VCHM CH 08

It was clear that Aldric had absolutely no intention of trying anything with her.

Violet thought carefully about why Aldric wasn’t doing anything. Eventually, she came to her own conclusion.

Aldric is simply too young and completely ignorant about these things.

For Violet, that was a tremendous relief. As long as Aldric didn’t know about it, the one frightening thing she had been afraid of would never happen.

Maybe she could avoid having to go through that “first night” forever and simply continue living happily together as a married couple! They just had to keep it a secret from everyone else!

Violet felt her affection for Aldric deepen even further.

Ah, how could her husband be this wonderful?

He had an exceptionally handsome appearance, a tall and impressive figure, a sturdy build, and on top of all that, a flawless personality.

By now, Violet was almost at the point of feeling grateful to Baron Cerota, her father, for finding her such a good match.

And so, Violet secretly wished for one thing.

She hoped that her exemplary husband would remain this innocent and kind man forever.

Of course, things in this world rarely went exactly as one wished.

It was the last day at Aldric’s house.

After spending just one more night here, Violet and Aldric would leave.

Not forever… but they would be going somewhere far enough away that returning easily would be difficult.

Renting out the house had been simple.

They went into the village for a while and asked Mrs. Margaret to take care of the house. She happily accepted the proposal.

They offered the house at an exceptionally low rent and decided that the proceeds would go to Mrs. Margaret, which moved her deeply.

After everything had finally been settled, Violet was packing the very last of their belongings.

She was sorting everything they might need and placing it into a large sack.

As expected, Aldric helped her.

He folded the smaller pieces of clothing and tied the various little items together with string. His hands were surprisingly practiced, making Violet realize that he hadn’t spent only a short time living on his own.

“Violet.”

Just as Violet was making one final inspection of every corner of the house to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything, Aldric suddenly called her.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Should we take this with us? It looks like something important.”

He placed a bundle wrapped tightly in red silk cloth in front of Violet. She had no idea where he had found it.

“Oh, this…”

Violet’s expression became slightly complicated when she saw the bundle.

Of course, Aldric, whose eyes were sharper than they appeared, didn’t miss her reaction.

“It’s fine. Let’s leave this behind. I don’t need it anymore.”

“Why? What is it?”

Aldric seemed curious about what it was from the expression on her face.

Violet thought for a moment before deciding there was no particular reason to hide it from him. She opened the bundle.

“It’s nothing special. It’s just…”

When she untied the red silk cloth, a ceremonial cloak made of dark green satin, beautifully embroidered with gold thread, was revealed, neatly folded inside.

Violet had made it herself.

The only skills Violet really possessed were sewing and embroidery.

Since she had so much free time, she often found herself lost in unnecessary thoughts whenever she was alone at home.

She had started making this to keep those thoughts at bay.

And it had already been nearly a year since she finished it and put it away.

“I saved whatever money I could and bought some fabric and thread. At first, I thought about making a dress, but it’s not like I was ever going to attend a ball, so I figured I wouldn’t need one… I just made this on the off chance I might need it someday. Now that you’ve become a lord, you can have something much better made for you. So let’s just leave this behind.”

Violet covered the bundle again.

She didn’t want him to pick up the cloak.

But Aldric, who had listened silently to her explanation, wordlessly picked up the bundle of green fabric.

He stared down at it in his hands with an indescribable expression before looking back at the bundle.

Violet’s hand, which had been about to hide what was beneath it while he wasn’t looking, stopped in midair.

“What else is underneath?”

“No, it’s just…”

Aldric reached out again.

What Violet wanted to hide wasn’t the ceremonial cloak.

It was the item underneath it that she didn’t want Aldric to see.

When he lifted the cloak, the clothing beneath it naturally came into view.

Violet knew the fabric well.

She had bought the material herself and personally sewn the garment.

It was an outfit that anyone in the kingdom would recognize at a glance: traditional Illorean ceremonial clothing made of white silk.

But it was also clothing that there was never any reason to wear in everyday life.

It was burial clothing, meant to be put on the dead.

It was a shroud Violet had made while thinking of Aldric.

Hmm. I hope it doesn’t look too morbid…

Now that he had already found it, she would somehow have to explain it away, but she wasn’t exactly pleased about the situation.

She had no idea what he would think either.

