Chapter 6. The Villainess Turns The Hourglass, Part VI

There was an unknown superstition that if a man always carried the handkerchief gifted from a daughter or wife for the first time, he would be able to live long without a disease. The count had yet to receive a handkerchief as a gift from Mielle, so if Aria were to gift him one, he would have to carry it for his lifetime. Although Aria was not the count’s biological daughter, the truth was that she was still a daughter.

From what she remembered, it was by the time she was fifteen that Mielle gifted the count a handkerchief that she embroidered. It took her a long time to learn embroidery because her hands were unexpectedly slow, and since Mielle was a perfectionist, it took longer for her to achieve a level of embroidery to her satisfaction.

‘Therefore, even if she started now, it would still take a long time.’

Not only that, Aria had a dependable teacher named Sarah by her side. If things didn’t work out, she would resort to requesting Sarah to make one in her stead.

Since her embroidery skills were not yet known to the world, it would be excellent to give it first. If she were to give such a significant handkerchief, it could be that Mielle would be unable to gift one to the count for the rest of her life since it would always be compared to.

Whenever he used the handkerchief that Aria embroidered, Mielle would be helpless but laugh and smile on the outside, but would be fuming with rage on the inside. That was the new future that Aria would make.

***

Aria did not tell anyone of the fact that she was learning embroidery from Sarah.

She had also requested that her teacher, Sarah, keep that a secret. If anyone were to find out, it would naturally go to Mielle’s ear, and she, in turn, would start learning embroidery.

No matter how disastrous Mielle’s embroidery might be, it wouldn’t be ideal if they both started learning at the same time. Not only that, if the count knew that Mielle had started to learn embroidery, there was also the possibility that he would not accept Aria’s handkerchief. It was natural that a father would prefer to receive the handkerchief of his biological daughter over one from a daughter who had suddenly appeared one night.

Fortunately, the only person that frequented Aria’s room was Jessie, and since there was nothing much for which Aria needed to call her maids, there was a low chance that she would be found out. Mielle would only assign her maid to Aria when she turned fifteen, so Aria had a bit of time left on her own.

From then on, Aria began to practice her embroidery in her spare time. Whether that was also a gift given to her by God, along with her reincarnation, she was soon able to create beautiful embroidery, though not at Sarah’s level. She even admired herself for being able to do that much with those cute, little hands.

In just a few days, Aria was able to make a handkerchief embroidered with a cute rabbit, and she presented it to Sarah as a present. Sarah, holding the handkerchief, was so moved that she even blushed.

“Now, you should have no trouble embroidering the family crest.”

“Really? Then, would it be possible for you to help me, teacher? I want to watch and follow along.”

“Of course. Then, should we postpone the lecture and do some embroidery?”

Aria took out the high-quality silk she had received from the countess. She had kept it a secret from everyone, but she had secretly informed it to her mother. Hearing this surprising plan from a fourteen-year-old girl, the countess’ eyes shone as she smiled in support.

“Of course! Do as much as you like. That’s a great idea!”

She was satisfied with her current position, but even then, she continued to work hard to guide Aria. Her mother wasn’t actively supporting her since she didn’t ask for much, but the countess helped her when she needed it. There was at least one soothing point about her.

“That’s very good silk.”

“This is for a handkerchief that I will be making for my father.”

How cute! Sarah was besieged by the urge to stroke Aria’s head when she saw Aria blushing as she answered. When Aria realized that Sarah’s hand had seemingly halted in midair, she smiled, saying, “Teacher, please stroke my head and praise me,” and that loveliness moved Sarah to carefully pat her head.

Sarah’s face implied that she was being very disrespectful, but Aria became fond of her since Sarah was more affectionate and caring for her. Being thankful that she was still a child, she continued to rub her head under Sarah’s hands. She hoped that Sarah would continue to love her like a child for a long time.

***

It didn’t take too long before she was able to sew a small family crest on the corner of the handkerchief, and that was due to the fact that she had a good teacher. Sarah helped adjust and amend the awkward parts of the process.

The black handkerchief embroidered with a silver lily, which symbolized the family crest, was so well made that it would’ve been sold for a high price at a market. Aria folded the finished handkerchief, stored it in a drawer, and asked Sarah for help, saying that she would embroider another one.

“What shape?”

“A rose.”

“A… rose?”

A rose was the seal of the Duke of Frederick. With golden petals, it was also the symbol of direct lineage to the royal family.

Aria took out a red cloth and golden thread. Slightly worried after seeing Aria smile brightly as she handed them to her, Sarah asked, “Do you know the meaning of the golden roses?”

“Yes. They are the crest of the Duke of Frederick. ”

And that heir would also be Mielle’s unrequited love in the future.

In the past, those two had connected. Aria retraced her memories, but she couldn’t come up with the answer. She remembered that they had become engaged, but she couldn’t remember if they had married. Aria’s purpose was to give the handkerchief to the current duke’s successor before Mielle, a handkerchief with his family crest.

If he would not accept it, there would be no reason to ask why. That was because the goal wasn’t whether he accepted it or not, but rather, the act of giving it to him. It was what Mielle had done in the past.

She knew very well that he wouldn’t suddenly come to like her because of one handkerchief. The handkerchief merely acted as a gauge. It might seem like an insignificant act, but it would definitely open the door for dialogue. Overall, Aria had greater skills than her embroidery, so that was a roundabout method of creating an opportunity for herself.

Sarah hesitated to answer the cheerful and light reply from Aria. Though Frederick’s rose itself was often used because of its beauty and as an act of respect for its authority, the situation would change for an unmarried aristocratic young lady.

That wasn’t just because of the handkerchief. In addition, Aria’s younger sister, Mielle, might have ties to the successor. She had to be more wary of Aria’s behavior than anyone else; she had to quickly knot it up if things didn’t unfold well.

Of course, it would be given that Aria would be caught up in gossip even if it was unintended. Aria was already someone currently being subject of groundless bad rumors. If Aria were to give the successor the handkerchief embroidered with a rose, she would surely become overwhelmed by the gossip, to the point that she would not be able to go out.

‘She’s too pretty and kind of a child for that…’

Sarah thought that she would be heartbroken and have sleepless nights if she were to see such a bright and pretty child be subject to such suffering.

When she had first met her, Sarah had thought that Aria would grow into a great young lady that would sweep through society with great influence, but now, things were different. She couldn’t imagine that such an innocent and kind girl would survive in such a scary, dreadful den.

Sarah grabbed Aria’s hands, and those glittering, pure eyes of hers looked up toward Sarah. It was very surreal to think that such pure eyes might go through great hardship at the hands of the dirty, ugly, mud-soiled society.