I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

Life was far from easy. If her old world was challenging, this world of “The Shadow of Bellato” was even more so.

 

“Viola!”

 

Without knocking, the person who entered the room was none other than Vicen. Vicen was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, with red patches here and there. It seemed like he had a meeting with Lady Isabella after the evening meal.

 

“What are you doing at this hour?”

 

“Didn’t I get hurt?”

 

Vicen’s face was filled with a mischievous smile as he spoke of being injured. He seemed to be expecting something.

 

“Look at this.”

 

Vicen lifted his shirt to show Viola his stomach, which was in bad condition. Burn marks that had been hidden by the shirt were now visible.

 

“It seems like the punishment from Lady Isabella has gotten harsher.”

 

Despite that, Vicen’s face was full of vitality.

 

“Hehe, I got scolded pretty badly.”

 

While laughing, he walked closer to Viola. In his right hand, there was a jar of ointment. Vicen looked at Viola with eyes that seemed filled with anticipation, staring at her for a long time.

 

Viola’s expression wrinkled slightly. 

 

“What?”

 

“I need you to apply it.”

 

“Apply what?”

 

“The ointment.”

 

Vicen extended his arm, offering the ointment. Upon closer inspection, there were also burn marks and wounds on his arm. Despite his incredible healing abilities that far surpassed those of normal humans, many scars remained.

 

“Apply it quickly.”

 

“Why does it seem like you’re enjoying this?”

 

“Do you really think I would?”

 

Vicen looked at Viola in an absurd manner, as if he found her question strange.

 

“Who enjoys getting scolded like this by Lady Isabella?”

 

Sigh.

 

Vicen let out an exasperated sigh. Whether this could be called an exasperated sigh was debatable.

 

Sigh.

 

Viola unintentionally sighed as well.

 

“Why are you sighing?”

 

‘Wouldn’t you sigh too if you were in my shoes?’

 

The feelings of a younger sibling watching their older brother come back all smiles after being scolded by their mother were complex and subtle.

 

‘I wonder if I’ve grown fond of him without realizing it.’

 

It seemed that the character Vicen had grown on her. Seeing him in this injured state was not particularly enjoyable for her.

 

She could easily deduce Vicen’s state of mind from his actions of asking for ointment with a mischievous smile.

 

‘It’s like he thinks applying ointment is the only way he can confirm intimacy.’

 

Vicen was quite different from other kids his age. He had no knowledge or experience of how to befriend people or engage in social interactions.

 

‘He might be a genius when it comes to figuring out how to kill people easily and efficiently, but everything else is like a blank canvas.’

 

“Are you not feeling good because your brother is hurt?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I have to apply ointment for you.”

 

“Is it because it’s troublesome?”

 

Honestly, it would be a lie to say it wasn’t troublesome. But more than that, Viola was very sleepy right now. However, Vicen’s innocent gaze made it a bit difficult to say this was troublesome.

 

“Well… I just don’t like seeing you in pain.”

 

Vicen smiled cheerfully.

 

“That’s a relief.”

 

“What else?”

 

“If you had said it was troublesome, I would’ve tried to kill you.”

 

Once again, Viola keenly felt that this world was really “The Shadow of Bellato.” How could someone say these things with such a bright and clean expression?

 

“Sit down.”

 

Viola sighed and started applying ointment to Vicen’s body.

 

“Alright, it’s done. If you get a good night’s sleep, you’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

 

Never mind his superhuman recovery abilities, now with top-grade magical ointment added to the mix, he would be completely fine by tomorrow.

 

“But I’m not sleepy.”

 

Viola slapped Vicen’s back.

 

Smack! 

 

The clear sound echoed.

 

“Why? Why are you hitting me?”

 

“You were dozing off while I was applying the ointment, weren’t you?”

 

“Me?”

 

Vicen’s expression remained innocent. It was a face that couldn’t hide the truth. Right now, he definitely had a sleepy expression. His eyes were half-closed, and his mouth was slightly open.

 

“Yeah, you kept dozing off. You were even snoring.”

 

“I snored?”

 

Vicen clapped his hands strongly.

 

“I don’t snore.”

 

His face turned bright red. Apparently, snoring was quite embarrassing and shameful for Vicen.

 

“Really, Vicen doesn’t snore.”

 

“Who are you telling this to?”

 

“To Viola.”

 

Viola sighed once again. Being with Vicen always made her feel like sighing. She placed her hand on Vicen’s head.

 

“It’s okay to go back to your room and sleep.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“We can meet tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

 

Han Arin, who had been a reader, knew why Vicen was insisting that he wasn’t sleepy. Vicen didn’t want to leave Viola right now. He seemed to think that he could only meet Viola when there was a suitable excuse, like applying medicine.

