The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

Chapter 2

As Aria returned to her room and Jessie treated her wounds, it really began to sink in that she had traveled back in time. Before this mysterious return to the past, her older self had furnished the room with expensive furniture and decorations, as well as proudly displayed the jewelry she had purchased. Her room now was still luxurious but not very extravagant, and it was decorated in a slightly childish but cute style that was popular with young noblewomen in their early teens.

She looked down at Jessie, the maid who was bandaging her leg. Though Jessie was allied with Mielle, she had at least attempted to stop Aria from committing evil deeds on occasion. Because of her resistance, Aria remembered cutting Jessie’s hair, burning her hand, and dismissing her from her service, ordering her to muck out the stables instead. Jessie was the only one willing to help me. The only reason she returned to Mielle’s side was because I treated her terribly.

When Aria first joined the count’s family, every maid besides Jessie had started comparing her to Mielle to plant a seed of jealousy in her.

“I’m sure you would do much better, Lady Aria! Lady Mielle must have used some sort of underhanded trick.”

Aria, who was of a commoner background and was foolish and gullible, had never noticed that the maids were on Mielle’s side all along. Overcome with jealousy, she had fallen for Mielle’s scheming and ultimately tragically lost her life.

However, things were different now. One could only fall into a trap when they were unaware of it. If one knew about a trap, they could find the person who set it and make them pay. Aria now knew the one who set her trap was an evil girl wearing the mask of a saint—her stepsister, Mielle Roscent. I will never forgive you, Aria thought. She was determined never to let Mielle go, no matter what.

Her return to the past must have exhausted her, as she suddenly felt tired. She wanted to lie down and rest. It occurred to her that this amazing blessing might disappear once she closed her eyes and that she might wake up in a nightmarish reality, but she was powerless against the wave of fatigue overcoming her. She prayed she would never wake up if this was to be her last sweet night of sleep. She hoped she could hold on to this joy before jealousy consumed her again and led her back to the lonely life she knew.

“Jessie, I want to lie down.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The maid helped Aria change and get into bed. She had become so tired and weak that the strange scene in the dining room moments before seemed completely unimportant.

What’s this? As Aria got under the blanket, she felt something rough and grainy at her feet. She jumped and sat back up. Her blankets and sheets had always been soft, so this was entirely unfamiliar.

She asked Jessie to pull the blanket and sheets aside, only to see grains of sand scattered beneath them. There were shards of glass under the bed as well. The biggest piece was like a tube pinched in the middle, making it clear that the fragments came from an hourglass.

As soon as Jessie saw the shards, she bowed her head in apology. “I-I found an hourglass on your bed before you went to dinner, so I put it away. I don’t know how it ended up broken under the sheets! I am so sorry, my lady!” She kneeled down and bowed until her head touched the floor, trembling. She continued to apologize desperately, evidently afraid that Aria was about to explode.

Aria looked at Jessie with an uneasy gaze for a moment before turning back to the broken hourglass. Her hands trembled as she picked it up. She had never seen the object before. For some reason, it felt frightening, yet familiar and precious.

Maybe… Perhaps this wasn’t all a coincidence. That’s right. This has to be a sign from the heavens, Aria thought. I’m being shown mercy for my foolishness, and I’m being given a chance to repent and redeem myself! She would be freed from the clutches of the evil that had driven her into the abyss. And with her memories intact, she could even take revenge.

Filled with ecstatic joy, Aria tightly gripped the hourglass shard. It left behind cuts on her small, soft hands, but instead of wincing in pain, she was reminded that she had been given a second chance at life. The feeling filled her with nothing but bliss. Bright red blood dripped from her palm and started to pool on the floor, a gesture of both her strong determination as a villainess seeking revenge and her regret about the past.

I shall never forgive you. Aria slowly opened her hand and raised the corners of her lips in a smile. It was so similar to the smile of the benevolent saint that it even calmed Jessie, who was shaking at the sight of the girl bleeding so heavily.

* * *

“You must have been studying, Aria.”

A few days had passed since Aria’s return, and the dining room was filled with her clear voice as she recited a poem. After she finished, her stepfather, Count Roscent, had praised her for the very first time.

