VCHM 05

Chapter 5

Fortunately for the hen, Violet decided that rather than kill a chicken she had raised for so long, she would go down to the village and buy some beef from the butcher instead.

Let’s make a rich beef stew for the first time in a while. And I’ll add plenty of fragrant vegetables, too.

After making her decision, Violet finished the sewing work she needed to deliver while she was in the village.

Even after her husband had returned, her work did not stop. Ah, the sad nature of a working woman. Violet was a little intoxicated by her own diligence.

A little while later, Violet prepared to head down to the village as usual. She pulled a deep hood over her head, smeared mud over her face, and gathered the sewing work and money she needed to take with her.

Just as she was about to leave the house, Aldric walked out of the room. His face was slightly disheveled, as though he had been taking a nap.

He flinched when he saw Violet.

“…What on earth are you—. No, never mind. More importantly, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to the village for a bit. It’s our first dinner together, but we barely have any ingredients. And I have some work to deliver, too.”

“Why are you going to the village dressed like that?”

“Obviously, because I don’t want anyone to realize that I’m a young woman living alone. Well, now that you’re back, I suppose I don’t need to do this anymore.”

Violet answered as though he had asked the most obvious question in the world. His expression twisted strangely again.

“…I’ll go with you. But first, do something about that face.”

Does it really look that bad?

She had never actually looked in a mirror while wearing the disguise, so she had no idea what she looked like.

If Aldric was coming with her, there was no need for such a disguise anyway. Violet quickly washed the mud off her face and came back out.

She took out the cleanest cotton dress she owned and put it on. After tying up her hair, she felt strangely different.

Usually, going down to the village meant nothing more than work, but today she felt as though she were going out somewhere for fun.

Before she had a chance to understand why she felt that way, Violet was led by Aldric onto the back of a horse. Just as on the day she had first come here, he settled down behind her.

“It’s nice riding a horse. It’s quite a long walk otherwise.”

The autumn breeze was gentle, and cosmos flowers bloomed along the roadside. Feeling inexplicably cheerful, Violet began chattering about whatever came to mind.

It didn’t matter whether he responded or not. Only then did Violet realize just how bored she had been all this time, with no one even to talk to.

Her husband might seem like a man who was lacking in quite a few areas, but still, having someone was better than having no one at all.

Even the reassuring warmth of the body behind her was enough to prove that. He sat silently behind her like a solid rock that wouldn’t be shaken even by strong winds.

The errands in town were over in no time. Delivering the finished sewing and buying some meat and vegetables were all she had to do that day.

However, unlike usual, Violet could feel the eyes of the villagers gathering on her.

Margaret, the woman who always gave Violet sewing work, was no exception. She seemed surprised to discover that the strangely dressed woman who had been wandering around the village all this time was actually a perfectly respectable young lady.

Perhaps because of that, Violet remained in a good mood. She had thought she was fine on her own, but having someone with her was even better.

A smile naturally lingered on her lips, and her eyes sparkled with life. Even the familiar scenery of the village looked new when she was with Aldric.

So absorbed in her own happiness was she that Violet failed to notice Aldric occasionally staring intently at her. Nor did she notice the gazes of the village men lingering on her.

She truly didn’t realize any of it until the butcher handed her the meat and joked,

“If I’d known you were such a pretty young lady, I would’ve made you my wife ages ago!”

Violet merely praised herself for her foresight.

I knew there’d be a guy like that, which is exactly why I’ve always been so careful!

She really was wise.

Laughing off the butcher’s words, Violet turned around—and was startled.

Aldric, who had been standing some distance away waiting for her to finish her business, had somehow come right up behind her.

“Aldric?”

She called his name without realizing it, startled by how close he was. He visibly flinched.

“You know my name?”

“I saw it in the documents at home.”

“Oh….”

“I bought the meat. You startled me by suddenly standing right behind me. Is there anything else we need?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“…Did you?”

“Did I what? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Did you make it clear to that man that you have a husband?”

It took Violet a moment to realize that Aldric was talking about the butcher.

She hadn’t specifically mentioned that she was married. Could that really be a problem?

“He’ll know if he looks at my ring.”

Violet held out her hand to show him. The ring he had personally placed on her finger on their wedding day was still there.

He stared down at the ring on her finger as though he were seeing it for the first time.

She was still young, so her fingers remained slender and delicate, but they were rougher than those of a wealthy noblewoman, bearing the marks of a life of work.

