Violet Evergarden: Chapter 2

I.. remember.

That a young woman had come.

Sitting there, quietly, she would write letters.

I.. remember.

The figures of that person.. and of my kindly smiling mother.

That sight.. surely..

I would not forget even if I died.

Amanuensis is a profession that has existed since ancient times. It had once come to a point of decay due to the popularization of Auto-Memories Dolls, yet professions that have a long history are loved and protected by no short amount of people. The increase in number of amanuensis machine dolls was precisely what caused nostalgic hobbyists to claim that old-fashioned professions were better off keeping their charm.

The mother of Ann Magnolia was one of those people with fascinatingly old-fashioned taste. With her wavy dark hair, freckles and slender body, Ann’s mother was just like Ann herself in looks and had come from a wealthy household. She was raised as an elite woman, got married and, even after aging, something about her still resembled a “young lady”. The gentle smile she wore whenever letting out a high-pitched laughter was indescribable to whomever saw it. Looking back at how her mother was, even now, Ann thought she was like a little girl. She was vigorous in spite of being a clumsy person, and whenever she would enthusiastically assert, “I want to try this out!”, Ann would retort with, “My, my, again?”.

She was fond of boat rides and dog races, as well as oriental flower arrangements that could be found in quilt embroidery. She was a person who loved learning and had a hobbyist side to her, and if she went to the theaters, it was definitely to watch romance plays. She was keen on laces and ribbons, her dresses and one-pieces mostly similar to those of princesses from fairytales. She imposed them on her daughter too, as she fancied parent-children matching outfits. Ann had sometimes wondered what was up with her mother for wearing ribbons at her age, but never once said it aloud.

Ann treasured her mother more than anyone in the world – even more than her own existence. Although she was a young child, she had believed to be the only one that could protect her mother, who was not a strong person by any means. She loved her mother that blindly.

Around the time when her mother became ill and the date of her passing was approaching, Ann had her first meeting with Auto-Memories Dolls. Even though she had countless memories with her mother, the ones Ann recalled were always about the days they had welcomed a mysterious visitor.

“It” had showed up on a very blue day. The road was bathed with abundant sunrays of a beautiful spring. Next to it, the flowers that had started to bloom from within the thaw were swayed by the feeble wind, their tips shaking. From her home’s garden, Ann was observing the way “it” walked.

Ann’s mother had inherited the top left side of an old but stylish western-architecture building from her family. With its white walls and blue roof tiles, surrounded by huge birch trees, the place was like an illustration out of a children’s book. The residence was peripheral, having been built secluded and quite far from their prospering town. Even if one were to search in every direction, no neighboring houses could be found there. That was why, were there ever any guests coming, they would easily be sighted through the windows.

“What.. is that?”

Clad in a smock one-piece that had a large cyan-stripped ribbon collar, Ann looked a bit ordinary yet lovely. It almost seemed like her dark brown eyes would jump out of her head, given how they were wide open. Ann then peeled her pupils off “it”, which walked towards her direction under the sunlight, and, with her flowery enamel shoes, hurried out of the garden and back into her house. She passed the huge front entrance, climbed the spiral staircase filled with family portraits and burst open a door decorated with a lease made of pink roses.

“Mom!”

While her daughter sucked in ragged breaths, the mother reprehended, raising her body a little on her bed, “Ann, don’t I always tell you that you must knock before entering someone’s room? Also, you should ask for permission.”

Upon being lectured, Ann let out an annoyed “muh” in her head, but bowed deeply in apology regardless, her hands clasped together in front of her skirt’s hem. One might wonder if that action was what could be called her “young lady side”. Truth be told, Ann was just a small child. It had been no longer than seven years ever since she was born. Her limbs and face still appeared soft.

“Mom, excuse me.”

“Very well. Then, what is it? Did you find some odd bug outside again? Don’t show it to Mom, okay?”

“It’s not a bug! It’s a walking doll! Well, it actually was really big for a doll, and it looked like one of those bisque dolls from that photo collection you like, Mom.” With her limited vocabulary, Ann spoke as though having a coughing fit. Her mother clicked her tongue at that with a “tsk, tsk”.

