VCHM 3

Chapter 3

“Enough, enough. I’d better handle it myself. Looking at it, the bed is too small anyway, so I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”

There was no way she could kick someone who was leaving for the battlefield the very next day out of the bed.

Even then, he merely stared blankly at her as though she were a cow or a chicken.

‘Haah, seriously…. Is he like that because he’s young, or because he’s stupid?’

He was a husband she would have to depend on for the rest of her life, so she sincerely hoped it was the former.

If Violet had one particular talent, it was that no matter how hopeless a situation became, she never allowed herself to sink completely into despair.

Thanks to that, even in this complete disaster of a situation, she was able to find a few small advantages.

First of all, thanks to her husband being young and ignorant, she wouldn’t have to endure a dreadful wedding night.

Considering the circumstances, he didn’t seem even remotely interested in Violet.

Through conversations she had overheard from the village women, Violet knew very well just how terrifying a wedding night could be.

Violet had a good memory, so she never forgot the things she happened to hear while passing by.

Some women said that when a woman accepted a man for the first time, it felt as though ‘her entire body were being torn apart.’ Others said it felt as though ‘her flesh were being ripped open.’

No one had ever explained exactly what happened, so Violet didn’t really know what those descriptions meant. But whatever it was, it sounded horrifying and disgusting.

That was precisely why Violet had always been vaguely afraid of marriage.

The fact that her husband was a knight who would be leaving for the battlefield first thing tomorrow was an enormous relief.

The second good thing was that she had escaped that wretched Baron Cherota household.

Although she had ended up in an unfamiliar village where she knew absolutely no one, that was definitely a good thing.

After her mother died when Violet was around three years old—so young that she couldn’t even remember her face—Violet had been taken into the baronial household and forced to live there.

Under the baroness’s openly disparaging remarks, her sisters’ subtle bullying, and her father’s indifference, Violet had always been unhappy.

The fact that she had grown up as strong as she had was practically a miracle. There wasn’t a single pleasant memory from her childhood.

That was why Violet was actually a little excited about living here alone after her husband left tomorrow.

She had never once had a room of her own.

Now, this entire house was her own private space.

That alone was something she could honestly say she liked.

Besides, she now had the gold coins her husband had given her.

For someone like Violet, who had never possessed even a single gold coin in her entire life, it felt rather strange.

With sleepiness clouding her mind, Violet thought,

Maybe this marriage isn’t as bad as I thought.

She did have to support and feed a quiet, somewhat dim-witted husband, but he would be away for a while anyway.

But someday, he’ll come back safely… right? He’ll be able to come back, won’t he?

With her mind hazy just before sleep, Violet secretly hoped that her husband would return alive and well.

Even though she had only met him today and knew nothing about him except his age….

For some reason, she felt that if that enormous, childlike husband of hers died, she’d probably have restless dreams.

And with that thought, Violet’s consciousness slipped completely into sleep.

Thus passed the wedding night of twenty-year-old Violet.

The following morning, Violet’s husband left for the battlefield.

There was no farewell or anything of the sort.

When Violet woke up, he was already gone.

She was certain she had fallen asleep at the dining table, but when she opened her eyes, she was lying on the bed.

Had he carried her there?

She had no idea.

Other than the man’s disappearance, the room was exactly as it had been the day before.

The pile of clothes and scraps of paper were still scattered about.

It was only then that Violet realized she didn’t even know her husband’s name.

No matter how hastily and absurdly the marriage had been arranged, it was ridiculous.

As Violet sat on the bed for a while in disbelief, something caught against the tip of her foot.

She absentmindedly picked it up and saw what appeared to be an official document written in elegant handwriting.

“This…. It’s a knighting certificate, isn’t it?”

The fact that he had carelessly left something this important lying on the floor told her quite a lot about her husband’s lack of concern for anything.

Violet briefly read through the document.

Soon, she found the information she had been looking for.

‘Aldric Winter.’

The rough signature scrawled at the bottom of the document looked similar to the handwriting she had seen from him at the temple yesterday.

So his name was Aldric Winter.

Aldric Winter. Sir Aldric Winter….

As she rolled the name she had never once called while its owner was actually there around in her mouth, Violet somehow felt a little more energetic.

All right. Fine.

For now, let’s somehow manage to survive until my husband comes back.

There was no such thing as a situation where a person was destined to die.

Violet was now completely alone in this remote estate, but that wasn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world.

It was a little daunting, but this sudden freedom wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Her goal was simple:

To somehow survive.

As for what she would do after her husband returned, she could think about that when the time came.