 

“Let’s just have tea occasionally. So, go back and sleep.”

 

“I don’t drink tea. Tea is something only girls drink.”

 

“But doesn’t your father enjoy jasmine tea?”

 

“W-Well…!”

 

This flustered Vicen and he hesitated for a moment before changing the subject.

 

“Oh, right. I have something very important to discuss.”

 

“What is it?”

 

‘Let’s sleep a little. I’m so tired, brother.’

 

Viola yawned loudly without even realizing it.

 

“Are you sleepy?”

 

Vicen raised an eyebrow.

 

“Should I tuck you in?”

 

“Is that the important thing you want to discuss?”

 

“Oh, no. It’s not that.”

 

Looking at Vicen, he had a habit of conversing according to his flow of consciousness. He was the type who found it difficult to have normal and conventional conversations.

 

“What’s the important thing?”

 

Vicen’s face turned bright red.

 

“Well, you see… the Forget-Me-Not Ball. I was wondering if you would allow me to be your escort there.”

 

***

 

Viola felt like she wanted to cry a little. The current time was around 1:15 AM.

 

‘I’m so sleepy.’

 

But she couldn’t sleep, even though she was tired. Two boys were having an unexpected standoff.

 

“Until a decision is made, I cannot go back.”

 

“The decision has already been made, Your Grace.”

 

Tundra and Vicen. They had already been facing off for over 30 minutes.

 

“Let’s fight outside Winter Castle.”

 

“I won’t hunt without Your Grace’s permission.”

 

“Am I your prey?”

 

“If Your Grace commands it, then yes.”

 

“What is there to think about?”

 

Vicen seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment. However, this was inside the Winter Castle and he couldn’t actually harm Tundra.

 

“I am stronger than you. So, it’s only right for me to be the escort.”

 

“In terms of strength, Master Zenon is stronger than you, Your Grace.”

 

“But he’s missing a finger right now. Do you realize how significant it is to have lost such crucial balance in a fully developed adult body? I should be counted as more ‘whole’.”

 

Vicen became quite proud.

 

Tundra responded calmly.

 

“If that’s the logic, shouldn’t Lady Medea escort Lady Viola?”

 

“Hmph! Medea is a woman. Escorts are supposed to be men.”

 

“That’s an outdated way of thinking. It’s been at least 20 years since the culture of male-only escorts disappeared.”

 

“Anyway!”

 

“Sir Vicen’s logic is flawed. According to Sir Vicen’s logic, the escort for the Lady should be the Duke.”

 

“My father doesn’t do escorting!”

 

Viola just gave up. She decided to let them fight it out themselves. She climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over herself.

 

“It’s noisy.”

 

She didn’t like the noise, but her desire for sleep was stronger. Viola had been feeling quite tired already due to the mental strain, so she immediately fell asleep. Time passed.

 

“Huh?”

 

She heard a noise different than usual in the morning.

 

“What?”

 

Viola slowly got up. She rubbed her eyes and checked the time on the magical clock hanging on the wall, 8:00 AM. It was the time when Zenon usually came to wake her up. Coincidentally, Zenon’s face appeared.

 

“Lady, have you woken up?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Zenon handed her a glass of water with mouthwash magically added, as usual. One thing that Viola had been truly satisfied with since coming to this world was this magical mouthwash. She didn’t need to brush her teeth; just gargling kept her mouth and teeth clean.

 

“I’ve prepared the warm water as usual.”

 

“Thank…”

 

She couldn’t finish her sentence. After gargling, her mind became clearer and she could hear voices coming from somewhere nearby.

 

“Sir Vicen, Lady Viola has chosen me.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

Zenon smiled and said, “To avoid disturbing the Princess, I asked them to argue in the bathroom.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

So, from 1:00 AM to 8:00 AM? For a full seven hours, they had been arguing about who should escort her?

 

“No violence occurred, right?”

 

“No. I told them that if such an incident occurred, neither of them would ever be allowed to be your escort.”

 

They responded to that kind of threat? Viola’s head started to ache for some reason.

 

“Let’s forget about it.”

 

For the time being, turning a blind eye to it seemed to be better for her mental health.

 

“Oh, by the way. Sir Vicen and Tundra are fighting over who should be your escort, and I plan to report the details to the Duke. Is that alright with you?”

 

“Do your job.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Zenon wrote a detailed report about how Vicen and Tundra had argued over the escort position and submitted it. Two weeks passed.

 

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Translator Note:

 

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