Episode 10
A few hours later…
Ash was lounging on a long couch in his luxurious room, casually flipping through a book.
Marin walked in, carrying a bunch of papers and cloths, and dropped them on the table.
“Ash, don’t you have something to say to me about visiting the academy today?”
“What should I say?”
“You suddenly told me to book the training room, and when I checked the schedule… guess who had it booked right before you? That plain-looking Everdeen girl.”
“Watch your mouth, Marin. I know you live for pretty things like dresses and jewels, but don’t cross the line.”
Ash’s voice dropped slightly, and Marin flinched.
“Hey, I didn’t make up that nickname! Honestly, I should’ve taken a closer look at that Violet girl’s face…”
“Didn’t I tell you Violet Everdeen looks just fine? And her personality and behavior are actually pretty cute.”
Marin stared at Ash without a word.
“What’s with that look?”
“Isn’t it because our master who’s obsessed with talented people saw her potential and started getting attached?”
“I’m not obsessed.”
“Come on. Think about all the people you snatched from the academy. Once you decide someone’s talented, you chase them until they become yours. Then you lock them away in your collection and never let them go.”
“But aren’t they all doing well now? Thanks to me. I gave them all good positions.”
“Sure, but you’ve never called any of them ‘cute’ before. And this is the first time your target’s a young woman around your age.”
“Being the first makes things special, doesn’t it?”
“So… a new type? The first ‘plain-looking but actually pretty sword-wielding girl’ talent? What, is this like a special admissions program?”
“Let’s just say she’s a new kind of talent.”
Ash gave a small laugh and turned another page in his book.
“So why are you chasing her around?”
“A great ruler should befriend and cherish talented people. Violet is the most special person I’ve met recently, so I need to work hard until she opens her tightly locked heart.”
Ash smiled like a painting.
Marin shrugged, still unsure of what her master was really thinking.
“You’re impossible to read sometimes, Master.”
“That’s what makes a man attractive, Marin. Women like men who show just enough of themselves to keep you guessing.”
“That’s from Lady Roseneath’s Story, Chapter 3, Page 2, right? I knew it—you do like that book!”
“…Can you please stop teasing me about that book.”
Ash finally looked up from his reading.
“Fine. So, about the Crown Prince’s Winter Queen Ball… You’re going, right? Who are you bringing as your date? Is she pretty? Cute? Elegant? Curvy? Skinny?”
“So loud. I’m trying to decide if I should shut your mouth or just move to another room.”
“I need to know! I have to design the perfect uniform for whoever your partner is. Hurry up and tell me!”
“You’re being ridiculous. Me? Finding a date in the Empire?”
“It’s not a joke! The night market festival is the day after tomorrow! We don’t have time!”
“…Festival?”
“Yes! It’s like a countdown to the Winter Queen Ball. It’s the biggest event in the capital’s social scene. Everyone’s looking for a date. The festival’s an excuse for couples to hang out, which leads to official dance invitations.”
“Marin.”
“…Why did your voice get so serious?”
Ash stood up lightly. Then he looked Marin straight in the eyes and said firmly,
“I’m giving you a real job now. Go get a pen and some special stationery—the kind for VIP letters.”
“Who’s the letter for…?”
“You’re slow today. Of course it’s for Violet Everdeen.”
Ash said it gently.
After finishing her training and returning home, Violet saw several carriages lined up outside.
“Ah, my family’s back.”
Servants were busily carrying in luggage.
Some of them saw Violet, but none of them greeted her.
“If you scratch the luggage, it’s coming out of your pay, got it?!”
In the middle of the first-floor living room stood a small woman with a loud, harsh voice.
It was Violet’s stepmother, Paula.
“What, just getting home now?”
Paula looked Violet up and down with a disgusted expression.
“Looks like they haven’t heard about me punching Blue Dean yet.”
Violet thought to herself.
Maybe Blue Dean was too embarrassed to admit he got hit by his fiancée. That would be nice. But even if he did tell them, she didn’t care.
Either way, Paula was the same as always—looking down on her with pure hatred.
“Where have you been running around to? We’ve been too kind to a bastard child like you. Just because you’re an adult now doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want, eating fancy food and going wherever you please.”
“…”
“You should be grateful to have such generous family members like us.”
Violet gave a cold, bitter smile.
“How can she say that?”
The truth was, it was Paula who had had an affair with her father.
The real illegitimate child was Violet’s younger sister, Marigold—not her.
Violet’s birth mother had been tricked and abandoned by her father.
“They say no job is shameful, but Paula used to work in a bar… and yet she always lied to me, pretending she came from a noble family.”
Violet felt sad when she thought about her.
“There was one time… just once… when I clung to her.”
It was when she was ten years old, sick with a fever.
She barely remembered it, but she had wandered into the hallway, burning up.
The maids did take care of her out of duty, but little Violet had wanted comfort from Paula.
So she had gone looking for her.
[What are the maids doing, letting a kid walk around like this?!]
Paula had been annoyed.
Still, she had taken care of Violet—reluctantly.
Even so, her touch had felt so comforting. Violet had felt sorry and like she was a burden.
After that, she had always prayed:
“If my existence is a flaw, then please let me stop being a burden to my family.”
Looking back now, it was ridiculous. There had never been anything to be thankful for after that day.
Violet wasn’t a bastard. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
She was a victim.
Whatever little thankfulness she had left for this family vanished in that moment.
“You all lied to me.”
This big house… the luxurious dress Paula wore…
All of it was built on the fortune her real mother, Deborah, had brought into the family.
Violet quietly stared at Paula.
“What’s with that look? You got something to say?”
Paula looked irritated.
“Actually, I do have something to say.”
Violet looked her straight in the eyes and calmly opened her mouth.
