cleared her throat softly, avoiding Noel’s gaze.

“…Anyway, I think we can start with just holding hands today.”

That is, if it’s okay with Noel.

Yvette hastily added, watching Noel’s expression.

“If that’s what makes you comfortable.”

Noel smiled slightly and readily offered his hand to Yvette.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yvette placed her hand on top of his.

The moment their palms touched, Noel interlaced his fingers with Yvette’s without hesitation.

A lukewarm warmth transferred through their connected palms.

“Your hands are rather cold.”

“…Are they? I can’t really tell.”

Unlike Noel who seemed unfazed, Yvette couldn’t even look him in the eye.

She thought this simple physical contact, something even children do, wouldn’t affect her.

But given the situation, it felt strange.

Yvette tried to calm her unsettled feelings and quickly let go of Noel’s hand.

She felt like her hand was sweating from the tension.

“I think this is enough for today.”

“Isn’t that too quick? What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll move on to the next step. It would mean that just holding hands isn’t effective.”

Yvette answered briefly, clenching the hand that had held Noel’s into a fist.

Her palm felt oddly tingly.

“Now, no more physical contact until the flower withers again.”

“That’s a shame.”

Noel chuckled as he withdrew his hand.