While everyone was still surprised by her declaration, Aria pulled the maid closer to the table and placed her woman's hand above it. Then, in one swift and decisive movement, she grabbed a knife and slammed it down.

“Ahhh!”

A sharp scream of pain echoed through the room as the knife pierced through the maid's hands and went halfway into the table.

While the servant continued to scream, and under the shocked and shaky eyes of her relatives, Aria dragged her chair across the ground as she pushed it back.

“Let this serve as a reminder for you all to not mess with me.”

Aria smiled widely as she spoke and then...

Bang—

Banged the maid’s head straight in the bowl of dirty liquid.

Her hand still on the back of the woman's head, Aria continued to smile, muffling her sobs and cries and forcing her to swallow the disgusting liquid in the process.

By this point, some people had come out of their stupor and the first to make a move was Aria’s oldest brother - a boy a few months younger than her.

“You!” He shouted while running toward her.

“Hah?” Aria sneered. “Now you are going to make a move, huh?”

“It’s a knight’s job to…”

“Don’t make me laugh.” Aria’s face became expressionless. “What do you even know about being a knight when you have treated me like this all those years?”

There were no hidden grievances in her voice, no sorrow, and no pain. It was so even and calm that it was scary.

Louise knew of her own grievances and what she felt, and she had paid them back. As for Aria… she didn’t know what the girl had felt during all those years she had been pushed aside and treated like nothing.

But that didn’t mean she could not avenge the girl.

“Stop that, now!”

It was the Earl's grave tone that ended their staredown. Glancing in his direction, Aria waited to see what he had to say.

“Let the servant go.”

His words were heavy, and Aria could faintly feel some sort of pressure weighing her down. There was also this strange compelling effect to his voice, and she knew it was his higher Charisma at play.

But who was Aria?

She was the oddball that came straight from another world. Although she wasn't sure if it was because of her status as a beyonder, or because Edward's charisma wasn't that high, the effects were minimal.

Grabbing the woman’s hair, Aria lifted her head from the bowl.

“You don’t get to give me orders—”

And—

Bang!

She bashed the maid’s face against the bowl once more. This time, she put so much more power behind it that with a shattering sound, the bowl broke into pieces and the liquid spilled out.

Stepping a few feet back to not get herself dirty, Aria smiled at the Earl.

“I already told you before, you do not have control over me.”

The maid’s cries had become so faint they could barely be heard now, and as Aria stood there, grabbing her by the head as her hand bled out and the woman sobbed, she looked like a devil coming straight from hell.

“If you want to talk, it is in my terms.”

Finally letting go, Aria spun on her feet and ignored the chatter and barks coming from behind.

She could hear her siblings and stepmothers chatting and whispering among themselves, and she could also hear the Earl gritting his teeth in anger. But she didn’t care.

The only reason for her to come here was to entertain herself a bit and establish dominance.

Now, she had made it clear to everyone that she was no more the past Aria that they could trample on and walk away freely.

Waiting for her by the door, Marian’s expression was calm and collected. The white-haired maid did not seem concerned or surprised by Aria’s actions and, instead, seemed to approve of them.

“Let’s go.” Arian smiled toward her maid.

Nodding, Marian opened the door leading out of the dining room. Once Aria walked through, she gazed toward the table and the people sitting around it.

For a moment, she reveled in the shock and surprise, in the fear and anger, that they all wore in their faces. Time had finally come for them to have a taste of their own medicine.

Narrowing her eyes, Marian walked out of the room.

If only her ladyship, Aria’s mother, was here…

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about that. Nonetheless, while walking out, Marian could not help but mutter softly.

“Your ladyship, Miss Aria is growing very well.”

She could only wish that those words could reach the woman wherever she was.

— - -

Nephrite was lying in her bed and rolling from side to side while hugging a pillow.

Right now, the cold and calm mask she always wore had been shelved away and her expression had been lightened aglow with curiosity and wonder.

In the library, Aria had proved herself knowledgeable in social and political studies - enough to increase the rate at which she earned experience in her ‘Student’ job.

