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Chapter 09
Violet, who had been curled up inside the closet, slowly opened her eyes.
It seemed that she had fainted while repeatedly banging on the door. Fortunately, when she pushed against the closet door, it opened.
By then, the sun was already setting.
She didn’t have the strength to leave, so she sat leaning against the closet for a while. Then she noticed the rose in the vase.
The flower Winter had given her had wilted, but she had replaced it with another rose that looked similar. She wanted to be reminded every day that she had once received flowers as a gift.
Seeing the flower made her think of him.
“I don’t hate you.”
At the time, Violet had simply dismissed Winter’s words as a lie. But now, she needed that lie.
Ever since their bodies had been switched, Winter had become more aware of how weak Violet’s body was, perhaps even more than Violet herself.
Right now, Violet wanted to tell someone, anyone, about the wound on her hand and the wounds in her heart.
She decided to find him and struggled to walk out.
Fortunately, Winter was at the couple’s mansion today, talking with several guests who had come to the birthday party and could potentially help his business.
He was sitting comfortably on the sofa with his legs crossed. He was smoking, talking about business, getting annoyed about something, and even swearing occasionally.
To be honest, Violet felt resentment toward him first.
If only he had looked for his wife as soon as he came home. If only he had come to greet her.
Then he would have found her inside the closet, and she would not have felt this miserable when she woke up.
Even so, Violet decided to try reaching out to him one more time.
She wanted to ask him to stay by her side, just for today.
Violet managed to keep a calm expression as she approached them. Even though she was weighed down by deep sadness, she could not forget her manners. She gently nodded to the guests first.
“Everyone looks familiar. Please make yourselves comfortable before you leave.”
The guests all stood up and returned her greeting.
After greeting them, Violet carefully called Winter.
“Winter, I want to talk to you.”
Winter answered in a low voice.
“I’m having an important discussion right now, Madam.”
“I have something important to say, too. It’s really… really important.”
“Go to the bedroom. I’ll come soon.”
Because there were guests present, Winter tried to speak gently, but irritation was beginning to show in his voice.
Instead, Violet reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Please listen to me now.”
“I said I’ll come soon.”
As he spoke, Winter gently pulled his hand out of Violet’s grasp.
Violet did not lower her empty hand. She stared at her palm for a moment.
Just like on the first day of their marriage, when she had gathered all her courage and held his hand, he had pulled away from her today as well.
His work always came first, and whenever Violet gathered the courage to reach for his hand, he only made her feel miserable.
Thinking that she might never be able to hold his hand again, Violet slowly turned around.
Without looking back, she immediately left the mansion.
She would probably have to attend Duke Blooming’s birthday party, which would continue throughout the night. Ash or Catherine might come looking for her and demand to know why she had not attended the celebration.
But if she heard any more criticism, she felt as though she would truly break.
She walked straight toward the stables.
At that moment, Flip, who had only just heard from the servants that Violet had been locked in the closet, came running out.
“Little Madam! Where are you going?”
Violet, who was leading a horse out of the stable, looked at him.
She looked as though she might disappear at any moment, yet she gave him a faint smile.
“I want to see the sea.”
“The sea?”
“I heard there’s a seaside villa at the edge of the estate. I’ve lived here for three years, but I’ve never been there. I never even had the courage to go.”
“W-Wait a moment! I’ll bring you some warm tea. Please let me go with you, Little Madam!”
At his words, a faint spark of life appeared in Violet’s dry, lifeless eyes.
“Thank you. You’re the first person here who has worried about me.”
“Please don’t say things like that…”
“I’ll only look at the sea and come back. It’s late, so go inside and rest.”
Hearing her words, Flip looked heartbroken, but he had no choice but to step back.
Violet had learned to ride horses from a young age, so she mounted the horse with perfect posture.
Unlike her proper movements, she paid no attention to her dress, leaving her pale lower leg exposed.
Flip was so startled that he quickly turned his head away.
“You must only go see the sea and come back!”
“Of course. What else would I do?”
Violet answered bitterly and began riding.
The seaside villa was far away.
After riding for an hour, she finally began to see the sea.
“My goodness…”
Violet got off the horse and stared at the sea in amazement.
The darkening sunset and calm ocean were beautiful.
Perhaps she had heard the sound of the horse approaching, because an elderly woman who guarded the villa came out in surprise.
“Little Madam? What brings you here at this hour?”
“I wanted to see the sea, so don’t worry about me. You can go back inside.”
“But the Little Madam has come all this way… I’ll bring you some tea.”
“Really, it’s fine. I’ll rest for a little while and then leave.”
After Violet reassured her several times, the villa keeper reluctantly returned to her room.
Violet entered the storage room where the villa keeper kept a gun for protection.
She took out a small gun and went into the room that had a path leading directly to the sea.
The gentle sea breeze playfully messed up her shining hair.
She felt as though everything inside her had been opened up.
“Ah… this is nice. I should have come here sooner.”
In the end, she had believed that she would be loved.
That was why she had foolishly clung to him, pretended not to hear hurtful words, smiled, and gone out of her way to prepare elaborate birthday gifts for everyone, even though she had never received a single gift herself.
She had spent three years like that.
Violet stood quietly at the villa, staring at the sea.
She wondered if her body might change again like last time.
But honestly, Violet wanted her life to end right here.
She loaded the gun.
Then she brought it to her neck and pulled the trigger.
*
Winter became worried about Violet and stood up not long afterward.
His wife hated large events like this. His mother had told him that Violet always tried to leave early, and there had even been several times when Violet had begged him to take her to the capital.
