Heron sat on a chair at the center of a long table and spoke with an expressionless face.
“Surprisingly, my wife volunteered to dine with Viola.”
“That statement is wrong.”
Duchess Isabella smiled faintly.
“I didn’t ask to have a meal with Viola, I just wanted to have a private dinner with you, and Viola happened to be with us.”
“Right.”
Heron nodded his head once. His attitude was as if it didn’t matter whether it was like this or that.
“Please be a little more friendly to me in front of Viola. Even though our relationship is bound by a contract for each other’s benefit, to the outside world we are still a couple.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You won’t mind if I push Viola a little, right?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m glad that’s the case.”
Heron frowned slightly. He couldn’t figure out why his wife was asking this. Duchess Isabella was definitely the second-in-command of the dukedom, and she could admonish or stop anyone she wanted. Isabella was in charge of the internal affairs of the duchy and was an excellent colleague and companion to him, executing various major and minor tasks to near perfection. Even if it was Medea and not Viola, it meant she was in a position where she could fully admonish.
‘I know it well, and I’m sure your wife knows it well.’
Heron spoke in an emotionless tone.
“You’re asking questions that aren’t worth asking.”
“Have I ever asked a question that wasn’t worth asking?”
Duke Heron closed his eyes for a moment, thinking deeply.
“No.”
“And yet you decided my question was worthless?”
“I just hope this isn’t your first worthless question.”
“I will do it.”
Soon Viola arrived and Isabella spoke first.
“You’re late, Viola.”
“I remember the appointment time is 8 o’clock.”
Duchess Isabella looked at the magically engineered clock hanging on the wall. A master’s work that did not allow for an error of even 0.1 second. The clock showed exactly 7:58.
“Maybe it’s not that I was late, but that my mother was early?”
Viola walked lightly. She hid her trembling feelings and adopted a relaxed attitude.
‘Why is Isabella here?’
Isabella usually ate alone. Very occasionally she would eat with Vicen but that was when he needed discipline from her.
‘Isabella disciplines him by feeding him a specially prepared poison… Or is it that it’s needed to brainwash Vicen’s mind?’
Anyway, Isabella enjoyed eating alone. So much so that there were rumors she drank blood every night.
‘This probably doesn’t mean anything good for me.’
In a way, it could be said that Isabella was the most difficult person to deal with in the duchy. Isabella wanted her own son, the 2nd Prince, to carry on the succession. In her opinion, he was the only one who could succeed Bellato and so she ostracized the other siblings, raising her own biological son, Vicen, to be her personal monster.
‘Isabella is a character with absolute settings.’
Viola saw ways to somehow appease other characters and bring them to her side but not Isabella. She was a character that would be difficult to get on her side no matter what method she used. Isabella was a character who clearly differentiated between her allies and enemies from her first introduction and never changed her position.
‘You probably don’t intend to poison me directly now that I’m a White Bellato.’
Isabella was not the type of person to use such clumsy methods. She was competent and second in command of Bellato, plus it was certain that she wouldn’t pull any strange tricks in front of the Duke.
Viola was thinking as she looked into Isabella’s eyes.
‘You look like a poisonous snake hiding venom in its molars.’
The Viola of the original work was always wary when meeting Isabella as she instinctively felt reluctant and uncomfortable with Isabella.
“Of course, I apologize if you were offended that I arrived with only two minutes to spare. Next time, I can come a little faster.”
Heron spoke instead.
“Sit down.”
“Excuse me.”
Zeno pulled out a chair, and Viola naturally sat down in the chair while being attended to. The first dish served was button mushroom cream soup. Her mouth started watering when she saw the steaming soup, but the atmosphere was suffocating.
‘It’s just easier to eat alone.’
She didn’t know why they bothered to call her and create such an uncomfortable situation. Heron spoke after taking a couple spoonfuls of soup.
“I heard you were injured.”
“Yes. A little bit.”
