Violet, who was thinking of saying one more thing, stopped. Since the day of Winter's shooting, she had often felt severe dizziness. At first, she thought it was a fever due to pregnancy, but she knew it wasn't because her period had started.
Perhaps this was the price she paid for saving her husband. Violet thought so. Thinking so, the pain seemed bearable.
She said, hiding her face in his arms before Winter noticed.
"Starting next week, we'll sleep separately."
"... Why are you suddenly saying that in this situation? What did I do wrong just now?"
"No, that's not it."
"Is that why you asked me to go to Alika?"
"We want to go there, so let's go before it gets colder."
"Then why?"
Instead of answering, Violet lifted the corners of her lips slightly and then fell asleep.
Even after she fell asleep, Winter had to spend a long time wondering what he had said wrong with a shocked face.
***
In the south, seven hours by train from the capital, summer was just ending and party season was just beginning again.
The frequency of Saturday tea parties held at the Blooming family mansion has not diminished one bit.
It was already widely known among the Warhosons that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Blooming and their son was on the rocks. To reduce the frequency of tea parties here would be to confirm the fact that they were too financially dependent on their eldest son, Winter Blooming.
The Warhosons believed that the Blooming family still had a solid foundation because they had not reduced the number of tea parties.
That belief was strong just after Winter Blooming's collapse, and after rumors swept the South that he was hospitalized in a terminal condition, there was even anticipation that the couple might inherit a large fortune.
It was reported that Winter had recovered, but it was now the harvest season when the South was at its most bountiful. The atmosphere was still cheerful.
Catherine was still buying a generous amount of jewels and dresses for the tea party during the fall. After the maids helped her dress up, Catherine went out, and James appeared with hurried steps and spoke quietly.
"I heard that Dieb went into business again. You lent him money again?"
"Yes. Of course, my son does it."
"Catherine! Don't you know that Dieb has no talent for business? You know that the reason he keeps getting involved in business is because he's jealous of Winter!"
"Jealousy? Why would you think our son would be jealous of such an illegitimate child, James?"
James groaned as Catherine became serious.
"Up until now, whenever you lent money to Dieb, Winter was the one who filled his fortune. So now you can't lend money to him! And his spending habits are..."
"Why do you spend so much?"
Catherine continued, her voice full of excitement.
"If I were to tell you about the things I bought this month, why don't we start with the horses you bought?"
"Those are all necessary for social life."
"The Tea Party is my social life!"
The couple had never fought over money before, but recently, whenever one of them opened their mouth, an argument began. The two of them still didn't know exactly what their wealth was. They had inherited a huge amount of wealth from their parents, and no matter how much they blew it, Winter filled it up enough to make it grow.
They soon buried their quarrel and arrived at the tea party venue with kind faces. The couple took their seats where the guests had already arrived.
"Oh my. This is a dress that's perfect for fall, Mrs. Blooming."
"Your Grace, you bought the finest horse this time, didn't you? Could you show it to me later?"
"I want to see it too!"
As usual, the nobles who always attended the tea party showed Interest in the host couple and complimented them. The Duke and Duchess of Blooming, who had always lived in this kind of atmosphere, soon forgot about money problems and began to enjoy a tea party.
At that time, the mistress of the Landon family, whose ancestral power was weak but who had the largest land area in the South arrived a little late.
She seemed a bit flustered, and as soon as she got to her seat, she gulped down water, which was uncharacteristic of her. And Mrs. Landon, who had put down her glass, approached James first.
"Have you seen and heard? The story of the southern farmers."
"Farmers' story? What are you talking about?"
When James asked her about the story as if he had no idea what it was about, Mrs. Landon couldn't hide her surprise and answered.
"The workers are going on strike as a group. No, not on strike. The five Warhoson families are saying they won't work."
"What are you talking about?"
Mrs. Landon's expression was now cold, as James did not even understand.
"Oh, that's true. I heard you left all the family finances to your eldest son."
"Mrs. Landon, what a rude remark that is!"
"Some of the workers from those five families have already moved to Longwood and Capetown!"
"Why is it there...."
"Why? Most of the land in those two regions belongs to Lord Winter! Rumor has it that Kanik is paying for all the migration costs. He's even building five tuition-free schools for the children of farmers."
James still didn't understand, but several nobles with many employees among the guests approached him with interest.
"What do you mean, Mrs. Landon?"
"The workers said they wouldn't do the work for the live Southern Clans. The Blooming Clan Brewery would be empty."
"Then you should have the tenant farmers do it."
"Oh, it's so frustrating. In a harvest season like this, even tenant farmers have to hire other workers. What can we do?"
In the South, with its endless plains, this was the peak season for grape and grain harvests. This was the hardest time for farmers in the South. There was so much work that some women even carried newborn babies on their backs.
