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 1.18

“Lydi, for someone who claims to like Finley, you don’t seem very proactive about it.”

“What are you talking about?! The absolute rule of being a fan is never to bother your favorite!”

Supporting them from a respectable distance. Simply being alive is enough to be grateful for. That was my stance when it came to Finley.

Of course, there weren’t any strict rules to this, and I fully intended to enjoy my current position to the fullest.

“If I ever cause Lord Finley any discomfort… I’ll take responsibility by committing seppuku.”

“Seppuku!?”

“It’s how responsibility is taken in my father’s country.”

…Not that I actually knew if that was true.

Geoffrey looked utterly flustered.

“I’m joking. I would never do anything to trouble Lord Finley. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I did.”

“…Well, for now, Finley seems to find your reactions amusing, so I suppose it’s fine.”

After the New Year’s party, this was our first tea time together. Maybe because we had both been tense for a while, today, we felt noticeably more relaxed.

“By the way, Lydi, do you want a turtle?”

“Huh? Not really.”

“But at the party, you kept saying ‘turtle, turtle.’”

Did I? I had absolutely no memory of that.

“Oh! You mean when I saw Finley!”

I understood now—he misheard camera as kame (turtle).

That moment had truly tested my ability to maintain self-control. I still wanted to praise myself for pulling it together afterward. That was how overwhelming Lord Finley’s presence had been. The fact that I couldn’t take a picture of him still frustrated me to no end.

“I want to make Lord Finley a national treasure.”

“Even I can’t make that happen.”

“Then…”

“Not even if I become king!”

Lately, Geoffrey had started cutting me off before I could even finish my ridiculous statements. He was getting used to it. The number of times he looked at me in horror had significantly decreased.

Or maybe he had just given up.

“You never ask about Finley’s circumstances, do you?”

He was giving me that usual half-lidded stare.

For someone who talked about Lord Finley all the time, it seemed incomprehensible to Geoffrey that I had never tried to pry into his personal affairs.

“Of course, I’d love to know. But as a fan, it feels wrong to dig up information that my favorite hasn’t made public.”

I wanted to compare things with the original story, but I had a hunch about the situation already. That was why I deliberately avoided asking.

Most likely, things wouldn’t follow the original script. Lord Finley was no longer the heir of House Lias. His older brother had recovered from Ice Stone Disease.

Which meant he wouldn’t develop the same emotional scars and trauma as before.

Lord Finley’s older brother was seven years his senior—a brilliant man, both in skill and character, beloved by all.

(Lord Finley always spoke so fondly of his brother…)

In the original story, however, his brother died when Finley was ten. The shock left his parents devastated, and they never truly recovered. Finley, now the heir, was constantly compared to his late brother.

Then, a few years after his brother’s death, his brother’s former fiancée—desperate for the status of a marquis’s wife—tried to force herself on Finley.

(Even if it didn’t go all the way, that was still a major incident! Just thinking about it makes my bl00d boil!)

I fumed at the memory.

It hadn’t happened in this life. And it never would!

(That woman! I wanted to see her face for myself, but she wasn’t at the party last time!)

Lord Finley’s purity is mine to protect!

Because his brother was still recovering, he hadn’t attended the New Year’s party. Lord Finley had confided in me about his brother’s illness that night, and he had sincerely thanked me for the treatment I had discovered.

In the original story, Finley’s kindness had been a shield—he kept people at arm’s length, never revealing his true emotions. His flirtatious nature wasn’t because he was a womanizer, but because he didn’t trust women at all. He treated them with indifference as a defense mechanism.

But now…

Lord Finley’s heart could finally be saved. That was a relief.

However, if he wasn’t the heir anymore, his future was uncertain.

For Geoffrey, having a marquis’s heir as his close friend would have been a strong advantage on his path to the throne.

(Maybe his parents are keeping him in the capital for that reason…?)

Originally, after his brother’s death, Finley should have returned to his family’s territory to be trained as the next head. But instead, he was still living in the capital.

Perhaps they were preparing him for a future as Geoffrey’s aide or as a knight—ensuring he gained the necessary experience.

“Hey! You’re thinking about Finley again, aren’t you?”

“Wow, you can tell?”

“Your face looks ridiculous.”

I was thinking about something serious, though!?

But honestly, being able to wish for my favorite’s happiness and worry about his future like this was something to be grateful for.

(I wonder if Lord Finley will become an adventurer…)

He had once confided in Iris, the only woman he had ever truly trusted and loved, that if he weren’t to inherit the marquisate, he had dreamed of becoming an adventurer as a child.

(Iris was all, ‘I’m sure your dream will come true!’ but reality is harsh, you know?)

That’s what I had thought when I first read the story. I never expected he would die before ever becoming a marquis…

“Hey! Lydi!? What’s wrong!?”

“Huh?”

Before I knew it, tears were rolling down my cheeks. That scene still made me cry—even in this life. It was the kind of moment that stayed with you, no matter how many times you were reborn.

“I was just thinking… I’m really glad that Lord Finley’s brother got better.”

“Well, yeah, but… are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just one of my usual little episodes.”

“Oh… one of those…”

After spending so much time with me, Geoffrey had more or less come to accept most of my eccentricities. His concern quickly faded.

“Your Highness, are you acquainted with Lord Finley’s brother?”

“Yeah. I’ve met Fred before. Just like the rumors say, he was a really good person. He even treated me like a real younger brother. Finley was completely attached to him.”

“Ahhh! I want to see them standing together!”

“You probably will soon. I heard his recovery is going well.”

I see… If that’s the case, then this was truly for the best.

Not only was my favorite’s mental health preserved, but even if he wasn’t the heir anymore, Lord Finley could become anything. Supporting my favorite’s dreams was the very essence of being a true fan.

“…Watching you makes my own feelings for that person seem so trivial in comparison.”

Geoffrey murmured, watching as I cycled between crying and beaming with joy.

“No, Your Highness! Have confidence in your feelings! Fated encounters do exist!”

…Wait. Was my otaku passion a bit too much for Geoffrey to handle? Maybe I should tone it down.

“Besides! Comparing your feelings to someone else’s is meaningless! The way people express their emotions varies endlessly! Some, like me, get all excited and loud, while others quietly keep their feelings close to their hearts!”

Just like how Lord Finley felt about Iris!

“Do you understand now!?”

“Y-yeah… I get it…!”

It seemed I had successfully forced him to accept my reasoning.

Now that I thought about it… What’s Iris up to these days?

Unlike Finley, she wouldn’t have encountered any major changes since no one in her circle had Ice Stone Disease.

It might be worth looking into her situation a little.