That place had no light at all, and one could barely make out anything beyond what was right in front of them.
His blood ran down the stairs.
"......"
The Major, bleeding before her, was a wreck from head to toe.
Blood kept streaming from his right ear and right eye.
Violet knew better than anyone how overwhelming his strength had been, which made his pitiful state impossible to accept.
"Violet."
The Major spoke to her in a voice that seemed on the verge of breaking.
"...I love you, from the bottom of my heart."
Violet did not know what love was.
Only this much.
That moment would never be forgotten in Violet's life.
*
Violet stared quietly out at the sea.
Seagulls drifted through the sky. The sea wind made the girl's platinum hair flutter.
"There you are."
"Lieutenant Colonel."
Hajins stepped out onto the deck.
"I can see it now. Leiden Harbor."
The city spread out before Violet's eyes.
A great metropolis with mountains at its back and the sea before it was full of life.
It was Leiden, the most prosperous city of the present age.
Suddenly, the Major's words came back to her.
When they buried the fallen members of the unit, the Major had looked at the sunset and said:
"When the time comes, let's go to Leiden. It's a place with a magnificent view."
Just as Major Ioannis had said, Leiden was a city with a magnificent view.
Violet and Hajins got off the ship. It was her first time at a civilian harbor.
Every harbor Violet had known had been full of warships, shells, and soldiers. She looked around with curious eyes.
In Violet's hands were a puppy doll and Ioannis's sword.
"Ioannis has been worried all along about what would become of you after the war ended."
Hajins said.
"So he said he wanted to place you under the care of the Evergarden family, the most trustworthy of his acquaintances."
Violet on the tram. She saw crippled veterans.
*
The road to the Evergarden estate.
Halfway there, a police officer stopped Violet.
It was because she was carrying a sword.
When the officer reached for the sword, Violet reflexively tried to twist his arm up behind his back.
It was a joint lock the Major had taught her.
Joint locks were practically useless in war, but Ioannis had taught her in case she ever had to use force even after returning to civilian life.
"A-ah!"
"Wait just a moment, Miss Violet!"
Hajins stopped Violet.
"These men were trying to seize the Major's sword."
"That's not what happened. Now, now, put that down first. Ioannis told you to hold back on violence, didn't he?"
Violet considered this restraint on her own part.
If not for the moral lessons Ioannis had taught her, she would have driven her elbow down into the officer's jaw instead of using a joint lock.
"...Yes."
Violet released the hold.
The officer clutched his arm, clearly in pain.
"I'm truly sorry. I'm the sort of person who..."
Hajins spoke smoothly.
"And... this child is a little unstable. She's been through war, you see."
"Ah..."
"My goodness... My younger brother has been drinking and going around hitting people since the war ended. I understand."
His way with words won the officers over. The fact that the war had only just ended and they shared a common sense of sympathy helped too.
"Thank you for understanding. And could you let this sword go as well? As you can see, it's broken, and the blade isn't even sharp anymore...?"
"I see that now. Very well."
"Still, please be careful from now on."
Fortunately, the officers forgave Violet.
Hajins and Violet kept walking.
"Anyway, I got in touch, and the lady of the house said she would be your guardian as well."
The Evergarden family was a great noble house.
They were prestigious and wealthy.
Though they had historically been tied by blood to the Basileus family, they were almost like strangers to one another.
The Evergardens had agreed to Ioannis's request because of their connection to him.
When Ioannis was young, he had been a spirited and intelligent boy.
So much so that every noblewoman used to lament, "If only my son were like Ioannis..."
The family mansion was surrounded by gardens. It was an exterior that suited the name Evergarden.
Hajins rang the bell.
The door opened, and a dignified elderly woman appeared. She was Lady Tiffany, the head of the Evergarden family.
"Welcome."
Lady Evergarden greeted Violet with a kind smile.
"Now, Violet. This is Lady Tiffany of the Evergarden family. Greet her properly."
Snap!
Violet turned her foot at a sharp angle and saluted. It was the very picture of a soldier.
Tiffany blinked.
"No... a bow would have been enough."
After entering the mansion, Hajins and Violet had a light tea time with Lady Tiffany.
"It takes four days to get here from Anshene, doesn't it?"
"Yes. It used to take only a day, but after four years of war, it seems the bridges will still take time to restore."
"I've heard a great deal about Violet from Ioannis."
Lady Tiffany called to Violet, who was sitting there blankly, unable to join the conversation.
"You know the Major?"
"Ioannis was close with my son, so I wouldn't say I know nothing about him."
The moment Ioannis came up, Violet showed interest in the conversation.
