Violet’s eyes narrowed slightly. Noticing this, Rajaden laughed and kissed her forehead.

It was too sudden. The touch on her forehead felt unfamiliar.

Before she could respond to the situation, Rajaden had quickly moved away.

“Then, I look forward to our next meeting.”

From start to finish, he had done as he pleased. Moreover, his parting words only added to the confusion.

* * *

The crown prince was being strange.

And finally, Violet could now pinpoint why exactly the crown prince was being strange.

“But what can I do? My heart has already been stolen.”

It was clear as day.

Suddenly, all the contradictions made sense.

Everything fell into place rapidly. Why hadn’t she thought of this before?

She berated herself as she stared blankly into space.

Why, indeed. It was because the other party was none other than Rajaden.

As he had said, it was indeed his karma—the consequences of his words and actions. Everything he said and did up until now had led to this.

Rajaden’s non-confession confession did not impress Violet much.

He has feelings for me? I see.

It was neither more nor less significant than that.

Perhaps because she had already discussed conclusions with Marchioness Leshan, her thoughts were neatly organized.

She had denied it before, but lately, she had been thinking of fleeing abroad.

With Aileen also making a fuss, perhaps it would be better to move to a quiet village in a foreign country and spend the rest of her life painting.

Language would be a challenge, but there wasn’t much that money couldn’t solve.

Suddenly, there was no reason for Violet to be moved by Rajaden. She had her own non-negotiables, and he had hit too many of them already.

“Haa.”

All she needed to do was to ensure he wouldn’t formally propose. With that thought, Violet decided to focus on other immediate matters.

After the princess’s portrait was finished, the empress announced it would be unveiled.

The atmosphere was quite different from when the empress had confidentially commissioned Violet for the princess’s portrait.

With a gentle smile yet a charismatic voice, the Empress said,

“It wouldn’t be wise to just keep it hidden, would it?”

With that, she was also saying that the princess’s existence would no longer be hidden.

Violet decided to understand her.

After the princess’s portrait work was completed, the portrait work of the crown prince awaited.

She wasn’t inclined to accept the commission work from the start. It really would have been better if she had just refused firmly when it was first mentioned.

It was hard to concentrate on painting amidst all this awkwardness.

Violet thought it simple and conveyed her feelings to Rajaden the day they met.

“Well, I got rejected without even confessing.”

Rajaden laughed. It looked like he wasn’t impacted by it.

He added,

“So this matter is null and void.”

What Violet hadn’t considered was that Rajaden was not as cool as she thought, and his one-track mind was intense.

He had no intention of letting go of the one he had fallen for.

Exhausted, Violet half-heartedly finished the painting.

Had Rajaden even instigated a quarrel under the guise of a conversation, she might have responded. But Rajaden just kept smiling brightly at Violet throughout.

It was a desperate attempt to use his looks, but it didn’t work on Violet.

As Violet familiarly cleaned up her painting tools, Rajaden asked seriously.

“Why do you dislike me so much?”

“I never said I disliked you.”

“If you don’t dislike me, does that mean you like me?”

What a leap in logic. Violet sighed deeply.

“I have no personal feelings. I simply do not feel anything towards you.”

“So you don’t dislike me, right?”

“May I speak frankly?”

“No. Just filter it and tell me moderately.”

“Then I will hold my words.”

An inconsequential conversation ensued.

Despite Violet expressing her disapproval, Rajaden continued to smile, seemingly pleased.

Having no personal feelings didn’t mean dislike, and not disliking presumably meant liking. This line of logic would shock scholars into fainting.

Violet consistently ignored him. She was the only one getting exhausted because he kept taking her rejection nonchalantly.

After starting the portrait work of the crown prince, Violet was harassed both inside and out.

As rumors spread that she and the crown prince had been seen together, it became an accepted fact that Violet S. Everett would become the crown princess.

Among those concerned was Roen.

“Are you really okay?”

“What’s there to not be okay about?”

“Violet. That guy is more cunning than you think. Let’s stop the portrait work now. I’ll talk to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“I’m really alright. Rather, I’d appreciate it if you looked for a place where I could seek asylum.”

“……”