The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

Chapter 8

No one blamed Aria for the accident, not that she expected otherwise. The count, who might have scolded her, was far away in the northern region, while Cain had returned to the academy. The countess had no reason to chide her daughter, and without anyone on her side, Mielle couldn’t object or complain.

“It could happen to anyone so young. How fortunate that it did not lead to a bigger fire,” the countess said.

“All of my dresses burned. What shall I do? I was just about to go on an outing…”

“You cannot simply go out in a housedress. I suppose you must borrow a dress from someone who wears a similar size,” the countess replied immediately, having realized her adorable daughter’s intent right away. Aria wanted new clothes. Out of everything that could have burned down, only her dresses had been destroyed. It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Mielle, realizing that this “someone” the countess was referring to had to be her, frowned at the thought. However, everyone turned to look at her. All of Aria’s outside dresses had been burned, which meant that she needed to go and buy new ones, and she would have to wear an outside dress to do that.

The maids who followed Mielle tightened their faces in displeasure. Aria was once again causing trouble for their young lady, despite having changed so much recently. Their gazes were fixed on the floor since they couldn’t glare at a noble outright, but the animosity in their eyes was all too clear.

How dare they. Aria tried to recall whether she had received such looks in the past. She had never noticed because she had been so blinded by her jealousy toward Mielle. Those around Aria had always just egged her on or praised her for her evil deeds. Although they were Mielle’s personal maids, as employees of House Roscent, they were technically Aria’s maids as well. That meant they were being incredibly disrespectful.

Aria would have loved to yank on their hair and teach them a lesson, but that would only add fuel to the rumors about her. She changed her mind, reminding herself of her miserable past. To get what she wanted from this life, she knew that she needed to temper her frustration and anger and think of other ways to go about things. She had only realized this after literally losing her head, but there was someone right in front of her who had known it far earlier.

The area around Aria’s eyes reddened as large tears filled her green eyes, catching the light. Her eyebrows sagged as she pressed her pink lips firmly together. As she fidgeted with her fingers and looked around, she very much resembled a poor kitten, abandoned and trembling in the rain. Looking as though she might collapse, she said, shakily, “I’m so sorry, Mielle… I didn’t want to cause you any trouble, but here we are. I know you don’t like the idea of lending me your clothes. They’re important to you, after all. No, I’ll just go out in my housedress. I’m sure no one will notice if I make it fast.”

The poor thing, the bystanders thought as they watched Aria’s lower lip tremble. She looked so pitiful that it made them forget all about her past behavior. Humans were visual creatures, so this sight of a pretty young girl looking so sad would elicit sympathy in most anyone. Besides, she was the infamous Aria. Having mostly witnessed her being a menace, this unfamiliar and helpless side of her was more than enough to sway their hearts. She was just a young girl, but she seemed incredibly considerate of her sister.

Aria had never behaved like that before. Instead, she used to resort to temper tantrums and violence to get whatever she wanted. The maids of the manor had watched her behave that way for the past year. They had heard about Aria getting an etiquette tutor, so perhaps the lessons had truly changed her. It was the only thing they could think of. It was very possible that the teaching had made Aria realize just how stupid and crude her behavior had been all this time. Thinking of it that way made them all feel a bit sorry for her, too. The animosity that had always been directed at the girl turned to sympathy and compassion, even pity.

Among the bystanders, the countess watched her daughter’s incredible acting with a pleased smile. She really takes after me, she thought. She was very proud of her daughter for realizing that throwing such stupid tantrums would not allow her to get what she wanted.

“It’s all right, Mielle. Don’t worry about me. I was born a commoner, anyway, so it doesn’t really bother me to wear the wrong thing,” Aria said.

As Aria continued to act so pitiful, Mielle had no choice but to lend her some of her clothes. If she refused now, it would make her look cold and spiteful for ignoring her poor sister whose dresses had all burned up.

Mielle’s long, lush eyelashes fluttered. It reminded Aria of a baby bird just learning how to fly, which was quite amusing. Just keep trying to take off all your life and crash to the ground, she thought. A big tear rolled down her cheek.

