A Word From Violet

On an unusually sad sunny day.

Violet Everdeen was walking towards the church.

This morning, Violet decided to throw away her mother’s last memento: her ring.

“You! You’ve been hiding your lowly mother’s ring all this time?!”

A few days ago, her father got very angry and raised his hands – Because Violet’s biological mother was a bad person.

A woman who deliberately seduced her father, who was from an old noble family.

And the woman who almost ruined her father’s marriage to his fiance.

A woman who, after giving birth to Violet and succeeding in receiving a large amount of money, indulged in drinking and extravagance and died on the side of the street.

Her father was angry because he had a ring belonging to such a woman.

“That eccentric uncle gave you that ring? You should’ve thrown it away, dear sister.”

Both Violet’s stepmother and her younger sister mocked her.

In the end, Violet decided to donate the ring to the church.

She also thought it would be okay since it was an  act of ‘a time to keep, and a time to cast away’ as mentioned in the Bible.

“Please give me one penny.”

At that moment, Violet found an old woman sitting on a mat in front of the church and begging for a penny.

After thinking for a moment, Violet put the ring in her bowl.

“Huh? This ring seems to be a real gem…”

The eyes of the old woman were surprisingly clear.

“It’s cold. Please don’t stay out for long.”

“Still, it seems like it’s something precious to you… I don’t know if I could take it…”

“I’m giving it to you, so don’t worry. This should be enough to help you keeping yourself warm this winter.”

Violet, who spoke sweetly, turned her back.

At that moment, the old woman’s hand grabbed Violet’s ankle.

“…. Grandma?”

“You’re too hurry. We’re still talking.”

The old woman’s hands were wrinkled and her wrists were small.

Yet Violet couldn’t budge her ankle. It felt like the old woman’s hand was made of rebar.

Besides, Violet was afraid to shake it off. There was no way she would kick an old woman.

“You’re stronger than you look, Grandma.”

“Ahem. Even beggars have conscience. We must always not forget when accepting goods from kind people.”

“You also have a strong principle…”

In the end, Violet gave up.

“So, who does this originally belong to?”

‘How did she know this ring was inherited?’

Violet felt doubtful, but answered.

“The ring is a keepsake of a bad person who abandoned me.”

“Bad? Do you really think so?”

“Because everyone says so… Actually, I’m not sure myself.”

At the beginning, Violet would often imagine she was born in that winter.

Perhaps the reason her biological mother gave birth to her was because of her love for the little life in her womb.

One chilly night, wouldn’t she have hugged her swollen belly and whispered love to her child?

Violet thought it might have happened at least once.

“Well, I understand. I will take it. Thank you.”

“As long as it helps you…”

“Listen until I’m finished. I’m not saying I will just accept it. Even though I’m a beggar, I have at least one thing precious to me. Treasure must be exchanged for treasure.”

The old woman let go of her hand and took something out of her pocket.

Violet reflexively caught the thing the old woman giving to her.

“You treasure a candy?”

It was a bright, round sphere inside a glass bottle.

“Candy? How dare you call it a candy? This is an elixir. It’s a perfect medicine, especially for a talented lady training to be a knight like you.”

Only then did Violet understand the situation. She declined as politely as possible.

“Thank you for your words, but I won’t buy it.”

“You already paid for it with this ring! Trust me and try it. The effect is amazing. The one who gave it to me said this is a secret medicine like no other!”

“To report drugs, go to the Imperial Palace Guard’s post No.3. Grandma, I don’t know what kind of bad guys tricked you into getting involved in this, but if you keep doing this, you’ll be in big trouble.”

Violet advised seriously.

“Wow, with such a stern face, you have a rich imagination. Do you usually have a lot of worries? I know how to solve your worries.”

“And how would that be?”

“You need to know the future! This medicine shows you the future! Well, it has a flaw that it shows somewhat randomly, but…”

Violet began to doubt if she was talking to a crazy person.

“Um, Grandma…”

“That’s enough now. It’s time for me to go home. Balancing work and personal life is very important. Understand?”

“Yes, balance. Very important.”

Clatter, clink.

