The villainess reverses the hourglass

Chapter 7. The Villainess Turns The Hourglass [Part VII]

Translator: Khan

Editor: SootyOwl

Sarah contemplated her words multiple times to ensure that she would not hurt Aria before carefully opening her mouth to ask, ". Do you intend to give it to the duke?"

"No."

"Then... Sir Oscar?"

Aria felt Sarah's hand tremble faintly within her grasp.

She could guess that Sarah was probably afraid that Aria, who was pretending to be kind and pure, would be caught up in a struggle with a large number of competitors.

'You don't know that I'm the worst of them all.'

Though she was exploiting her knowledge of the past, it was true that she had committed a lot of misdeeds. If she had really been a kind girl, she would have refused or been discouraged from taking such actions.

Not only that, she had thought of only exacting revenge on Mielle, but had never once considered living a kind life.

That was why Aria had no choice but to mask her insidious inner thoughts and smile brightly to not foolishly reveal her hidden reasons or be caught in a trap like she had been before.

Aria shook her head and said, "No. That family's crest is so pretty that I really wanted to make it. I don't even know who you're talking about."

It was a lie.

In fact, she knew very well. At one point, she had tried to seduce Oscar. Though she had given up from fear after making eye contact with his cold, chilly eyes, it was true that they had met often but without any expectations.

Aria's firm reply helped relieve Sarah, and her face lightened into a gentle, benevolent smile. It was true that the seal of the Duke of Frederick was beautiful, so Sarah convinced herself that that was the reason.

Sarah no longer doubted Aria's pure heart, so she began to explain the details of the seal of the Duke of Frederick. She also began to carefully point out the places that needed extra attention during the embroidery process, as if she were used making it herself.

"For the shape of a rose, you need advanced techniques. Even if the axis is slightly distorted, the shape will twist. So, you need to hold on to the central axis and inflate the petals as if they were surrounding it."

Like Sarah said, embedding a rose onto the handkerchief was a very exhausting and difficult procedure. If she were to take one stitch in the wrong direction, the rose would become very ugly. Since she had already spent more than half a day embroidering the crest of the Roscent Family, the rose seal would be continued in the following class.

***

That evening, the count returned to the mansion ahead of schedule, so the whole family was able to gather for dinner for the first time in a long time. Mielle chirped a skylark, babbling that she had studied so hard that she had to look exhausted, while Cain told them that he would be returning to the academy's dormitory since his vacation had ended.

"Has it already come to an end?"

"I am scheduled to leave on the weekend."

That was quite a good thing. Aria smiled, but she wasn't caught doing so since no one paid attention to her.

Aria quietly watched over the harmonious family.

They had a good time without her, laughing and chuckling, and her mother was there, albeit a bit awkward. Mielle led the conversations by picking topics that Aria would not be aware of to personally exclude her.