Violet Evergarden Chapter 11

Violet Evergarden Chapter 11

Violet Evergaden: Chapter 11Please feel free to message me about possible corrections. If you can, support the creators by buying the official releases .

The
Auto-Memories Dolls’ holiday was ending peacefully.

How to
spend the end of summer was mostly commonplace – watching the trees outside by
the windowsill during the morning, taking strolls with an umbrella around the
neighborhood at noon, reading books under the shade of trees at evening, and
preparing for the next journey at night. When no one was looking, she would
dismantle and reconstruct guns, as well as throw knives at leaves falling from
trees in order not to let her arms become lax. But essentially, she was
enveloped in serenity. That was the result of her adoptive mother’s influence in
treating her like a child.

There were
not many who would purposefully attempt to break her silence in the first
place. After all, she was someone who instilled the feeling of nervousness in
others. She had a reticent and cold beauty. She could cause time and people in
her surroundings to naturally stop.

“Violet.
You… are coming with me.”




She was not
someone suitable to invite to play.

The Flying Letters and the Auto-Memories Doll
(Part 1)

Located in
a narrow street away from the main avenue of Leidenschaftlich’s capitol city,
Leiden, a lone building protruded, reigning amongst several small shops lined
up together. The CH Postal Service was a fairly new company that had just
entered the mail industry.

A spire
with a light green dome-shaped roof and a weather-bird on top could be
considered the mark of said postal company. Surrounding the spire was a dark
green roof, and the outer walls were made of red bricks that had been sunburned
into a tasteful hue. On the arch-shaped entryway, where the agency’s name was printed
onto a steel plate in golden letters, there was a bell that produced a merry
sound whenever the doors were opened, so as to announce the arrival of
customers. Inside the building, a counter could be seen right upon entry, which
was specifically the reception desk of delivery items.

There were
three floors; the first one was the postal reception, the second was the office
and the spire of the third floor was the president’s residence. Currently, on
the second floor, the employees of the office were challenging themselves while
working desperately.

There was a
date called the “closing day” in the company. During it, all transactions,
reports related to them, invoices, proofs of payment and everything else involving
the operation of the company were neatly cleared up for the month. For the
clerks, it was a day of painful battling, as the closing work was added to their
regular work.

 “You said we’d go together, that you’d take me
there…”

Amidst the
scene of arduous fighting stood a young woman, directing a reproachful and
depressed gaze at Hodgins. She tightly held onto the hem of her clothes and bit
her lip as if to a.s.sert, “I am p.i.s.sed”.

She was a
beautiful woman with long dark hair and full of mature appeal. She wore an open
bustier, which displayed her rich chest without any reserve whatsoever and was
connected to her shoulder-to-elbow charcoal-gray inner garment. She also had on
a beads choker, a pendant, bangles, hand chain bracelets and rings made of precious
metals. Her leather hot pants were dyed blue and had golden cross-st.i.tches. Her
embroidery thread garter belt consisted of geometrical patterns and decorated
only the bare skin from the middle of her tights to her knee-high boots. She
was a person whose everything, from her outfit to her glossy beauty, was poison
to the eyes. However…

“No way, no
way! If you’re not taking me, I don’t want to go.”

…her
actions were that of a child. She was stomping her feet.

“No, I
mean, even if you say that, Cattleya…” Claudia Hodgins, the president of the
CH Postal Service, smiled stiffly at that att.i.tude. “Look at this mountain of paperwork.
It feels like it’s gonna hit me.”

On
Hodgins’s desk lay a pile of forms bearing a menace that really did seem as if
they were about to hit him. He was applying stamps on them while speaking. His examination
and approval were definite requirements for the various doc.u.ments made by
clerks. Perhaps because he blindly trusted the clerks, or because he lacked the
will to read, he was simply pushing the papers over without confirming their
contents.

“President
Hodgins, give the doc.u.mentation to me once you are done with it. Please take a
look at these too.”

The
conversation was interrupted. A stack of paperwork was added to the pile.

“Ah, sorry,
Little Lux. Did you confirm all of them?”

The one who
had come in-between Cattleya and Hodgins was a girl with an innocent face. She
had lavender-gray hair trimmed slickly above her shoulders. Although she wore
gla.s.ses, upon a closer look, one would be able to see that the color of her
eyes was different on each side. It was a conservative stereotype, but the scarf
around her neck and gold berretta attached to the side of her head were subtle traits
of a professional lady.

“I did. The
ones revised have tags on them. Please check them.”

Lux Sibyl,
the girl who used to be worshipped as a demiG.o.d by a religious group in an
isolated island, was now working uprightly at the CH Postal Service.

“Thank you.
My secretary is the best. Even as an understatement, I love you.”

Lux replied
with a hopeless expression to the lady-killer wink shot at her, “Enough of
flattery, just please get your… get your arm moving. If only I had stopped
you that time… Going on a trip with a stage actress… It was so obvious that
you’d soon break up anyways… That time… if only I…”

“How cruel.
You just hurt my heartbroken self even more, Little Lux…”

“If only I
had made you do your work even if I had to tie you up, this wouldn’t have…”

Since his
secretary acted as though she had become involved with some incident and was
inconsolable, Hodgins regained his seriousness. “I’m sorry. I’ll buy a stamping
machine.”

Lux then
spoke to Cattleya as if imploring, “And Cattleya. Please… don’t try to do
anything to stop President Hodgins. Everyone’s clocking-out depends on
President Hodgins’s progress. I want to go home as soon as possible today…”

The clerks that
were silently doing their jobs nodded in unison at Lux’s words. For them, the time
they would be set free from the office on that day was an extreme matter of
life and death. Cattleya had been pretending not to notice it, but a
concentrated pressure from withering occasional stares and voice tones pierced
her back with an unsaid “those who intend to meddle should leave”.

