The Villainess turns the Hourglass

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

“Then would you contact them?”

“Don’t worry, miss!”

At last Emma swept her chest down on Mielle’s brightened face. Bringing young aristocrats to the Aristocratic Party would earn the trust of the princess more than it was now, and the value of Mielle would rise.

No matter how successful the business was, a lower aristocrat would always be a lower aristocrat. For the future, they would need a network of people to support themselves. And for that personal connection, Mielle was very appropriate.

* * *

Not long after the year had changed, the mansion had been in a state of uproar. Some wives Aria had never seen had visited the mansion of Count Roscent. It had been because of the tea party hosted by Mielle. It was hard for Aria to understand because Mielle had always invited high-ranking nobles who would be profitable to her.

It was the same for Annie, too, and she went downstairs, secretly glanced at the meeting, and returned to Aria’s room with a puzzled face.

“I don’t understand. How can Ms. Mielle hang out with the baronesses? There is even a commoner!”

She looked quite disappointed in her anger. Although she had been so fascinated by the gold and silver treasures that she had sided with Aria, she seemed shocked by the sudden change in Mielle, whom she had long admired.

The brooch on Annie’s chest, sitting on the other side, sparkled in the light. It was a rose brooch from Oscar. The brooch, which had played Mielle dozens enough, ended up in Annie’s hands.

The card had to be thrown away with certainty. Aria wasn’t going to hold Oscar anymore. Aria, who had risked her future on him when she had first returned, was no longer applicable.

Now she had achieved quite a lot, and she would have better cards in the future. Arranging them one by one had convinced her that Oscar alone meant nothing. The brooch now had no value left but as a present, it will have, as Aria had given it to Annie. If she would meet him, she would not feel anything. After glancing at it, Aria asked, “What were they talking about?”

“It sounded like a business story… I don’t know well. It was a kind of business story, and they were talking about their husbands’ business?”

“Really?”

Aria was also curious at the meetings, which had been held nearly everyday. ‘What could have changed her like this, even though it was Mielle, who had never been associated with a lower aristocrat, let alone a commoner?’

Unable to resist the curiosity, Aria went downstairs pretending to take a walk. Because of the winter, they had a meeting in the garden on the second floor. The door to the garden was open, so Aria went into it as if she were taking a walk.

Inside, there were fifteen young women and Mielle drinking tea and talking about something. She walked slowly through the garden and heard it at first, but the main story was about business. In between, there was a laugh of a girl.

“Oh, miss…!”

While listening carefully, one of the attendants noticed Aria’s visit. It was also because Aria approached their table. Dozens of eyes were intrigued by the newly featured figure, and to clear up their curiosity, Mielle called Aria’s name,

“Aria.”

“Mielle.”

Mielle seemed to have forgotten all about the brooch. She was smiling in harmony with the assembled women. Aria couldn’t tell if it was pretentious or not, but the fact that Mielle was smiling in itself made Aria feel bad.

‘What in the world has made her so happy?’ Aria tried to take a look at one by one, but they had not been in her memory, and they were only small fries.

“This is my elder sister.”

Mielle introduced Aria to the women who gathered. It was a very simple introduction with no modifiers, but everyone greeted with a different look as if they had recognized Aria. It was a familiar situation. Aria received a gaze of various emotions in one body and stood up.

“You look happy. Can I come with you?”

The uninvited lady was going to join. Besides, it was she who had bad rumors. If they were ordinary ladies, they would scoff at her so as to shake their eyelashes, fanning themselves to the point of shaking.

But all the women gathered here were the wives of emerging businessmen. Most of them were low-class nobles and there were even commoners. For them, the appearance of Aria was more interesting than unpleasant.

“Don’t you think she can do that? The more people get to gather, the more interesting the story will be,” said a woman sitting in the middle of the table. Seeing her eyes shine, her feelings for Aria seemed to be a curiosity that was close to favor.

‘You must be wondering who the wicked woman of the rumor is.’

Moreover, she might be curious because it was time for the rumors about the wicked woman were divided into several parts. Fortunately, other wives nodded, saying that it would be good since she was quite influential in this group.

At this point, the opinion of Mielle, who was the most identifiable and had the highest standing, was not reflected at all. It was different from the other ladies who had always looked into Mielle’s feelings and only agreed.

‘They said that there is a commoner, and that’s why.’

Aria, blinking slowly unexpectedly, staring at the woman, smiled charmingly. It seemed like a very fun meeting.

Aria’s seat was just opposite Mielle, close to the center of the table. It was a very good place to see Mielle’s face. Aria was able to find a feature in the women who presented themselves in order as soon as she was seated.

‘Aren’t they the wives of the family I have invested in?’

They were the wives of the successful entrepreneurs who she had invested in.

All the entrepreneurs had been introduced to her and she had invested in, so the solidarity between them was quite strong. According to Andrew, who was in contact with them, the people who had received the investment from Aria also had regular meetings.

Of course, it was not a voluntary meeting, but it had been started when Aria had suggested it would be better to do so. It was a relationship that started with the hope that the young entrepreneurs who had been invested by an anonymous investor A would like to have a strong relationship.

‘But those wives are all gathered together.’

It was as if Aria knew what Mielle was up to. They were the emerging forces based on capital, so Mielle intended to attract them to her group. There would now be bankrupt aristocrats in the Aristocratic Party, and they would have a great interest in those who accumulated wealth. Although most of them were inferior nobles and commoners, they would not fit their level, but they would need funds.

‘But will it be? It’s me, the anonymous investor A, who they are loyal to.’

At one point it was Aria who had made them the rising star of the empire. They expressed their loyalty by sending letters to Aria, whom they had never seen before. If they could meet, they would kneel down and kiss her feet.

‘But are they going to enter the Aristocratic Party that they would be used as consumables and discarded? Apart from status, they are businessmen. They are smart so they’ll never do it.’

After each introduction, the interrupted conversation began again, so Aria drank tea and listened to their conversation.

“But every time we meet, I feel like we’re talking about the investor, because the grace we receive is great. He or she is the only one in the world who invests in a business plan with no conditions attached.”

“That’s right. If the investor didn’t invest, our business would be ruined. There was someone who wanted to buy technology. My husband’s been thinking for a long time.”

“So am I. I’m sure I’d have to sell my mansion if I hadn’t been invested. Thank God.”

“Oh, so did I. I was going to sell all the jewelry I had and add to my husband’s business.”

They were constantly praising the investor. Most of them said that they received timely investments to prevent devastation. Aria felt strange about the wives she saw for the first time today. She had heard a lot of abuse in public, rather than compliment. It was difficult to control her facial expression because she felt itchy and daunting somewhere in her stomach.

So she lowered her raised mouth by pretending to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief. Maybe it was because she encountered the feelings that she always had in writing.

Mielle, who had been smiling and listening to the conversation all the time, asked, “I’d love to see that investor once, too. By the way, what happened to those jewels now? Did you get it back?”