The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

Chapter 4

Vegetables were Aria’s least favorite foods. She didn’t like how they got too soft when cooked or how they tasted too much like grass when raw. They were also the food of commoners, so she had grown sick and tired of eating vegetables before joining the count’s family.

Therefore, whenever Aria was served a salad, she had resorted to flipping over the dish it came in or stabbing at it with her fork until most of it was on the table. At first, the maids would give her a new portion, but when she screamed their ears off about not wanting it, they had stopped trying to make her eat things she didn’t like.

And so, Aria’s behavior had always been an issue at the dinner table, which was a time meant for the family to spend together and bond. At this point, even her own mother had given up on teaching her proper dining manners and simply chose to belittle her instead.

But one day, Aria began to quietly eat her salads. As long as they had some sort of dressing, they didn’t taste too bad. She still didn’t like the vegetables, but she saw no need to throw a tantrum over them. At first, no one noticed. They had grown used to never even glancing at Aria’s plate, given that the unsightly way she ate tended to ruin their appetites. The first to notice that her table manners had changed entirely were the maids who picked up her dishes after dinner. The next to notice was her mother, the countess.

“Goodness, when did you learn table manners, Aria?”

“Miss Sarah taught me.”

“Oh, my.”

What followed was a sense of pity and guilt. Her mother felt terrible for not getting Aria a tutor sooner, seeing that she was such a quick learner. She had, of course, recruited a tutor as soon as they arrived at the manor, but there hadn’t been any progress. The things Aria was taught were far too difficult and boring for a girl who was used to playing out in the streets. The count and his new wife had shaken their heads, thinking that this first tutor must have simply been incompetent.

Now, her mother’s reaction was exactly what Aria had hoped for. She wanted to show them that she could learn to be just as noble and elegant as them, and that her background didn’t have to hold her back. The only reason Mielle is more advanced than girls her age is because she was taught earlier than they were, after all, Aria thought. I can be like her, too.

Delighted by the welcome change, the count declared that he would support Aria fully in anything she wanted to learn from now on. Mielle, obviously very unhappy about this, had begun to mock her.

“And this whole time, I thought they made Aria’s plates unsightly on purpose.”

“Mielle… Are you saying that someone out there hates me enough to do something like that? I know I have been arrogant and rude, but… I never thought anyone would hate me.”

Mielle waved her hands in hurried denial when Aria reacted in such an unexpected manner. It was very amusing for Aria to watch her younger sister flounder as she denied this. How she must be cursing me on the inside.

Suppressing the laughter that was threatening to bubble up, Aria kept speaking in a worried tone.

“I am glad that isn’t the case, then. But if you think about it just a little, it wouldn’t be possible for my plate to suddenly look so unsightly as if by magic, right? I suppose you are too young to think that far.”

“I-it was just a joke, Aria.”

“Oh, I see! I didn’t know it was just a joke. I am sorry for overreacting, Mielle.”

Aria’s awkward smile evoked empathy. The sight of her apologizing when she must have been hurt by Mielle’s words was more than enough to melt the count’s heart, although he had always been very firm with his stepdaughter. He quietly put his fork down and turned to his own daughter with a hardened expression Aria had never seen before. It was the kind of face he had only ever shown her. In the past, this kind of situation had always been the result of Mielle’s machinations, with poor Aria the only one unaware.

“Mielle, you ought to think before you speak. Do you not see how hurt your sister is? I would be embarrassed to see you act this way in front of others.”

“I apologize, Father… And to you as well, Aria.”

As Aria thought back to Mielle’s obvious scowl, she snickered to herself. Now that she had once lived for over twenty years, the thirteen-year-old Mielle was easy to manipulate. It had been much harder when they had been around the same age, but now, the girl was no match for her. Mielle was nothing but the young daughter of a noble who had the advantage of learning etiquette slightly earlier than others.

It will get more difficult with time, of course, Aria thought. Mielle was still too young now, but it was obvious that she would begin to torment Aria as soon as she could, despite their age difference. There was a clear difference between them, as Aria was the daughter of a courtesan and a nameless man, after all.

And so, Aria knew that she needed to get ready. She didn’t doubt a future where Mielle would start tormenting her. No matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to win against the count’s own daughter.

