—Did you…did you tell me?
—Marlon's mustache began to tremble.
—Yes, I told you, who else would I tell?
The idiots behind you?
Marlon's expression of feigned kindness disappeared.
He frowned and became angry.
—I'm warning you for the last time, Ash Defendale.
This is not your problem.
-I think so.
Do you want me to guess the situation?
—…
—A Sword Master who does not accept the offer to join the Knight Order.
And that he is in the same place as your son's fiancee, the day she hit him...
Marlon was still silent.
—You don't think your son was hit by Violet, do you?
You think it was me.
And you wonder why I hit him…” Ash moved even closer to Violet.
And in this situation, Ash still smelled so good.
—…You came to the conclusion that Violet and I have something.
This way your pride doesn't feel so hurt.
And the disgust for your stupid son being beaten by his fiancée diminishes.
Violet's words about annulling the engagement also make sense.
TRUE?
Ah, no wonder they came!
Violet almost nodded.
But he was instantly horrified.
How dare they suspect her and Ash of having something?
—Ash Defendale, you are young and arrogant.
You think you can have everything in the world.
Violet is a worthless and foolish girl.
But at least he's half noble,” Marlon continued.
—You can never touch a woman like that.
That's the difference in status.
Misunderstandings piled up like a mountain.
Violet wanted to cover her face.
Violet took a step away from Ash.
—Ash, go.
-…Now?
—I don't want to get you into trouble.
Plus, they're misunderstanding everything.
—What are you misunderstanding?
—The idea that we are something.
—But we are something.
-…That?
—Don't you remember?
At the source, we almost became accomplices.
Was our collaboration more special and hot than a murder?
—You, you, what are you saying…?
—Also, you asked me for private lessons.
And why didn't he mention that Marin was with them?
Violet was about to say something.
And it wasn't just Violet who was horrified.
Marlon's face became more and more gloomy.
—You're bragging.
Are you really going to ruin your life for some insignificant girl?
"It's up to you," Ash replied.
—Enough words.
Ash Defendale, if you are so confident, dare to draw your sword against the Imperial Knights.
—…
—I can ruin your future whenever I want.
Give him a lesson, but don't draw the sword.
Marlon was right about one thing.
A commoner who beat up the Imperial Knights would earn the enmity of all the knights in the country.
—Ash, don't pay attention to him, run...
Violet was about to finish her sentence, when Ash calmly approached and punched the gentleman in front in the face.
Lately, I've been hearing the sound of breaking noses a lot.
—Did you see that?
"Your son's face was just as ugly," Ash said with an innocent smile.
"You, you..." Marlon's entire body trembled.
Ash spoke to him sweetly:
—It's lucky, now that he was already ugly, you have an excuse.
Don't you already have something to say to the mirror when you look at yourself?
—Stop him!
—the knights took out their swords.
Not to use them, but to hit him with the sheath.
"Remember, if you come near me, at least one bone will break," Ash said before climbing on top of a knight and starting to punch his face like crazy.
And before Violet's eyes, a violent scene unfolded.
This boy had no future to ruin...
He was crazy from the beginning.
Violet thought about it sadly.
-Careful!
—At that moment, a knight who lost his mind took out his sword.
Violet reflexively made a small sphere of aura and hit the man's sword.
—Ugh!
—The force of the blow caused the man's sword to falter.
The man fell on Ash's head, who quickly dodged it.
Ash's silver aura rose as he stepped on the fallen knight's head.
"I like you, Violet Everdeen," Ash said with a bright smile.
The moment Ash walked up to Marlon, punched him in the face and said:
—How dare you talk about status, being despicable and humble.
Marlon, who had been demoted to 'despicable' in an instant, fell to the ground with a scream as ugly as his son's.
──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ────
…And Violet and Ash ended up in jail.
Violet grabbed the bars with a desperate expression.
Just a day ago, his only goal was to say something scathing to his family.
—How come this…
—I know.
I can't believe they arrested us.
Because?
—Ash said, leaning against the cell wall.
—Are you seriously asking me?
The words left Violet's throat.
You hit him!
The face of Marlon, the commander of the Capital Knights, with that beautiful fist!
—If I gave him one of the ten punches I was going to give him, shouldn't I be grateful?
—It seemed like he knew that hitting the commander was a serious matter.
"Thank you, but I could have solved this myself," Violet said calmly.
-Really?
-…Probably.
Maybe he wouldn't have been brave enough to hit the knights, who represented authority, like Ash did.
Ash was sitting on the only piece of furniture in the cell, a wooden bed.
—If I'm honest, it was a little satisfying to see you beat up the commander.
"I wonder if talking things that get you hit runs in the family?" Ash nodded.
Violet tried to keep a straight face, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
—But will you be okay?
The commander said he wouldn't leave us alone.
They were arrested by the security gentlemen who arrived because of the commotion.
It seemed like Ash realized that hitting those people would only make things worse, because he let himself be arrested without a problem.
Marlon, who had already received first aid, immediately went to the cell to laugh at them.
—Violet, I'll take you out of here as soon as you get out and teach you a lesson.
And Ash Defendale, I'll make sure you go to jail for a few days and that your name is on record.
This way your name will appear in the newspaper and your reputation will fall!
Violet's stomach turned at the thought of Ash having a criminal record because of her.
He didn't care what happened to her...
"I'm fine," Ash responded as if it were no big deal.
—The commander has power.
It won't be easy for us to get out of here.
—Then we will go out the hard way.
-…That?
—Tonight's plan is a little different.
Why don't we continue talking about what we were talking about?
—Ash said.
What are we going to talk about now...?
At that moment, Violet thought of something.
It's true, how could I forget?
Violet looked at Ash.
"Ash, did you hear about Colbert?" The day we had that incident at training camp.
They found it in the garden of the director's house, right?
-What a pity.
It seems that the impact of being beaten by his student, whom he had unfairly harassed, drove him crazy.
Or maybe he drank too much to forget reality.
TRUE?
—Ash said fluently.
Violet refrained from answering: Yes, you're right!
—They say he has temporary amnesia.
—It is to be expected.
It must have been traumatic.
"...Hey, Ash, were you involved in that incident?" —Violet asked him sincerely.
…To be continued