Chapter 77: The Serpent’s Breath.

It resembled surprise.
And at the same time, it resembled despair.

“…”

Left alone, Yulan kept replaying the Violet from moments ago.

Furrowed brows, wide eyes filled with shock and panic, standing on the verge of collapse.
Who would believe that smile made only with the corners of her mouth was a real smile?
At the very least, it was far from enough to fool Yulan.

Chasing after her retreating back as she fled from him would have been easy.
But that would be meaningless; worse, it would only needlessly disturb Violet’s heart.

What Yulan needed to do now was not chase and interrogate her.
It was to figure out what had shocked and panicked her to the point of making that face, and to cut it at the root.

(It’s… not something at home.)

That house had always been a bed of needles for Violet; no, it had never been a place of peace to begin with.
That alone infuriated him, but precisely because of it, Violet would no longer be surprised by anything that happened there.
No matter how shocking the event, if it occurred in that house she would instantly shift into detachment and resignation.

She killed her heart and waited for the storm to pass without letting a single emotion stir.

(Then what?
It’s almost certainly something I’m involved in.)

The reasons a normally, almost abnormally calm and composed Violet would be that shaken were limited.

Claudia… or Yulan.

The possibility of Claudia was low.
The current Violet was so docile it was hard to believe she had once been blindly driven by love; whether that was because the approach had changed or simply because her feelings had cooled (actually the latter), Yulan had no way of knowing.
Either way, it was hard to imagine her heart being thrown into that much chaos over Claudia now.

Which left only one answer.

(It’s not something I did…)

The last time they met, she had been smiling happily.
If it had been a fake smile, he was not the kind of person who would fail to notice.
He always paid utmost attention to the smallest shifts in Violet’s mood and had eliminated as many sources of worry as possible.
Of course his reach was limited, but he prided himself on at least giving her enough space for a little escapism.

Then it had to be something else.
Something involving Yulan that upset Violet but was not caused by Yulan himself.

(When it comes to things Violet and I have in common… there’s really only her.)

The elegant silhouette of a certain prince flashed through his mind.
The very person he had just ruled out did indeed have deep ties to both Yulan and Violet.
But he had already been eliminated; he shouldn’t be involved this time.

Then perhaps Mirania, Claudia’s close friend… No, impossible.
Even putting aside Mirania’s personality, Yulan couldn’t imagine Violet being that shaken by anything he said.
Even if it concerned Yulan; no, especially if it concerned Yulan.
He could easily picture Violet handling it calmly.

That left only his own friend Gear… but that was absolutely out of the question.
Even Yulan sometimes couldn’t guess what that laid-back guy was thinking.
Gear had been disinterested in others from the moment they met; he showed little concern for Yulan, Violet, or any of the surrounding rumors.
Yulan couldn’t imagine him deliberately stirring up trouble.
And Violet hadn’t opened her heart to Gear anywhere near that much.

She never let her heart be moved by someone she hadn’t let in.

(Then someone else… There’s no way I don’t know everyone who could upset Violet.)

A sigh escaped at the dead end.
He leaned his back against the nearby window, rested his hips on the sill, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He swallowed the tongue-click that threatened to spill out; he was simply furious at this formless enemy.

The possibilities that rose and vanished one after another gradually narrowed his field of vision.
He had unconsciously been excluding anything that held no interest for him.

One of the seeds of Violet’s unhappiness, and someone who knew Yulan.
To Yulan personally, she was no different from any other insignificant nobody; he had lumped her into the collective hatred that was the Verhan family but had never once acknowledged her as an individual.

And she was surely the kind of ignorant, innocent, irritating person who wouldn’t believe his feelings even if he put them into words.

“Yulan-kun! Heading home now?”

“…Yeah, I am.”

The public would probably describe her smile as flowers dancing in the air.
Her vivid blue eyes sparkled, and every strand of hair swaying in the breeze was beautiful.

What dreams do people project onto a girl raised on love, nurtured by love, and grown gentle because of it?

“If you have a moment, would you like to chat?”

“…Sure, just a little.”

At Yulan’s reply, Mary-June’s smile deepened even further.
Most people would probably imagine a giant sunflower blooming behind her.
A bright, soft, lovely girl; the perfect backdrop.

Yulan saw a snake coiled around her throat.

A thick, black serpent that could snap her slender neck in an instant with the slightest pressure.

He imagined the words he spat wrapping around that throat.

The cause of Violet’s change was almost certainly the girl in front of him.
And part of it involved Yulan.
Which meant Mary-June had used something about Yulan.

Whether it was his relationship with Violet or his very existence, Yulan didn’t know, but it couldn’t be anything good.

He didn’t know or care what Mary-June’s intentions were.
The only thing that mattered was the fact that she had used Yulan to bring some kind of harm to Violet.

(I need to… sound her out.)

He had to find out what this girl had done.
He had to understand, consider Violet’s feelings, and eliminate every last worry.

That came first; for Violet’s peaceful life, every source of unease must be removed.

And if Mary-June herself could become such a source; not as part of some vague “family,” but as Mary-June the individual; then he would have to deal with her properly.

So that a single word from Yulan could stop her breath whenever necessary.