The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Since there was no reason to remain, there was a positive expression on Carin’s face, too. Chloe, watching it, held out his hand to her, as if he were considering her to grab his hand and to get up.

As it had not been a long time after her divorce, she did not grab his hand easily with hesitation. Somehow, she was wary of Aria.

‘How can I object as he reaches out to my mother with a friendly face?’ When Aria got up and pretended not to know and to trim her dress, and then Carin stood up, taking Chloe’s hand.

Aria was about to leave the execution square, but Mielle, who was taken by the knights’ strong hands and dragged to the prisoner’s wagon, shouted in a hurry,

“Uh, sister! Sister! You must take me, too!”

It was because Aria had not mentioned anything. Mielle needed Aria’s help as she could go out of prison when she was accompanied by the petitioner who had submitted the petition.

At the urgent voice, Aria slowly turned her head. She looked surprised as if she hadn’t thought about it.

“Mielle.”

“Sister!” said Mielle, as if excited to hear her name, and she seemed to think that she could get away from this terrible hell. But unlike Mielle’s expectations, Aria could not get her out.

“I’m sorry. I’m not the one who filed the petition.”

“… yes?”

Mielle stiffened at that, and she looked asking what she meant.

What if it wasn’t Aria who submitted the petition? Whether it was unexpected for Carin, Lohan, and Asher who was a little further away, all looked forward to Aria’s next words.

“Of course, it was me who asked to write it, but… I didn’t have time to write it myself, so she sent the petition under her name because I didn’t write it. So you’ll have to ask her, not me.”

‘She? Who the hell is that?’ With the nervous look, Mielle asked, and Aria smiled softly and answered, “I’ll tell her to pick you up as soon as I get back, and don’t worry.”

But Mielle’s anxiety was aggravated when Aria said that she had to wait for a moment instead of giving the exact name. ‘Who the hell is she?’ She was about to ask again, but Cain, who was next to her, asked something else earlier.

“I heard that my father was a widower. What the hell happened?”

He seemed to mind the strange explanation to the Count all along. They wouldn’t use the word widower to a man with a wife. He asked Aria, but the answer was replaced by Carin.

“That’s a foolish question, Cain. You know that your family lost the property as well as the title, because of you. If I hadn’t divorced him, your whole family would have been the street tramps, instead of arranging a lawyer to you.”

“…!”

“Didn’t you see other sinners die without a lawyer? Reflect on your behavior before you worry about the Count.”

He didn’t know that it was the result of divorce, and Cain, who had been shocked and speechless for a while, asked again,

“… then, what happened to our father now? Are you only divorced in form, and are you with him?”

Cain asked so as if he wanted that, but Carin responded with a little displeasure as if she had heard some nonsense.

“How can a man and a woman who are not married live together?”

“Then, where is he? Where is he?”

“Don’t worry because he’s in a safe place. I’ve taken care of you who ignored me so much, and do you think that I threw him away? It was Aria who had cared about him, but Carin replied, emphasizing the favor to the Count.

Cain shut his mouth, when he had nothing to say, and Aria relieved him of his concern before leaving.

“You are now a servant of the Imperial Castle, so you can go out. Don’t worry, you can check it yourself because he gets along well.”

He couldn’t check it out now, but he nodded as if he thought that Aria, who had saved himself and Mielle, might not have left his father alone.

“Move.”

As Cain was talking to Aria, the knight couldn’t intervene, but as he confirmed that the conversation was over, he pushed the back of Cain.

Cain had to rejoice that he had been saved, but there were too many things to think of. Then, the brother and sister, who survived the execution, barely moved to the cold carriage again.

* * *

“Aren’t you the petitioner?”

“Yeah. I’m not.”

Carin asked Aria in the carriage back to the mansion.

“Then, who the hell is she? No, why did you do that?” Carin had a puzzled face because she had thought Aria would carry Mielle by herself.

Aria smiled pleasantly and replied, “I’m just going to do the same thing. It was the worst and most resentful thing.”

“The worst and the most resentful thing…? Are you talking about the last thing? Do you meant that Mielle framed you?”

It seemed to mean the incident that Mielle had pushed the Count from the stairs. Anyone who would know the nature of Aria and the whole story of the incident would naturally think that she would take revenge.

Aria gave an ambiguous answer that was neither positive nor negative. “Well, maybe.”

“Whew, do you make me so frustrating?”

“You didn’t even tell me everything. You’ll soon find out, and don’t worry.”

“You didn’t tell me what to do with Cain…”

Carin glanced at Aria whether she felt sorry, as Aria was doing many things alone without telling her anything.

But to start the explanation, Aria had to start by saying that her head had been beheaded and she had turned back the time, and of course she couldn’t explain it. Because of that, Aria just laughed and evaded the answer, Carin’s eyes became bitter.

“You also have something to hide from me, and don’t be too hard on me.”

‘Like right now.’ When she mentioned Chloe, heading to the mansion in Lohan’s carriage, Carin closed her mouth, realizing that she also had something to hide.

They were able to reach the mansion shortly, likewise, they had gone to the square. Naturally, the servants of the mansion, who thought that only Carin and Aria would return home, found out two more carriages decorated brilliantly, entering the mansion, and politely greeted them in astonishment.

“What a beautiful mansion this is! You have a very good eye.” Asher purely admired, and Lohan agreed. “Well, it’s enough to meet the Crown Prince and the king. The servants are good too.”

The servants opened their eyes wide, pretended to be calm, and thought to themselves. ‘I know the Crown Prince as I saw him a few times, but the king?’ But because they couldn’t ask, and there was no one to give an answer, they hid their frustrations and served them sincerely. It was clear that Annie, the informant, would ask Aria and bring the answer.

The attendants quickly served them the carefully prepared tea and fruits, and despite the fact that the visitors were the Crown Prince and the king, Carin was confident to guide them to the parlor.

“… I’m so glad that you live well.”

So Carin, Aria, Asher, Lohan, and Chloe sat in the parlor, drinking tea, and Chloe first spoke to Carin. He was sincerely happy that she lived well.

Carin replied with a cold face. “Every time you meet me, you say that.”

“I was really worried. There were so many unexpected things that I couldn’t go…”

“I didn’t expect. There were not a few men who said the same thing as Mr. Chloe.”

In response to the guilty Chloe, Carin said as if she didn’t expect it at all. But her shaking eyes proved that her answer was false.

Of course, there were many men who had spoken the same words as Chloe, even if they had used both hands and feet, but there had been no man who had promised the future by expressing with his whole body that she was so adorable. She couldn’t guarantee it because it had been so long and old, but she might have expected it a bit. Except for him, others had only enjoyed the situation.

“Let’s stop the introduction, but get to the point quickly.”

They’d already talked through letters several times, and they acted as if they met again in a few years, and Lohan got angry.

“Mr. Lohan, why don’t you go to another room? You don’t have to be here.”

When Aria said that it would be better for Lohan to leave now, he was frustrated and replied with a very sad face,

“… you don’t know how much I’ve played a major role in this. Think about it, Lady Aria. Who brought Marquis Piast and his son, Chloe?”