It was raining in the capital. The road was a mess of mud, and as night fell it seemed like it would freeze over and make it difficult for carriages to travel.
Winter was standing on the porch of the mansion, accompanied by Hayel. This is the new place where the Winters will move. The entrance was decorated with colorful carvings, and expensive lights were hung throughout the house.
Because the cost of turning on electric lights was enormous, even wealthy nobles could install them to show off things in their drawing rooms or studies. There were only a handful of people on the entire continent who were wealthy enough to even install lights on their porches. The porch lights, which flickered unsteadily in the wind and rain, were covered with artistic glass shades made by northern artisans.
It was a light that made even the people standing below look unstable. Winter clicked his tongue, looking at the soggy ground.
"It's going to be muddy from the first day my wife comes."
Hayel took off his round glasses, which had become difficult to see due to the rain, and put them in his pocket. He was so angry that he started nagging at Winter.
"We will take action tomorrow morning so please do your work, CEO."
"I'm busy."
It was like this for the entire two months that Violet was silent. The company, which had always relied on Winter to make big decisions, was suddenly thrown into chaos. Hayel cried.
"You're so busy staying here like that? Isn't the CEO's favorite thing in the world to read documents that make money? Those documents are now piled up in my office. Work has completely come to a standstill!"
"There is no talent."
"Our company was created by having talented people, regardless of their status, kidnapped by the CEO and breaking apart their soul and bones."
"I came here on my own, why were you kidnapped?"
"If I had known it would take this much work, I wouldn't have come."
"Then get out."
"I didn't know you would give me this much money. I can't go to another company because my expenses have increased."
Winter laughed at Hayel's unfair voice.
His wife should have heard this. She still doesn't know the dizzying taste of money. She will know when she passes through that door and sees this huge mansion where he is standing. How much he can do with money.
Winter said, opening an umbrella embroidered with the company's logo.
"Let's do one more test."
"Is this really the last time? Every time a test is conducted, most people's salaries are taken away."
"Uh."
Winter walked away from the mansion on stepping stones covered in mud. After a while, Hayel put his hand inside the small wooden door and began to turn the handle. Soon the entire dark building flickered.
After a while, all the lights on all sides of the building came on. The lights of the mansion on the outskirts of the capital were so strong and unique that they could be seen from a great distance.
It wasn't just the mansion. A short distance away was a single-story building that was used as a ballroom, and it was also filled with these bright lights. Every socialite will want to be invited there, and Violet will be able to have the social scene at the palm of her hand without any effort.
Winter returned to the porch and sat down in a chair. Hayel stood looking outside in the same direction and asked vaguely.
"Ma'am, she won't be here until tomorrow afternoon. What are you doing here?"
"Wait for my wife."
"So, you're waiting fifteen hours from now?"
As a secretary who had to manage the schedule, Hayel was on the verge of going crazy because Winter was waiting for someone to come in 15 hours after saying he was busy.
Whether Hayel was distressed or not, Winter put his hands on the armrests and looked into the distance. He was worried about his wife's unstable condition, and out of his greed, he wanted to stay by her side all day.
However, after the pregnancy turmoil, Violet became uncomfortable with her husband, and whenever he was nearby, she always looked anxious and Winter had no choice but to stay away.
Violet's room was chosen as the room at the eastern end of the second floor with a panoramic view of the garden. An outdoor staircase was also installed to allow access directly from the balcony.
It's winter right now so there's nothing there, but in spring it will be full of his wife's favorite flowers. At that time, they will have to work hard to exterminate the bugs that come into the mansion.
Winter tried to imagine his wife happy looking at the garden. But strangely enough, no clear imagination came to mind.
He had this uneasy feeling that it was going to be winter here all along. It was like that the whole time. When Winter couldn't stand it anymore and got up, Hayel asked.
"Would you like to come in?"
"If the road freezes overnight, the carriage might not be able to run tomorrow. I'd rather be at the train station."
After he finished speaking, he walked away into the darkness, holding his umbrella.
Hayel just sighed, as if resigned.
***
Violet had arrived in the capital a day earlier than she had told Winter.
This morning, her mouth dropped open when she checked the enormous amount of money sent by the Lancia family to the capital's central bank.
"Oh my God."
After selling the huge pile of gifts that Winter had bought, Violet got more than ten times what she expected.
The Lancia family was located on the western side of the continent, so they had no significant connections in the eastern Rarcround. So, among the items that Winter, who has a hobby and talent for choosing good items, bought, there were things that Lancia could not buy even if they brought all the money. Although it was a reward for saving his son, it was also a profitable business for the Lancia family.
The goods were sold at a high price to generous merchants without any bargaining or commission, so it was a profitable business in itself.
Violet thought that this amount would be enough to satisfy her husband.
The next task was to reclaim the land of Long Lywood, which had passed into the royal property.
When Violet entered the bank president's office, Ash, who came first and was sitting in the chair, clicked his tongue without even turning his head.
The bank president's secretary pulled out a chair and Violet sat down as well. Because they were an important guest, the bank president personally brought two cups of tea on a tray even though his secretary was present.
While the bank president was putting down his glass, Violet opened her mouth.
"It's just as I told you in advance, bank president. I want to return the Long Leawood land, which was once royal property, to my private property."
"I'm checking right away, Ma'am. I think it will take some time."
"Why is it taking so long to reclaim what was originally my land? Didn't the bank president collude with Ash to turn things around as he pleases?"
Violet spoke coolly, but the bank president with Ash Lawrence in the background still seemed fearless.
"If you change what was once royal property into private property, there will
be a lot of backlash from the public."
Over the past three years, the royal property has been used as the personal property of Ash, who should have been the next King, but the public still thought of the royal property as an expense to maintain the dignity of the entire royal family.
In addition, maintaining the dignity of the royal family was equated with national prestige. Even now that the royal family has been disbanded, they still have internal expectations.
It was clear that transferring such royal property to private property would be seen as an attempt to satisfy personal greed, depending on the media play. And now the bank president was indirectly saying that he would take Ash's side.
"Wouldn't it be said in the prenuptial agreement that I received the land? Make it public, right now."
Ash responded to Violet's command.
"If you don't keep your prenuptial agreement confidential, your marriage is invalid."
"Keep it a secret?"
"He really doesn't want to get divorced. He didn't make the prenuptial agreement public because he didn't want the marriage to be annulled. So if your husband shows that much affection, just shut up and get on with it. I don't know how someone as shameless as you came into the Lawrence family."
Violet's brows furrowed. She was already wondering why Winter didn't take action on that land right away. As soon as he found out that it was because of the confidentiality clause, her anger toward Ash reached an unbearable point.
As a member of the Lawrence family, Violet could not forgive the fact that he had used Winter's wealth once and was still begging her for marriage. The Lawrence family has always been taught to persevere even if they lose everything. Violet grew up hearing stories of her ancestors who kept their eyes wide open even when their throats were cut off by enemy soldiers.
She realized that the problem was not with her, as her mother had said, but that Ash Lawrence was a disgrace to the family.
Unlike her husband, Violet, who had a calm personality, thought carefully about a solution and opened her mouth.
"I will do it as a dowry."
"What?"
"When I got married, the Lawrence family only received it from my husband. So please return the land to me as a dowry."
"What? It's been three years since you got married. What kind of dowry are you asking now?"
"I'm talking about it now because I didn't get it three years ago. It is familiar for women of the Lawrence family to receive dowries. If I file a lawsuit, I can win as much as I want."
"Violet!"
"Rather than go to court and ruin the good image you've created, let's end things on a positive note for both of us."
Ash was furious and glared at Violet as if he were going to kill her. He had intended to scare her, but Violet's eyes were so indifferent that they felt ashen, and she did not show the slightest concern.
She's been so depressed for the past three years that even Ash has dismissed that as Violet's original personality. However, looking back, Violet was never inherently a weak person.
Ash was shocked, but couldn't think of anything to reply right away. At first, in fact, if it turned out that he was stealing money, he was going to give it back and move on. But as it continued for three years, he felt like something was being taken away from him.
"You lived with a lowly person and you became the same."
Ash spat out. He was so sick that his stomach turned, but he had to give up here. It was obvious that if Violet filed a lawsuit in the name of dowry, Ash would ultimately lose, and his image would also suffer through the lawsuit.
Violet spoke in a somewhat softer voice, perhaps because she thought she had upset Ash, who had nothing but pride, too much.
"Instead, you don't have to give back the money you took so far."
"Because that guy Carlson wrote it."
"Yes. I'm sure you know that. Just give me the land back."
Ash was going crazy because he was so sad about the Long Leewood land, but as Violet said, it was better to pass it on while it was nice for both of them. It was difficult to endure the anxiety of not knowing when Winter would do something and hit him in the back.
Even so, his mother was always on his side, so if he asked her to help him by selling the land that was Violet's property, she couldn't bear it and would take it into her own hands.
Like other daughters, Violet could not hate her mother even though she knew that she favored her brother.
In the end, Ash returned the land document to Violet on the spot as a dowry. After all the documents were completed, Violet relaxed and gently raised her eyebrows.
Thanks to Violet coming out stronger than expected, the bank president, who was nervous that he would be harmed in this light, was also relieved to learn that it ended safely.
The bank president has been watching Violet since she was very young. He was also pictured in an article about the day Violet built her own safe at the bank for the first time in her life.
Violet was not a weak person, but she had no sense of life to the point where she had trouble even fastening a single button. These were talents she did not learn as a Princess.
However, the current Violet was not the delicate Princess the bank manager knew.
The bank president asked Violet in a more servile voice than before.
"So does this solve the problem between you two?"
"I guess so."
Violet, who had obtained all the remaining land documents, looked down at Ash arrogantly and said.
"If I went back three years, even if I knew I would suffer this kind of humiliation, I would agree with my brother's idea of disbanding the royal family."
"What?"
"You said my husband was mean, right? I can't tell people you're mean. You must have had the same education as me, so why don't you know?"
"..."
"I can't believe a person like that almost became King. Rakround's fortune was almost cut short."
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