The Villainess turns the Hourglass
chapter-81

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

She had been always disappointing but even more so at the dinner tonight. Considering her age, she was quite knowledgeable, but not enough to help the count’s business.

‘Rather…’

Rather, Aria, who was said to be from the common people, was much smarter. Aria seemed to look like she was not smart enough compared to Mielle, but she really seemed smart although she didn’t seem to want to reveal the fact.

Aria, who sometimes made stunning remarks, would be quiet again as if she had done nothing. It was as if she was asking him to look at her that way on purpose.

But Lane was soon able to grasp her behavior. It was not natural to hit and run, and somehow she seemed to be swept away by emotion. As she was still young, she seemed to have difficulty controlling her emotions.

‘And today’s reaction was weird too…’

When he brought up the story of the fur business, Mielle looked puzzled. She looked like she had no idea. The hardened face of the count, or the embarrassed countess, and Aria, who was the last to remain calm…

‘Don’t tell me…’

No. Based on the facts laid out so far, it had been concluded that the daughter, who had greatly helped the count, seemed to be Aria, not Mielle.

It shouldn’t be. Lane tore off his head and let out a silent outcry. If this was the case, it meant that he guessed wrong so far. If the Crown Prince found out about this, he could punish those who had called Mielle.

For example, he could order his retainers to count the number of flowers in the capital by tomorrow or to find out what the capital’s current population was.

If they somehow produced the results, he would question them for more than five hours why and why. He had always rolled his minions that way. Rather, they had wanted to be hit.

‘Then there’s nothing I can do about it. I have no choice but to get out by myself.’

He had no choice but to report the truth as soon as possible, so he himself could avoid hardships and adversity. Thinking so, he wiped the clear and cold sweat on his forehead and nose.

It was all right, it would be all right. In the first place, he had only started his work after being ordered by the Crown Prince to approach the count and his daughter, Mielle. He had made friends with the count as he had been told, and he had been well receiving good favors from Mielle. What was more, he had even gotten the result that the girl the Crown Prince had been looking for might be Aria, not Mielle. He might have praised him for correcting the falsehoods others had guessed wrong about.

Knock, knock! “Your Highness Asterope, this is Lane.”

When he knocked on the door with a sense of confidence, he heard a voice from the inside telling him to come in. Lane went inside confidently to report his very plausible conclusions. Asterope, who was reading a book on the sofa, frowned at Lane who was coming in.

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“… yeah?”

“It’s a face that makes me feel bad.”

‘What should I do with my face? Was I so excited as I found a way to survive alone?’ Lane reported to Asterope while touching his face.

“I haven’t found anything unusual today in Lady Mielle. I think… Lady Mielle seems to be not the kind of woman Your Highness will notice.”

“Why?”

“I’ve tried to have in-depth conversations several times, but each time her answers were very plain and easy.”

“It’s a girl who escapes well like a cat. She dared to put me through trouble twice. She has acted cleverly.”

He smiled, small but pleasantly, as if he was thinking about the girl who had made him puzzled and had leisurely disappeared.

Then suddenly, he put his book down on the table nervously and said, “So, persuade her well.”

Lane shuddered at the sound. ‘Is he talking about that Mielle? Does he want to know if she can escape from him like a cat?’

Mielle, who Lane had gone through, was more like a bear than a cat. She was a dusky bear with only a large natural build and background but had no weapon. She had learned how to speak well, but there had been nothing good in it. And she also had no keen sense.

Aria, on the other hand, was really like a cat. The same was the way she looked up as if she were observing with a slightly raised eye, and so was the way she suddenly came in the conversation and concealed herself in an instant.

So Lane really thought that the girl the Crown Prince was talking about was Aria, not Mielle. The Crown Prince might have mistaken Mielle for Aria or misunderstood her name. Lane swallowed.

“Your Highness Asterope, I’m sorry, but in my personal opinion, as I have visited the mansion of the Roscent family… I don’t think the girl you’re talking about is Lady Mielle.”

Lane hurried on because he thought Asterope would be nervous again.

“Maybe Lady Aria, his eldest daughter, is the girl you’re looking for.”

“Aria?”

“Yes, she’s from the common people, and about two years ago, she came in as the eldest daughter of the Roscent family with the re-marriage of the count.”

“Ah, that’s the lady in the rumor.”

The rumor about Aria was so widely and deeply spread that Asterope could quickly recall her. Even he remembered the rumor that the count who had married a prostitute with a daughter was out of his mind. It was also information that he had found while investigating Mielle.

“The rumor says that she’s possessed by an evil spirit. However, the girl I’m looking for is a rare beauty in the Empire as I said before.”

“I heard that too, but a rumor is only a rumor. She was more like the shape Your Highness described.”

As Lane added, Asterope was lost in his thoughts.

“Did Your Highness… hear her name directly from the lady you’re looking for?”

“No, it’s not like that. I just saw her disappear in the carriage of the Roscent family.”

“Then I’m sure the lady you’re looking for is Lady Aria.”

“But I heard she is a commoner.” It meant that she wouldn’t have given advice to the count’s business or might have fallen behind in getting information.

Lane thought so too at first, but it was different now. He felt that way especially at the dinner today.

‘The count seemed to have turned the accomplishments of Lady Aria to Lady Mielle for the sake of her external image.’

And Aria had acted casually as if she had known it.

‘Come to think of it, when the count talked about the fur business, he only said, ‘daughter,’ but he didn’t say an exact name!’

Lane had vaguely assumed that it was the same person because the count had bragged about Mielle subsequently, but he could not hear the exact name from the count. Because the Crown Prince had been looking for Mielle, of course, he had thought it was Mielle.

“Lady Aria, whom I met, was as graceful and intelligent as a noble since the beginning of time, and she was totally different from the rumor.”

Asterope was troubled by Lane’s repeated claims because Lane couldn’t talk nonsense unless he suddenly went crazy.

“I think it’s better for you to meet her in person

“Yes, it will be worth checking her out if you say so.”

No one had personally identified her name. The Crown Prince and his knight, Sorke, had only known her face. And the two had regarded her as Mielle simply under the circumstances that she would be the lady of the Roscent family without correctly identifying her face and name.

“How about this princess’s birthday party?”

“The princess’s birthday?”

“Yes. Lady Mielle has a relationship with Frederick’s eldest son, so I’m sure she will participate. I know it’s uncomfortable for you, but I think you should just show your face for a moment and check her out.”

The encounter with the princess was very awkward, but the only chance to assess her was at that moment because he could not visit the mansion of the Roscent family.

In any case, unlike the first time, he had been following the demands of the Aristocratic Party recently, and his visit would not cause any further suspicion. On the contrary, it was possible to make aristocrats lower their guards as he seemed to be seen to have succumbed to them already.

“All right, I’ll do that.”

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