How the Male Lead Cures the Time-Limited Young Lady - Chapter 7.10

As soon as Yvette made her decision, she quickly finished her bath.

Philia must have prepared it in advance, as there was a bathrobe placed next to the tub.

When she came out wearing the robe, Philia hurriedly approached and seated her at the dressing table.

“Are you going out today?”

Philia asked while skillfully drying Yvette’s hair with a towel.

Yvette leaned comfortably in the chair and entrusted her hair to her.

“Yes. I thought I’d drop by Noel’s place while I’m out.”

“Oh my! You’re going to visit the Duke yourself, Count?”

Seeing Philia’s sparkling eyes, Yvette smiled sheepishly.

“Well, Noel always comes to me… So I thought maybe I should go this time.”

“It’s been a while since you’ve seen each other, right? I’ll have to show off my skills this time!”

Philia clenched her fist, showing an enthusiastic attitude.

As if to prove her words about showing off her skills weren’t empty, Philia put more effort than usual into Yvette’s grooming.

She added wavy curls to Yvette’s signature white hair and braided it low, then inserted a hairpin decorated with blue jewels above her right ear.

Instead of a necklace, she put on the earrings Noel had gifted her.

And on her hands, she wore gloves with elaborate lace patterns.

When she put on a light cream-colored dress, it exuded an elegant and bright atmosphere.

“…I’m just going to show my face for a moment, doesn’t this seem too much?”

Yvette groaned as she looked in the mirror.

It seemed like she was obviously showing off, ‘Look, I dressed up.’

However, Philia didn’t back down.

“How can it be too much when you’re going to meet your fiancé? I’m sure the Duke will say you look pretty.”

“He probably would say that.”

Whether it was just empty words or sincere, she couldn’t tell.

Yvette swallowed a sigh and turned towards Philia.

“For now, go to Herbert and ask him to contact the Averon Duke’s residence. I’m thinking of visiting this afternoon, ask when would be a good time.”

“Yes! I’ll be right back, so please wait a moment.”

Philia left the room with an excited face.

Yvette fiddled with her innocent hair, waiting for her to return.

However, a few minutes later.

An unexpected visitor knocked on her door.

***

“Your Grace, there’s a message from Wheatley.”

“Wheatley?”

Noel, who was working in his office, immediately raised his head at the word ‘Wheatley’.

“What kind of message?”

“Count Blanche is asking if she can visit this afternoon…”

“Tell her she can.”

Noel answered without even listening to the end of the servant’s words.

“Understood. Then, what time should we set for the appointment?”

“As soon as possible. No, tell her even right now is fine.”

“Pardon? But don’t you have a meeting scheduled soon?”

When the confused servant hesitated, Noel blinked slowly.

As he silently gazed at the servant, they hurriedly bowed their head.

“I’ll relay the message right away.”

“Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare lemon cake as well. My fiancée seems to like that.”

“Yes. I’ll instruct them to prepare it immediately.”

As soon as Noel finished speaking, the servant dashed out of the office.

Noel also stood up from his seat and headed to the window.

There were still many documents left to process, but his mind had already drifted away from work long ago.

‘Is the flower starting to wither?’

There was no other reason for Yvette to seek him out first.

‘…Since when did the Duke of Averon become like this?’

Noel chuckled.

It was a treatment that others wouldn’t dare to imagine.

However, Noel was exceptionally generous only to his fake fiancée.

He didn’t mind if she treated him like a remedy. If he could be just ‘Noel Averon’ in front of her, rather than ‘the Duke of Averon’.

If he could laugh freely and hold hands with her like this. For now, that was enough for him.

‘…I hope she comes quickly.’

Noel, who had his hands behind his back, clenched his fist tightly.

Just thinking about the woman who would soon visit, a faint smile had already spread across his lips.

***

“…Kervel?”

Yvette froze as soon as she confirmed the other person’s face.

For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

“Why are you here?”

“Obviously, because I have business with you.”

Kervel, wrapped in a robe black to the tips of his hair, answered nonchalantly.

Soon after, he passed by Yvette and entered the bedroom.

The sight of him sitting down on the sofa without warning felt like a dream to Yvette.

‘What is this situation?’

Yvette stared in bewilderment at the unexpected visitor.

Perhaps because it was such an unimaginable appearance. For a moment, it felt like all her thought processes had stopped.

“Don’t make such a dumbfounded face, why don’t you come and sit down?”

Kervel buried his back deeply in the sofa and lowered his hood. A youthful boy’s face was revealed.

As he gestured with his eyes towards the seat in front of him, Yvette moved her feet as if entranced.

‘Last time, and now too. Is it this person’s hobby to appear suddenly?’

Yvette swallowed her bewilderment and sat opposite him.

No matter how she thought about it, the current situation didn’t feel real.

“By the way. It’s unusual not to see that guy around.”

Kervel muttered as if talking to himself while looking around.

Yvette asked curiously.

“…Who is ‘that guy’?”

“Noel Averon. Your destined partner.”

Kervel raised his eyebrows as if asking why she was asking about something so obvious.

When that unexpected name came out of his mouth, Yvette couldn’t help but ask again.

“How do you know that Noel is my destined partner?”

“It’s the curse I cast, how could I not know that much?”

Kervel chuckled as he ran his hand through his hair.

Unlike his upturned lips, his eyes were strangely hardened.

“That’s enough small talk. Let’s get to the main point.”

It wasn’t me who started the small talk, you know.

Yvette suppressed her desire to retort and waited for him to continue speaking.

Judging by his ominous expression, it was clear that something big had happened.

‘Surely, nothing has happened to Liliana?’

Just as she was considering various possibilities, Kervel finally opened his mouth.

“For the time being, I’ll have to live here with you.”

“…Pardon?”

Yvette, who had been doubting her ears for a moment, asked Kervel again.

“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?”

“It means exactly what I said, that I’ll live here.”

Kervel answered indifferently. His face seemed to ask what the problem was.

Faced with such an impertinent attitude, Yvette, the owner of the house, was about to go crazy and jump up and down.

“What about my opinion? You’re deciding this without even asking for my opinion?”

“You’re asking about something obvious.”

Ah, I see. It’s obvious…

Yvette let out a hollow laugh and pressed her hand to her forehead.

It felt like 20 years’ worth of headaches were hitting her all at once.

“…Why on earth do you want to live in this house?”

“Because I have a good reason to.”

“So what exactly is that reason?”

Kervel frowned at the persistent questioning.

Finally, he answered in a voice that clearly showed his annoyance.

“Awen Magnus is targeting you.”

“Ah, I see… Wait, what?”

Awen Magnus, isn’t that Viscount Magnus?

Why is that person suddenly being mentioned here?

Seeing Yvette momentarily dumbfounded, Kervel clicked his tongue briefly.

“You didn’t know?”

“…No. I had a vague suspicion, but…”

From the previous incident, she had guessed that Viscount Magnus was plotting something against her.

But she never expected to hear about it from Kervel’s own mouth.

Volume 1 End