When the drawing-room door opened, Violet who was originally worried looked relieved.
Because he said he bought a busy street here, she thought he had piled up too much like when he bought flowers at the hotel last time, but it wasn’t.
As soon as she sat in front of the table where only refreshments were prepared and tried to relax, merchants came into the drawing-room with a bag of goods.
Sitting leisurely with his legs crossed, Winter said.
“Just know it’s rude to merchants if you buy less.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s very rude. Think about the poor merchant’s heart who can’t sell a single thing even if he brought it all the way here. What do you think? Does it hurt?
Upon Winter’s serious look, Violet was sorry if the merchant couldn’t sell anything and she almost fell for it.
“There’s nothing bad about getting a face stamp on you, so it’s also an investment concept, right?”
“……You are being uselessly smart.”
Winter looked unhappy.
Violet drank tea with a relaxed mind.
It was not a bad experience to sit in one place and look around the busy streets. Southern merchants were very eloquent and attracted Violet several times.
When Winter saw Violet smiling from time to time, he thought that he should do this and waste time sometimes.
By the way, Violet began to show interest in flower products when they appeared, even though she was trying to look around because she didn’t think to buy anything.
“Pretty……. Oh, my God, I’ve never seen such a flowerpot before.”
Winter was relieved to see his wife who couldn’t keep her head above water when she saw flowers. Even if Violet ran away from him, he thought she would live with satisfaction if he caught her and locked her in the garden.
Winter smiled unknowingly as he saw Violet’s curiosity spreading through her eyes. Then, Violet pointed to boots.
“There are boots, too.”
“You don’t have any occasions to wear boots.”
Winter was calm, but the merchant was already bringing boots.
“These days, ladies wear a lot of boots. Instead of tea parties, there are also gatherings to manage the gardens.”
“Don’t talk rubbish.”
“It’s real! It’s a Southern trend these days.”
The merchant looked at Violet as if asking for consent. She was just smiling, but since then she has listened to the merchant explaining the tools needed to manage the garden. Winter said as if teasing with his chin up.
“I’m gonna fire the gardener. We have a new kid here.”
“No.”
Still, Winter fired some of the original employees. The reason was that he was annoyed because they couldn’t understand what he said quickly on the first day he changed his body with Violet.
Winter smiled playfully when Violet looked serious, thinking he might really fire the gardener.
“Of course I was joking. How do you manage that large garden without a gardener? How much do you have to do on your own?”
“Do I look that weak?”
“That’s what it looks like. If you stand in the sun for an hour in the first place, you’ll collapse.”
“Not to that extent.”
Humans were stronger than expected.
Violet has often spent hours hanging out at garden parties, but she never collapsed.
If she fell down, she’d be a laughingstock. So she struggled to hold out on the spot.
Merchants continued to bring their goods in even after she bought flower supplies.
His remark that he brought a busy street was not an exaggeration at all.
***
Tired of shopping, Violet fell on her bed as soon as she returned to her bedroom.
When she was forced to say what she wanted to have, bringing items was also compulsory.
There was a huge pile of boxes in her bedroom that she had never opened. When Violet said something was pretty, Winter bought it immediately so she kept her mouth shut in the middle, but from then on, he bought things even if she just met eyes with the merchant.
What a lustful person he has enough. But then again, Violet had never seen Winter wear the same clothes twice, nor has he ever worn the same watch.
While she was exhausted, three maids came in and began to unpack all the luggage. It was also work to organize because there was so much luggage.
‘But I guess he really didn’t like divorce.’
Violet, who buried her face in the bed as if she was sick of it, thought.
At first, she felt frustrated when he said he would not divorce her, but she thought it would be okay if the relationship with him gradually improved in this way.
When she held his hand, he held hers again. This was what Violet had been hoping for the past three years.
Her husband held her hands.
Violet recalls the sensation again, and a maid brought a piece of glass from the box.
“Young lady, where should I put this?”
The young maid had been having fun ripping the box since earlier. Violet asked with a little smile without realizing it.
“Did you say your name was Jen?”
“Yes!”
“Please put it on that table. You’re going through a lot.”
“Oh, I’m just having fun.”
“Then I’ll open it with you.”
Violet lifted up her heavy body. Then other maids, including Jen, glanced at Violet.
She heard the maids whispering that the young lady was a strange person. But sitting face to face, she may not be a comfortable person, but she was never a strange person.
The little lady immediately memorized the names of the maids who came in for the first time and thanked them after asking for anything. On the contrary, the strange personality was on Winter’s side, who had a temper tantrum even if only a small mistake was made.
