The Villainous Young Lady Would Even Risk Her Life for Her Beloved ～ Her Fiancé, the Prince? By All Means, Please Be Happy with the Heroine! - Chapter 1.1

(This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad…!)

The only thought running through my mind is just how bad this situation is. Wait… who am I? Where am I? My body won’t move the way I want it to. It feels heavy and sluggish.

As I slowly open my eyes, I see a figure. My vision is still blurry, but I can make out silver hair—it belongs to a beautiful woman.

“—Lidi!”

Right. That’s my name now. And this person… she’s my mother, Sasha.

As my vision sharpens, my memories come into focus as well.

I am Lydiana Flores, the eldest daughter of a ducal house. I recently turned ten years old, and at the same time, my engagement to the First Prince of this kingdom was decided. With high status, beauty, and exceptional magical talent, I am an enviable lady with a bit of a selfish streak—for now, at least.

“Moth… er…”

My voice comes out hoarse. How long have I been asleep? I remember falling ill with that epidemic, and then…

Tears stream down my mother’s cheeks.

◇◇◇

Sitting up in my plush bed, I take in the grand, luxurious room around me. The breeze coming in through the window feels nice.

Because I was born on the night a comet shone in the sky, my room is decorated with celestial motifs. Now that my memories have returned, the whole thing feels a bit too fantasy-like for my taste.

“Eliza, could you bring me something to write with?”

“Understood, my lady.”

I seem to have recovered quite a bit, but after lying in bed for a whole month, my body feels sluggish. I’ll need to do some rehabilitation. I rotate my shoulders, testing my movement, but I still feel stiff.

Meanwhile, Eliza, my maid, silently sets up a writing desk for me with her usual expressionless demeanor.

“Thank you. Could I also have some milk? Make it hot!”

“I will prepare it immediately.”

“Take your time, no rush.”

I begin jotting down everything I can remember.

My name is Lydiana Flores. I am ten years old and the eldest of five siblings in the ducal family. Until two days ago, I was on the brink of death due to the epidemic. My maid, Eliza, is expressionless but highly competent. My mother, Sasha Flores, is the head of the family and a healer. My father, Roy Flores, is the fifth son of a noble from another country. My aunt, Lily Flores, is the kingdom’s saint. And my fiancé… is First Prince Leonhart.

Letting out a deep breath, I pick up the small hand mirror beside me.

In its reflection, I see glossy black hair, sharp, large black eyes, and a delicate face that, despite being pale and thin from illness, still holds an undeniable beauty.

There is no doubt about it.

(I’ve been reincarnated… into the world of Iris’ Eyes.)

Iris’ Eyes is an adventure-romance fantasy manga I was obsessed with in my past life. A world of swords, magic, and monsters, filled with heartwarming romance—it was my escape, my comfort after the soul-crushing grind of working at a black company.

(Work, work, work… just commuting between home and the office every day… no time to meet anyone…!)

I sigh again. I’ve reincarnated into a world I love. But why, of all people, did it have to be Lydiana?

If I couldn’t be the protagonist, Iris, I would have settled for her best friend, Liza, or the adventurer Yulia… or even some random background character. But instead…

“Whyyyyyy!? What did I do to deserve this?!”

Oops. I screamed that out loud.

“My lady!?”

BANG!

The door bursts open, and Eliza rushes in, spilling milk in her haste. I quickly flip my paper over, but then realize I haven’t written anything I need to hide. Besides, I wrote it in Japanese, so no one here would be able to read it anyway.

“I’m sorry! It’s nothing. More importantly—”

Eliza’s hand is red. The hot milk must have burned her.

I place my hand over hers. A gentle white light crackles between us, and the burn gradually begins to heal.

“Please, my lady, don’t—!”

She tries to pull her hand away, but I hold it firmly.

“It’s fine. This much is nothing. I’m the one who startled you—sorry about that.”

“My lady…”

(Hmm… I still need practice.)

For the protagonist, a wound like this would have healed instantly.

In the original story, Lydiana, despite coming from a renowned line of healers, wasn’t particularly skilled at healing magic. But it didn’t matter—she had an overwhelming amount of magic power. She could use any spell and brute-force her way through anything, relentlessly obstructing the protagonist.

Or rather…

She stood in the protagonist’s way with murderous intent.

Lydiana Flores, the villainous noblewoman.

That is who I am now.

The final boss of the story.

Eight years from now, I will unleash a catastrophe upon this kingdom with my immense magic. And in the end, I will be sealed away by the protagonist and her allies.

My entire family will be stripped of their titles and fall into ruin—all because of me.

(Sealed away?! What am I, some kind of demon lord?!)

The protagonist, kind-hearted as she is, likely didn’t want to kill anyone, which is probably why I wasn’t executed.

That scene in the story was controversial online. Some fans thought sealing Lydiana away was a merciful choice, while others—including my past self—were in the “Just execute her already!” camp.

“Villains should be punished severely!”—or so I used to think.

(But no, no, NO! This is impossible! Fate is terrifying!!)

My past self had no idea how terrifying it would be to actually live through it.

