A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

xtent of Violet’s wickedness was directly proportional to how big her wounds were.

Even now that their personalities had become mixed together, there were still times that she thought it was all her fault.

“People don’t change so easily, Young Lord.
You won’t change, and I won’t change.
Just as my hatred will remain, so will your arrogance.”

Forcing someone to accept an apology was also a form of violence.
Roen kept saying that she didn’t have to forgive him, but at the same time, he persistently tried to apologize to her anyway.

None of this meant that the time in which she suffered would disappear.

“It’s not because I had to be perfect… Do you remember? When we were children, Elder Brother and I favored you completely and cared about you a lot.
Cairn also said that he likes only his older sister.”

Roen’s feeble voice continued.

“It’s just… Yes.
Back then, I thought that it was because of me that my younger sister had gone down the wrong path, that’s why I did all that.
To be honest, I felt that it wasn’t right, but because everyone kept acting the same way, I copied them and didn’t try to find out the real reason behind everything… I had rationalized my actions and thought that it was for you, but in fact, all those actions just hurt you more…”

Violet just listened to him without a word.

“What I did was nothing more than self-satisfaction…”

As Roen continued, his voice gradually became rougher.
This all just sounded like a crude excuse—and Roen himself was aware of this, too.

He had believed that he wasn’t a bad speaker.
But now, as he was finding it increasingly difficult to continue speaking, Roen tried to smile, releasing a trembling exhale full of tension.

“That’s why, I… I truly am sorry.
You’re my younger sister— You’re my real younger sister, but I… I know that you’ll hate hearing this, but we’re still family.”

Listening to those words, Violet’s hands clenched into fists.
She was still looking out the window and so Roen didn’t know what kind of expression she had on now, but he continued speaking with an awkward smile.

“I didn’t know you knew me so well.
And you said that I’m arrogant… I didn’t know that you didn’t like such arrogance.
It’s difficult to believe, but I will try.
I will try to make up for all the times that I hurt you, and…”

He trailed off.

Roen thought that their father was an indecisive and weak man, but he was struck with the realization that he was the same.

Violet did not answer.
She just continued looking out the window.

Rather than answering right away, she needed time to process what Roen just said.

The silence that stretched between them was brief, but it felt like an eternity to Roen.

And, finally—

“…Okay.”

He was given a short answer.

Just a single word.
Devoid of resentment, devoid of condemnation, and devoid of forgiveness.

But Roen was certain.

Even Violet would not forget the past, and even though her anger would remain…

“…Let’s get along well from now on, Vee.”

“I never granted you permission to call me by that name, Young Lord.”

“…Yeah.”

…This was a turning point in their relationship.

As silence once again dawned upon the carriage, it finally reached the gates of the capital.