Chapter 47
Instinctively, Violet hid behind Joshua. Seeing her reaction, Joshua seemed to sense what was going on and stepped protectively in front of her.
“Joshua, let’s head back to the shop without drawing attention. We absolutely can’t get caught. Act natural.”
At Violet’s soft whisper, Joshua didn’t even nod. He simply kept walking forward, eyes fixed ahead.
Their act must have seemed natural enough, as the knights, too preoccupied checking the crowd, didn’t pay them much attention for a while.
Violet had just begun to feel a bit of relief, thinking they might make it through safely. When Aldrick’s voice grabbed them by the scruff of the neck.
“Hey. You two.”
Violet felt as if the blood in her body had turned to ice.
“Sandro. Have you checked those two’s faces?”
“Uh? Ah—n-not yet, sir.”
“Then the two of you, come here for inspection.”
At Aldrick’s command, Joshua didn’t move.
Noticing something off, Aldrick shouted again in an alarmingly fierce tone.
“Did you not hear me?”
It was the first time Violet had ever heard Aldrick speak with such anger.
She began to seriously consider whether she should just reveal herself now, kneel before him, and beg for forgiveness.
But fear had her frozen in place.
“If you don’t come here for inspection immediately, I’ll charge you with defying a lord’s orders.”
The man standing before them looked nothing like the Aldrick she knew, which only added to her terror.
The glimpses of him between the folds of her hood showed no kindness or warmth. His expression was sharp, hard—merciless. Even Violet, who knew him best, found him frightening to face.
So when Joshua suddenly shouted, it was a surprisingly brave act for someone his age.
“If it’s about me, I’ll take the questioning. But not the lady.”
Disaster.
By now, Violet had fallen into a mindset of resignation.
Perhaps this was inevitable the moment Aldrick had shown interest in the two of them.
“This woman is my wife. I cannot allow her to be exposed to another man so carelessly.”
Aldrick said nothing in reply. He simply dismounted from his horse.
His heavy metal boots clanged threateningly with each step as he approached.
Standing before them now, he looked at least a head taller than Joshua. And though Joshua wasn’t exactly short, he seemed so small next to Aldrick.
“You said she’s your wife?”
“Yes.”
Even though he was clearly intimidated, Joshua responded firmly.
Violet wanted nothing more than to slap a hand over his mouth.
“Then it would be far too rude for me, a stranger, to remove her hood myself. You do it.”
“But—”
“You two don’t seem to have been married long. Do you want to make your wife a widow right here and now?”
Aldrick’s low words, calm but terrifying, nothing in his tone or expression was anything short of cruel. Violet had never seen him like this before. Her body began to tremble from fear and tension.
Crushed by Aldrick’s overwhelming presence, Joshua finally—though breathing heavily with frustration—reached out and carefully pulled Violet’s hood away.
The moment he turned to check her face felt unbearably long.
Aldrick looked at Violet.
She had expected an explosion of anger the moment he recognized her.
But Aldrick didn’t lash out.
Instead, his green eyes settled into a cold, sunken calm.
He muttered in a dangerously low voice,
“Your wife, you say…”
Shhhhng—
At first, Violet didn’t even realize what the sound was. She only thought it was a terrifying noise she’d never heard before.
Then, before she could react, Aldrick had raised the blade of his sword to Joshua’s neck so swiftly she hadn’t even seen it.
“Who the hell do you think you are, calling her your wife in front of me—”
“Aldrick!”
In that instant, Violet forgot all about her plan to run and threw herself at him.
He looked genuinely dangerous—like he might really kill Joshua. Terrified, Violet clung to the armor on his arm with all her strength.
“I’m sorry, Aldrick! It’s all my fault! So please, let Joshua go! He didn’t do anything wrong!”
Maybe her desperate voice reached him, because the blade slowly dropped away from Joshua’s neck.
The pale young man was then taken away by the soldiers under Aldrick’s orders. And now, the only one left to face Aldrick’s wrath was Violet.
“Aldrick…”
As terrifying as he was when he lunged at Joshua, his blank, emotionless stare was just as frightening.
When Violet called out to him pleadingly, Aldrick’s body gave a small shiver.
“So you knew… you knew it was wrong?”
His voice was quiet, but Violet could hear the countless emotions packed into that single short sentence.
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