A Word From Violet

The capital of the kingdom, Estrajette, was divided into nine districts. 

Among them, districts 1 to 3 were areas where many nobles and wealthy people lived. 

Violet arrived in district 7, which was mainly inhabited by the middle class. 

“Vycolin Street, 12th Avenue.” 

She found it more easily than expected. 

In front of Cyril’s house was a nameplate that read “Cyril Cole Everdeen.” 

‘Is this my uncle’s house?’ 

Violet cautiously knocked on the door. 

‘Is no one home?’ 

At that moment, the door swung wide open. 

Violet nearly fell forward. 

Fortunately, she regained her balance and immediately recognized Cyril. 

Cyril, with navy hair and matching blue-black eyes, was much younger and more handsome than she had imagined. 

He was wearing a long leather coat that emphasized his waist and riding boots. 

It was hard to tell if he was fashionable or just randomly dressed. 

Cyril’s eyebrows furrowed, then a crooked smile appeared on his lips when he saw Violet. 

“It doesn’t look like you’re lost. Why are you, the child of my estranged brother, here?” 

“I apologize for the sudden visit. I have something to tell you.” 

Without a word, Cyril turned his back and began walking down the corridor. 

Taking this as an invitation, Violet quickly followed him. 

‘I thought he would be staying in a boarding house or something… Is this entire building my uncle’s house?’ 

Violet’s father, Zephried, always spat when he spoke of Cyril, calling him a good for nothing. 

When they reached the living room, Cyril dropped onto the sofa, legs stretched out on the table. 

“Speak. I’m busy, so make it quick.” 

“I wanted to ask about my mother’s ring. When I was ten, you came to the mansion and gave me my mother’s ring. How did you have it?” 

“Where is that ring now?” 

Violet’s cheeks flushed faintly. 

“…I gave it to a beggar woman in front of the Church.” 

“Why would you discard a precious ring, so disrespectfully?” 

Cyril’s voice lowered. 

“My father found the ring.” 

“…And?” 

“He said he wouldn’t leave me alone unless I got rid of it immediately. Donating it was the best I could do under the circumstances.” 

Cyril’s frown deepened. Violet felt a bit nervous. 

“And what would that bastard do if he didn’t leave you alone?” 

Violet stared blankly at Cyril. 

That day, Zephried had slapped her once. But it wasn’t the first time, nor was it a big deal. 

“When my father gets angry, he yells. But he’s never hit me badly or anything. I’ve never had to go to the hospital because of it.” 

Violet answered honestly. Cyril’s frown deepened further. Violet hurriedly added, 

“At least if I donated it, it could be used for clothes or food for the poor. It could also be a way to pray for my mother’s soul, and…” 

“Enough with the useless explanations. Did you keep the promise?” 

“What promise?” 

Cyril just stared at her silently. 

‘Right. The promise to always carry the ring with me!’ 

Violet suddenly remembered. 

“Honestly, I couldn’t carry it every day. But I always wore it on a chain around my neck when I went to the academy.” 

When she went to the academy, she usually wore shirts with high collars, which helped hide the necklace. 

“Good. How far have you progressed with the magic circle?” 

Violet felt faint at Cyril’s words. 

How did he know about the rare talent that only one in ten thousand people had, which no one had noticed until now? 

“How do you know about that?” 

“How do I know? Your mother told me.” 

“…What else did she say? Do you know her name?” 

“She had a talent that only one in ten thousand people possess.” 

Violet nearly stopped breathing. 

“If there was a natural genius, do you think they would have lived and died alone? They would have had a spouse and children. And some lucky descendant would have inherited that talent.” 

“…..” 

“Your maternal family occasionally produces people with a special constitution who can enclose mana in a circle instead of accumulating it in their bodies. That’s you. Your mother recognized it the moment you were born.” 

“But how…” 

“Wait, I’ll explain slowly.” 

Violet exercised patience and waited quietly for Cyril’s next words. 

“First, once you get the answers you want, leave immediately. That’s the promise.” 

“Yes, I will.” 

“Good. First, don’t ask me how your mother recognized your gift, because I don’t know. I only met her a few times. Her name was Deborah.” 

Deborah. 

It was a more aristocratic name than she had expected. But it was a very beautiful and lovely name… 

Violet repeated the name several times in her mouth. 

“My father said my mother was a lowly woman without family or a job, who lived off others.” 

“What nonsense. Your father, Zephried, was the one from a trashy, penniless noble background. Your mother was from the prestigious Reinhardt family in the frontier.” 

“A descendant of a prestigious family? My father said…” 

“Don’t believe a word from that pathological liar Zephried. A man who abandoned his bride and ran away would say anything.” 

“…What?!” 

Violet’s deepest sense of inferiority and guilt was believing she was an illegitimate child. 

Her father genuinely loved her stepmother. 

But he had said that Violet’s birth almost ruined that marriage… 

‘My very existence is a sin, I was told that every day.’ 

Cyril spoke nonchalantly. 

“You’re not an illegitimate child. If anyone is, it’s your younger sister, Marigold.” 

Violet’s world started to crack. 

“We were poor nobles with nothing but a name. Then, Zephried, who went away to study, brought back a lady from a great family with a huge dowry. I heard he eloped with her, stealing her inheritance against her family’s wishes.” 

“…”

A romantic elopement. 

That was the story of her mother and Zephried. 

“And then what happened, uncle?” 

“Afterwards, Zephried played house for a few months, then ran off again with all of your mother’s money. This time with a barmaid. By then, your mother was already pregnant with you.” 

Violet was too shocked to react. 

“And that barmaid was…” 

“Yes, your stepmother, Paula.” 

“So, he lied about me being an illegitimate child?” 

“That’s why I said he’s a pathological liar. He scammed people back home multiple times, under the guise of investing their money in the capital.” 

Violet turned pale. 

Cyril continued calmly. 

Zephried’s disappearance made his elderly mother sick, and she didn’t live long after that. 

Cyril was young then, and already planning to leave home. After his mother passed, he gathered what little money he had and was about to head to the capital. 

But on that very day, Deborah gave birth.

He barely knew Deborah. Even back then, Zephried and he were on terrible terms. Despite being brothers, they were worse than strangers. 

When the villagers came to find him, saying that Deborah was asking desperately for him, she was already dying. When he arrived, she smiled weakly at him. 

<…..>

When Cyril finished speaking, Violet clenched her fists on her lap. 

“So that’s why you had my mother’s keepsake. You received it the day she died.”