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 1.31

The capital had been experiencing a stretch of hot days. The long-awaited vacation season was finally approaching. Every year, my family spent this time in our territory, but this year—unbelievably!—we had been invited to the Lias household! And no, it wasn’t because I had pestered them. I didn’t want to trouble my favorite person, after all.

(When they say they want to thank me for saving their heir… well, what can I say?)

A letter had arrived specifically addressed to me, sent by none other than the head of the Lias family—Finley-sama’s father. So, acting like the well-mannered child I was supposed to be, I promptly replied, “I would love the opportunity to visit the renowned Lias territory, famous for its adventurer city.”

“But he just never comes back!”

I was suffering from severe Finley-sama deprivation. I was on the verge of experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

(No, no! I can’t be so greedy… Just being alive is enough to be grateful!)

I had to be careful not to get carried away just because I got a taste of happiness. But at the same time, as someone who genuinely adored him, wouldn’t it be disrespectful to this world if I didn’t engrave every second of his living existence into my heart?

“Ohh! I need to capture him on camera as soon as possible!”

I had to take photos of Finley-sama in every possible outfit and setting.

That’s right—Luca and the others had finally completed the camera. It was a box-shaped device about the size of a sheet of copy paper, with several magic stones embedded in it. It was quite heavy, so a tripod was essential. Plus, each shot required a high-quality magic stone, making it an extremely costly endeavor. But still, now we could take pictures!

The invention had caused an uproar in the capital. It was truly a revolutionary discovery. While many people praised it, rumors quickly spread that it could steal souls, prompting the church to step in and publicly deny such claims.

“Milady, Lady Louise has arrived.”

Louise and I had grown even closer since then. We were now on a first-name basis and frequently visited each other’s homes.

“How are your parents doing?”

“My father is already back to training! And my mother is managing her daily life without any issues.”

In the end, Lady Olden had survived, but the damage had been so severe that it was a miracle she hadn’t died. After all, she had been stabbed straight through the heart. It would still take some time for her to fully recover.

“How’s your own training going, Louise?”

“With Lord Luke around, I can practice with peace of mind.”

Louise had gained control over her power. She no longer had sudden outbursts.

Meanwhile, my uncle had joined the knight order’s medical unit—and not just as a regular member. He was immediately appointed as the unit leader. This summer, the previous leader was retiring, and everyone was pleased to have such a capable successor. The former leader had been quite elderly, but due to the lack of skilled healers of his caliber, he had been unable to retire until now.

“I felt out of place as an unemployed freeloader,” he had said.

Apparently, his entry into the medical unit had been part of the deal when negotiating the curse removal with the Knight Commander. In other words, he had been aiming for this position from the beginning.

“Uncle, wouldn’t you have been able to join without relying on the Knight Commander?”

“Well, I’m not a noble anymore, and after spending so much time abroad, suddenly claiming patriotism wouldn’t be very convincing.”

“You’re not a noble!?”

“Haha! People are just being polite, so you don’t notice, but I was disowned! Completely expelled from the ducal family! Ahaha!”

(He’s laughing…?)

I had thought his disownment was just a formality, but it seemed he had been erased from the Flores family records as well. Grandfather was completely serious about it.

“Luke causes trouble when he’s left with too much free time,” my mother sighed as she ate.

“There was no one more suitable for the position in this entire kingdom, so he should’ve just waited patiently. But instead, he deliberately got involved with the Olden family.”

“Who knows? There were even rumors that I was a spy.”

“That was just something spread by people who wanted to bring us down.”

So there were people like that after all. Our family’s reputation had soared over the past year, which naturally meant that certain individuals had become increasingly hostile toward us.

“If I hadn’t gone there myself back then—”

“Okay, okay! I’m really sorry! I’m truly grateful! I was saved, I really was!”

Recently, every time Mother scolded Uncle, she brought up this incident. Having accumulated a significant debt of gratitude, Uncle had been forced to attend noble gatherings and parties at Mother’s behest… despite no longer being a noble himself.

“Mother, you were really worried about me, weren’t you?”

