I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

Tundra opened his eyes and jumped up.

 

“No!”

 

The sound boomed as his cry contained a small amount of mana. Hickson hit the back of Tundra’s head!

 

“Why are you mad and screaming?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Awake, Tundra looked in the direction from which the words had been heard.

 

‘Then, are we friends now?’

 

With those words, Jeremy and Viola were holding hands. To be precise, it was a scene of shaking hands, but in Tundra’s eyes, it looked like they were holding hands. His mood was very bad.

 

Hickson asked.

 

“Are you in a bad mood?”

 

“What?”

 

“Prince Jeremy said he would like to be friends with the princess. And Viola accepted.”

 

Tundra didn’t like it. He instinctively felt it. The fact that Viola was burdened by Jeremy. So he hated Jeremy.

 

“Viola, can I borrow Tundra?”

 

“Why?”

 

“I have somewhere to take him.”

 

“Where?”

 

“I don’t know if I can tell you. Anyway, I thought of a way to make him more powerful.”

 

Tundra actually tried to refuse. He didn’t want to be separated from Viola for even a second. He thought it was a natural mindset as a companion dog.

 

‘But, can I become stronger?’

 

As he dueled with Jeremy, he felt it again.

 

‘I still have a long way to go.’

 

He was growing rapidly, but that alone was still far from enough. He thought that if he had won by a landslide, Viola would never have become friends with Jeremy.

 

“Tundra, do you want to go?”

 

No. He wanted to stay by her side. But he hid his secret, because he had to become stronger.

 

“I’m going.”

 

“Okay then. Go and then come back.”

 

This sight was odd to Jeremy. Viola, in Jeremy’s opinion, was someone who dominated and commanded.

 

‘They say he’s a dog…’

 

Even so, it seemed that she was sufficiently considerate of Tundra. She asked Tundra’s opinion first, and Tundra did what he wanted.

 

‘It’s just talk, but in fact, it’s like best friends.’

 

Viola casually said,

 

“Departure is at 9 am tomorrow. Will this be soon enough?”

 

“Ok, fine. I’ll be waiting for you in front of the Viscount’s front door.”

 

Seeing Jeremy replying in casual speech, Tundra growled low again.

 

* * *

 

That night, Tundra went to the lodging where Jeremy was staying.

 

Jeremy was resting in a shabby inn room that he had found, instead of the comfortable guest room provided by the Viscount.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.

 

“What kind of place is this?”

 

“An old and shabby place?”

 

Jeremy smiled brightly.

 

“Most people live in places like this. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

 

Tundra had lived in a much shabbier place than this. He lived in a shack made of logs in a mountain valley without any infrastructure. Security was bad and food was not plentiful.

 

He had forgotten. 

 

Life with Viola was so rich. Living in a duchy with everything, he forgot about the previous things.

 

“When you look down from a high place, you cannot empathize with so many people.”

 

“Anyone with power should have an eye level that matches that power.”

 

“Why are you suddenly preaching to me?”

 

“It’s because you want to be with Viola.”

 

Tundra was momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn’t understand what Jeremy was talking about. So he just listened in silence.

 

“Viola is the one who reigns. She was born with the fate of a ruler. And it’s also the position that suits her the most. Viola must act like that.”

 

Jeremy could read Viola’s greed. Viola was an ambitious woman, and she wanted to devour Bellato. She would surely one day become the absolute ruler over Bellato. The Viola that Jeremy had identified was like that.

 

“So you have to supplement for the things that Viola can’t do herself. The role of empathizing with and approaching the people from a low place and at a low eye level.”

 

“…”

 

“That’s the Viola I saw.”

 

She was a person of great ambition and dominance, but at the same time she was also a warm person. However, she was a person whose heart for the former was too big to take care of the heart for the latter.

 

“She is a warm person, but she’s also a person who shouldn’t be warm. She’ll wear a mask and hide her warmth from everyone. So you should play the warm role.”

 

“…Thanks for the advice.”

 

“So, why did you come to see me?”

 

“I came to warn you.”

 

“Warn? What warning?”

 

“What is your intention in approaching the princess like that?”

 

“What is my intention? I want to become friends.”

 

“Even at the cost of a loss?”

 

In Tundra’s eyes, Jeremy took a loss. He gave up his right to have priority on any treasure found in the ruins. It was difficult for Tundra to understand why he had made that choice.

 

“Can’t I take the loss?”

 

“…What?”

 

“I have a crush on Viola.”

 

It was more like a crush on an interesting person than an emotional crush. The feeling of seeing a strange, new, and interesting person.

 

“If it’s someone I have a crush on, can’t I lose just a bit?”

 

“If that’s your intention, then yes.”

 

However, Tundra did not fully trust Jeremy. Among the rumors about the accomplished Jeremy, there were many rumors of poor quality. Regardless of his behavior, there were rumors that he had toyed with numerous young ladies. It was an inevitable rumor following him because of his gorgeous appearance.

 

“If you make even the slightest mistake with the princess, I will slit your throat.”

 

“Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

 

Jeremy tilted his head. Rather than being in a bad mood, he looked genuinely curious.