(And how long is this so-called ‘seal’ supposed to last?! If it’s forever, that’s even worse!)

Isn’t that even crueler than execution?

Having experienced reincarnation firsthand, I can’t help but shudder at the thought.

But, of course, I don’t want to be executed or sealed in the first place!

The light fades. Eliza’s burn has completely healed. I let go of her hand.

“I sincerely apologize. Are you all right, my lady?”

“I’m completely fine!”

Eliza bows her head expressionlessly.

In the original story, she was the villainess’s right hand. She remained utterly loyal to Lydiana, never once betraying her.

“Eliza, I’d like to speak with Mother later. I want to start studying magic seriously.”

“Understood.”

After Eliza leaves, I turn back to my notes.

The story of Iris’ Eyes begins when Iris and Lydiana turn fifteen. To secure her path to the throne, Lydiana murders the Second Prince and attempts to kill the Third Prince. After a string of misdeeds, she is abandoned by the First Prince. This marks the turning point where she becomes known as the Calamity Noblewoman of the kingdom.

And most importantly…

Finley will die protecting the protagonist from Lydiana.

Lydiana will be defeated by the protagonist and sealed away.

“—!”

That was close—I almost screamed again. Running my hands through my hair, I clutched my head.

(No, no, no, no! Absolutely not!)

Finley is my favorite character. First of all, he’s far more my type than Leonhart, the protagonist’s love interest! His soft, light brown hair, slightly droopy eyes, and beautiful gray irises… plus, that lean, muscular build! He may have the reputation of a flirt, but in reality, he’s deeply devoted. His usual laid-back demeanor makes the rare moments when he gets serious so incredibly attractive.

He secretly harbors feelings for the protagonist but never expresses them openly. Instead, he supports her from the shadows. Well… sometimes his emotions slip through, but thanks to the protagonist’s signature obliviousness, she never notices.

Ugh. I love him.

And yet, in the end, he dies protecting the woman he loves—from Lydiana.

During tough times, Finley had always been my comfort. When he died in the story, I took my very first paid leave from work. My friends were so worried when I stopped responding to messages that they thought something had happened to me. That’s how much of an otaku I was.

A knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts. The moment I said, “Come in,” my father entered the room.

“Lidi! How are you feeling today?”

His gentle smile didn’t hide the dark circles under his eyes. He was clearly exhausted but trying to conceal it. Like me, he had black hair and deep black eyes.

“I’m much better now. …How are Sophia, Roddy, and Shelly?”

Sophia, my younger sister, Roddy, my younger brother, and Shelly, my newborn baby sister, were all recorded in the original story as having succumbed to illness after a long struggle. They had died in the harsh winter from the same epidemic that nearly took me. But right now, it’s only the beginning of autumn—there’s still time before that tragedy unfolds.

“They’re stable for now. Sasha is taking care of them. You should still rest and take things easy, Lidi.”

“Father, you too…”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about me! I’ve got plenty of stamina.”

As he spoke, he gently ran his fingers through my disheveled hair, smoothing it out. His warm touch was comforting. He must have been personally looking after us, not just leaving it to the servants. That’s the kind of person he is.

“Is Mother all right? I heard she used a great deal of magic to heal me.”

“Come now, this is Sasha we’re talking about! Of course, she’s fine!”

Mother is the most skilled healer in the kingdom, possessing power comparable to that of a saint. And yet, even she struggled against this epidemic.

In the original story, after losing three of her children, she was consumed by grief and threw herself into healing efforts in remote areas where healers were scarce. Eventually, she lost her life in the process. My kind and gentle father, devastated by the deaths of his wife and children, drowned himself in alcohol, and our once-prosperous family fell apart. That downward spiral led Lydiana into darkness, eventually turning her into the Calamity Noblewoman feared by the entire kingdom.

“I should get going now. If you feel lonely, just call for me, all right?”

“Father, really! I’m not a child anymore!”

“You just turned ten! People are saying you’ve suddenly matured, and I can see it’s true.”

Damn it! That was careless of me. I may be ten years old in this world, but in my past life, I lived for twenty-six years. No wonder my mannerisms feel a little too grown-up. The personality from my past life is still dominant.

“I-I am ten already! I even have a fiancé!”

“Hahaha! That’s true. You’re a proper young lady now. I’m just glad you’re healthy again.”

Now, I need to focus on what I must do first.

I know the cause of this epidemic. I know how to cure it.

I have to put an end to this disease.

I will not let my family collapse.

I refuse to fall into darkness.

But most importantly…

“I have to protect Finley!”

Right now, I can’t even imagine a future where I, Lydiana, would ever want to kill Finley. But I can’t let my guard down. I have no idea how events might unfold.

However, I do have knowledge of the story. And I fully intend to use it.

The original timeline starts when Iris and I turn fifteen. That means I still have five years before everything begins.

There’s still time to change things.

I will personally see Finley live to be an old man—a handsome old man! No, an incredibly attractive grandfather!

Now that I’ve made up my mind, there’s no time to waste!

It’s time to take action!