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 1.5

Luca’s sudden change in demeanor left me frozen.

How did he figure it out? Had I let my guard down too much? I had been careful… or at least I thought I had. But then again, I wasn’t lying.

I am Lydiana.

“…What are you talking about? I’m Lydiana.”

“Yeah, you are. But at the same time, you’re not.”

(He’s hitting the nail right on the head!)

Had he awakened some kind of twin intuition?

His sharp gaze locked onto me, scanning for even the smallest sign of hesitation. I was completely shaken.

(Do I act shocked? Do I play it cool? Which one?!)

“I just know it. You’re not the same Lydiana as before.”

“H-Huh? W-What…?”

The certainty in his voice made my composure crumble. My words were stuttering, and even my facial expressions were all over the place.

I had just lost a battle of wits against a ten-year-old.

In the end, I gave in and told him about my past life—just in vague, incomplete terms.

Of course, I didn’t tell him everything.

“That’s incredible!”

Luca’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

That… was not the reaction I was expecting.

“Hey! You absolutely cannot tell anyone about this!”

“Of course! I swear!”

This wasn’t the reaction I had prepared myself for.

I thought he’d be shaken or upset, considering how tragic the original story was for this family.

But instead…

“But we’re already in a different world from that book’s story, right?”

“Well… yeah.”

Even the smallest change could have massive effects on the future.

Shelly had already been saved.

And now, we were working to save countless other lives.

The world would change from here on out.

I wondered just how much of an advantage my prior knowledge would give me moving forward.

“Lidi, you don’t need to feel guilty about anything.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t have to worry about taking credit for someone else’s achievements or about changing the future.”

His voice was firm, unwavering.

He looked me straight in the eyes as he continued.

“This is our story now. You don’t have to hold back for anyone.”

The weight on my chest lightened.

Hearing him say that made me feel like everything would be okay.

What a wonderful little brother.

Seriously, how could Iris not choose this boy?!

“You’re right. Acting like I know everything about this world just because I read a story about it… that’s just rude to the people actually living in it.”

I said it as much to myself as to him.

“Still, the me in that story was awful… I can’t believe I abandoned you.”

“Lydiana went through way too many hardships.”

We spent a long time talking about Iris’ Eyes and all the unfairness Lydiana and her family endured in the story.

I even told him the general plot.

…Except for the part where he falls in love with Iris.

I wanted him to meet her in five years and form his own opinion, without my influence.

And… I really didn’t like the idea of my cute little brother getting stolen away.

(Iris, just be happy with Leonhart, okay?!)

Go ahead and love each other to your heart’s content!

◇◇◇

“Lidi! I’m so relieved… You’re really okay now!”

“Aunt Lily! Ah—excuse me. Lady Saint…”

I quickly corrected myself and curtsied properly, bowing my head deeply.

“Oh, there’s no need for that!”

She pulled me into a gentle hug, eyes glistening with tears.

Aunt Lily, in her holy robes, looked like a goddess of the moon.

She resembled my mother, but there was something otherworldly about her presence.

She was accompanied by an entourage, all wearing white cloaks embroidered with silver thread—the mark of those affiliated with the Church.

“Let’s go.”

Mother led the way without the slightest hesitation, undeterred by the imposing group.

Together, we made our way to Sophia’s room.

Inside, Father and Luca were already waiting.

Upon seeing Aunt Lily, they both bowed respectfully.

“Lidi, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood.”

This time, even if my magic ran low, both Mother and Aunt Lily were here.

Since the treatment had worked on Shelly, it shouldn’t require more than before…

But just in case, they wanted to be prepared.

And, of course, this was also an opportunity to teach the kingdom’s two greatest healers how the treatment worked.

This was big.

“Please, wear this.”

One of the white-cloaked attendants handed me a bracelet.

It was slightly too big for my wrist.

It reminded me of a circuit board, with gemstones of various sizes embedded in its intricate design.

I noticed Luca eyeing it curiously from the sidelines.

“It’s a measurement device.”

So, this was a magic tool!

I always thought the Church would be against using magical artifacts, but apparently not.

Sophia was no longer able to speak.

Her frail, trembling figure was heartbreaking to see.

