Chapter 17. Changed Future, Part I

When she pulled the handle, a space large enough for one person appeared. Each room had a secret room set up, a secret of which only the owner of the room was aware. This was also to be her hideout, prepared in case of an unfortunate event.

Usually, the explanation of the hideout would be written in a secret note by the head of the family, and only the owner of the room would read it. Aria, who had never been recognized as a member of the count’s family in her previous life, only figured out that such a secret space existed a month before her death.

And she had come across it by chance when she had been going crazy with jealousy of the triumphant Mielle and the unyielding reality she was living. Aria, who had been out of her mind at that time, had destroyed everything in the frames and on the walls of her room. Dozens of objects had been scattered over the floor, and one of the vases that she had thrown had accidentally hit the switch on the wall, revealing the secret location to her.

‘Despite all that, I couldn’t use it when it really mattered.’

Since she hadn’t hidden in the situation where she should have hidden, when her death had neared, Aria decided to use the secret space that she had never, which she had never used in her previous life, for the hourglass that had given her life back.

Knock!

As soon as she hid the hourglass, there was a rough knock on the door. It seemed that the faithful dogs had arrived. As soon as she beckoned them, the knights hurriedly entered the room, each with a glass of water for Aria. They bent to one knee as if they were bearing gifts to a god, and Aria smiled brightly as she accepted each of their cups.

“Look after me from now on.”

‘My cute puppies!’

———————-

3. Changed Future

Aria soon returned Mielle’s dress. She didn’t even wash it because she wanted to get the dress out of her hands as soon as possible.

Mielle’s face looked strange when she looked at Aria returning the dress without a tear. She had probably thought that Aria would return her dress in a terrible state.

Of course, Aria had had plenty of desire to do so, but after learning that committing such misdeeds would only make her feel a little better at the moment while causing her situation to become aggravated later on, she didn’t do that.

Moreover, countless people had watched her borrow the dress from Mielle, so she couldn’t return it in a mess. First of all, the man with that hideous stare might come to look for the owner of the dress, so the dress had to be kept safe right in Mielle’s dressing room.

“Now that I’ve purchased some clothes, there won’t be a situation where I will need to borrow them from you.”

“You can borrow more, but I’m glad for now.”

Mielle, who had no idea of what Aria was thinking to herself, felt relieved. Then, Aria smiled gently as she faced Mielle.

It seemed vaguely clear to Arian what Mielle had thought in the past when she had cleverly harassed her. The practice was more fun and amusing than she had thought. That was why Mielle had harassed her for so long.

‘Dumb bitch! I hope that man mistakes me for Mielle.’

It wouldn’t have happened if it had been in the future. Mielle had a very different appearance, tone, airy atmosphere from Aria then, but apart from that, all other external features were the same: bright blond hair, porcelain skin, average height and similar age. Lastly, they were both young ladies of the Roscents. Mielle and Aria had many characteristics in common.

In Aria’s case, she wasn’t able to eat properly in her young age, so she was a bit shorter than Mielle, but because of that, both of them were around the same height even though Mielle was a year younger than her. Therefore, if they were both together, someone from afar wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the two.

Of course, people would be able to distinguish Mielle’s elegance from Aria’s just by posture alone, but ever since Aria had started working to refine her elegance, that gap had started to close slowly.

People would think that Mielle was the only one when considering the daughter of Count Roscent, so if the man were to search based on her family’s name and external features, it was highly probable that Aria’s name would not come up. Not only that, the dress that Mielle had received from Oscar was itself a trap.

That dress was not Aria’s, but Mielle’s. Mielle, who had received the gift, had boasted to everyone with whom she was acquainted in the neighborhood, saying that the dress, which was decorated with a red ruby crafted with the seal of the family of the Duke of Frederick, was beautiful.

Therefore, that man would never be able to find her. Thinking that way, Aria felt relieved. As long as she did not head out to where commoners usually gathered, she might be totally safe from danger, but it was better to be ready for anything.

Due to her vast knowledge of the future, her fear of an unpredictable future was many times greater than that of ordinary people, especially since she had already lost her life once and was determined not to lose it again this time.

The current situation was different from what had happened. If it was good that had bumped into her, it might be worth considering, but if it was bad, she needed to avoid it at all costs. Hoping that Mielle might take all of the risks and dangers onto herself, Aria continued to build the solid walls around her.

“That dress, everyone I met praised it saying that it was pretty despite me not being the owner.”

‘Please, wear that dress and walk around in it. Boast to everyone that the dress is yours.’

When Aria told her the story, Mielle’s face hardened. The dress was so precious that even Mielle wasn’t able to wear it, but she didn’t want someone else to wear it either. Aria saw that Mielle was unable to maintain her amicable expression, which meant she must have been very angry, which was exactly what Aria had hoped for.

Imagining Mielle wearing the dress gifted by Oscar and walking around amidst the crowds several times, Aria headed for her room. That day everything had worked out so well that she was humming subconsciously.

***

Fortunately or not, the man that she had met at the general store did not come after Mielle or Aria. In the meantime, Aria asked how many participants would attend Sarah’s tea party before going.

“Including Lady Aria and myself, there will be a total of six people.”

The reason she asked was to prepare embroidered handkerchiefs for the guests in advance. Among female aristocrats, presenting embroidered items to one another was used as a method of forging bonds.

Aria, who had received beautiful, brilliant jewels from men in the past, found it hard to comprehend what good was to exchange embroidered gifts, but when Sarah told her about the other options, she had to nod.

Other than embroidered items, the women would also gift hand-drawn paintings, antique poems, and simple essays, which were shown first to their mothers or sisters for approval before being given as gifts to others.

Aria, thinking that she would have to perform such acts with Mielle, felt so sick that she was about to vomit in disgust, but barely held it in. If she were to use paint and ink made from poison, it would be OK, but the thought of doing such acts with Mielle was repugnant. Not to mention, there was a question of whether she would actually be able to exchange things like that with the other young ladies. She could not write them because, in the first place, she had seldom read books.

“… Lady Aria? Your complexion…”

“Ah, I’m sorry… I feel a little…”

Sarah, who confirmed that Aria’s complexion turned more pale the more she explained things, recommended the handkerchief among the several options. That was because that would allow for Aria’s blossoming talents without making her feel rejected.