Viola’s gaze turned toward the thin blade.
She was astonished, but she didn’t show it.
“The smell of blood!”
My heart was pounding.
“No, don’t jump to conclusions, my heart.”
Viola had to exert great effort to prevent the original Viola from bursting out.
As a result, she couldn’t pay much attention to Ilail’s side.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Is there a reason for me to be surprised?”
In truth, Viola didn’t know what she was saying right now.
She blurted out whatever came to her mind, as she was trying to hold onto her sanity.
Maintaining a poker face, she counted one elephant, two elephants.
“It’s a peaceful situation now, Viola.”
If she suddenly jumped out and harmed Ilail, everything would go awry.
Just stay quiet for now.
If there comes a time when you’re needed, I’ll call for you, please.
Viola’s wish seemed to be conveyed as her pounding heart gradually calmed down.
“Phew.
Finally, I could hear a voice.
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“I wanted to seek revenge on my wife.”
Ilail muttered with cold, lifeless eyes, staring at the sword dripping with blood.
By that point, even Viola started to feel a bit tense.
“What are you saying?”
You wanted to seek revenge?
So, you did seek revenge?
What’s with the blood on the sword?
“No way…”
It couldn’t be.
Ilail didn’t kill his adulterous wife.
He didn’t commit such a dreadful act.
“It can’t be true. According to the novel, it can’t happen like that.
According to the novel, it can’t happen.
Isn’t the author’s plot setting of great influence in this world?
It can’t be, but that blood dripping persistently caught my eye.
“Yeah, it can’t be.”
I took a deep breath unnoticed by anyone.
If it’s not someone else but the nobleman Ilail, it can’t be true.
“So, what kind of revenge did you desire?”
Viola smiled, concealing her trembling inner thoughts.
Externally, she appeared calm and composed.
“My revenge…”
“Was it your own death, serving as punishment for Lady Ilail?”
Ilail couldn’t utter a word for a moment.
It felt as if the young lady had read his mind thoroughly.
A creepy sensation, as if those beautiful eyes were scrutinizing his heart, overwhelmed him.
‘After losing a son, you must have understood.’
How painful it is to lose the person you love. That’s why you might have contemplated choosing your own death, Ilail.
It must have been complicated.
I loved my wife, but at the same time, I hated her. I wanted to forgive her, but I couldn’t. So, in the end, I went to fight a war to protect my honor and died heroically.
Viola, who had read the novel, felt a pang in her heart.
“Think carefully if you really wanted revenge, seriously.”
In response to those words, Ilail couldn’t say anything.
He thought about it seriously.
Did he really want revenge?
Was it because he hated his wife so much that he wanted to die?
“You seem very confused.”
The tip of the sword trembled.
Ilail himself seemed as if he didn’t know his own heart.
So, Viola just revealed it.
“It wasn’t revenge against your wife that you wanted, it was revenge against yourself.”
“Are you talking to me?”
“You blamed yourself because it was your fault, and that’s why your wife committed adultery.”
If I had loved my wife a little more.
If I had made my wife a little happier.
If I had made my wife happier.
Then, my wife wouldn’t have committed adultery.
Such thoughts occupied the depths of Ilail’s heart.
“Your love was not wrong. It wasn’t your fault.”
“…”
Suddenly, Ilail felt as if his heart sank.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Perhaps Se-ale didn’t even realize that those were the words she wanted to hear the most.
Viola’s words became a great comfort.
“The one who was at fault is Lady Ilail.”
It was Lady Ilail who was at fault.
She succumbed to the atmosphere and committed an act that should never be done as a spouse.
“However…”
“Nevertheless, you cannot punish your wife.”
Se-ale was that kind of character.
A character who loved his wife so much that he would die for her.
“You can’t drive her away either.”
Because…
“Because you love your wife too much.”
Ilail dropped the sword.
Blood dripped from the palm of his hand that had been holding the sword.
Seeing that the bleeding hadn’t stopped yet, it seemed like a fairly deep wound.
A few hours ago.
Ilail had shouted like this.
“I cannot forgive you!”
He knew it already, but hearing the confession directly, he couldn’t bear it.
He lost his sanity for a moment and slashed his own palm with the sword at his waist.
Lady Ilail screamed in horror, not knowing what to do.
That was Ilail’s revenge.
Harming his own body.
That was the maximum revenge a husband who still loved his wife could do.
“I told you everything just as you suspected.”
“Why did you do that? I would have preferred if I hadn’t heard anything from my wife’s mouth.”
“Because we need to face the truth in order to move forward.”
Viola picked up the fallen sword.
She held it with both hands and handed it back to Ilail.
“I know I can’t forgive you right away. I’ll need time.”
Betrayal must have been as great as the love we had.
I understand that feeling all too well.
“Don’t blame yourself. It was your wife’s fault. She confessed her wrongdoing to you, mustered the courage to apologize sincerely and ask for forgiveness.”
“Now the choice is yours. Whether to forgive or not to forgive.”
“I… “
I accepted the sword handed to me by Viola.
I met Viola’s gaze.
In the eyes of twelve-year-old Viola, there was a strong determination.
An unwavering will or perhaps a strong conviction.
Just looking into those eyes made me feel relieved.
“I will forgive.”
Viola’s words were right.
