Chapter 73
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Violet's First Words - Episode 73
"You understand, don't you, Violet? Wear the clothes according to the notebook I gave you. I've written down everything—sketches of each outfit and when and how to wear them."
"Thank you, Marin."
Violet nodded in acknowledgment.
"Wait a moment, Gran."
As Gran and Marin headed toward the carriage, Marin sent Gran ahead first.
"Violet, I couldn't tell you earlier. My secret."
"Oh, that's right."
"I came from hell. A place as narrow as an ant colony, ugly, dark, where I had to kill others to survive."
Violet's eyes widened.
"Even there, I could rarely glimpse something beautiful. Exquisite sculptures or people dressed in magnificent clothing. From that moment on, I dreamed every day that when I grew up to be a successful adult with money, I would spend my entire life creating those beautiful things."
I wanted to ask more. But the atmosphere didn't permit it.
In the end, I answered.
"Then I'll try to become something beautiful that you love."
Marin laughed.
"You're serious about the strangest things. Though I suppose this charm is why even Ash, with his impossibly high standards, is...."
"...What?"
"Nothing. But I'm not just looking for something beautiful. I want something that's been refined and polished, beautiful even in its depths."
"Of course. I said it because I understand."
Marin's smile grew even brighter.
The two of them departed.
* * *
The day of the settlement mediation decided by the Court had arrived.
"Miss Violet Everdin! Once you receive the house, do you intend to drop the lawsuit against your father?"
"How does it feel to become involved in the Empire's first case of 'posthumous marriage recognition'? Wouldn't that lawsuit be more important than this settlement?"
"Do you have any intention of reconciling with your father?"
Following Brown's advice, I set out to submit the lawsuit documents to the Court myself.
Marin dressed me with genuine delight.
To match the concept of a lawsuit, she had chosen a dress made from a deep blue velvet fabric.
I wore shoes with heels slightly higher than usual, with ankle straps, and a matching hat upon my head.
My long golden hair was loosely braided and draped down my back.
Before me, reporters swarmed forward, hurling various questions.
"Move aside! Please don't come so close!"
Brown stood beside me as my escort, his hand brushing lightly against my shoulder in the process.
"You look absolutely stunning. Who is the designer of this dress?"
This was it! I lifted my head.
"My exclusive designer."
"You have an exclusive designer?"
"We're planning to open a boutique in the heart of the Capital soon. Her name is Marin Seize."
Having remained silent to the reporters' questions until now, I delivered the promotional statement I had promised Marin the moment the anticipated question arrived.
"Marin Seize!"
People spoke in unison. I smiled softly.
Upon entering the Court, the waiting staff surrounded me and efficiently escorted me to a single room.
"Let me briefly explain once more how today's proceedings will unfold. We'll conduct settlement mediation under the Judge's supervision."
"I didn't ask in detail last time, but since Father has already agreed to give me the house, will there be much to mediate?"
"Their strategy is to give the flesh while protecting the bone—in other words, they'll hand over the Everdin Mansion as you wish, so take it and leave. They don't want to give up anything else."
"What asset are they most reluctant to give up?"
I had already anticipated the answer.
"The Company. After investigation, Geoffrey Everdin's Company turns out to be quite profitable."
I nodded.
"So today I'll peacefully receive just the house?"
Brown let out a short laugh.
"That's what a second-rate person would do. I'm first-rate."
"Then?"
"They're giving the flesh, aren't they? I'll take the house. And out of gratitude, I'll also pick the bones clean."
"That means...."
"I'll extract alimony as well. As much as possible."
I nodded with satisfaction.
The room prepared by the Court was an ordinary white chamber.
In the center stood a wooden chair and table. At the head seat sat someone who appeared to be the Judge.
Geoffrey sat there, his face brimming with irritation.
Beside Geoffrey sat his company's legal counsel. Violet had seen him once or twice before and recognized him.
"A lawsuit of this nature is unprecedented in my tenure as Judge. That a daughter would file for property division against her father, more than a decade after her biological mother's death—it is extraordinary."
