Marin, who was concentrating on her sewing work, heard the ringing of the door bell.
"Ash?"
Marin looked out the window.
Ash was entering the house with someone, carefully wrapped in his coat.
He came back to pick someone up!
Last time, he had picked up a dog.
"Ash?" —Marin ran down.
Ash took off his coat and looked at her.
—And the others?
His other subordinates were in other houses.
Marin looked closely at the woman Ash had brought.
As expected, it's Violet Everdeen.
Marin pretended not to know anything and replied to Ash:
—The others...
I guess they are where they should be.
The servants came out to watch the festival.
Violet glanced at Marin out of the corner of her eye and then looked away.
That evasive look disgusted her even more.
After all, Violet Everdeen did not have a good reputation.
It was rumored that she was a bad conversationalist, depressed and had no talent.
What a disaster.
I thought he went on a date to find a partner for the dance.
What would my teacher's mother say if she knew he was hanging out with a girl like that?!
My job is to serve you well.
Marin looked at Violet with more resentment.
—Be polite to my guest.
Contemptuous looks are disrespectful,” Ash said firmly.
Marin was forced to correct her expression.
-…Yeah.
“Go make tea,” Marin pouted a little.
Anyway, I intended to prepare a snack.
He had no intention of treating someone badly who arrived with such a pale face.
I just wanted to be a little moody.
"Ash, I don't need tea," Violet said sheepishly.
—Just take it.
Ash's time is very valuable.
We humans waste a lot of time hesitating and procrastinating.
“You're going to take it anyway,” Marin turned her back on him.
—Violet, over here.
—Ash put his hand on Violet's back naturally and led her to the dining room.
Now that I see her up close, her face is quite pretty.
Ha!
But he doesn't fool me.
There are not enough talents of good standing for my master to be with her.
Marin asserted himself.
I'm not going to let her become your friend.
I'm a hard person to convince, so be prepared.
Do you think you're going to make me doubt?
Marin filled the tray with food while thinking.
──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ────
Thirty minutes later…
—Hip, sniff, how can a father do that?
Is it a monster with a human face?
How is it possible?!
She's a bastard, but she's not a bastard!
Violet, you are so pitiful…” Marin was constantly wiping away her tears.
The reason was simple.
Ash and Violet sat at the table.
Violet, who had barely eaten, said carefully:
(Ash, there is something I want to ask you.)
Ash, before hearing the request, said that he would think about it if she told him the truth.
Violet hesitated for a moment and then began to tell her story.
And the person most surprised by the revelation of his birth was Marin.
"You seem to like Violet all of a sudden, Marin," Ash said with a grimace.
—It doesn't make sense!
A woman from a renowned family, even though I don't know her name, suffering like this!
In short, it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, if you hang out with the wrong person, your life will go down the drain.
—Marin was very sensitive in that regard.
Thanks to that, his heart was already open.
—Now that I remember, when you picked up the black dog, you first refused, but then you were the one who became most attached to him, right, Marin?
—Ash said with an annoyed tone.
-Really?
Do you both have a dog?
—Violet said surprised.
—The dog is somewhere else.
—Did they give him up for adoption?
—No, literally somewhere else.
—What Ash meant was that he was in another house.
Ash had several houses in the capital.
-I understand.
But this looks like a pension.
Can you have a dog without the owner's permission?
—Violet said naively.
Marin thought about what to say.
The place was not a boarding house, but one of Ash's properties.
But that Miss Violet thinks Ash is a scholarship student.
Marin rolled her eyes.
—Yes, you can have one here.
—And who is the owner?
—Marin.
And I'm staying here,” Ash said, with a sweet smile and a sincere lie.
Marin nodded quickly.
—Y-yes.
This is my house!
—How come you have a house like that at your young age?
It's amazing!
—Violet looked at Marin with innocent admiration.
—Marin specializes in the history of clothing at the history academy and at the same time works.
-Exact.
I am a professional seamstress.
-Excellent.
Seamstress, student and boarding house owner!
So many things at once.
I don't know how I didn't realize before that you were such an amazing person.
The entire academy should know this.
Violet said it without a hint of falsehood.
Marin's ears perked up.
His shoulders shook.
It was difficult for him to hide his smile.
—What's so incredible about it?
Hmm, do you want more tea?
Do you want to eat something?
—That's enough.
“Thank you,” Violet responded.
—Anyway, it's unfortunate that you live in a house like that.
“You have to get out of there as soon as possible,” Marin added.
"One of my relatives said he would let me stay at his house," Violet said.
—Oh, yes?
Is there a family member who is going to help you?
What a relief.
Right, Ash?
—What relative?
—Ash said.
—My uncle.
I have been with my father for many years.
They say he is an eccentric.
But he gave me a condition.
—Violet calmly explained her uncle's condition: 'Tell each member of your family something.'
—It seems strange to me.
Why would you put a condition like that?
—Marin tilted his head.
—If I had no bad intentions, the meaning would be obvious.
If he let you stay with him and then you left because 'you miss your family', he would be in a difficult situation.
That way, he wants to confirm your intentions,” Ash said.
—How do you know it so well?
“My uncle said the same thing,” Violet said in amazement.
—It makes sense.
He could seem like the person who encouraged her to leave, with bad intentions, which could lead to legal problems,” Marin said.
—…Could my uncle have legal problems because of me?
"You recently turned eighteen, Violet, right?"
-Yeah.
—You're an adult, so you just need to prove that you left of your own free will.
"It won't be a problem," Ash said calmly.
Violet was relieved.
—So, have you already told them something?
Marin asked.
—My father yes, but not Marigold and my stepmother yet.
And actually, I want to take back what I told my father.
"I don't think I did it right." Violet licked her lips and spoke with difficulty.
—So, Ash, I want to ask you a favor.
-…Tell me.
—Ash settled back in his seat.
His eyes showed faint interest.
—It may sound strange, but could you teach me how to say hurtful things?
Things that no one can forget after hearing them.
—Do you want me to go insult your father for you?
-No.
I want to go and say something to my family myself.
But the moment I think about it, I get so angry that my mind goes blank.
My goal is to say something pointed, but what I've done so far is nothing special.
-Like what?
—Marin asked out of simple curiosity.
"Break my fiancé's nose, get my father's accounting books, call him a hypocrite and twist his arm when he tried to hit me, and ruin my stepsister's homework?"
—…
"It's simple things like that," Violet said, embarrassed.
He's doing well, Marin thought.
She is doing much better than the protagonist of a novel.
"I think you're managing very well, Violet Everdeen," Ash said.
…To be continued