"It's all thanks to Pola for giving me the courage."
Violet smiled as if she were truly happy. Seeing her face made me feel proud, though the pride quickly faded because of the difficult process.
"I'm so excited. If I had known, I would have dressed up more beautifully."
"You look beautiful enough as you are."
"Thank you."
She smiled shyly and twirled her hair with her fingers. Her luscious hair rippled at her fingertips.
"It's been so long, I'm really nervous."
Violet clutched her chest, eagerly anticipating her meeting with Vincent. In the end, she even had someone called to her mansion to change into new clothes. Once she was beautifully dressed, she seemed to glow. Ah, a halo. I covered my eyes with my hand and led her to the annex reception room at the appointed time.
There, Vincent was sitting, having polished his clothes and removed stains from them since morning. He was in a relaxed posture, legs crossed and back leaning against the sofa. His emerald eyes, which had a pale glow, were not noticeable unless you looked closely.
"Vincent!"
She immediately ran to Vincent. She moved faster than light. She pounced on him like a predator on its prey, leaving no time to stop her. Fortunately, Eitan skillfully blocked her path and managed to sit her down on the opposite sofa, despite her persistent attempts to reach Vincent.
She continued to fidget even after sitting down. I glanced at her as I placed the prepared tea and snacks on the table.
"It's been a while."
"Yeah, really, really a long time! I missed you."
Her voice, on the verge of tears, was barely held back. Violet's gaze never left Vincent. Vincent calmly picked up the teacup as he had practiced, sipped the tea, and then, with the cup on his knee, lifted his head to meet her gaze. The short practice had made his movements smooth enough that nothing seemed out of place.
I stood behind Violet, and Eitan sat on the sofa between Violet and Vincent. We had agreed to signal each other if we noticed anything strange.
"What happened? Are you okay? Why are you so thin? Why didn't you reply to my letters? What's been going on? What happened? Do you know how worried I was?"
"Ask a bit more slowly. What's the rush?"
Eitan clicked his tongue at the barrage of questions. When Violet glanced at Eitan, he shrugged. Her gaze quickly returned to Vincent.
"Okay. I'll answer everything, so ask one at a time."
"What's been going on?"
"Many things. Most of them you already know."
"Are you still not feeling well?"
"No, I'm much better. I'm still recovering, but it's not bad."
"But that means you're not well."
Violet sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Eitan, standing beside her, added that it was quite a sight. At that moment, her heel accidentally stepped on Eitan's shin. Eitan groaned and clutched his shin, and Vincent slightly turned his head toward the sound. But since he couldn't see, he showed no reaction.
Vincent calmly recited the lines he had practiced.
"Don't worry. And the reason I didn't meet you was that I was a bit overwhelmed. There were dangerous situations. I was worried that I might say something unpleasant if I met you. I also didn't want you to be in danger because I wasn't safe yet. I planned to meet you once I was safer and feeling better."
"That's okay. I understand everything!"
Violet leaned forward and exclaimed.
"It's all fine now. I'm glad you seem to be doing well. Thank you for showing me a healthy appearance. I... I thought you might not like me anymore."
"That's impossible."
"Yeah. I know. I know! It's just that I really missed you."
It was a hesitant and barely uttered statement. Violet smoothly delivered it. See, I told you I would say this. And Vincent would give a grateful response, with a mischievous smile.
"Sure. I'll definitely reply to your letters next time."
Eh...?
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Vincent nodded. Violet reacted happily. I looked at him, puzzled. His answer just now was strange. It was definitely part of the practiced dialogue, but he gave a different response. Why? He was smiling, but it wasn't the mischievous smile from before.
Perplexed, I couldn't help but look at him. He finished his tea and lifted his head. His gaze was directed straight ahead, as practiced, but it seemed to reach me standing behind him. Though it was impossible, I averted my eyes.
The conversation continued, catching up on the time apart. She spoke enthusiastically, and Vincent occasionally responded. When the conversation became awkward, Eitan smoothly intervened to keep it going. Violet, focused on the conversation, hadn't noticed anything strange about Vincent yet.
I could see the long-standing relationship between them in their exchange.
"By the way, Vincent, aren't the flowers beautiful?"
"Flowers?"
He asked, puzzled. I realized my mistake.
"Oh, right. I sent you a bouquet. I asked them to put it next to your bed, did you see it?"
"......Yes."
Vincent put down his teacup and felt around with his fingertips. He seemed to be in thought, but he was actually flustered. I was in the same state. I hadn't told him about the bouquet Violet had made. The incident happened before I could.
Panic set in as I flailed my hands, and my gaze met Eitan's. He smiled at me.
"Embarrassed, huh?"
Eitan playfully nudged Vincent's arm. Vincent's gaze briefly shifted in his direction. Eitan, with a sly smile, answered for Vincent.
"He said the purple flowers were the most beautiful?"
"Oh, those were the most beautiful?"
Vincent, a beat late, nodded at Violet's question. She was delighted and added that she would make another bouquet with only those flowers. Her cheerful voice showed no hint of suspicion. Eitan, smiling, subtly nodded at me.
The crisis had passed. I let out a sigh of relief.
It was time for Vincent to leave. The longer the conversation, the more likely something strange would be noticed. Even if she was currently too happy to realize, the longer she stayed, the higher the chance she would notice.
Vincent, following the plan, started to wrap things up.
"Violet, I'm a bit tired today. Can I get up now?"
"Oh, I see."
Her answer was filled with disappointment. Though I couldn't see her face, I could imagine the emotion written on it.
"Can you come and visit again?"
"Of course. You're always welcome."
Vincent quickly stood up after speaking. I quickly moved to the door to support him. Eitan also stood up, and Violet followed.
Now we just needed to leave. The final act of the play. I exchanged glances with Eitan, trying to bring this situation to a close.
"Vincent!"
Suddenly, Violet threw herself into his arms. It was a completely unexpected move. Vincent, caught off guard, stiffened as he held her. Eitan's eyes widened in surprise, and I froze.
Meanwhile, Violet, unaware of the tension, lifted her head slightly from his embrace.
"Vincent, I missed you so much. I wanted to see you so much."
"Vio... let, calm down first."
"Really, really."
Her eyes, brimming with tears, looked up at him. I hoped Vincent wouldn't meet her gaze. But then.
"Hey? Vincent's eyes..."
Before she could finish, Vincent pushed her away. It was an instinctive defensive reaction. Violet stumbled and fell backward onto the table behind her.
Eitan rushed to help her up, and Violet looked at him with a dazed expression. Vincent, hearing the commotion, was flustered. And when flustered, mistakes are inevitable. Vincent's hand flailed in the air. Though he quickly retracted it, she had already seen.
"Vincent?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
The flustered Vincent turned away. He was trying to leave.
However, the misfortune didn't end there.
As he tried to quickly leave, he bumped his knee on the armrest of the sofa and fell. He crashed to the floor, face first. Thud! The sound was painful to hear.
I rushed to him in shock, grabbed his flailing hand, and helped him up.
Finally, the commotion subsided.
"V, Vincent..."
"......"
His face was flushed red.
The situation had finally escalated. In the worst possible way.
"Vincent! Vincent! Open the door, okay?"
Thud! Thud! A soft voice came from the other side of the firmly closed door.
"Vincent, let's talk, okay?"
Thud! Thud! Thud! But the door remained closed. Despite knowing this, she continued to knock on the door without stopping.