How the Male Lead Cures the Time-Limited Young Lady - Chapter 7.4

***

At the same time.

Noel, who was working in his office, suddenly raised his head.

It was because he had an inexplicable ominous feeling.

‘…This doesn’t feel good.’

He frowned as he slowly rose from his seat.

He had felt something similar once in the past.

At that time, he had dismissed it as his own misconception, but shortly after, the tragedy of Averon occurred.

‘Could something have happened to Yvette?’

As soon as the ominous feeling struck, Yvette was the first person who came to mind.

Noel quickly looked down at his wrist.

Fortunately, there was still no reaction from the communication stone.

‘Still, I should contact Wheatley just in case.’

He planned to check on Yvette’s well-being under the pretext of setting up an appointment soon.

However, a short while later.

The servant he had sent on the errand returned with unfavorable news.

“Count Blanche is currently out, they say.”

“…What?”

As Noel raised his head with a frightening expression, the servant flinched and took a step back.

“Where did she go?”

“Well, I heard she went shopping in the city…”

“The city?”

Noel glanced at his wrist again.

The communication stone was still silent.

‘Am I just being oversensitive?’

Yvette wasn’t a child who needed his protection.

Knowing this fact, he still couldn’t help but worry.

What if she gets hurt again in a place he can’t see?

Or what if she’s been wounded somewhere again?

Thinking of her red, swollen wrist and her bitter, downcast face, his expression hardened involuntarily.

“…Prepare the carriage. We’re going to the city right away.”

Noel ordered the servant, tossing aside the documents he was holding.

The servant, momentarily flustered, hastily nodded.

“Pardon? Ah, yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

The servant ran out first, followed by Noel who quickly moved his feet.

This time, it might just be his misconception.

But he felt he could only be at ease after confirming with his own eyes that she was safe.

***

“Noel?”

Yvette stared with wide eyes at her fiancé, or rather, the man who looked like her fiancé.

‘Who is this person?’

His outward appearance was certainly Noel’s. But the atmosphere was subtly different.

From the look in his eyes to the way he stood.

It was a difference that only Yvette, who had seen him up close, could notice.

“How did Duke Averon come here…?”

Surprised by the sudden appearance, Viscount Magnus retreated a step.

The earlier intensity was gone, replaced by bewilderment in his golden eyes.

“I’m sure I had blocked the door with magic…”

“Oh, that? It was so crude, it broke easily.”

Noel, or rather the man who looked like Noel, snorted as if it was laughable.

Even that was completely different from the Noel that Yvette knew.

“I thought I smelled something strange around Yvette Blanche. So it was you?”

“What do you mean…?”

Viscount Magnus looked at Noel with confused eyes.

He too seemed to have noticed that Noel was different from usual.

“Hey, fiancée. Want to come down from there?”

As the man who looked like Noel snapped his fingers, the chair floating in the air crashed to the floor.

At the same time, the magic binding Yvette’s body was also released.

“Ah!”

Yvette, who tumbled and rolled onto the floor, let out a scream. The man who looked like Noel then said, with a face that didn’t look sorry at all.

“Oh, sorry. My mistake.”

Yvette looked up at him in bewilderment.

Somehow, that annoying way of speaking felt familiar.

“…Kervel?”

With a sense of disbelief, she called out the first name that came to mind.

The man who looked like Noel then smiled crookedly.

“My, how did you know?”

At this brazen response, Yvette stood up in shock.

“W-Why are you wearing that face!”

“Just because. I thought this appearance would be the most natural for the current situation.”

Kervel shrugged as if it was no big deal, then turned his gaze back to Viscount Magnus.

His eyes, now turned red, gleamed sharply.

“You’ve messed with someone you shouldn’t have, Awen Magnus.”

Kervel muttered in a low voice.

As he took a step forward, Viscount Magnus flinched and stepped back.

His golden eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion.

“I’ll take care of this, so you go home.”

Kervel said, glancing over his shoulder at Yvette.

His face clearly showed how bothersome he found the situation.

“But…”

Yvette hesitated, looking back and forth between Kervel and Viscount Magnus.

‘Somehow, it feels like I shouldn’t leave like this.’

She still hadn’t heard what Viscount Magnus’s purpose was.

Moreover, she was curious about how Kervel had found her.

As Yvette continued to show signs of hesitation, Kervel added briefly.

“If you leave now, I’ll consider lifting your curse.”

“…Goodbye then. I’ll be taking my leave first.”

Yvette quickly changed her stance and turned around.

Viscount Magnus or whatever, lifting the curse was more important for now.

As she hurriedly left the cafe, Viscount Magnus twitched his hand as if to stop her.

However, with Kervel blocking the way, he couldn’t move freely.

“Now that it’s just the two of us, I guess I don’t need this appearance anymore.”

Kervel let out a small yawn and snapped his fingers again.

In the blink of an eye, his appearance changed.

His black hair turned red and grew long to his waist.

His neat features became sharper and more alluring.

Viscount Magnus didn’t seem particularly surprised, even after witnessing the entire process.

Rather, a bright smile appeared on his lips.

Finally, Viscount Magnus opened his mouth.

“…It’s been a long time, Master.”

***

Meanwhile, Yvette, who had escaped from the cafe, only caught her breath after fleeing quite far.

Left alone, the events that had just occurred felt like a dream.

‘…Who could have known that Kervel would appear there.’

Yvette chuckled wryly as she ran her hand through her hair.

No matter how she thought about it, this was an absurd situation.

‘How did he know I was here? No, more importantly, why did he save me in the first place?’

The last time they met, Kervel had clearly seemed to dislike her.

So why did he help her today?

‘And Viscount Magnus, what’s his deal?’

Yvette gritted her teeth as she recalled her conversation with Viscount Magnus.

Not content with threatening her using Baron Larishi, he even used magic on her.

She had known he was a bad person from the start, but today really drove that fact home.

“Once I solve this curse, I should leave the capital or something.”

Yvette muttered, shaking her head wearily.

She no longer wanted to live in a place where crazy magicians ran rampant.

“Yvette.”

It was at that moment.

Just as she sensed a presence, someone grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

Startled, Yvette turned without any resistance.

A familiar face filled her vision.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Noel, who had suddenly blocked her path, asked urgently.

His hair was disheveled as if he had been running.

Yvette looked up at her fiancé, who had appeared for the second time, in a daze.

“…Is it really you, Noel?”

Noel furrowed his brow at her question.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“No, it’s just…”

I was wondering if you were the real one.

Yvette swallowed the rest of her words and smiled awkwardly.

“It’s just, I didn’t expect to meet you in a place like this. I was a bit surprised.”

“I think I’m the one who should be surprised.”

Noel pointed to his wrist with a stern face.

“You used the communication stone.”

“What? I did?”

Yvette checked her wrist in alarm.

‘Did I accidentally touch it when I fell earlier?’