The Limit
Violet’s Side
Today was three days before the swordsmanship tournament in which Lux would compete.
“Ojou-sama, I am reaching my limit.”
Violet was… about to reach her breaking point.
With no warning or sign at all, Siana, suddenly told of Violet’s limit, stopped her work in the royal castle as the Third Princess Felisiana, tilted her head at Violet’s words, and asked.
“What do you mean by limit?”
“If I cannot soon have some time alone with Rodwell-sama, I will truly reach my limit.”
Violet’s recent work of keeping watch around Lux inevitably required her, by its very nature, to spend her days from morning until evening watching Lux happily enjoy himself with Floria during breaks and swordsmanship lessons, and then at night to watch Lux happily spend his time with Siana.
Put into words, it might sound simple, and in fact Violet herself had thought, up until the day Lux first came to the royal castle, that this duty was no different from her other tasks.
But now, that work amounted to being forced to watch her beloved speak with another woman for long stretches of time, which was nothing less than a spiritual ordeal.
“I’ve heard you say things like this before, but it’s true that it wouldn’t be strange if you really were at your limit by now.”
In response to Siana’s words, Violet nodded and said.
“Yes. At this point, I no longer care about the consequences. By force if I must, I want to secure time to spend with Rodwell-sama.”
“For Violet to say something like that, it must be serious… I understand. Starting tomorrow, Lux-kun’s noble academy should have two days off, so I’ll give you tomorrow to spend time with him.”
“Thank you very much.”
After saying that, Violet stepped back slightly from Siana, who continued with her work, and began to turn something over in her mind.
It was something that had been filling Violet’s thoughts for the past few days.
What must it feel like to be seen as a woman by Rodwell-sama…?
Ever since she heard that Siana had experienced that feeling firsthand when she bathed with Lux the other day, Violet had been unable to put it out of her mind.
Having never behaved as a woman, and never once required to act as one because of her position, Violet could not even imagine such a feeling… yet even so, she found herself deeply curious about it.
I know very well it is presumptuous of someone like me to even think of having Rodwell-sama see me that way… and yet.
Because of her position, unlike Siana or Floria, Violet’s opportunities to spend time alone with Lux were extremely limited.
That was precisely why she could not afford to be selective about her means.
“…”
With that thought, Violet resolved in her heart to approach Lux tomorrow in a way that would make him see her as a woman.
I have never once tried to approach a man before, so I do not know if I can do it well. Even so… I too want Rodwell-sama to…
Lux’s Side
While I was studying in my room, Siana told me that a letter had arrived for me, so I received it from her.
“Who could it be from…?”
“When I checked the back of the letter, it seemed to be from the Third Princess Felisiana-sama!”
“F-Felisiana-sama!?”
Hearing Siana’s words, I looked at the back of the letter and indeed saw Felisiana-sama’s name written there.
A letter from Felisiana-sama… could it be that she is angry that I still have not given her an answer regarding the engagement…? But even if that were the case, it would not be permissible for me to run from it.
With nervous hands, I opened the letter and read its contents.
[Dear Lux-kun, I apologize for the suddenness, but Violet said she found some tea leaves she thinks you would like and wants you to try them. So tomorrow around noon, I will send Violet to the Rodwell residence. If it is a bother, you may send her back, so please do not feel obligated. Also, I am cheering for you in the swordsmanship tournament. From Felisiana.]
“I see… so Violet-san will be coming here tomorrow… and not only that, Felisiana-sama is even cheering me on in the tournament…!”
I raised my voice, feeling the kindness in Felisiana-sama’s words, which contained not a hint of anger about the engagement.
And of course, since Violet-san’s visit was more than welcome, I was overjoyed that tomorrow had suddenly turned into a day to look forward to.
…But at that time, I had no idea that something like that would happen with Violet-san tomorrow.