"Now, Violet, drink your tea at ease."
Violet took hold of the black tea. The teacup trembled in her hands.
"Oh dear...! Don't force yourself."
Lady Tiffany tried to stop her, but the tea tipped over and soaked Violet's hand.
"Good heavens! Oliver. Bring ice and a towel at once!"
"Right away."
Burns had to be treated quickly. Otherwise, they would leave permanent scars. Even more so for a woman, whose appearance mattered.
"I'm fine."
But Violet calmly removed the cloth that had been wrapped around her hand.
Her arm was revealed.
It was absolutely not the arm of an ordinary thirteen-year-old girl.
Her slender, elongated arm bore scars of every size. Some were thin, as if sliced by a blade; others were oval depressions, as though a bullet had grazed past.
Some had faded with time. Her hand was especially severe. There were identical scars on her palm and the back of her hand, as if pierced by a bayonet, along with rough, scraped, and crushed marks from handling equipment or moving through terrain.
"....."
The scars indirectly told the story of what kind of life she had lived.
As with all wounds, new flesh was growing and the marks were fading, but for now they remained starkly visible.
Lady Tiffany and the butler Oliver opened their eyes in shock and disbelief.
"The doctor said there is no sensation in my hands or arms. Please do not worry. It does not hurt."
"But treatment is important!"
Oliver gently took Violet's hand with a towel soaked in water. Then he soaked it thoroughly in cold water and wrapped it in a bandage.
While they tended to the burn, Lady Tiffany called Hajins over.
"Does that child truly feel no pain?"
"...Yes. But the doctor said he doesn't know the exact reason. He thinks it may be psychological."
"Psychological?"
"I don't know the details, but he said her senses are damaged... Apparently, when the brain is shocked by a major incident, symptoms like this can sometimes appear."
"...I see."
Lady Tiffany composed her expression.
"Hmm. Could you come this way for a moment?"
The tea had been meant for drinking, so it wasn't especially hot. Violet's burn healed quickly.
They went to Lady Tiffany's bedroom. She took a pair of gloves from a drawer. They were khaki-colored gloves, weathered by time. Yet the finishing and craftsmanship were refined.
"I used to wear these when I was young."
"They're nice. Try them on."
Violet put on the gloves.
"Mm! They suit you."
"They truly do."
"Well then, I should be going now. I have to return to the company."
"My, is it already that late?"
"Miss Violet. You must listen well to what Lady Tiffany tells you, all right?"
"It's all right. You don't need to be so concerned. Think of me as your real mother, if you like. Tell me anything, all right?"
Lady Tiffany smiled kindly.
Violet looked at her expressionlessly and said,
"I never had parents to begin with, so there is no need for you to stand in for them."
"Don't say that. We had a son in this house, but he died in battle."
"As far as I'm concerned, I cannot take the place of your late son."
Violet's words held no malice at all. But they stabbed Lady Tiffany's heart like a knife.
Lady Tiffany drew in a breath.
"Violet. What Ioannis wants is for you to live happily here. So... you understand, don't you?"
Hajins said seriously.
"....."
Violet clenched the hands behind her back tightly.
An awkward silence.
Just as Hajins was about to hurriedly excuse himself and leave, Violet spoke.
"Did the Major... abandon me? Have I become useless?"
Hajins said,
"Violet. Ioannis didn't abandon you. That man wants you to be happy—"
"When I was left behind in Tineberg before, I was not happy. And now I have been abandoned again. If I am useless... please dispose of me."
"So Ioannis was right."
With a kind expression, Lady Tiffany took Violet's hand. She stroked the back of Violet's hand as she spoke.
"Ioannis said that if I tried to replace your parents or burden you with responsibility, it would only hurt you. He told me to simply stay by your side..."
"....."
"But seeing you like this, I forgot Ioannis's advice. I'm sorry, Violet."
A few months earlier.
Ioannis had said this to Lady Tiffany:
"Please don't show the girl too much affection. Excessive emotion will only wound your own heart."
Until then, she had taken his words lightly.
How could she calmly care for a girl who had grown up without parents and spent her whole life moving from one battlefield to another?
Lady Tiffany had wanted to be Violet's mother. There was certainly a desire to fill the emptiness left by her fallen son, but more than that, she truly wanted to care for Violet.
And so she ignored Ioannis's advice and brought up her dead son, trying to win Violet's heart.
But in the end.
Just as Ioannis had said, she ended up hurting Violet.
"Think of me as a kind grandmother, all right? You don't have to live in the mansion, so come by only when you feel like it. If you don't want to come, you don't have to."
"....."
Violet nodded with a dark expression.
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