* * *

“……”

“Hiya~?”

Purple and green eyes met.

Violet reined in the incredulity that was bubbling up within her.

Why’s this person here?

It was quite obvious on Violet’s face how preposterous she found the situation, but Roen just laughed as though he wasn’t conscious of it.

“Oh, perhaps you’re done for the day already?”

“Not… yet.”

“Then, please. I’ll be in your care.”

Just what on earth was this guy thinking.

Violet was forced to move her hand.

To explain why they’re now face to face like this, a bit of a rewind is needed.

.

.

.

Violet’s probation had been lifted for a while now, but she was suffering from a bit of lethargy. At the recommendation of the people around her, she began to do more activities here and there.

She exercised, painted, and sometimes chatted with Mary.

And, while trying to gauge the right timing, she had also been preparing for her next outing. She’s aware that the duke had put a tail on her, but she couldn’t protest against it because it was done at the pretense of protection.

It was already made known that she had been sneaking out during her period of confinement anyway. Unless there’s officially a problem going on, she’s free to roam around.

However, Violet had various reasons as to why she hadn’t gone out just yet.

The biggest reason was this: she’s not confident about facing the rumors head on.

So, it was only after she was in the right headspace, to some extent, that she started going out little by little.

It was nice to go out for the first time in a long while.

There were some people who recognized her, but she heard none of the rumors that she was so concerned about. So, Violet enjoyed her outings freely.

She wore marginally loose clothes, ate at noisy restaurants, and went around the shopping district to buy a few things that caught her eye. Sometimes she got ripped off, other times she haggled.

Violet was happy with doing all these things. It was also more enjoyable because she gained more strength and stamina from all the exercise she had been doing.

She also regularly sat in front of the fountain and opened a signboard to indicate that she was open for business, drawing portraits as usual.

She was satisfied with her peaceful days.

Since the first time, Violet started going out often.

The first couple of times, she was begrudgingly a bit self-conscious because she knew that the duke’s people were watching her. However, as she tasted the sweetness of escape, she was too busy to pay any mind to such self-consciousness.

Zylo, who so desperately opposed Violet’s outings at first, was now the very person who was doing the most to ensure that she was free during her outings.

Violet exchanged greetings with some people who she had become familiar with after seeing a few times, and she also drew simple portraits to those who wanted them.

The day she went out for the third time…

“Are you still open?”

“Ah, yes. This will be the last…”

“Hiya~?”

Violet looked up to find Roen in front of her.

He seemed to have gone out without a single guard, and he was dressed casually.

He wasn’t even hiding his identity as a high noble, yet he’s asking her to draw him a simple portrait at a place like this.

“Oh, perhaps you’re done for the day already?”

“Not… yet.”

“Then, please. I’ll be in your care.”

People started staring.

Violet’s looks alone were enough to attract much attention, but in addition to her, Roen—very obviously a young nobleman—attracted even more attention.

Feeling the useless attention being directed at her, Violet ducked behind her sketchbook and quickly moved her hand.

She had no idea how she found herself in a situation like this, but right now, she was just focused on quickly finishing up his portrait so she could send him away as soon as possible.

‘Why’s this person here?’

Violet felt a sense of injustice surging within her.

Why did this guy want Violet to draw him when he could easily just call some famous artist to paint him the portrait that he wanted so very much, huh?

And besides that, why today of all days.

It’s true that she’d been sneaking out to play despite being in confinement… But she didn’t want that fact to spread at the main mansion.

“Is there a reason why you draw portraits in a place like this?”

“…It’s a hobby.”

“It doesn’t seem to be the same as what could be seen at a studio.”

“It’s a hobby.”

“Haha. Considering it’s just a hobby, you’ve got amazing skills.”

Was he making fun of her?

Listening to Roen’s nonchalant way of talking to her as if they didn’t know each other, Violet inwardly recited the Buddhist scriptures in her head.

She had been forced to memorize those scriptures when she was a kid, and she realized how useful they were at times like these.

Whatever kind of expression Violet wore now, Roen’s smile did not leave his lips.

With the situation already like this, Violet began to imagine all kinds of scenarios after this—just what kind of threats or blackmail attempts this guy was going to throw at her.

Unable to bear the thoughts any longer, Violet drew one last dot on Roen’s portrait, stabbing the paper.

“It’s done.”

“Umm…”

Due to Violet’s simmering anger, the Roen depicted in her drawing was a little… ugly.

Though, to say ‘a little’ was too vague as it was, but it’s clear that Roen’s appearance in the portrait was uglier than the one in the flesh.

‘Do I really look so shrewd?’

While Roen struggled with this thought, Violet quickly got up and organized her tools. The group, who was escorting her by her side, had long since been frozen because of the sudden appearance of the duke’s second son.

“Wait a minute, Vi… Lady.”

“I apologize, but I need to go.”

“I was wondering if you could spare me a moment.”

One of the sneakily watching bystanders whistled as they saw Roen suddenly trying to hold Violet back.

Violet’s head was throbbing.

“Looks like he’s confessing,” someone whispered.

“Miss Ella’s quite pretty after all,” someone else answered.

Violet suppressed her boiling wrath as she heard the hushed voices around her.

Excuse me, we’re full-blooded siblings.

But Violet couldn’t say this. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile.

The words barely comprehensible through her clenched teeth, she said, “Sir, I don’t have the time—”

“I fell in love with you at first sight. Do I truly have no chance at all?”

This fucker?