“What’s
with that…? Acting so arrogant just because you’re the secretary. President’s
secretary… how unfair. I wanna be a secretary too.”

“Cattleya,
you’re an Auto-Memories Doll, right? Isn’t that better? ‘Acting arrogant’, you
say… I was just stating that you may be on your day off, but we are in the
middle of work.”

Despite
having a young appearance, on the inside, Lux had grown into a completely
capable secretary. After having fled from the religious organization, she did
her best to repay Hodgins and the company that had taken her in.

“President,
leave the snacks for when you’re done with the doc.u.ments.”

Hodgins’s
hand, which had been attempting to take something from his desk’s drawer, retracted.

“What’s
with that? What’s with that? What’s with that?! This is because days off aren’t
defined for Auto-Memories Dolls, so there’s no helping it, right?”

Cattleya
was willing to continue the quarrel, but before she realized it, Lux was
answering the phone. The look in the latter’s eyes said “sorry about that”.

“I get it.”

It was
obvious at first glance that everyone in the company was busy. She was also
aware that she was disturbing them.

Nevertheless,
not aiming to give up, the Auto-Memories Doll Cattleya showed a printed
pamphlet to Hodgins, who had turned into the aforementioned stamping machine. “But
it’s only once a year… that we can go see the ‘Flying Letters’. I… I
already wrote a letter, and I didn’t invite anyone else because the President
said he would be taking me. I don’t want to go by myself. Attending a festival
all alone… isn’t that like a punishment?”

The words “Seventh
Aeronautical Exhibition” were written in it. Said exhibition would be held in
the maneuvering area of Leidenschaftlich’s army’s Air Force. It seemed to
consist of aerial maneuver demonstrations and public displays of the army and
the navy’s aircrafts, as well as private ones gathered by volunteers. The “Flying
Letters” that Cattleya had talked about was one of the programs. So-called “letters
of encouragement to whomever picks them”, collected from civilians, would be scattered
from the sky by elite pilots chosen from the army and navy. It was a romantic
event, in which the partic.i.p.ants were stimulated to send inspirational messages
to the strangers that would pick their letters, as well as to themselves. It
was the only festival on the continent in which letters fell from the sky. As
the description stated that the sixth exhibition had happened several years before,
it seemed the festival had been canceled for some time due to intensified wars.

She brought
the pamphlet closer as if to make him kiss it, causing Hodgins to sneeze.

“See, I
want to go too, Cattleya. But I had forgotten that today was the closing
day…”

Cattleya’s
eyebrows withdrew. Her amethyst orbs swerved with sadness. Her att.i.tude was
similar to a pup crying dejectedly.

A feeling
of guilt grew within Hodgins. “Don’t make such a face, my cute lady. The
festival involved in the exhibition will go on until nighttime, so I can join
on the way. I mean, I also want to let the employees clock out early and go to
the festival. But we won’t make it in time for the Flying Letters… I think. Well,
I don’t know, but yeah, most likely.”

“I will…
be alone until then?”

“Benedict…
is… in the middle of deliveries.”

“Never mind
him. Why are you mentioning his name?” Her face going red, Cattleya attempted
to overturn Hodgins’s desk. It was a strength that could never be imagined to
come from those slender arms.

Hodgins
hastily held back the desk. “Calm down, Cattleya. I get it. The only other
available person close to your age is… Little Lux. Show me the business
schedule of the employees.”

Although
she was in the middle of a phone call, Lux handed Hodgins a notebook while
talking cheerfully. The operational plans of the employees were registered in
it.

Hodgins
grinned. It was because he had found someone who seemed to be in a convenient
condition. “Aah, Little Violet is off-duty.”

“Eh?” A
slight rejection could be noted in Cattleya’s voice.

The mansion
was located beyond a path of trees. Reigning among flowerbeds of extravagant
colors with plants of several varieties in a luxurious and carefully tended
lawn, as well as a farm growing seasonal vegetables, was the Evergarden
residence, of which Patrick Evergarden was the current head. It was closer to
being a castle than a manor. It had chalky white walls and an ultramarine roof.
Its architecture was elegant and well-balanced, wholly symmetrical on both
sides, from the spires to the windows.

As a
gardener sighted Cattleya’s figure while she pa.s.sed by, he shouted, “Miss
Cattleya Baudelaire, right?”

Due to
Hodgins talking to them in advance, the gardener had accompanied her from the
gates to the mansion, and once she reached the porch, a butler had welcomed
her.

“She will be
here soon.”

As she
waited with nothing to do in an anteroom, before long, Violet Evergarden
appeared, just as the butler had said.

“Cattleya…?”

It was not only
because the ma.s.sively thick red carpet tended to erase footsteps. Violet had showed
herself without making a sound, dressed differently from her usual
Auto-Memories Doll outfit. Hair was loosely tied to one side and a flower hair
ornament dangled next to her face. The word “lovely” was perfect for her neat white
one-piece with blue flower patterns. The small flowers were not simply
dispersed, but had been designed to fall all the way down from the top of the
shoulders and middle of the chest. As Leidenschaftlich’s climate was still warm
even though it was the ending of summer, it seemed that one would be fine with
just a dress, yet she wore a dark blue cardigan. It was probably meant to hide her
artificial arms. The same old brooch stood on her chest.

“Heh, so
you normally dress like this. It’s kinda like a… little lady? Pretty cute.
How nice.”