Feeling embarrassed, Violet quickly hid her hand behind her back.

“That won’t do. I’ll go over there and make it clear.”

What is he going to say?

Violet couldn’t keep up with the conversation at all.

Was he seriously going over there just to tell the man she was married? Then why was he tightening his grip on his sword?

“What? No, don’t! Why would you do that?”

“That man was going to—”

“Going to what?”

“Make you… his wife….”

“He was obviously just joking!”

Without thinking, Violet lightly smacked his shoulder.

Her own palm actually hurt more from hitting his solid muscles.

Because they had been apart for so long, Violet didn’t know Aldric very well. Perhaps he was simply an overly serious person? The truth was, they really didn’t know much about each other.

Violet suddenly narrowed her eyes.

“You’ve been calling me ‘you’ this whole time. Do you perhaps not know my name?”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before letting out her name with a sigh.

“Violet Cherota.”

Hearing her own name in his voice felt strangely unfamiliar. It sent a ticklish sensation through her heart.

“Wrong.”

Violet pointed it out while hiding her agitation. He opened his mouth as though he were about to protest, but her next words cut him off.

“Not Cherota. Winter. Violet Winter.”

Under the laws of the Kingdom of Illore, a married woman was required to take her husband’s surname. Violet hadn’t particularly liked the fact that she had to abandon her original surname, but Cherota had been her father’s name anyway, so she had no particular attachment to it.

This was the first time she had officially spoken her new name aloud.

Violet Winter.

She liked the sound of it.

She was about to ask Aldric whether he didn’t think her first and last names went well together, but then she saw his face and fell silent.

His handsome face had turned completely red. His cheeks were so flushed that even his well-shaped ears had gone bright red, making him look like a perfectly ripe tomato.

A very, very handsome tomato.

It must have been the sunset. I must have seen it wrong.

Violet thought that all the way home.

She hadn’t said anything that should have made him blush that badly. Common sense dictated that it was rare for a twenty-year-old man to turn that red.

After that, neither of them spoke.

The ride home together was therefore somewhat awkward.

As soon as they arrived home, Violet fled into the kitchen to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere.

But Aldric did not help her maintain her solitude.

After noticing him repeatedly peeking around the kitchen entrance, Violet turned around irritably while cooking.

“If you need something, just say so.”

Stop hovering around and distracting me.

Violet swallowed the rest of her words.

“I don’t really have anything to do. I was just wondering if there was anything I could help with….”

He spoke awkwardly.

It felt strange having someone offer to help with the chores she had always done alone, but Violet wasn’t about to turn away an extra pair of hands that had practically fallen into her lap.

“Fine. Sit here and prepare the vegetables. You know how to use a knife, right? Be careful not to cut yourself.”

He looked slightly offended.

Did I talk to him too much like he was a child?

Come to think of it, she had been doing that constantly.

But she couldn’t help it. From their very first meeting, Violet had firmly categorized Aldric as a younger brother three years her junior, or perhaps a boy from the neighborhood.

There was no way that impression, which had solidified over three years, could change overnight.

Even though the Aldric sitting at the table peeling potatoes was unmistakably a grown man now….

He’s technically my husband. Should I start speaking politely to him too? And while I’m at it, should I teach him to use honorifics with me?

For some reason, Violet couldn’t imagine the two of them speaking formally to each other.

She decided to put that troublesome problem off for later.

For now, she needed to focus on the stew in front of her.

Dinner passed peacefully.

The table was lavish with the meat stew they had made together, and the sound of bowls and spoons clinking against each other was warm and companionable.

There was only one extra person at the table where she had always eaten alone, yet it felt almost as though they were having a party.

And that feeling wasn’t necessarily a bad one.

The problem came after dinner.

After washing herself clean to mark the end of the day, Violet found another difficult situation waiting for her.

She had changed into comfortable cotton pajamas and neatly brushed out her tangled hair. Now she stood in front of the bed, deep in thought.

Apparently, Aldric was in the same predicament.

In fact, he had been pacing around the bedroom for a while with an extremely troubled expression.

“Aldric.”

He jumped as though he’d been startled out of his skin just from hearing his name.

What’s wrong with him?

“How are you going to sleep?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“I-I, I suppose I should sleep in the bed.”

Of course. He just got home after such a long time. He probably doesn’t want to sleep on the floor like he did on the battlefield.