But what frightened him most was the possibility that she might bring up divorce again.
Hoping that she had not come to talk about divorce, Winter suddenly remembered the hand Violet had grabbed earlier.
His steps quickened.
There was blood on his hand.
“Damn it.”
Was she hurt? Was that why she had come looking for me, not knowing what to do?
The thought came to him too late, and his heart dropped.
He ran to Violet’s bedroom.
When he arrived, the door was slightly open.
Winter raised an eyebrow and opened it, only to find the room empty.
“Where did she go? She said she wanted to talk.”
As he muttered to himself, Winter noticed the rose in the vase.
He looked at it without much interest and said,
“…I guess she really does like flowers.”
Fortunately, this was a preference he could understand.
He stared at the flower for a moment, then realized that he had no time for this and turned around.
He hurriedly asked a servant who was preparing rooms for the guests,
“Where is Violet?”
“Huh? Isn’t she in her bedroom?”
“I’m asking because she’s not there.”
Winter snapped at him, frightening the servant.
The servant shook his head, saying that he didn’t know, then hurried away.
Violet was not only missing from her bedroom.
She was not in the drawing room or the garden either.
Winter felt his breathing becoming heavier as he frantically began searching for her.
She was nowhere in the mansion.
He felt as though all the blood had drained from his body.
Now he desperately wanted to know what she had been trying to tell him earlier.
In the end, Winter took a carriage and headed straight to Duke Blooming and Catherine’s residence.
Hayel, who had been waiting for Winter’s guests at his command, asked,
“What happened, sir?”
“Has Violet come here?”
“What? No, she hasn’t.”
“Is there a carriage going to the capital?”
“Not yet, sir… Please calm down.”
“My wife is missing. How am I supposed to calm down…?”
Just as he shouted, Winter suddenly felt severely dizzy.
He cursed and stopped moving.
Hayel’s eyes widened.
“Are you all right?”
A moment later, Winter suddenly became calm again and answered in an unusually composed voice.
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll call all the servants and have them search for the Little Madam.”
“Ah… Now that I think about it, she said she was going to the seaside villa. I remember now.”
“What? Really? Oh, please, sir. You need to listen when people tell you things like that. I nearly fainted myself.”
Hayel complained in relief.
Leaving him behind, Winter entered Duke Blooming’s residence.
There was something he needed to say.
His footsteps stopped in front of Ash Lawrence.
Ash, who was usually quite friendly toward Winter because there was much he could gain from him, greeted him first.
“It’s been a while, Winter.”
“I heard you locked my wife in a closet. You and Mother did it together.”
Ash’s expression stiffened slightly at Winter’s sudden accusation.
However, perhaps he had expected something like this, because he calmly replied,
“That’s a common and minor punishment among nobles. You simply aren’t familiar with our customs.”
“It sounds like you’re saying you gave her that punishment casually because it was something you were used to.”
Ash hesitated.
Winter normally became annoyed whenever people told him that nobles simply behaved that way, but he usually let it go.
This time, however, he didn’t.
It was as though Winter’s eyes and tone had become exactly like Violet’s.
Feeling slightly tense, Ash began making excuses.
“You know Violet wants to divorce you, don’t you? She isn’t just doing whatever she wants anymore. Now she’s even demanding a divorce. Lady Catherine was so upset that she cried.”
“It’s between my wife and me. I’ll let this incident go because it has already happened, but if something like this happens again, I won’t stay quiet.”
“You’re just going to sit there and let her divorce you?”
“I told you. It’s between us. Leave us to handle it ourselves.”
Winter spoke calmly, unlike his usual self, and turned around.
Then he stopped when he saw his reflection clearly in the glass wall, illuminated by the night outside.
Ash was tall himself, but compared to Winter, who was exceptionally tall with broad shoulders, he looked rather small.
Winter turned back toward Ash and said,
“By the way, with you standing beside me, I feel very manly.”
“…What?”
Ash took a moment to understand what Winter meant, then twisted his face into an ugly expression.
By the time Ash realized what Winter was implying, Winter had already left the banquet hall.
Winter immediately hailed one of the private carriages that had been hired for the guests and left the estate.
***
While shouting at Hayel about his missing wife, Winter had suddenly felt dizzy.
His vision changed.
After barely regaining consciousness, Winter struggled with another severe headache and rested his forehead against the table.
“Damn it. Why is this happening again?”
He was at the seaside villa.
After enduring the pain for a moment, Winter swore and stood up.
“No wonder I couldn’t find her. She came all the way out here.”
Although he was in pain, he was at least relieved that he had found where his wife was.
At that moment, the villa keeper came running toward him.
“Little Madam! Did you hear the gunshot?”
“Gunshot?”
“Oh my goodness! Why is this here?”
The villa keeper screamed in shock and picked up the pistol lying on the floor.
Why the gun was there wasn’t important to Winter right now.
What mattered was why Violet had come here.
And, more importantly, what exactly had she been trying to tell him earlier that day?
Winter rushed out of the villa, intending to return to the mansion.
But there was no carriage waiting outside.
There was only a single horse tied up.
Winter could not ride a horse at all.
He stood there helplessly for a moment, then cursed and called for the villa keeper.
“Old woman! Get a carriage here immediately!”
“Y-Yes! Little Madam!”
Startled by his shout, the villa keeper hurried off to call for a carriage through the estate’s communication system.
Meanwhile, Winter collapsed onto the sofa in the first-floor living room.
Whether Violet knew he couldn’t ride a horse or not, the fact that she had brought him all the way to this remote place could only mean one thing.
His wife had stolen his body.
