Translator: Jis...o...b..>Proofreader: Arie Bee

Chapter 6

"Where did you hear that rumour?"

"Umm…… I'm not sure? Who was it……? Huh? Where did I hear it? I really did hear it……. I can't quite remember……."

She thought about telling him that Sarah had told her but didn't in case he went to Sarah directly to ask. She simply said 'I can't remember!' and smiled like girls of her age.

The Count asked several times for the origins of the rumour, but Aria continued to tilt her head in confusion as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

It didn't matter what he thought right now. If he decided to get fur he would gain a huge profit and if he didn't he would regret not believing her.

No matter which choice he made Aria would gain the Count's trust and lose nothing.

Aria pretended not to know anything with an innocent expression so that the Count would regret and never go against her words again.

The Count's face hardened as he remembered what kind of child Aria was. Just a while ago, she was a child that screamed at anything that she was displeased at.

He was even embarra.s.sed that he took the word of a child who only went up to his waist so seriously.

But he couldn't be sure about the princess rumour, so he still had his servant look into the matter. It wouldn't take long, and it could only bring positive effects if it happened to be true.

There was no room for Aria to b.u.t.t in in the conversation that started up again after a small silence.

Aria did not even plan on joining the conversation, but Mielle, who was happy about Aria's stupid response, brought up memories of the past, and even the countess was excluded from the conversation.

Aria had placed the last piece of meat in her mouth and did not concern herself with the situation. She would be the one smiling in the end anyway.

* * *

The Count had said he would stay in the capital for a few days, but started getting ready for a business trip at lunchtime the next day.

Aria knew as she watched him pack several thick clothing. Ah, he believed what I said.

As Aria had thought, the Count had gotten the information that the princess purchased fur. If you asked 'What did the princess purchase in the north?' it would've taken a while, but if you started with 'I heard the fur the princess purchased are very good quality?', it was not too hard to find out the answer.

The Count kissed his wife on the cheek, saying he was sorry for leaving without having lunch. He patted his son and daughter on the head, saying his goodbyes, and gave Aria a look in the end.

His look was mixed with happiness, satisfaction, and pride to become a huge feeling of appreciation.

Aria grabbed the Count's hand before he could pat her head. The Count seemed a little surprised but smiled warmly after hearing Aria's bright voice saying goodbye.

Then Aria took out the handkerchief she had hidden in her inner pockets. The Count asked what it was when Aria handed it to him.

"It's a handkerchief. I'm not very good at embroidery yet so it's not too good but I thought you might need it since you're going far away. Please be healthy and come back soon."

Mielle, who was standing across from the count, widened her eyes so much to the point that it couldn't possibly be widened any more. He won't receive it, right? That's what her expression was saying.

But against her wishes, the Count gladly took the handkerchief. The Count right now saw Aria as an angel.

And Aria's embroidery was extremely beautiful, so he probably would've taken it even if he wasn't in such a good mood. It was hard to believe that a mere fourteen year old girl had embroidered it.

The Count showed the handkerchief to his wife.

"I did get her a handkerchief because she said she wanted to do some embroidery, but I didn't even imagine that it would be so beautiful."

The Countess, who was hiding her nine tails, showed the handkerchief to Kain and Mielle as well.

* hiding nine tails: meaning that the countess is a nine tailed fox in disguise and she's acting like a fox

She wasn't just saying it was beautiful because it was her daughter. It was really so beautiful that no one could say anything against the beautiful lily embroidery.

Mielle stared at the handkerchief that was placed in her hands. The lily on the handkerchief looked as if it would start producing a fragrance. It was more elegant and beautiful than any embroidery she had ever seen.

Could I possibly make something better than this embroidery? It felt like she could cry at any moment.

Noticing Mielle's state of mind, Aria smiled in a pure and happy way and asked.

"Would you like me to make one for you too Mielle? If you want you can also have one Kain……."

"No, I'm good."

Kain refused Aria without even listening to her whole sentence. She had expected it, so she simply shrugged and kept up her smile.

"I see. Then I guess I just need to make Mielle's."

Mielle seemed shocked, and did not reply. She simply stared off and did not even wave her hand when her father left for his business trip far away.

Aria wasn't expecting a rage or anything but wasn't expecting her to be so shocked either.

Well, it was very satisfactory.

* * *

Aria laughed after returning to her room. She planned on making the best embroidery possible for Mielle. Sarah's embroidery of course, since she never said she would be the one making it.

She'll surely fall into despair as she looks at the embroidery every day. It will be even worse because she is still young.

When she's over the shock she will try her best to beat Aria in embroidery, and be shocked again when she realizes that she's terrible at embroidery.

'She may never be able to embroider anything.'

Like me in the past.

The Aria in the past had always suffered from an inferiority complex because she was behind in everything compared to Mielle.

She wasn't as elegant, logical, social, or loved, and had a low self esteem, which was converted into her evil actions which were encouraged by the maids.

She, Mielle, was a wall she could never overcome.

So she focused on enhancing her beauty, which was the only way she could beat Mielle.

