THE VILLAINESS TURNS THE HOURGLASS

Chapter 140. Revenge (II), Part XII

"Emma, I can't help but ask you for your sins, even if she has evidence. I never thought you'd do anything like this, but... In any case, the sin of trying to harm the master will be great and you will not escape death. And Berry."

Berry shuddered loudly when her name was called.

"No matter what the reason might be, it is true that you have also done wrong, and you will have to pay for it."

"The Count...!"

She fluttered in the sentence and looked at Aria, the only one who could save her. Her stiff face was a mixture of disappointment, injustice, and betrayal.

'You don't have to worry about it. Isn't it natural to save you? If I betray Berry here, everything will come to nothing.'

Aria, who wiped away her tears from the eager gaze, pleaded for her to pardon her sins on her behalf.

"Father, I fully understand Berry's feelings. I would have done evil if my father and mother, Mielle, and Cain, were taken as a hostage. I'm sure everyone would do. Rather, I think it's the bad guy who abandons his or her family. Isn't that right, brother?"

Cain replied yes to Aria's sad face seeking an explanation.

"In addition, she hesitated several times, but I gave her permission to do so... I'm sure it was hard enough for her to die. I think that's why she was here. So, please... I don't want you to accuse Berry of..."

The Count gave a fake cough at the earnestness. The maids, who had already been on Aria's side for gifts and favors many times, admired her character.

"How sweet of her to be..."

"She is the one who tried to kill her..."

In the situation where Emma had come to commit all the sins alone, Mielle gave a sidelong scowl at Aria, and faced with this, Aria looked around and raised her mouth so that only she could recognize it.

'Why can't you come forward to relieve her of her sins? No! Emma's innocent! That's what I told her to do!'

But Mielle, whose most precious thing in the world was herself, couldn't do anything for Emma, who was cornered and couldn't find a hole to escape, and it was Emma alone who was eventually taken by the arriving guards.

* * *

"Dear Miss, ...Thank you very much. It's all thanks to you."

Berry, who had helped to add weight on Emma's sins with consistent lies, thanked Aria before she left. His hair was dragging on the ground when she bent her waist-deep.

"Be nice from now on. You're not given a chance twice."

Aria, who had said something disagreeable, answered, shaking off her dirty hair.

"Yes...! I didn't know who I really had to serve, and I have nothing to say for committing a serious crime..."

"It's a good thing you've regretted it now. Goodbye. I'll be relieved if you send me a letter to see if you're doing well."

As Aria said, "Don't stop personal ties in the future, she was thrilled to say that Berry nodded greatly.

"Yes! Yes! Miss! I will do that for sure! So... please stay healthy!"

Berry, who said goodbye to her, wiped her tears off and climbed into the wagon. The carriage set off as soon as she got up, having already set her destination. Aria turned and entered the mansion as she stared at the disappearing carriage. Annie, who had been staring at Berry all the time, asked Aria as if she could not understand.

"Miss, why did you forgive Berry? Wasn't Berry the same bitch as Emma?"

Jessie also nodded her consent. Aria smiled a deep smile and explained it kindly to her.

"Annie, the wicked are bound to pay for it, even if I don't have to punish her. God is watching us all."

Maybe they didn't understand what she meant, and Annie and Jessie cocked their heads. Aria climbed the stairs to her room, thinking 'You may never know it all your life.'

The wagon left and was heading in a completely different direction from the Kingdom of Croa where Berry would like to go. It was about a day after she left the capital that Berry noticed.

"Where, where am I? Why is it such a thick forest after a day...?"

About an hour after the driver stopped the carriage to check its surroundings, Berry, feeling strange, carefully went out of the carriage.

"...?!"

And when she checked out, the startled Berry sat down and uttered a silent groan. For somehow the driver and horse were gone, and only the body of the carriage lay in the woods.

"Oh, no...!"

She had been out of the capital for a whole day, but if it was a dense forest...!

It was clear that the forest of labyrinths had no end, even the emperor had given up. It was the forest that anyone could never escape without a compass and a ride. So nobody easily walked into the forest.

When she thought she had been abandoned there, Berry let out a strange groan, shedding tears in the fear of being pushed in and out. The cry of the beast seemed to be heard coming closer.

The only thing left for her, whose bag was stolen behind the carriage; was a carriage and a body that would soon break down after being attacked by the beasts.

* * *

A few days later.

"Miss, I got a letter from Berry who left."