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 1.21

For the past six months, I had frequently observed the knights’ training sessions. Of course, I always made sure to keep my distance so as not to be a nuisance. More importantly, most of that time had been spent watching Lord Finley.

During training, I often saw groups of five practicing coordination, individuals training with swords, bows, and spears, and pairs engaging in mock battles. Some knights were also practicing offensive magic techniques.

At present, the kingdom still saw occasional skirmishes at the borders and frequent monster subjugations, so the knights were kept relatively busy. However, there was no major enemy threatening the kingdom. At least, not until the events of the story unfolded—when Lydiana herself would emerge as a disaster.

(Let’s just keep it that way forever!)

There was nothing better than a world without conflict.

“Starting today, I will be in your care. I am Lydiana Flores. I may be of little strength, but I hope to be of some service to you all.”

I introduced myself before the knights and soldiers. They stood silently, watching me without a word.

“Lady Lydiana, we are deeply grateful that you would lend us your precious abilities. We will continue to train with all our strength so that we may better protect this kingdom and repay this debt in any way we can.”

It was the knight commander who had spoken with my mother during the New Year’s party. Seeing the entire group bow to me in unison was a spectacular sight.

“Luke! Is that you?”

The captain of the Eighth Knight Order called out to my uncle, who had been standing quietly behind me. Today, I would be training alongside this unit.

“Mad? What’s this—I turn my back for a while, and now you’re a captain? Look at you, all important!”

The two men grinned at each other, clearly delighted. It seemed they were old friends.

The Eighth Knight Order was well known for being composed of highly skilled commoners. For them, joining the order was a major achievement. However, to noble families—particularly those whose heirs were not firstborns—this knight order was often seen as an undesirable competitor. After all, the knights’ prestige made it a coveted career path.

I knew all this, of course, because the Eighth Knight Order played an active role in the original story. They were one of the strongest supporters of the Leonheart and Iris couple. That was why I recognized Captain Flugel—he had a prominent scar across his face in the novel. If he didn’t have it yet, then that meant he would receive it in the coming battles.

And as for my practical training…

No one was coming to me for healing.

(Wait… that guy is clearly injured, right?)

(That’s definitely a burn he just got!)

(Ouch! That had to hurt—he ran straight into that!)

I could see the injuries happening right in front of me, yet not a single knight approached me. It took me a moment to realize—

(Am I… being avoided?)

I had thought my reputation had improved a little lately… but was I wrong?

“Ah, my apologies, Lady Lydiana!”

“Oh, not at all. It seems everyone here is remarkably resilient.”

Captain Flugel, noticing that I had been left standing idly, approached and struck up a conversation. As expected of a rising star—he was remarkably perceptive.

“Isn’t this environment a bit intense for you, my lady?”

“I can sense the determination.”

Indeed, today’s training felt especially rigorous. The movements were sharper, the combat more intense—it was as if they were preparing for real battle.

“Next month, our unit is heading out on a monster subjugation mission. Everyone is desperate to make a name for themselves.”

Monster subjugations were the highlight of a knight’s career. They were an excellent opportunity to earn achievements and secure promotions.

“That makes it all the more important that their injuries are properly treated.”

And that meant they needed to let me practice on them.

“You may already know this, but most of our knights come from common backgrounds… They’re not comfortable asking a noble for favors.”

“Ah, I see… Well, my family isn’t exactly popular among the nobility either.”

“Hahaha! That’s true. But believe it or not, things are much better now. Everyone here knows about your accomplishments.”

Captain Flugel’s greatest strength was his ability to speak candidly without sounding disrespectful.

(So… this is what it looks like when things have improved?)

I wanted to joke about how cold they were being, but that was something only I, standing in a position of power, could say.

From their perspective, they were probably thinking—Why is the Duke’s daughter, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, even here? If we can’t ask her for healing, then she may as well not be here at all!

“In that case, I’ll just take matters into my own hands.”

“Be my guest.”

Both Uncle Luke and Captain Flugel gave me an amused look.

(Listen up! I’ve worked in a black company for years. Compared to the creeps who harassed and bullied me in the corporate world, these knights are a walk in the park!)

Sitting quietly in the corner of the training ground wasn’t going to accomplish anything. If they weren’t going to come to me, I’d have to take a more aggressive approach. Since they were hesitant because of my noble status, I would use that status against them.

And what do we say to noble authority? Absolute compliance!

“You there! That hit must have hurt—come over here!”

“That was definitely painful! You, come here too!”

“What is that walk?! Get over here at once!”