Viola turned her eyes and looked towards Zenon, who was standing back as a good servant should.
‘You didn’t have to report that.’
Zenon was strangely stubborn and inflexible. Viola never told Heron about her injuries but Heron always knew. This meant Zenon submitted those reports on his own.
“The wounds don’t seem to be deep.”
“They aren’t. I sacrificed my body for a purpose.”
After only a few bites of her soup, Isabella put down her spoon and dabbed her lips with a napkin. There was elegance and composure in all of her actions.
“So, doesn’t the difference in skill between you and Zenon seem very clear?”
“If it were clear, I wouldn’t be here, right?”
“If Medea hadn’t arrived in time, you might not be here now.”
“Then it would have been my fault, mother. It was my choice therefore I would have paid for it with my life.”
Isabella nodded her head. There was a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
“That’s right. You understand Bellato well.”
Viola instantly understood the subtle nuance. Isabella was saying, ‘It’s good that, despite being adopted, you understand Bellato’.
The intention was obvious.
“Is it really necessary to point out that I am not a pureblood Bellato?”
“That wasn’t my intention, I’m sorry if it came across that way.”
Viola felt her stomach tighten. Isabella was still relaxed and smiling faintly. She was difficult to deal with because she was so mysterious. Isabella slowly shifted her gaze towards the Duke.
“Then what do you plan to do with the butler?”
Isabella’s intentions were clear. A butler who was faithfully fulfilling his role to Bellato had attacked and even injured her. Even though it may have been Viola’s intended test, that did not change the fact that Zenon had wounded her.
Viola wanted to cry.
‘I don’t even know whether the soup is going down my throat or up my nose.’
How could a meal with her family be this uncomfortable? Viola had always dreamed of having her own family, longing for a simple evening with her family. This kind of event was a no-brainer. It was a dinner she never wanted to share again. Meanwhile, Heron finished polishing off his own bowl of soup.
‘Did you eat everything, Dad?’
She didn’t know how he ate it, but the bowl was shiny clean. Perhaps he obtained such fine control by injecting mana into the spoon. Considering that he was able to control it with such precision meant that the Duke was in a very relaxed state right now. That was a bit disgusting. She felt like he was the only one eating comfortably.
‘It’s obnoxious, but…’
Meanwhile, he looked handsome and she felt proud when she saw him eating so well.
‘I guess I’m crazy.’
Was this an aftereffect of previous affection? No matter how much she thought about it, it was crazy. Even at this point, she felt good because her favorite character was eating well.
She opened her mouth to be the best girl.
“Zenon claims the responsibility as his own.”
“Yes.”
“So, have you decided on what you’re going to do?”
“I think Zenon was able to show me his disposition by serving me well.”
As the person who escorted Viola here was Zenon, he attended to her as usual and pulled out her chair.
The Duke did not comment on whether this was right or wrong.
“Right. Why do you, who are more like Bellato than anyone else, show such a soft side to Zenon?”
She felt like she knew what the ‘viper-like eyes’ mentioned in the novel were. The expression itself wasn’t fierce, but the force felt was fierce. It felt like every corner of her mind was being peeked at and spied on. If Isabella caught even the slightest weakness…
‘She will bite me mercilessly.’
Viola answered, “Can’t I show my soft side?”
“Those who are destined to become rulers must be cruel to those closest to them. It is a very sad reality. You must strictly follow the principles, starting with your relationships with the people closest to you. Otherwise, discipline will become lax and things will slowly rot starting around the ruler. That’s why the ruler is lonely. Just like my husband, your father.”
“That’s sad.”
“It’s sad, but it’s also something we have to deal with.”
In other words, it meant that Viola was not properly carrying out her duties.
“If you truly want to become Bellato,” Isabella pointed her finger at Zenon, “you must follow the principles by removing Zenon. If not, your one little mistake will become a fatal weakness that will haunt you in the future. No justifications can be made.”
