A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

Somehow the tactless man, who happened to be caught on the spot, came to hear his once-close friend being badmouthed here.

* * *

After being put on probation, Violet’s life did not change all that much.

What’s the point of grounding someone who’s already exiled in the first place?

Still though, Violet’s range of activities became limited to only the annex. Nothing changed much except that she could not paint.

Violet wondered what she could do except sleep.

Meanwhile, a new knight came again. This time, it was not the duke who brought him in, but Zylo.

The new knight was still young. Although he hadn’t been officially ordained as a knight yet, he was a promising boy with remarkable talent.

Because he was still young and was very obedient towards Zylo, the young knight treated Violet with caution. He didn’t think that his respected superior would tell him anything incorrect.

The reason Zylo managed to pick out a knight personally was because he told the duke, “Your Grace, the new knight will be escorting Her Ladyship together with me. So, to ensure that we can work well together, I would like to choose him personally.”

Zylo pleaded to the duke because he could not trust the duke’s eye for people.

Likewise, Violet also thought that the duke had a terrible eye for people, and she briefly thought about the future of the Everett Duchy. She couldn’t believe that a duke like him had no eye for people.

She didn’t have much lingering feelings about her family anyway, so she didn’t care very much.

As she continued her life at the annex with the people who now surrounded her, she noticed that she had gained some weight.

Stretching with a body that felt heavy, Violet stood up.

“Oh, Milady? Why are you holding a sword?”

“Nothing much. I guess just to exercise?”

“But it’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be fine.”

While wearing a temporary, soft armor, Violet wielded the sword and did a few stances. Mary clapped as she watched.

Zylo expressed his suspicions.

“Did you learn how to use the sword, Milady?”

“A little, back when I was a kid.”

“…You learned just a little, you say…”

Zylo’s eyes became clouded.

It’s not like female knights weren’t common in this time period. Definitely, as long as one would practice steadily, they’d see good results eventually.

Violet laughed as she noticed what the knight was thinking.

“There was a time when I wanted to be perfect in it. But Aileen copied me, so I quit right away.”

“Ah.”

Because he had listened to Violet’s story the other day, Zylo understood and sighed briefly.

Aileen used to copy whatever it was that Violet did. Sometimes Aileen was better than Violet, sometimes worse.

Whenever she was better than Violet, Aileen was rightly praised. In front of Violet.

And whenever she was worse than Violet, she was comforted. As if that wasn’t enough, Violet was subsequently reprimanded for criticizing Aileen.

When it came to swordsmanship, Violet was more talented than Aileen.

However, Violet quit one day.

It was the day she was slapped by Mikhail.

“By any chance, would you like to pick it up again?”

“Perhaps for self-defense, but I don’t think I have the aptitude for it, so I don’t want to continue. Though I can take it up as a hobby sometimes, I guess.”

“……”

Briefly, a hint of melancholy flashed in Zylo’s expression.

He had to ask—were all of the current duke’s talents passed down to Ducal Lady Violet?

Violet, who genuinely thought that she had no talent in swordsmanship, practiced for a few minutes and eventually put it down.

Huk, huuk…

The two people who were sitting at the side watched silently as the lady breathed roughly.

Despite her talent, Violet had too little stamina. And of course, this was because she only leisurely hung out and ate for two months.

“…Milady, you should exercise every morning. How much do you usually move?”

“…About thirty steps?”

“……”

“…No, I walk more than that!”

“……”

“It’s not like I’m abysmally lacking in physical strength.”

“…My younger sister is like that, too, and granted, noble young ladies don’t move a lot, but Milady, you’re just…”

“……”

And so, Violet declared that she would build up her stamina during her one-week probation.

Mary also exercised together with Violet after Zylo told her, “You should be able to protect yourself, too.”

Isn’t that the job of the escort knights though?

Mary grumbled back in a low voice. However, Zylo stubbornly said that he was not obligated to protect his master’s maid.

Thus, the knight pushed the two young women into a healthy lifestyle.

* * *

Violet set down her wooden sword and breathed out.

The loudest thought in her mind right now was that she wanted to go back to her room and rest right now. After that, the next loudest thought was that she wanted to paint instead of exercising.

In the first place, she was only working out because she couldn’t paint, so of course she wanted to paint.

However, exercise was a must for Violet. Her physical strength was considerably depleted, and it was difficult to sit down for long periods of time while painting. That’s why Violet was now working diligently, trying to stamp out the unnecessary thoughts in her mind.

She didn’t particularly hate moving around, but what she found difficult was the fact that she had to match the too early wake-up time of her escort knight.

“The food’s delicious these days.”

“Hehe. Auntie Anna said that she prepared these with all her heart. She must’ve remembered all the dishes that you said were delicious, Milady.”

“Really? I should express my gratitude to her.”

It was a simple meal, but Violet liked it quite a lot. She was even smiling now.

In the novels she read in her previous life, all of the Koreans who transmigrated or reincarnated in other worlds talked about how much they missed kimchi. She wondered if she should try requesting a spicy dish.

As Violet mulled over this small concern, she saw a passing maid smile at her.

“…Why is everyone smiling at me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Uh, I’m not very sure…”

The employees of the annex were originally amiable towards Violet though, but the atmosphere had somehow turned strange ever since she was put on probation.

Mary could only smile awkwardly in response to Violet’s question.