The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Rather, it was better to recruit those who were not lucky enough to receive help, and who had a desire for power and ambition, but had failed to make them flourish. Aria wanted to be the queen of those who had been pushed aside. She had to choose people who could survive on their own if she put them on the right track, just like Sarah.

‘Of course, Sarah will be marquise on her own. Still, I need people like her.’

——————

And Aria knew those people well. In general, they were those who had money but no personal connections. There were quite a few of those whom she had met later at that same party. That was probably why they had stuck to her, who had only her beauty.

Among them, Aria could recall a few men who had loved her almost to the end. They had fallen for her pretty face and given everything to her.

Although they had been forced to marry noble ladies because they were heirs to their families, their expressions of regret and sadness were still vivid.

——————–

Right now there was little to notice about them, but with some land and the proper investments, wealth would rain on them. Compared to the cards that Mielle had, they were not so good, but they were the ones whom she could reach out to right now.

‘Let’s test them first. If I’m lucky, I may be able to get others through them, the greater ones that will help me get rid of Mielle.’

Aria handed a note to her mother, listing the names of the three people whom she could remember. Her mother looked alternately at the names in the note and at Aria’s face. She seemed to wonder if she should actually hire them as private tutors.

“Not to mention Lady Sarah of Viscount Lauren’s family, but you have a poor eye. They will not be at all helpful.”

“But, I can’t share tutors with Mielle, can I?”

“I think none of the three is knowledgeable enough to teach you.”

Like her mother had said, they were not very knowledgeable. They were just ordinary aristocrats. Among them, there were just two viscountesses and one baroness. But Aria had not chosen them in hopes of great knowledge either. She had only chosen them as a test.

The countess shrugged at Aria’s repeated attitude and said, “I can’t help it if you like them.”

‘In truth, you just think it’s annoying to have them investigated.’

The countess handed Aria’s note to her maid. It meant that the maid should hand it over to the butler, and he would be the one to write the letters with the family’s seal instead.

She always handled countess’ affairs that way. It was not that difficult, but she limited herself to buying clothes and jewelry. Because that was nothing new, the maid left the room after getting her orders.

Thanks to the sincere and clever butler, Aria was soon able to meet the three wives. The first one she met was Viscountess White.

“Nice to meet you.”

No matter what the rumors were, Aria was a lady of the family of the count, and her mother reigned in power above them. That meant that Aria was a good target for Viscountess White, who was looking for a lady to marry her son off to.

Aria curtsied.

There was no sign of the rumors in that graceful manner of greeting. Even though Aria was lowborn in spite of her high status, she was an elegant bride-to-be, whom the viscountess. The viscountess, who had a hard face, smiled gently while Aria responded with a very regular expression, as it was standard.

“I ask you to favor me well, Viscountess White.”

‘Are you ready to play in my hands?’

There was no shade on Aria’s brightly smiling face to Mrs. White.

* * *

The liberal arts to be taught by Mrs. White were simple arithmetic subjects, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, as well as basic grammar and speech. Everything necessary to live gracefully as an aristocratic lady was included. No matter how high the status of a noble lady, women were not taught too deeply, so their studies were basic enough that anybody could teach them.

Of course, some women with high status learned more and about more varied subjects, but most aristocratic ladies only learned the basics so that they would not be humiliated when they went somewhere.

Therefore, education was something more akin to a simple tea party, with tea and dessert. Contrary to etiquette, there was no need to learn anything else quickly, so it was normal to maintain a private tutor until the day a lady made her social debut.

Warm tea, sweet cookies, and fruit were put on the table, and Mrs. White, with an eased expression on her face, asked how much Aria had been intending to learn.

“If you could tell me what you’ve learned before, I’ll refer to it.”

“Nothing at all,” Aria answered with a stiff upper lip while placing a cube of sugar in her teacup.

Mrs. White was lost in thought for a moment due to her reply.

‘Why hasn’t she been educated yet?’

Although noblewomen didn’t study at academies or other academic institutions like noblemen because they had to be careful about their manners, basic education was still essential to keeping the family and helping their husband’s work. Basic education began around the age of eight. Progress was slow, but they made advances by being tutored by an adult woman.

Prestigious families began to educate their girls when they started to speak. Because of that, Mielle had been receiving her education since even before she could run properly. So, why hadn’t Aria been educated when she was already approaching fifteen?

Mrs. White seemed to be wondering that, but Aria did not bother to tell her. However, she added some lies about her situation because she should not look pitiful like she did with Sarah.

“As you know, I joined the count’s family suddenly, so I needed time to adjust. I had a lot to learn, from handling tableware to walking, sitting, and so on. I’ve just managed to acquire a little bit of a lady’s decent character.”

It was only then that Mrs. White realized that Aria’s behavior was impeccably elegant and natural.

Despite having a very small body, her gentle movements that resembled flowing water made her look like a fairy. Aria was much more elegant and dignified than other aristocratic girls of her age. In particular, the way she raised the teacup to her mouth seemed almost like a butterfly flapping in the wind.

It was not until Mrs. White was convinced of why her education was delayed that her expression eased, and she smiled again.

The viscountess thought that being able to be that graceful at an early age and in just a year showed quite a passion for her education, even though Aria had lived as a commoner previously. Viscountess White understood that the family of the count seemed to have taught Aria etiquette first so that others would not find fault with her, and after that, they decided to move on to other subjects.

The viscountess was playing right into Aria’s plans by convincing herself of that.

“I see.”

“There’s been a lot of gossip about me because of all the trouble I had while I was learning. Mrs. White, you’ve heard them too, haven’t you?”

“Ho-ho, all that gossip will quickly disappear. Nevermind that.”

Mrs. White had also had numerous misgivings about Aria, but as soon as she met Aria for the first time, she was able to see that all those vicious rumors were lies. She was sure that others would think so too.

It was a great opportunity for the viscountess, a good chance to get acquainted with that little girl and introduce Aria to her son. At the same time, she was thinking that Aria should be able to handle due to her commoner background and that, because she had not learned anything yet, she was probably ignorant.

Aria batted her lashes and smiled while looking at Mrs. White, who was playing right into her hand.

“You’ll have to help me a lot with that, teacher,” she said.

“Teacher? I’m not worth that title. Just call me Celine.”

“No, I’m a student, so Mrs. White is my teacher.”

She didn’t have to pretend to be pitiful to gain sympathy like she had done with Sarah. Just being a little bit nice was enough.