Bab 25: HOLD HANDS

GYPSY did a "mental gymnastics" because of Yvo's question.

["What about me then?"]

Was what the young master had asked her.

[What does he mean by that?]

Yvo couldn't be asking her what she thought about him as a man, could it be? He wasn't a man yet in her eyes in the first place. He was a minor, and she'd be damned if she allowed herself to be attracted to him.

[I appreciate Yvo's face just like how I appreciate Kpop idols.]

"Yvo is like a puppy," Gypsy said. She felt like she had to say something, since he was looking at her expectantly. "You're asking what type of person you are, aren't you?"

That was the result of her mental gymnastics.

She refused to believe that Yvo was asking her about what she thought about him as a man. After all, even if they were just pretending, she was still acting like his big sister.

[But why does he look disappointed?]

"Uhm, since you have a puppy-like personality, I think you'll be popular among the ladies," she said, then she smiled at him and have him an "okay" sign. "If ever you decide to get married in the future, I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding the right woman for you."

She wasn't talking about Kim Jooda, though.

In the game, Kim Jooda was the female character closest to Yvo. Thus, the two became 'shippable.' But their romantic pairing was never official.

And she didn't want to 'ship' Yvo with a woman he didn't even meet yet.

"I guess Noonim is right when she said that I wouldn't have a hard time finding the right woman for me," Yvo said, his face and voice both indifferent. "Let's leave it like that for now."

She didn't understand what he meant by that, but she smiled anyway.

[I wish Killian was here.]

She wasn't comfortable with the knight who obviously didn't like her. But at least, when Killian was there, he would most likely interrupt the awkward moments like what occurred earlier.

But Killian had to go separate ways from this to fool the people sent by Count Eugenio to follow their group. Yes, the count had sent people to trail the Crown Prince. That ahjussi really had the audacity to do something like that.

Anyway…

The Crown Prince prepared another carriage that looked exactly like the one they used. Then Yvo asked Killian to "guard" that carriage to fool the people trailing them. Thus, the young master's knight had to leave their side.

"But Noonim, are you really going to leave the duchy once I inherit the grand duke title?"

"Yes. I'm serious when I said I wanted to travel," she said while nodding. Then she stood up and tiptoed to whisper in Yvo's ear, since she was about to talk about their family secret. "Plus, I believe we'd find the cure for Lady Yvette by then. Once you real noonim wakes up, you won't need me anymore, will you? After all, I'm just a replacement for your sister."

After saying that, she stood properly and took a step backwards to put a decent distance between her and the young master.

Yvo opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest, but no words came out.

Thankfully, a distraction appeared.

Prince Cyrus cleared his throat to catch their attention. "Gypsy noona, Yvo hyung, the magic circle is ready. Shall we go?"

Gypsy smiled, relieved by the distraction. "Yes, Your Royal Highness."

***

"OKAY, EVERYONE– let's hold hands."

Yvo was irritated when Cyrus Helion, the damned Crown Prince, suddenly grabbed Gypsy's hand without even asking for his noonim's permission.

[I even haven't held my noonim's hand yet…]

He opened his mouth to protest. But once again, no words came out of his mouth. He couldn't understand himself recently.

[Why am I getting possessive of Noonim? We only got close recently…]

"Hyung, don't glare at me," Cyrus Helion complained. "We need to hold hands before I activate the teleportation spell," he explained, then he raised his right hand that held Gypsy's hand, and his left hand that held Pierce Willard's hand. "See? I'm also holding Pierce's hand."

That meant he had to hold Pierce Willard's free hand, too.

Argh.

"Yvo, stop picking a fight with His Royal Highness," Gypsy scolded him lightly, then she offered her hand to him. "Come on, we need to leave now."

It was rare for his noonim to scold him since she was often scared of him.

But it didn't feel bad.

[Noonim is cute when she's acting like a scared small animal. But when she's acting like a proper noona… damn, it's pretty attractive.]

He must be losing his mind already.

"I'm sorry for misbehaving, Noonim," Yvo said, then he held Gypsy's hand. "I'll be good now, so please don't scold me."

Gypsy's pretty eyes went wide a little.

But it wasn't only because of what he said. His noonim may have been surprised when he entwined their fingers together instead of simply holding it like how Cyrus Helion did with her other hand.

He didn't let go, though.

Noonim's hand was small, soft, and smooth. And he had a feeling that he wouldn't get tired of holding it.

[What a dangerous thought.]

"Y-Yvo, must we hold hands this way?" Gypsy asked nervously. "I think my hands are a little sweaty. It makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?"

His noonim tried to pull away, but he didn't let go.

"Noonim's hand is so comfortable to hold, so don't worry about me," he said, smirking as he raised their entwined hands together. "We should hold hands to teleport, right?"

Gypsy looked like she wanted to say something.

But the Crown Prince beat her to speaking first.

[Tsk.]

Cyrus Helion was truly a nuisance.

"Hyung, what are you doing?" Cyrus Helion complained again, then he pointed to his other side with his lips. "Hold Pierce's hand so we could leave already."

He turned to his side, then frowned when he was greeted by Pierce Willard's glare.

[What are you glaring at? I hate it as much as you do.]

Yvo glared back at Pierce Willard before grabbing his hand.

[If only I could just hold both of Noonim's hands…]

Yeah, Yvo must have already gone crazy.

***

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