Violet
replied, “It is my foster mother’s taste. More importantly, did something
happen?” Her blue eyes seemed to say, “What is the matter that caused you to
come all the way to my house? Answer quickly.”

“Yeah,
kinda…”

Cattleya
recalled her conversation with Hodgins. The hand that had been applying stamps
had stopped for once, and he had told her how to coax Violet, who was someone shrouded
in mystery, “Listen, if you’re going to persuade
Little Violet… you gotta say that… it’s a mission given to her by me.”

He had
seemed confident. Indeed, Violet gave off an impression of obedience and
chast.i.ty whenever she spoke to Hodgins. However, that was in a different manner
than how she probably treated other people.

——Honestly, this girl is so strange.

Cattleya
knew she was a former soldier. She had belonged to Leidenschaftlich’s army
along with Hodgins, the man Cattleya loved dearly. Amongst the members that
Hodgins, who was already an odd one himself, had gathered to work at CH Postal
Service, it was not so unlikely to have someone with a past of being an ex-militant
in her personal history.

However,
even without taking her history into consideration, Violet was a shady existence.

She never
showed a smile. Her speech was polite, yet she never once flattered anyone. With
that, she put a distance between herself and others, but did not show any signs
of despising loneliness, and was almost as a beautiful, heartless ent.i.ty made
of ice. That was how Cattleya saw her.

“You… know…
this… is something that had already been decided.”

That was
why she was anxious as to whether those magical words would have effect. Would
she listen to the order of anyone that not Hodgins? Even if she did listen,
would they have a fun time?

——Still, that’d be better than going to the
festival alone.

Rea.s.suring
her purpose, Cattleya opened her mouth, “Violet. You… are coming with me.
It’s a mission that President Hodgins gave you. Until the President joins me,
accompany me to the Aeronautical Exhibition.”

After she
spoke authoritatively, a few seconds of silence ensued.

The
straight-laced, taciturn, unsociable-looking and beautiful ice girl blinked,
her long lashes going up and down, many times before inquiring with a face that
seemed to express a question mark, “A… mission?”

“Yes, a
mission.”

“Is it…
really a mission?”

Cattleya
averted her gaze from the reflection of her own fl.u.s.tered figure in Violet’s
limpid blue orbs. “I-If… you think it’s a lie, you can ask President about
it.”

“No. Today
is the closing day and he must be busy, so I will refrain from making phone
calls. I understand. If it is a mission requested by the President, I will
accept it.” Along with being concerned about the closing day, unlike Cattleya,
she had the consideration of an adult for the workplace.

As she
received consent, Cattleya soon became nervous. She had a feeling that she was
talking to a machine, a fairy, or perhaps a ghost – some sort of indefinite
existence that she could not reach a mutual understanding with.

“Hey, will
you really go with me?”

“Yes.”

“Really,
really?”

“Really,
really.”

“You…
kinda don’t feel like you’re alive, but you are, right?”

“I am.”

“I’m just
asking this as a matter of course, but the President is very attached to you,
so are you lovers?”

“That is
not it.”

“What do you
think of Benedict?”

“Benedict? He
has high-rank combat abilities, and also has surprisingly leadership skills.”

They were
quite rude questions, yet Violet answered them seriously without showing signs
of minding it. Cattleya immediately became lively with the various replies. She
let the joy take over her and started jumping on the spot.

“I’m
satisfied that our interests are consistent. Since it’s settled, go get ready!
Tell the people of the house that you’re going out. Also, Violet, get a writing
paper, envelope and fountain pen too. We’ll partic.i.p.ate in the Flying Letters,
after all.”

“‘Flying
Letters’… If I am correct, that was one of the custom programs of aerial
displays presented to the public by the army and navy, right?”

As expected
of a former soldier, she was knowledgeable.

Cattleya
asked if she had ever partic.i.p.ated, and Violet mutely shook her head. “I have
never watched it, but I have been told about it as a piece of information…”

Just who
had been the one to tell her? Violet did not reveal it.

“Cattleya,
is there nothing else necessary other than the writing paper and etcetera? Do I
have permission from President Hodgins to carry arms?”

“There’s no
need for weapons. What’s with you? That’s scary.”

“You said
it was a mission, so that came out on automatic.”

Violet did
not understand the limits of things, and Cattleya was sometimes perplexed by
her, but thankfully, the two of them were able to go outside together.

The maneuvering
area of Leidenschaftlich’s army’s Air Force was located far away from the capitol
city, Leiden. The directions to it were not too difficult. The easiest way to get
from capitol to it was either through riding shared horse carriages or trucks.
When getting off at the stop, a forested area surrounded by trees would be on
sight. It was a place so full of greenery that it would cause people that were
accustomed to cities to become worried for a second as to where they had ended
up, but there was nothing to fear. Crossing a paved forest road while relying
on signboards, they would shortly arrive at the maneuvering area, their
destination.

The entry
of ordinary citizens was prohibited during normal times, but there were no
restrictions during the Aeronautical Exhibition. Authorized eating and drinking
businesses established their shops around the exercise grounds and formed lined
stalls. The military facility changed completely and turned into a place of
festivities.

In the
venue a.s.sembled men and women of all ages. Families of people involved in the army
and navy personnel, general partic.i.p.ants, avid airplane lovers who had come
from distant places yearning to see the aerial displays, and many others. There
were mostly males in the male-female ratio. Young girls like Violet and
Cattleya could be considered minorities.

“Amazing,
it’s so big. They normally practice here too… Look! Fighters? Are those
fighters?” Cattleya did not hide her surprise at the warplanes being exhibited.

