7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life

Episode 8

Arnold has Rishe's number. That doesn't mean that she's less brilliant than she appears to be, or even less sneaky. Instead, it's a statement about how quickly and thoroughly Rishe has captured Arnold's attention, and how closely he's paying attention to everything she does. Rishe is a fascination for Arnold, an ever-changing kaleidoscope of a woman who defies most of his expectations of what she's “supposed” to be as she shifts from one realm of knowledge to another. Can he predict her reaction to being told he's buying her a ring? Yes, as he amply demonstrates. Could he reasonably expect that she'd ask for appraisal tools at the jeweler's? Sure. But even when she moves in the direction he expects, he can be sure that there's more going on that he can discover.

Theodore may have figured that out about his brother, although I daresay he underestimates just how focused on Rishe's antics Arnold is. His agreeing to help Rishe disguise herself as a boy to join the knight training is predicated on how funny he thinks it will be to help her trick Arnold, and while that's a very believable little brother thing to do, I have my suspicions that Arnold is already aware of what his fiancée is up to. Having Count Lawvine show up probably won't be the thing that reveals Rishe's antics to him.

But it doesn't matter, because he enjoys observing her and seeing how others do the same. Nothing shows this better than their date in town this week: Arnold says that he fully expected Rishe to show up in the linen dress she told Elsie she'd wear (out of his hearing), so when she shows up in a gorgeous walking dress with her hair all styled, he's pleasantly surprised. He also absolutely knows that Rishe had nothing to do with it, conveying his thanks to Elsie with his usual deadpan expression hiding what we can all guess is his total delight at how pretty Rishe looks. He only allows expressions to cross his face when no one is looking – his proud “that's my girl” look at the jeweler's and his truly terrifying jealous expression when Prince Kyle waxes eloquent over Rishe are both private expressions, emotions he doesn't mean to show to anyone else. He shows them because Rishe, Kyle, and the jeweler aren't paying attention to him, and this need to repress any displays of emotion is something we should keep in the back of our minds. There's still a question of what makes him snap and start killing in the other loops Rishe's experienced, and not being able to express his feelings may indicate the psychological roots of this.

Speaking of loops, it's interesting how Rishe's past keeps coming back to haunt her present. Previously she interacted with merchants from the first loop, and now it seems her experience as a scholar or apothecary in the country of Coyolles is returning. When she knew Prince Kyle, he was suffering from some sort of wasting disease, and we don't yet know if she was able to save him then. But we can guess that she found a cure which she has replicated in this latest loop. Preventing Kyle's death feels like something Rishe would be keen on, whether he perished of his illness or was killed in the war instead, and keeping Arnold from destroying Coyolles goes hand-in-hand with her desire to prevent him from becoming a warmonger. Arnold's jealousy over Kyle's rhapsodies where Rishe is concerned risks foiling that, but Rishe's not going to stop trying. She needs to get Count Lawvine on her side, presumably, and that's where she's hesitant.

How likely is it that Arnold doesn't know about her disguising herself to train? This may be the one case where Rishe is worrying about something that she doesn't need to.

Rating:

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.