Aster stroked her long ebony hair with her slender fingers while staring directly at the mirror. She unties the red ribbon that has been fastened to her hair all day long.

Her braided hair flowed gracefully after the ribbon has been pulled off. Nonetheless, Aster didn't see herself lovely enough to compare with her older sisters. She even didn't have the courage to compare herself with another noble lady. They're just so elegantly and carefully made while Aster...

Was totally plain as day.

As if God just have randomly and unknowingly created her without having single care about how her face would be.

Or maybe God has mistakenly chosen a wrong face for Aster.

Aster let out a heavy sigh. She gazed into her reflection then thought deeply.

That's may be the case. Her heart murmured.

Well, look at her image now. Her hair was pitch black, a contrast from her parent's platinum blonde hair. Meanwhile, her eyes... it's bloody red and might be glowing through even in the darkest night. Surely she must be looking like a vampire if she went out to the forest. Aster's older sisters possess gleaming amethyst eyes and Aster should have it too. Sadly, she didn't have any of it.

To conclude it, the Cirilla duchy often has platinum blonde hair and amethyst eyes for tradition. And the worst thing was, Aster the only person who had black hair and red eyes other than Demon Lord. It was distasteful.

Clearly, it was. Who wants to have the same appearance as the murderous Demon Lord? Aster sighed.

Aster touched her pale complexion. It's inevitably become worse day by day. It seems paler and paler that even her lips came to be colorless. There's no tint of flush on her cheeks.

Aster clutched her head, fed up. She must originally from a vampire lineage. If that's not the case, why she appears different from everyone else? Aster opened her mouth and checked if her teeth have some unnecessary growing canine teeth.

A sigh of relief slips out from her mouth. She glads her teeth were still the same as everyone else.

Aster stood up and walked away from the mirror, didn't want to get dishearten more than this by peering her reflection in the mirror.

She pulled off the curtains that have been closing the sliding door. The vague view of the forest hooks her eyes. Well, there's clearly nothing fascinating to look at. The forest at night was murky and all you can see were the gigantic trees stood tall there.

Aster's room was placed at the end of the house, near the forest. When she wanted to get fresh air from the gazebo, what she always watched was the wood.

It would get frightening at the first glance. But somehow, Aster found peace by just watching the tree's leaves swayed and danced blew by the night air.

Watching the forest reminds her of herself. There were many resemblances between Aster and the greenwood.  They're disturbing, rustic and there's no one who wished to look at them. They kept people away from them because of their creepy appearance. 

Aster opened the glass door. A gushed of wind blew her straight to the face. Looks like the wind also didn't like her to come out. Aster didn't want to care for it anyway.

She stood near the fence and gazed deeply into the greenery. All of a sudden, something... no, someone showed up in her mind.

It's a man with a slender and sturdy figure. He had a caramel brown hair and a pair of olive green eyes. The sincere smile of the man while looking at her always gives her a heart attack. He's the fifth prince of the Magnolia Empire and had been notable because of his remarkable magic power in the whole empire.

Aster's cheek flushed all of a sudden when realized how she unawarely thinks about the man. The man that has been called as her fiance.

Surprisingly, even Aster had this plain figure, her fiance still would look at her and gave her a  bright soothing smile.

And for the first time, Aster Cirilla heard someone truly complimented her as charming and loveable. There's no one who would understand how much the words flutters her heart.

Aster's lips painted a broad smile across her cheeks then unexpectedly let out a soft chuckled.

"Prince Arvin," whispers Aster with a love-struck in her ruddy eyes.

Aster Cirilla had now fallen in love!

There's nothing wrong with it right? As Prince Arvin and I were officially engaged to each other. Muttered Aster while looking intently at the forest.

Without Aster realizing,  someone was staring at her behind the tree leaves. He just there sat leisurely on the tree trunks.

"Well, I'll just keep silent and see how it'll go." He muttered with a curious smile.

And with just a second, he disappeared into thin air, leaving the so-called pathetic villainess alone on the gazebo.

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"Arvin, you'll be betrothed with the youngest daughter of Duke Cirilla, Lady Aster."

The announcement made by the Emperor Euclid a month ago struck Arvin damn hard. Betrothed?

Arvin honestly had no problem with his current fiance, Aster Cirilla even though she was infamously known as a pathetic villainess among the nobles.

But he didn't want anything to do with love for now. He's busy with his work life as a master of an influential magic tower. He didn't have the time to spend with his fiance due to his overload works.

"Lady Aster Cirilla." He spurted out his official fiance's name.

