The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

The abominable sight deepened Mielle’s anger, and her arms were strongly tightened by the knights. Aria raised the corners of her mouth as if to make fun of her. It was in Mielle’s eyes and she was struggling.

-Slap!

Suddenly, the pain was felt in her cheek, and her vision changed in an instant. And there was silence in the hall which was noisy with the severe struggle of Mielle.

She did not know that was happening. As she slowly turned her head back to the other side, she saw Aria, who opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her palms, as if she was truly surprised.

“If you make any more fuss, I’ll put you in the Imperial Underground Prison.”

It was the Crown Prince who uttered a warning recitation. As if he had touched something dirty, he shook his hand and strode forward.

“Oh, my God, look at that swollen cheek…!”

Left behind Annie’s mocking remarks, Mielle was dragged away in embarrassment. Shock, fear, and confusion of the first violence caused to stop Mielle’s thinking.

The interrogation was supposed to be done in the lounge, and she faced servants and maids of the mansion several times as she passed the hall and stairs to the lounge. They all glanced at Mielle’s red, swollen cheek with astonishment. Unlike when dealing with Aria, the cold Crown Prince’s walking also caused questions for them.

“…!”

As soon as she reached the lounge, Cain stood in front of the lounge as if he had been waiting. Cain looked at his sister’s cheek for a long time, apparently surprised by Mielle’s poor appearance.

Asher described the situation with a light smile. “She didn’t follow the directions, making a fuss. She dared to run into the victim, Lady Aria. She still seems to have no sense of guilt. The detention in the mansion seems more comfortable than I thought.”

Cain, who hesitated for a moment at the words, turned his gaze away from Mielle.

“… Please come in.”

The expression of Cain who answered like that was very complicated. It was close to the expression that he wanted to get angry, but couldn’t. Asher looked at Cain as if he looked at Mielle, and he soon turned to the lounge and entered the parlor.

“Brother…!”

Mielle, who was dragged behind him, called Cain anxiously, but he could not give Mielle any answer.

In the parlor where the door was closed, there were two knights, Asher, and Mielle, and an unknown nobleman. On the table lay refreshments prepared in advance by servants at Cain’s instruction. Asher looked over the document handed by the nobleman, with a bothered face, and took one of them into his mouth.

“You’re not the young adults, but the young ladies who are still underage, and you took hallucinogens… It’s pretty shocking.”

“Well, I…!”

When Mielle tried to make an excuse at the words of Asher, the knights holding her arms gave their strength. It seemed to mean that she should not make an excuse until the Crown Prince himself asked questions. ‘I’m trying to say no, but I can’t even bring it up!’ Mielle was so bitter and resentful about the whole thing.

“How many ladies took hallucinogens except you?”

In fact, he did not check whether or not it was true, but he was convinced that they had taken hallucinogens, and when asked on the premise of it, Mielle shook her head vigorously and denied it.

“No one really took any hallucinogens…!”

“Really?”

The expression of Asher, asking again, was very apathetic. It was as if he were listening to a useless story. The nobleman next to him did not seem to value much of Mielle’s answer.

“However, since there is no proof that it is not, you can’t prove it.”

“There’s no proof of that we did that, is there?”

Mielle was furious at Asher’s insistence, but it was soon denied by him.

“There is.”

“What? That’s ridiculous…!”

Asher recited her sins personally to Mielle, who was stuttering.

“You strongly insisted that you had seen Lady Aria that was not in the mansion at that time, and you wouldn’t make such an argument unless you had taken a hallucinogen. Actually, it was you who had pushed the Count.”

The nobleman replied affirmatively to the words of Asher,

“Maybe the hallucinogen ingredient was still in her body. Maybe she hid it in her room and took it.”

“There’s a point. Write it down like that.”

“Yes, Mr. Asterope.”

The nobleman began to write something on the papers at the instruction of Asher. He seemed to write that Mielle had not yet escaped the hallucinogen.

She began to struggle in response, “Well, that’s enough! Stop it! I really didn’t take any hallucinogens! It’s just your trust! Why don’t you listen to me? Why doesn’t anyone believe me…?!”

It was very sad to see her resisting with tears scattered over her eyes. It seemed genuinely unjust. If the investigator was not Asher, he would change his mind a little bit and might try to release the injustice.

“… Okay. I’ll forgive you if you tell the truth from now on. My heart aches when a young lady utters such a great pain. Is it true that you saw Lady Aria that day, really?”

Unexpectedly, he asked Mielle with a very serious face, whether it was the same as Asher. He looked as if he would give her a last chance.

‘That can’t be true.’ In addition, even the question was strange. ‘Of all the many questions, why would he ask about it again?’

Doubts sprang up. Aria’s lover, he couldn’t help herself. But it seemed to anyone that the current Asher would help Mielle. Mielle, who had hesitated a little, glanced sideways. There were two knights together, including the unknown nobleman, who had the potential to be witnesses if Asher would back out later.

Of course, if she were sane, she would have quickly realized that they would not be able to take her side, but now she was in a state of mental straits and was unable to think properly. Then she trusted Asher and began to confide in him.

“Oh, yes! I really saw her. She was in the room. I called her. My father was in the hallway, too.”

“Well, what did you mean you saw me?”

“That’s…”

She recalled the memory that she had shouted like that in the court, and Mielle, who hesitated for a while, nodded her head and said yes. She believed in Asher’s words that he would forgive her if she was honest with him.

“… I saw you suddenly appear and take my sister.”

“Gone like a vision?”

“That’s… Yes…”

“It looked like magic, didn’t it? I showed up at an important moment and took Lady Aria and disappeared.”

“… My God. That’s, that’s right! It looked magical! You’d really gone! I’d been wondering if I’d seen it wrong for a long time! But you also showed up at the place!”

Asher described the situation at that time with such accuracy as to be portrayed, and Mielle nodded her head in excessive affirmation. It was clear that he had appeared magically and taken Aria away.

‘Did he really move in space?’ It was a ridiculous assumption, but assuming so, all the puzzles fit. All he had to do was move through space to show up where he couldn’t get there on time!

‘If this fact is revealed, my sin will also disappear. The evidence will be useless. If so, I will regain the title of the saint, and the vulgar wicked woman will go back to being a wicked woman.’

While looking at Mielle, who smiled brightly with the thoughts, for a short while, Asher, who looked serious, smiled at the corners of his mouth. Mielle’s whole body stiffened to the look of mockery. ‘He’s been listening seriously for a while now, but what the hell is going on here?’

“I think the hallucinogen is right.”

The knights holding Mielle’s arms sighed at the nobleman’s words. It looked as if they regarded her words as the nonsense of a lunatic.

“Yes, that’s what I think. She did it last time, but I didn’t expect it again this time. Do you think it makes sense to tell me that I disappeared like smoke? I think she’s had it for a long time. Magic, that’s ridiculous.”

“It’s a terrible drug for such a young lady. I don’t know how many more nobles we’ll have to investigate.”

“For now, we should start investigating the young ladies who participated in the party. It’s true that she took a hallucinogen, so I don’t have to accompany you in the future. Investigate her thoroughly and find out where it came from.”

“Yes, I see. At this point, I’ll root it out thoroughly.”