Chapter 82
“Oh, so you weren’t here on an errand? Then I’ll just go back to doing the laundry, okay?”
The bold little girl, who had spoken so casually, returned to her task without hesitation.
Aldrick dumbly stared at her back. Her hands, scrubbing a mountain of laundry, were surprisingly skillful for a child.
For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off that sight and just stood there blankly.
Before he knew it, he hadn’t left until the girl had finished the laundry. When Violet noticed him still there, her expression showed confusion.
When that small face turned back toward him, Aldrick felt a strange sense of joy.
“You’re still here? Do you really have something to say?”
Of course, he had nothing to say. Aldrick shook his head. He couldn’t understand why he was still standing there himself.
Watching him hesitate without moving, Violet rummaged through the pocket of her old dress and soon held something out to him.
“You’re that kid who lives at the temple, right? I remembered you because your hair color’s pretty. I mean, look at you. You look kind of pitiful too. If you’re tired because you’re hungry or something, then at least eat this.”
Aldrick looked at the girl’s outstretched hand. Resting on her palm, red and swollen from the cold water, was a brightly colored piece of candy. It was a treat the temple had handed out around New Year’s not long ago.
Though the temple had given it out, Aldrick—who actually lived there—had only been able to watch from the sidelines. He could only imagine the taste of that candy, drooling all the while. And now, here she was, offering it to him.
Aldrick didn’t know how to react. But the instincts of a hungry child made him greedily snatch that precious gift.
Violet had likely been saving that candy herself, but she offered it to a boy she’d just met without the slightest hesitation. She gave a small smile.
“Don’t let the other kids steal it. Eat it secretly, okay? Honestly, I think you should just eat it right now. When you save something precious for too long, you always end up losing it.”
Leaving behind those words, Violet turned away without hesitation. Heaving the basket full of wet laundry onto her back, she grunted as she made her way home.
That day, Aldrick sat alone by the stream for a long time, eating the candy.
He stared at the flowing water as he slowly digested the kindness he’d received for the first time in his entire life.
As the candy melted in his mouth, something warm seemed to melt into Aldrick’s heart along with it.
After that day, Aldrick and Violet often ran into each other.
To be exact, it was more that Aldrick loitered around the places where she was likely to appear.
“Hey, if you’re following me around for candy, I’m not giving you any more.”
Though Violet thought he was chasing her for more sweets, she fortunately didn’t find him annoying.
The more they met, the more Aldrick grew fond of her. Violet also quickly grew attached to him, and later came to see him like a younger brother.
Before long, the two of them had become like siblings.
The Baron wasn’t pleased about his daughter spending time with some orphan boy, but he generally paid little attention to her affairs.
Taking advantage of her father’s indifference, Violet looked after Aldrick.
Sometimes she’d visit the orphanage to hand out snacks or use leftover fabric from her own sewing to make him gloves—small gestures, but the best a ten-year-old could do.
To Aldrick, those were acts of profound care.
Through her, he came to know what human warmth was.
Of course, he loved the pieces of bread she’d sneak into his pocket or the sweets carefully wrapped in cloth.
But more than anything, Aldrick cherished the warmth Violet gave off like sunlight.
Every moment with her had been precious, but what he remembered most were the small touches.
When she would stroke his messy hair without hesitation, or the times she hugged him gently to comfort him.
To a boy starved for even a scrap of affection, Violet had been the sun itself.
Before meeting her, Aldrick always wondered.
Why had his parents even given birth to him?
Why had he been born into a world that didn’t want him, to live such a painful life?
To such an Aldrick, Violet had been the one and only person who made him feel like he had worth.
Just like that first piece of candy she gave him…
Just as that candy melted and became part of him…
His love for Violet had settled deep within him, becoming a part of who he was.
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