CHAPTER 9

How The Male Lead Cures The Young Lady Who Has A Limited Time

"At that time, you said you hugged me and took me to bed, right?"

".....It was."

"So, the touch we made that time was a hug, right?"

Noel nodded lightly in response to her words.

"Two weeks after that, I started to feel sick, so.....after one hug, it's roughly the same as the next week."

Yvette murmured with a serious face.

'Maybe depending on the touch, the duration of the effect may be different.'

The exact thing is to experiment to find out exactly what it is, but considering the circumstances so far, it was possible enough.

'The problem is whether I need Noel's consent to conduct the experiment or not.'

Yvette quietly examined Noel's expression.

I think he'll help me. Seeing him seriously listening about this ridiculous story, but....

"Well, Noel."

When Yvette called his name, Noel nodded as if to tell him.

Yvette, with a business smile, crept over to his side.

"Do you remember when I said I was here to ask you a favor?"

"I remember. But why?"

"I think now is the time to ask for that request."

Yvette paused, and proceeded speaking carefully.

"I think I'm looking for someone, can't you just touch me?"

* * * *

Noel Aberon hasn't trusted people for a long time.

The power he had built up in the name of Averon was great, so there were a lot of people who tried to covet him.

Perhaps that's why there were more than one or two people who approached him with bad intentions.

Because of that, Noel wasn't easily agitated unless it was something he didn't expect.

'But now I'm a little puzzled.'

Noel smirked looking at Yvette.

Originally, he would have kicked her out as soon as she spoke the word 'please'.

But right now, he's interested in her. It was because she couldn't have asked such a nonsensical request from me unless she had the guts to ask for this nonsense.

"......When it comes to skinship, is this what you want?"

Noel folded the corners of his eyes and placed one hand on the side of Yvette's head.

As his face drew closer, Yvette was seen visibly embarrassed.

She didn't think he would come out so aggressively.

"No, that's not what I mean...!"

Noel raised his hand and interrupted Yvette's gibberish speech.

Soon, he whispered into her ear.

"You'd better close your eyes."

Yvette's shoulders trembled at his voice that sounded like it was ringing.

When she shut her mouth and didn't budge, Noel slowly narrowed her down.

The moment when the two of them almost touched their lips.

"Wait, stop!"

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

".......?"

Noel looked at Yvette with eyes wondering what this was about.

Yvette hurriedly removed her hand only after confirming that he had stopped.

"I-I'm not talking about this kind of touch!"

She screamed with a slight blush in her face. Then Noel asked, slowly blinking his eyes.

".....Then?"

"Skinship isn't just about kissing. Holding hands or hugging would be enough."

Yvette fanned her red face with one hand and continued.

"Of course, I'm not talking about asking for help with no payment. I have a conscience."

As soon as Noel heard her words, he burst into laughter.

"What are you going to pay me for?"

"Well, it's hard to give money because Noel has more money than me, and it's hard to give you land....."

Yvette, who was thinking for a while, carefully opened her mouth.

"How about granting a wish?".

"....wish?"

"Yeah. Except for illegal things, I do whatever Noel tells me to do."

'What do you think? Isn't it okay?'

Yvette looked up at Noel with her eyes twinkling. He seemed to like her idea very much.

'It's a wish. Whoever hears it, they'll think we're children.'

Noel nodded his head as he smirked inwardly.

"Okay then."

Noel answered briefly and raised the corners of his lips slightly.

"So, what am I supposed to do now?"

"First of all, I think we should study the curse a little bit. It's to see how long the flowers bloom when I touch you and how long they last."

"How do you plan to do the research?"

"The best way is to experiment one by one. For example, after holding hands today, and watching how much the effect goes?"

"Are you going to progress one by one?"

"Wouldn't that be convenient for each other? It's hard to kiss someone you don't even like."

Yvette coughed a little, avoiding Noel's gaze.

"....Anyway, I think we should start by holding hands lightly today."

Of course, as long as Noel is fine.

Yvette, who hurriedly added, looked at Noel's expression.

"As long as it's convenient for you."

Noel smiled and willingly gave Yvette his hand.

After hesitating for a moment, Yvette placed her hand on his.

The moment their palms overlapped, Noel interlocked his hand with Yvette without hesitation.

A warmth spread through the palm of the hand in contact.

