VCHM CH 06

Violet felt a little unfairly treated at having her bed taken away overnight, but she decided to be generous about it. After all, he had just come back from rolling around in the mud for three years. She could let this much slide.

And tomorrow, they would go to the furniture store and buy a bigger bed.

No matter how she looked at it, this bed was far too small for two people. Aldric was particularly large, and the bed might not even have been big enough for him to sleep alone.

Violet pulled down the blanket and began spreading it out on the floor. She had given up the bed, so surely she could at least use the blanket.

“What are you doing? Why are you putting the blanket on the floor?”

Aldric, who had been silently watching her, frowned and asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell you to sleep here.”

“Then you’re going to sleep there?”

“Yes. Why?”

For a moment, he opened and closed his mouth as though searching for the right words.

“It’s cold.”

“What?”

“I said the floor is cold.”

“So what?”

“…Never mind. You sleep on the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No. I’m not such a heartless person that I’d make a husband who just returned from war sleep on the floor.”

“I don’t want to be the kind of husband who makes his wife sleep on the floor either.”

The two of them argued back and forth for a while over where they would sleep. Neither of them was willing to compromise.

When Aldric stubbornly refused to give in, Violet eventually found herself lying in the same bed with him.

“It’s definitely too small. Someone is bound to fall off.”

She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling as she muttered.

“I’ll move over a little.”

When he shifted his body, the old bed creaked and groaned under his considerable weight.

“Stop. You’re going to break the bed.”

At Violet’s words, he stopped moving.

The quiet night in the countryside felt completely different from the atmosphere during the day.

In the dark room, on the narrow bed, Aldric’s warm body kept brushing against Violet’s despite their efforts not to touch, making her toss and turn restlessly.

“If you keep moving, I won’t be able to sleep…”

Aldric whispered in a low voice, almost as if he were telling her a secret. It occurred to Violet again that he really did have a pleasant voice. Ignoring her heart, which threatened to beat faster, Violet deliberately grumbled.

“The bed is too narrow for me too. It was just the right size when I slept alone…”

As soon as she said it, Violet regretted it a little. It sounded almost as though she were telling him to leave the house again.

Before Violet could explain that she hadn’t meant it that way, Aldric’s words interrupted her.

“…Weren’t you scared?”

He asked without showing any hurt over what she had said.

At that moment, Violet felt something ache deep inside her chest. His single question made her feel as though everything she had kept buried in her heart all this time might come pouring out.

But Violet couldn’t say anything. How could she possibly explain all those countless nights in just a few words?

The loneliness.

How she had been a little frightened whenever thunder and lightning struck, how she had sometimes been cold during winter, and how she had occasionally felt lonely in spring.

“Well, not really.”

With that blunt little answer, Violet dismissed her own thoughts and feelings.

Otherwise, she felt as though she might burst into tears in front of Aldric, whom she had only met for the second time, and tell him every little thing that had happened during those years.

She didn’t dislike him, but she still didn’t trust him that much. There was still no way to define what existed between them. More accurately, it was almost as if there was nothing between them at all.

“It feels strange.”

When Violet said that, he stiffened again.

Why does he keep getting startled like that despite being so big?

“Today is only the second time I’ve seen you, but it feels strange because I feel like we’ve known each other for a very long time.”

“I feel the same. I never dreamed you would still be here.”

“You’ve been making me sound like some unfaithful wife since earlier. Why are you doing that? Weren’t you the one going around pretending to be a bachelor with your bare hand and no wedding ring?”

He looked extremely flustered at her words.

“Every knight who goes to war is considered married!”

“Oh, right.”

“And the ring wouldn’t fit on my finger.”

“…I’d forgotten that too.”

When she remembered the pitiful little ring her father had given her, Violet suddenly regretted bringing it up.

“So I tied it to a string and wore it around my neck. Look.”

He showed her the simple ring hanging around his neck.

Hmm. Once I earn more money, I should probably buy him a new ring.

Violet made the resolution with a burning face.

“Anyway, since it’s our first marriage, as a keepsake…”

“Your first marriage? What, was it someone else’s second? Or are you planning to get married several more times—”

“No!”

His face looked so genuinely flustered and innocent that Violet finally burst out laughing.

She had only been joking because she didn’t like the atmosphere becoming so heavy, but apparently her young husband had taken it quite seriously.

“Sorry. I was joking.”

“…Don’t joke about things like that.”