“That’s a
reconnaissance plane, the Ptarmigan.” Meanwhile, Violet gave the exact name of
the units. “Both the army and the navy each have Air Forces, but from the names
of the planes, one can tell right away which of the two they belong to. The
army names theirs after birds. It seems the navy names theirs after sea
animals.”

The mysterious,
beautiful women eagerly discussing about warplanes appeared peculiar to some
extent.

Since the maneuver
area usually functioned as a full-fledged military facility, there were many barred
zones. Seeing the s.p.a.ce of the venue as a rectangular box, the exhibition of
the military aircrafts was happening in the outskirts of its center.
Surrounding it was a hangar, a stand-by spot for the army’s vehicles, a general
resting place for civilians, the actual headquarters of the Aeronautical Exhibition
and a control tower built on its rooftop, hidden by a tent. Its inside could
not be seen at all. A fence was laid around the headquarters and the control
tower at a wide distance from both, and that whoever was not part of the
personnel was completely forbidden of entry.

One of the Aeronautical
Exhibition’s highlights, which was a live coverage by the army’s publicity, was
taking place at the headquarters.

“Please
look at the front of the venue. Six fighters, the Sea Snakes, are raiding in. They
are changing from a one-row line to a diamond-shaped battle formation. Do pay
attention to this well-coordinated flight.”

The navy
fighters flew over the maneuver area and pa.s.sed by while showing off splendid
flight techniques. As they soared, white smoke was left behind in the blue sky as
a proof of their pa.s.sage.

“The first
pilot is Jude Bradburn from Leidenschaftlich’s Leiden. The second pilot is
Henry Gardner from Bregand!”

All attendees
looked up at the sky and cheered. An orchestra played music along with the heated
commentaries, further enhancing the atmosphere in the place.

Cattleya
opened the pamphlet she had acquired in advance and confirmed the show time of
the aircrafts currently on demonstration. Things seemed to be progressing
according to the prescribed schedule. The Flying Letters were due afterwards.

She grabbed
Violet, whose eyes had been stolen by the aerial maneuvers of the fighter
aircrafts, by the arm. “Hey, looks like the collecting of the Flying Letters will
take a while, so let’s buy something at the stalls and watch it while eating.
It seems the flight exercises will go on non-stop. Violet, is there anything
you wanna eat?”

“So we are
ensuring our meals? If that is the case, is it not better to go for something
fitting to be conserved rather than prioritize its taste?”

Without
looking at Cattleya, Violet was moving her neck as to follow the units in
flight. Cattleya stirred a finger close to her. As Violet turned her head, her
cheek was spontaneously stabbed by said finger. It felt flaccid.

“Violet,
look at me.”

Although
the arm Cattleya had grasped was rigid, the cheek was soft.

——She’s enigmatic, and a bit creepy.

However,
Cattleya was somewhat relieved. It was because she had come to know that girl
also had soft parts.

“Please
stop.”

She became
happy to earn a reaction from Violet, even though it was resistance. “Don’t
wanna. That’s punishment for not looking my way. Hey, I feel you’re
misunderstanding it; even though this is a mission, it’s also for fun. We don’t
need conserved food.”

“‘Fun’…?”

“Don’t
you… sometimes seem like you’re having fun with Lux? See, with tea and all.”

“Aah, yes.
We have tea together.”

“That’s it.
You’re gonna do that with me. We’re gonna eat, chat, and partic.i.p.ate in the
festival. It seems everyone from the company will be done with work in a bit,
so we’ll join them afterwards.”

“This is…
a mission, is it not?”

“It’s a
mission. A great mission. A super great mission.” Cattleya forcefully made
Violet, who was making emphases and seeking confirmation, walk in the direction
of the stalls.

“I would
like tangible content details on exactly what sort of mission ‘having fun’ is.”

“You’re
talking kinda difficult; you aren’t used to having fun, right? That’s fine,
this big sis will teach it to you.”

Violet
stared at their joined hands as if it were something mysterious. Even so, she
did not shake and disentangle hers, simply following behind Cattleya like an
infant bird.

The duo
visited the food stalls from one end to another of the fair, buying enough to
be almost unable to carry everything in their arms and sharing it with each
other. They softly narrowed their eyes upon observing children run after the
flying fighters, harshly waved off men who carefreely called out to them for
being two unaccompanied women, and appreciated the commentaries from the army’s
press while applauding the several warplanes pa.s.sing by. They also had personal
experiences with playground equipment, such as merry-go-rounds and darts, at a
so-called emigrational amus.e.m.e.nt park, blending with the children. Although
Cattleya had primarily been on guard regarding Violet, whose personality she
had been unable to understand, she was able to think of ways to enjoy herself
with the latter due to her characteristic amicability and liveliness.

“Cattleya,
please wait. Cattleya.”

“Hey, this
is delicious. Really delicious. Okay, open your mouth.”

“I do not wish
to eat.”

“It’s a
mission, so open your mouth.”

“Are you
not just thinking I will go along with anything if you say it is a mission?”

“Aaahn.
Hey, it’s gonna fall. It will be your fault if it does.”

She was surprisingly weak to pressure, and
therefore, Cattleya probably thought she was cute as a girl younger than
herself whom she was taking along on her stroll. Acting as an older sister,
too, was something comfortable for Cattleya.

After playing for a while, the two of them
decided to take a break. Even though it was the ending of summer, exposure to
sunlight for a long time outside caused increased fatigue. They sat on a bench
at the general resting place, which was covered by a large tent that blocked
the Sun so the civilians could cool down. They were able to watch the flight
drills from there.

“Still not done?”

