The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

“May I ask your name?” Her green and lovely eyes that were visible through her mask, turned toward the lion’s eye.

“No.” Seeing Aria, who was escaping smoothly through the open door, the man smiled, saying, “It’s just like her.”

“Shall I follow?” It was the man, who had just imitated an employee. He was also the knight that had overpowered Aria’s knights in the general store.

Asher, who had taken off his lion mask, replied, “Yes. Help her get out of here safely.”

* * *

Asher heard the rumor of Aria when she visited the casino for the second time. The card roulette game was a game in which players hit only one card out of fifty-two cards, so the dividend was not high, but she won for three consecutive days.

She even won right away. The rumor reached Asher, the casino’s manager. Interested about how she won in a game that couldn’t be manipulated, Asher waited for the main character with the winning streak to appear at the casino.

Of course, until then, he didn’t know that Aria was the main character of the winning streak. But as soon as he faced a face covered by a mask, he could see who it was. No matter how much her face was covered by a mask, her green eyes, shiny blonde hair, and bewitching lips that did not match her age, were not so common.

“Diamond 8.”

He was ludicrously distracted by Aria’s face, who was mixed with the crowd and was betting the shiny chips. Her makeup and clothes that made her look like a grown-up matched so well that he forgot her real age and made a feigned smile.

So, in a moment of being distracted, he was unaware that Aria had already left and put her in danger. He hurried to help, but she almost got caught by the gamblers and got into trouble.

‘I don’t know why a lady of the Roscent family shovels up money from the casino, but she’s definitely scheming something.’

He wanted to have someone follow her, but he didn’t want to get misunderstood by doing so. A moment later, Sorke, the knight, who had followed Aria, returned.

“I checked the carriage to leave.”

“All right. What about Vika?”

“I think he has embraced one of the loyal dogs of the Aristocratic Party. I heard he’d like to come over for an inspection sometime today. He’ll probably arrive soon. By the way, do you really intend to dispose of the casino?”

“Yes.”

As Aria had said, Asher had decided to dispose of the casino. He had tried to take off the disadvantages of the casino and keep it, but he had thought it would be better to dispose of it now.

In the first place, it was a contradiction for the government to manage gambling and other entertainment facilities. The main agent that needed to regulate and eliminate it had been encouraging the people to do it and had tried to manage the casino. It would be better for him to endure a light stoning than struggle to avoid the violent aftermath because he was constantly being tested for his qualities by the Aristocratic Party, who persecuted the imperial power.

Soon after, Vika, who hid himself in the Aristocratic Party, brought someone and guided him through the casino, as Sorke had reported. It was Viscount Vigue, a close aide of the princess. He was known for his good business skills and for supporting a large sum of money to the princesses. It would cost a considerable sum of money to take over the casino, but seeing that he came straight to the casino without hesitation, the information seemed not to be false.

Viscount Vigue, who had seen the casino for a very long time, disappeared with a satisfied smile, and Vika also brought an answer that lived up to the expectation of Asher. Vika’s face was bright, as he handed the report.

“He indicated his intention that he would buy the casino in the near future. No matter how much Viscount Vigue has, he will need a route to raise money.”

“You told him to keep it a secret to the princess, didn’t you?”

“Yes. It’s obvious that the princess will object it. I requested it repeatedly.”

“All right. Don’t forget to deliver it well, so that we can attack their backs later.”

Asher intended to make Viscount Vigue take the same steps as Viscount Lupre, who had had human trafficking in the basement of the casino in the past. Viscount Vigue would not be engaged in human trafficking but would be in a way of those illegal ways to maximize profits, as they would tell him.

If the information was true, she would be damaged by a severe blow if they cut off Viscount Vigue from the princess. Count Roscent was supporting her, but as they were also working on the count’s business, it was clear that the cash cow would be cracked.

“Ah… As it turns out, the count’s warehouse was legal. That would be a bit of a headache.”

“Why?”

“It’s a very legal tax evasion scheme without any illegal things.”

“I think you explained it to me last time.”

“That’s right… If the count uses this method well, he could still import goods even if we block the trade route. It means that it can be solved, even if it may take a while.”

“Really?”

The papers in the hands of Asher were crumpled in a messy shape. Vika’s face and body crumpled. He read the countenance of Asher and shifted the blame to the wrong place.

“Who in the world gave the count such an idea? There’s no way for the count, who would have been busy with a new business, to come up with.”

It was Aria who had told the count about the warehouse. When Asher had first heard the story from Lane, he remembered that he had been so dumb that he had only laughed out. ‘What kind of study had Aria done? How could she come up with that idea even when she was young?’

When Asher raised his mouth by recalling Aria, who had haughtily disappeared saying that she would not give him her name, Vika, who misunderstood that Asher was feeling better for some reason, went overboard.

“Lane knows who he is, doesn’t he? I think I’ll feel better if I bring him in and beat him so that he’ll never say a word next to the count again.”

“… Now, who are you going to beat?”

As Asher got irritated by the words, Vika began to notice Asher’s countenance again. It was regrettable that he would rather sew his mouth shut to make it difficult to give an appropriate response.

“Any other reports?”

“Oh, no.”

“Get out of here. Take care of your duties.”

As Vika went out, Asher turned over the crumpled report in the silent office. Unfortunately, however, Vika’s report was not even noticeable. Only the image of Aria, who he had remembered, was only hanging around his eyes.

‘What the hell is she? Until two years ago, I heard that she was a commoner, so how is she smarter than adult aristocrats?’

The more he knew her, the more questions he had. No matter how much she had been educated in a short period of time, it was strange for her to use formal etiquette. So was the tone that seemed to have lasted for a very long time in the social world.

And the strangest thing was how to guess it so simply as if to read a card in the card roulette game. It was impossible without real magic.

‘Does she really have that kind of ability?’

He thought about it but soon shook his head to deny it. The reason was that if she had the ability to see through things, the card roulette game could be explained, but other things except that could not be.

‘Even she stood buff at the unidentified man she had never seen.’

She had behaved the same way at the first meeting and so was today. There had been times when she was tempted to play with a man, and she was ashamed as if it was the exact opposite, like someone else.

Vika’s report was crumpled again and rolled over the desk. A deep-seated Asher on the sofa closed his eyes. It was the first time in his life that he had ever had such a complex and unsolved person. And it was also the first time for someone to stay in his head and to not leave.

‘Shall I rather put her next to me?’

It wasn’t a bad idea. He might find out something if he put her next to him and observe her often. She had a good influence on himself, even now when he met her once in a while. As for this casino case, most of the exploits were Aria’s.