* * *

The warp gate had reduced their travel time to just one day, but the fatigue accumulated just by going through it would hardly go away easily.

All Violet did was sit in a carriage, but she was so tired. She was forced to press a hand over her forehead, hard, at the onslaught of fatigue.

Spending so much alone time in an enclosed space with a person you dislike was, to put it bluntly, mentally draining.

The silence between them was beyond awkward. Roen tried to talk to Violet somehow, but he failed each and every time.

“We finally arrived. It’s been three years since you last visited Werchen, but what do you think?”

“It’s the same.”

“Shall we buy some snacks on the way? Or do you want to visit a famous salon…”

“I’m tired, so I just want to rest. If you wish to go, then you may do so alone.”

“O-Okay… But I can’t leave you alone, so hang in there even if you’re tired. We’ll reach the townhouse soon.”

Roen looked like a downcast puppy who’s been refused a walk. Violet deliberately pretended not to notice.

Everett’s wicked woman, whose dispositional and social credibility were completely shot, was truly exhausted.

Violet had some memories of the capital from when she went here for her debutante three years ago, and she could see the similarities of the past and current capital here.

She closed her eyes briefly. It felt like she had come back here after twenty years, not three.

Was it because of what happened with Mikhail?

Violet couldn’t brush aside the irritation that’s been plaguing her along with this fatigue. As she walked slowly, the butler of the townhouse greeted them.

“We’ve been waiting, Milady and Young Master.”

Violet could remember him, too. Not showing any emotions, the butler only guided them without any more words.

Rumors of Violet being the villainess of the century was prevalent in the capital. Well, it was only recently that her reputation had gotten overturned, so her notoriety must still be prevalent in this place.

Nevertheless, the butler showed no sign of acknowledgement about this.

Was it like this three years ago as well? Violet caught herself being conscious of other people’s reactions for no reason, and she let out a slow exhale.

What Violet went through three years ago in the capital for her debutante… still remained to be a nightmare she did not want to remember.

As she was a ducal lady of this country, there were only a handful of people who had the same status as hers. Subtle derision collapsed under the overpowering authority of her peerage, and those who talked behind her back could only envy her.

However.

“Wow! The capital’s high society isn’t so different from what we have in our estate!”

The problem was this: the young Aileen had followed Violet.

The fourteen-year-old Aileen had expressed her willingness to stay by her older sister’s side no matter what. And because the duke cared more about the lovely second ducal lady more than anyone else, he respected Aileen’s wishes.

Although the girl didn’t officially make her debut, she had been invited to join the capital’s high society, and despite proper etiquette, Aileen had followed Violet everywhere she went.

“Everyone is so kind. I thought this was a scary place…”

If she thought this was a scary place, then she just shouldn’t have followed Violet.

Nevertheless, whether Violet was suppressing her boiling anger from within, Aileen remained bright.

The young lords of the duchy had come to the capital as well to escort the ducal lady in her debutante, however they also cared only about Aileen. It was natural that Violet’s hysterics had reached its peak.

“She’s the one from the rumors…”

“Shh, be quiet. You’ll be targeted, too!”

Some incidents flashed through her mind, but overall, she had a lot of repressed memories of that time. She didn’t want to remember them.

Violet quickly buried the memories of three years ago.

Those in the capital simultaneously mocked and feared Violet, the villainess. But at the same time, they envied her as she was a high aristocrat.

On the other hand, they praised treated Aileen preciously as she acted as if she was living in a flower garden. But at the same time, they mocked and laughed at her.

‘That’s why she whined so much about wanting to go back home early.’

From what Violet could recall, Aileen had cried every single day about wanting to return home as soon as Violet’s debutante was over.

Aileen was no fool—it’s impossible for her not to notice that she was a topic of ridicule to the people of the capital.

And when Aileen was finally given permission to go back to the Everett Duchy, she cried and cried about how she wanted to go back with Violet. So, regardless of Violet’s will, she also went back to the estate.

There were some things that became clearer as she recalled them. Violet stopped lingering on those memories.

They were all unpleasant anyway.

The luggage they brought with them through the servants were only few as it was judged that it’s better to bring their necessary belongings separately each time.

The employees of the townhouse quickly carried their luggage inside.

Roen offered a hand to Violet as a sign of wanting to escort her. Violet smirked and immediately rejected him.

t/n: as it was scheduled, there will be a one-week hiatus~ updates will resume by next week. i’ll try to resume updates earlier if possible, but as luck would have it, my laptop died on me just today T-T i translated the newest chapter through just my ipad, so it was a grueling process, hence why it took a while to finish. hopefully i’ll get my laptop back from the service center by the time updates are scheduled to be back.

hope you guys have a wonderful week ahead~!