“Don’t take it the wrong way. I thought this was the proper thing for me to do… After all, you went off to war. Even though we had a wedding, rushed as it was, and you’re technically my husband on paper, there was nothing I could do for you as your wife. Ah, of course, I wasn’t praying for you to die or anything. I only made it in case the worst happened. What if you suddenly came back as a corpse? I thought I should at least have one set of clothes ready to—”

Violet, flustered, continued blurting out one disjointed explanation after another.

But she soon had to stop.

Aldric had pulled her into his arms.

Although they slept pressed close together every night, this was the first time Violet had ever been held in his arms in broad daylight.

Violet could only breathe in startled little gasps.

Against her ear, pressed to his chest, she could clearly hear the heavy pounding of his heartbeat.

“Um, Aldric?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he gently pulled her away for a moment and looked down at her face.

“Are you angry?”

Still, there was no answer.

Aldric was looking at her with an expression Violet couldn’t put into words. His eyes seemed filled with emotions that he was struggling to contain.

Violet was about to ask whether he was upset.

But the words never made it out.

Aldric had silenced her with a kiss.

It took Violet a long moment to realize what had happened.

It was her first kiss.

And it was an overwhelming experience.

Perhaps Aldric felt the same way, but at the very least, Violet certainly did.

Her heart was beating so fast that she felt as though it might burst out of her chest.

From the warmth, heartbeat, and slight trembling she had felt during those brief moments, she could tell that Aldric was just as nervous as she was.

In truth, Violet could barely understand what was happening.

Aldric remained still for a moment after their lips met, as though he had frozen.

Then, when Violet struggled slightly because she needed to breathe, he startled and immediately pulled away.

As their lips separated, there was a faint, moist sound.

For some reason, Violet felt a strange flutter in her stomach.

“Violet… I’m sorry. I-I made a mistake. I just… suddenly, without thinking, I got so overwhelmed…”

Had he really done something serious enough to apologize like that?

Their lips had merely touched for a moment before separating.

“It’s okay. You didn’t do anything.”

Seeing how flustered Aldric was, Violet decided that she should at least try to remain calm.

Even though her own head was spinning from the sudden turn of events.

Whenever she was in front of him, she felt that way.

Her own heart was in complete turmoil, but whenever she was with Aldric, she strangely wanted to pretend that everything was perfectly normal.

However, perhaps he misunderstood her words, because his gaze suddenly became sharper.

At the same time, seeing his eyes trembling intensely, Violet realized that she must have said something wrong.

“Would it be okay… if I did it again?”

“Huh? What?”

“The kiss… You didn’t dislike it when I kissed you, did you? Would it be okay if I did it again?”

Because Aldric suddenly asked the question with such a different expression, Violet became completely flustered.

“Uh, well… I mean, you’re my husband, so… I suppose it’s okay?”

Without thinking, she ended up giving such a foolish answer.

Upon hearing Violet’s response, Aldric let out a long, heavy sigh.

It wasn’t a sigh of resignation.

It was the sigh of someone finally releasing the tension he had been holding inside.

After a brief pause, he finally asked Violet another question, his expression unusually solemn.

“Violet.”

There was such desperate sincerity in his eyes that Violet unconsciously swallowed.

“I want to become your husband in the truest sense… Can you really accept me?”

His green eyes, fixed on Violet, had become deep and dark, like a dense forest.

The two of them were sitting side by side on the bed.

In the painfully awkward silence, Violet could do nothing but fidget with the hem of her skirt.

A moment earlier, when Aldric had asked her that question, Violet had unconsciously nodded.

Deep down, she had wanted to put off their first night for as long as possible.

But when Aldric had looked directly into her eyes and asked her, Violet couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

As soon as he heard her answer, Aldric carefully pulled her into his arms again.

Then, before Violet had any chance to stop him, he lifted her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

Yet despite entering the room with such determination, Aldric carefully set Violet down on the bed and quietly sat beside her.

And that was how they had remained ever since.

He looked like a man struggling with some serious inner conflict.

“Aldric.”

Unable to wait any longer, Violet called his name.

Her nervousness had reached its limit, and she was beginning to think that whatever was going to happen, they should just get it over with quickly.

When he heard her call him, he startled as though he had been burned.

“Are we just going to keep sitting like this?”

He shook his head.

Then do something already!

Violet was nervous and trembling too.

Because of that, remaining frozen in the same position was becoming uncomfortable for her as well.