The door of the Duke of Heron’s office opened.
Carlton, the butler, pulled out a thin sword.
Carlton is one of the few close aides who can draw a sword in front of Heron Bellato.
He opened the door and pointed at the man who came in.
“Sir Hickson. Be polite.”
How dare anyone in the duke’s residence open the door of the duke’s office without knocking?
Hickson grabbed the thin blade of the sword with his finger and pushed it away.
The Duke of Heron, who was sitting in a chair looking at the documents, opened his mouth.
“Leave it.”
Hickson smirked and approached Heron. Heron didn’t even look at Hickson.
“What is it?”
“You brought in a cute daughter.”
For a moment, Heron’s body flinched.
“Cute?”
It was strange to hear something “cute” through Hickson’s mouth.
Bellato and cuteness are more opposite words than oil and water.
It was supposed to be.
It shouldn’t be cute.
“Yes, she is very cute.”
“It wasn’t like Bellato.”
Hickson sat with his butt against Heron’s desk.
“Do you remember what my old dream was? A dream in which you laughed at me for being shabby.”
Heron continued to sign the papers with a quill pen.
He didn’t seem to pay much attention to Hickson’s words.
“I had lost that dream, and my world had collapsed.”
“So what?”
“And I became a drunkard.”
Hickson sat cross-legged.
“I know why you let me stay here in the annex.”
He pointed his finger at Carlton.
“That boring old man would have always advised me to leave.”
“Your serpentine wives must have been waiting for an opportunity to poison me, because I was a scoundrel who discredited Bellato.”
“You know it well.”
Heron signed another document.
Handed over the papers to Carlton.
Carlton, who received the document, bent down and left.
Now the only people left in the office were the Duke of Heron and Hickson.
“And yet, you left me in the annex.”
The Duke of Heron was an old friend.
I looked at Hickson.
I spoke frankly without hiding it.
“If you don’t recover, I put you by my side to kill you myself.”
“How long were you going to wait and see?”
“Five years.”
It’s been five years.
Hahaha! Hickson burst into laughter. As expected, Heron is Heron. It hasn’t changed.
“That, my friend Heron, respects me as a friend.”
“You must have come to your senses.”
“Yeah. It’s grand to say it’s a new dream, but I thought I could dream it, anyway.”
Heron’s eyebrows wriggled.
“Dream?”
Yes. Your daughter. Viola, registered only on paper, to be exact.”
“What do you want to say, Hickson?”
“The absolute rule that you and I set when we were kids. You know?”
Children under the age of ten are not killed at all.
It was a promise between Heron and Hickson.
It was Hickson who proposed this appointment.
Said, Hickson.
“Children deserve protection, are loved enough, and have the right and qualification to grow up.”
However?”
“You have accepted your daughter on paper, but I think I will accept your daughter with all my heart.”
“How is it? You’re not particularly interested in being a father. You just need an outstanding successor.”
“…”
“You don’t like it”
Heron looked at Hickson in silence.
He did not ask for details.
“Do as you please.”
Hickson rose from his seat.
“She held out her cute hand to me for help.”
“…”
“She asked me to stand next to her. She needs an adult she can rely on.”
“It’s not like Bellato.”
“That’s the way it is.”
Hickson grinned.
“But it wasn’t servile at all. I was surprised that the attitude was so Bellato, even though she asked me for help. It was a strange atmosphere.”
“… Strange?”
“How should I say it? I’m just saying it as it is. It’s very Bellato, and it’s strangely different from Bellato. A very charming little girl.”
“You say something similar to Zenon.”
It’s very Bellatoish, but it’s like an advanced Bellato-like feeling.
Hickson seemed to feel the same way.
“I want to be a fence so that the child can grow up a little more properly so that she can grow up in a prettier world.”
Heron nodded.
“Do as you please.”
He didn’t seem to care much.
It was as if you, the like, dared to do something about a child carrying Bellato’s surname.
“Here we go.”
Hickson came to visit.
There was a smile around Hickson’s mouth.
“Look at him!”
The Duke was different from usual.
“I think you adore the viola.’
I don’t think so, I guess so. He didn’t seem to admit it to himself yet.
That night.
Boom!
Heron Bellato’s seven quill pens were broken. No one could know why.
***
Two days before the welcome dinner.
The Duke of Heron suddenly invited Viola to dinner separately.
The reason was unknown.
Viola was very uncomfortable.
Dinner with my favorite has always been my dream, but I didn’t want this atmosphere.
There was silence.
I felt like I was sitting on a thorny cushion.
In front of me, there was a grilled duck mixed with delicious sweet potato soup and a special sauce, but I couldn’t eat it.
It’s been about ten minutes have passed.
It was not until ten minutes later that the Duke of Heron spoke.
“You’re good at wearing masks.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
I don’t know what you mean, but I pretended to be calm. Like a beast. Like Bellato.
“Did you ask Hickson to stay by your side?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ask him to hold your hand?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Viola had a hunch.
This was a test.
Bellato should not be servile to ask for help.
Bellato should be in a position to help, not a position to receive help.
I smiled deliberately.
“Do you think I can make it on my own if I use it well?”