“You mean a ‘young woman doll’, right?”

“Come on, Mom!”

“You’re a daughter of the Magnolia family, so your wording should be more graceful. Okay, one more time.”

Puffing her cheeks, Ann reluctantly fixed her manner of speech, “A young woman doll was walking!”

“My, is that so?”

“Only cars pass by our house all the time, right? If she’s on foot, it means she got off at the nearby railroad operation terminal. People who come from that terminal are bound to be our visitors, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I mean, there’s never anything happening around here! It must mean that woman will be coming to this place!” Ann added, “I.. have a feeling that this isn’t a good thing.”

“So we’re playing detective today, huh?” In contrast with the frantic Ann, the mother concluded leisurely.

“I’m not playing around! Hey, let’s close all doors and windows.. let’s make it so that this doll.. this young woman doll.. won’t come inside! It’s alright, I’ll protect Mom.”

The mother gave Ann, who determinedly snuffled through her nose, a strained smile. She probably thought that was just a child spouting nonsense. Even so, at the very least, she decided to go along with the game, getting up in a lethargic fashion. Her peach-colored negligee’s hem dragging along the floor, she stood next to the window. Under the natural light, the silhouette of her slim body could be seen under the fabric.

“My, isn’t that an Auto-Memories Doll? Come to think of it, she was supposed to arrive today!”

“What’s an ‘Auto-Memories Doll’..?”

“I’ll explain later, Ann. Help me get changed!”

A few minutes thereafter, the mother went to her daughter to ready her with the stylishness that was demanded from the Magnolia family. Ann did not change her clothes, but had a ribbon that matched the color of her smock one-piece placed on her head. Her mother, on the other hand, wore an ivory-colored dress with double-layered lace frills, as well as a light yellow shawl over her shoulders and rose-shaped earrings. She sprayed a perfume made of thirty different types of flowers in the air and spun around, wrapping the fragrance around her.

“Mom, are you excited?”

“Even more than if I were to meet a foreign prince.”

That was not a joke. The get-up her mother had chosen was the kind that she would only put on for big occasions. Watching her like that caused Ann to fidget. Such fidgeting was not out of delight.

——I don’t like this.. it would have been fine if there weren’t any guests coming..

Children normally look forward to visitors while feeling a bit nervous, but Ann was different. That was because, from the moment she had become aware of the things around her, Ann deducted that any visitors who were coming for her innocent mother would fool her to get to her money. Her mother was a carefree person and visits always made her happy, so she was quick to trust anyone. Ann loved her mother, but her poor monetary management abilities and scarce sense of danger were troublesome.

Not even a person who had the looks of a doll could be guaranteed to not be after the possession of their residence. But what Ann felt more wary of than that was how she could tell with just a glance that the woman’s appearance resonated with her mother’s taste. To Ann, it was nothing but unpleasant for her mother to be invested in anyone other than her.

Since her mother had said, “I want to hurry and meet her!” and not listened to Ann, the two of them had come outside to greet the guest – something they had not done in a long while. Ann assisted her mother, who was out of breath just from descending the stairs, as they walked out, into a world overflowing with sunlight.

The whiteness from the pale skin of her mother, who usually only moved around inside the mansion, stood out too much.

——Mom is.. somewhat smaller than she used to be.

Ann could not clearly see her mother’s face in the excess of brightness, but felt that her wrinkles had increased. She squeezed her chest tightly. No one could stop death from reaching out for a sickly hand.

Ann was a young child, but she was the Magnolia family’s sole successor after her mother. She had already been told by doctors that her mother’s life would be short. She had also been told to be prepared. God did not take easy even on seven-year-olds.

——If that’s the case, I want Mom all to myself until the very end.

If her time was running out, Ann wanted her to use it all for herself. Into the world of the girl who had such a mindset, a stranger intruded.

“Excuse me.” Something even more radiant emerged from the sun-bathed green road.

