Violet gnashed her molars even further, barely holding back the curse words that were about to slip through her lips.

Beside her, Mary glared at the guy. Zylo, on the other hand, looked nervous.

The boy knight asked, “They have that kind of relationship?” and promptly got hit by Zylo.

One thing led to another, and so some of the onlookers uttered the horrendous words, “Accept him!”

“……”

“It’ll only be a moment. Isn’t staying like this more awkward?”

“…Seriously. Just a moment then.”

“Yep, thanks.”

Hearing her inevitable permission, Roen laughed.

.

.

.

He mentioned that he had something to say to Violet alone, so Mary and the escort knights had to be sent away.

To appease the knights who protested slightly while saying that they couldn’t be sent away for safety reasons, Roen took Violet to a teahouse.

It’s the teahouse that’s usually frequented by wealthy merchants and the occasional aristocrat. There’s no one else inside.

Noticing Violet’s quizzical expression, Roen said,

“I rented it out for the whole day.”

Indeed, this was the kind of crazy spending that a lofty second son of a duke would do.

One waiter guided them to a table by a window, and as they sat down, awkward silence stretched between them. There was no longer any need to keep up an act since there weren’t any eyes on them now.

“Were you keeping me on surveillance again?”

“It’s not surveillance though… Why do you think I’ve been doing that?”

“At first, I tried to chalk it up to coincidence, but seeing as you’ve rented out the whole place, and seeing as you’re being escorted after all, it’s hard to believe that this isn’t premeditated.”

“I won’t deny that I rented this place for the purpose of meeting you. But I wasn’t monitoring you, or investigating you.”

Violet’s cold voice urged Roen to smile softly.

Reading the room, the employees stepped out to give them privacy.

Even after taking a sip of tea, Roen had an expression on his face that said he’s still parched.

“—Then what.”

“I just heard a rumor. That there’s someone who opens a portrait stall by the fountain in the town square. That the artist is quite young, and is a silver-haired beauty.”

“……”

“Silver hair isn’t very common, is it?”

No, it’s not, Violet answered inwardly.

Even if she tried to do a headcount to ascertain the statistics, the answer was certain.

“It’s unpleasant to meet you like this. I don’t want this to happen again.”

“But you never find it pleasant to meet me, yes? You don’t even answer any of my letters…”

“Because I don’t want to talk to you. What’s the point of trying to talk now?”

“There may be a point, there may not be a point. Who knows?”

Violet took a sip of tea. There was a hint of acidity in its sweetness. She found it delicious.

“And it’s dangerous for you to go around like this, Violet. No, you’re Ella here, aren’t you. Don’t think that you’ve been safe until now because you’re lucky.”

“Young Master, whatever I do is none of your business, so—”

“You know that your appearance stands out. You’ve got silver hair and purple eyes.”

“……”

Was he threatening her?

Violet frowned when he pointed out her physical features.

She had already imagined countless scenarios when it came to Roen, but she tirelessly held herself back from making her imagination a reality.

“…It should hardly be worth all this trouble for such a great story.”

“It doesn’t have to be so burdensome since it’s a story that’s already been told before.”

“……”

Still walking on eggshells, the waiter came back and served them refreshments. Violet frowned as she looked at the tart that had a lot of blueberries on top.

Violet had hardened her resolve since a while back. She would not willingly tell him her story.

Even after three weeks of sending gift after gift yet constantly rebuffed and rejected, Roen smiled.

He gingerly cut a piece of the tart with a knife and fork for her.

“I’m sorry.”

He got straight to the point first.”

“About not listening to you, and not believing you, and only ever pushing you to become a bad person.”

“……”

“…I’m sorry for everything I did to make you bad.”

His voice dropped to the quietest hush.

She had hoped that this wouldn’t happen, that he wouldn’t apologize to her. That way, she could stay a bad person until the end.

She hadn’t decided how to treat him just yet.

Violet thought she heard him wrong for a moment. She was in disbelief.

So many emotions went rampant inside her mind, and she tried to suppress them all.

She should not act recklessly while she was in an emotional state. Even more so because she didn’t know how one impulsive act would affect her later.

However, who was it that owned this storm of emotions? Who was it that endeavored to stay calm?

Even if she now had Yeon Ha-yoon’s memories, Violet was the one living her current life. She knew that she would not be able to turn a blind eye to her pain forever.

“I…”

Barely managing to talk with her shaking voice, Violet let out a faint sound.

Her words could hardly be discerned. Her voice constantly trembled, as if it was about to collapse at any given moment.

“…I don’t deserve to receive any apologies.”

“Violet.”

“I wasn’t pushed to become a bad person. I am a bad person.”

“……”

“Are you going to deny all of the actions I’ve done until now?”

Her purple eyes were still.

Roen knew those eyes very well.