At his sulky complaint, Violet couldn’t stop laughing for quite some time.

Once Violet’s laughter finally faded, the room became quiet again.

The sensation of having someone beside her felt unfamiliar, so Violet lay awake for a long time. When she continued shifting around, Aldric sighed and sat up.

“If you’re really uncomfortable, I’ll get down.”

When he actually started to get off the bed, Violet instinctively caught his hand.

“It’s fine. Just sleep.”

When she pulled him back, his body sank helplessly onto the bed.

“Then why don’t we change positions?”

At Violet’s suggestion, he shifted around several times before turning onto his side and extending an arm toward her.

“Try resting your head on my arm.”

In the darkness, Violet’s face inexplicably grew hot. She felt terribly embarrassed for some reason.

“This way, you’ll be able to lie down more comfortably.”

In the end, the two of them only managed to find a comfortable position after Violet practically ended up leaning against Aldric.

The muscular arm beneath her head was incredibly warm. She couldn’t tell whether the pulse she felt through their contact belonged to her or to Aldric. The masculine scent surrounding her was unfamiliar, yet at the same time strangely comforting.

So this is what it feels like to fall asleep beside someone.

Since childhood, as far back as she could remember, this was the first time she had ever fallen asleep being held by someone.

It wasn’t as bad as she had expected. No, perhaps it was actually much better than she had expected…

As her consciousness gradually faded, Violet unconsciously let out a contented sigh.

Just having someone beside her made her feel as though something inside her had been filled.

And shortly afterward, she fell into a deep sleep.

For once, the tips of her feet, which were always cold, were warm.

The next morning, Violet opened her eyes feeling refreshed. It felt as though she had enjoyed an especially deep and sweet sleep.

But why does the bed feel so warm today?

She blinked sleepily. The wall in front of her was clearly part of her familiar home. Yet why did everything feel so unfamiliar?

As her consciousness slowly returned, yesterday’s memories gradually came back to her.

Oh, right. Aldric came back. And we slept in the same bed.

Only then did Violet remember that the warm body temperature she could feel behind her belonged to Aldric.

Being warmed by someone else’s body heat was actually quite pleasant. Violet enjoyed the warmth for a moment, remaining still. Aldric seemed to still be asleep.

Aldric’s body was pressed closely against Violet’s back without even an inch of space between them. Because the bed was so narrow, he had apparently fallen asleep with his arms around her from behind. His body was like a human-shaped heater—warm and comfortable.

But what was this strange sensation that kept intruding through that soft warmth?

Violet’s faint smile disappeared as she slightly frowned.

Something had been bothering her for a while. It felt as though there were something beneath the bedsheet, making her uncomfortable. The sensation was strange enough to disturb her pleasant mood.

Could Aldric really sleep with his sword strapped to him even in bed?

If so, Violet wanted to remove it from the bed. In this soft and comfortable bed, she couldn’t tolerate even the slightest inconvenience.

She reached a hand behind her, trying to find whatever was making her uncomfortable so she could move it away. As her fingers searched around, she soon found something and grasped it.

She had expected something cold and hard, but it was wrapped in cloth.

What on earth is this…?

At that moment, Aldric suddenly shot upright, startling Violet.

She also sat up in surprise and saw Aldric’s strangely flushed face. His face was so red that it hardly seemed possible for it to become any redder.

“You startled me. What’s wrong? Did you suddenly remember something you forgot?”

When their eyes met, he opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something. But no sound came out, only a strange little groan.

For a moment, he merely opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for breath. Finally, after a long while, he managed to speak.

“Your, your hand… Your hand…”

“What? More importantly, are you feeling sick? Do you have a fever? Your face is red. And why are you stammering so much? Are you cold? Oh no, you didn’t catch a cold, did you?”

“No, it’s not that.”

She saw him rub his face hard with a rough hand. He looked terribly exhausted.

“Couldn’t you sleep because you were uncomfortable because of me?”

“Yes.”

He answered as though blaming her, which made Violet feel a little hurt.

He was the one who had insisted on sleeping together until the very end, and now he was complaining?

“Today, let’s go into town and buy a bigger bed first thing. No, we should buy another small bed altogether. I think it would be better for us to sleep separately after all.”

At those words, he immediately raised his head.

“Sleep separately? No, we can’t. H-husband and wife are supposed to sleep in the same bed.”

“But you said you couldn’t sleep comfortably because of me.”

“It’s not because of you exactly… Although, of course, it is partly because of you…”