In addition, it didn’t seem like the rumor that said the young master blamed the young lady was true.
Therefore, there was no reason to hate Violet for the new employees who worked here.
Then, the door burst open. When Winter, who was ready to go out, entered, the maids who were afraid of him greeted him and quickly left the room.
Violet put down the box she was trying to open and said.
“It’s a request, please tell me when you’re coming in before you come in.”
Winter said to Violet without even paying attention.
“I’ve got something to do in the Harpitt region. It’ll take more than 15 days.”
Violet paused at his words and smiled without realizing it.
“Why are you so specific?”
“Because you’re so detailed.”
“It’s amazing that you’re still telling me.”
Violet spoke and casually looked in the mirror. Her hair was messy because she was lying on the bed. Winter grabbed her wrist while she was taking out the comb and trying to organize her hair.
“Just let it be.”
“My hair is……”
“What kind of couple can’t sit face to face and talk without brushing.”
At his words, Violet looked at Winter.
Always be elegant, neat, and royal, not human. That was the policy of the LaCrown Royal Family.
So what if she’s not as neat, it’s because she’s lazy. It’s because she’s weak and she’s emotional that she can’t beat the situation that’s coming. She thought so.
Violet asked again if she wanted to be confirmed.
“Isn’t it weird?”
“Not at all.”
“Really?”
“It’s not weird. What part of the world do I have to feel weird about?”
He is the opposite of her. Fiery, impolite, and always extremely human.
It was amazing, and sometimes she envied it.
Winter let go of her wrist and grumbled.
“The room is a mess. Take everything that’s useless.”
“Who is this for? Besides, you’re gonna say that everything I have is useless.”
“For some reason, our princess knows my heart.”
Winter walked sarcastically to the closet. He was going to nitpick her to throw away everything in there. Violet’s things were monotonous and simple as if anyone noticed.
His wife was a beautiful woman that anyone could recognize. Bright things definitely suited her better than dark things.
He grabbed the handle to open the closet door and pulled it off.
Then he stroked the inside of the door ring with his index finger again. Inside the gold-plated handle, the gold foil fell off and scratched.
“…….”
“Winter?”
Winter looked back at her when Violet called.
A bad memory returned.
When Winter worked as a servant, the restaurant owner, who was an employer, often beat him up and locked him in a barn. Winter knocked on the door to get out somehow, leaving a chained mark on the door ring.
At the same time, he was thinking of Violet’s hand that he saw on the day of his father’s birthday party.
On the day his wife stole his body, he thought the blood on her hands was strange, but he thought it would have been because of falling at best. He wondered if she’s good at falling because she doesn’t have strength.
Violet, who was running away with her body that day, was like himself running away from the barn and dying in the Baidelin Mountains. Now that he thought about it, she did.
But that can’t be true. Who would treat the princess so recklessly?
Winter thought so and grabbed the inside of the handle again. After a while, he looked back and asked Violet.
“You’ve never been trapped anywhere, have you?”
Then Violet saw the doorknob he held. She opened her mouth after a moment of thought.
“There is, there is.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who dares to the princess…… Oh, is it something like tutoring?”
“I was a very good student.”
“Well, you look like a model student even at first glance.”
“Yes, and you look far from being a model student.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You look like a delinquent, no matter how I look at it.”
Violet laughed and said goodbye again.
“See you.”
“Don’t cut the talk. You have to tell me who did that.”
“What’s important about that? Now, after such a long time.”
“Why do you say ‘now, after such a long time’?”
Winter weighed down on his attempt to raise his voice. Violet, who was looking at the scene, opened her mouth again.
“I guess Ash really hated it that I was going to divorce. So he told mother to fix me somehow.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No matter how much Ash asked her to do it, my mother wouldn’t have locked you in a closet.”
“I’m thinking about divorce, so she must be very upset.”
Winter’s face was cold. It was as if his blood had been drained out. He asked in a voice as if he had suddenly rested.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried to.”
“When?”
“Right after that. When you were talking about work. I told you we should talk. How many times?”
Whenever his wife caught him, Winter thought that the princess was blocking him from doing his job to talk about useless things again.
Violet was always smiling when she said ‘let’s talk’ three years ago, and later became angry, and these days she has given up. That day, too. Violet looked tired.
“So I stole your body that day. I’m sorry about that.”
Violet rather smiled a little. As if it was funny to steal his body. But Winter couldn’t laugh after her.
Somewhere invisible, his wife who always looked perfect, seemed to be broken, he thought.