Chapter 18
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Violet's First Words - Episode 18
Ash regarded me with unmistakable amusement.
"I'll need to think about your request, Violet."
"...Did I ask for something so unreasonable?"
"You did. I need to consider what you truly need."
"Can't you just teach me sharp-tongued remarks?"
Ash's lips parted slightly before he smiled again.
"I can't do that. When I help someone, I only provide what they genuinely need."
"Why?"
"You certainly ask 'why' often. Because that's how you win someone's heart and claim their life."
"I'm sorry for asking why again."
"Why must you claim someone's life?"
"...Yes."
"It's my work to save talents like you, and have those talents save the world."
...Was this some kind of volunteer work from the world's greatest swordsman?
The thought crossed my mind.
"And Violet, you're not incapable of sharp words."
"Then what?"
"You're skilled at kind words. Even to those who don't deserve to hear them."
That ticklish feeling again.
It was then.
Thud, thud. Steady, heavy footsteps echoed across the plaza.
From the opposite direction, figures in the uniforms of the Holy Knight Order approached in formation.
I immediately recognized the one at the front.
He was Bludin's father.
Dismay washed across my face.
"Violet."
Marlon was an unremarkable man of modest height.
I disliked Marlon. He had never once stopped Bludin when he openly mistreated me.
"Good day to you."
I greeted him reluctantly.
"Heh, well now. It seems I've hit a late-blooming rebellious phase. Do you know how much your father worries about you?"
Marlon said.
"Did Father ask you to find me?"
Wariness flashed instantly in my eyes.
I assumed Father would take some action now that she had left the house today.
But I never expected he would resort to borrowing Marlon's hand.
"Yes. Besides, I have something I'm curious about too. Bludin was telling me a strange story. He said you hit him? Surely you didn't—"
"I did."
Violet answered firmly.
"Fiancés can have minor quarrels. But still, wasn't that reckless? It's excessive for a lovers' spat."
"It wasn't a lovers' spat, and I meant what I said about breaking the engagement."
Violet spoke quietly.
Marlon's expression, which had been wearing a pleasant smile, changed completely. It became cunning and unpleasant.
"First you talk back to your fiancé Bludin, and now you're talking back to your parents too. It seems you still haven't grasped reality. Do you understand how important the position of our family's future daughter-in-law is?"
"Then please dismiss me from that position and sever the engagement. I believe that would be appropriate."
Violet answered firmly.
"Sigh, it seems you've been corrupted by living a carefree life at the Academy for too long. Spouting such nonsense. Come to our house first. Once we talk things through slowly, you'll change your mind."
Marlon gestured to the knights around him.
The knights quietly approached Violet.
'Is he trying to forcibly drag me away right now? A Knight Order commander doing this in broad daylight?'
Violet was quietly astounded. She turned her hands behind her back and slowly began to concentrate her aura.
That was when Ash quietly spoke up.
"Unless she's committed a crime, you can't just drag her away."
Marlon only then noticed Ash, as if he had just become aware of him, and cleared his throat casually.
"Family matters are none of your concern, Sword Master Ash Defendale."
"That's precisely the problem. From your perspective, Violet Everdin is also someone from another family."
"Let me say this once more—this girl is our family's future daughter-in-law...."
"By that logic, you could also call your son a future Sword Master. 'Future' means he isn't anything yet."
Ash said.
'This guy really... has a different function in his throat than I do....'
Violet marveled. Even when necessary, Ash spoke with such innocent naivety, as if he knew nothing at all.
The effect was to raise the listener's blood pressure by at least double.
"How insolent!"
It worked again.
One of the knights standing behind Marlon ground his teeth as he spoke.
"Quiet."
"But Commander, we should correct that bastard's manners starting now. After all, he's going to join our Knight Order anyway!"
"Is that so...?"
Violet, surprised, looked at Ash.
The Imperial Knight Order and the Holy Knight Order—both recruited only the elite of the elite. Marlon oversaw both organizations.
And for a commoner knight, the path to advancement was to enter one of these two groups. So it made sense.
"Ash, let me make this clear while we have the chance. No matter how great a Sword Master you are, if you want to serve as a knight in this country, you cannot escape my influence."
Marlon spoke as if being benevolent.
"Get to the point. You're busy, so you should spare your tongue. It's so long it's indistinguishable from a sword."
Ash responded.
Marlon fell silent for a moment, his jaw clenching as he ground his teeth.
"Violet, whether that reckless fool with his loose tongue meets his end depends entirely on what you do now. Will you simply stand by and watch?"
Marlon suddenly turned his head to look at Violet.
"If I don't stand by and watch, what am I supposed to do?"
Violet answered as though the question was absurd.
"Don't drag Ash Defendale into this affair. Come with me of your own volition."
"...."
"From today until the semester ends, you will reside at Camelaine House. And you will undergo comprehensive etiquette training. Only after you learn the proper conduct of a respectable person will you be permitted to return home. That is how you will learn to conduct yourself as a fitting bride-to-be of our household."
Violet's breath caught in her throat.
'All because I defied him once, and he responds like this?'
Now she saw the truth—he had never regarded her as an equal. He wouldn't even pretend to listen to her words.
"I suppose Father ordered this as well."
She was not surprised. Father was entirely capable of such a thing.
"Your father wholeheartedly approved. I will teach you from the fundamentals, so prepare yourself. You must cultivate a noble bearing."
Marlon replied.
"Proper conduct? You speak such nonsense with remarkable eloquence."
Ash approached and placed a hand casually on Violet's shoulder. She looked at him with trembling eyes.
"That is what family education is. You, lacking all foundation, would not understand. This entire situation is of that child Violet's own making."
Marlon spoke with a smile that never reached his lips.
"You, you."
"...."
"How would you, the Knight Order commander, possibly know what my foundation is?"
And with an angelic expression, Ash dropped his bombshell.
'He truly has cast all caution to the wind.'
Violet found herself feeling something akin to awe.
Ash was a man who lived only for today.
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