A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

Nearby, there was a battlefield, and Violet had heard of the tragedies taking place there. Even the village she was staying in was under the shadow of misfortune.

There was a mother who had sent her son to war and spent her days in constant worry, a bride-to-be waiting for her fiancé, and a child longing for his father’s return.

When Cairn suggested that they should go back, Violet insisted that she wanted to witness the horrors of war firsthand, even if just once.

Cairn vehemently opposed her.

It was only natural. No matter what, Violet was a noble and a daughter of a duke—how could he take her to a place filled with bloodshed and tragedy?

However, Violet’s determination was unyielding. After about a week of arguing, Cairn finally conceded, agreeing to take her to the vicinity of a soldiers’ camp rather than to an active battlefield.

The scene at the camp was even more horrific than Violet had imagined. Though they weren’t at the frontlines of a battle, the stench of death hung thick in the air, and the groans of the dying filled the surroundings.

It was then that Violet realized how naïve she had been, thinking that ‘war is terrible’ was just a distant, easy thought.

There was nothing she could do there.

Some commanders recognized Cairn upon their arrival and quickly figured out Violet’s identity, offering to host them. Violet, now feeling like nothing more than a burden, remained silent.

She had no choice but to wait quietly until someone came to take them away.

In the meantime, she offered to help clean and disinfect the wounded, but even that was politely refused.

Overcome by a sense of helplessness, Violet began to understand what she needed to do.

From that moment on, she started documenting everything she saw. Every emotion she felt, she recorded in detail. At times, she would ask soldiers questions, and other times, she would observe the war and continue to write.

One day, Aldin arrived at the camp where Violet was staying.

Covered in blood and looking more like a beast that had just torn apart its prey than the man she once knew, his appearance was far from the Aldin she remembered.

Her heart wavered. Should she greet him? Had he thought of her while he was here? Did he still love her? A torrent of questions flooded her mind, but she found herself unable to ask any of them.

Instead, she quietly returned home.

That, too, was because she was forcibly sent back.

Cairn was not sent back. Ironically, he declared that he wanted to stay on the battlefield, and his request was accepted.

In the end, the resolution of their runaway was anticlimactic, known to some but unknown to others.

But there was one thing Violet did not know. During her stay at the camp, she had accidentally dropped a piece of paper where she had written, in a passing moment, ‘I miss you,’ thinking of Aldin.

She had no idea that this piece of paper had somehow ended up in Aldin’s hands, nor that he had recognized her handwriting immediately. And because of this, she had no idea that he was now relentlessly pursuing her for answers.

She merely thought that Aldin was confronting her because of the rumors he’d heard about her.

Of course, this was the same Aldin who, after the war, suffering from its aftereffects, avoided Violet, saying, ‘I’m not sure if I can hold you with these hands stained by blood…’

Perhaps that’s why.

“…Violet.”

The emotions they had kept hidden from each other finally erupted on their wedding night.

* * *

With the constant stream of positive reports, the citizens of the empire began celebrating early, sensing that the war would soon be won. For them, victory was inevitable.

As such, they assumed the war hero who had led them to victory would naturally be full of confidence and pride.

The same assumptions were made about Aldin upon his return as a war hero. Those who once looked down on and disregarded him feared that he would now become arrogant after his achievements.

But their worries were unnecessary.

Even during the ceremony where the emperor personally awarded him a title for his contributions, Aldin remained uncharacteristically stiff.

Unaware of this change, Violet had naturally assumed Aldin would come to see her. But Aldin did not visit. Days passed, then weeks, then a month—and still, he did not come.

Even when she went to see him in person, he avoided her.

What could have happened to make the man who once vowed to remain her knight, even at the cost of committing treason, now avoid her like this?

Violet couldn’t understand, and anxiety started to creep in.

Could it be that loving someone too late was as painful as they said?

A type of suffering she had never known began to shake her. It became common for her to stay up all night, restless.

It was only with Cairn’s intervention, after seeing Violet sitting blankly in front of her canvas for too long, that the two were finally able to meet.

When Violet finally faced Aldin, she realized immediately.

The reason he had been avoiding her wasn’t because his feelings had cooled.

The killing intent he couldn’t suppress, the look of death in his eyes, the scars visible between his clothes, and the voice that trembled with repressed emotions.

It was only when she saw his light purple eyes waver for just a moment that she understood.

Aldin was still so young.

Even Cairn, who pretended to be strong, frequently had nightmares from the war. How could Aldin be any different?

Aldin seemed to believe that he had been tainted, stained by blood and guilt.

From that day forward, Violet was determined to stay by his side.

She constantly sent him gifts, staged ‘coincidental’ encounters, and even visited him directly without prior notice.

Thinking back to their parents’ love story, Roen couldn’t help but smile. Family resemblance was indeed undeniable. And meanwhile, Cairn looked on in exasperation at his sister and Aldin.

Violet hovered around Aldin, comforting and reassuring him. She promised that, no matter how many people pointed fingers at him, she would remain by his side, repaying the words he had once said to her.

For Aldin, who had distanced himself from Violet out of intense love rather than lost affection, it was impossible not to be swayed.

Sensing his wavering resolve, Violet’s pursuit intensified. She put in countless efforts, convincing him to spend at least one year with her—building trust atop their love.

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( APV has been fully translated~! )

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