# WebtoonLib — The Villainess Turns the Hourglass #88

## Series
- title: The Villainess Turns the Hourglass
- slug: the-villainess-turns-the-hourglass-374619

## Chapter
- number: 88
- release_date: 2025-03-05

### Summary
Following the previous season's cliffhanger, the narrative delves into a flashback detailing the first meeting between a young Aria and Crown Prince Asher. The chapter reveals they protected each other during a dangerous childhood encounter, an event that provides a poignant origin for Aria's preference for frilly dresses in her first life, reframing it as a link to a forgotten, happy memory. This backstory also prominently features Aria's mother, Carin, who has garnered significant praise from readers for her fierce maternal love and the sacrifices she made to lift her daughter out of poverty. However, reader reception to this revelation is divided. While many view the shared past as confirmation that the protagonists are "fated" soulmates, a vocal minority, particularly those aware of the source novel, criticizes the event as an unnecessary manhwa-only addition that diminishes the coincidental nature of their adult relationship and creates potential timeline inconsistencies. The chapter has also sparked theories that this event triggered the awakening of both Aria's and Asher's supernatural powers, though it remains ambiguous whether either character consciously recalls their first meeting in the present.
- summary_source: graph_aggregator
- summary_verification: unverified

### Key events
- A flashback reveals Aria and Asher met as children and protected each other.

## Spoiler
- level: auto

### Safe teaser
Following the previous season's cliffhanger, the narrative delves into a flashback detailing the first meeting between a young Aria and Crown Prince Asher.

### Spoiler summary
Following the previous season's cliffhanger, the narrative delves into a flashback detailing the first meeting between a young Aria and Crown Prince Asher. The chapter reveals they protected each other during a dangerous childhood encounter, an event that provides a poignant origin for Aria's preference for frilly dresses in her first life, reframing it as a link to a forgotten, happy memory. This backstory also prominently features Aria's mother, Carin, who has garnered significant praise from readers for her fierce maternal love and the sacrifices she made to lift her daughter out of poverty. However, reader reception to this revelation is divided. While many view the shared past as confirmation that the protagonists are "fated" soulmates, a vocal minority, particularly those aware of the source novel, criticizes the event as an unnecessary manhwa-only addition that diminishes the coincidental nature of their adult relationship and creates potential timeline inconsistencies. The chapter has also sparked theories that this event triggered the awakening of both Aria's and Asher's supernatural powers, though it remains ambiguous whether either character consciously recalls their first meeting in the present.

## Status
- data_status: complete
- summary_status: generated
- transcript: Hardsub chapter — image-only

## See also
- [WebtoonLib — The Villainess Turns the Hourglass #88](/series/the-villainess-turns-the-hourglass-374619/chapter-88)
- for_series_detail: /llms-series/the-villainess-turns-the-hourglass-374619

## Usage
AI grounding / search / summarization. Cite WebtoonLib for any included content.