I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

I thought it was all a dream.

“It would be better to quickly understand how Winter Castle works. If you want to survive.”

“Since it is a child brought by the Duke, it will soon show a sharp and cruel appearance even if you do not tell it.”

It was a phrase I heard a lot. The handsome man who reminded me of that sharp blade was very similar to my favorite character, Bellato, whom I had imagined. And those lines were spoken by Heron Bellato during his first meeting with his adopted daughter, Viola.

‘It must be a dream, right?’

It was very natural and I thought it would be a dream since I always had a sense of regret while reading the novel, <The Shadow of Bellato>. In the novel, Viola Bellato’s goal was to dominate the Bellato duchy.

In the end, Viola rises to that position thanks to her natural talent and persevering effort. But Viola didn’t look happy to me. Viola as the ruler was successful, but Viola as a person was solitary and lonely.

Near the end of the novel, she murmured:

“I got the Bellato I longed for so much. But I have lost everything except Bellato.”

As a reader, that part was always disappointing. If it were me, I would have solved it a little differently. As I imagined it, it seemed that I had a dream like this.

So I decided to stay.

At this point, it must be the beginning of the prologue of <Bellato’s Shadow>. The first day when the owner of the Winter Castle, Heron Bellato, brings Viola, who had been abandoned in her slums. This point of the narration was the prologue of the novel.

There was only one reason why Heron Bellato brought Viola to the Winter Castle. Because he recognized Viola’s talent as ‘killer’ at a glance. Normally, the Duke would talk, and Viola, a seven-year-old who didn’t know anything, just stood still.

As a reader who loves this novel, this was also an easy part.

Originally, the first part of anything is important.

‘Isn’t it a dream anyway?’

I decided to do whatever I wanted to do.

“Are you my father now?”

Duke Heron, who was walking down the hallway, stopped at my voice. A man next to him also flinched. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be Carlton, the general butler of the duchy.

‘My father in dreams.’

Duke Heron replied in a dry voice.

“It will be so.”

The reason the Duke adopted me was because of my talent as a killer. It was because of the Duke’s judgment that, having such a talent, she could be a good stimulus to Bellato’s direct descendants. To put it simply, I originally came here as a card to be used and discarded. However, Viola was the main character in the novel, and with her heroine-like abilities, she overcomes everything and becomes the successor. In the process, they go through tremendous crises and trials.

⌠“Have I ever been in your family, even once?”

“You grew up to be a great Bellato. But you’re saying things that don’t fit in this family.”

“Yes. It doesn’t suit me.”⌡

However, Han Arin, the reader, knew. Viola actually wanted to hear that she was a family. 

Not the cruel heir, Viola Bellato. She wanted to be his daughter, Viola Bellato.

In the end, that wish didn’t come true, and Viola killed Heron and ascended the throne of Bellato. For reference, many readers cursed the author and got off at this part. There were many hidden back stories, but the readers who got off did not read the part.

Anyway, I asked the dream father, Heron, a question.

“I’ve heard a lot about Bellato.”

“How did you hear?”

“It’s a well known family name. They said it’s a reasonable and rational family, but why don’t you give me the right to choose my father? You have to let me make my own choices for it to be like Bellato.”

Carlton tried to stop me.

“Me, princess?”

Be polite. You are now the princess of Bellato. You have become a qualitatively different person from you in the slums. It seemed like he was trying to say something like that.

But I knew. Duke Heron would rather hear this provocative question from me. My favorite character was that kind of character!

“You seem to know a lot about Bellato.”

“Huh.”

I probably know better than Bellato itself.

“Tell me about the Bellato you know.”

I was able to answer like a person taking a test while memorizing the answer sheet.

“An ecosystem of weak meat where everything is proven by ability. A heartless family that even encourages slaughter between brothers. At the same time, the Northern Forest, the northern shield that protects mankind from ‘the place where it snows’. An iron-blooded Duke who values only rational choices and family interests.”

Good. I had to laugh lightly at this point.

Shit.

“You’re from such a thorough and rational family, so why are you asking me why you didn’t give me a choice and did what you want?”

“I get it.”

The duke asked me.

“Will you be my daughter?”

“Huh. Good.”

“The choice was quickly made.”

“Huh.”

“The reason is?”

“Because my father is handsome.”

There was a moment of silence. I continued without missing the timing.

“Do it right. It was my choice that we became father and daughter, not the your choice. The prospective father made a ‘proposition’ to me, and ‘I’ accepted the offer. Right?”

“Okay.”

“I think it will be fun.”

Heron Bellato’s gaze was felt. I could see that curiosity was hidden in those cold-looking eyes. By the way, when will I wake up from this dream? It seems like a not-so-bad dream. But I’ll wake up soon, anyway.

I asked again.

“Since I am now the uncle’s daughter, am I qualified to be the successor?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure you don’t regret bringing me. And I mean it.”

Not an adopted daughter as a sacrifice, not a tool as a stimulus.

“If possible, I want you to love me.”

