The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Chapter 93. Asterope Franz, Part X

Translator: Khan

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

Step by step, she was very cautious. It was because the stairs were narrow. It wasn’t deep, but if she took a wrong step, she felt like she would roll down the stairs. It was like a secret organization. She wondered why they needed to hold a meeting in such a hiding place.

As she went down to the bottom of the stairs, there was another small wooden door. The door opened with a grotesque sound as she turned the door, whether it was not locked.

She had been expecting a little that something special might wait for her, but inside was a normal room with a large table, a few chairs, and a few men who had already gathered. There were glasses of water on the table in numbers.

“You’re here.”

Asher, who was located at the innermost side, stood up in delight. Then all eyes fell on Aria. Aria could find two familiar men in those eyes.

‘One is Lane, the other one is… the knight I saw in the general store…’

They all were in plain clothes, whether it was a success for her to choose plain clothes. Black was the most common color, and although there were colors, most of them were dark colors such as gray. Aria, who closed the door and went inside, took off her hat, greeted them with full attention.

“I’m Aria. It’s my first time participating and I don’t know much about this meeting, so I look forward to have a favor for all of you.”

There was no need to let them know her surname. That was one of the warnings that Asher had given her. Asher had also added an explanation that there would be only discussed knowledge here, without their family and status.

“Welcome.”

“It’s always fun to welcome a new person.”

They all welcomed Aria with happy faces, without considering sex and age. As expected, those were the right people chosen by Asher, who had told her to join the gathering.

“It’s been a long time, Lady Aria. Please sit here.”

The seat Lane pointed was next to him. It was also the opposite side of Asher. When Aria sat down, the participants revealed their names.

One of the men had a good acquaintance with her in the past, and he had been in a leader group in the Aristocratic Party. She remembered that she had often attended parties and formed friendships with a lot of nobles. In addition, she remembered that he had not been interested in her at all in the past.

“Then, let’s start straight.”

In reminiscing about the past, Asher announced the beginning of the meeting. After the start of the meeting, he did not use honorific language to anyone but Aria, even though everyone but him used honorific language.

‘He can’t be a son of the family of the Duke of Frederick, and he can’t be a man of the family of the Marquis of Vincent. What the hell is Asher’s identity?’

“If they end up with a proper entertainment, they would have no problem at all, but that doesn’t work, so closure is the answer.”

“We can’t shut it down unconditionally. Do you know how much tax we can earn from the casino?”

“I agree. Moreover, rumors have spread that the Crown Prince has direct management, and I know that other countries are also interested in that. Maybe it’s a great opportunity to attract aristocrats from other countries.”

Unexpectedly, the topic was the casino. It was a topic that she had talked about in the past with Mielle and Lane.

‘Asher might have chosen the topic on purpose because he knew that I’m coming…?’

Aria looked around Lane sitting next to her while she was listening to the conversation. He only took part in the conversation and didn’t care about Aria.

“Closing a legal casino could lead to illegal gambling. Stopping it unconditionally is not the solution.”

He was right. In the future, casinos would be in the process of shutting down after a horse was injured during a race, and people who had been crazy about casinos would gather and illegal gambling would take place everywhere. And since it happened in the dark area, drugs would be traded along with gambling, and all this would go to the Crown Prince’s responsibility for failing to run the casino properly.

“Do you have any other options, then?”

“… at this point, I can only think of putting a limit on the amount they can bet.”

That was what Mielle had said before.

“What restrictions would you put on everyone who has different assets?”

Lane asked back. It was a question Aria had asked for the stupid Mielle. Lane blinked his one eye at Aria. It seemed to mean sorry for borrowing her thought.

“Why don’t we set a limit according to their income?”

“I think it’s a good idea, too.”

No, it hadn’t been. Even so, illegal gambling had happened anyway. That was because people who had been crazy in the casino hadn’t been bound by the place. They had just dreamed of earning a big fortune by risking their own money.

The story of casinos was directed to put restrictions on their income. It seemed foolish to suggest restrictions, even citing detailed income. ‘Why are they so short-sighted even if they must be intelligent people with high learning?’ They seemed to be trying to save the casino somehow, even though they were aware of the shortcomings.

‘Is it because I know the future…?’

It might be because she knew the worst future and that they were all useless in that way. Aria, who had delivered a fine glare, was watched by Asher. Aria also looked at Asher, who was not participating in the debate after announcing the start.

As their eyes met, he smiled raising his mouth up. The figure seemed to laugh at her for not saying anything even if she had an opinion. However, it couldn’t be possible, in fact.

“I don’t think so.” That was why. She felt as if she was being rushed by Asher, so she opened her mouth. The clear, transparent voice that sounded within the space drew attention in a flash.

‘Yes, I can turn over the hourglass, if it is needed.’

So they would not happen if I would be put to shame. Aria spoke her opinion, fiddling with the hourglass box on her lap.

“No matter what method we devise, we will have a bad name as the casino business has failed. And so does the Crown Prince.”

As she suddenly splashed cold water, their faces became strange. A pause followed, and it was Lane who broke it and asked a question, and who had had a similar conversation with her.

“Do you mean, then, we have to shut it down?”

“That’s what I think. If we put restrictions, those who are bounded with the restrictions will put a hand on illegal gambling, and as those kinds of people increase, the dark things will also be activated.”

“That’s quite possible. There was such an opinion before. But even if we shut it down right now, we’ll hear that the Crown Prince didn’t manage the casino well.”

‘Why do you have to pay attention to that? This is a gathering of noble leaders, so why do you think of the Crown Prince’s honor? Isn’t it as if the party of the Crown Prince is devising a way not to give any damage to the Crown Prince?’

There was only one way if they thought about the honor of the Crown Prince.

“This is a matter we have to think about the honor of the Crown Prince. Then we’ll have to hand over the bomb to the enemy. It’s obvious it’s going to explode someday.”

Even though she only said that, all the people gathered understood what Aria was trying to say.

“… Do you mean to hand it over to the Aristocratic Party?”

“Yes, even if it’s legal, gambling is gambling. It destroys the mind of the addicted and messes up their life. There’s always a victim in the business of investing money and extracting it. Then it’s best to hand it over to someone else.”

“But if we do, there will be a scandal that the Crown Prince did not manage it well.”

“Wouldn’t it be better than a scandal that ruined the country? And when the side effects occur in the future, we can pass all responsibility to the Aristocratic Party.”

Aria replied, shrugging her shoulders. When she saw the expressions of their faces, she didn’t have to use the hourglass.

“… you mean that whatever we do, we’ll be blamed, so we get blamed at the beginning for a short time, we have to avoid any more blame, after passing all responsibility to them.”

Lane asked back with a blank face.

“Yes, I mean, it’s better to hand over the business with a reason than to be suspicious of the Crown Prince’s ability after it’s ruined.”

The second option was better than the worst. It was better for the Crown Prince. Of course, there were a lot of counterarguments from some of them.

“I think it’s a little premature to make such a decision without doing anything.”

“That’s right. If we said so, then the Crown Prince…!”

“Stop.”