"Your hands are cold."

".....Really? I didn't know."

Unlike Noel, who looked normal, Yvette couldn't even look him straight in the eyes.

She thought that it wouldn't matter if it was a touch that even kids do.

Maybe it was because of the situation, but she felt strange.

Yvette quickly released Noel's hand, trying to calm her elusive heart.

Perhaps because of the tension, her hands felt sweaty.

"I think that's enough for today."

"Isn't that too fast? What if it doesn't work?"

"Then we have to move on to the next step, I mean, if holding hands doesn't work."

Yvette gave a brief reply and clenched her fist with the hand she had held against Noel.

It just felt like her palms were itchy.

"Now, touch is prohibited until the flower withers again."

"That's too bad."

Noel smirked and put his hand away.

"Am I done with all I have to do?"

"Yes. I think we can stop here for today."

Yvette nodded.

It felt like the touch with him was working, and her condition was much better than at the beginning.

"Then, I guess it's time to tell you my wish."

Noel leaned back against the chair with a relaxed face.

On the other hand, Yvette became very nervous as soon as she heard the word 'wish'.

She said she would listen to anything, but she was actually a little nervous.

Because when she thinks about it realistically, there's nothing Noel can expect from her.

'Still, he's the main character, so he won't make me do something ridiculous.'

At that time, Yvette was waiting nervously.

Finally, Noel opened his mouth.

"I've been thinking about it, and I think there's only one wish that would benefit me.

"......What's that?"

Yvette asked, swallowing her saliva. She didn't even dare to imagine what kind of wish would come out of his mouth.

Noel looked at Yvette's expression, and smiled slightly.

"For the time being, I need you to be my fiancée."

"......What?"

You want me to be your fiance all of a sudden.

Yvette faced Noel with a blank face.

Unlike her who had gone mad, Noel's expression was full of leeway.

"I don't think it's a difficult condition. Isn't it?"

Yvette shook her head slowly at his question. And then asked a straightforward question.

"By any chance, are you crazy?"

Noel's eyes narrowed at her outspoken expression.

".....Why do you think so?"

"If it weren't for that, there's no way you could suddenly talk about getting engaged like this."

Yvette mumbled with a serious expression, and Noel answered seriously.

"I'm sorry, but I'm perfectly sane."

"So you're really asking me to be your fiance?"

He would have understood if I had said he was crazy.

By the way, that's a very crazy thing to say.

Yvette seriously wondered if she was dreaming.

'....No way, You fall in love with me at first sight, do you?'

Somehow, from the moment I rushed to say that we should do skinship, it was said that it was suspicious.

Yvette looked at Noel with a suspicious look.

Then, as if reading her thoughts, Noel continued.

"I hope you don't get me wrong. I don't mean that I'm really going to be engaged to you."

As he drew a decisive line, Yvette, who had become embarrassed, averted his gaze.

She was a little ashamed of being excited by herself for a little bit.

"You should have said that from the beginning. I was surprised because I thought you were proposing to me."

"I said 'for the time being' from the beginning. Aren't you the one who misunderstood?"

Noel brazenly raised both hands as if it wasn't his fault.

Soon his expression turned mischievous.

"Or maybe, did you expect it to be real?"

"No way. I wouldn't expect that."

Yvette felt a stab from his words.

"Anyway, please explain it properly. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"There's nothing difficult. You just have to pretend to be my fiancée in public."

"....Why do you need a fiance all of a sudden?"

"Recently, I've had a lot of people bothering me about marriage."

Noel crossed his legs slowly at the same time as he spoke.

He looked like a drowsy beast as he was comfortably stretched out on the chair.

Yvette looked at him from the side, pretending not to be aware.

Each one of his actions was strangely captivating.

Just by looking at him, she seemed to understand why people bothered him.

".....So I just have to pretend to be Noel's fiancée in front of others, right?"

"That's right."

Yvette pondered for a moment.

Anyway, she was already in a situation where she had to meet with Noel regularly, because of the curse.

It would be much easier to meet him if she used being his fiancée as her excuse.

'I don't want to get married anyway, so I don't have to worry about rumors.'

When she thought about it objectively, it was a condition where there was nothing to lose.

Yvette finally made up her mind and opened her mouth.

-to be continued

Translated by me

Not 100% correct

Credit to the Author

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