The Villainess turns the Hourglass
chapter-18

The emblem of the empire was a tulip. It was not a complex shape, so it only took her two days to complete all six handkerchiefs. Aria didn’t need one herself, so she could have made five, but there was another person to whom she wanted to give it. That person was Mielle.

Aria gifted a handkerchief embroidered with the empire’s emblem to the girl who was entirely focused on learning embroidery.

“I can’t wait to see your handkerchief! Our father is definitely anxious with anticipation for it, so if he were to receive one, he would definitely show it off to everyone.”

Aria laughed innocently. The embroidery, neatly woven with fine thread, was beautiful. The red tulip was so vivid and beautiful that it looked like it was going to come out of the fabric at any moment. One of the maids leered at them from a distance, but she couldn’t hide her surprised face when Mielle bit her lip. It seemed that Mielle’s skills still hadn’t improved.

“If you’ve completed anything, may I take a look?”

“No! No, not yet…”

Mielle’s hand, which was clasping the handkerchief tightly, turned pale. With that much pressure, it was certain that she would be stumbling, lost in disappointment for a while. Lest Mielle regain her confidence and become determined, it was necessary to pressure her once in a while. But, if Aria were to pester her too much, it might cause Mielle to flip the table, like she had done in the past, so Aria had to adjust how far she pushed.

It would be great if she were to remain a fool until she died, but Mielle would soon mature and become wise. She was still young and, because there was no one who had shown hostility against her, she couldn’t handle this situation well, but if she were to get a good grasp of it, she would attack Aria with her sharp thorns.

Aria knew very well that that time was not far off. If it had been in the past, Mielle would have already assigned a maid to Aria, and the stupid Aria would have fallen into the trap where she was supposed to throw a water jug at Mielle.

‘You were a young but wicked girl! Of course, I was a worse bitch to have thrown that jug at you.’

Recalling that day, sweat coalesced on her hands and back.

That had been the beginning of her dark past. From that day forward, Aria’s life began to rot and ruin, and Mielle’s light, which was very bright, erased Aria’s existence.

That was why she needed to build a thorough foundation. It wasn’t a matter of simply pestering Mielle for some time. Though she had a great power in knowing the future, she needed more background knowledge and connections on top of that. She shouldn’t be content with just Sarah by her side.

Aria returned to her room, leaving a message to Mielle that it was a warm and pleasant day to go out, with the wish that Mielle would go out dressed in Oscar’s present.

Then, Jessie’s, she prepared to attend the tea party. Jessie’s face darkened when Aria picked the simplest clothes from the pile that she had bought the other day. Of course, choosing any other wasn’t really an improvement because the quality of the clothes was nearly the same, but Jessie’s face expressed that those weren’t it.

“Jessie, how is it?”

“… The clothes are a bit simple, but they are neat and go well with you,” Jessie replied, fixing Aria’s collar.

The light pink dress with only a simple frill on the chest, sleeves, and bottom, was plain enough to make her look like a commoner. If not for the fancy, handmade shoes, the wrinkled ribbon on the neck, and the flower-shaped accessories on her head, she would have.

Nevertheless, Aria was very fond of her dress. ‘How pitiful do I look!’ No one would think her a count’s daughter if they saw her that way. Perhaps as soon as she got off the wagon, looks of pity would shower over her.

“Simple things look good on me… Does that mean my humble origins make these a good match?”

“No, no, of course not! Your face is so pretty that you look good in whatever you wear. That’s what I meant…”

Aria said she had just been joking, but Jessie waved her hand in desperation while she came up with an excuse for her words. It was so funny that Aria giggled, causing Jessie to blush. Jessie, not knowing what to do, cautiously assessed the situation. Aria let her be since she had no malice or hostility towards Jessie, in addition to being apologetic for her actions toward her in the past.

“It’s a joke.”

“… A joke?”

‘Does that Aria make jokes?’ No matter how recent the change to Aria’s personality, where she had become more docile, the change seemed so drastic that it was strange. Lately, Aria hadn’t been doing any mischievous or evil deeds, but that was somewhat odd. There was some mystery that Jessie could not answer, even if she were to be asked what was wrong with Aria. Jessie knew Aria better than anyone else because she had been watching Aria closely.

Unable to question or retort, Jessie could only laugh awkwardly at Aria’s dangerous and critical joke. Things were much more comfortable and less suffocating for Jessie now, so she preferred the present situation even if it was strange.

Aria, who had finished preparing, was escorted by two knights, one named John, who had become her lapdog, while the other was a first-timer.

It was his first time escorting Aria since the incident at the general store, so John was restless like a dog who needed to pee all the time, causing the other knight to look strangely at him. At that rate, there would be a misunderstanding, so Aria tried to change the mood by talking about the weather.

“I’m glad the day has been pleasant. I feel refreshed. It’s a garden party, so I almost felt sad when it rained.”

Fortunately, the young lady’s chatter was as clear and bright as the morning birds’ chirping, and the strange air quickly abated.

Even though she was still young, there was no one who would not see her as lovable with her gentle smile. It was a social skill that she had learned in the past, something she learned from only being able to use her beauty. That way of gaining favor by stimulating others’ vision worked on everyone, regardless of age or gender.

——————

That was also a weapon of Aria that the quiet, noble Mielle could never acquire. Some scoffed, saying that she had inherited her weapon from her mother, a prostitute.

Whenever that happened, of course, Aria said yes as positively as she could. It was a blessing to inherit her beautiful appearance and eye-catching smile from her mother. The more tools she could use, the better.

And now that she had returned to the past, she didn’t change her opinion on using it. She had been able to survive long after adulthood because there had been a few people who had loved her appearance.

——————

It didn’t take long to get to Sarah’s mansion because all of the aristocratic mansions in the capital were located in the very expensive land near the Imperial Palace. Since they had heard from Sarah, there was kindness in the faces of the butler and the servants and maids who greeted Aria.

The butler greeted Aria politely and told her that all the other young ladies had already gathered in the garden. Aria had arrived late on purpose.

The main character should be the last one to arrive. Perception was essential to keep everyone’s attention. However, she couldn’t walk leisurely to the garden since she was late, so she decided to speed up a bit. Aria asked the butler, who was guiding her a step away, where the garden was located.

“You’ll see it if you go down the hall a little… Ah, Miss Aria?”

As soon as Aria got the location of the garden, she headed off in a quick pace, nearly running. With Aria’s sudden rise in the speed, the knights and her maid also accelerated. The size of the mansion was rather small, so she arrived at the garden quickly.

At the garden, where she arrived breathlessly, five young noble ladies had already gathered. Each of them looked at Aria with astonishment and bewilderment for she was still panting.

Aria, who brushed her disheveled hair and clothes, held her skirt and bent her knees to be courteous.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I’m Aria, daughter of Count Roscent. I didn’t know what to wear…”