But the heavens gave me a special power. She now had the knowledge of the future. Aria knew which insignificant noble would rise to power, what would happen to the count’s trading business, and what kind of enterprises would become popular. But to achieve her revenge, she just needed to start preparing step by step. Just because she knew what would happen didn’t mean that her position as a courtesan’s daughter who joined a noble house by luck would suddenly change. And so, she decided to take care of the smallest things first. For example…

“Miss Sarah, there is something I would like to learn from you.”

“What might that be?”

“I hoped to learn embroidery.”

Little things like embroidery. Sarah had become famous for her beautiful embroidery that appeared incredibly lifelike. She wasn’t well-known for it yet, of course. Actually, the reason she had caught the eye of Marquess Vincent in the first place was because of a beautifully embroidered handkerchief.

Of course, since Aria was beautiful, she didn’t need to learn embroidery to catch the eye of a man. She intended to present an embroidered object to the count when he returned from his next business trip. There was an old wives’ tale that claimed that always carrying around the first handkerchief received from one’s wife or daughter would lead to a long, healthy life. Mielle hadn’t given her father a handkerchief yet, so if Aria gave him one first, he would have to keep it on his person forever. She may not have been his actual daughter, but they were a family on paper, after all.

As far as Aria remembered, it was around the time Mielle turned fifteen that she first presented the count with a handkerchief she had embroidered herself. It had taken her a long time because she was surprisingly poor at crafts. Since Mielle was a perfectionist, she had taken as long as she needed to finish the piece to her standards.

In other words, it’ll take her ages, even if she starts learning now. Besides, Aria had a great teacher in Sarah. She planned to ask her new tutor to embroider a handkerchief for her if it looked like she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. No one knew of Sarah’s amazing skills yet, so they wouldn’t be able to tell. If Aria gave the count a masterpiece, Mielle might never be able to finish a handkerchief that she thought was good enough to give him. After all, she was too much of a perfectionist to want the comparison.

Aria couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Mielle looking furious whenever she saw the count using the handkerchief Aria had given him. That was the new future that Aria was going to create.

* * *

Aria didn’t tell anyone that she was learning embroidery from Sarah and asked her to keep it a secret as well. If anyone else were to find out, it would undoubtedly reach Mielle’s ears, and she would also begin practicing. Even if her embroidery skills were hopeless, it would not be a good idea for them to start at the same time. Besides, if word got out that Mielle was learning embroidery, the count might even refuse to accept Aria’s gift. He would undoubtedly prefer a gift from his own daughter to one from the girl who had joined his household out of nowhere.

Thankfully, the only maid who ever entered Aria’s room was Jessie, and she only came whenever Aria called for her, so it was easy to hide. Around the time Aria turned fifteen, Mielle had begun to send her own maids to serve her, which meant she didn’t have much time left.

Aria began to practice embroidery whenever she could. She imagined that the heavens had given her this ability at the same time she had been given a second chance at life, because she was able to quickly pick up the skills to make beautiful pieces, although not quite as amazing as Sarah’s. However, it was good enough for Aria to be impressed with herself.

It only took a few days for her to embroider a handkerchief with a cute rabbit, and she presented it as a gift to Sarah. Sarah was incredibly touched, her eyes filling with tears. “You should be able to embroider your family’s coat of arms without issue now.”

“Will you help me with that, Miss Sarah? I’ll follow you along if you show me.”

“Of course. Shall we do that instead of our lesson today, then?”

Aria had procured some high-quality silk from the countess, secretly cluing her mother in on the situation, although everyone else was still unaware. The countess had been delighted by her fourteen-year-old daughter’s sweet plan, and her eyes had shone with mischief as she had given her the silk.

“Of course, take as much as you like. What a wonderful idea.”

The countess was satisfied with her current position, but she was supportive of Aria’s efforts. While her expectations of her daughter were low, she did help when she could. Aria was thankful for that.

“That is a lot of silk,” Sarah remarked.

“It will be a handkerchief for my father, so it has to be big.”

“How sweet,” Sarah said with a broad smile, feeling the urge to pat Aria on the head. Her hand stopped midair. Noticing this, Aria asked her to pat her head with a big smile. As much as she enjoyed patting the adorable girl on the head, Sarah thought the gesture was very impolite, but Aria was pleased with the way her tutor had taken a liking to her.

Grateful for the fact that she was a young girl again, Aria leaned against Sarah’s hand. She hoped that Sarah would continue to think of her as a cute child and cherish her for many years to come.