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 1.15

After parting ways with Geoffrey, I immediately headed toward Prince Leonhart. At this time of day, he should be in the middle of his sword training.

(Ahhh! Lord Finley is here too! His movements are breathtaking!)

Today was a lucky day indeed. I got to witness Lord Finley in action with my own eyes. I was eternally grateful to the universe.

Prince Leonhart was on a break. He glanced between me and Lord Finley, his expression growing sour before he reluctantly made his way toward me.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

“Yes! Without a doubt!”

Lord Finley was too focused to notice me. He faced a much larger opponent without hesitation, moving with the grace of a seasoned warrior.

It was mesmerizing.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

I couldn’t think about anything else.

(Ahh… even the air tastes sweeter…)

No! Focus!

“I met with Geoffrey.”

“I figured as much.”

…So he already knew.

At least he wasn’t angry—just exasperated.

“So? Did anything happen?”

At least he was willing to listen. As expected of the story’s main hero.

I went on to explain Geoffrey’s situation in detail.

But his reaction wasn’t what I had expected.

“Then things are fine as they are.”

Wait… what?

I had expected him to say something like, We must help him! and immediately start getting involved.

“This is Geoffrey’s problem. Many other noble families are in similar situations. I’ll bring this up with my father.”

He muttered something under his breath—probably about bringing it up with his grandfather as well.

(Wait, what?! This turned into a realistic solution?)

“You were the one who said temporary fixes were meaningless.”

Oh… right.

During a previous conversation about poverty, I had said that.

I had only meant to sound impressive, but now he was actually taking my words seriously.

Why did he choose now to listen to me?!

“Even a temporary fix can save lives!”

“I understand, but Geoffrey isn’t in immediate need of money, is he? The treatment fees have a long grace period.”

Ugh. He had thought this through completely.

And he was only ten years old.

It was proof that he had been studying diligently—which only made me want to yell at him to go play outside like a normal kid.

Fine. If logic wouldn’t work, I had one last trick up my sleeve.

“Your Highness, let’s have a recreation day.”

“A… what?”

Ahh, school days were great…

When class was canceled, and we just got to play games all day.

But once you became an adult, recreational activities at work became pure torture.

What was the point of corporate bonding events? Why did I have to spend time with my coworkers outside of work?!

“What’s wrong…?”

“Ah! I’m fine! Pardon me.”

I had zoned out, remembering the dread of my past life.

“Let’s all take a break and refresh ourselves!”

The real purpose of recreational activities was to build teamwork.

If this failed, I would have to come up with another plan.

Two days later, we gathered at my estate.

Present were Prince Leonhart, Geoffrey, Lord Finley and his attendants, Luca, Sophia, Lady Lione, and myself.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that… it has begun to snow!”

As soon as everyone arrived, the snow started falling heavily, covering the ground in a thin layer of white.

I had planned to play tag, kick-the-can (without an actual can), and jump rope, but with this much snow, that was impossible.

I had even printed out rule sheets beforehand!

But we weren’t going to cancel just because of a little weather.

Momentum was key in events like these.

If outdoor games were out, then we’d just have to switch to indoor activities.

“That being said, we’ll now be doing indoor recreation instead!”

“Are we playing card games?”

This world, understandably, didn’t have many entertainment options.

Indoor games mostly meant cards or board games like chess.

But that was too boring.

What was the point of being reincarnated if I didn’t introduce something new?!

“Let’s try a brand-new game!”

I asked Eliza to bring over paper and pens.

“Welcome to the first-ever Gesture Game!”

This was a two-person team game.

One person would hold a piece of paper with a word on their forehead without reading it.

The other person would act it out using only gestures until their teammate guessed correctly.

Then, they’d move on to the next word.

The team with the most correct guesses at the end would win.

Lady Lione would be in charge of writing the words.

The attendants would serve as judges.

And the team pairings?

…Of course, I rigged them.

Because the whole point was to force Prince Leonhart and Geoffrey to bond.

(Please, let this work!)

The teams were set.

Prince Leonhart and Geoffrey.

Luca and Lord Finley.

Sophia and me.

Of course, I wanted to be on Lord Finley’s team, but if that happened, I would be too distracted to run the event properly.

I had to sacrifice for the greater good.

Someone, please praise me for my restraint.

“Now then, here is your first word!”

Geoffrey, Lord Finley, and Sophia each took a word card.

“Begin!”

With Lady Lione’s command, the teams sprang into action.

(Alright, let’s see… My word is… Mount Velos?)

Wait, what?! That’s way too hard!

How was I supposed to act out a volcano?

Glancing at the other teams, I saw the words stuck to their foreheads were just as bad—words straight out of a history textbook.

A disaster was looming.

The biggest nightmare in any game setting was a complete lack of excitement.

For now, I raised my arms over my head in the shape of a triangle.

Sophia blinked at me without a hint of recognition.

(Sophia, I’m so sorry!)

“Archibald, the first king!”

“Correct!”

Geoffrey’s voice rang out.

Wait… what?!

Not even a minute had passed!

And what kind of gesture had Prince Leonhart even made?!

“Paracelos!”

“That’s right!”

Lord Finley and Luca’s team had already scored another point.

Meanwhile, I was still struggling to act out magma!

“Salamander!”

“The Vinsor Empire!”

“Arcana!”

Geoffrey kept rattling off the correct answers one after another.

In the end, the clear winners were Prince Leonhart and Geoffrey.

Perhaps the gods had finally answered my prayers, because the two of them were now chatting excitedly with each other.

“You’re amazing, Geoffrey!”

Even Lord Finley was praising him.

I wanted to shower him with compliments too.

Well done!

“Sister… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for losing a game! It’s just for fun!”

Sophia looked a little dejected, but honestly, I was shocked by how much she had known at her age.

“His Highness’s gestures were very clear.”

“No way! I caught a glimpse, and I couldn’t understand them at all.”

“Really? When he did Archibald, he copied the exact pose from the portrait in the Great Hall. I recognized it right away.”

She smiled proudly, while Prince Leonhart looked equally pleased with himself.

It seemed like everyone enjoyed the game.

Even after switching teams multiple times, Geoffrey’s team won every round.

Whether he was guessing or acting, he always managed to make the connection.

“He has a sharp eye for details. His knowledge is already comparable to that of a scholar.”

Even Lady Lione was impressed.

After that, we played a mind-matching game, a counting challenge, and other activities.

Unsurprisingly, Geoffrey excelled in all of them.

(Honestly, indoor games were the right choice.)

Thank you, snow!

It was a great opportunity for everyone—Lord Finley, Luca, Sophia, myself, and even Prince Leonhart—to truly appreciate Geoffrey’s brilliance.

“I understand why you praised him so much. Geoffrey really is incredible. And…”

“He’s kind, isn’t he?”

Sophia was the youngest among us, yet every time Geoffrey was on her team, he subtly made sure she had her moment to shine.

“Lady Lydiana, thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

He bowed deeply.

So he had understood my intentions.

“On the contrary, Geoffrey, I should be thanking you. This turned out to be far more enjoyable than I expected. I think everyone had a much-needed break.”

In fact, we had gone three hours over schedule.

The sunset was beautiful.

In the end, the snow had stopped, and what had accumulated melted away.

At least the event itself hadn’t been a disaster.

“Geoffrey! Let’s play chess when we get back!”

Prince Leonhart called out to Geoffrey with genuine excitement.

And with that, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.