The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Not surprisingly, all of their gifts were small jewelry or a music box. Aria smiled brightly, putting the hairpin on her head.

“Thank you all so much. I need to find a place for the music box in my room right away.”

Actually, it was too simple and tacky, so Aria thought she should give it to Jessie.

The last one she opened was Sarah’s gift. The surface of the box was sprinkled with fine gold powder, so she was a little excited. Perhaps, it might be the best of them all.

“It’s…”

“Do you like it?”

There were a handkerchief and gloves in the box, all beautifully embroidered. Needless to say, the combination of beautiful flowers and fine embroidery surrounding the trim was fantastic.

‘Was this really made by a human?’

She was speechless for a moment and couldn’t react.

“I had a hard time adjusting the patterns.”

Sarah took a handkerchief of the same pattern from her sleeve and smiled. Not one, but two. Indeed, it deserved to catch the eyes of the blunt, serious marquis.

“… It’s more beautiful than I thought it would be. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“No, I’m sorry I couldn’t prepare something better.”

Aria responded with a distinctly different response, and the ladies became curious to see the handkerchief. Sarah showed them the handkerchief on behalf of Aria, who was still stunned.

The young ladies who saw the beautifully embroidered handkerchief reacted similarly to Aria. They didn’t seem to know that Sarah could make such great embroidery.

“Isn’t it God’s work?”

“That’s all I can think about.”

“That’s amazing.”

Sarah replied shyly to their praise, “That’s too much.”

“That’s not too much! This is such a treasure that you have to hand down from generation to generation!”

“Sure!”

“I hope many people will see it somewhere with an exhibition on embroidery.”

“That makes sense! It’s a work of art!”

Aria was a little offended when they said they would have an exhibition later on. If so, Sarah’s skill, which only she had known of, would be shared with others.

Although she did not express her feelings, the number replies she gave diminished. After extensive praise for Sarah’s embroidery, they soon changed subjects. Quite rightly, the dress Aria was wearing was the next target.

“By the way, Lady Aria’s dress is very beautiful.”

“That’s right. It’s a very nice color, and it’s very stylish.”

“Yes, the fur coat you were wearing was also luxurious and even looked soft. Where did you get it?”

Aria looked shy at their questions. That way, she would seem humble.

“I didn’t buy it. I don’t have that type of sense.”

“Then, did you get it as a gift?”

“Yes. It was sent by my father, who went up to the North.”

The young ladies nodded in agreement because there were not many fathers who sent gifts like those to their daughters. They also praised her for being pretty and looking good in them.

Having met a few times, the girls now considered Aria as perfectly saintly. She was not a wicked woman to them, as she had been called before, and she was able to show them how well she was doing with the count.

Aria hit the last wedge.

“In fact, I liked the other gift better than this dress and fur. Unlike clothes, which I can’t wear every day, I can hug it and sleep with it.”

‘What was the gift that is better than this beautiful dress?’ The young ladies’ curiosity grew. “What is it?”

Aria answered, her cheeks blushing shyly, “… A bear doll.”

Since she was not a little girl, Aria was old enough to have relinquished her toys. However, because Aria was the youngest among them and she was rather small in size, her answer of the doll was very naturally accepted by everyone. In addition, she would validate her cute and innocent image.

“Oh, my! A Teddy bear doll!”

“I remember once sleeping with a very cute doll in my arms.”

At least two or three years before her age, but they smiled and talked to Aria as if she were a very young sister.

Perhaps because of her image in that moment, Sarah also couldn’t hide her expression of adoration and had an appropriate response to Aria’s fancy doll, “Can I see the cute doll if it doesn’t bother you? I wonder what cute doll stole Lady Aria’s heart.”

Though she was going to relinquish her hobby of showing of her things, she couldn’t help bragging when they kept asking her questions. So, Aria ordered Jessie to bring the doll.

“I wonder how cute it is to hug and sleep with.”

“I also wonder.”

A clear laugh sounded in the garden, like small birds announcing the morning. Apparently, the cute teddy bear had too much jewelry to be described as cute, but they didn’t seem to have any idea.

‘Can they really keep those soft face even after the doll they want appears?’

It was not long before she could see how they would look. Aria hugged the doll with the large jeweled eyes, nose and ears, and rubbed her face against it innocently.

“It’s cute, isn’t it? I have a more special feeling toward it because it’s a gift from my father.”

All of them had stunned postures. That was because the families of the young ladies who had gathered there had no power and were poor by comparison. It seemed that they had not expected that a teddy bear with such expensive gems would appear because they had treated Aria, who hang out with them, as someone from their same station.

They might have seen a toy with small jewels on its eyes or nose, or even ears, but even that was rare. The young ladies realized then that Aria was a daughter of the family of Count Roscent, who had a great fortune in business, and that she was loved by the count much more than they had thought.

The indoor garden was enveloped in silence. That was because they suddenly realized the difference between Aria and themselves. They had thought Aria to be like a younger, cute sister, but the mood turned strangely just by the presence of that small doll.

Aria cocked her head as if she could not understand why.

Still, Sarah, who was changing her estimation of Aria, spoke up because Aria became sullen, as if she had done something wrong because no one had said anything, “What a cute doll! It’s rare to see a doll with jewels even in its ears, but the count wanted to present a good doll to Lady Aria, right?”

“… Well, I think so too.”

“It is a much cuter doll than I thought it would be, so I was speechless for a moment.”

Only then, did Aria regain her innocent smile. The atmosphere did not go back completely to how it was, but at any rate, on the surface, it did become cheerful and giggly.

From the main dish to the sweet, three-tiered cake, the dishes made by the cooks Jessie had invited from outside boosted the party’s excitement.

Although there were few invited people, and no eye-catching event, the party was also an opportunity for Aria to show how much she was loved and pure.

Of course, it was a very simple but satisfying party for Aria, except for the fact that the invited young ladies were very insignificant. It was also satisfying because she never thought of getting anything in the first place.

‘Should I just finish this here?’

She was nervous that Oscar hadn’t come, but her goal had already been achieved. She had gotten Sarah’s handkerchief. To begin with, it was usual to end a minor’s birthday party in a short and concise manner. They couldn’t stay up all night drinking like adults.

Moreover, they were not young men, but young ladies, so they didn’t know what kind of danger might befall them at night. They had to go back before sunset, so Aria announced the end of the party.

“Well, thank you all for coming today.”

The time wasted seemed to have been enough. She didn’t want to exchange any more pretentious laughter with the humble young ladies. It was more beneficial for her to go back and read a book and wait for Oscar.

“Time has already passed, just like that.”

“That’s right. I had so much fun that I didn’t know the time was passing so fast.”

Satisfied with the simple but hearty party, the ladies also accepted Aria’s wishes. That was how Aria’s birthday party was supposed to end, if an unexpected guest hadn’t come by.

“Sister, I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“… Mielle?”

‘How come Mielle is at my birthday party?’