“We do not know the precise destination of
these letters. Moreover, they must be of encouragement. This calls the
abilities of an Auto-Memories Doll into question.”

Violet was writing for the Flying Letters. The
gathered messages would be handed over to the pilots and scattered by airplanes
from above the venue. Propeller-type light planes that would serve as the
letters’ deliverers had already begun collecting them. The people in charge became
the center of attention, women and children swarming over them all at once.
That was possibly because their fuselage of a strong yellow color shone
strikingly against the blue sky.

Having nothing to do as she had finished
writing her letter, Cattleya decided to prod her nose into Violet’s. The other
was gradually becoming better at writing mails.

Seeking responsiveness, Cattleya pouted. “Hey,
n.o.body will know who wrote it, so you can just say whatever you like.”


“This is no good. I will redo it.” Violet tucked
the letter she had just written into an envelope. She took out a new writing
paper, but looked unable to write a single character. “What did you write,
Cattleya?”

As she was apparently being asked for
instructions, Cattleya answered while puffing out her ample bosom even more,
“‘You are lucky for picking up my letter! Something good will definitely happen
to you. Even if it doesn’t, it’s not like you will die’.”

“Is this what you wrote?”

“Yeah.”

That seemed to be very much like Cattleya.
However, it appeared not to work as advice for Violet.

“What~? Do you not write letters outside of
work or something? Is it really that troubling?”

“I have long stopped writing personal letters.
I only write at work.”

Although it only happened for an instant,
Cattleya was taken by the slight change in Violet’s expression. She was already
someone with a disposition for getting close to others, but diminished the
distance between herself and Violet even more. “This topic looks interesting.
Why is that? Tell me.”

Violet moved away. Cattleya came closer. Violet
moved away again. In the end, the two of them wound up perfectly glued to each
other at a corner of the bench.

“Why should I?”

“Because it seems appealing. Why did you stop
writing? Shall I try guessing? The addressee was a man, right? And also someone
special. The kind of man you’re interested in the most, save for a parent or
sibling.”

“How did you know the gender?” Violet gazed
directly at Cattleya for the first time.

“Your clients and mine are different. My
customers are… mostly young women writing love letters. This is also the
so-called ‘maidens in love’. It’s people who want to know what they should do
to have a boy on the palm of their hand. Or guys who don’t understand women and
want to know what they should do to make a girl look their way. I’m often asked
for tips.”

“Is it not enough to simply poke her shoulder
and call her name?”

“It’s not in that sense.” Cattleya flicked Violet’s
forehead with her finger. “Hey, what kind of person was he? The one you like, I
mean.”

“That… is not the… case.”

“Then, do you hate him?”

“There… there is no way…”

Cattleya was unable to suppress a smile.

——What do I do? She’s
so fun to tease.

Violet Evergarden – a mysterious,
straight-laced and expressionless taciturn. A woman made of iron, who never
hesitated. She was crumbling at a single sentence from Cattleya.

“Then, isn’t there no option other than like? It’s
not… the normal kind, right? That’s not what your face is saying. Don’t
underestimate me. I make money out of including love consultations in my
amanuensis job.”

Violet opened and closed her mouth, eyes
darting to many directions, which showed she was at a loss.

——She’s like a doll
that has just been given a heart. How weird.

Cattleya knew nothing of Violet’s past, and
therefore merely treated her as what she was – a teenage girl.

“Hey. I said ‘hey’.”

She only wished to get along with her.

“Hey, what kind of person was he?”

She was alienated of the effects of her actions
on Violet. She believed what lay inside the box that she was attempting to open
was a gemstone.

“What do you call him?”

But what resided in Violet Evergarden’s
heart…

“‘Major’.”

…could not be compared…

“‘Major’. Isn’t that cool? So he’s a soldier.
You’re an ex-soldier, after all. How old is Major? What about his looks?”

…to a gemstone.

“I never asked. He was most likely about to
become thirty years old.”

“No way. He’s much older than you. So the age
difference between you is… about the same as with the President?”

Violet had not talked about that person for a
long time.

“His hair was dark, but of a different shade
than yours, Cattleya…”

She had described how he was as an individual
before, but had never dug too deeply. Although he was someone that both she and
Claudia Hodgins had in common, the two of them avoided touching the subject
around one another.

Violet averted her eyes from the paper that she
had not yet written anything in to the crowd. Soldiers wearing the purplish
black uniform that she also used to were part of it. Even though the war was
over, the skies had cleared and she no longer lived in the days when she did
not know how to write a single word, that mult.i.tude and the sound of military
shoes brought her back to the time that she had spent in a city of lanterns.

Forever and ever, the person she pursued was
only one.

“He had emerald green eyes…”

He was a tremendously beautiful being.

“He took me in, raised and used me.”

The two of them were a tool and her master.

“But, he is not here anymore.”

Although she was his tool, she had not managed
to protect him.

“Gilbert is dead.” Hodgins’s words replayed in Violet’s head over
and over, accompanied by a heaviness and agony similar to that of a curse.

“Did Major
go somewhere far away?”

“Yes. He
has gone far away. He has… not returned.”

“Are you
still waiting?”

“Yes.”

At
Cattleya’s questions, willingly or not, Violet wound up thinking…

“I am
waiting.”

…about
the answer to the words of that day, which she did not give, resisting it while
claiming she did not understand it.

“I have
been… repeatedly told to stop doing so. However, no matter what, I… I…”

“I love you.”

“I love you, Violet.”

“Are you… listening?”

“I… like you.”

“Violet, ‘love’… is…”

“‘To love’ is… thinking you want to protect
someone the most in the world.”