 

“If you claim to be a faithful servant, be faithful to that role. You are too obsessed.”

 

“You seem to be misunderstanding my role.”

 

He had no intention of becoming a loyal servant.

 

“My dream is to be a companion dog, not a servant.”

 

“Is that true?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Jeremy read the sincerity in Tundra’s eyes. How could he take such nonsense so seriously? Jeremy laughed.

 

“Were you jealous when I talked to Viola and held her hand?”

 

“It wasn’t holding hands, but a handshake.”

 

“But it’s true that I physically touched her.”

 

Growl.

 

Tundra growled again. Jeremy felt that the sound was very strange.

 

“Hmm, you’re jealous anyway. That’s interesting, it’s a subject I’d like to study.”

 

Returning to the Viscount’s mansion, Tundra remained deep in thought. His head and heart were not in sync.

 

‘Jeremy seems like a nice guy.’

 

He could feel it. He had the special ability to smell the essence of mana. And if you could smell the essence of mana, you could roughly determine whether the person was evil or good. And Jeremy’s smell was good. There was no sense of malice at all.

 

‘So why do I hate him?’

 

Jeremy was obviously a nice guy… He seemed like he could be of great help to Viola as well. Thus, he guessed he would have to keep a good relationship with Jeremy.

 

‘I hate it.’

 

Why? Anyone who helps Viola should be liked by him.

 

‘I don’t know.’

 

Tundra got into bed for the first time in a while and fell into agony.

 

* * *

 

8:20 am.

 

After being treated to a grand farewell breakfast by the Viscount, Viola changed into a comfortable leather outfit.

 

“It’s sad.”

 

“What?”

 

“The princess in leather is nice, but actually her dresses are much cuter.”

 

Viola frowned slightly. In the original work, Zenon never mentioned ‘cuteness’. Of course, it was because ‘Bellato’ and ‘cute’ were words that couldn’t coexist.

 

‘I told you that your tests couldn’t be visible, is it like this?’

 

But she was unsure. Zenon looked so sincere.

 

‘No. Don’t be fooled.’

 

Viola in the original story was a genius. The character who doubts and tests that genius until the second half of the novel was Zenon. He was a reliable ally, but at the same time a person whom she must always be vigilant against.

 

“If you say the word ‘cute’ one more time, I’ll sew up your mouth.”

 

“All right.”

 

Zenon was sincerely saddened. What else could he mean when he said cute things were cute?

 

‘I guess she really hates being called cute.’

 

Didn’t she usually like it? Oh well. After all, Bellato was Bellato.

 

‘Shit. That’s too bad.’

 

Zenon had to hide his true feelings. He liked Viola so much, but continuing to express it was extremely disrespectful… Still, he let his imagination run wild.

 

‘Which dress should I buy you next? What dagger would go with that dress? Or maybe the great sword used by Princess Medea would suit her well. That would be very cute.’

 

He posted a report while hiding his true feelings.

 

“I posted a report to the duchy, and a reply came back.”

 

The content of the reply was brief. To sum it up, ‘Well done, good job’.

 

“There has never been a Bellato who could do these things at the age of 12. Although her accomplished feats of defeating monsters and subduing bandits were common, no one else had ever managed to infiltrate human and political relationships and win people’s hearts. Even the amazing First Princess.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

She was just running hard on her feet, wanting future characters to be on her side… It wasn’t about politics or complex human relationships. Here, the priority was just to make sure that the future great mage would not come after Bellato with a wand.

 

“What else?”

 

“It says that the princess’s exploration of the ruins is permitted. It was, of course, a formal reporting process.”

 

Bellato respected the freedom of its successor candidates. The Duke wouldn’t interfere if it was reported that she would go on an exploration of the ruins with Jeremy.

 

“But it is a bit odd.”

 

“What?”

 

“He told me to do a background investigation on Sir Jeremy.”

 

“A background investigation?”

 

Viola tilted her head.

 

‘Why?’

 

Was there a scene like that in the novel? She didn’t think there was.

 

“Yes. So I’m going to do some background research.”

 

“Does father have any reason to investigate Jeremy’s background?”

 

Was there anything she was missing? Was there something Jeremy was hiding? She tried to recall the contents of the novel around this setting, but she couldn’t remember anything in particular.

 

“Well.”

 

Now, it was just a guess, but it seemed to Zenon that it was the actions of a father for his daughter. Zenon guessed so, but he didn’t say it.

 

It was now 9 am.

 

Hickson and Tundra had left for somewhere and Zenon and Viola, heading for the main gate, were greeted by the Viscount and his wife.

 

“Princess Viola, long time no see.”

 

“It’s only been one day.”

 

“Then it’s been a while.”

 

Jeremy was wearing his mask like he did when they first met at the winter castle. He had become a completely different person from the original Jeremy. Zenon, who was walking behind Viola, moved silently. It was smooth and natural, like a ghost moving.

 

“By the way, Sir Jeremy.”

 

Zenon stood in front of Viola. He had become a barrier between Jeremy and Viola.

 

“I have something to tell you.”

 

Zenon said something absurd.

 

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Translator Note: