THYU - Chapter 38


Ash, with a stiff expression on his face, tried to say something, but could not open his mouth properly. Violet looked down at him in a graceful posture, he felt overwhelmed by her tongue.

Violet quietly moved her head and looked at the bank president.

"The problem between me and the bank president also remained."

"Yes, yes? Wh-what's the problem?"

The bank manager, who was relieved, because he thought he would just get over it, stammered in his answer. Violet's eyes, which had nothing to lose and no fear, were focused on the bank president.

"Isn't it true that two people conspired to take control of my property? So, if the day comes that I will cause great damage to the bank president, I will not hesitate at any time."

The bank president's face turned white at Violet's calm words.

He thought her strength would be weak and the day she spoke of would never come. Nevertheless, an unknown fear overtook him.

***

Violet rented a safe in the names of Mr. and Mrs. Winter and put the land document worth 5.000 Katashans of Long Lywood and the money received from the Lancia family into it.

By the time she finished what she had planned, the short Winter year had passed. 

She felt like she was going to collapse at any moment because she was using up all the energy she had to pretend to be strong to subdue them.

Violet was fortunate to have Jen by her side, who went out of her way to see him off even though she was told to go to the mansion first.

 Violet asked as Jen helped her who stumbling.

"Then where are you going, Little Lady?"

"If I go to the western end, a ship lent by the Duchy of Dos will settle in the port. I tend to ride it."

"Wow, since you're a Little Madam, you're running away and helping the Lancia family and even the Dos family?" 

"I think I need that much help to escape Winter Blooming."

"That's right."

Jen knew that Violet would eventually miss her husband.

Right now, she has a lot of hate for Winter because he hid his condition from her and because of his verbal abuse. But as time goes by, even that will remain as love and hate.

Fortunately, her husband was not by her side during the past three years of marriage. Violet will be able to quickly adapt to life without him. Jen, who saw her off to the train station, cheered her on several times.

"Will you send me a telegram?"

"Yes, I will." 

As Violet hugged Jen tightly. Jen also hugged her. After saying goodbye, Jen left the station first. Now completely alone, Violet looked around for the platform, holding in her hand the second-class train ticket she had purchased in advance when she arrived in the capital. 

"The road is complicated."

She didn't know where to catch the train heading west, so she was walking and looking at the signs. Her body, which had been looking at the sign the whole time, lightly collided with someone.

"Oh my, I'm sorry." 

Violet rushed to apologize, but an arm was grabbed. As she was about to pull her arm away, she stopped when she smelled the familiar perfume and cigarette smell coming from him.

"... Winter?"

When Violet raised her head and let out a trembling voice, Winter bent down and asked.

"Where?"

As he asked, he snatched the train ticket from his wife's hand. Winter asked after checking the train ticket heading west.

"Why are you here?" 

"Why am I here?"

Winter was scheduled to be waiting at the mansion. There was no reason for him to be here, so Violet's mind seemed to go blank in embarrassment. Winter responded with an expressionless expression on his face.

"You wait." 

"we... We were supposed to meet tomorrow." 

"I'm afraid it will be difficult to go back and forth if the road freezes tomorrow morning."

He casually tore up the train ticket and put it in his pocket. And he looked blankly at Violet, who was avoiding his gaze. 

"Now answer me. Where?"

"..."

"Why the West? Who is waiting?"

Who could have predicted that there would be people waiting for their appointment the day before? 

Violet had overlooked the fact that Winter had been twisted from the inside out and was as crazy as she was, if not more so.

Since she couldn't answer, Winter's hand holding her wrist tightened.

"Answer me, Violet Blooming."

Violet's body trembled at the sound of his ferocious voice. Winter's voice was as acrid and vain as the ashes left after a fire.

Violet answered in a trembling voice.

"I quit impulsively."

"Impulsive? Are you impulsively going to the end of the continent?"

"Yes. It was really an impulse." 

Violet held up her small clutch.

"I see. How far would it have been to go with just one of these? Really impulsive."

Surely, no one would run away with a clutch embroidered with flowers. Winter's face, which looked like he was going to twist her delicate wrist, became slightly tense.

"Why do you have such an impulse?" 

"It's still a little... I'm depressed." 

"Don't do anything that will cause trouble. I was surprised." 

Winter, who had finally become more human, took Violet's white hand and put it in his coat pocket.

"It's cold, so what's the point of wearing clothes like that? Are you planning on freezing to death?"

"So you were planning on staying up all night in this cold station?"

"That's why I dressed warmly."

The expensive black long coat was soft and warm, even down to the fabric inside the pockets. Winter took a long stride.

"Let's go in. It's late."

"Yes."

Violet walked along with her husband without any resistance.

