ENDURE THE SIDE-EFFECT

"I'LL wolf it down, Young Master Yvo," Gypsy said proudly. "My ability activates when I eat someone else's Mana Core. But it's not dangerous at all. Once Lady Yvette wakes up, I can spit it out and return it to her."

Her ability to consume Mana Core was the reason Grand Duke Evan Woolsey commissioned her to pretend to be Yvette.

Once she consumed one's Mana, she would gain that person's abilities.

It was important because to pretend as Yvette in order to fool the vassal families into accepting her as the temporary head of House Woolsey.

"Your ability is convenient," Yvo said bluntly. "Before the vassal families accept a new leader, that person must first prove to the family that they deserve the position. And the only way to do that is to pass the test. I assume my father already mentioned the content of the test to you, Noonim."

"Yes, His Grace has told me about the test," she said. "According to him, I must tame the replica of Edur– the Ice Dragon that serves as the family's guardian. In order to do that, one must subdue Edur using the ice power that has been passed down to the Woolseys."

"That's correct," the young master said. "But Noonim, you also know Yvette Noona's other power, right? The one that she inherited from the grand duchess."

"Ah, yes," she said, then she smiled at him to assure him she'd be fine. "You're talking about Lady Yvette's ability to create fireballs, correct?"

Yvo nodded. "Can Noonim use both abilities with no issue?"

"Yes," she said confidently. "Your father trained me until I literally bled–"

She stopped herself from sharing too much information.

[I showed Yvo my wounds to make him feel sympathetic towards me. But a child like him still shouldn't hear ugly things.]

"Don't worry, Young Master Yvo," she said cheerfully. "I'll do a good job."

After saying that, she focused on Yvette's hand.

Then she closed her eyes and imagined Yvette's body turning into a pond. After that, she visualized a pond with koi fish and, weirdly enough, clams.

The clam that shined the most was in the center of the pond.

She saw a vision of herself walking in the middle of the pond, then she squatted down and picked up the clam. It was heavy and cold.

[This must be it.]

She opened the clam and saw Yvette's Mana Core. It looked like a pearl made with ice. But in the center of the frozen pearl, she saw a smaller red pearl.

[Ah, it must be the Core of Yvette's fire power.]

She picked it up and opened her eyes.

The first thing that she saw was the blue pearl in Yvette's hand. It surprised her to see that the young lady's Mana Core was the size of a F*rrero chocolate.

In the past, the grand duke had forced her to consume other people's Mana Core in order to train her. But the sizes of the Mana Cores she had consumed before were just the size of a normal pearl.

[This is the biggest Mana Core that I have seen yet.]

"Is that Yvette Noona's Mana Core?"

"Yes, Young Master Yvo," she said, then she carefully picked up the blue Mana Core from Yvette's hand. "It's cold."

"Can that fit in your mouth?"

She turned to Yvo with a confused look on her face. "Huh?"

"Noonim's mouth…" Yvo said, then his gaze landed on her lips. "Small. Noonim's mouth is small."

She wanted to slap herself when she suddenly felt conscious of Yvo's gaze.

[What are you getting conscious for, Baek Si-a?] she scolded herself using her Korean name to remind her of her mental age. [You're already an 'ajumma' inside.]

'Ajumma' was a Korean term for middle-aged women.

She was twenty-five years old when she was transported to that world, and five years had passed since then. But to be frank, most ajummas were in their mid-thirties. She just felt that way because Yvo, an eighteen-year-old boy, was young.

"My mouth isn't small, Young Master Yvo," she said when she snapped out of her trance. "I think it's proportional to my face?"

"Yeah, Noonim is small," he said, then his bright jewel-like eyes met her gaze. "Noonim's face is small, too. Everything looks small but surprisingly, your features go well together. I guess that's what it means to be proportional, huh?"

She gulped when she noticed that he was checking her out.

[Why is he suddenly evaluating my face?]

She was coming up with funny thoughts when a more plausible excuse entered her mind.

[Ah! He must be comparing my visual with Yvette's to see if I could pass as his sister.]

It was kind of hard since Yvo and Yvette were a pair of good-looking siblings.

[But at least I have blonde hair close to the grand duke's hair color. My amber eyes differ greatly from the grand duchess's lemon-colored eyes. But both are shades of yellow, right?]

"Don't worry, Young Master Yvo," she assured him. "My face will work hard, too."

"Hmm?"

"I know I'm not as good-looking as you and Lady Yvette, but I will put so much effort to doll up when it's time to meet the vassal families."

"Noonim, you're saying funny things."

