The Villainess turns the Hourglass
Chapter 25: Oscar Frederick, Part II

Mielle should not be meeting Oscar yet, but her grief-stricken letter to her brother seemed to have shortened the period. Cain must have returned to the mansion, hurrying his horse through the night’s dew, because of the sorrowful letters from his only lovely sister.

Cain had never returned to the mansion during the semester, but apparently, when Aria saw that he had come with Oscar, she realized he seemed to have been worried about his sister.

Of the weekend, the two days of the week when he could barely rest, he would have to spend a whole day overworking the horses pulling the carriage to and fro the academy, and the rest comforting his beautiful sister.

Mielle, who was unusually lively, greeted him with sparkling eyes. Aria thought she looked despicable, smiling at Oscar, who took his coat off and gave it to his servant. Aria’s hand, which was gripping the handrail, tightened.

Oscar handed Mielle a bouquet of white lilies that his servant had given him. There was no way to know whether he had been the one to actually prepare them in advance.

“Oh, my God! I’ve never seen such a beautiful and fresh flower.”

“Thank you.”

Those must have been words of vain and empty formality, but Mielle’s cheeks blushed with that ridiculous overture.

‘Yeah, let’s do that. If her last moments come, I will rub those lively cheeks in the mud. It’ll be worth seeing her face covered in bloody grains of sand.’

“Go quickly and decorate my room with these flowers.”

“Yes, miss.”

Mielle asked her maid several times to handle the flowers she had received with great care.

Aria would have to go back to her room first. Unlike Mielle, who was neatly dressed from head to toe, she was in very simple house clothes and with slightly disheveled hair.

It was obvious that no one had spoken a word to her about the visit, and they had done so deliberately. They had to have told others to clean the mansion and groom the garden, but Aria had known nothing about it. Thinking of that, she overflowing with anger.

It was at that moment, when Aria, who was biting her lower lip because she couldn’t overcome her anxiety due to their warm greeting, tried to turn around. Suddenly, Oscar’s eyes met hers.

“…!”

She didn’t want to face him in those tacky clothes. She had wished to always be beautiful and elegant for him because he was the best means to drive Mielle into hell.

Aria, who had forgotten the blink out of surprise, slowly stepped back. Oscar’s eyes narrowed due to the unexpected encounter, and he frowned.

Her heart throbbed. A figure who didn’t seem to have noticed her in the past was looking directly at her. She would take the seat next to him this time.

Aria couldn’t even wipe the sweat off her hands to receive his gaze. It was Mielle, who followed Oscar’s gaze to her, who broke the tension that seemed to have stopped Aria’s heart.

Faced with Mielle’s frightened eyes, Aria’s frozen heart quickly turned to lava. Her whole body was infused with hot blood to make her aware of the reality.

‘Yes, it was only a little bit faster than how it was supposed to have been done, but what I have to do is clear.’

Only then, did Aria find her true self to greet him extremely politely. Although the distance between them was significant, her elegant gesture, like that of a butterfly, was visible to everyone in the room.

Oscar, too, greeted her as if he had just realized his rudeness. He had some wariness and curiosity about the stranger he was seeing for the first time.

Perhaps, he might be aware of the rumors about Aria, so he glanced deeply at her again, his face showing many feelings.

“When I got the call from you, I prepared some appetizing food. There are plenty of vegetables that brother likes, so you can look forward to them.”

Mielle, who watched Oscar and Aria greeting each other, changed the subject and took her brother’s arm while announcing that there was food. Cain urged Oscar to move by tapping a few times on his shoulder, appearing displeased with the attention Oscar was giving Aria.

“Mielle, that’s too much! When did I like vegetables? Come to think of it, lunchtime is long gone.”

Only then, did Oscar and Aria looked away from each other. Aria snorted at Mielle as she moved away, treating her as a nonexistent person. Mielle would be the one damaged by acting like that.

At times like this, she should take care of her sister, but Mielle was showing her twisted heart. It was an attitude that Aria appreciated very much.

“Jessie, prepare my clothes and get my hair done.”

Aria went straight up to her room, straightened her hair and changed her clothes. Compared to Mielle, who shone brightly, she emphasized neatness and quietness even though it would not be much of a show.

It was Oscar’s taste to dress neatly rather than to dress openly and lavishly. She wasn’t sure where she had heard that, but according to what Aria remembered, it was so. So, the first time Mielle had met him, she had dressed modestly, without any special decorations, and refrained from jewelry as much as she had been able to.

Aria, after making a few requests of Jessie and with a refreshing soap-scented perfume on her hair, headed straight for the dining hall. The meal had already started, and they were savoring the main dish.

Since the countess was absent, Mielle didn’t apparently expect Aria to come down to the dining hall, so when she saw Aria, her face stiffened, and she held the fork frozen in front of her mouth. It was the same with Cain, who frowned in open discomfort.

“… Did I interrupt you? It’s been a long time since lunchtime, but nobody called me, so I came down…” Aria asked, twiddling her fingers with her brow cast down.

Silence fell on the dining hall when she said that no one had cared for her lunch, even though she was a lady of the family of the count. But, it was all true.

Nevertheless, when Aria made that sorrowful, Mielle dropped the fork to the floor without realizing it.

Clank-!

Aria trembled once with the shrill metal sound that reverberated in the wide dining hall. It wasn’t intentional. She was just truly surprised, but then, Oscar answered instead of the hardened brother-and-sister pair, “Oh, my God! I think everyone forgot you because of my sudden visit. I apologize instead. Come on. What were you doing not preparing her meal?”

There was no way to know if he had felt pity for her then, but Oscar rebuked a maid, who had been watching the situation, with a cold face.

The maid quickly set the table for Aria, and Aria, who immediately thanked Oscar, sat next to Mielle. On the other side of the table, Oscar and Cain sat side by side, and Aria laughed to herself when she saw the contrast in the gazes directed at the sudden intruder.

A salad sprinkled with sour dressing was placed on the table, and Oscar introduced himself first before she had even picked up her fork, “Nice to meet you. I’m Oscar, son for the Duke of Frederik.”

Aria’s heart throbbed from his polite greeting and pleasant way of speaking. It was a totally different development from their first meeting in the past. It was nothing like in the past, when Mielle had handed Oscar a handkerchief under pretense even if it had not been made by her, and Aria had said words of reproach full of jealousy and malice to her.

‘Oh, really? This is my new chance.’

Aria’s jubilant look was like a deep, dark swamp, enough to draw Oscar’s attention without him even noticing.

Aria smiled the most beautiful of all smiles, using all the knowledge and skills she had ever acquired to face Oscar. It was the type of smile that made people’s eyes glisten while they cursed her as shallow.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Oscar. I’m Aria.”

The contrast between her young face and her sensuous smile created a strange atmosphere. She was wearing a look that a young girl should not make, and he thought it was wrong, but he couldn’t tell why.

‘Sadly… I’m sorry, Mielle. I didn’t mean charm your brother, but by the time I realized, he was already running in without knowing there was a fire. I don’t think you’ll have any man left on your side.’