As soon as Ann saw “it”, her bad feeling was confirmed.

——Aah, here’s the one that will steal Mom from me.

Why did she have that thought? Upon looking at “it”, she could say that had been her intuition talking.

“It” was a bewitchingly beautiful doll. Golden hair shining as though she had been born out of moonlight. Blue orbs that glowed like gems. Bright rouge-colored lips so plump as to seem like they had been pressed hard. A Prussian blue jacket under a ribbon-tie snow white dress that bore a mismatched emerald brooch. Cocoa brown knitted boots that stepped steadily onto the ground. Placing the frilly, white and cyan-striped umbrella and bag that she held onto the grass, “it” displayed an etiquette much more elegant than Ann in front of the two.

“Pleased to meet you. I rush anywhere to provide any service a client might need. I’m the Auto-Memories Doll Violet Evergarden.”

Its voice, just as exquisite as its appearance, resounded in their ears. After overcoming her shock from being overwhelmed by its beauty, Ann looked at her mother, who was at ease next to her. Expression painted like a small girl that had just fallen in love, stars twinkled in her eyes out of amazement.

——And, as expected, that’s no good.

Ann thought of the beautiful guest as someone bound to steal her mother away from her.

Violet Evergarden was an Auto-Memories Doll who worked in the automated writing business. Ann questioned her mother as to why she had hired someone like that.

“I want to write letters to someone, but they’d take too long, so I wanted her to write in my stead.” Her mother had laughed. Indeed, she lately was relying on her maids even for bathing. Writing for an extended period would certainly be too hard for her.

“But, why that person..?”

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“She is, but..”

“She’s a celebrity in the industry. The fact that she’s so pretty and doll-like is one of the reasons of her fame, but she’s also said to do really a good job! Moreover, having a woman write letters for me while it’s just the two of us, and having to recite it to her out loud.. you don’t need to be a man for this to make you shudder!”

Her mother valued the beautiful, so Ann was convinced that was the main motive why the young woman had been the chosen one.

“If it’s just letters.. I could be the one to write them.”

At Ann’s statement, her mother laughed nervously. “Ann still can’t possibly write difficult words. Besides.. this are letters that I can’t have you write.” With that last sentence, it was clear who the one doing the writing would be.

——Surely, she intends to write for Dad, huh..

Ann’s father was, simply put, a family abandoner. He never stayed home, albeit not working that much, prospering in taking over the family’s main business. Apparently, her mother had married him out of love, but Ann did not believe that at all. Not once did he visit her mother after she had become sick, and when they thought he was going to come back after a while, he had actually only stopped by to take vases and paintings from the house and sell them, as he was a pitiful man who took refuge in gambling and alcohol.

It seemed he had been a family heir with a promising future in the past. But a few years after getting married, his side of the family had faced minor commercial issues and crumbled down, so the finances had become dependent of the Magnolias. And, from what she had heard, it appeared that the reason behind those minor commercial issues had been her father himself.

Ann swallowed down all the circumstances and despised her father. Even if he had fallen once due to business failure, should he not have continued to do his best? Not only did he not do so, he also turned a blind eye to her mother’s illness and necessities, and kept running away. That was why Ann’s expression would become distorted just by hearing the word “father” coming out of her mother’s mouth.

“Making this kind of face again.. it’s a waste of your cute features.”

The creasing between Ann’s eyebrows was stretched out by a massaging thumb. Her mother seemed to lament that she hated her father. It seemed her affection for him remained even while being treated so terribly.

“Don’t think severely of your father. Bad things don’t last. This is just what he wishes to do for the moment. He’s lived his whole life seriously. It’s true. Although our paths are slightly different, if we wait, he will properly return to us someday.”

Ann knew that such days would not come. Even if they did, she had no intention to warmly welcome them. If things turned out the way her unwittingly wavering mother said they would, the fact he did not come see his wife even as she had become terminally ill and repeatedly found herself hospitalized, was not an escapism from reality but an act of love.

He most likely knew that she did not have much time left.

——It’s fine without Dad around.

