The Bloom of Violet

It was morning. Pale sunlight streamed through the broken window. Lennox blinked to clear his blurry vision, then turned his head toward the sound of even breathing.

“Anes.”

The girl who had wrapped her slender arms around him was still asleep. He looked down at her with a strange feeling. Her white cheeks, though rough, looked like wax. Lennox raised his hand and gently traced her neatly shaped eyebrows.

His heart beat out of sync. It felt like the moment when he faced the doll hidden in Charlotte’s drawer. He slowly traced the delicate features with his trembling fingers and pressed his lips to her round forehead. He recalled the night when she had clung desperately to save him.

“Ben, Baron Benswied will come for her! I swear!”

Even in his foggy mind, her cry was clear. Lennox suddenly wondered who this “Baron Benswied” was. He had seen various nobles while living in the palace, but the name “Benswied” was new to him.

Could it be a name she made up for some reason? Lennox gazed at the girl, his curiosity piqued. He had many questions, but he couldn’t ask her now. He would ask when she woke up, he decided.

Suddenly, the door was violently shaken. Anes, waking up with a dazed expression, sat up and looked at them. Lennox pursed his lips and asked. The door crashed open, and David’s angry face appeared, followed by the tall Oliver.

Anes froze, looking pale, as if she were having a nightmare, staring at them. David had grabbed the much taller Johnny by the neck.

“D-David…”

“Look at these cheeky little bastards.”

David chuckled maliciously. Anes instinctively hid Lennox behind her. He looked at the fragile girl protecting him. Her soft, pale face was quite cute. He glanced at her, then stood up, brushing off his clothes.

David, with his crooked nose, grinned and, with terrifying strength, threw Johnny in front of them. Lennox didn’t lose his composure, just like yesterday. This seemed to make David even angrier. Oliver leaned against the wall, looking at both David and Lennox as if he were someone important.

Anes trembled, looking at Johnny, who had collapsed in front of her. His front teeth were missing, and his nose and mouth were covered in blood. A wave of horror swept over Lennox.

“I just want to be left alone.”

“Oh really?”

David tilted his head, smirking. Lennox, looking past him at the shorter figure, flicked his hand. David’s face went blank.

“Ugh, what the hell did you do to me?”

David, lying on the ground, clutched his arm and screamed. He looked up at Lennox with a furious face, then turned to Oliver, shouting for more help.

Lennox kicked David’s face mercilessly, crushing his head with his foot. Oliver, who had been leaning against the wall, twitched his eyebrows.

“You were a bug last night.”

His voice had deepened, like a cave. Lennox, seeing Oliver, who was quite well-built for a boy from the slums, kicked David in the solar plexus with force.

Even though Lennox had grown up as a prince, he had been trained for military service as the heir to the throne. He could easily overpower one or two opponents, even if they weren’t part of a group. This was different from the chaotic, confused beating he had endured yesterday.

If I had a sword, this would be easier.

Lennox thought to himself, then looked at the trembling girl in the corner. Anes, her eyes wide, was watching them intently. Lennox straightened his shoulders. It was hard not to be moved by how she had protected him. But, deep down, Lennox felt embarrassed.

For some reason… hiding behind this thin, scrawny girl to save his life was humiliating. He was a man, and he was a prince.

“Where do you think you’re going…”

A fist flew at him. Lennox narrowly avoided it.

Yesterday, even though he had been beaten to the point where his jaw almost dislocated, he hadn’t felt anger because these scrawny, poor slum boys were his people.

Poor orphans who had never experienced the mercy of his father. He didn’t want to get genuinely angry at those orphans, even if they had mercilessly lynched him. No matter what, he pitied the boys who would die a miserable death.

Even if Lennox showed mercy, the queen—or his stepfather—would never forgive them. Lennox wasn’t just the son of a rich noble; he was the heir to a kingdom. No matter how ignorant these boys were, ignorance didn’t excuse crossing certain lines.