If she thought about it now, although it would've taken some time, it was a wall she could definitely overcome, but she did not realize it in the past. It was because she had believed that she couldn't from the start.

'It would be okay for it to be the other way around now then, right?'

She would do everything before Mielle could start so she wouldn't be able to do anything.

If things kept going that way Mielle would become a mess, just like Aria had in the past. Just thinking about it sent jolts of excitement through her body.

That day, Mielle stayed in her room without having lunch or dinner. Women that Aria had never seen before visited Mielle in her room, but they all left with a baffled/perplexed look.

They were all people with experience in embroidery, but could not meet Mielle's standards and did not become her teacher.

And while this was happening, the embroidery that Sarah had made was delivered to Mielle. She did not react to the beautiful lily embroidery that looked like it could attract b.u.t.terflies. She simply increased the number of people that came to see her.

Aria suppressed her laugh as she saw the visitors that came to see Mielle for several days.

'It's time you learn that there's nothing you can do.'

* * *

Aria had learned the way to walk elegantly, and she looked like a n.o.ble lady who would have no problems attending social events right away. If you took into consideration her age, she would be able to gather several compliments.

She would get compared because her sister was Mielle, but she had improved enough that she was better than the ladies of her age.

The person who took pride in this fact was Aria's mother, the countess. She took pride in the fact that her wild daughter had changed to become presentable.

She didn't care why. She only wished for her to learn more and get married to a better household than her. Perhaps the wife of a marquis or duke.

"What do you think?"

"If you mean Marquis Vincent, he already has his match."

And it's my teacher. Aria and her mother talked as they had green tea after their meal out in the garden.

The Countess endlessly asked Aria about husband material, and Aria imagined the women they would marry in the future.

"What do you mean, match? It's all up to how hard someone works. Look at your mother."

She was the product of hard work. Even with her beauty, it was not easy to melt the count's heart, which had been frozen after the loss of his first wife. It would not be a stretch to say that there was no one who had worked as hard as her.

Aria laughed quietly.

"I'm still young. I'm only fourteen."

"Which means you're almost fifteen. A woman's young days go by quickly."

The Countess was only thirty two, but she looked off into the sky as if she was reminiscing about her younger days.

She had been thrown out in the streets as a baby, and grew up doing all sorts of dirty jobs. She was taken into the wh.o.r.ehouse even before her period started, and had to serve countless customers.

There was only one way to get out of that h.e.l.l. It was to capture a male that was wealthy and power. There was no way to save herself other than that.

She was only fifteen when she realized this.

From then she used methods of coquetry to all the people with power, and met a man who said he would bring her out of the wh.o.r.ehouse when she was seventeen.

Although it was in the country, he was a baron who owned a small patch of land, and to her he was basically a G.o.d.

Unfortunately she was found to be pregnant before he could take her out, and she could not escape because no one could know who the father was. She had always said 'if only you didn't exist' to Aria as a habit.

"If I think about it now, having you might've been a blessing."

"……in what way?"

"Isn't it better to be a countess with a lot of land and a business than a baroness in the country?"

There wasn't a single drop of lie in her expression. If she missed this time, Aria could also have become a prost.i.tute, but the thought didn't seem to cross her mind.

Aria made a small smile. Even if she acted this way she didn't complain because she raised her without throwing her out.

If she threw Aria out, she could've met a good man and gotten a better status earlier.

But her mother didn't throw her out. She gave birth to Aria, and even brought her to the Count's household. It probably wasn't easy to do.

She was different from Aria, who had been fooled and couldn't even prevent her own mother's death.

The Countess ordered for the cooled tea to be replaced with new ones, and looked around after thinking for a while.

After checking that there was no one nearby she secretly and quietly asked Aria.

"I heard that Mielle has taken an interest in the first son of Duke Frederick."

"You mean Sir Oscar?"

"Yes. He's the same age as Kain. I saw Mielle begging Kain to bring Oscar over."

A little after Aria's fifteenth birthday, Kain returns to the house with Oscar.

And Mielle ends up spilling tea on Oscar due to her nervousness, and he ends up needing a handkerchief.

And Mielle hands him a handkerchief with the household crest that she happened to have. She even lies that she made it, even though it wasn't.

'Yes, I'll be watching that scene.'

Aria could tell what the countess wanted to say. There was no way she would bring up the person Mielle had an interest in for no reason.

There was no official fiance for Duke Frederick's heir.

Mielle was the most advantageous, considering that they would be interested in combining the power and money the two families had, but Oscar did not have too much of an interest in females, which meant there was no frequent contact between Oscar and Mielle.

It might be different if they had conversations and met more often after growing a little, but they weren't in a relations.h.i.+p at the moment.

So although she was of low birth, as long as she was the daughter of the Roscente family, she also had a chance.

The maid who brought out the new tea bowed to show her manners and waited at a spot a little distanced from Aria and her mother. The countess took a sip of tea.

"I want you to be happy, Aria."

"Don't worry, mother."

I can't say I'll become successful, but I have enough determination to bring Mielle down. So don't worry. I'll become happy if others are miserable.

The two of them smiled happily as they felt the warm early fall wind.

END OF CHAPTER 6.