“That’s why, Aileen, I’ll take care of all the bad things for you.”

“Yes, Brother…”

“You know that a good child should just stay nice, yes? And that a good child can’t talk about other people’s business recklessly?”

“…Yes.”

That’s right, good girl.

Until the moment the older brother’s gentle hand left her hair, the blank look on Aileen remained. She could not fix her expression at all.

 

* * *

 

Violet disliked Roen.

The reason she disliked him was not simply because he had been cruel to her before, but simply because of his nature.

A good child shouldn’t behave like this, he’d often say.

Roen’s cunning ways used to be directed at Violet—chipping away at her all that time—however, they were now directed at Aileen.

The image of a ‘good child’ that Aileen had manufactured for herself was solid through and through, yet it now became a shackle that she could not escape.

After her study abroad at some unknown place had been decided, Aileen’s behavior began to be constantly controlled. There was not a single time when she could rebel or abandon her image as a ‘good child’.

The reason Aileen Everett had been able to live as an Everett until now was, of course, her image.

Mikhail had no control over the situation either.

Each and every one of his actions in the past had been pointed out and brought to light, leaving him constantly bombarded. Though he was the duke’s heir, he had no ability to overcome it.

The smallest of words or deeds were assessed, and this evaluation served as a turning point in the present.

Surveillance was relentless. One small act became a rumor that would spread immediately.

Thus, there was nothing Mikhail could do for his beloved younger sister.

“Aileen, what’s the matter? The area beneath your eyes has gone dark. Perhaps you didn’t get enough sleep…”

“N-Not at all. Brother, I just…”

Even if the two siblings who cared a lot about each other were to meet, their hands were tied. The older brother, who loved and cared for his younger sister, lamented that there was nothing he could do for her.

“…Just what the hell have you been doing, Roen.”

“Slander between siblings now? I’m hurt, Elder Brother.”

“Bullshit. You’ve changed ever since you got close to that villainess. If you don’t stop this right away, I’ll make damn sure you’ll pay for it.”

“…Either way, the retribution you speak of has already commenced. With you, Elder Brother, and…”

As Roen trailed off, he glanced at Aileen. Being met with the gentle expression on his face, Aileen flinched.

Roen was no fool. Ever since he realized what kind of life Violet had been living until now, not a day went by that he didn’t think about it.

Roen was tormented by guilt.

For him to have bullied Violet for ten years by stigmatizing her as a ‘villainess’… He couldn’t stand what he had done to her. The inside of his mouth tasted bitter.

Even when there was no one by her side, she just endured it all on her own.

Nevertheless, whether or not Roen sympathized with Violet, what happened in the past would not disappear.

The day that Violet would call Roen ‘Brother’ again would never come.

“…Manipulative prick.”

“I do believe that’s better than being an halfwit.”

The one who had already realized his transgressions laughed at the two who still remained ignorant.

Roen, who was looking at Mikhail, turned around.

 

* * *

 

Regardless of whether the main mansion had been overturned or not, Violet’s days were full of leisure.

The ducal lady had been allowed to go on outings once a week, and she used this time to freely wander around the city.

She had two official escort knights, and several unofficial escort knights.

One short outing of the ducal lady required considerable manpower, but Violet was clueless about this.

The portraits that she would do in front of the fountain had since become a specialty of the town. People who could ill afford professional painters or camera photographs were in a flurry to meet Violet.

Some quarrels broke out, too. There were plenty of people who disliked the fact that Violet had not learned formally in an atelier.

Though there were many individuals secretly stationed here and there as the ducal lady’s security detail, they couldn’t stop some painters who went so far as to disguise themselves as customers.

“Did you seriously draw this? Hah. I already had low expectations for art from a girl like you, but this is rather abysmal.”

“Ah… Sure.”

“Back in my day…! For a little girl to…!”

Violet’s expression clouded over.

This guy was a customer so she drew a portrait for him, but he happened to be a backwards-thinking boomer^[1].

Violet was in the middle of taking down her signboard, but the man continued to nag about his long experience as an artist one after another. She shook her head.

Then, when he mentioned that he had been invited to the duke’s residence to paint a portrait, Violet replied offhandedly.

“I don’t think I’ve met you before though… That’s strange…”

“W-What?! Of course! There’s no way a wench like you would have been able to meet me!”

But if he, indeed, was invited to the duke’s residence to paint a portrait, she should have met him at least once, right? But why didn’t she know him?

As he watched the man constantly being impertinent, Zylo reached a hand towards the hilt of his sword and growled.

Still though, Violet was unbothered.

Compared to the life she had lived, this was just adorable.

 

---

 

¹ Violet used the slang term 꼰대 here, so I went with ‘backwards-thinking boomer’ for its translation. Basically, 꼰대 means a nagging older/elderly man who forces down his old-fashioned values down your throat, especially if you’re young. ↩