Please Fall in Love with Me! – A Villainess on Her Second Loop, using 'Seduction' to Avoid Ruin! - Chapter 4.10

But no matter what, I couldn’t shake off the resistance within me.

I couldn’t rid myself of the thought that my feelings weren’t purely genuine.

After all, this all started with the desire to avoid a tragic death—to change the fate of a villainess.

I pondered this for a while before letting out a quiet, self-deprecating laugh.

No, this isn’t something I need to dwell on.

Love, affection—there’s no need to dress it up with such beautiful words.

It can be love, or it can be gratitude. It could be calculation, or even a well-planned strategy.

No matter how I define it, my actions won’t change.

I want to help Lord Siegvard—I want to protect him.

“Please… please take care of yourself…”

I wished, with all my heart, that his sleep would be gentle and restful.

◇＊◇

“…My apologies.”

Lord Siegvard bowed his head deeply.

“I didn’t intend to overstay my welcome…”

“N-no, not at all! There’s no need to apologize! Please, raise your head!”

Adelaide waved her hands frantically, clearly flustered.

“The fact that you were able to sleep is a very good thing.”

Nearly two hours had passed since dinner had ended.

He still couldn’t believe it—he had slept for so long beside someone else.

When he first woke up, he had been utterly disoriented, unable to comprehend the situation.

Even now, his emotions hadn’t fully settled.

“Um… would you visit again?”

Adelaide hesitantly tugged at his sleeve.

“Please, don’t feel like you need to apologize. I was… really happy. Just knowing that I could be of some help to you, even in the smallest way… That means a lot to me.”

“……”

Her gaze was so earnest, so unwavering, that rather than feeling gratitude or happiness, he was left with confusion and doubt.

Why?

Why was she trying so desperately to be of help to him?

Lord Siegvard found himself staring into the deep blue eyes that reflected his own bewilderment.

“…A month from now, a large-scale monster subjugation will take place in the far north—at Sentsveri. As vice-commander of the Holy Knights, I will be participating in the campaign.”

“…What?”

In recent years, natural disasters had increased in the frontier, and the damage caused by monsters was no longer something that could be ignored.

With the Saintess now awakened, it was clear—the empire, no, the world itself was facing a crisis.

“The Sentsveri subjugation… at this time? That’s earlier than in the scenario…”

“…What?”

Adelaide muttered under her breath before suddenly realizing she had spoken aloud. She quickly straightened, flustered, and waved her hands in dismissal.

“N-no, it’s nothing. But… must you go, Lord Siegvard? Couldn’t another Holy Knight take your place? You’re one of the chosen Knights of the Round—if anything were to happen to you…”

“The monster subjugation was decided long before the Saintess descended.”

“That’s exactly why. The situation is different now compared to when the decision was first made, isn’t it?”

Her beautiful blue eyes wavered with unease and fear.

“Before being a Knight of the Round, I am a Holy Knight. It is our duty to serve the people. I cannot simply withdraw for such a reason.”

His firm declaration made Adelaide hesitate, her expression clouded with worry.

“…Making someone you care about cry is—”

He had been about to respond with his usual ‘There is no such person,’ but the words froze in his throat.

Instead, what left his lips was a quiet, resolute vow.

“I do not intend to make her cry.”

“…!”

For a moment, Adelaide looked as if she had been struck.

“…So there is someone important to you…” she murmured softly, her voice trembling. “I see… I understand…”

“……”

As she lowered her head, her delicate shoulders trembled faintly.

Lord Siegvard clenched his fists tightly.

Don’t look like that.

That sorrowful expression—if she continued to look at him like that, he might just…

The realization startled him.

Since when…?

Since when had he started feeling this way?

“…Is there anything I can do to help?”

Adelaide suddenly lifted her head, clasping her hands before her chest as she leaned forward.

She was always like this.

Always thinking about what she could do for him.

Always seeking to give, to dedicate herself to others.

He didn’t understand it. But if she was offering, then he might as well accept.

He wasn’t about to let another man take her away.

“In that case—”

Lord Siegvard placed a hand over his chest, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Before the deployment, there will be a grand evening banquet to pray for humanity’s victory and the safe return of the Holy Knights, knights, and soldiers. Would you do me the honor of being my partner for the occasion?”

“…What?”

Adelaide blinked, stunned by the unexpected request.

“Are you certain? I mean… not with the person you hold dear?”

“Yes. I would like to formally ask Lady Adelaide Kishtaria—no, you, Adelaide—to be my partner.”

The moment he spoke her name, her pale cheeks bloomed into a deep shade of rose.

And for some reason…

He found that unbearably endearing.