It was as if he was not there from the start. For Ann, her mother was the only one who classified in the word “family”. And those who saddened her mother were enemies to her, even if one of them was her own father. Anyone who would steal her time with her mother, too. And if that applied to the Auto-Memories Doll who had come as per her mother’s request, she would also be an enemy.

——Mom is mine.

Anything that could destroy hers and her mother’s world was marked by Ann as a foe.

The mother and Violet started the process of writing the letters while seated at a table on an antique white bench under an umbrella, which had been placed in the garden. Their contract period was of one week. It seemed the mother really did intend to make Violet write incredibly long letters.

Perhaps they were addressed at more than one person. Back when she was healthy, the mother used to often throw salon parties and invite many friends over to the mansion. However, she currently had no contact or involvement with those people anymore.

“So there’s no meaning in writing those..”

Ann did not come near the two, spying on their actions while hiding behind the curtains instead. She had been told to not disturb as her mother’s letters were being written.

“There’s need for privacy even between parents and children, right?”

That was a cruel demand for Ann, who was always glued to her mother.

“I wonder what they’re talking about. Who is she writing it to? I’m curious..” she squeezed her cheek against the window frame.

To get them tea and snacks was not up to Ann, but to the maids. Therefore, she could not put on a good girl fa?ade to eavesdrop on their internal affairs. All she could do was watch, just as she could not do anything about her mother’s disease.

“I wonder why life has to be like this..” Although she attempted to spew out an adult-like line, since she was a seven-year-old, it did not have effect.

As she kept observing them with a shabby expression, she was able to take notice of many things. The two worked very quietly, yet they occasionally seemed to either become quite solemn or be enjoying themselves a lot. In the fun moments, her mother would laugh loudly while smacking her hand with force. In the sad ones, she would wipe her tears on a handkerchief lent by Violet.

Her mother was a person of intense emotional vicissitudes. But even so, Ann thought, wasn’t she opening her heart too much to someone she had barely just met?

——Mom will be deceived again..

Ann learned the ruthlessness, indifference, betrayal and greed of people through her mother. She worried sick about the latter, who was too quick to trust anyone. She wished her mother would simply figure out how to be suspicious of others. Yet, perhaps her mother did intend to entrust that Auto-Memories Doll, Violet Evergarden, with whatever mystery was hidden within her heart.

During her stay, Violet was introduced in the household as a guest. At mealtime, the mother invited the young woman to join them but was refused. When Ann asked why, she coldly replied, “Because I wish to eat by myself, Young Mistress.”

Ann thought she was a strange one. Whenever her mother was hospitalized, no matter how warm were the meals prepared by the maids, they tasted of nothing. Food that she had to eat alone was just too irksome. That was what meals were about.

As she caught a maid off to deliver Violet’s dinner to her room, Ann claimed she would be the one to do it. To know the enemy, she first needed to interact with her.

The menu was soft bread, vegetable soup with chicken and colorful beans, fried potatoes and onions garnished with salt, garlic and pepper, roasted beef with sauce and pear sorbet as dessert. That was the usual in the Magnolia house. Though it could be considered rather luxurious, as Ann had grown up in a wealthy environment, it felt plain to her.

“There’s no helping it since Mom overlooked this. We need to increase the amount of meat for tomorrow. And no sorbets; it has to be a cake. In a way.. she’s a guest.”

To not forget about hospitality no matter what was the gift of good families.

As she reached an oak wood door – the one of the guest room –, she called, as her hands were occupied with a tray, “Heeey, it’s dinner time.”

Rustling sounds came from inside, and after a while, Violet opened the door and stuck her head out.

As she did so, Ann grumbled, “It’s heavy. Hurry and take it!”

“I’m terribly sorry, Young Mistress.” She immediately accepted the tray with an apology, but as her expression was too apathetic, in the eyes of a child, she looked eerie.

Ann peeked through the open door behind Violet, who placed the tray on a desk. The guest room was a beautifully decorated one that the maids cleaned regularly. She noticed the luggage on the bed. It was a trolley leather suitcase filled with customs clearance stickers from various countries. It was open, with a small pistol protruding from inside.