I gently placed my hand over her abdomen.

Following my mother’s example, I focused on searching for the parasite.

I felt a faint tingle—a tiny, prickling sensation.

(There it is…)

I concentrated my magic, directing it toward that spot.

It was so small—smaller than a grain of rice.

And yet, it devoured magic at an alarming rate.

Still, today I had backup.

I didn’t have to worry about running out of magic.

So I had nothing to fear.

(Alright, you little parasite—eat up until you burst!)

This time, we had prepared a clock.

According to Eliza, Shelly’s treatment had taken about an hour.

Given the progression of Sophia’s illness, this one would likely take the same amount of time…

Or maybe even longer, since her body was bigger?

Around the thirty-minute mark, Father, who had been holding Sophia’s hand, suddenly spoke up.

“She’s warming up!”

I immediately checked for the parasite’s presence again.

The faint prickling sensation was now barely noticeable.

It had weakened—almost to the point of vanishing.

It had worked.

And compared to yesterday, I felt way less drained.

“Phew…”

I let out a long breath.

“That was incredible, Lidi!”

Luca, having completely forgotten about our aunt and her entourage, was bouncing with excitement.

Meanwhile, our parents were visibly restraining themselves from outright jumping for joy. Their expressions said it all—their daughter’s color had returned, and relief washed over them.

“Eliza, was there anything different from yesterday?”

Mother gently stroked Sophia’s cheek as she asked.

“The area where magic was applied was much more focused this time. The process was also significantly faster.”

“Lydiana.”

“Yes! I concentrated the magic on the areas where I sensed the strongest presence of the parasite.”

“When did you get so good at magic control? You used to struggle with it, didn’t you?”

Father placed a proud hand on my shoulder, smiling warmly.

Lydiana, before her illness, had always flaunted her overwhelming magic power while pretending not to care much about fine control.

But in reality—she had secretly been practicing all along.

(Well done, my prideful, stubborn past self!)

Among us siblings, Luca had always been better at magic control. That fact had irritated me so much that I secretly studied on my own, determined to keep up.

Of course, my pride wouldn’t let me admit it back then, so I had continued boasting about my raw magic power instead.

At the time, I had been bitter that Luca was praised more than me. Looking back, it was a little embarrassing—but if that effort was paying off now, then I’d say it was worth it.

“If we use magic efficiently, we might not even need high-ranking magicians.”

“True. As long as we can pinpoint the location in advance, intermediate-level mages should be enough.”

“The next step is determining how to assess the progression of the disease.”

Mother and Aunt Lily started discussing patient treatment strategies while reviewing the bracelet I had been wearing.

The terms high-ranking and intermediate likely referred to the ranking system of court magicians.

Had things already advanced this far?

Aunt Lily’s aides were busily jotting down notes on large sheets of paper.

Meanwhile, another healer began casting healing magic on Sophia.

“Lidi, this must have been exhausting for you, wasn’t it?”

Honestly, I hadn’t fully recovered until Mother healed me again earlier.

I could definitely feel the difference now.

Without that magic, my recovery would have taken much longer.

“Now, let’s move on to Roddy.”

Aunt Lily’s sudden command set everyone into motion.

(This feels like a hospital professor making rounds!)

Not that I had ever seen it in person—only on TV.

Her attendants scrambled to keep up as they hurried after us.

In the brief moment they were out of earshot, I saw Aunt Lily whisper something to my mother.

Mother’s expression darkened.

What was that about?

This time, Mother took charge of the treatment.

With practiced efficiency, she quickly located the parasite and eradicated it in even less time than I had.

I was hit with the stark difference in skill level.

But as I grasped Roddy’s now-warm hand, I finally exhaled in relief.

Now, in this lifetime, all of my younger siblings had been saved.

As Aunt Lily and her entourage prepared to leave, one of the church healers bowed deeply to me.

“His sister has Ice Stone Disease.”

Aunt Lily’s eyes wavered with quiet compassion.

(There was never any reason to regret my actions.)

I didn’t need to fit into the original story.

I didn’t need to worry about staying true to it.

This was their story—our story.

This was my world now.

And if a day ever came when I started doubting my choices.

I would remember the look in that person’s eyes today.