Violet was mostly talking to herself. Her voice was as dry as a desert. However, when she said, ‘it’s a pity’, her tone contained sincerity.

But shouldn’t she be delighted that she was being guarded by an outstanding knight? It meant that she hadn’t been completely abandoned by House Everett yet.

Somehow, ever since the day they first met, Ducal Lady Violet had been continuously disparaging the value of her own existence.

In front of her, Zylo was conflicted as to what he should say. His mouth opened and closed again and again, before he finally spoke.

“Your Ladyship…”

“You can just call me comfortably.”

“Why do you call the Duke ‘His Grace’?”

Noticing the meaning behind Zylo’s question, Violet smiled softly. Her hand was moving until now, but it stopped and let go of the pencil between her fingers.

She stretched languidly, then answered with a smile evident in her tone.

“His Grace is His Grace, that’s all.”

Her answer was succinct.

Zylo could not say anything back. He was filled with a sense of incongruity from head to toe.

In the short moment that their gazes met, the corners of her eyes curved upwards.

Silver hair cascading gently downwards, purple eyes that were as still as a lake.

The person standing here and now was a human being. Not House Everett’s villainess, not a witch with an ice heart—just a nineteen-year-old girl who had never been acknowledged by her family.

“It’s almost time for lunch. Will you continue training?”

“……”

“Ah, do you have your meals at the main mansion, Sir? It wouldn’t be good for your health if you keep training with an empty stomach.”

“…My duty is to guard you, Your Ladyship.”

“Comfortably, now.”

You don’t have to address me so formally.

As Violet’s quiet murmur reached his ears, Zylo fixed his grasp on his sword.

* * *

The dispatched knight managed to shed his prejudice against Violet after a little while.

The Violet who he saw with his own eyes was a simple person.

Firstly, she was not a big eater. It’s not that she didn’t want to take care of her own condition, it’s just that she didn’t really enjoy the taste of the food itself. Therefore, the luxurious meals that had been prepared for her would always end up being shared amongst the employees of the annex.

The clothes she wore were also simple. She only picked dresses that would still be fine even if paint were to splash on them.

If that’s not enough, Violet slept most of the time, and this troubled the maids a lot.

Far from the very picture of a regal aristocrat, the impression she would give was, in many ways, that of an idle person.

Far from the rumored wicked woman, she was just a poor, pitiful girl.

And in fact, there was a rumor going around that Violet had personally gone to the duke to request her confinement.

Considering the high, noble status she had, for what reason would a woman like her kick herself off to a miserable corner like this?

Most people dismissed the rumor and thought it to be false. Zylo had been of the same mind as well.

But now that he had met Violet in person, he was convinced that the rumor was true.

Despite being a ducal lady who had been abandoned by her own family, she carried herself with an out-of-place disposition of tranquility.

And whenever Zylo was faced with Violet, he could not immediately connect her with the ‘ducal lady’ from all those rumors.

Besides that…

“She must have been possessed by a witch!”

“Say something that makes sense, will you.”

“But you should know this as well! A spell must have been cast on all the people in here, too. I’m sure of it.”

Alec’s attitude had gone beyond recklessness and now to the realm of complete disrespect. As Zylo was a witness to this, he vaguely realized why Violet had to become the ‘villainess’.

For whatever reason there might be, if she were to order any severe punishment unto someone, it would automatically be labeled as an evil deed.

But at the same time, not a single doubt was given as to whether the subordinate might or might not have made a mistake in the first place.

Still, even if her side were to be considered, would her actions still be labeled as good deeds?

In the end, she was only enforcing her authority.

With a commoner background yet with such remarkable skill that he was ordained as a knight in his own right, Alec Hans was undoubtedly competent. Even so, he had this one, certain trait: his persistently single-minded sense of justice. It was because of this that he would not even try to listen to the other person’s side just because she had once been labeled evil.

“It just doesn’t make sense! How could that witch who did so many wrongdoings just run scot-free like this? And for her to be so happy by herself here while going haha! hoho! with everyone else? Even now, I hear that Lady Aileen continues to cry at the main mansion…”

At this point, only his competence was certain.

Zylo’s head was pounding from all of Alec’s squealing. He pressed a hand against his own forehead.

If all the impertinent things that Alec was spouting now were to reach Violet’s ears, what would happen? If her reputation rang true, then she just might come out and order, ‘Hack away at his tendons, give him thirty lashings, and kick him out to the streets.’

Of course, no one would be able to refute that order, and no one would blame the person who ordered it. After all, it was justified.

No. Rather, if an ordinary noble were to order such a thing, nobody would speak against them.

However, if Violet were to act in such a way, she would never be able to avoid criticism.

“If I may ask, is the Ducal Lady you’ve seen with your own eyes that kind of witch?” Zylo asked.

“That’s what I’m saying! Everyone’s been trapped in that witch’s spell! You just haven’t been able to see a painting by that witch, Sir Benthel. She surely must have used malicious witchcraft.”