I couldn’t punish or drive away my wife because I loved her too much.
“I swear I won’t disclose this disgraceful incident to the outside world. Your honor, as Seael, will not be compromised. I swear it in the name of Bellatu.”
“In the name of Bellatu… Did you make the oath?”
“You caught on to my weakness.”
It was deliberately revealed, an agreement not to spread rumors.
Deeply moved by that promise, Seael felt touched.
I couldn’t understand why Viola was going to such lengths for me.
“What do you want? Why are you doing all this for me?”
“I hope you and your wife can walk the bright path.”
That’s right.
So that the child in her womb can grow up in a peaceful environment and become my security!
I concealed my true feelings.
“I don’t know if you heard, but the child of your wife has an exceptional talent for magic.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course, it’s not certain. It’s in the realm of scent and intuition.”
No, it’s certain.
It was mentioned in the novel.
It actually becomes a powerful enemy threatening Bellatu.
I swallowed that thought.
“I see. To my wife’s child…
You want to invest in them, even with uncertainty.”
Seael disliked and resented that child.
But at the same time, it was also his wife’s child.
I couldn’t love them, but I felt like I might end up loving them.
Complex, inexplicable emotions dominated my whole being.
“My name is Viola Bellatu.”
Viola stood up from the bed and looked down at Seael, who was half-kneeling.
Now she had to speak as Bellatu.
“I, Viola Bellatu, want to become the guardian of the child about to be born.”
***
Viola flopped onto the bed.
“I did it all!”
Everything I aimed for here has been achieved.
I prevented the war between Bellatu and Seal and eliminated the dreadful situation.
Now there won’t be the birth of Bengas, the dangerous enemy of Bellatu, and I even gained the position of Bengas’s guardian.
Moreover, Seal said this much.
“I will regard Lady Viola as my benefactor.
Thanks to Viola’s actions, my wife confessed her own sins.
“It will take some time, but we’ve found the right direction. We can move forward in the right direction.”
‘As long as the direction is right. Just having the right direction is enough.
So, it’s okay to go slowly.’
If we just keep the right direction, even if it’s a little slow, we will eventually reach the right path.
“It seems like I can maintain a close relationship with Se’al Jajakga. From Hikson to the Storm Fortress’s Jekal, and even Se’al Jajak on the same side. It felt like everything that could be accomplished here had been achieved.
Zennon made strawberry ade.
“It tastes good.”
“Hasn’t your skill improved these days?”
“It has.”
“I changed the paralyzing poison I used to use to a lethal poison, so the taste became smoother.”
Clink!
Biyola almost spat out the strawberry ade. The taste had subtly changed; it wasn’t paralyzing poison, but lethal poison that was added.
“I’ll increase the amount next time, Lady.”
Zennon smiled brightly. He looked very happy.
Then, he stared at Viola for a long time, as if observing her.
“Even though it’s a venom that can kill an elephant, Lady doesn’t seem bothered at all.”
A day passed.
Perhaps due to the lethal poison, Viola had a slight upset stomach.
“Phew! Even the great Viola has an upset stomach.”
Hikson chuckled as if it was amusing.
“An upset stomach!”
“Hiyogo, Hiyogo, stomach! Even the great Viola can have an upset stomach! You seem like a child when this happens.”
Zennon smiled brightly.
“Our Lady also gets upset stomachs.”
Hikson laughed for a long time and then went out somewhere and came back covered in dirt.
It was a strange herb that looked like a bellflower.
“This is an herb that neutralizes the Sambo poison you consumed. It will soothe your upset stomach.”
Zennon’s eyes widened.
“This is the root of the Onyeol grass, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s extremely hard to find and… “
“Never mind. I just happened to pick it up along the way.”
Viola also knew about the Onyeol grass. It was a plant that not only was rare but also, by extracting the heat from the person collecting it, could cause instantaneous death from severe hypothermia. That’s why Onyeol grass was also famous as a carnivorous plant. It was never an herb that you could pick up along the way.
“Now that I’ve eliminated all the toxicity, go ahead and eat it.”
Hikson gently placed the root of the Onyeol grass into Viola’s mouth.
Viola made a grimace.
“It tastes awful.”
“Good things for the body aren’t usually tasty.”
Hikson’s hand trembled slightly under Viola’s sharp eyesight. He seemed a little cold because of the heat he took away while collecting the Onyeol grass, although he pretended not to be affected.
“I’ll pretend not to know, right?”
It seemed embarrassing if she pretended to know.
“Next time, bring me something delicious.”
“Are you going to make a fuss even if I bring you something?”
Hikson grumbled casually but didn’t leave until he confirmed that Viola was feeling better.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“To apologize to the Viscount.”
It was Hikson, who had harassed Seal a lot in his childhood. He wanted to seek forgiveness for his foolish behavior.
He said it would be a long process.
“Apologize sincerely until the other person accepts it, even if you have to lower your pride.”
“I will.”
“Apology is not about making myself feel better. It’s about apologizing until the other person forgives you. Do you understand?”
“Ah, you old man
. I got it!”
Hikson waved his hand in a lazy manner and left. And that evening, an incident occurred that caused a commotion in the Viscount territory.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
Next chapter will be released on August, 10. To read chapters in advance support us on Patreon!!