Although he seemed to believe Violet that it was impulsive, Winter still had all of his senses heightened as if he were surrounded by enemies.

When they left the train station, the rain had turned to snow and the road was starting to freeze. It was impossible to reach the mansion on the outskirts of the capital by carriage.

In the end, the two walked to the nearby Winter Hotel. Violet asked, looking at Winter's shoulder, who was dragging her as if kidnapping her.

"Why are you so angry? Even though I said I did it to cool off."

"You're going to impulsively go to the far west to cool off without telling me?" 

For the first time after meeting Winter, Violet felt afraid that he might force something on her. His eyes were like that, and his voice was like that. He was shaking with anger, as if it had been suppressed, trying to burst out.

"You were determined to drive people crazy."

Winter spoke in a low, threatening voice. His voice and eyes were all raw, without any humanity. Although Violet felt afraid of him, she pretended nothing was wrong and comforted her husband.

"I was planning to go back before I see you tomorrow. How many places could someone who doesn't know how to do anything like me go?"

At the sound of her kind voice, Winter stopped and looked at Violet with unpleasant eyes. Violet said with her friendly face.

"I probably got off at the next station. I'm scared just thinking about going far."

"..."

"Really. I've never done that before." 

Violet was so upset that she even let out a grumpy voice that she had never heard before.

It seemed like Winter was genuinely planning to stay up all night waiting for Violet. He wore a smart suit to meet her, and as if mocking the bad weather, he wore shoes from a famous designer, a coat that cost as much as a house, and even had his hair done.

After hearing his wife say this, Winter seemed to be slowly losing his temper and grumbled, showing his disappointment. 

"Don't disappear without saying a word."

"No matter how late, I would have returned before the appointed time. Who in the world shows up a day earlier than their scheduled time?" 

"I didn't really have anything to do."

Seeing him answer little by little, Violet seemed to feel relieved. The two people looked at each other and soon entered the hotel.

All the hotel staff rushed out to greet the unexpected appearance of the representative couple.

The two entered the room that Winter always used. Violet sighed softly without Winter noticing. She thought everything was going according to plan, but Winter's unexpected behavior created a variable.

Fortunately, she had brought sleeping pills to put Winter to sleep in case she got caught, but she didn't want to give her husband medicine for nothing.

Anyway, it was cold outside, so Violet sat in front of the fireplace to warm herself. And while she was thinking about her next move, an employee came into the room dragging a trolley full of meals. It was a steak of good quality and larger than the clutch Violet brought with her.

"How do you eat all this?"

When Violet asked in surprise, Winter answered.

"What can't I eat?"

He lifted himself up and sliced Violet's steak, which was sizzling on a hot plate.

No noble in Rakround behaved like Winter. It was unthinkable to get up during a meal and cut someone else's steak.

Violet froze, not knowing what to do, but Winter didn't care at all, so she just held her hands together and looked at the plate and then at him. He looked uncomfortable with his back and shoulders hunched over, and his silverware looked smaller than it did in Violet's hands. 

Winter asked irritably as he made eye contact with Violet, who was looking up at him curiously.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Just think of me as a servant."

"Thank you."

"I guess so."

Winter returned to his seat, and Violet, who was holding a fork, stopped and stood up.

"Then I have yours..."

Winter laughed as if he was dumbfounded by her words. He motioned for Violet to sit down, then cut a meat into large pieces and put it in his mouth.

Violet picked up a piece of steak that was cut too large for her and put it in her mouth. After murmuring for a while, Violet laughed.

"The meat quality is really good."

"There is a ranch near the capital. It's a ranch-style meal."

"That's why it's so big. Amazing..."

Somehow, the meal tasted fresh.

Having said that it was big, Violet began to eat the meat with a great appetite. Winter, who was sitting across from her, looked at her silently, then smiled and opened his mouth.

"When we eat, I think that you are a very different person from me."

"Because our eating habits are completely opposite?"

"Nо."

Winter continued talking, continuing to cut the meat into smaller and smaller pieces, as if he was already tired of meat or didn't have much of an appetite.

"I feel like I'm doing good when I give someone something to eat."

 "Isn't it true that you are being good to me?"

"It means that your thoughts can only go so far."

It was a concept that Winter had only recently come to understand, after three years of knowing Violet.

To him, the concept of 'being nice to her' was limited to filling her stomach.

He thought that if he put her to sleep, fed her, and didn't beat her, he would cherish her. This is love.

But it wasn't Violet. She enjoyed delicious food and was a bigger eater than she looked, but she did not consider feeding and putting her to sleep as love.

That was the biggest difference between her and himself.

As he imagines more good things, his imagination stops at filling her stomach.

So, he came to hope that someday Violet would understand that the affection he gave her also stopped there.


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