How sad it was to read the novel. Viola eventually becomes the ruler, but leaves no one around. Because everyone was afraid of Viola, so there was no one who loved her.

“Are you going to do that?”

“…”

“I’ve always wanted to have a family. Be a real father, not just a father in words.”

The Viola Bellato in the prologue would have thought like that.

I thought I had become a saint.

To come into a novel you loved and change it… Wasn’t this really a fanfic dream! I was glad the dream lasted a long time. I glanced at the Duke.

Carlton, the general butler, stood there with an absurd expression on his face. It didn’t go well with his sloppy suit, and his face was full of small scars. The butler’s insides were clearly visible.

‘That adopted daughter will die soon.’

It was obvious he was thinking like this. But Duke Heron laughed.

“Funny.”

Duke Heron’s nickname was ‘Duke of a Thousand Kills’. He was given this name because he killed a whopping 1,000 people before becoming the head of Bellato.

In an instant, a terrifying energy poured out.

Oops!

I was unknowingly startled. Is this the life in the novel? My whole body was tingling. It felt like electricity was going through my body. My heart was pounding and cold sweat ran down my back. It was a bit strange when it came to this. Why is this so vivid? Why don’t I wake up?

“Try your best to survive. I will not kill you myself.”

It was ominous somehow. An unknown feeling of anxiety began to creep in. Why couldn’t I wake up from my dream?

* * *

Heron sat down at the desk in the study, lost in thought.

‘It’s fun.’

When I first discovered Viola, she had red eyes. In her hand was a piece of stained glass dripping with blood. In the distance, the slave trader who was trying to kidnap Viola lay with his neck clutch.

‘Seven years old. And that’s what a kid who hadn’t been trained at all did.’

It was like a child born with a ‘killing star’ that appeared several times in history books. I brought it because it was interesting. It was kind of a whim. It was like finding an interesting animal and locking it in a zoo where only I could see it through adoption…

The child was only seven years old but…

‘It’s such a thorough and reasonable family, so why are you asking me why you didn’t give me a choice and did what you want?’

The butler, Carlton, said.

“Duke, you seem to be in a good mood.”

“It was fun.”

“What do you mean?”

“The content of the words is that of an adult much older than a seven-year-old, and the manner of speaking is that of a child younger than that.”

The content of the words was not like a seven-year-old, and the pronunciation was not like a seven-year-old.

“Although she stated that she was seven years old, she is actually developed at about five years old. Perhaps it was because she was not eating properly and her growth was very slow. Or she is confused about her own age.”

“Did she look like a child who would confuse her age?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“The mind that thinks and the body that spits out words feel different.”

Heron correctly read Viola’s condition, no, Arin’s condition, but he didn’t think it was possessed by her.

“Are you saying it was unnatural?”

“Indeed.”

Carlton didn’t even have the possession in mind. He figured out the reason with a lot of common sense.

“She pretended to be confident, but in the end, it meant she was nervous. If so, it might be awkward.”

Carlton, who had been talking, realized only then.

‘Ah… !’

In such a state of tension, in such a state of fear, she said enough against Heron. It was said that the little girl had an enormous strong heart.

‘Strong mental strength to overcome fear. You looked good on that.’

In Carlton’s view, Viola had her first button fitted very well. The seven-year-old who was adopted by Bellato showed the best side she could show. The somewhat rude attitude could have been a problem, but it didn’t matter because the Duke didn’t mind.

But the Duke was thinking of another thing.

‘If you love me, you’ll die.’

No one in Bellato asked for affection like that. But Viola was different. She demanded to be loved shamelessly and confidently. The important thing was that she was confident and not servile. She was a character he had never seen before. And… she was small.

She was different from the Duke’s children. She didn’t look like the seven by any means. She was so thin that it would break if he put her in his hand and squeezed it.

The duke asked.

“Carlton. What are the chances of that child, you see, that she will survive in Bellato to adulthood?”

“I think it will be less than 40%.”

“Right.”

The Duke was lost in thought. He had an instinctive insight to read people’s sincerity.

In the novel, it was referred to as ‘the eye of truth’.

He read her with his eye of truth. Viola had a great liking for Heron himself. It was also true that she really wanted to be part of his family. She was the same Viola he saw but also a child that behaved as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.

Seriously, not acting. He didn’t understand.

‘Why do you like me?’

When did you see me? It wasn’t just a crush, she was even buried with a little longing and affection. Why?

He couldn’t figure out why.

A place where family’s affection was nowhere to be found. Heron Bellato, the ruler of Winter Castle, was very unfamiliar with having a good feeling for no reason.

“Attach Zenon as her butler.”, said Heron.

“…You mean Zenon?”

He’s too competent to be a butler. So before putting up with it he confirmed again.

“Do you mean as a regular butler, not a temporary butler?”

“That’s it.”

There, the Duke’s word was law.

“All right.”

Two days had passed since then.

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Translator Note:

Hello!! My, I really liked this story when I read the mangwa so… I asked Bree and… here we are!! Another story translated by the two of us. We hope you like it!!