At that moment, there was a clatter sound from the glass bottle.

Violet stared at the glass bottle for a moment.

“Am I hearing things?”

Violet raised her head again.

“I should return this drug after all…”

But there was no one on the other side.

The bowl, the mat where the old woman had been sitting, all disappeared as if they had never been there.

“Wasn’t she just here?”

But the glass bottle in her hand was clearly there. And that wasn’t the only question.

“How did she know I’m a knight candidate?”

Violet was a delicate, blonde girl. So most people didn’t notice that she wielded a sword.

“…And ‘talented’? I’m someone with a trash constitution who can’t accumulate magic inside my body. Everyone calls me trash.”

The worst in academy history, that was her nickname.

Of course, no one could answer her questions. 

***

Violet returned home with an uneasy heart. 

The Everdeen Mansion in the heart of the capital was empty. 

This morning, her family left on a long trip to their winter villa, leaving only Violet behind. Half of the servants followed them, and the other half got a vacation.

As she climbed the creaky stairs, she came to the attic, the only space she was allowed in the house. Simple and modest furniture, a few outfits. The only valuable thing in the room was a handful of afternoon sunlight.

“To claim it shows the future. That’s impossible.”

Violet sat on the bed, rolling the bottle in her hand. 

She could easily imagine her future. 

Living quietly, repenting for being a bastard, she would marry Bluedeen, the son of the capital’s commander, whom her father arranged for her.

Bluedeen always detested Violet terribly and treated her badly. So perhaps most of their married life would be filled with insults or even violence.

‘So maybe there’s nothing different about this life.’

In a corner of her heart, a nostalgic whisper echoed, ‘But maybe something will change’.

Could she at least live a normal and quiet life?

Living a life like her favorite heroine in books, a remarkable lady knight, would be difficult, of course.

At that moment, there was another sound from the glass bottle. Violet opened it.

“Huh?”

At that moment, something amazing happened. The medicine inside the glass bottle sparkled and floated into the air.

Before she could say “Why is this…”

The medicine split and flew into her mouth.

‘You should have told me in advance if it was a drug with weird feature, Grandma!’

Clatter, clink, clink.

Another clattering sound.

This time it was very loud, echoing throughout the empty space.

Violet blinked slowly.

A strange scene unfolded before her.

Boom!

A loud noise rang out.

“Violet” was firmly bound all over her body.

“Her” body felt as if it had been tortured, in an indescribable state.

Before “her” eyes, the imperial herald began to read aloud from a paper in a loud voice.

“Pfft.”

Mocking the words of the herald, an explosive surge of magic emanated from around “Violet’s” body. It was a complex array of various colored magic circles. But soon, those magic circles dwindled. Something in the vicinity of where “she” stood was absorbing her magic.

Behind the herald, an executioner with his face covered by a cloth approached.

The executioner twisted the gag that was in “Violet’s” mouth to remove it.

Suddenly, the space beneath “Violet’s” feet disappeared, and the rope tightened.

The struggling sounds ceased momentarily, and soon, all that remained was silence.

Everything fell quiet.

“Gasp!”

Violet blinked.

“What was that just now? Did I see a hallucination?”

The old woman’s words came to her mind again.

“This medicine shows you the future!”

The greatest villainess seeing her own future?

“There’s no way that’s possible. No, absolutely not!”

She was a typical law-abiding citizen who respected rules.

“I’m no genius, that’s for sure.”

She was currently enrolled in the Academy Knight Department.

The Academy Knight Department focused on training knights who could wield aura, beyond just being sword experts.

However, after enrolling in the academy, it was revealed that Violet had a congenital condition that prevented her from accumulating aura in her body.

Naturally, she couldn’t form an aura.

‘But I distinctly felt it.’

Violet clearly felt an infinite array of aura circles surrounding her body, like the boundless sea.

‘Among aura users, there’s a very small number who can’t accumulate aura within their bodies. Instead, they can manipulate it around their bodies. They’re called prodigies.’

She had read such content in a book. She had thought it was just a vague legend, but…

As if possessed, Violet headed towards the back of the garden.