I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

Duke Heron lay down on the bed. The bluish moonlight streamed in through the large window.

He turned his body sideways and his desk caught his eye. He saw a small picture frame on the desk. 

There was a picture of Rael captured through the magic camera. The Duke brooded over his memories with Rael.

‘I’m glad I’m your wife. Only I can own you.’

The Duke stared at Rael’s picture endlessly. But Viola’s image did not disappear from his mind.

‘That child.’

He felt it from before. She somehow resembled Rael a lot. He didn’t even feel lonely anymore, was she the child Rael sent him?

‘It can’t be.’

There was no connection between Rael and Viola. He just adopted her as a card to use and throw away. But there were some strange things.

‘Why do the nostalgic feelings drip from the potion?’

How did she read the nostalgic feelings from the potion? He wondered how a child who didn’t know Rael would figure out such things by just looking at the potion.

‘Longing for someone. A love greater than death and earnest longing.’

At this point, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Rael appeared in Viola’s dreams and taught her everything.

‘Rael.’

Tears welled up in the Duke’s eyes. She prayed tens of thousands of times to be by her side, but God didn’t listen to those prayers. The Duke rose from his seat. He opened the door to the secret vault. There was a flower ring preserved with the ultimate preservation magic.

‘Rael. You used to give me the corresponding flower as a gift.’

In a secret space where no one knows, Rael even wove a flower ring of sweet flowers for the Duke. Each time the Duke blushed.

‘Men don’t do things like this.’

‘You are not a man, but my husband.’

Because Rael’s eye smile was so pretty that day. He was happy that Rael was happy. So, he always wore that flower ring in front of Rael.

Every time Rael liked to clap her hands.

‘It suits you very well. You are pretty.’

It was a secret only for Heron and Rael that no one in the duchy knew. But when he looked at what Viola did, she looked just like Rael.

‘It suits you too well for something like that.’

“Dad is very handsome.”

‘You’re so pretty.’

Reason continued to reject the idea. But emotions kept making him think differently. Viola felt like a child Rael had sent for him.

‘A useless idea.’

Heron put the flower crown in a secret safe and looked at Rael’s picture once again. Somehow today it felt like Rael was laughing.

‘I miss you.’

Did he want to see Rael? Or did he want to see his bold adopted daughter? Even the Duke himself did not know.

* * *

Hera picked a strawberry with a fork! She picked it so hard, the juice splashed all around her!

“Are you insane?”

“Huh. I’m perfectly sane.”

“Why do you volunteer for the white Bellato?”

“I said I would do it before. Has your head gone bad?”

It was true. A year ago, Viola had warned Hera in advance that she would be a white Bellato. Naturally, Hera didn’t take her words seriously.

“I thought you meant to mock the white Bellatu.”

“My sister is the white Bellato.”

“…”

“You are my sister. But why am I mocking the white Bellatu?”

She saw Viola’s kind eyes. Seeing those kind eyes, Hera caught her breath!

“I get confused sometimes.”

“What?”

“You have such kind eyes in front of me.”

“It’s not just in front of my sister.”

“Then?”

“In front of both my sister and father.”

Only in front of two was she kind. Hera felt good about it, but she said it bluntly.

“Anyway, you’re Viola Bellatu. She is the adopted daughter of Bellato, who is more Bellato than any Bellato born here. The youngest Bellato who declared war on Bellato starting from the welcome dinner.”

Viola at the welcome dinner still remains like a legend of the ducal family. Perhaps she would also be heavily recorded in Bellato’s history books. As much as that, the appearance of Viola Bellato gave a great shock to the duchy.

“Yeah, I was.”

“But why? Why a white Bellato?”

Hera was so frustrated that she thought she was going to die. Never in history has a white Bellatu ever been dominant. No matter how good you were, a white Bellato was a second rate person.

Hera was someone who knew the limits of the white Bellato.

“Do you trust me, sister?”

“I believed in you until now!”

The Viola that Hera saw was an excellent resource. She dealt with the wild boars that plagued Maple Village in a harmonious way, bought a lot of land, and made a huge return on investment.

“I heard you recently subdued a group of bandits.”

“Yeah, what? I did?”

The exact inside story was a little different. She went with Hickson, now fully human, and Tundra, the southern part of the novel. Tundra, who made remarkable progress, killed seven bandits alone, and Hickson killed three. Viola just watched.

“I heard that the head of the bandit was an imperial knight?”

“It’s not a regular knight, I think it was an apprenticeship.”

“Anyway! Do you think it’s easy to subdue a bandit with more than 10 bandits at the age of 10?”

Why would a younger sibling with such abilities choose to be white Bellato instead of black Bellato? Why would she rot such a great talent!

“Sister, calm down.”

“Does it look real?”

“Anyway, I’ve decided to be a white Bellato.”

Her goal was not to become a family head, but to live a long and happy life. For that, white Bellato was perfect. It couldn’t be helped.

“I cannot understand your decision.”

“My sister didn’t understand me even three years ago.”

Even three years ago, Hera had criticized Viola.

‘Why did you buy that useless land?’

What the hell was the wind blowing?