“…end
up… waiting for Major to come.” Her face was of someone enduring pain.

That was
the moment Violet showed her most humane expression out of the ones Cattleya
had witnessed. A small transformation had occurred within that awkward girl. It
was a quiet move, which people with abundant emotions would not consider a
manifestation of feelings.

——Aah.

A
realization dawned within Cattleya. They were not yet intimate. Not friends,
either. It was not as if she knew anything about Violet, but she felt as though
she had come to.

——He took most of the happy parts of her heart
with him. Is that why she doesn’t have so much emotion? Cattleya speculated.

“You…
have a crush on someone who isn’t here anymore.”

Unlike what
she had imagined, the bush that Cattleya had been p.r.i.c.king was actually the
entryway to a deep forest.

“‘Crush’?”

The young
woman wandering inside said forest was not even aware of how she had become
lost in it – she had a blindfold on and did not know how to take it off, left
alone to live through fumbling around. Cattleya thought of it as a pity. In
reality, that was not a conversation they should be having at such a place.

“What is…
a ‘crush’?”

That doll
whose heart had been taken away – her colleague who was younger than herself – did
not know what infatuation was.

“No, it’s
love already.”

“‘Lo-ve’…?”

The
maneuver area was more crammed than when the two of them had arrived. The crowd
was increasingly more frantic. Cattleya pointed at the people walking by. They
were all of differing genders and ages. Each led lives packed with hardships
that could not be seen through naked eye.

“There are
many types of it: fraternity, friendship, siblinghood, companionship. Yours is
romantic love.”

Harmonious
couples that served as examples of it were everywhere. The world overflowed
with romance in a natural manner.

Yet Violet
denied it. She shook her head, furrowing her brows and biting her lip. “I…
cannot… fall in love.” She obstinately negated.

“You did,
though.”

“No, I
cannot. I do not understand it.”

As seen
from the sides, they probably appeared to be having an argument. It was not a
fight, yet neither of them backed a single step. One claimed it was love. The
other claimed it was not. Both were running counter.

Though
steeped in irritation, Cattleya still refused to give in. “Even I… can’t say
for certain what something like that is. Love is uncertain, and I don’t get the
romantic one very well. But I can tell when it happens. People in love would
also be able to tell if they saw you. Your love is that type. Even if it’s
towards a person you’re unable to meet…”

Once the
words “a person you’re unable to meet” spilled from Cattleya’s mouth, Violet’s
blue eyes quivered in sorrow. Hearing them from someone else weighed much more
than saying them to herself. The expression she sometimes had on was one that
would cause anybody to admonish her with a, “See, you’re making a face like that,
so how come?”

“No, I
cannot. I really… cannot… Major has…” still, Violet rebuffed it. Her long
blond lashes were down. As Violet hung her head, her gaze went towards her
chest.

As always,
her emerald green brooch lay there. It sparkled brilliantly, never fading.

“Major
has…”

Even
through springs of dazzling moonbows, summers of early rains, autumns of raging
gold-leaf winds or winters of congealing frosty nights, just like the existence
of the man named Gilbert Bougainvillea that resided within Violet, it would
never fade.

“Major has
pa.s.sed away.” The words she whispered in that very instant were exceedingly
cruel.

The clock needle
between Cattleya and Violet stopped for once. That did not happen in actuality,
but the two of them did not make a single movement, as if time had truly come
to a halt. Their blinking and breathing was mowed by the world’s time axis for
a second.

Once time
finally started flowing again, Cattleya could only give a staggered reply, “E-Eh?”
Her voice squeaked.

“He is
dead. I was unable… to protect him… so Major… died. Even though I was his
tool, shield and sword.”

Cold sweat
slowly traveled down Cattleya’s back.

——Her heart was stolen… not by someone who’s
just not around, but that is dead?

“That’s a
joke, right?” Cattleya asked, but received no response from Violet. She failed
an attempt to force a smile, which came out as a half-laugh. Her face twitched.
At the indelicacy of the things that she had been saying until that point, her
breath caught in her throat and she could not properly swallow her saliva. “Violet,
did this person… die in the Great War?”

“Yes.”

“For real?”

“So I was
told. This brooch… remained with me as a relic.”

Ever since
Cattleya had first met her, that object had been twinkling on her chest. She
had witnessed Violet touching it every now and then with her artificial
fingertips countless times. She had always wondered if it was some sort of
protection charm.

There was a
lot more that she had wanted to say in a rapid succession, yet her att.i.tude was
unwittingly precautious. Something buzzed within her. “But, you… don’t…
believe that… right?” A thrill similar to an unpleasant presentiment crawled
its way through Cattleya’s entire body.

For Violet,
the response to that question could be a taboo.

“Hey,
answer seriously.”

As she
remained silent, her profile, which Cattleya used to only see as dispa.s.sionate,
was now reflected in the latter’s eyes as something solitary. “I…”

The
unpleasant disruption creeped through Cattleya’s entire being, and she wished
so badly to spit it out that she could not stand it. “You… don’t believe it,
right? You did say… that you were waiting for him.” She wanted to know the
answer.

“But,
President Hodgins has—”

“It’s fine;
tell me what you yourself think.”

“Yes…”
just as a criminal accepting a conviction, Violet confessed her sin, “I
believe… that Major… is alive.”

Just for
how long had she continuously thought about that? Perhaps she had been in such
state ever since being informed of his death. Even as she lamented in anguish,
even as she attempted to destroy the hope that kept her attached to reality,
she might still have denied it all, telling herself that he was alive.

“You… you…”

“What the
h.e.l.l are you doing?” was what Cattleya wanted to scream.