The Duke of Heron looked at Viola.
Viola made eye contact without losing. Inside, she was very nervous.
Duke Heron’s eyes were like a black hole. If I looked still, I felt like I was going to be sucked in and my whole body was going to be torn apart.
‘It’s strange. Oddly enough, he behaves differently from my favorite.’
The Duke has no private meetings with succession candidates.
Is it because I know that each action can empower someone?
It puzzled me on the inside, but on the outside, I smiled meaningfully.
She said with an expression more like a villain than anyone else.
“An idealist who dreams. Isn’t it great to take advantage of it?”
She acted with all her might.
In order not to get a hold of the Duke of Heron.
“As expected.”
Pardon?
Viola was a little embarrassed. Heron seemed more satisfied than she thought.
“I heard you held out your dainty hand.”
“I did reach out my hand.”
Viola looked down at her hand.
Well.
It’s small, cute, and pretty, but doesn’t match the character set.
“Hickson took that hand, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Viola looked at Heron with a hue.
Aside from the heavy and brutal atmosphere, handsomeness flew around.
“Don’t give out your hand recklessly.”
“… What?
“If you snap, it could disappear.”
Viola gulped.
It is also a worldview that cannot be overlooked.
“Let’s eat.”
Clattering.
And there was no sound except the sound of the knife touching the glass bowl.
Viola carefully examined Heron’s countenance.
‘I can’t breathe!’
I couldn’t tell if the food was going to go through my nose or mouth.
The main menu was finished, and the frozen ripe persimmon was served as a dessert.
“It’s delicious!”
Viola’s eyes widened.
I’ve tried a lot of ripe persimmons in my home, but I’ve never tasted anything like this before.
The sweet thing melted in my mouth.
Honey and ripe persimmons are in exquisite harmony.
Sweet pudding seemed to melt in my mouth.
“You like sweets.”
“Yes, you’re a child.”
The Duke stared at the viola.
Viola has stifled again.
“Father.”
“Say it.”
“Can you stop staring at me while eating something delicious?”
With a little distance, Zenon’s body, which was municipal behind him, flinched.
“Princess?”
Who talks like that to the Duke of Heron?
Stop staring at me.
It must be unfamiliar to the Duke of Heron.
Fortunately, the Duke of Heron did not respond much.
He just asked back briefly.
“Why?”
“It’s rude to stare at someone when they eat.”
The Duke of Heron recalled Rael. Rael had also said this.
“Can you stop staring at me?”’
‘It’s rude to stare like that.’
Rael was the only one who spoke to Heron in this way.
At that time, Heron replied.
‘I’m your husband.’
Heron had a faint smile at the time, but now he was expressionless. Said without expression.
“I am your father.”
He looked around.
“All the pleasant environment and delicious food you enjoy now came from me. The egg tart you coveted so much and the cold persimmon now are also given to me. If that’s the case, I think it’s okay to commit a little rudeness like that.”
“You didn’t bring me here because I wanted me to. What if you bring me here because you want me to, and you take credit for it?”
Is it a coincidence?
Viola’s attitude was similar to Rael’s.
Not a word of it, but the words were all right.
‘You said you got married to me because you loved me.’
‘I love you too, but what if you ask me to marry you first, and then you take credit for it?’
The Duke of Heron lifted his fork.
For a moment, Viola was a little surprised.
Looking at the atmosphere and attitude, I was worried that he might poke her eyes with that fork.
I poked the persimmon with a fork.
“It’s not a good thing to hear, but it’s not wrong.
By the way.
The adopted daughter, who was licking her lips while looking at him, caught his eye.
The eyes seemed to be asking.
‘Dad, is that delicious?’
“Didn’t you say it’s rude to stare at you when you’re eating?”
“I’m a daughter.”
He returned what Heron had said exactly the same.
“My father was the first to make a mistake.”
It’s Bellato’s way.
Return what you receive.
Whether it is a grudging grace.
Even if the opponent was Duke Heron, it was a principle to be observed.
It was very Bellato-like.
I could feel Viola’s gaze.
He was staring at himself.
If you don’t look away, he’ll find out you’re scared.
Let’s just stare at each other!
Yeah, let’s just appreciate his handsomeness.
That would be less scary. As expected, he’s handsome.
Well, well.
Viola did not shy away from the gaze.
I was less scared because I savored his handsomeness.
Handsome. Handsome.
Heron also made eye contact with Viola.
Those extremely Bellato-like eyes looked strangely a little pretty.
Coincidentally, Hickson’s words stuck in my head.
‘You brought in a cute daughter.’
That’s cute.
I could feel the gaze continuously.
I could see the staring eyes.
I couldn’t understand why those eyes were so likable.
‘You have a cute daughter.”
Woodduck.
The fork then Duke was holding bent like a taffy.
Are those round eyes cute?
No, it couldn’t have been.
Never,
That’s just a child born with the virtues of a ruler, changing masks freely.
The Duke asked with a sharp look.
“Are you claiming self-defense?”
When Viola continued to answer, Heron encountered an unexpected situation.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
Next chapter will be released tomorrow. To read chapters in advance support us on Patreon!!
