Violet spends three long years thinking about Aldric and wondering what has become of him.
One hot summer day, she returns from the village after buying groceries and finding some work. Since she is a young woman living alone, she disguises herself whenever she goes into town, wearing an old hooded robe from Aldricās wardrobe, covering her face with dirt, and walking hunched over. This makes the villagers believe she is simply an older woman living alone near the mountains.
On her way home, Violet overhears someone saying that the war with Aslan has ended and that the knights and soldiers will soon return. Her heart immediately starts racing because this means Aldric may finally be coming home. He had once said the war might last around five years, but it has ended much sooner.
Violet becomes worried about whether Aldric survived. She realizes that, during the three years he was away, she had unknowingly grown attached to him. Although she barely knew him when he left, he had gradually become a real husband in her heart. She decides to hope for his safe return and promises herself that, if he comes back alive, she will genuinely welcome him.
Three months after she first hears that the war has ended, Aldric unexpectedly returns.
Violet encounters him in the garden. After three years, he looks completely different. He has grown into a tall, broad, mature man, with the same handsome features but without the boyish appearance she remembers. However, instead of warmly greeting her, Aldric immediately asks why she is still living there.
Violet is offended and reminds him that the house is her home too. She asks whether he has eaten and invites him inside for lunch. Their reunion is awkward and far from the warm welcome she had imagined.
During lunch, Aldric questions her about how she managed to live there alone for three years. He had apparently expected her to return to her family immediately after their wedding. He is particularly surprised that she managed to survive on the money he left her.
Violet explains that she lived carefully, earned a little money herself, and even managed to save some. Aldric is confused because, as a noble lady, he cannot understand how she could have lived so simply for three years.
Violet points out that her unusual marriage was never the kind of life an ordinary noblewoman would have experienced, and she was already accustomed to hardship.
Eventually, Violet notices how exhausted and dusty Aldric is after his journey. Her concern naturally comes through when she asks whether he has been injured. He assures her that he is fine.
She tells him to wash and change his clothes. Aldric obediently follows her instructions, and after cleaning up, he seems much more relaxed.
By the afternoon, Violet realizes that Aldric is surprisingly easy to deal with as long as he has no particular complaints. After making him lie down and rest, she goes into the sitting room alone and wonders what she should do now.
She has become so accustomed to living alone that having another person in the house feels unfamiliar. Since Aldric has returned from such a long journey, she considers preparing something special for him to eat and even wonders whether she should cook one of the hens in the yard.
