Chapter 61
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Violet's First Words - Episode 61
Upon realizing this, Ash felt a slight tremor run through him.
"We make a perfect pair, Violet Everdin. You've read my heart completely, haven't you?"
Violet smiled.
"Ash, do you remember what you said? That you'd remake me anew. You said that in the Detention Cell."
"...Yes, I'll keep helping you."
Ash extended his hand toward Violet.
Violet shook her head gently but firmly.
"I don't need anyone to make me into someone. I've always been the same person—my family simply prevented me from seeing myself clearly. From now on, becoming myself and living authentically is something I can do alone."
"...."
"So thank you for helping me, Ash. I don't need any more assistance."
Perhaps that was why.
Ash suddenly realized he was speaking with desperate clinginess.
Violet, who had seemed to fit perfectly in his palm, slipped through his fingers and vanished.
"You haven't finished your business with your father yet."
"I can handle that myself too. You taught me well, after all."
"Violet."
"Ash, I like you."
Violet dropped that bombshell as casually as if commenting on the weather.
What was she saying now?
He had thought Violet was in his grasp. But when he came to his senses, he realized he was the one lying in Violet's palm.
Ash felt himself bouncing and ricocheting helplessly within her hand.
"Ash, even when everyone dismissed me, you always showed me indifferent kindness."
"...."
"I've found it strange for a while now. How excessively kind you've been to me."
Violet looked slightly melancholic.
"Aren't you curious about my feelings?"
"If you truly liked me, you wouldn't have considered me a political marriage prospect. I'm objective enough to understand that much. You don't love me."
"I'll draw closer to reassure you. I'll bring you into my protection—isn't that enough?"
Now Ash's composure crumbled.
"Through all this time with you, I've discovered who I truly am. And from now on, I want to live well with this newly found self. So I like you, but I don't want to live a life where I'm entirely dependent on you and swept along by your will. What I need right now is..."
"...."
"I understand, Ash."
Violet looked at him with resolute eyes.
In that moment, Ash understood.
Before approaching Violet, there lingered in my heart a single thread of doubt—a grain of sand, an inexplicable unease.
I wanted to see Violet. That was why I felt this anxiety.
"When I was younger and foolish, I was once captivated by the idea of being engaged to Bludin, but that infatuation shattered quickly. So... what I'm trying to say is..."
"So?"
"You are my first love... that kind of person. I think I was drawn to you because it was you. Not simply because you treated me well. From before... whenever I happened to encounter you at the Academy, my heart would flutter. If you had attended the Academy just a little more often, I might have fallen for you helplessly."
Violet continued speaking softly.
Yet it was not a confession of love—it was a farewell.
This woman had neatly compartmentalized her feelings for me in her own mind.
Violet pressed on, unaware of my turmoil.
"You remember how I said I'd repay what I owe you? Cyril Uncle said I didn't need to repay anything because you've gained so much from this, but I don't think that's right. Disappointment is disappointment, and gratitude is gratitude."
Violet smiled carefully, tenderly, radiantly.
"So when I called out for help in the Ball Hall, you helped me right away."
That was true.
In truth, I had hoped that the Lust awakened by Edgar would claim more victims.
That way, it would instill fear of the Seven Sins in the people.
The more people feared the Seven Sins, the greater the advantage for me.
So even in that Ball Hall, I had intended to observe the situation a bit longer.
'How could I turn away when Violet desperately cried out for help?'
At her single plea, I moved without hesitation.
Fortunately, the outcome was excellent.
"So going forward, whenever you ask me for help, I'll come running. I think that's enough."
Violet whispered.
To confess and reject me in one breath—was such a thing even possible?
Violet seemed embarrassed by my silence. She looked at me, then placed a soft kiss on my cheek.
"Take care, Ash. With you, everyone will surely walk the radiant path of light."
A parting kiss.
An Imperial greeting shared between friends.
In that moment, I gently grasped Violet's wrist.
Violet turned back, meeting my gaze.
"This won't be the end, Violet."
I spoke softly.
"...What?"
"Our connection. It won't end here."
The grip on her wrist loosened gently. Violet blinked.
Violet rose from her seat. She looked at me for a moment, then turned away.
She walked slowly into the distance.
I watched her receding figure for a long time.
You confessed to me, and then you rejected me.
I wanted to laugh, and simultaneously felt utterly bewildered.
One part inexplicable emotion, nine parts unwavering certainty.
That was the emotion he had defined for Violet.
But in this moment, the ratio had flipped—nine parts to one.
"No, perhaps it was always the opposite from the start."
That one part of emotion he had overlooked.
It was the desire to see Violet. Longing, tenderness, the ache of her absence.
Ash's heart was already moving toward her.
It was not Violet who had been captivated.
It was Ash.
From the beginning, he had not been judging rationally.
Nine parts heart, one part reason. Thinking only with that one part had clouded his judgment.
"Truly, what am I to do with you, Violet Everdin."
The world called Ash the most valuable man in the Capital—nay, in all the world.
And tonight, Violet had ensnared that invaluable man with a single sentence.
* * *
That night, Ash returned quietly to Bluehill Mansion.
And for the first time in ages, he slept deeply.
"My lord, regarding your meeting with Miss Violet yesterday—have you decided to proceed with the marriage?"
When Gran approached and asked, Ash was still smiling.
Ash had risen early in the morning and reclined leisurely in a long chair, reviewing the day's schedule.
"Whether I marry or not is not for me to decide. Violet decides."
Gran's expression was one of disbelief.
"Pardon?"
"The order is entirely wrong. For marriage to happen, she must come to like me first. The decision to wed comes after courtship."
"...What did you just...."
Gran's hands trembled.
"I apologize for speaking so bluntly, my lord, but you are the one who once drank tea with poison added by a rival, and from the opposite cup, drank an identical cup with elegance. Yet now you speak of courtship? What on earth happened last night?"
His rival at that time had died instantly. It had all truly happened in Kaizeria.
And Ash had been only sixteen then. All distant memories now.
"A miracle."
Ash simply defined what had occurred last night.
"A good miracle, my lord?"
"Wonderfully good."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org