Please Fall in Love with Me! – A Villainess on Her Second Loop, using 'Seduction' to Avoid Ruin! - Chapter 1.1

At that moment, you died.

The music came to an abrupt halt.

Almost instantly, the hall was filled with shouts and terrified screams.

As the guests turned in confusion, the grand ballroom’s dazzling elegance was shattered by the thunderous sound of armored boots. The knights stormed in, their movements swift and purposeful.

“Silence! No one move!”

A commanding voice rang out—Wolf de Granat, the captain of the First Knight Order, his fiery red hair as striking as his presence.

Leading them was His Highness, Prince Gerald Aurelian Ledda Astrom, his sword drawn and ready. His golden eyes, blazing with fury and contempt, were locked directly onto me.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I knew this scene.

This was Adelaide’s trial.

This world belonged to the popular otome game Knights of the White Lily.

And I… I was the villainess—Adelaide di Kishtaria.

In every route, Adelaide, consumed by jealousy, mercilessly torments the heroine—a mere count’s daughter who ascends to sainthood. Eventually, she attempts assassination, meets her downfall, and is sentenced to death.

I realized my reincarnation at seventeen—the exact moment the game’s story began.

For the past five years, I had done everything possible to avoid, evade, and escape the heroine and the love interests.

To prevent my condemnation.

To escape my inevitable death.

And it had worked. In the game, I was supposed to die at eighteen, yet here I stood at twenty-two.

“No… this can’t be happening…”

I instinctively covered my mouth with my hand, stepping back in disbelief.

No, this is impossible.

The game follows the heroine’s journey from the moment she turns seventeen, spanning only one year. That means the story should have already ended.

Not only that—four years have passed without incident.

That’s why I believed I had escaped the script, that I had successfully changed my fate.

I was wrong.

“Adelaide di Kishtaria! You are under arrest for the attempted assassination of the Saintess and high treason against the state!”

Prince Gerald strode toward me, his sword pointed directly at my throat.

Behind him, every knight—led by their commander—glared at me with undisguised hatred.

“Attempted assassination? What are you talking about!? I haven’t done anything!”

“Our investigation confirms that you bribed a low-ranking priest to lace the Saintess’s ceremonial wine with poison. Fortunately, she suffered only mild illness, but the High Priest remains in critical condition, unconscious.”

“That’s absurd! Your Highness, I swear I—”

“How pathetic.”

Prince Gerald cut me off coldly.

“If you wish to plead your case, do so during interrogation. Not that it will make any difference.”

His glare hardened, burning with even greater fury.

“The evidence against you is overwhelming.”

“!?”

What evidence?

I haven’t done anything.

Before I could even begin to protest, several knights rushed forward.

Strong hands seized me roughly from both sides, holding me in an iron grip.

“Ahh! Let go—you’re hurting me!”

“Take her away.”

“Wait—!”

I frantically scanned the room, searching for help, but whenever my eyes met someone else’s, they quickly averted their gaze, as if refusing to get involved.

“F-Father…!”

Where are Father and Brother? If it’s them, they’ll surely help me—or so I thought.

But that fragile hope was cruelly shattered by the words of a knight rushing toward the commander.

“We have also detained Duke Kishtaria and his son.”

“I see.”

“What!?” I gasped. “W-Wait! Why have you arrested my father and brother!?”

“Why?”

Prince Gerald echoed my question before scoffing in mock amusement.

“Did you truly believe that attempting to assassinate the Saintess—this nation’s most sacred treasure—could be atoned for with nothing more than the life of a mere duke’s daughter? How utterly… laughable.”

Suddenly, he grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking it harshly.

I winced, my face contorting in pain, as he leaned in and coldly declared:

“It seems you underestimate the importance of the Saintess.”

“N-No… that’s not…”

That’s not what I meant. That’s not it at all.

“Y-Your Highness! I swear, I—!”

But no one was willing to listen to me anymore.

I was about to be dragged away when—

“Wait!”

A sharp voice rang through the hall.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

“W-What…? Lord Argento…?”

Standing there—someone who was never supposed to be here—was Siegvard Ledda Argento, slightly out of breath. My eyes widened in disbelief.

The eldest son of Grand Duke Argento, the Emperor’s younger brother. A holy knight who, despite his youth, had already risen to the rank of vice-commander of the Sacred Knight Order. But ever since the Saintess appeared, he had been appointed as the Captain of the Holy Guard, tasked with protecting her.

One of the main love interests in this game.