Bellato was a family that valued principles more than any other family. It was naturally created that way so that they could protect humanity from the ‘blushing snow’ of the north. Yes, to deal with the powerful monsters of the north and to protect humanity from the land of monsters, Bellato had to stick to these principles more than anyone else.
‘Isabella… she will somehow find my weakness and attack it.’
Viola could not allow even the smallest crack in her defense to be visible. Anyway, she had given up on trying to persuade Isabella to join her side. Even if she was to receive a little bit of Isabella’s hate – which she seemed to already be receiving – she had to deal with the situation regardless.
“Isn’t the need for justification only for the weak?”
“Even the strong need a reason, Viola. You are still young and don’t know much about the world.”
Viola felt Isabella’s eyes sparkle. It seemed that she had just discovered a weakness. Viola was young, thus she was ignorant. Justification was not only necessary for the weak.
“The Duke has more power than anyone else, but he doesn’t act without justification.”
That was correct. The reason was important. No matter how strong Duke Heron was, he couldn’t fight against all of humanity.
Viola nodded her head.
“That’s right, I’m young. I’m a child who hasn’t even entered the social world yet.”
It was a bit surprising to Isabella. She never thought Viola would admit that she was young and thus lacking. Viola, as Isabella saw her, was someone worthy of being called the Iron-Blooded Princess as she was a child with stronger pride than anyone else. She had no idea that Viola would admit to something that surely hurt her pride. This was an uncharacteristic attitude for a twelve-year-old.
“So why can’t I talk like a twelve-year-old? If you have absolute strength, aren’t you at the age where you can say that you don’t need a reason?”
“I notice that your thinking is immature.”
“I think twelve is an age where it’s okay to be a little immature. I’m twelve years old.”
Heron’s fork stopped while he was enjoying the pasta with marinara sauce and buttered, golden-brown scallops. He put his fork down silently. He seemed curious about what Viola would say next.
“There are many hard, steel-like Bellatos in this duchy. Vicen, the brother just above me, is that kind of person.”
She deliberately brought attention to Vicen. Even though her methods were strange, Isabella cared deeply about Vicen.
“But I don’t think that only hardness will make Bellato complete. Five hard Bellatos already exist in the Winter Castle.”
Viola picked up a butter-roasted scallop with her fork. Watching Heron eat the delicious food by himself, she desperately wanted to enjoy it as well. A total of ten grilled scallops were served, and Heron had already eaten seven. There were only three left, and the sense of duty to secure at least one scallop dominated Viola’s twelve-year-old body.
“Maybe one person can complete Bellato in a different way.”
Yes. Now!
Mmm mmm mmm.
‘This is it!’
If she had to pick just one good thing about possessing this body, it would be that she could eat these delicious things. These beautiful foods helped Viola to survive in this harsh world filled with swords and magic.
‘Delicious!’
Viola experienced a taste of heaven. As she took a bite of the scallop, which was still warm thanks to the magic utensil, the unique clam flavor filled her mouth. It was crazy how there wasn’t a fishy taste at all. The texture was very soft yet chewy, so it felt like eating well-made cheese.
Viola said, pouting.
“So, I’m trying to complete Bellato in my own way.”
“I thought you were the Iron-Blooded Princess, but you turned out to be a dreamy princess.”
Rather, Isabella seemed relieved. She must have looked like a young girl drunk on dreams and talking nonsense. Actually, it wasn’t bad for her to look like that in Isabella’s eyes, but Isabella wasn’t the only one there.
‘Isabella is someone who has a very large influence on Heron. I have to do this in front of them both.’
“I’ll show you right here that that’s not the case.”
“…In this place? Your ambition is beautiful, but excessive pride is worse than nothing.”
‘That’s right. I know.’
But she also did this to survive. Viola smiled leisurely, hiding her true feelings.
“You will know whether it’s overconfidence or not when you watch.”
She turned her gaze to the Duke.
“If my father allows me, I will prove it here and now. How to complete Bellato in a non-hard way.”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 12.
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