These days, when there is a shortage of hands, it is the best time for workers to make money.
Still, the strike was possible because the money to do so came from Kanik. If the labor force were to move, it would be a great blow to the South, which had vast farmland. But no nobleman knew the gravity of the situation as much as Mrs. Landon, who was interested in farmland.
They all thought that since they owned the land, they should naturally receive rent. Above all, they regarded the workers as beings that they could manipulate at any time, so they did not understand that they had no one to move around with their own thoughts and plans.
Mrs. Landon was frustrated because no one understood what she was saying.
"Why did you do this in the first place? Lady Catherine, is it true that you slapped Lady Violet on the cheek while Lord Winter was lying down?"
As she spoke, Catherine's eyes widened and she answered.
"It was discipline. And Violet hit me too."
"Did you think that her husband would not feel resentment even after hitting the cheek of a person who was lying down? Why did you turn your back on Lord Winter after entrusting all the household finances to him? No, if you were going to make enemies, you should have made them yourself. Why are you causing harm to others as well?"
Mrs. Landon raised her voice at Catherine, who had no idea that she was hurting her. Some of them seemed to feel something strange about her words, and they cleared their throats and left the tea party, looking like they were going to go home and check.
The Duke and Duchess of Blooming still did not understand the situation, and Catherine, who looked shocked by Mrs. Landon's words, was supported by the other ladies.
James hurried to his feet and called the butler.
"Find out what Mrs. Landon means."
"Yes, Sir."
The butler walked quickly.
***
As sleeping in the same bed as Violet became a regular occurrence, Winter's lifestyle began to change dramatically. Originally, he was someone who always went to bed later than anyone else and woke up earlier than anyone else.
Therefore, Violet's sleeping hours, which were always on time and usually on time, but sometimes a little later than the regular time, were too long for him.
Winter, who opened his eyes as usual in the early morning, looked at her face for a while and then quietly left the bedroom. When he held her breath and her warm body in his arms, he felt like he owned the world, but at the same time, his whole body was hot and unbearable.
As soon as he left the bedroom, he immediately received a report from the South, where Hayel was engaged in a war of nerves day after day.
After reviewing all the reports and giving instructions, he did some intense exercises to build an aesthetically pleasing body that his wife would like, took a bath, put on his pajamas again, and went back to bed. At that point, it was getting close to the time when Violet would open her eyes. After spending such a fulfilling time, he lay in bed, wondering whether or not he should touch his wife's cheek, and then she woke up. When their eyes met, Winter said.
"The reason you have such good skin despite your weak body is because you get a lot of sleep."
"What are you talking about?"
Violet frowned, and Winter said with the corners of his mouth widened.
"I love you."
"I love you too, but are you going to keep teasing me for sleeping so much? You're sleeping too little."
Winter couldn't stand Violet's gaze seemed to be asking why he kept teasing her, but instead made him angry, so he kissed her. Violet gave in as if she knew it would happen, so she smiled cutely, shrugging her shoulders, and when he kissed the back of her neck, Violet finally pushed Winter away.
"I really need to sleep alone now."
"It's getting colder now, so we should sleep together even more."
"You have enough money to buy firewood, right? And besides, every night..."
"What every night."
Violet cleared her throat and spoke calmly.
"It's a bad habit to always charm people with your body like that."
"It's becoming a habit because you keep coming over."
Winter answered with a brazen face. Violet spoke in a somewhat sad voice as if she had had a hard time because of Winter, who had nothing to do with her fertile period or anything.
"Did you wet your shirt with wine on purpose yesterday?"
"Yeah. I'm going to take it off to look good on you."
Violet asked in disbelief at his calm answer.
"Are you going to soil your shirt just to seduce me?"
"I can't buy firewood, but I have money to buy a new shirt."
"Don't joke around. I won't fall for that trick anymore. You need chastity, Winter."
Winter snorted at Violet's firm words.
"What's the point of talking about chastity when I'm just hanging out with you?"
After he finds out that Violet loves him, Winter becomes even more shameless. In particular, he had given up on worrying about how to act as a master to his wife. He knew quite a bit about manners now. So, from Violet's perspective, it became even more absurd.
"Can't you be a little more tidy in your clothes and speech?"
"I wish you would be a little more rude, but that's impossible. Let's just give up on what doesn't work out for both of us."
Winter answered as if he couldn't, but thanks to what Violet had taught him, he followed some manners in formal settings.
Violet didn't hate Winter for going back to himself as soon as he got out of this usual situation. Now, it was just her husband being too clingy every night, and Winter was just nitpicking and accepting it.
A New Series, For You Even Regret Is Luxury, is out now! It's such an interesting story, so I hope you will like it like I do! You can check it HERE!
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