——Ah..

In the split moment she was lost in thought, Violet came back. Just like in a pantomime show, the two of them kept moving in perfect synchrony.

Finally, Violet lost her wit. “Young Mistress, is a gun something usual for you?”

“What’s up with that thing? Hey, is it a real one?”

As Ann asked with excitement, Violet answered, “Since self-defense is a necessity for women that travel alone.”

“What’s ‘self-defense’?”

“To protect oneself, Young Mistress.” As she narrowed her eyes slightly, Ann’s body trembled at the movement of her lips. Were she a little older, the girl would probably have recognized that reaction as a sign of fascination.

A woman capable of numbing people with words and gestures was nothing short of magical. Ann felt far more threatened by Violet’s charms rather than the fact that she was holding a gun.

“So you.. shoot that thing?” As she imitated the shape of a pistol with her hands, her arm was immediately straightened by Violet.

“Please enclose the sides more. If your hand is loose, you wouldn’t be able to withstand the recoil.”

“That isn’t the real deal.. it’s a finger.”

“Even so, it should be able to serve as practice for a time when you’d possibly need it.”

What was that automated doll saying to an infant?

“Don’t you know? Women aren’t supposed to use these kinds of things.”

“There’s no separating women from men when it comes to carrying guns.” As Violet replied without hesitation, Ann thought she was the coolest.

“Why do you have that with you?”

“The next place I’ve been called to is an area of conflict, so.. be at ease. I won’t use it here.”

“Obviously!”

At Ann’s sharp attitude, Violet lightly forced a question out of curiosity, “Is there no such arming in this mansion?”

“Normal homes don’t have that.”

Violet gave a puzzled look, “Then what do you do if a thief ever appears..?” Seeming truly doubtful, she tilted her head. Doing so, her doll-like features stood out even further.

“If someone like that shows up, everyone will know right away. This is the countryside, after all. It was the same when you came.”

“I see. The low crime rate in depopulate areas could be explained by this.” While nodding as if that had been a lesson, she looked like a child despite being an adult.

“You’re.. kinda.. weird.” Ann declared tensely, pointing her index fingers at Violet. Though she had merely said so out of spite, at that instant, the corners of Violet’s mouth lifted just a little for the first time.

“Young Mistress, shouldn’t you go to sleep? Staying up until late is prejudicial for women.”

Because of the unexpected smile, Ann was blown away to a certain degree and could say nothing else. Painted red, her cheeks denounced the truth behind her palpitations.

“I-I?will?sleep. You should sleep too, or else, Mom will scold you.”

“Yes.”

“If you stay up even later than this, monsters will come to tell you that you should go to sleep.”

“Good night, Young Mistress.”

Ann could not bear staying there or even standing on her feet anymore, leaving the place hurriedly. However, as she walked away, she found herself curious no matter what, glancing backwards the very next second. She could see Violet holding the gun behind the door that was still half-opened. Violet’s expressions were mostly deadpan, so it was hard to tell her mood changes. However, even the all too young Ann could understand what she had seemed to feel at that moment with just a look.

——Ah.. somewhat..

She was somewhat of a lone wolf. Incompatible with her current appearance, she held onto a brutal, fierce weapon. Ann could hardly imagine becoming attached to her, yet she was becoming familiar with the black gloves wrapped around Violet’s hands. As she gripped the gun with those same hands and pressed its edge against her forehead, she looked like a pilgrim uttering a prayer. Before turning around the hall’s corner, Ann’s ears were able to catch said prayer.

“Please give me an order.”?She said to no one.

Ann’s chest suddenly began to thump faster.

——My face is hot. It stings.

She did not understand very well why her heart beat so rapidly, but it was because she had caught a glimpse of a woman’s adult side from Violet.

——Strange. Even though I don’t like that person, I’m interested in her.

Interest was just a step behind of love. Ann did not yet know that, sometimes, feelings such as “like” and “dislike” could easily reverse.

