A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

Banquets, feasts, and the whole festival that lasted for seven days. The nobles of the country used this occasion as an excuse to enjoy the balls as they usually did.

For the commoners, however, the Founding Festival held a different meaning.

It was a day to commemorate the founding of the nation and, at the same time, a harvest festival that lasted for three days.

For those who worked, it was a public holiday, and for those who ran stalls, it was an opportunity to earn substantial income.

Thus, even though it wasn’t the actual day yet, the streets were bustling with activity.

A sense of anticipation filled the air, and subtle tensions simmered among the nobles aiming for influence in the empire’s central politics.

It was only natural since the largest banquet of the festival was held in the imperial palace.

Some were eager to attend the banquet hosted by the imperial family, while others were worried about possible mishaps that might occur amidst all the excitement.

Of course, there were those who remained unconcerned to all the hullabaloo.

Violet was one of them. She herself was too busy and preoccupied to think about any balls or festivals.

The counseling she did for the young lady a few days ago was giving her a bit of grief. Since then, she had been inundated with letters, likely due to yet another rumor spreading.

At first, Violet was curious as to why she was receiving so many letters that weren’t even invitations, so she decided to read a few of them.

The letters were mostly fan letters, requests for advice, or diary entries containing secrets that they couldn’t tell anyone else. What would they do if someone stole these letters and used them as leverage for blackmail?

Although the content wasn’t significant enough to be considered exploitable weaknesses, the personal details were so thoroughly detailed that it was both startling and entertaining at once.

Obviously enough, she didn’t reply to any of them… yet the letters kept coming.

She didn’t understand why and how she had amassed such followers. If it was purely based on her appearance, there were plenty of other beautiful people besides her.

Meanwhile, as Violet’s confusion grew day after day, there were a few people who felt complicated watching this all play out.

One of those people was Rajaden.

“You’re quite popular, Ducal Lady.”

“Does it seem that way to you?”

“How popular must you be to reject my partnership request so often?”

“…I don’t see how that relates to my popularity, nor do I think I have any obligation to accept.”

“…So you won’t even give me a chance now?”

Rajaden’s wistful, resigned words made Violet frown. She knew her words might be considered disrespectful, but she didn’t hesitate.

“I don’t quite have the supernatural ability of reading people’s minds, Your Highness. If you have something to say, please be clear about it.”

“……”

In other words, Just blurt it out already.

Rajaden didn’t respond.

Today, Rajaden was clearly agitated. There was no trace of his usual confident smile, joy, or arrogance.

Reflecting on Violet’s words, Rajaden frowned and spoke in a low but firm tone.

“What exactly is the problem? I told you I can adjust. I can give you all the love you want. I won’t look at anyone else, nor will I take any concubines. …If you just want it, you can ascend to the highest position. So why? Why can’t you at least… at least give me a chance!”

In the end, his emotions got the better of him. With nothing to hold them back, his emotions now lay out in the open.

The man who had everything was reacting like a child who just found out that there was something in this world that he couldn’t have for the first time in his life.

Was the pain sharper because this was his first failure? Violet sighed softly as she continued painting his portrait.

This is why we don’t match.

When she quietly made eye contact, Rajaden’s face showed a mix of his hopes, his desperation not to miss any chance, and some calculation.

And also, the despair of that possibility.

What if even this gets rejected?

Violet smiled. She knew what she was about to say would be false hope.

“If I were to become Your Highness’s partner, what would you do?”

“Of course, I would…”

Rajaden started to speak but then fell silent. Seeing his silence, the smile faded from Violet’s face.

“Your Highness. You say you love me, but that is what you feel. That emotion can’t seem to respect me as an individual.”

“……”

Possession, monopoly, control, calculation.

These things were too dark and too oppressive to be called love.

Rajaden said he loved Violet. And, indeed, that emotion was love.

But the other desires hidden within that love were too obvious.

Violet knew that she and Rajaden were fundamentally incompatible. Of course, if they loved each other, they could adapt and work through it together. They could suppress parts of themselves and dedicate themselves to each other.

However, that process seemed much too excruciating.

What she truly desired was something Rajaden couldn’t give.

“You’ve mentioned meeting with Aileen frequently lately. What do you talk about with her?”

“…I cannot say.”

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