Chapter 5: 5

Last winter, during the shortest days, he stayed home for four days. And the eve before Winter was due to leave for the Capital again, Violet spoke to him over dinner.

When Winter had faced her, Violet fiddled with her hair, embarrassed.

His wife had often asked strange questions like this. Cutting hair was not a task he took care of himself. Winter had never bothered to ask about the matter, since it was often left to others.

Violet’s smile disappeared at his answer, and her face seemed to fall.

And the conversation was over. She didn’t cut her hair, seeming to have changed her mind, and hadn’t asked him any questions since that day.

Winter remembered the way Violet’s expression had changed. He figured his answer had upset her, but he couldn’t understand what the hell was wrong with it.

Should he have told her to cut it, or should he have told her not to cut it?

Women were strange creatures.

After a while, the maid brought him medicine and water; Winter fell into a deep sleep after taking it.

For how long did he sleep? Winter was awakened by a knocking at the door, by which time the headache had relatively subsided.

“Violet.”

“Come in.”

Still in a hazy state, Winter responded to his brother Diev’s voice at the door.

Diev had appeared to be in a bad mood, but for some reason he smiled in relief when he was allowed to enter Violet’s bedroom.

“You just kept sleeping. Lichton said that you really were sick – that it wasn’t fake for once.”

“I’ll kill th– Yes. It’s true.”

“Have you eaten?”

“I can’t.”

Diev, who had ignored Winter’s existence for so long before changing his attitude because he was desperate for Winter’s fortune, now looked at him with a permanent smile.

Winter spoke, irritated by Diev’s smile.

“Go and get me some liquor.”

Diev laughed at Winter’s words and left the room. After lying on his back for a while, thinking Diev wouldn’t bring any, Diev returned and placed a glass of mint water on the bedside table.

“You shouldn’t drink. Have some water instead.”

Diev spoke quietly and left the bedroom. Winter’s face crumpled the moment his brother left. Were these two really this close?

In fact, Winter left the house frequently for long periods of time to rebuild his company whilst on the verge of bankruptcy, so he had no idea what had occurred in the meantime.

Winter was seething, but the medicine was so strong that it was too hard to raise himself. After a long sleep, the medicine gave Winter the strength to finally take a train to the capital.

She thought everything would be back to normal when she woke up, but nothing had changed.

“I must have actually gone insane.”

As Violet mumbled to herself, Hael burst in and spoke.

“The madam sent a telegram. The little madam has cut her hair. They say it suits her very well, so you should come back and tell her it looks pretty. No, wait, the Madam clearly cares for the little madam, so why does she hate to go to her parties?” [1]

“Ah…….”

A weak laugh escaped.

In the last 3 years, Winter had never been to a single one of Catherine’s parties. Though, he often attended events such as birthdays, but even those were just a means of strengthening and gaining connections with other businessmen.

And so, neither Hael nor Winter knew about it. Those cold eyes and accusations that came from the crowds.

In fact, even if he knew about the harassment, Winter definitely wouldn’t have sided with his wife. ‘I lost all the money I invested because of you’, it would be something like that, as he’d told Violet many times.

Just thinking about it made her heart ache. It’s already been three years, so why hasn’t the pain gone away? She didn’t understand how it hurt just as badly as when they first met.

The man hated her at first sight three years ago, and continued to hate her ever since… How difficult these three years had been, organising these mixed feelings of elation, first love and regret.

Violet spoke quietly.

“…Not interested.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Whatever my wife does. I’m not interested.”

Her husband had always responded like that. So in this situation, Winter Blooming would have answered like this. ‘I don’t care what my wife does, or if anything changes. I’m not interested.’

At that moment, she heard the voice of one of the hotel staff outside.

“Sir, the little madam is here.”

“What?”

Violet took a step back without realising it.

She didn’t want to leave this dream-like delusion. If I face my body, it feels like the hell will start all over again.

“Say I’m sleeping.”

Hael replied in a nagging tone.

“No matter what, you must ask what she came for.”

“You can ask instead.”

Hael was frustrated with Winter’s indifference, but he was forced to head to the hotel lobby. After arriving, he was greeted with the strange scene of the little madam standing with her arms crossed. Hael spoke politely,

“Little madam, what are you here for?”

“My husband?”

“He’s asleep. We’ve finished our required business here, so he’ll probably rest for a while.”

“The contract is complete? As we required?”

When the little madam questioned him with a threatening stare, Hael spoke again, perplexed.

“Yes. Is there something wrong?”

The two stepped into the elevator mid-conversation. When Hael inserted the key into the slot next to the door and turned to the 12th floor, a rattling sound was audible as the elevator moved.

Winter thrust out his hand first.

“The contract.”

“I’m afraid it’s already been handed over to the company…….”

Wondering why Violet was asking, Hael recalled Winter, who hadn’t even been interested in what his wife was doing. And on the other hand, here was his wife, trying to show an interest in her husband’s work.

