Plot summary
Violet is a soldier in the Leidenschaftlich Army who served under Major Gilbert Bougainvillea, whom she was utterly devoted to. However, Violet is injured after a mission which resulted in the loss of her arms, requiring them to be replaced with prostheses. Colonel Hodgins, an old acquaintance of Gilbert, arrives to pick up Violet. He explains to Violet that the war they were fighting has ended and peace has come, though he is unwilling to tell Violet what happened to Gilbert. They leave for the capital city of Leiden, where Gilbert had already arranged for Violet to be adopted by the Evergarden family.
However, Violet cannot adjust to civilian life due to her military indoctrination. Hodgins later decides to show Violet his business, the CH postal company which acts as a private mail and ghostwriting service and hires her as a postal worker. She then witnesses the Auto Memory Dolls of the ghostwriting department writing a letter for an illiterate man who wants to proclaim his love to someone. Violet then remembers that "I love you" were the last words Gilbert had told her. Wanting to know the meaning of the words, Violet asks Hodgins for her to join the ghostwriting department. Impressed that Violet has finally shown signs of acting on her own free will instead of on someone else's orders, Hodgins accepts Violet's request despite her not being an Auto Memory Doll.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Violet Evergarden. Exact episode number and English title matched to the catalog; illustrations and reference markers removed.