THU | Chapter 02

Chapter 02

Violet was standing in front of her husband’s dressing room because she wanted to talk to him.

“Little Madam, please go back to your bedroom!”

The maids tried to stop her, but Violet seemed determined. She stood firmly in front of the door and refused to move.

A moment later, the door opened. His secretary, Hayel, appeared first. Behind him came Winter Blooming, his hair neatly styled with pomade.

He was wearing a pale blue shirt, along with a gray vest and gray trousers that matched the color of his eyes.

Compared to him, Violet’s clothes were simple but still proper. However, she was barefoot, and there was a strange, almost feverish blue flame burning in her eyes.

When Winter looked at her, Violet took a step toward him.

“Don’t go. If you can’t cancel this business trip… then at least leave one day later.”

“I’ll be back in a week this time.”

“You can delay it for just one day. Please come with me to the party my mother-in-law is hosting tonight.”

“Just say you’re sick and stay home.”

“If it were really that easy, I wouldn’t have come to you.”

“Violet.”

All ten servants who were looking away from them knew how hard Winter was trying to control his temper. Deep down, they all thought that if their own wife or husband went crazy like Violet, they would never be able to handle it.

Winter continued in an irritated voice.

“Do you know how much money has been moving around while you stand here stubbornly wasting my time? I paid 24 million Lacnes to buy the status you were born with. And now the status I bought has disappeared.”

“I know that, but…”

“If you know, then you have to choose one thing. Either pay me back, or have the princess grant me the title I was supposed to receive. If you can do neither, then at least stay quiet and behave.”

“……”

Since Violet could not answer, Winter thought that was enough. He pulled her hand away from his.

But Violet stubbornly grabbed both of his wrists again.

She was that desperate.

“Nothing will really change if you leave just one day later. Just this once…”

When she refused to back down, the maids were about to step in. But Winter gave them no particular order, so they soon stepped back again.

Violet looked up at Winter and desperately pleaded with him. Then she slowly came to her senses and met his eyes.

He was looking at her as if he were looking at a drunkard causing trouble in the street.

From his expression, Violet realized that her husband had no intention of listening to her. She slowly let go of him.

Winter clicked his tongue once and walked past her. His servants followed him out.

Violet stood there with an empty expression before returning to her room.

Through the window, she watched Winter’s carriage leave.

For a long time, she wondered,

Would that busy man even come to my funeral?

The doctor, Rickman, reluctantly came when Violet called for him. After examining her, he looked displeased.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Little Madam. If you have any illness, it’s probably an illness of the mind.”

“But I really am sick. My head hurts so much…”

Violet spoke as if making an excuse, but Rickman cut her off.

“I understand that you were raised as a princess, so it’s natural for you to worry even over a little pain. But as I said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. If you keep pretending to be sick like this, I’ll have no choice but to tell Madam the truth.”

“I’m not pretending. I really have such a terrible headache that I can’t even get up.”

“Oh, honestly. Stop lying and get up, Little Madam. This will become a habit if you keep doing it.”

Rickman scolded her, put his hat back on, and left the room.

The maids standing nearby seemed to find the word “pretending to be sick” funny, because Violet could see them trying to hold back their laughter.

Since the doctor had said she was fine, Violet had no choice but to get out of bed.

As soon as she stood up, the maids changed her clothes into a dress suitable for afternoon tea.

As she sat down to have her makeup done, she spoke.

“I want a change of mood. Cut my hair to my shoulders.”

“Yes, Little Madam.”

For the first time, the maids’ bored expressions brightened.

Taking care of her long hair had been a great deal of work for them.

They cut Violet’s hair to shoulder length and brushed her new short hair. Then they wrapped a diamond-studded hairband around her head and decorated it with flowers.

Even after getting dressed up, Violet left the mansion feeling as if she were being dragged to hell.

The estate was so large that she had to travel by carriage to reach the mansion where her parents-in-law lived.

When she got out of the carriage, she saw that some guests had arrived early and were already chatting happily.

They were some of the most prominent nobles in southern Lacround, known as the Warhoson. At the center of them all was the Blooming family.

Violet’s mother-in-law, Catherine Blooming, noticed her and called out.

“Violet, come here.”

When Violet approached, Catherine asked kindly,

“Were you late because you weren’t feeling well? Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Violet looked around for a place to sit, but all the tables were full.

Even if she had arrived early, there would have been no place for her.

It was deliberate bullying.

Catherine continued,

“You’ve been saying you’re sick for months. I’ve been so worried. What did the doctor say?”

“Ah, well…”

When Violet hesitated to answer, Catherine spoke worriedly.

“Ask Winter to find you some good medicine. He travels all over the continent, so he can get anything.”

Violet nodded, feeling as if all the blood had drained from her body.

At that moment, Rickman came out of the mansion and passed by them. He spoke cheerfully when he saw her.

“Little Madam! You came out! See? Didn’t I tell you she was pretending to be sick?”

