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 1.4

Even so, the guilt was unbearable.

Would it be easier if I just told them everything? That this world was inside a story?

No, no, they’d think I’d lost my mind from the illness. And more than that…

(I don’t want to tell them how their happy family is doomed to fall into ruin!)

What a heartwarming family this is! If I told them what was coming, how they’d be plunged into misery, would they still end up consumed by darkness?

Accompanied by my mother, I made my way to Sophia’s room.

Eliza was still pushing my wheelchair, though I no longer needed it—I could walk just fine now. My mother’s healing magic was truly incredible.

Sophia’s body was just as cold as Shelly’s had been, but she was still able to speak.

“Ah… Sister… you’re better now… I’m so glad…”

Her voice trembled as she smiled weakly, trying to be happy for me. I almost wanted to cry. She was only seven years old—how could such a young child be so kind and selfless?

There was no way I was letting her die.

Mother placed a hand on Sophia’s abdomen. A faint light flickered beneath her palm.

“…It’s there.”

She murmured, her tone laced with frustration.

“Why didn’t I notice this before…?”

(There’s no way you could have. In the original timeline, the truth about this disease wasn’t discovered until eight years later… and by then, you were already…)

There was no way I could say that.

“The fact that we know now is what matters!”

“You’re right.”

She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in it. She was probably thinking about all the people she hadn’t been able to save.

“Sophie, you’ll be better soon. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?”

“…Okay.”

Even though she must have been suffering, she still tried to reassure us with a smile.

Roddy, on the other hand, was fast asleep. His breathing was steady and rhythmic.

“He was struggling with the cold, so I put him to sleep,” Mother explained.

She placed her hand on his abdomen, just as she had with Sophia.

Unlike me, who could only vaguely sense the parasite’s location, Mother seemed able to pinpoint it precisely. Did she have some sort of scanning function or something?

“Lydiana, you’re going straight to bed tonight. Starting tomorrow, I’ll need you to help. Understood?”

“Of course! But Mother, you need to rest too!”

“I will. But first, I have to report our findings to your aunt.”

Aunt Lily Flores was the saint of this kingdom—the most powerful healing magic user in the land. Like my mother, she had been struggling to deal with Ice Stone Disease. She would definitely be relieved to hear about this breakthrough.

Suddenly, my mother pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Lydiana Flores, you have saved this kingdom.”

(Ahhhh! The guilt is going to crush me!!!)

I really wished she wouldn’t say things like that. I didn’t need credit for this—I didn’t deserve credit for this. In truth, I had just stolen someone else’s achievement.

Noticing my unease, my mother looked at me curiously.

“Mother… please don’t mention my dream to anyone.”

“…All right. I’ll handle it discreetly.”

She smiled and gently stroked my hair, trying to reassure me.

It reminded me that, in this world, I was still just a ten-year-old child.

And with that realization, a fresh wave of guilt washed over me.

◇◇◇

Back in my room, I buried myself under the covers. I had asked to have dinner brought to me, but the moment Eliza left, something suddenly burst out from under my bed.

“Lidi!!!”

It was my twin brother, Luca.

I had noticed his poorly hidden feet sticking out from under the bed the moment I entered. Eliza must have noticed too, but she chose to ignore it.

“Lidi!!! I’m so glad! Really, really glad! You’re all better now!!!”

He grabbed my hands and shook them vigorously.

This was the first time since waking up that I had seen someone so full of energy.

“Yes, I’m fine! I’ve recovered completely!”

It had been a while since I’d seen him. Even though we were twins, we looked nothing alike.

Luca took after Mother, with silver hair and pale blue eyes. His entire appearance was light and delicate in contrast to my darker features.

“Why didn’t I get sick? We all caught the same cold together, didn’t we?”

It seemed no one had explained the details of Ice Stone Disease to him yet.

All of us siblings had likely been infected during the summer while staying in our family’s territory. When we returned to the capital, we all started showing symptoms of a cold.

But Luca never developed the disease.

Among all of us, he had the lowest magical power.

This fact would later become his greatest insecurity, casting a shadow over his otherwise cheerful and affectionate personality.

“Well, lucky you.”

For now, there was no need for him to dwell on it.

After all, it was better not to get sick.

“What kind of answer is that?! That’s so lazy!”

Luca burst into laughter, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

At least with him, I didn’t have to bother with the refined speech expected of a noble lady. In this world, he was my other half.

(But this boy… in the end, he betrays Lydiana, doesn’t he?)

That thought briefly crossed my mind.

But that was another Luca—not the one in front of me right now.

We continued chatting for a while, with him eagerly filling me in on everything that had happened during the month I was bedridden.

At some point, Eliza entered, carrying dinner for both of us. I was still technically being treated as a patient.

“Aribara-sensei said I shouldn’t see you, Lidi…”

Luca’s voice suddenly lost its energy.

Aribara was his tutor. I already knew he had a grudge against me, but it seemed he was now trying to turn Luca against me as well.

“What?! You can’t listen to someone like that!”

“But… Aribara-sensei is amazing! He knows more about magic than anyone else I’ve ever met, and he’s a really powerful magician… If I do what he says, I can become a great magician too!”

“Amazing, amazing… How amazing are we talking, exactly?”

“…”

“Let me guess—he’s been badmouthing me, hasn’t he?”

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

Luca’s eyes welled up, and he started sniffling.

Damn it! Who does Aribara think he is, poisoning my brother’s mind like this? And why is Luca already developing a magic complex? Is this his doing too?!

(I don’t know much about Aribara—he wasn’t even in the original story!)

A nobody is trying to manipulate my adorable brother? Unforgivable.

…Although, thinking back, I did once wish I had been reincarnated as a background character instead of Lydiana, so maybe I should shut up.

“I’m sorry… I should’ve defended you properly, but I didn’t know how to fight back…”

Ah, so that’s why he was feeling guilty and decided to tell me.

He’s only ten. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to argue against an adult.

“Luca, do you think someone who genuinely cares about you would ever tell you to stop seeing your own twin sister? Do you think Father or Mother would ever say something like that?”

Aribara had some nerve talking badly about the Duke’s daughter.

It was seriously pissing me off.

“…No, I don’t think they would.”

Luca wiped his tears and looked at me attentively, trying to process what I was saying.

“Listen, Luca. There are all kinds of people in this world. Some of them have different values, different goals, and different loyalties. And you—you’re the heir to the Duke of Flores. The truth is, most people will see you as an opportunity. Whether you realize it or not, they’ll try to use you for their own gain.”

He swallowed hard, nodding slightly.

This was probably a harsh lesson for a ten-year-old to hear.

But that’s the reality of being born into nobility.

“If something ever feels wrong to you, trust your own judgment. You don’t have to obey blindly. And if you need help, you can always come to me.”

And, just to reinforce my point—

“In the end, you should always be the one to decide for yourself.”

“Got it.”

Luca wiped his tears as I reached over to help.

We looked at each other and smiled.

“And one more thing!”

I flashed a mischievous grin.

“I don’t care what anyone says about me! I’m totally unbothered by insults. You know that, right?”

Luca burst into laughter again.

Honestly, it’s not like I don’t deserve some of the criticism.

The real Lydiana had already gone through ten different tutors—anyone would call her a brat after that.

Thankfully, past tense applies here.

“Thanks, Lidi.”

His grin crinkled the corners of his eyes, looking just like Father’s.

But just as I was about to relax, his expression suddenly turned serious.

He locked eyes with me and asked—

“By the way… who are you?”