The Villainess turns the Hourglass
chapter-167

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

She had thought it was unusual, but she hadn’t thought it had such a deep meaning. Now it wasn’t surprising that there was such magic—moving through space and turning back time—and that it was a simple magic.

‘What else can I blame him, who said he was worried and ran straight ahead without delay, for? Even his ability that he had been hiding all the time had been revealed.

If it had not been Mielle alone who had been there, but dozens, no, hundreds… Aria overlapped her hands in the hands of Asher, who wrapped her shoulder.

“… Thank you for coming.”

A subdued voice came out with a bit of trembling. It was simply because of the fact that he had come, and she had no way to undo this misery that dominated her mind and was angry without knowing it, and she was so sorry. ‘Is there anyone else in the world who would worry so much about me as much as him?’ No, she could affirm that there was no one else.

After a brief pause in Aria’s frank confession, Asher suddenly embraced her tightly. He held Aria in his arms, fearing that she might disappear at any moment.

“Thank you very much for being safe.”

In the darkened woods, the two felt precious to each other for a long time.

* * *

“No, I just thought I was too shameless. You are still so young and innocent…”

‘Oh, my God. If the other guy said that, I’d slap him on the cheek, but you… why are you so cute? You don’t even know that I’m much older and not pure.’

If it were not for the situation, she might have answered that it would be okay for him to be shameless. She didn’t know what he had come up with, but she also thought she might have answered that it was okay for him to do so.

He kept his eyes in the air and didn’t move for a while. Then he reached out to Aria with a face that said, “Nothing happened,” as if he had admitted his shameless self.

“Shall we go?”

As soon as Aria, who smiled at him, nodded, the two disappeared in an instant from the small villa in the forest.

* * *

“How—how can you be here in this shabby place when you are a noble…?”

Because of the Crown Prince, who suddenly appeared in the middle of the night, a Viscount managing a small estate that was quite far away from the capital appeared like the wind. This was because he was told that a beautiful woman and the Crown Prince, who showed up without a single servant, were looking for him.

Perhaps he was about to go to bed, but without proper clothing, he visited a restaurant where the Crown Prince waited. He was in a hurry, and he was short of breath though he had ridden a wagon. Asher didn’t care about this, and he didn’t feel sorry for him at all.

“I’m sorry if I had come this late at night. Maybe it’s a small estate, so there’s no place to stay.”

He added a word, hitting his glass against Aria’s glass on the other side. His eyes were filled with affection.

“I don’t know if I’m alone, but my lover is with me.”

The eyes of the Viscount were naturally directed at Aria.

“…!”

‘Oh my God, can a woman of this world be this beautiful?’

All he could see was her beautiful appearance even though she wore clothes and jewelry that were clearly the finest. Any rhetoric in the world would be insufficient. For this reason, the Viscount was simply absent-minded and was drawn to her, forgetting that she came with the Crown Prince.

“Well, I don’t like that eye of yours.”

As soon as the Crown Prince gave a light tap on the table, the Viscount hardened his body. He quickly found his fault and bowed his head to the ground.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll take you to the castle right away…!”

He must not have been that incompetent than Asher thought, and since he had done a single act of disrespect to Aria, like a moth caught in the light, he had thoroughly controlled his actions.

“Mr. Asher, I don’t have any gold coins because I didn’t bring my servant. What do I do?”

Aria spewed out a very graceful expression for her lack of money. The fancy jewelry on her wrist, which held the glass, became shinier as the light was reflected to it. Selling it alone was enough to buy most of the stores on this estate.

“I see. Then I’ll have to buy it on credit.”

But if Aria’s ornaments were not even visible, Asher answered calmly. At the words of the Crown Prince’s plan to make a credit, the Viscount raised his voice in amazement.

“Oh, no! I’ll pay for it! Oh, no! Let me pay!”

But Asher shook his head lightly because he had to buy it on credit.

“No, put it in my name. Write down the date and the current time, too. I’ll send a servant to pay for it later.”

“Yes…? Yes, yes…”

It wasn’t an amount that he couldn’t pay. It was necessary to intentionally buy it on a credit and leave a trace. That was why Asher called the Viscount in the middle of the night.

It would take them half a day from here to the Roscent mansion in the capital even if they rode a horse without stopping. In other words, if they started to run a horse by the time the sun set, they would arrive a little bit before midnight.

There was still a little time until midnight, but they were going to leave a trace here on purpose to leave a piece of evidence that Aria had left the capital without staying in the mansion.

Of course, it was best to cross the border right away, but it would take two more days to get to the nearest kingdom, the Kingdom of Croa, even if they rode a horse. Therefore, they had to leave a piece of evidence inside the country first. After all, the timid Viscount could no longer express his opinion and ordered the restaurant owner to make a credit account.

[Eleven o’clock in the afternoon. His Highness the Crown Prince Franz Asterope, Lady Aria of the Roscent family: Five golds on credit.]

Asher, who checked their credit book that even had the restaurant owner’s signature, left his signature on it. Then he handed over the book to Aria and suggested that she should sign it as well.

“What is certain is good. Isn’t that right, Lady Aria?”

In fact, if anyone who didn’t know their relationship saw it, they might laugh at it for asking the woman who accompanied him to sign the credit account.

But Aria signed it as if it was only natural, and the two had a very pleasant look on their faces. The witnesses said, “This may be the trend in the capital city,” and accepted it.

“Don’t you ever lose it until my servant comes to pay for it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes!”

How dare he lose a book signed by the Crown Prince himself?

In addition, the woman who accompanied him, if any, was Lady Aria of the Roscent family. They had heard rumors that she was dating the Crown Prince, but they had never thought that they would show up like this. The eyes, ears, and minds of the people gathered there were busy because there were two celebrities.

“You must be tired of moving for half a day, so you’d better take a break.”

“Let’s do that.”

Asher and Aria, who had intentionally told some stories to them, asked for a place to rest for themselves.

“… Of course! I’ll get it for you right away!”

The quick-witted Viscount immediately guided Asher and Aria to his castle. Although it was a very small estate, the lord had a castle because he was a lord. Aria, who had been treated with a hearty reception and was ready for bed, lay in bed and shut her eyes for a while, but she couldn’t fall asleep and got up from the bed.

‘Is it because of the feeling of alcohol?’

The champagne had very little alcohol, but alcohol was alcohol. Unlike in the past, when she used to drink alcohol like water, it was her first drink. Maybe that was why she couldn’t fall asleep because she was burning up as if she had a fever.

“Is there any good place where I could freshen up for a bit?”

“Oh, yes! We have an indoor garden. We keep the windows open at night for ventilation, so you can get some fresh air.”

She thought she couldn’t sleep like that, so she headed to the indoor garden under the guidance of the maid. Aria, who arrived in the indoor garden, opened her eyes wide at what she saw. It was past midnight, so she thought there would be no one else there…