Her blond sister had a completely unique take and viewpoint of the empire's political games and scenario. It was something one could only hope to achieve after pondering about the subject for a long time.

It was what had happened during dinner, however, that kept Nephrite awake.

She could still remember the screams and cries of the servant as Aria knocked her against the table.

Surprisingly, however, she was neither afraid nor bothered by what had happened. In truth, she somehow felt that it served the woman right for doing what she did.

That was what made her unable to sleep.

So far, she had never cared about Aria and what happened around her. Because of that, she had neither gone out of her way to interact or mess with her older sister. Yet, this time around, she wasn’t only interested, but also on Aria’s side.

Nephrite didn’t know what to make out of that, not when she had been estranged from her siblings for a long time.

Did she wish to get closer to Aria?

As she pondered about the subject, a creaking sound coming from the door announced someone’s presence.

Looking over, she saw a tall figure entering the room.

Dark hair that fell slightly past the shoulder-blades with curls at the end, and lemon-colored eyes that were strict and cold. Such a tall and elegant figure could only belong to her mother.

“I see that you are still awake.” Her voice was even and low and had this particular heaviness to it that forced people to listen.

“Yes, mother.”

Getting up from the bed, Nephrite stiffly stood in front of the woman. Looking down, she grabbed the hem of her green pajamas and waited for her mother to speak.

“Have I not told you to stop using those childish clothes?”

Nephrite trembled. She absolutely hated the dark and revealing nightgowns that her mother had given her, and that was why she hardly used any of them.

“I am sorry, mother.” Her voice quaked when she apologized.

It was as if the calm and confident girl that Aria had first seen in the library did not exist.

“I don’t need to remember how important it is for you to develop your womanly charms, right?”

“No, mother.”

“Unless you want to be stuck as a third-rate noble, you must marry well and wrap your future husband around your fingers.”

“Yes, mother.”

“Although I hate to admit that, you can also learn from that lowborn Grace how to seduce men. That would do wonders for your future.”

“…Yes, mother.”

“No, yes, yes… don’t you know how to say something else?”

“Ye… I ask for your forgiveness, mother. I promise I will work hard to attain your expectations.”

A moment of silence went by, and Nephrite suddenly felt a hand touch her head.

“Good girl. Remember, this is all so that you can be happy.”

She didn’t answer and merely nodded. Yet, for some reason, she could not help but think about the way Aria ruffled through her hair in the library.

It was such a similar motion and action, and yet, it felt so different.

Aria's touch had felt warm and endearing, playful and mischievous, but still tender. Her mother's, though… it was a stiff and cold touch, that came out of nowhere and went away in the blink of an eye.

“Rest well dear, and do not approach that girl.”

“Hm. Don’t worry mother.”

There were no changes in her mother's hard and strict countenance as she turned around to leave. Like a thousand years old ice that would not melt even under the sun, she believed her mother's heart was frozen solid.

It was only after she heard the door close that Nephrite moved.

Crawling above the bed, she leaned against the headboard and hugged her knees.

She didn’t cry, nor did she release a single sob. In silence, her mind wandered away as she thought about everything that had happened.

‘Maybe it is because of this that I am so interested in her.’

The Aria she had met earlier wasn't just different, but she seemed carefree. The behavior she showcased was that of someone that did not care about what people thought and said about her, and only did as she pleased.

It was something Nephrite was honestly jealous of.

She was tired of being a plaything, of being just a means for her mother to achieve her goals.

She was not a tool.

And she did not want to become a pretty accessory for a nobleman.

Aria's rebellious attitude even in front of their father resonated with her. Nephrite wished she could be like that and speak what she felt in her heart, cutting the threads of the puppeteer behind her.

‘But I can’t do it.’

She was scared. Afraid of what that would entail, and afraid of the cold and harsh eyes of her parents. In her heart, she knew she could not be like Aria.

As her mind wandered through dark corners, and also gazed at a light she could only dream about, Nephrite eventually fell asleep while hugging her knees.

What she didn’t know, though, was that the seed had been planted. And that the anomaly that had crashed its way in this world was more than ready to germinate it.