Arvin knows very well why the emperor insisted him to engage with Aster. It was because Arvin was the only one suitable for the role. He's the powerful magician of all continents, not to mention.

Aster had almost the same appearance as the Demon Lord and clearly, there's no one who's willing to take Aster as a life partner. And people also saw her as a threat to the empire.

The people may think that if Aster went berserk, Arvin definitely has the power to stop her.

"Lady Aster didn't have any enough mana to spark a fire! Just why they would judge her by her looks?" groaned Arvin, disappointed.

He's pitying Aster, that's why he treats her equally and fairly. Aster was not a bad woman and Arvin can notice it as clear as day. She may have a cold face, but to speak of, she's just nice as a noble lady.

When Arvin cheered her on the first day they met, her face would completely change and her eyes look like she's gonna cry from astonishment.

What a poor fate for a noble lady. But still, Arvin didn't harbor any affection towards Aster. They may be a good companion in the future and that's it. Arvin didn't think any further than that.

The fifth prince let out a heavy sigh. Arvin stretched his body and laid his torso on the comfy seat.

Thankfully, the Demon Lord this time was quite humanly or maybe he purely didn't want anything to do with the human tribe. Thus, Magnolia Empire had signed a peace treaty with the Demon Lord. Both sides agreed that they would never attack each other for a hundred years.

And the one who successfully made the agreement was the master of the magic tower, Prince Arvin himself.

Yet still, there's some who couldn't make themselves agreed to any of these. They said, it's absurd and the Demon Lord will deny the peace treaty in the future and so on.

They're just so irritable, Arvin almost had enough of them. Some of the demons also made a rampage due to the Demon Lord's decision. That matters would be solved by the Demon Lord itself.

How about I just smacked them all up? A cheerful voice came up out of nowhere. Arvin gasped when the voice abruptly came to his mind.

"Aeolus, don't just suddenly interrupting and read my mind. Respect my privacy." Arvin voiced out his dissatisfaction with a stern tone.

Aeolus laughed heartily. It's your fault who can't detect my presence, Your Highness. Your magic still not sufficient, I see. Sneered Aeolus, laughing hard when Arvin started to scowl.

Aeolus appeared just right behind Arvin, hugged him then utter something to the prince's ear.

"You're still much weaker than me, don't you think, Arvin?" A wide grin formed across his cheeks.

Arvin snapped Aeolus and thumped him hard on his desk. Arvin glared at him furiously.

"Stop coming from behind and hugged me just to whisper something unnecessary!"

Aeolus startled for a while before letting out a giggle.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I should be extra polite with you, Your Highness." Aeolus surrendered. He's vanished from the grasp of Arvin before stood right in front of the prince in a graceful manner.

"You're really a wild dog, don't you, Aeolus?"

"Hahaha... I'm not wild. I'm just a carefree spirit whose come to make your day brighter, Your Highness." Aelous bowed down with his right hand on his chest.

Arvin sighed. "I'm now regretting the fact that I've taken you to be my dog. And why would you be, again?" asked Arvin, somewhat curious with the intention of Aeolus offered himself to be his dog.

Aeolus flashed a broad smile. "Because... it's interesting? I've no other reason. Your Highness existence itself has piqued my interest." Aeolus shrugged his shoulder. He walked towards the sofa and laid there.

Arvin shut his mouth. He peeked at Aeolus laughing by himself again. Aeolus was truly a mysterious person... no, spirit. Arvin didn't know a thing about Aeolus other than his name and he's a spirit. Ah, not to forget, his ridiculously powerful magic power. Even Arvin doubt his magic power would be on par with Aeolus.

When he interrogated him, Aeolus kept around the bush. At times, Arvin would provoke him, but that would never work on Aeolus. Instead, Arvin would be the one who gets provoked.

Aeolus constantly retorted that he's just a wandering spirit, strived to find entertainment in this monotonous world.

At first, Arvin would get on wary with Aeolus since communicating directly with the spirit was totally uncommon. And the spirit also unexpectedly offered himself to be his dog and stay loyal with him for no absolute reason. Isn't that just doubtful?

"No need to worry. I'm here not as a threat. I'm just wanted to find a place to escape. Let me be your dog and I stay devoted to you permanently." That's what he said a year ago with a serious face.

Just who are you, Aeolus?

That's a question Arvin never gets an answer with.

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Aeolus stared at the glistening chandelier on the ceiling while laying down on the cozy red sofa.

All of a sudden, someone showed up on his mind. That, someone, was Lady Aster Cirilla. The well-known poignant villainess lady that had been betrothed to Prince Arvin.