“Of course! …Well, that’s what I’d like to say, but actually, Eliza and Maria threatened me. They said they’d quit if I didn’t help you.”

“That really happened…?”

I turned to look at Eliza and Maria, who were standing nearby. Both of them quickly averted their eyes. They hadn’t said anything to me, but perhaps they had known that I was getting myself into something dangerous. They had risked their own jobs to protect me—I would have to do something to thank them.

“Threatening their employer! I should be angry, but honestly, do you know how hard it is to find attendants who can actually get along with you? No, I should say… they gave me the perfect excuse to intervene.”

The two of them lowered their heads in silence. It was true that, without a formal request, it would have been questionable for the head of the Flores family to interfere.

“Well, thanks to that, we now get priority access to wheat from the Olden territory, so it wasn’t a bad outcome.”

For the past few years, about a fifth of the country’s territories had suffered poor harvests due to cold summers, insufficient sunlight, natural disasters, and locust infestations. Even our own lands had experienced major floods last year, and this year’s yield wasn’t looking promising either. It seemed that my mother had made a strategic move by forming ties with the Olden family.

For the first time in a while, I had tea alone with Prince Leonhart.

Today’s treats were mini-sized donuts, beautifully arranged on a plate with colorful fruits. I couldn’t help but admire how the court-style arrangement elevated them to another level.

“How did you find out about this? I mean, the name of a fairy princess from ancient times—how did you even know?”

Prince Leonhart was the one who had brought me the information this time, even though Jeffrey had surely already combed through every book available in the royal castle.

“It was from the church’s collection. They granted me access to the library.”

That was incredible! I had heard that even the king couldn’t enter the church’s library so easily. How in the world did he manage to get in?

“My mother donated the High Saint’s ring to the church.”

“What?! W-wait, what—!?”

I nearly spit out my tea.

“Is it really that surprising that my mother parted with a gemstone?”

“Oh, no, that’s not what shocked me—it’s the High Saint’s ring…”

That was the ring he had given Iris when he proposed!

“It certainly holds historical and monetary value, but she was more than happy to donate it in exchange for earning goodwill from the Olden family.”

The High Saint’s Ring was said to have belonged to the first saint of this kingdom. While it didn’t possess any special magical properties, it carried immense significance—especially for Iris.

“She’s quite generous, isn’t she?”

“I suppose so.”

For some reason, Prince Leonhart chuckled as if he found the whole thing amusing.

“Did you want it?”

“Not really.”

That ring carried way too much baggage for me.

“What kind of things do you like?”

“Hmm, let’s see…”

Ah! He was fishing for birthday present ideas. What should I ask for? I already had a camera…

“Jewelry is always a safe choice. If anything happens, I can sell it off.”

“Try phrasing it in a way that’s a little more charming.”

“Small but valuable gemstones would be nice.”

That would be more convenient if I ever had to make a quick escape.

“Or… hmm… you could donate to an orphanage for the sake of your public image!”

“You figured it out, huh?”

“Haha! This is about my birthday present, isn’t it?”

Prince Leonhart gave me an exasperated look, as if telling me to at least pretend not to notice.

“I don’t mind, but… won’t people accuse you of being insincere?”

“You know, there’s a saying—‘a hypocritical good deed is better than doing nothing at all.’”

“Even if it’s just a temporary fix?”

“In that case, a scholarship fund for struggling students would be a good alternative. Either way, if there’s a budget set aside for my gift, let’s redirect it toward something beneficial for society.”

Even if I remained engaged for the maximum of seven more years, I could at least make a difference for a few people. And let’s be honest—doing good deeds might come in handy for me someday. I had my own strategic reasons. After all, I needed to repair my reputation as the selfish duke’s daughter.

(I absolutely refuse to leave even a shred of a reason for anyone to think I might harm Finley-sama!)

“If there’s ever something I truly want, I’ll take care of it myself.”

“That’s exactly the kind of person you are.”

He still looked somewhat exasperated, but at the same time, there was a hint of amusement in his expression. Maybe I could actually look forward to my birthday this year.