The princess was silent, but she was quite a lively child, quite honestly.

Her shyness during their first meeting seemed to have been brought upon more due to her initial unfamiliarity. Violet found her to be remarkably spirited after meeting her again another time.

When Violet inquired with a questioning gaze, the palace maids, who observed silently, softly answered that this was how she had always been. The imperial princess’s unease around her wasn’t unfounded.

The princess followed Violet very well. The people who took care of the princess were saying Her Highness must have an instinct for recognizing good people due to her pure-heartedness. Violet thought their praise was unwarranted.

They shared snacks, read fairy tales, and wandered through the gardens together. The tasks Violet performed were more akin to those of a playmate rather than an artist. Moreover, it was the playmate of a noble.

She didn’t mind this fact. As the girl still appeared quite young, despite being the same age as Aileen, she never ceased to amaze and delighted Violet with her youthful innocence.

So far, the crown prince had barely shown his face, and even when he would show up, he’d leave right away. It was as if he came for a short time and was quickly whisked away by Roen.

Roen watched Violet playing with the princess, and for some reason, an unpleasant-looking smile crossed his face. Violet decided not to ask about that smile.

After returning from the palace to the mansion, Violet reverted to her role as a regular painter. Instead of standing in front of a large canvas and laying upon it her brushstrokes, she merely agonized. Private works were truly enjoyable to do, but they also brought considerable anguish.

Time passed with various minor happenings. There were no major issues, but Mary began behaving oddly.

Sometime earlier, Mary had started hiding something from Violet. Her lies were quite evident. Violet eventually confronted her about her increasingly strange behavior.

Mary quickly confessed,

“Well, you see, an interview in the newspaper…”

“What? An interview…?”

Violet’s reticence about the problem did not continue.

Since the palace banquet, she had been aware that there had been continuous news articles about her.

The latest one was a critique by an art critic, stating: ‘Ducal Lady Violet S. Everett’s works are nothing more than a grotesque waste of paint.’ It was more of a condemnation than a critique, to the point that it seemed like a personal attack.

“I thought you’d be upset if you saw it, Milady…”

“Why would I be upset about something like that?”

“You already look like your mood has been soured.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

“…But…”

Violet smiled and gently stroked Mary’s head. She genuinely thought it didn’t affect her much. So what if a master in the art world had evaluated her work? She quickly concluded that her thinking could change.

However, as time passed, that article began to haunt Violet’s mind, stirring up all sorts of negative emotions. She couldn’t help but dwell on it. Eventually, Violet sighed and Mary couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

In this state, dinner time arrived.

“Father contacted me today. He asked how we’re all doing, and I said we’re doing well. But Cairn, you’ve been absent from the gatherings quite often lately.”

“I’ve had some stuff to do, so. But you already knew that, didn’t you, Brother?”

“The lout who ran from the academy is now saying he’s busy… Well, fine. Maybe we’ll see some welcome faces soon.”

The siblings engaged in casual conversation. Roen had been wearing an old man’s expression lately. He was no different today either—he was looking at his younger siblings as if they were his grandchildren, and this irritated Cairn to no end.

Roen’s expression remained unchanged.

Violet didn’t seem all too different from usual, but she picked at her food more than usual. Concerned, Cairn asked.

“You seem a bit off since this morning. Is something wrong with you?”

“…It’s nothing.”

The person who said it was nothing had an unusually dark complexion for her usual demeanor, really.

Suddenly thinking that he might have done something wrong again, Roen looked extremely uneasy—like a guilty dog. Cairn, who was sitting next to him, spoke calmly.

“Isn’t it because of the newspaper article? Everyone’s been talking about it.”

“The newspaper?”

“Ah, right. I didn’t think you’d have seen it yet… You there, could you bring the newspaper here?”

An attendant who was on stand-by nearby brought a bunch of different newspapers. Violet continued to eat in silence, even with the unfolding situation before her.

Roen read the newspaper and soon became angry.

“Does this artist think he has two necks or something?”

“He might as well have three.”

“You’re being even more cruel than me, huh.”

“One for Brother, one for Sister. He still thinks he’ll survive, so that’s three.”

A rather inappropriate joke passed between them. Violet let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s not because of that, so calm down.”

“Violet, don’t you know that you have a tick whenever you lie?”

“—Me?”

“So you’re not refuting it. Right, I knew it. It’s indeed because of this scoundrel that you’re feeling upset…”

“…Don’t even try to push people to the edge just because of a few uttered sentences.”

“I know you’re trying to be nice. But if you’re too nice, people will take advantage of you.”

Violet remained unresponsive. How ironic was this? If she were to criticize others, people would think that she was too vicious. If she would stay still and be nice, people would take advantage of her.