The Judge was an unremarkable middle-aged man. He cleared his throat and spoke first.
"Your Honor, my point exactly. How jealous of her younger sister must she have been to report the mother who raised her and ruined her appearance? That child is barely human. Half my blood flows through her veins, yet she is utterly repugnant."
Father—Geoffrey remained as he always was.
He carried himself with arrogance, putting on airs of superiority. What he said was shameless beyond measure.
Violet found it absurd.
As Violet moved to speak, Brown stopped her with a glance.
"It is truly lamentable. Has she forgotten the kindness her parents have shown her all these years? I have yielded what was meant for Marigold to that child Violet more times than I can count."
When Violet ignored him, Geoffrey spoke as though pleading his case.
In that moment, Violet felt a chill run through her.
Geoffrey genuinely believed what he was saying.
'I merely existed within the Everdin household. I barely survived on the bare minimum of food and attention.'
Yet Father resented even that meager sustenance.
He believed it should have all gone to Marigold.
"Marigold, my poor daughter. Marigold...."
At first, I thought Father was as he always was. But looking closely, I saw the shadows beneath his eyes and the vacant expression in his gaze.
I did not seek his affection. I simply hated the man called Father, and suddenly felt sorrow for my own existence. That was all.
"As you can see, Geoffrey Everdin, my client grieves deeply over the loss of his two daughters. Now he wishes to entrust even the home he has long inhabited to his daughter."
Was that lawyer's name Will?
"I humbly beseech Your Honor to render a generous judgment and accept our proposed terms."
Will finished speaking.
"We will accept the Everdin Mansion as agreed. However, we seek additional compensation for damages."
Brown said.
"But those terms are already extraordinarily generous. Geoffrey Everdin is making sacrifices for his daughter."
Will protested.
In that moment, Violet's and Brown's eyes met in the empty air. Brown looked toward the Judge.
He withdrew a small booklet from among the documents he had prepared.
"Then I shall first read aloud from the diary of Miss Violet Everdin from when she was six years old and had just learned to read."
What unfolded then was a solitary, magnificent performance.
'Brown is incredible....'
After receiving the verdict, I left the courtroom with Brown.
Ash certainly didn't recruit just anyone as his subordinate. I knew I would never forget the sight of Brown—always businesslike and worn with exhaustion—changing even his voice as he recited from the diary.
[I'm so sorry I was born to my Stepmother. If I eat less, can I become a good child?]
[Today I prayed to the Lord. I'm a wicked illegitimate child, so I shouldn't eat chocolate. Tomorrow, I prayed earnestly that I would no longer want chocolate.]
[...This is an excerpt from a diary written at age eight, Your Honor. A normal child does not think this way.]
[Geoffrey Everdin planted guilt and suffering in every moment of my client's life. Yet we must protect this genius prosecutor and Spirit Mage who overcame that pain and grew stronger!]
Brown read the diary with such vivid emotion that by the end, his eyes trembled and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
The timing of that eye tremor, his expression, the angle he maintained toward the Judge—it was pure artistry.
The Judge was human. Seeing a perfectly healthy young man become emotional and weep softened his heart.
[Your Honor! Please have mercy. My client does not seek money or property. She struggles to reclaim the stolen dreams and memories of her childhood—to live!]
It was true that I had written such a diary as a child.
But now it was merely the past, and it no longer hurt deeply.
Above all, I had already spoken my piece to Marigold and my Stepmother, the primary causes of those old wounds.
Yet Brown's performance was so dramatic that I too was swept up in the momentum, as if transported back to that time.
[I have one question. Plaintiff Violet Everdin, what was your childhood dream?]
[My childhood dream was... to be a maid. The maids didn't eat the same things as their masters, but they always had enough food at every meal... So I wished I could be a maid instead.]
I answered with great embarrassment.
By then, even the Judge's eyes had reddened.
After that, Brown launched into a torrential closing argument....
And the result was....
'Of course, a decisive victory.'
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