Violet Zerotta's Hasty Marriage - Chapter 15
Violet gently covered the bundle again, not wanting him to lift the cloak.
But Aldrick, who had been quietly listening to Violet, silently picked up the green cloth bundle.
He held it in his hands, looking down at it with an unreadable expression, then shifted his gaze back to the bundle.
Violet’s hand, which had been moving to hide it while he wasn’t looking, froze in midair.
“Is there something else under it?”
“No, it’s just…”
Aldrick’s hand reached again.
What Violet didn’t want him to see wasn’t the ceremonial cloak. It was actually the item underneath it that she hadn’t wanted to show him.
When he lifted the cloak, the clothes beneath naturally came into view.
Violet recognized the fabric at once. It was something she had bought and sewn together herself.
Anyone from this kingdom would recognize the clothing immediately. It was a traditional Illo-style ceremonial robe made of white silk.
But it wasn’t something worn by the living. It was a shroud… the kind used for the dead.
It was a burial garment Violet had made while thinking of Aldrick.
Ugh. I hope this doesn’t seem too morbid…
Now that he’d found it, she’d have to explain somehow, but she didn’t feel great about it.
She had no idea what he would think.
“Please don’t take it the wrong way. I just thought… it was the proper thing to do. I mean, you went off to war. Even if the wedding was a bit rushed, and even if it’s just on paper, you’re my husband now. But there was nothing I could do for you as a wife. Ah, but it’s not like I was praying for your death! I just made it in case the worst happened. I mean, what if you came back as a corpse or something, someone had to dress you—”
Violet, rambling in panic, had to stop mid-sentence… because Aldrick pulled her into his arms.
Though they had slept pressed together every night, this was the first time she’d been embraced by him in broad daylight.
Violet gasped softly, startled. Pressed against his chest, she could hear the loud, steady thump of his heartbeat echoing in her ear.
“Um, Aldrick?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled back just slightly and looked down at her.
“…Are you mad?”
Still no reply. Aldrick stared at her with an expression she couldn’t describe. His eyes were filled with some overwhelming emotion she couldn’t place.
Violet tried to ask if he was upset.
Or she meant to.
But the words never made it out—because Aldrick covered her mouth with his own.
It was only much later that Violet realized that what he had done was a kiss.
Her first kiss. It was a breath-stealing, heart-thudding experience.
She didn’t know if Aldrick felt the same, but for her, it absolutely was.
Her heart was pounding so wildly it felt like it might leap from her chest.
The warmth, the pulsing, the trembling she felt through their briefly touching lips told her Aldrick, too, was just as nervous.
In truth, Violet didn’t really understand what was happening.
Aldrick stayed frozen with his lips pressed to hers, but when she started to fidget from lack of air, he jerked away in surprise.
As their slightly damp lips parted, there was a soft smack. For some reason, her stomach fluttered.
“Violet… I’m sorry. T-That was my mistake. I didn’t mean to—it just happened—I got too worked up—”
Had he really done something worth apologizing for? In reality, their lips had just brushed for a moment and then separated.
“It’s fine. You didn’t do anything.”
Looking at the deeply flustered Aldrick, Violet told herself she had to stay calm. Even though her own head was spinning from how sudden everything was.
She always felt this way around him. Her emotions might be in chaos, but in front of Aldrick, she wanted to appear composed.
But Aldrick seemed to misunderstand her words—”You didn’t do anything”—and his gaze sharpened slightly. The way his eyes wavered made Violet realize she might’ve said something wrong.
“…So it’s okay if I do more?”
“Wh-What?”
“I mean… the kiss… You weren’t upset that I did that? So… is it okay if I… do more?”
The sudden shift in his tone and expression completely flustered Violet.
“Uh, well… I mean… you’re my husband, so… I guess it’s fine?”
She ended up blurting out a ridiculous response.
At her answer, Aldrick let out a long, heavy sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of disappointment—it was the release of tension he’d been holding in.
After a brief pause, he finally asked her a second question—this time with a grave expression.
“Violet.”
There was a sincerity in his eyes that made Violet swallow hard without meaning to.
“I want to become your husband… in the truest sense of the word. Will you… truly allow me?”
His green eyes, locked onto hers, now glowed like the depths of a quiet forest.
