The Villainess turns the Hourglass
chapter-24

If she acted like she didn’t know anything with a smile on her face and showered Mrs. White with flattery, the viscountess would dance like an unbridled foal. That way, the woman who thought to take advantage of Aria’s power, would actually take the bait. When she was called a teacher, Mrs. White could not hide her joy, appearing very happy.

The first class taught was on very simple addition. Aria already knew it, but she nodded as if she’d never heard of it before because explaining that she did would shorten the meeting with the viscountess.

“Three and one make four. Look, three cookies and one cookie are four cookies if you put them together, right?”

It was not necessary to learn addition and subtraction of single digits from a teacher, but Mrs. White worked very hard to make sure Aria understood. Aria, who swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out, smiled and agreed enthusiastically.

‘How stupid do I appear to be? You are teaching me the most basic, which can even be taught to infants.’

Mrs. White, who had never taught anyone before, left satisfied after about two hours of class.

The viscountess would probably go back and brag about her meeting with the family of the count. She might make a plan for her son to meet Aria. She might think that it would be easy to manipulate a stupid little girl like her.

‘Please, do so quickly.’

Viscountess Block and Baroness Sirby, whom she met after that, were not much different from Mrs. White. They had the joy of creating a connection with the family of the count, the curiosity of seeing a dumb, little lowborn girl, and the ambition of somehow coaxing Aria into connecting with their sons. Their miscalculation was thinking that it would be easy to control her because Aria was not the count’s own daughter.

In particular, Baroness Sirby, who belonged to the lowest rank of the bunch, rubbed her palms as she stared at Aria. The smile on her face had been so awkward that Aria had struggled to keep herself together to the point of sweating.

‘Even though Oscar is the one I’m really after, I don’t intend on becoming his fiancee or marrying him. I’m just doing my best to be a thorn on Mielle’s side. Isn’t that the nature of a wicked woman? Not in Mielle’s clumsy way, but as a real villain…’

Aria kept smiling throughout because of the women’s very desirable attitudes and responses. However, due to that, the shape of her embroidery was distorted, so Sarah asked, “What good news have you received?”

“I’ve been assigned new teachers. I didn’t know that learning subjects were so fun.”

“That must be a lot of fun. What kind of people are they?”

“They are very honest and cheerful.”

“I’m sure that’s all because Lady Aria is intelligent and friendly.”

Sarah’s smile, which Aria invariably scored it as a 120 out of 100 points, made Aria feel a little more relaxed. That was her charm, which was probably how she captured that blunt marquis. The embroidered handkerchief could only serve as an instrument and a chance for a meeting.

“But, I like Teacher Sarah best.”

“Oh, my dear miss, I like you too.”

As she hugged Sarah’s waist and rubbed her face against her, Sarah stroked Aria’s hair as if she couldn’t help it. Even if Aria was learning etiquette, the adorable girl’s cute action was acceptable.

Since her debut into society was just around the corner, Sarah would soon meet the marquis. Even if there was an age difference, she was also a noblewoman, so it was natural to be attracted to a man of high rank. By instilling Sarah with a little courage and stirring her up with some hope in the process, Aria would be able to solidify their relationship.

“I hope Teacher Sarah will meet someone nice and be happy.”

It was also the future Sarah dreamed of. Sarah, who was sweeping away Aria’s hair, felt affection for Aria at her insidious remark. It could have been seen as a declaration that Aria would take advantage of her if Sarah did well, but the poor little lamb couldn’t have known the meaning.

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4. Oscar Frederik

Aria was relieved to have a smooth start, with a total of four people who would protect her future. In addition, Mielle was still quiet. Perhaps she was concerned that first-time visitors were coming and going from Aria’s room, so during their most recent dinner, Mielle did not eat properly.

Mielle seemed a little bit emaciated by her seldom-increasing embroidery skill. It was nothing compared to what Aria had gone through, but when she saw her getting weaker and emaciated in front of her, it was…

… It was so funny that she burst out laughing.

‘Yes, live your life as you read my countenance, just like me, whom you tricked for all my life.’

Perhaps there was nowhere else for her to express her worries, so Mielle sent more letters to her brother Cain, and Aria’s laughter increased. It was stupid and foolish of her to rely on her brother, who was confined to a dorm and could only console her in writing.

While Mielle was whining to her brother, Aria slowly formed friendships with the three wives and built up knowledge. The culture class, where Mrs. White still hadn’t been able to progress in arithmetic, had not been very helpful, but history and literature had been helpful on their own since Aria had had no knowledge at all in those fields. All she wanted was for things to go on as planned, to build her own power by building up knowledge, to pressure Mielle, and to leak information little by little so that no one could get away from her.

And she would make Mielle’s engagement with Oscar, something Mielle had longed for, into nothing and would completely isolate her. In the end, she would imitate Mielle’s crime by putting poison in her teacup and killing her.

Looking out of the window, she noticed a gardener sweating while pruning the already neatly well-groomed garden. The gardeners, of whom there were close to ten, were paired up to give form to the garden and clean up right after.

Aria, leaning against the window frame for a while, sent Jessie down again. She told Jessie to mingle with the cleaning maids to find out who was coming.

Because it was the weekend, her tutors wouldn’t come, and since she was tired of embroidering, she slept on her bed, waiting for the news to come. After a very short time, her eyes suddenly opened due to hunger.

When she checked the time, lunchtime had already passed. Because the household kept regular mealtimes, her body was more accurate than the clock when it came to announcing the time to eat.

Aria, who had risen from her bed, stretched to the fullest extent she could and called Jessie a few times, but once she remembered she had given Jessie other orders, she stepped out of the room.

‘I think I’ll need another maid for petty purposes.’

In the quiet mansion, only Aria’s quiet footsteps could be heard.

‘Is there a guest here already? What on earth has Jessie been doing?’

There was no report at all. When she faced the hall on the first floor and stretched her feet toward the final step, she ran into Jessie, who came rushing up from below.

“Jessie?”

“Miss!”

She was panting, perhaps in a great hurry, but it seemed to be bad news, so Aria’s heart throbbed.

‘Who the hell is here?’

There was no need to ask Jessie the answer to that. Two men appeared at the front door of the mansion before Aria even urged her to answer.

“Cain, Young Master Cain! To the mansion with Mr. Frederik!”

Oscar Frederik appeared with the cold autumn wind. At the age of sixteen, he was still a little young, but as if scattering the night sky, his very dark hair and golden eyes clearly showed how many women he would touch in the future. He shifted his brilliant eyes to the shy girl who greeted him.

“Welcome, Mr. Oscar. Was it hard for you to come that long way?”

“No, it’s OK.”

The white dress with the rose-shaped red ruby on its chest showed just how much Mielle had waited for that day. A sweet, tender smile, like honey, the meaning of her name, was directed at to Oscar.