[TIDK] 60 – Watch Materials

Scarlett walked a couple of steps from the river and picked up a rock. It was embedded with quartz or something. “Wow...”

As it twinkled in the sun, it was stunning. She remembered such rocks had always been piled up in her parents’ studio.

At the same time, she also remembered her father panning a small pestle, grinding the selected ones. An essential part of the Crimson watch was made from it. However, She wasn’t doing anything that important.

Scarlett looked at the rock and said, “After my parents died, all the watches made by the Crimson family were fake.”

Her head ached when her memory split again. She staggered into the river, and Viktor grabbed her in a hurry.

After a while, she found stability and raised her head

“I’m sorry. I’m a little dizzy all of a sudden.”

Scarlett spoke as he let her arm go and went into the river to take out more gravel.

Compared to the southern capital, the water was cold despite the warmer climate.

Scarlett put her hand into the river, took out the gravel, and began putting it in her bag. 

She thought she couldn’t take too much at once, but it would be almost impossible to come here again. The former thought won, and she decided to fill the bag to the brim.

When she tried to push her bag out of the water, she was shocked to see that she had collected them to the point the bag was about to break.

After several attempts to carry it out, she failed, and Viktor stopped her. 

“Let me,” he said.

“By what means? I’ll put it on a cart. I make wheels; it’s what I do every day.”

Scarlett looked around, found a tree and started cutting the branches with the tools she always carried.

Viktor stared at her as she nimbly made the wheels and fitted the wood pieces so the bag could be carried without glue.

However, the wheels did not roll easily on the dirt floor. Viktor, seeing Scarlett trying to transform something again, burst into laughter. His stiff expression broke.

“...why are you laughing?” Scarlett scoffed, and Viktor replied. “You’re like an acorn-gathering squirrel. 

“What makes you think that?” 

“Everything.”

Then Viktor grabbed Scarlett’s waist and put her on a horse. “It’s getting dark. We should go.”

“My bag...” 

“My men will do it.”

On cue, some soldiers appeared and packed the bags.

Scarlett asked, embarrassed, “...since when have they been watching?”

“Since you came out of the bedroom.” 

“Even when I was picking up gravel?”

“Were you uncomfortable? I understand it wasn’t noble.” Viktor glanced at Scarlett and replied.

“You speak as if you were noble at some point.” 

“I tried.”

“It’s not a matter of effort.”

Viktor held Scarlett in one arm. “I don’t understand you,” he said.

Scarlett peeked at Viktor when he said something uncharacteristic of him. He seemed to criticise himself, something very alien to the perfect human Viktor. 

♔♔♔

Despite going to bed early, she was unable to sleep well. 

At dawn the next day, Scarlett left the air base with Viktor. As they took the train to the capital, the sun rose and slowly set again. Scarlett asked on her way back as they faced each other.

“I wanted to ask you, Crimson’s watch tax audit, did you do it?” 

“Yes.”

Viktor answered as he turned the pages. He then put the book down, looked at Scarlett and said, “So, are the watches working?”

“Yes, only watches with version 5 parts made by my uncle.” 

“What are you going to do?”

“They should’ve recalled everything. It was defective.” 

“You’re doing something dangerous again,” 

Scarlett replied to Viktor’s words. “It’s serious, of course.”

 “It isn’t.”

“I’m the righteous daughter of the Crimson family. You want me to let the faulty watches be sold?”

“Leave it alone. It’s not a big deal. If you shut up, no one will know.”

Scarlett firmly replied, “How would no one know? My late parents are watching, and the people wearing the watches know.”

“You’re out of your mind.”, Viktor said inadvertently.

“So that’s why you sent me to the monastery.” 

“I didn’t send you as punishment; I didn’t know the conditions were like that!”

“A hundred days is a long time. You would have visited at least once if you cared even a little.”

“You betrayed me!”

As Viktor’s voice grew, he got up and left for the smoking room, arranged by the officers of the Rubied in the first-class train compartment.

Viktor had never raised his voice like that ever. Thinking of his temper, Scarlett asked in a relatively calm voice. “Are you still angry that I’m why you couldn’t return to the royal family? Even though I’ve been in the monastery for a hundred days?”

“Forgive me. It’s because I can’t forget.”

Scarlett pressed both hands to her chest. It felt suffocating, yet with a forced smile as she replied, “Perfect. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that hundredth day. When you didn’t come to visit, every day was terrible. I won’t forget it until I die, either.”

“...”

“Me too...”

Scarlett felt breathless and reached her arm out to the window frame to stabilise herself. 

Viktor held her hand and asked, concerned, “Scarlett?” 

“Oh...”

Fortunately, Scarlett soon came to her senses. She took a deep breath and raised her head to look around. However, her expression distorted with confusion.

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