Her mother, the countess, covered her mouth and smiled softly. She made up a lie to explain Aria’s brilliance. “She always enjoyed reading, even when we were not so well-off. It seems she is glad to have more opportunities to learn now.”

Liar. Aria had not even known how to eat properly without help until she had turned sixteen. Poetry was never something she was interested in at her current young age. She had never even touched a book before joining the count’s family, and this didn’t change much even afterward. Rather than reading books, she had much preferred to play and dress up. She didn’t know how to do much else.

Once, when she had been very young, she had memorized a few of the count’s favorite poems to recite to him. Mielle had always bested her, however. It was only natural that Mielle, who could recite the poems smoothly as though they were songs, should be praised over Aria, who always stammered and sounded stiff. At this moment, the girls were taking turns reciting poems.

“This is a famous poem that has been passed down through generations of the Roscent family,” Mielle announced. “It was written by the first count, and it was also the first poem I learned when I was four. The ‘beloved woman’ mentioned in the last verse writes a poem in response, which is not as well known. But the two poems are only complete together.”

After introducing her choice, Mielle placed her right hand over her heart and began to recite the poem in a quiet and clear voice. Everyone watched her with pleased looks on their faces. Even Aria’s mother gave her an approving look. The opening act had warmed up the crowd, and now it was time for the main performer to shine.

“And I will sow all of my admiration onto your future!” As Mielle concluded the poem, the dining room erupted with applause. Contrary to how she always acted in the past, even Aria joined in.

Mielle, her cheeks flushed red and a shy smile on her lips, was undoubtedly the shining star of the evening. It was an honor she had snatched away from Aria, as always—an honor only bestowed upon those who were born noble, rather than those from humble backgrounds. Aria’s presence might even have made Mielle shine even more. And so, she decided to reclaim the glory, since her stepsister should have never had it to begin with.

“That was beautiful, Mielle. Did you know that there’s more to the story behind the poem?” As the applause died down, Aria, who had always played the supporting role, spoke up. She remained smiling and composed as Mielle’s eyes went wide at the sudden question. Aria knew the girl had no way of knowing what she would say, so she continued, “It was actually written by the first count’s younger brother, who attempted to assassinate him. That’s why this poem isn’t famous. The first count did not wish for it to be known. That is also why I chose not to recite it.”

The count seemed to recall the story as Aria spoke. “Yes, I do remember that this poem was actually banned until just a few generations ago. It includes a metaphor about cursing the whole family.”

Mielle’s pretty face instantly stiffened. She had just proudly recited a poem that was not only formerly banned, but also cursed the family name. Aria suppressed the urge to fall to the floor and roll around laughing.

In the past, their positions had been switched. Aria, in an attempt to gain some sort of recognition, had hired a tutor to help her memorize this poem. With eager, sparkling eyes, she had recited it before the count upon his return from a long business trip abroad. However, the sharp criticism that immediately followed had taken the light out of her green eyes and made her flush with embarrassment.

That occurred not too long after she and her mother had joined the count’s family, and the one who had criticized her was none other than her new stepbrother, Cain. He was four years older than Aria and had been attending the academy, which was why he knew so much. He had criticized Aria at every turn, no matter how she tried to show off.

Which means he must already know about the poem’s story this time, too. But Cain seemed unwilling to criticize his real sister and hadn’t spoken up at all. Maybe he had simply wanted to hurt Aria in her past life. She turned her gaze toward him. He was glaring at her, his lips forming a tight line. He was obviously very unhappy about the situation.

Aria had no intention of being hated by him outright, so she smiled awkwardly and pretended to defend Mielle. “Mielle is only thirteen. It’s amazing that she memorized both poems so perfectly,” she said. But the fact that she hadn’t realized the truth behind the poem and had recited it anyway didn’t change, so the end result was the same. How foolish. She must be so embarrassed to have boasted about something without knowing the facts, when even the lowly daughter of a courtesan knew, Aria thought.

The count cleared his throat in warning, having never seen his daughter make such a mistake. He raised his fork to suggest they all continue with their meal. Aria, meanwhile, smiled brightly and innocently at her new father as she messily cut into her steak to take a bite. The food tasted better than ever.