Romantically
yearning for someone who was far away and blindly loving someone who was
deceased were two different things. Just like with Violet and Cattleya,
physical distance could be overcome with effort. However, the dead could never
return.

“What
you’re saying… is the same as getting your arms back!”

Simply
spending her time unreasonably through doing something so fruitless, never
allowing anyone else to love her beautiful self and believing in the
subsistence of a dead person was a waste, and Cattleya wanted to lecture her
into stopping right away. There were subst.i.tutes both for her arms and for the
man of her affections.

“Do you
plan to live like this forever from now on? You, Violet…”

“I am
aware.” Violet said right away. “It is useless. There is no meaning to it.
There is no gain in it. But without Major, I am the same. I have no meaning.”

“Would it
be no good if it were someone else? Even if it’s hard now, he will definitely
become just a memory one day, so while there’s still time…”

“No… no.”
It was almost as though she were proclaiming war against everything that lived,
“Major Gilbert Bougainvillea is the only one for me.”

Cattleya
stiffened with her mouth agape. Perhaps because a popular unit had pa.s.sed by in
the sky above, cheers rose in their surroundings.

It was as
if she was there, yet not. That was the bizarre feeling that those strong blue
orbs brought about.

——What’s… with this girl? How can she manage
to make people this sad, as if cutting them open?

Her values
were differed too much from Cattleya’s. Feelings that had nowhere to go swirled
within her chest painfully.

“I
understand that this conduct of mine makes people uncomfortable.”

What did
she have to live through to develop so much stubbornness?

“Please do
ignore me. Please… leave me be.”

“You’re…
an idiot, right?”

Even if it
were criticized as futile and she were stigmatized as irrational for many
years, she would most likely continue to believe it. Even with someone telling
her “it’s no use; quit it”, she would merely cover her ears.

“Yes. I am
an idiot… and a fool.”

She only
desired one person.

Cattleya
slapped her own forehead with one hand and growled like a dog. Thinking too
much got her extremely heated-up, and her head started to hurt. She was
currently even more feverish than when coming up with sentences during
amanuensis activities.

——This is no good.

Violet had
always, always carried a wish.

——Even someone not so
smart like me can tell.

“I want to
see you, I want to see you”.

——This is like threatening to push down a child
crying by a cliff.

She had
been praying while firmly grasping her brooch.

——I can’t blame her.

Such idiocy
was Violet Evergarden herself.

Cattleya
said bitterly, as if vomiting a silver poison, “Got it. I got it. You’re… an
idiot, and… I think… it would be great if you stopped with this… I seriously
do, but I also think… there are things… that can’t… be helped.”

The shine
of those blue eyes changed. “Really? President Hodgins tells me to stop it.”

She hit
Violet’s shoulder with a plop. Cattleya actually wanted to side with Hodgins,
but she also wanted at least herself to be Violet’s ally. “That’s because love
is necessary for living. Isn’t love like a symbol of happy things? People get
married, and one of them dies at some point… but the other relies on the
memories they have of that person; something like that. It doesn’t have to be
romance… the love you receive never disappears… Parents also count. I…
ran away from home and was taken in by President Hodgins. There… were many
moments of loneliness for me since I had no acquaintances here. I had terrible
parents, but the times when they patted my head… those kinds of things… whenever
I was desolate, I would always end up remembering them…”

Violet, who
had not known about Cattleya’s circ.u.mstances, replied with a, “Is that so?”

The two of
them were now finally speaking face-to-face. Their conversation was one-sided
no more.

“So love…
is a… necessity?”

“It is.
What do you rely on to live? You’ve had times in your life until now in which
you were treated kindly, and things and words that you were happy to receive,
right? It’s because they are… acc.u.mulated inside of you… that you are
alive.”

“Bu…
t…” Violet said in pauses, “even if I had nothing, I… would have been
living.”

Cattleya
tilted her head to the side. She did not understand the meaning of those words.

“Even now,
I am alive. I cannot forget about Major. That is why… this is not love.”

Cattleya
did not know that Violet used to live alone in an isolated island. She
concluded on her own that Violet living even if she had nothing referred to the
period before she had met the major.

“Violet,
hey.”

“That… is
not my case. I am a tool, so for starters, things like that are…”

“Listen to
me. A ‘tool’… what are you saying? Is it… because you’re an ex-soldier? You
mean warriors are tools? Aren’t you… being rude to the people who protected
this country?”

“That is
not it. Ever since way before, I… was a tool, so if I do not… remain as
one…”

Perhaps due
to her not being able to express herself well, Cattleya strongly gripped Violet’s
automated fingers.

“I will be
of no requirement for Major.”

Once she
did so, they could not easily be untangled.

“I am not a
person. I am no good… if I am not a tool. If I do not stay as a tool… I
cannot fight properly. I would also lose the right of wishing to be by Major’s
side. For the sake of wishing to be beside Major, and for being someone’s tool,
things of that nature… must be inhibited.”

Cattleya’s
head, still tilted, continued leaning sideways more and more, until it seemed
like she would fall from the bench. “Wait, I wanna get this straight.” She
raised her palm a little, taking on a restrained position.

“All
right.” Violet obediently consented. She waited for Cattleya to sort
everything.

“Your Major
is dead.”

“Yes.”

“But you
like him and have always been waiting for him. You believe he’s alive.”

“I do
believe that he is living.”

“I think
that’s love. You’re in love too. But you say that’s not it… because you might
stop being useful for the deceased Major otherwise.”

“Yes.”