Ann’s observation of Violet went on even after that. It seemed the progress of writing letters was doing well, as the bundle of envelopes increased. Violet would glance discreetly at her direction every now and then, making her wonder if the woman was aware of her peeking through the window. In those moments, Ann’s heart would throb. She ended up acquiring the habit of grabbing onto her chest, to the point her clothes became wrinkled in that spot.

The changes in her behavior continued.

“Hey. Hey. I said hey. Put a ribbon on my hair.”

“Understood.”

Although she was sad that her mother was being monopolized, she could not bring herself to feel angry.

“What’s with this bread, so hard that I can’t even bite it?”

“I believe it will soften if you dip it in the soup, is that not the case?”

During the breaks in-between the letters’ writing, Ann would inadvertently chase after and hang out with her.

“Violet. Violet.”

“Yes, Young Mistress?”

Before realizing, instead of being referred to with a demeaning “you”, she was being called by her name.

“Violet, read me books, dance with me and catch bugs with me outside!”

“Please state the priority order, Young Mistress.”

Violet was hard to stick with, but did not neglect her in any way.

——What a weird person. I kind of also become weird when I’m with her.

Regrettably enough, Ann became obsessed with Violet.

The peaceful times met a sudden end later on. Ann’s mother had become a little healthier a couple of days after Violet’s arrival, but her already poor physical condition gradually worsened. Perhaps it had been a mistake to expose herself to the wind outside. She had a fever, and the fuss over it came to the point of a doctor being called over to the mansion.

Even in such a state, she and Violet did not halt their work. The mother lay on her bed while Violet resumed typing the letters, sitting next to it. Not having consideration for her mother’s condition, Ann came into the room with an apprehensive posture.

“Why do you push yourself so hard to write these letters? The doctors say it’s useless..”

“If I don’t write it now, I might never be able to. It’s okay. See, it’s.. because my head is not doing so good that, when I was reciting, I ended up having this psychological fever. How unpleasant..”

As her mother smiled weakly, she could not return it. It was a smile that pierced Ann’s chest. The fun moments had disappeared as if they had been a lie, and the bitter reality had abruptly come back.

“Mom, stop it already.”

Although her mother had been fine ten seconds before, she could stop breathing in a matter of three minutes. The sorrow of living with someone like that wound up resurfacing.

“Please, don’t write this letter anymore.”

If doing so would give her fevers.. if doing so would shorten her life..

“Please, please..”

..even if it was something her mother wished for, Ann did not want her to do it.

“Just stop it!” Her accumulated anxiety and depression burst out at that instant. Even Ann herself was surprised by her voice, which had come out much louder than she had thought it would. Just that once, she spurted out the selfishness that she would normally not hammer onto anyone, “Mom, why don’t you ever listen to me? Do you prefer being with Violet than with me? Why do you not look at me?!”

It might have been better for her to have said it in a cute manner. She had accidentally let her distress show.

With a trembling tone, she ended up asking in an accusing way, “Am I.. not needed?”

All she had wanted was to be paid attention to.

Her mother shook her head with wide eyes at her words, “That’s not it. There’s no way that would be the case. What’s gotten into you, Ann?” She panicked in attempt of lifting the mood.

Ann evaded the hand that stretched out to pat her head. She did not want to be touched. “You don’t listen at all to anything I say.”

“It’s because I want to write these letters.”

“Are the letters more important than me?”

“There’s nothing more important than Ann.”

“Liar!”

“It’s not a lie.” Her mother’s voice was internal and full of grief.

However, Ann did not stop her arguments from coming. Her resentment from how things were not going the way she hoped bled out of her. “Liar! You’ve always been a liar! All the time.. all the time, it’s only lies! Mom, you haven’t recovered in the slightest! Even though you said you’d get better again!”

After having said the one thing that she knew she should have not, Ann immediately regretted it. Such was the kind that would normally be said in a fight devoid of love between parent and child. But that day was different. Her mother, red-faced from the fever, continued to smile silently.

“Mom-->>

next page