Isis Frederick

Isis Frederick, commonly referred to as Princess Isis, is a main character in the series “The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass.” She is the eldest child of Duke Frederick and the most prominent figure of the Aristocratic Fraction.

About
Isis is described as a young noble lady at the pinnacle of power, being immensely influential in noble society to the point where she is generally referred to as “Princess Isis” in reference to her near-certain engagement with Asterope Franz. In the original line of events, the Aristocratic Fraction was successful in pressuring the Crown Prince into entering a political marriage with her; as the Crown Princess, Isis is said to have been the true regent of the Empire, with the Imperial family being de facto powerless and the entirety of noble society being subservient to her. She was also the one to have organized Mielle Roscente’s engagement to her brother Oscar, giving her considerable power and influence in noble society and effectively rendering Aria powerless against her stepsister.

It can be argued that Isis serves as the true main antagonist of the series, being Mielle’s most influential benefactor as well as the person who encouraged Mielle in carrying out her schemes against Aria in the first place, telling Mielle to get rid of her and her mother because she thought they besmirched the name of the Count. As the head of the Aristocratic Fraction, she is also the main political opponent of Asher, who originally lost the struggle for power against her but, thanks to Aria’s advice, manages to hold his own and avoid critical mistakes (such as continuing to operate the casino under his watch). The Aristocratic Fraction is drastically weakened following the casino disaster, the Crown Prince cutting of trade with faraway provinces, and the rise of successful businesses under Aria’s watch that finally end up on Asher’s side.

As her influence dwindles over the course of the story, Isis begins to conspire to marry King Lohan Croa and overthrow the Imperial family, recruiting and housing large amounts of Croan soldiers in the estates of the Aristocratic Fraction; however, she is betrayed by Lohan, who is revealed to have been on the Crown Prince’s side all along, and the entire front row of the Aristocratic Fraction, including Isis, is executed for treason.

Appearance
Isis is a tall young woman with an appearance befitting of her prestigious position, wearing high-class jewelry (such as earrings) which makes her look decidedly regal. She has a slender build, wide shoulders, and golden eyes that resemble those of her brother. Like most noble ladies in the series, Isis has very pale skin, though her most noticeable physical attribute is her long black hair, which she keeps in a bun with distinctive shoulder braids on each side that frame her face and luxurious hair accessories. Her eyes and eyebrows are quite slanted and small, unlike those of her brother, leading her to appear much more villainous. Most prominently, Isis is seen using a multitude of fans throughout the series, which she employs in a variety of ways for the purposes of gesturing. In a manner reflective of her position in society, Isis wears long and extravagant clothes with particularly luxurious sleeves that are quite closely tied around the waist region.

Personality
Much like Asher, Isis is a twisted and calculating individual, caring about power and influence above anything else. Isis carries herself in a highly refined manner and is generally rather calm, rarely losing her composure and thinking first and foremost about the success of her plans. She is noted to be quite manipulative, arranging Oscar’s engagement to Mielle without his consent and pressuring Mielle to get rid of her stepsister and stepmother because they were inconveniences to her as the head of the Aristocratic Fraction. Isis also appears to be quite cold, tossing Mielle aside following the failure of her attempt to set up Aria as the one who injured the Count after figuring out she was no longer useful.

When her position at the pinnacle of power is weakened, however, Isis is shown to have a noticeably arrogant side, expressing extreme contempt for Aria as a prostitute’s daughter and showing highly supremacist attitudes towards those of common bearing. She feels a degree of entitlement to being the Crown Prince’s consort after having been raised as the daughter of the most powerful noble in the country and quickly starts seeking connections with monarchs of other countries in an attempt to increase her social standing upon finding out that Aria was likely to become the Crown Princess of the Empire. Isis is shown to be afraid of not living up to the expectations of her father as the eldest child of Duke Frederick, feeling responsible for the future of the house. This character trait is the ultimate source of her downfall at the end of the story, when she continues executing her plan despite realizing Lohan was likely not on her side upon seeing there was no way to go back without damaging her family’s reputation.

Oscar Frederick
Oscar is portrayed as being highly obedient towards and even afraid of his sister, revealing her to be much more influential than him in spite of his status as the family heir. Isis, in turn, appears to view him as rather naive and foolish, dismissing his wishes (such as wanting to get engaged to Aria rather than Mielle) under the pretext of him not being mature enough to know what is good for him and the Frederick family as a whole. Nevertheless, Isis appears to sincerely care for her little brother, as shown by her smiling brightly directly ahead of her execution after finding out he will walk out of the affair without any punishment.

Asterope Franz
Isis does not think highly of the Crown Prince, viewing him as a mere tool to achieve her goals. Although cordial and respectful in formal exchanges with each other, this side of their relationship is shown to be a façade; the two of them, being the leaders of their respective fractions, have, in reality, been scheming against each other on a political level for years. She considers him to be beneath her and is noticeably surprised upon hearing of Asher’s wise decision to sell off the casino, suggesting that she does not think of him as being particularly intelligent either. Whilst originally quite wary of and respectful towards Isis as the mastermind of the Aristocratic Fraction, after gaining the upper hand, Asher seems quite dismissive of Isis as well, openly calling her delusional and feeling disappointed in himself for falling for her plans in the first place.

Aria Roscente
Isis is quite resentful of Aria, losing her composure for the first time in the series in relation to her and even fainting upon hearing about Aria’s relationship with Asher. Count Roscente’s plans to marry Carin Roscente are shown to have upset Isis, asking Mielle and Cain to prevent their marriage but ultimately failing. Initially merely viewing Aria unfavorably due to her origins at the bottom of the social hierarchy, Isis grows more and more distasteful towards her after hearing of Aria’s success, calling her achievements into question and asserting that their (referring to prostitutes in general) whole breed are supposedly parasites with only a talent for seducing men. Aria’s view of Isis, on the other hand, is only given sparse information on; when Isis begins playing a major role in the story, Aria seems to be quite afraid of her, even thinking that all her efforts to ruin Mielle might have been futile because of Isis’ status as Mielle’s benefactor. After gaining power and influence, however, Isis doesn’t seem to occupy much of Aria’s mind, with her attention being directed instead towards her goal of destroying the reputation of her stepsister.

Mielle Roscente
In the original line of events, Mielle and Isis were important allies. Isis was happy to support Mielle, figuring that connecting the duchy to the wealthiest family in the country would be beneficial to her family. Mielle, on the other hand, was madly in love with Oscar and saw the opportunity to raise her status and become the second most influential noble lady in the Empire after Isis herself as Duchess Frederick, leading her to be immensely loyal to Isis and perfectly play the role of her pawn. In the revised timeline, however, Mielle and Isis grow increasingly distrustful of each other; after Mielle’s failed attempt to frame Aria as the murderer of Count Roscente and the subsequent decline of her reputation, Isis attempts to toss Mielle aside, which Mielle responds to by threatening to publicize letters outlining the Fredericks’ plan to overthrow the Imperial family. The two of them enter a reluctant alliance as Isis prepares to marry King Lohan Croa, with Isis ridiculing Mielle for her talk about the Crown Prince’s special ability and Mielle using the first available opportunity to consolidate her standing independently of Isis. By the time they are in prison together, their relationship has become openly antagonistic.