She's really famous with that nickname even in my previous life. Kinda unfortunate. Aeolus murmured heartlessly.

Yes, Aeolus was a reincarnator and lived as a Japanese in his previous life. He's worked as a prominent and professional beautician. His life was perfect. He's a wealthy man with a handsome face and loved by all.

Then on one fateful day, his coworker came to him and started to tell him about the otome game he's playing. Aeolus in a past life was bored that day, so he spends his precious time hearing all the stories until the end. Such patience for the past him who easily gets bored.

And at the end of the storytelling, he started to curse some gibberish.

"What's with that? Plain villainess? Are you serious? The author must want everyone to look at the villainess as pathetic too. And love at the first sight? How can something ridiculous even exist? Are you waste your fucking time on this damn rubbish game all this time?" The past him surely had a sharp tongue. And he's now too.

And that's maybe the reason people called karma was a bitch. Karma was really a bitch. Right after he criticizes the absurdity of the plot of the Otome game, he's got an accident with a truck while driving his car to go back home.

Ironically, he's now reincarnated as a hidden character and one of the main interest on the game that he's not even cared what the name was. Every weeb in the world must be jealous of him.

Luckily, he still remembered all the detail of the event in the otome game that had been told to him.

I regretting my action when I scold you, my coworker. I didn't want to admit it, but I really owe you.

Aeolus started giggling at his own stupidity at that time. Well, playing an otome game, was still a waste of time for him, but being in the otome game itself was thrilling.

Based on Aeolus's calculation, in the three months period, the heroine would make her very first appearance.

The opening event took place in the garden castle. That was the time, Arvin brought Aster to an evening date. They encountered the lost heroine when they take a walk in the garden.

In the game, the heroine was stated as a lady who has no sense of direction. Their first meeting was enough to make Prince Arvin captivated by the heroine's charm.

Aeolus didn't know the exact reason why Arvin would instantly fall in love with the heroine but he thinks, it must because of her unparalleled beauty. Or should he say a first sight love?

That was cringe. Are you gonna fall in love just because she was a beauty? Never now that you're this nasty, Arvin. Aeolus muttered in his heart. He takes a glimpse of Arvin on his seat.

Arvin didn't look like a type of man that would easily fall in love with an unknown woman.

"Ah~ What do you expect? That was the plot." Aeolus spurted out, sighed loudly.

In the first place, this was a world of fantasy yet it was a reality at the same time. It was created this way. Arvin was the hero and he's destined to fall head over heels with the heroine and eventually cast aside the pathetic villainess away.

And that's when the villainess would start to harass and tormented the heroine to resolve the raging jealousy rooted in her heart.

Aeolus's unconscious mind recalled Aster's face last night. The face shown was a maiden who purely had a love-struck.

Being a villainess, falling in love with her own fiance was an enormous crime. A maiden started to turn into a rampaging beast. Aster was determined to make Arvin her own. Love now whirled into an obsession.

Aster in the future would do anything to gain Arvin's love and attention. She would go as far as to beg assistance from the Demon Lord to banish the heroine.

But her plan failed because the Demon Lord had made a peace treaty with the Magnolia Empire. The Demon Lord also busted out  Aster's wicked plan to Arvin.

Prince Arvin was portrayed as a kind and big-hearted prince. He would not have the heart to kill Aster and the heroine also had forgiven the villainess and decided the retribution for Aster was she will just be ripped off from her title as a noble and that's it.

And there's were so many series of Aster's unholy scheme towards the heroine. Hard to believe the past Aeolus would patiently listening to them until the end but thankfully, he had.

Arvin may have the same feelings as Aeolus now towards Aster.

Pity.

Sympathy.

"Hmm... Arvin."

"Yes?" Arvin replied, his eyes were still fixated on his paperwork.

"What do you think about your fiance?"

Arvin stopped for a while before he stared at Aeolus. His expression was enough to tell Aeolus what's in his mind.

"I'm just asking. Is she plain and pathetic as the rumors said? Or was she beautiful?"

"I don't know. Beautiful is widely subjective. But what I can say is, she's just too pale and skinny for a young noble lady. And her sense of choosing a dress is not... ehem... as impressive as I thought?" Arvin coughed a little,  feeling guilty for being too honest.

Aeolus nodded. He forged a smile. He just found something intriguing to do.

"I want to get some fresh air."

"Yes, you better go away." Arvin agreed eagerly, made Aeolus pouted as a response.

"I will surely come back!"

With those last words, Aeolus perished into thin air.

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