The knights hesitated, mumbling, “Ah… um… I… well…” in barely audible voices. However, they couldn’t exactly refuse a noblewoman’s direct order, so they reluctantly allowed me to heal them.

By evening, I had treated almost every injured knight. Their stiff attitudes had finally begun to relax.

“If I may… Lady Lydiana, would you be willing to heal me as well?”

At last, they were starting to come to me willingly.

Just as I felt relieved, I noticed someone lying on the ground a short distance away. Even from here, I could see the color of bl00d. Some of the knights were trying to force him to sit up.

“Don’t move him!”

Head injury. My stomach tightened.

“You knew not to move someone with a head wound. You’ve been studying well.”

Uncle Luke sounded impressed, but this was just common knowledge from my past life.

Upon closer inspection, the wound was only a deep cut—nothing life-threatening. I had heard that head wounds bled heavily, but even with that knowledge, seeing it in person was unsettling.

“Lady Lydiana, you’ll get bl00d on you.”

One of the knights spoke up in concern. Of course, I was already wearing leather gloves and taking care to avoid direct contact with bl00d. But in an emergency, who had the luxury of worrying about such things? The Flores family’s healing magic method always began with a full-body scan, which required physical contact with the patient.

“Thank you! But the Flores estate has more spare leather gloves than we know what to do with, so it’s fine! Would you like to hear how many dresses I own as well?”

I delivered my best noblewoman’s wealth joke. The knight’s eyes widened before he let out a small chuckle.

I refocused on the injured knight, scanning his body once more with magic. Fortunately, he had no additional wounds. I activated my healing magic, and within moments, the bleeding stopped as the wound steadily closed.

“Thirty seconds.”

The most nerve-wracking treatment of the day was finally over.

“Now, what should we do next?”

Uncle Luke sat beside me and helped wipe the bl00d from the knight’s face. Around us, several knights and soldiers stirred uncomfortably, as if to say, That’s our job. But Uncle Luke held up a hand to stop them—this was part of my training.

“Ah… right… the bl00d.”

If a patient lost a significant amount of bl00d, additional treatment was necessary.

“Technically, he doesn’t need it in this case. But since we have the opportunity, let’s use him as a practice case!”

Following his suggestion, I applied an additional healing spell, gradually restoring his depleted strength. The injured knight’s breathing evened out, and his expression softened in relief. While the magic didn’t actually replace lost bl00d, it compensated for its effects well enough.

“Lady Lydiana, we are deeply grateful.”

As the day’s training came to an end, both the commander of the Eighth Knight Order and Captain Flugel bowed respectfully.

“It was a valuable experience for me as well. I look forward to working with you again.”

“You really saved us today! That last case was pretty bad, wasn’t it? I’ll make sure to lecture them about being more careful next time. Still, can you believe it? We got all this treatment for free—what a lucky day, huh, Commander?”

“Flugel!”

The knight commander shot him a glare. Apparently, Flugel’s casual tone toward a noble still wasn’t up to standard. Uncle Luke simply smiled at their exchange.

“We’ll be counting on you again!”

“Fllluuuugeeel!!”

On the way back in the carriage, I decided to confirm something that had been on my mind.

“Uncle, so you already knew Captain Flugel?”

“Yeah. Back when I was in the commoner district, he was assigned as my bodyguard. Good guy, isn’t he?”

“Yes, thanks to him, it was easier to do my work today.”

The novel had described how the Eighth Knight Order harbored a deep-seated resentment toward nobles. This stemmed from the fact that the palace’s healing corps and royal healers often prioritized noble heirs over common-born knights. Treating nobles yielded greater rewards, making it a more lucrative investment.

(So this country doesn’t have anything like the Hippocratic Oath… or any real professional medical ethics, huh?)

In the novel, Leonheart eventually reformed this system, recognizing the Eighth Knight Order for their skills and making them a crucial part of his military strategy. Meanwhile, Iris—his beloved—advocated for a fairer approach to healing magic, ensuring that treatment was given based on need rather than status.

Not only that, but Iris was a commoner, and despite that, she was more talented than any noble healer in the kingdom. The Eighth Knight Order took immense pride in both her and Leonheart, ultimately dedicating themselves to their cause.

(The novel mentioned that before meeting Iris, the Eighth Knight Order suffered heavy losses. I need to do something about that before it happens.)

It was an unpleasant truth, but within the knight order’s hierarchy, they had been treated as disposable.

Now that I had met them, it was hard to ignore. Before today, they had simply been part of the novel’s setting—characters on a page. But now, they were real people.

When I got back, I would talk to Luca about it.

…Assuming he was still awake.