Please Fall in Love with Me! – A Villainess on Her Second Loop, using 'Seduction' to Avoid Ruin! - Chapter 4.12

“How…?”

Lord Siegvard stood in stunned silence as Adelaide awkwardly averted her gaze and mumbled, “Uh, well… don’t worry about it. It’s just a game item…” before hastily attempting to leave.

He reached out, catching her hand before she could walk away.

“Why…?”

The method no longer mattered.

If she didn’t want to explain, he wouldn’t force her to.

But why?

He had never told anyone about his injuries.

She turned toward the powder room’s door and murmured softly.

“Because you are someone who must remain by the Saintess’s side.”

“…That’s not an answer.”

“And also… because I didn’t want you to lose to such cruel treatment.”

“…That’s not an answer either.”

She hadn’t answered his question.

The only thing he had learned was that Adelaide somehow knew about his injuries—including how he had sustained them.

As he stood there in confusion, she spoke again.

“What do you think is the thing those people who hurt you would hate the most?”

“What they would hate the most…?”

Adelaide turned back to him, her gaze unwavering.

“For you to shine even brighter than before.”

Her unexpected words stole his breath away.

As he stood speechless, she smiled gently.

“Become the greatest man in this kingdom, for the Saintess.”

With that, she gave a quick bow, then swiftly turned and hurried away.

Lord Siegvard watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight.

He felt warmth spread through his chest.

He was happy.

Of course, she had said for the Saintess, but her words had been meant for him.

Don’t let injustice defeat you.

After that day, his eyes often sought her out.

But despite her infamous reputation, he never once witnessed her behaving like the villainess the rumors painted her to be.

She was quiet, reserved, and unassuming.

She rarely appeared at social gatherings, and when she did, she remained in the background, blending into the walls like a delicate flower.

She also seemed to go out of her way to avoid the Saintess.

He had wanted to ask her why.

But before he could—she was gone.

Lord Siegvard sighed, pressing his hands over his eyes.

It was the same dream.

The same dream he had been having every night.

A dream so vivid and lifelike, it felt like a memory.

And yet—everything about it was wrong.

The Holy Guard Knights had never been established for the Saintess.

He had never been appointed as their commander.

The Siegvard in the dream was twenty-five years old. The Saintess was twenty. He knew that much as if it were fact.

But the Saintess in his dream… she lacked any noble etiquette.

Her manners were crude, her knowledge lacking. She was unfamiliar with courtly customs.

That couldn’t be the case in reality.

He had yet to see her with his own eyes, but Adelaide—no, the entire Kishtaria Ducal House—was responsible for her education. There was no way she could be that uncultured.

And Adelaide—

The real Adelaide…

Their interactions had only just begun, so he wouldn’t claim to know her well.

But she was nothing like the Adelaide in his dreams—the one who constantly shrank away, afraid of drawing attention, always glancing around nervously.

There was one thing, however, that was the same.

She was incredibly kind.

She always acted for the sake of others.

“What is this dream…?”

A premonition?

No. It couldn’t be.

Everything about the dream was too different from reality.

That alone was proof enough that it wasn’t a vision of the future.

But this wasn’t the only dream he had seen.

There were fragmented images—scenes that haunted him.

Adelaide, bound in chains, surrounded by knights.

A bloodied hand reaching desperately toward her—only for it to fall short.

And—

The execution ground.

A massive sword, gleaming in the sunlight, descending.

“…!”

A wave of terror and desperation crashed over him.

His entire body tensed, trembling as he squeezed his eyes shut.

What was this?

There was no way this was just a dream.

If someone told him these were actual memories from a past life, he would find that far more believable.

Because they weren’t just vivid—they felt real.

And it wasn’t just the images.

It was the raw emotions they stirred in him.

Could mere dreams—mere imagination—provoke such overwhelming emotions?

Could they make his chest tighten with such unbearable pain?

“Lady Adelaide Kishtaria… Adelaide…”

He had fallen asleep beside her.

He had let his guard down—not because he had lost focus, but because he had trusted her.

Because he had been watching her all this time.

Because he knew—knew that the rumors were lies.

That the real Adelaide was sincere and trustworthy.

But in reality, he hadn’t been watching her for long.

That was only true in the dream.

“…What does this mean…?”

His thoughts spiraled in confusion.

Then, an image of Adelaide surfaced in his mind.

The warmth in her eyes when he had woken up, the way she had smiled so gently—so happily.

The hesitant touch as she brushed his hair back.

His heartbeat quickened.

The dreams, so vivid and overwhelming, blurred together with reality until he could no longer tell them apart.

But there was one undeniable truth.

In both dreams and reality—she was unbearably kind.

Perhaps that was why.

Why, just like the Siegvard in the dream—

He, too, now wanted to protect Adelaide.