Violet Zerotta’s Hasty Marriage - Chapter 68

Aldrick looked at the emotional Violet and gave a sheepish smile.

“No one was living here, so I sent someone to maintain it starting last year. After all, it’s a house full of memories for us… and since we’re on good terms with the lord of this region, I thought we might come here now and then like a vacation home.”

If this was the surprise gift Aldrick had mentioned, then his effort had been a success.

Violet spent quite a while wandering around the house and yard, recalling the memories that sprang up one by one.

Thanks to the upkeep, the house was still in good condition. There were clear signs that repairs had been made here and there, not her clumsy handiwork, but the skilled work of a professional carpenter.

Even so, each time she spotted the awkward fixes she herself had made, Violet felt a wave of bittersweet emotion.

The garden and vegetable patch were also well-maintained and neat. Seeing the charmingly arranged home, Violet couldn’t help but think of the daughter they had left behind.

“I wish Rosetta could’ve come too. She could watch butterflies and pull up carrots…”

Even while lost in nostalgia, she couldn’t forget her daughter. Aldrick, watching her, felt slightly disheartened but soon shook his head firmly.

“No. I told you yesterday—no thinking about Rosetta from now on. Considering the time it’ll take to go back, we only have three days left. Just put thoughts of the estate aside for now. I brought you here because I wanted to be alone with you.”

Violet smiled slightly, seeing the face of seventeen-year-old Aldrick, from when they first met, and the twenty-year-old Aldrick from when they reunited, overlapping over his current grumbling expression.

Some things had changed completely, while others seemed untouched.

And so, in the place where their memories lingered, the lord and lady’s holiday began in earnest.

Though it was a very short trip, Violet had no doubt this would become another precious memory.

***

After spending so much time looking around outside, they finally entered the house. Inside was just as clean as the exterior. Some of the furniture remained as it had been, but Violet noticed several new items Aldrick had brought in.

In particular, the large bed in the room they used as a bedroom and an ornate mirror nearly as tall as Violet herself were of higher quality than even those in the lord’s manor.

“I picked up a few things while I was in Mallo and sent them here ahead of time…”

Aldrick said it in a somewhat apologetic tone as Violet looked around the room.

“If there’s anything you don’t like, tell me. I’ll have it redecorated however you want.”

Though she liked all the furniture, for some reason, seeing Aldrick fidgeting and that large, wide bed suddenly brought a thought to mind, and Violet felt a bit flustered.

‘Aldrick probably… came here with that intention, didn’t he?’

The issue of their neglected physical relationship—pushed aside amid countless other matters—surfaced in her mind.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been over a year…’

Once she had entered the final stage of pregnancy, Violet had become extremely sensitive and wouldn’t let Aldrick near her. In truth, it had been nearly two years.

She tried to recall their last intimate night. The memory was faint and vague.

‘It really has been a long time.’

Violet suddenly felt a pang of guilt and a sense of debt toward Aldrick.

At the same time, his roundabout way of expressing his feelings, instead of saying it directly, struck her as endearing.

She should have been more considerate of her younger husband’s feelings.

However, their distance hadn’t been solely because she avoided him.

After giving birth, physical intimacy had naturally been impossible while she recovered. And afterward, she had been so consumed with caring for the baby that each day left her exhausted.

Aldrick, too, had been extremely busy and often away from the estate for extended periods. In the end, Violet concluded it had simply been poor timing for both of them.

Of course, she remembered that about six months after Rosetta’s birth, Aldrick had subtly tried to rekindle their physical relationship, and she had coldly shut him down at the time.

That’s what she felt guilty about now.

There had to be a purpose behind this grand plan. Violet felt the walls around her heart, long shut like a fortress, beginning to softly open.

‘Aldrick really is… adorable. He must be looking forward to it so much.’

Clearly, the change in scenery and atmosphere was having an effect. She’d been too caught up in daily life to even think of such desires, yet here she was, feeling her heart stir.

This was rare time for just the two of them. Violet quietly resolved that if they were here together, she would grant whatever Aldrick wanted.

She felt touched by her husband’s efforts. She even began to look forward to rekindling their marital bond after so long.

However, contrary to the firm resolve she’d made while looking at the bed, nothing happened between them that night.

Contrary to Violet’s concern that Aldrick might leap at her the moment the sun set, he instead showed her the bedroom, then turned and left the room. He made no sly moves afterward.