At that moment, loud laughter erupted among the people attending the garden party.

Violet’s body trembled as if she had been struck by a chill.

She was no longer surprised by this kind of treatment, but the humiliation was still painful every single time.

Catherine, who had laughed along with everyone else, said to Rickman,

“She was a princess, after all, Rickman. Of course she would feel even a small pain more strongly.”

A young man at the table grumbled,

“The royal family was dissolved three years ago. And after causing such enormous damage to her husband, how can she expect everyone to keep treating her like a princess?”

Another woman beside him agreed.

“That’s right. From the Blooming family’s point of view, wasn’t this basically a complete scam? Lady Catherine, you’re far too soft with her.”

For three years, it had been one situation like this after another.

Ash, who had paid off the debts and given up the throne, had regained the people’s support.

Most of the public demands for compensation had also disappeared.

There was no doubt that Winter had suffered the greatest loss.

He had sold almost everything he owned to gather 24 million Lacnes. He had used the rest of his money to establish himself within the Blooming family, so he was practically penniless.

From the very day he got married, Winter had rented a place in the capital so he could build his business again. He only visited the Blooming family mansion once every few months.

Left behind at the Blooming estate, Violet slowly melted away and disappeared like a life trapped in poison.

At first, she tried to join these events. She even smiled and tried talking to people first.

But the response was always the same.

They treated her like a shameless fraud.

When evening came, the party began. The banquet hall filled with elegantly dressed nobles who loved to have fun.

Throughout the party, which continued late into the night, Violet stood against the wall and waited for this exhausting day to finally end.

“She’s doing it again…”

“Lady Catherine went out of her way to bring her here, and she’s completely ruining the mood of the party.”

Hearing their whispers, Violet, who had been leaning against the wall the whole time, started walking.

“Why does she keep wandering around like that? She’s so annoying.”

Violet stopped again.

Ignoring other people’s opinions was something you could only do if you had something to rely on.

Violet had nowhere to escape to, so she was slowly cutting away pieces of herself in order to accept everyone else’s opinions.

They said her presence ruined the party, but the downfall of a princess who had once lived a happy life was also an interesting story to tell.

Her very presence always made the party more entertaining.

Violet left the banquet hall for a moment to cool down.

The words people threw at her hurt her entire body, as if each word were a small stone.

She eventually collapsed onto the ground.

Then Diev, Winter’s younger brother and the only legitimate heir of the Blooming family, appeared and helped her up.

“Violet!”

The moment he grabbed her arm, Violet immediately pulled it away.

Diev seemed to understand and let go. Then he nodded toward her shortened hair.

“That looks good on you too.”

“I clearly told you not to come near me.”

She had always been careful about what everyone thought of her, but this time her voice was firm.

Diev pretended not to hear her and continued speaking.

“It’s still too cold for you to walk around wearing only a dress. It’s not warm enough yet.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Violet stepped backward with her pale face.

But soon, Diev grabbed her arm again and wrapped his scarf around her neck.

“Think carefully. Your husband hardly ever comes home anyway.”

“……”

“Have just one drink with me. Then I’ll be on your side.”

Who would believe that Diev Blooming, the heir to the Blooming family whom everyone believed to be a gentleman, was actually a lecherous man who was hitting on his own sister-in-law?

If Violet spoke about this out loud, she might really be treated as a mentally ill woman and locked in her room.

There was no one on her side in this world, while there would be plenty of people on Diev’s side.

“That will never happen.”

At Violet’s words, Diev gave a small laugh and let her go.

“You’ll regret it.”

The moment he released her, Violet hurried toward the carriage.

Once inside, she caught her breath and hurriedly took off the scarf.

Then she stared blankly back at the mansion.

“I have to go back…”

Violet had once disappeared in the middle of a gathering and later been harshly scolded by the Blooming couple.

Remembering that, she grabbed the carriage door, intending to get out.

But she couldn’t.

If she went back there, she felt as though her body would be torn apart.

In the end, Violet returned home in the carriage and went into her bedroom.

She threw the elaborate diamond ornament from her hair onto the bed.

Then she took out the sleeping pills she had been secretly collecting from an empty jewelry box and poured them straight into her mouth.

After that, she took a bottle of champagne from the closet and drank it quickly.

Even that did not feel like enough.

She swallowed another handful of pills and forced more champagne down her throat.

The sleeping pills Rickman had prepared were extremely strong.

There was no way he would have used good-quality ingredients for medicine meant for Violet.

She might die in an even more horrible way than she had intended, but she didn’t care.

She didn’t want to return to the party.

She didn’t want to become the target of everyone’s anger just because she had disappeared halfway through it.

It was better to end her life like this.

After emptying both the bottle of pills and the champagne bottle, Violet collapsed onto the bed.

Then she spoke to the sparkling diamonds in front of her.

“Goodbye, then.”

She felt a little sad that there was no one to say her final goodbye to.