“My paintings?”

“Yes. But if it’s too difficult…”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I was only surprised to hear that rumors have spread about my paintings.”

At Violet’s answer, Aldin stopped talking. Seeing his reaction, she inwardly clicked her tongue.

Indeed, the only people who would talk about how a ducal lady had a hobby of painting were those who wanted to disparage her reputation. There’s no way he’d want to speak more on this.

This reminded her of what she had read about herself in that magazine. As the ducal lady frowned, the knight saw this and spoke again.

“There isn’t any other intention behind it. If Your Ladyship is uncomfortable, you may refuse—”

“It’s alright. Well, as I said, it’s no problem.”

There’s nothing wrong with showing her paintings to someone a little earlier. She was going to hold an art exhibit sooner or later anyway.

After their meal, Violet let Aldin into her gallery.

The gallery itself was enough to display all of the artwork she had created thus far. She actually didn’t need to rent a place for her art exhibit.

Violet had only been painting without much regard to how her art would be managed, but as she entered the gallery, she was surprised to see her paintings arranged in a more orderly manner than she was expecting.

As Aldin silently admired the paintings, Violet, on the other hand, was surprised. She had never come to see her own paintings here.

“……”

While they both looked at the paintings, the taciturn knight said nothing, while Violet herself frowned.

The clothes she was wearing now were in a style that used to be fashionable in the past. It was reinterpreted, and the seamstress added her own design elements to it to make it more sophisticated.

But her paintings were a different story. They were much too unconventional for the people of this era.

One look at Violet’s paintings and they would reasonably think that they were a witch’s paintings.

“I’m still not good enough, so I can only paint this much.”

Somehow feeling anxious, Violet spoke up first. But Aldin, as he looked at her paintings for a long time, shook his head slowly.

“No, it’s just, I… I feel a little sad.”

He spoke with slow deliberation. They were words that he chose meticulously, but they were nonetheless straightforward.

Violet quickly realized what Aldin was trying to say.

Violet’s paintings contained such raw emotions.

Through dim colors, the artwork depicted unfiltered and unrestrained depression. Most people would call these paintings bizarre, but for those who felt the same pain, they would recognize the paintings as screams of suffering.

“Though they emanate sadness and loneliness, I still think they’re beautiful.”

Aldin added as he was staring at the paintings, mesmerized.

Hearing his old-fashioned way of showing his appreciation, Violet said nothing.

“Long ago, Your Ladyship once said—”

Aldin opened his lips slowly once again, but before he could finish what he was saying, a loud commotion broke out nearby.

“Young Master, you can’t! Please, you can’t go that way!”

“Buzz off. This is my own house and I can go wherever the hell I please.”

Violet grimaced. It was a voice she was ever so familiar with, yet it was the same voice that she never wanted to hear again.

Roen had long since established himself as the ‘Young Duke’ here at Werchen. There’s no reason for him to be called merely ‘Young Master’ now.

So, it must be him.

With chills running down her spine, Violet turned to look behind her.

BANG! After kicking the gallery door unceremoniously, the young man let out an unapologetic bellow.

“Hey! Witch! Explain what exactly this is all about, huh?!”

It was Cairn P. Everett, the third son of House Everett and the very person who forced Violet to leave for the capital.

* * *

Among the three brothers, Cairn had the most fiery personality. Nobody could compare to how short his fuse was, and once he had decided on something, he was like a maverick who would push through his own way no matter what.

He was too much of a scoundrel to be called ‘righteous’, and he was too much of a vile prick to be called a ‘knight’.

The current duke and the departed duchess weren’t like that. One could only wonder where this guy got it from.

After plunging into the lake and waking up with memories of her past life, Violet often thought about her younger brother.

Yeon Ha-yoon also had siblings, and one of them was an annoying guy who had to be called ‘Oppa’. Still, he couldn’t hold a candle to Cairn.

If Mikhail sometimes raised his hand against her, Cairn was the one who’d outright draw his sword and point it at Violet’s neck.

Violet was well aware that, if the situation had become even a little more twisted at that time, the sword would have definitely lopped off her head back then.

Cairn had a talent for swordsmanship, and he was simple.

Simple, if you want to put it lightly. A simpleton, if you want to be straightforward.

Whenever the younger brother would point a sword at his older sister, the older sister would do her best to grate at the younger brother’s nerves as well. And because Violet’s reasonings were plausible, Cairn wouldn’t be able to enact his anger directly on her. Instead, he would destroy innocent objects.

‘But that doesn’t mean I never got hit.’

After a brief recollection, Violet stared up at Cairn, who was now holding her by the collar. He had grown taller in the time that they didn’t see each other. He was clearly emitting a threatening, murderous intent.

“Explain it right this second, with your own mouth. What the hell is going on right now?!”