Hael cursed the heartless Winter and stepped out onto the 12th floor, grabbing the door. Before Hael had shown him the room, the ‘little madam’ headed straight for Winter’s suite. Then, he took the key from Hael, who had been momentarily distracted, and entered the bedroom, locking the door behind him.

After entering the suite, Winter saw his own body standing by the window, looking right at him. He spoke with a strange look.

“Violet, is it you?”

“Winter, wait…….”

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“Something this absurd is a first, even for me.”

Winter, who was getting closer to his body, scrunched his brows. The stench of cigars and alcohol emanating from his body was awful.

“What did you use my body for last night…”

He walked closer, irritated, and grabbed ‘his’ arm. It was then.

The two of them staggered at the same time, overwhelmed by dizziness.

Soon, the momentary feeling of dizziness passed, and Winter could be seen through Violet’s eyes, and Violet through Winter’s.

It happened the moment they touched. Both of them noticed the moment they recovered their own bodies.

“It looks like we revert back when we touch each other’s body.”

“It seems so. We… have a lot to discuss.”

“A lot. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened…….”

“You don’t know even though you signed the contract?”

“The contract?”

I thought it would be a question about us switching bodies, but it was about the contract. Well, the only thing on his mind is money.

Still, she thought she had something to talk to her husband about for once, but he didn’t seem interested at all. Violet hid her disappointment as usual. Then, Winter spoke.

“I’m asking because the contract turned out so good. How did you break that little worm?”

“Ah.”

Violet’s expression quickly brightened up at Winter’s reaction. She’d never really felt any accomplishment in her life, so Winter’s praise made her feel like she was floating on air.

She shook her head, following the Lawrence family values of ‘never showing off’.

“It’s not a big deal. Do you have any idea why this happened?”

“None.”

“You’re a foreigner.”

Winter, who’d been looking at her behind him through the mirror, turned his head towards Violet.

Grey eyes were a symbol of poverty in Larkround. Such grey eyes belonged to the foreigners who’d migrated here long, long ago; and, of course, most of them were poor.

“And every foreigner knows how to use witchcraft, right?”

Winter stared down at Violet with contemptuous eyes and clicked his tongue.

“It’s not uncommon. There are people who discriminate against foreigners as politely as you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just, I know a lot about my family, and there’s nothing like this……. But you don’t know much about the Kanix family. That’s why I said… so I mean…….”

“Yes, yes. I’m the descendant of a sorcerer’s family.”

Winter cut off her rambling.

But at that moment, her body was actually floating. It was because Winter had suddenly lifted her up. Having been so casually hoisted into her husband’s arms, Violet was startled and spoke.

“Wha, What are you doing?”

“I dragged that body all the way here, so I know you can’t stand for any longer.”

“I can stand!”

“You can’t.”

Winter spoke firmly and took her to the bed. He took off her shoes as he pleased and threw them into the trash.

“Do you not have any slippers?”

“They’re in my bedroom. And why are my shoes…….”

“I mean the slippers you wear when you go out.”

“You wear slippers outside?”

Violet’s eyes widened.

Regardless of her reaction or answer, Winter had dragged her body here, and he seemed convinced that she couldn’t so much as lift a finger.

Winter placed a pillow behind Violet’s back and made a difficult expression, gesturing at Violet’s body.

“This.”

“……I’m sorry, what?”

“Your body. I thought I’d die dragging it all the way here. It’s under such an oppressive burden.”

Indeed, Winter came to the capital dragging a body that felt like death, fuelled only by his obsession to confirm the contract.

Being nearly beaten to death whilst working as a servant when he was young wasn’t nearly as painful as this. Such a piercing headache made him want to cut his own head off and throw it away.

After being in Winter’s sturdy body, Violet understood what he meant. But Violet’s body was fine today in comparison.

“Today my body feels pretty good though. Did you take some medicine?”

“Lichton gave it to me.”

“Really? But why…….”

“Money was involved.”

“Ahh.”

Violet understood immediately.

Winter swept back his black hair and spoke,

“I’m going to take a bath and get to work, so you can just get some rest.”

“I’ve slept enough, and it’s morning now.”

“What can you do when your body’s like that?”

Winter seemed to be really tired out by Violet’s body. He laid Violet down, pulled the quilt up to her neck and covered her. Then, he spoke to Hael, who was waiting outside.

“I’m going to wash up. Call a doctor. On the way, buy some slippers girls wear when they go out. Come straight to work when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir. Wow, but yesterday was really amazing! When did you study cigars? He couldn’t even make a sound!”

“A doctor.”

“Oh, yes! I’ll be right back!”

Winter returned back to normal, as if the strange etiquette practice had ended. Hael ran to the doctor in relief.

[1] In this, the “Madam” refers to Catherine Blooming (Winter’s mother) and the “Little Madam” to Winter’s wife, Violet.

Flashback dialogue is in a light grey colour to distinguish from the rest of the chapter in the present.

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