Violet Zerotta’s Hasty Marriage - Chapter 80

Despite being one of the few noble families in the village, they lived more poorly than commoners.

And Violet, hoping to contribute even a little to the struggling household, was always incredibly busy.

Aldrick no longer wanted to see her working herself to the bone. If he could earn enough money, Violet wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. That was his simple calculation.

In fact, since becoming a knight, Aldrick had been earning a decent income. If he could give all that money—money that only kept piling up unused—to Violet…

But he couldn’t just hand her money for no reason. If he did, Violet would undoubtedly blow up at him.

A legal way to take her out of the Zerotta household, and a way for him to be deployed to war as an official knight.

The answer to both was their marriage. For the two of them to stand as bride and groom before the temple altar.

Just imagining that scene made Aldrick feel like his heart would burst. But there were still a few obstacles to overcome before that dream could come true.

He wanted nothing more than to take her hand and march straight to the village temple. But to do that, he had to get her consent first.

“Violet, will you marry me?”

Why did this one simple sentence feel harder than the knight entrance exam?

“Who knows. If I earn some military merit, I might get a decent title out of it…”

Leaning against a tree trunk, Aldrick finally bit into the apple. He wondered if Violet, being a noble’s daughter, might show some interest if he brought up a noble title.

Trying to hide his nervousness, he tossed it out as if it were nothing. Violet frowned.

“Is that what you wanted? A noble title? To be a senior knight or a noble? Since when?”

“I don’t know, really. Just… sounds nice, that’s all.”

As Aldrick shrugged, Violet’s expression turned serious.

“Aldrick, I think you’ve got the wrong idea… Even if you don’t get any of that, you’re already a good person just as you are. Not being a noble or a senior knight doesn’t make you any less valuable.”

Aldrick’s ears turned as red as the apple he was eating.

But Violet, now genuinely worried for him, didn’t notice.

She was concerned that at such a young age, he had gotten caught up in the romance of knighthood after meeting one by chance, and now, having returned from the capital, had come back influenced by strange notions.

Seeing her so serious and concerned, Aldrick almost pulled out the item hidden in his chest and presented it to her right then.

But he held back. Now was not the time.

“Even so, I’m going to war.”

Because of his pounding heart, the words came out more bluntly than he intended.

His head was full of the thought of placing the ring he’d carefully brought from the capital on Violet’s finger.

Since he would have to leave Wölze next week anyway, he planned to bring it up in the next day or two. But doing it like this, so spontaneously, during a casual meeting like today—it just wouldn’t do.

Not that he had a solid plan either. For seventeen-year-old Aldrick, confessing his love felt like the hardest thing in the world.

Swallowing his embarrassment, he’d even sought advice from Simon, but it wasn’t much help.

Simon had told him to do what nobles usually did—rent out a fancy restaurant and present her with flowers and a ring, but there was no such place in a rural village like Wölze.

He’d even considered taking Violet to the capital for a grand proposal, but he couldn’t just drag her there without any excuse.

Still, Aldrick vaguely understood why he was hesitating so much, why he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

It was likely the fear… that Violet might refuse his proposal.

If Violet turned him down…

The heartbreak would be devastating. No, beyond devastating. He might lose the will to live. Because everything Aldrick had done, all his purpose in life until now, had been for Violet.