“Three years later, how have you been?”

“That was just luck.”

“My sister is a businesswoman. Do you really think you are lucky?”

Viola’s eyes narrowed. Now, to a certain degree of control, she let out a part of her life. The first-class contributor who made the Iron-Blooded Princess possible now. The living body of the body born with flesh nature spread out to the surroundings. In fact, Viola can only reach this far, but the concentration of murder was thick.

“If you really think so, I might be disappointed in you.”

“…”

Hera shut her mouth for a moment. In fact, she knew Hera too. It wasn’t just luck. It was a gamble-like investment made with careful calculation.

Viola grinned again.

“It’s not that I don’t understand my sister’s upset. My sister likes me, and I like my sister. I know very well how you care for me.”

“It’s okay. I don’t need clumsy sweet words.”

“Wouldn’t that be awkwardly sweet?”

Viola bowed slightly in front of Hera.

Hera met her eyes as she sat in her wheelchair.

“I hate it when someone as resourceful as my sister is unknowingly ridiculed and subtly ignored for being a white Bellato.”

Hera met Viola’s eyes.

“What, what are you talking about?”

“I hate to see my great sister being looked down on because of her unfitness, in fact, if there is no white Bellato, there will be no black Bellato. I won’t be able to see that.”

“…So you also applied for the white Bellato?”

“Not necessarily, but I won’t say there isn’t a reason.”

“…”

Hera let out a deep sigh.

“It’s so absurd.”

She went over the hand of Viola, which was placed in her own right hand, and her left hand as well.

“I don’t feel bad.”

No Bellato had ever said this to Hera. Only Viola. Hera was sincerely moved.

‘A Bellato who can wear a thousand masks’ Zenon’s evaluation was like that, and Hera thought that way too.

That would also be true, because Viola, who was dealing with other people, was a completely different person. In fact, even now, three years later she didn’t know Viola Bellato’s sincerity.

Be it sincere or mask. Hera made a very common sense decision. She decided it was more likely that it was actually a mask.

‘I like what you said.’ thought Hera.

“My father must have thought of you as the lumber of the Black Bellatu.”

“I guess so.”

Hera took a deep breath and her eyes became serious.

“You know he couldn’t have given permission without thinking, right?”

“I know.”

Viola straightened her back.

“Perhaps he will give you a cruel test.”

* * *

For the past three years, Tundra has been learning swordsmanship under Hickson, that was a swordsman who used devastating swordsmanship based on brute strength. Under the influence of Hickson, Tundra also learned heavy swordsmanship that focused on brute strength. Tundra wielded a greatsword that reached a whopping 2m in length, and his skill was unmatched by his peers.

He always tried to not be a shy dog next to Viola Bellato. He had already read the half-white paper more than 30 times. Tundra kept the greatsword in the subspace and knocked.

“Master, did you call?”

Tundra strode towards Viola. Then he got down on one knee and bowed.

“I will be busy in the future. Did you hear?”

“I heard that you applied for the white Bellatu.”

Black Bellato. White Bellato. It didn’t matter anyway. No matter what she chose, Viola was his benefactor, the one who held out her hand when he was at his worst.

“What do you think will happen in the future?”

“I think the Duke will test the master.”

It’s not just a test, she would be given a bullying-level mission. In fact, the Duke wanted a black Bellato, not a white one.

‘Even if I die, I won’t play black Bellato!’

She had no intention of becoming a figurehead, nor did she want to be a real Killer-Princess. 

Viola thought this was the safest route.

Tundra, who got down on his one knee, said.

“Master.”

“What?”

“Can I look up?”

“No.”

For three years, Viola did not make eye contact with Tundra for more than five seconds. Because the Viola inside her body could pop out again. She didn’t want to lose her body.

“…yes.”

“I’ll stroke your hair instead.”

Instead of making eye contact with him, she stroked his hair. From Tundra’s point of view, it was unintentionally pushed.

Snug-

Tundra shrugged his shoulders slightly and his face turned a little red.

‘It’s good. I like this hand.’

He subdued the bandits for this touch. To keep the master’s hands from getting blood. A soft feeling bloomed in Tundra’s heart. Was this how a dog feels when it accepts its owner’s touch?

Another desire arose.

‘I want to see her eyes.’

He didn’t ask for much. He just wanted to see her eyes. Always, he peeked at Viola’s face from a distance.

‘You still won’t allow it…’

He hadn’t seen her properly in 3 years. He just peeked from afar. Sadly, his master never paid a proper glance, and that was a bit sad.

‘But I won’t be greedy.’

Someday, when the time comes she would look at him through those eyes.

‘After enough rapport, I’ll be able to ask for it confidently.’

After reading his half-white paper, she was not in a big hurry. If enough sympathy and trust were established, they would be able to act like other companion dogs. It’s just that the time hasn’t come yet.

Tundra came out of Viola’s room, but he ran into someone in the hallway.

‘The 3th prince, Kundo?’

Tundra knew the man’s face.

“What is the master doing here?”

The smell of blood was emanating from his body. Kundo’s eyes were strange and ominous.

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Translator Note:

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