Lennox punched Oliver in the stomach. Suddenly, the noise outside grew louder. Lennox saw soldiers crashing into the building as if they were going to tear it down. Oliver, startled, looked around.

At the center of the soldiers stood Count Altuart, the fierce-looking captain of the guard. Lennox relaxed his shoulders.

Including David, who was struggling to get up, Oliver, and Johnny were quickly subdued by the royal guards. Lennox watched the soldiers, who seemed to be handling the situation with practiced ease, as if it were expected. Then, he heard a sharp scream.

“Ahhh!”

It was Anes’s voice. Lennox, startled, shouted, “Let her go!” but the guards didn’t listen to him.

“Count Altuart!”

“Please, Your Highness. Let’s go. We’ll escort you to the carriage.”

“That girl…”

“The King and Queen are waiting for you, Your Highness.”

Count Altuart wrapped his long arm around Lennox’s shoulder. He looked at Anes, who was being dragged along behind them. For the first time, Lennox felt anger. Even when Oliver and David dragged him into their group and mercilessly beat him, he hadn’t felt this angry.

But when he thought that Count Altuart was treating Anes like some animal to be slaughtered, his mind turned black with rage.

She had risked her life for him. How dare they treat the pale, fragile girl like this…

“Let go of her!”

“Your Highness.”

“Let Anes go!”

Lennox growled, clenching his fists. Count Altuart, looking at him with a confused expression, motioned to his subordinates. Anes, who had been hanging limply in the guards’ grasp, was released.

Lennox, terrified, grabbed Anes’s hand and helped her into the waiting carriage. Anes looked around at the guards, huddled her shoulders, and entered the carriage.

“Don’t cry, Anes.”

Lennox whispered quietly as he sat across from her. Anes, as if she hadn’t heard him, curled up and sobbed. His heart ached. He could see how dejected she was from the arrival of the strange soldiers. He felt guilty.

Lennox carefully extended his arm and sat beside her. Anes, smaller and thinner than any girl he had seen before, fit perfectly into his arms.

It was a different feeling from the mature Charlotte. Lennox inhaled the scent of dry earth and sunlight that seemed to emanate from the scrawny girl’s hair. He thought it might be a bit strange, but he didn’t let go of his embrace.

The closer they got to the palace, the more his tension eased. The wounds from the beating the previous night began to throb again. His stomach was empty, and the bruises and injuries dug deep, reaching his bones and organs. Lennox sat in the carriage, sweating coldly as he held Anes.

“Your Highness.”

After a while, the carriage door opened. Lennox, who had been resting his eyes, looked up and met the sharp blue eyes of Count Altuart. The man, with a gaze as cold as Lennox’s father’s, stared at him, lips tightly pressed together.

“We’ve arrived at the palace.”

At the mention of the palace, Anes, who had her head buried, stiffened. Lennox reassured her, saying, “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” But Anes didn’t seem to believe him easily. Lennox heard his mother’s voice calling from a distance. It seemed to make his head ache.

“We’ll take care of you now.”

Count Altuart extended his hand. Lennox slowly rose. But Anes didn’t move. Lennox whispered, “Let’s go, Anes,” but she didn’t budge. He couldn’t understand what she was thinking.

“Anes.”

“Leave her behind.”

Count Altuart’s firm voice made Lennox furrow his brow. He didn’t want to, but with his mother’s anxious calls growing louder, Lennox realized he couldn’t keep worrying about Anes anymore.

“Take her to my chambers.”

Lennox muttered as he got off the carriage and headed toward Count Altuart. But the man didn’t answer. He only nodded briefly.

“Lennox!”

His mother’s tear-filled voice echoed in his ears. Lennox turned and saw the Queen’s handmaids running after her, holding the hem of her gown. It had only been two days. Yes, just two days, but somehow, they seemed unfamiliar to him.

“Your Majesty.”

“What… What is this…!”