Mielle truly wanted to make the girl disappear at that moment, just like the dresses that had burned to ashes in the fire. But instead of letting her hatred show, she put on a gentle smile. Mielle’s specialty was never making her thoughts evident and always acting as though she was unaffected. “What do you mean, Aria? Of course, I’ll let you borrow my clothes. I’m glad that we wear the same size,” she said.

“Are you sure that’s all right?”

“Of course. Please borrow whatever you need.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much, Mielle!” Aria grasped her hands. She looked truly happy as she beamed at her younger sister. Mielle, not expecting to suddenly have her hands grabbed by Aria, nearly shoved her away in disgust, but quickly remembered that everyone was watching and managed to give her an awkward smile instead.

The bystanders were moved by the beautiful sight of these two pretty girls being so considerate toward each other. Some of Mielle’s maids even felt remorseful for hating Aria so much just because she used to be a commoner, now recognizing that she was just a young girl who needed proper guidance. Since she was getting along so well with their young lady, they decided not to glare at her anymore.

“Please take whatever you like, Aria.”

Following the generous suggestion, Aria picked out an outside dress from her sister’s dressing room. She walked straight past all the clothes that were arranged toward the front and took out a box hiding in a corner. It seemed to be dusted every day, as it looked new despite being tucked away in a crevice of the dressing room.

Aria opened the box to reveal a snowy white dress folded neatly inside of it. The soft material was unadorned except for red rubies stitched onto the front in the shape of a rose. It was a dress Mielle had received from Oscar Frederick for her birthday. It was so precious to her that she had never even worn it. In Aria’s past life, Mielle had never been able to wear this dress at all, because by the time she took it out it was too small for her. I might as well wear it, then, she thought.

As soon as Mielle saw which dress Aria had picked out, she went pale. Her hands hovered in midair, unable to snatch it out of her sister’s hands. She looked like a conductor, nearly making Aria laugh. Holding back a chortle, she put on an innocent face and asked her what was wrong. “Hmm? What is it, Mielle?”

“Th-that one is a little…” Mielle had no idea how Aria had found the dress she had hidden away.

Apparently surprised by Mielle’s clear distress, Aria hurriedly put down the dress. “You did tell me to pick out whatever I liked. But this one is too pretty, right? I should have just chosen something normal… I picked this one because it looked simpler than the others, but I must not have an eye for this kind of thing yet. Hmm… What should I choose instead? I’m so sorry for being so tactless, Mielle.”

“Oh… Well…” Mielle, unable to come up with a good excuse, bit down on her lip. If she had been any older, she wouldn’t have fallen for such an awkward trick, but at only thirteen, she couldn’t think of what to say. Though she despised Aria from the bottom of her heart, she needed to play the role of the benevolent and gentle daughter of the count—his only daughter. Aria wasn’t his real daughter, and since her background was so insignificant, she basically didn’t exist. That made Mielle his only daughter.

Everyone thought this way, not just Mielle. That was why they had all simply shrugged at Aria’s vulgar behavior, figuring that she was simply too lowly to know better. Expectations were different for Mielle. She needed to act the part and be generous to her commoner of a sister. It was the kind of reputation she had built for herself, after all.

How ironic, Aria thought. You’ve trapped yourself in the reputation you built and can’t escape it now.

Silence fell over the dressing room. The longer Mielle stood there, unable to answer, the more confused everyone was as they watched. They had all heard her tell Aria to choose whatever she wanted. However, no one could recognize at a glance that the dress she had picked was the one Mielle had received from Oscar, as it was folded up so that the ruby rose wasn’t visible. Aria had done this on purpose, of course.

Unable to think of a good way to refuse, Mielle had no choice but to allow Aria to borrow the dress. “Thank you so much! I’ll be very careful with it and return it to you soon,” Aria said cheerfully.

“All right…” Mielle’s expression was gloomy as she replied. She looked like a wilting lily.

She suits the family crest so well, Aria thought to herself. If Mielle was a lily, Aria was ready to embody a poisonous oleander flower—so toxic that even the smallest bit could kill, and as eye-catching and beautiful as a rose but completely unforgiving of anyone who harmed it.

Everyone watching was once again moved by this beautiful picture—two girls hiding their venomous hatred toward each other under a layer of well-acted pretense.