Please Fall in Love with Me! – A Villainess on Her Second Loop, using 'Seduction' to Avoid Ruin! - Chapter 1.10

I never want to lose Siegvard again.

I want to protect him.

I want him to be happier than anyone else.

That’s why—

I want to stay by his side.

I want him to love me.

“…Alright! I’ve made up my mind.”

If this was the best way to achieve my desired ending, then I would pursue it wholeheartedly.

This time—I will win over the heroine completely.

And I will make Siegvard Ledda Argento fall in love with me.

Because this world—

Is an otome game.

And in an otome game—

Love is the most powerful force of all.

If anything could overturn fate itself, it had to be love!

“Now that I’ve decided—”

I sprang to my feet.

Tonight, a grand soirée was being held at the imperial palace.

And during this very event, the heroine would awaken as the Saintess—marking the official start of the story.

In my first life, I had been so overwhelmed by the shock of reincarnation that I had skipped the soirée entirely.

But this time—if I was going to engage with the heroine, I had to attend.

“Siegvard Ledda Argento should be there as well…”

Just saying his name made my heart race.

I wanted to see him.

The Siegvard of this timeline wasn’t the same man who had believed in me and protected me with his life.

I couldn’t thank him.

I couldn’t apologize to him.

But still—

I wanted to see him.

Placing my hands over my pounding chest, I whispered his name.

“Siegvard…”

◇＊◇

The sheer glow and grandeur of the venue made my eyes sting.

After making the required rounds of greetings, I turned to my brother beside me.

“Brother, there are still a few people I’d like to greet…”

“Huh? Ah—oh! R-right…!”

My brother, Rüdiger di Kishtaria, was eight years older than me and currently twenty-five years old.

Like me, he had silver hair and deep, night-colored eyes.

His features were striking, but our personalities couldn’t have been more different.

Where I had once been haughty and reckless, he was gentle, responsible, and composed—the very embodiment of sincerity.

At least, that was the brother I had known in my first life.

Now?

That relationship was gone.

To this Rüdiger, I was nothing more than a volatile time bomb—a selfish tyrant who could explode at any moment.

Watching him glance around anxiously, forcing an awkward smile, made my chest ache.

“W-Well then… just let me know when you need me later?”

“I will.”

I had to rebuild our bond.

I wanted to see him smile at me again—that soft, gentle smile that had once given me hope.

For now, I returned his forced smile with a bright one of my own, giving him a slight bow before swiftly making my exit.

The Heroine Awakens

I recalled the opening scene of Knights of the White Lily.

When the heroine awakened as the Saintess, there had been a brief glimpse of Siegvard Ledda Argento—and his location had been…

“The rose garden!”

Yes.

The backdrop had been bathed in silver moonlight, surrounded by vibrant roses in full bloom.

I ran through the halls, slipping past elegantly dressed nobles, and finally rushed into the moonlit garden.

The air was thick with the scent of roses—

Red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, white—a sea of colors in full bloom.

The fragrance was overwhelming, almost dizzying.

Pushing past the lingering scent, I hurried along the brick pathways woven through the flowerbeds, heart pounding.

And then—

I froze in place.

“Siegvard…”

Nestled among the roses stood a charming white gazebo, glowing softly beneath the moonlight.

And there—

Siegvard Ledda Argento.

“…!”

My heart thundered in my chest.

It’s really him…!

He looked almost exactly as I remembered—

Just slightly younger.

But aside from that, nothing had changed.

His gaze, turned toward the moon, carried the same quiet solemnity as before.

Then, as if sensing my stare, he turned toward me.

His amethyst eyes widened—just slightly.

“Lady Adelaide di Kishtaria?”

“…!”

My chest tightened painfully, and my heartbeat pounded like a drum.

The shock, the relief, the overwhelming joy of seeing him again crashed over me all at once.

And alongside it—

The memory of that devastating despair.

The moment I learned of his execution.

I stepped forward, unable to hold back my emotions.

“Siegvard…!”