“You’re
forcing yourself into not knowing love… and wanting to be a tool. That’s
because it’s a way for you to be with him… I don’t get what you’re… saying.
You, Violet… I mean, there’s no reason for you to fight anymore, right? Major
died, and you’re not a soldier anymore.”

“Yes.”
Maybe because such reality was unfavorable for Violet, her answer came out low.

“You left
the army, and now, you’re working at our place, right? Do you understand that
your motive to deny it by saying that you don’t need love and that it’s not
love doesn’t exist anymore?”

“I… do…
understand.”

Violet fell
silent after that. She was pondering on what to say. Averting her orbs from
hers and Cattleya’s laced fingers, she lifted her face after looking down for a
while. As she was at last about to open her mouth, Violet suddenly widened her
eyes significantly. She had found something.

What was
reflected in her big, jewel-like blue irises was a tall man. The man
continuously appeared and disappeared within the crowd.

Her hand naturally
stretched out. “…jor.” Violet said something in an awfully reduced tone, lips
trembling.

The man had
l.u.s.trous black hair.

“Hey, I
won’t be able to get it if you stay quiet. Then why is it that you call
yourself a tool?” Tired of waiting for the other’s response, Cattleya cut the
stillness and called out to her.

As she did
so, Violet abruptly stood up.

Cattleya
was surprised at her serious profile. “S-Sorry. Did you get angry?” She asked
fearfully, and Violet replied with a “no”.

“In case…”
Violet took one, two steps away from the bench, acting as though her heart was
not there, drawn into the direction of the crowd.

“Violet?”

As her name
was called, Violet turned back towards Cattleya for once. “In case that person
is alive, this is for the sake of being able to function properly… if there
comes a time in which he would need me. Cattleya, I will excuse myself for a
little.” Her expression was no longer the one of just a short while before,
empty as a ghost.

“Eh,
wait…! Where are you going?!”

“I must go
after him. I will definitely make it back to the mission.”

“After
who!?”

Who was it
that she had to chase, even it meant leaving Cattleya behind?

Cattleya got
up in a haste as well. However, their belongings and letters ended up dropping
and rolling down at her feet.

“My…
former user.” After saying only that, Violet vanished into the ma.s.s of people.

Still
standing, Cattleya was dumbfounded. “Eh, Major?” It finally came to her who the
person was. “Violet, hey, wait.”

Nevertheless,
it was too late. She was already gone. Since she was calm and delicate, her
feet almost did not seem so fast, yet her agility was indeed that of a soldier.

“I’m all
alone, you know.” Cattleya grumbled, although her shock surpa.s.sed her solitude.
As she had no choice, she picked up the belongings that had fallen and
scattered – fountain pens, writing papers, envelopes, the letter she herself
had written.

And…

“Ah.” She
found one more letter lying on the ground. It was not her own.

That was
Violet’s unfinished message. She had put it in an envelope and left it on her
lap as it was. It was the one she had claimed to be unable to compose appropriately
and had stopped writing. Cattleya had not noticed it when Violet was writing,
but once she took it in her hands, she thought it was a very pretty item.

Since
Auto-Memories Dolls frequently used paper and envelopes for writing on people’s
behalf, those were often ma.s.s-produced by the companies they belonged to. Even
so, of course, they would prepare ones fitting for their clients to have at
hand, but what Violet had brought from home was obviously different in quality.
A bordering of silver roses as drawn on a white paper that felt good to the
touch. She had most likely bought with her own savings.

——Even though she had said she didn’t write
personal letters anymore…

People who
had the habit of writing letters would be able to tell that those were
treasured articles. They were selected in a way that the marvelousness of the
paper and envelope would already be enough to convey the respect of the sender
towards the addressee. They could not be guaranteed as decent just from being
expensive. But the ones that had been chosen emanated prominence just by
looking.

Cattleya
stared at the direction Violet had disappeared into. The figure of a girl
running with her golden hair swaying was not there anymore.

“This is
punishment for leaving me by myself.” With mean spirit and curiosity, Cattleya
decided to try reading what was inside.

Afterwards,
once Violet came back as stated, she would tease her about them. Since the
latter had said she was unable to write it properly, the contents were
unmistakably boring. It was with that in mind that Cattleya had skimmed through
the paper.

“Foolish
girl.”

The inside
was not what Cattleya expected. She soon finished reading, for it was only one
sheet. She slowly traced Violet’s handwriting with her fingertips.

——I wonder why. Why… did she have… to write
like this…

What was
written in there were private affairs completely unrelated to Cattleya. She had
only just become able to talk to the other on that day. There was a limit to
how much empathy she could feel.

——…with words that… seem to gouge people’s
hearts?

Nevertheless,
a coating of water gradually formed in her amethyst eyes. She could not bear to
imagine how Violet had felt during the conversation they had had on that very
day, or what sort of memories she had been living with.

The
contents of the letter were:

Are you well? Has anything changed? Where are
you right now? Do you not have any troubles?

Spring, summer, autumn and winter have pa.s.sed,
and repeat on forever, but only the season where you are here does not come.
Whenever I am waking up, falling asleep or feeling hazy, I find myself looking
for your figure. I do not dream often, so I feel as if I might forget your
appearance. Repeatedly, repeatedly, I replay memories of you in my head.

Are you really nowhere anymore? I have walked
so much around the whole world. I have been to many countries. You were not in
any of them. I have not found you. Still I search. Even after having been told
you had pa.s.sed away, still I search.

I am following my order. I am alive. I live,
live and live. What is there after life is over? Although I do not know, I merely
keep on living. Even so—

Violet
grasped the arm of the black-haired man. “Please wait.”

The man,
who had turned around, possessed the emerald green orbs so typical of the
Bougainvillea.