It was her cue to shut her mouth.

[Yvo hates non-sense.]

"Young Master Yvo, I will eat the Mana Core now," she said. "I know you won't worry about me, but please don't freak out if some side-effects show up."

"There will be side-effects?"

"Yes, but it will only last for a few hours," she said. "I can endure it just fine."

[Actually, it depends on the side-effect.]

The side effects of consuming other people's Mana Cores caused most of the scars all over her body. But Yvo didn't need to know something as gloomy as that fact.

[Welp, here goes nothing.]

She opened her mouth wide and put the blue Mana Core in it.

[Ah, it's cold!]

It didn't feel cold when she touched it earlier. But after putting it in her mouth and swallowing it whole, she literally got chills. She hugged her body when she trembled. After five years of spending time in the North, she had gotten used to the cold.

But the cold that she was feeling at the moment was different.

"Noonim?"

She turned to Yvo and forced a smile. "I-I'm f-fine, Y-Young M-Master Y-Yvo."

Ah, she didn't sound fine.

After all, her teeth clattered while speaking. She couldn't help it because she seriously felt cold. Even her voice trembled.

"Noonim, is this the side-effect you mentioned earlier?" Yvo asked, then he got down on one knee and looked up at her with a curious gaze. "This reminds me of the first time we met. You trembled and your teeth clattered while speaking."

She laughed when she remembered it. "Y-Yes, I-I f-feel t-the s-same w-way n-now. L-Lady Y-Yvette's C-Core i-is v-very c-cold."

"Noonim, excuse me."

"H-Huh?"

Instead of giving a verbal response, Yvo just stood up and carried her in his arms, princess style.

It shocked her, and she almost freaked out. But she instantly calmed down when she realized that Yvo's body was warm. Then she remembered the Wolves had natural warm bodies. Thus, their clan didn't mind living/hiding in the North.

[So warm…]

Yvo silently left the room with her still in his arms. Thankfully, he just moved to the next room. It would be awkward if the servants saw them like that.

Seeing the bed interrupted her thoughts.

[Yvo is probably thinking of wrapping me up in the blanket, right?]

That would be nice.

But much to her shock, Yvo just plopped on the couch and put her in his lap. Then he took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders.

[Huh? This position is kinda awkward. Why…?]

Her cheeks suddenly felt warm.

"My body is warmer than the blanket," Yvo said bluntly, as if he could read her mind. Then he leaned sideward to prop up his elbow on the armrest and put his chin on top of his clenched hand while giving her an amused look. "I'll keep you warm until the side-effect wears off, Noonim."

Gypsy wanted to ask Yvo to just wrap her up in the blanket. But the warmth of his body was too tempting for her to reject. She was the one who was in the wrong for sexualizing their intimate position, anyway.

Plus, she shouldn't be having such dirty thoughts about a younger man!

[Let's just sleep.]

***

YVO was a little surprised when Gypsy fell asleep right away.

Her body collapsed against his and her face got buried in his chest. To secure his noonim's position on his lap, he had to wrap an arm around her waist.

[Noonim's body is freezing.]

Thankfully, his natural warmth could keep his fake sister warm.

[Noonim smells good.]

He wasn't sniffing her on purpose. It was just inevitable since Gypsy was physically close to him. In particular, her hair smelled fragrant.

[Noonim is so soft.]

He didn't want to sound like a pervert, but he couldn't help but state how soft Gypsy was in contrast to his solid body.

A woman.

His fake sister was a woman.

"Young Master, what are you doing?"

Yvo didn't need to turn to know that Killian, his right-hand man, arrived in the room using his stealth moves. After all, only family members were allowed on that floor.

"I'm keeping Noonim warm," Yvo said casually. "She'd freeze to death if I don't."

"Then why not just leave her in front of the fireplace, or put fire Mana Stones on her bedroom walls?"

"Noonim will be the temporary Head of the family," he explained. "Do you want to start a rumor that I'm bullying my weak, older sister?" He turned to Killian with cold eyes. "How many times do I have to remind you that everyone outside our circle believes that Miss Gypsy is my sister before you get it?"

Killian's face turned red from embarrassment. "I just want to protect you, Young Master."

Hearing that made him grit his teeth.

He couldn't understand himself either. It wasn't like he had a close relationship with Gypsy. But knowing that she suffered while waiting for him to save her didn't sit well with him.

"That doesn't give you the right to decide for me, Killian," Yvo said coldly. "I want you to explain to me why you didn't tell me about Noonim's call for help." He turned away from Killian. "For now, get out of my sight."

***

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