I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

About a year ago, Carlo had found the ‘Abandoned Dwarven Mine’ located in the northern part of the continent. This discovery came about from various sightings of a very special mineral called ‘Linda’ there. Linda was a rare mineral that could only be obtained once every thousand years and was said to emit a gleaming black light. 

 

Carlo was determined to obtain Linda. In front of the mine’s entrance, he felt a sinister atmosphere emanating from the cave-like opening.

 

‘I have come this far; I can’t turn back now.’

 

Overcoming his fear, he ventured into the mine. He lost track of time as he delved deeper and deeper into the mine where he became entranced by the song of the ‘Musinia’ flower.

 

Musinia was a carnivorous flower that enticed people with its song and then devoured them. When he finally came to his senses, it was already too late. At that moment, the people who came to his rescue were Hera and Hera’s butler. Hera’s butler split the Musinia flower in half.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Hera, sitting in her wheelchair, looked at Carlo, who was in a daze, and said, “An adventurer who came here without any escorts?”

 

Carlo, who had just regained his senses, trembled uncontrollably. “W-where is this, exactly?”

 

“The depths of the abandoned mine. Are you Mr. Carlo, Chief Designer of the Louis Bartengan family?”

 

Hera cautioned him, “It would be better for you to leave. The fourth lady of Bellato did not come here to obtain any ore.”

 

“No, I can’t. I must find Linda.”

 

“In that case, do as you wish.”

 

Wherever Musinia was found, there would always be a superior demon, known as Vihass, but as there was no need to mention such things, she swallowed her words.

 

And then, seven days later, Carlo encountered Vihass. 

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

Vihass was a higher demon known as the faceless messenger.

 

In his panicked flight, he once again met Hera in a narrow tunnel.

 

“Please, s-s-save me.”

 

“My mission was only to confirm the presence of Vihass and return.”

 

Because stronger warriors from the main residence would be sent as part of a demon extermination force.

 

“I have no reason to fight Vihass. It’s too dangerous. I’ve confirmed the presence of Vihass, so I can leave now.”

 

“P-please, save me!”

 

“The choice was yours.”

 

Hera tried to turn back.

 

Carlo, the Chief Designer, might die here, but it didn’t matter much to Hera. After all, she couldn’t fight Vihass and her butler couldn’t handle Vihass alone.

 

“Let’s go back.”

 

However, Hera’s butler didn’t follow her orders.

 

“Carlo, the designer. You’ll have to repay this favor with your life.”

 

The butler knew her limits very well. She knew that she couldn’t help Hera to the end with her own abilities. She also knew that there was a potential successor who could follow in her footsteps.

 

“Choose The Sword Demon as your successor. I’ll disappear now.”

 

She believed she was Hera’s only imperfection.

 

‘If Lady Viola had been my owner, she would have discarded me long ago. But Lady Hera didn’t do that. As such, I swore my loyalty to Lady Hera.’

 

In the end, the butler succeeded in subduing Vihass and guided Hera and Carlo out of the mine.

 

“It was an honor to carry out Lady Hera’s orders to the end.”

 

She staged it as if Hera had ordered Carlo’s rescue. After completing the mission the butler closed her eyes and died in that place. Hera didn’t cry. She slid off her wheelchair and crawled forward, digging into the ground with her hands. It started to rain and raindrops trickled down Hera’s face.

 

“Help me, Carlo. Honestly, I want to rip you to pieces right now.”

 

Blood gathered under her fingernails as she dug into the ground.

 

Hera took off her coat and placed it on the butler’s grave.

 

“Foolish.”

 

Hera never wanted the death of her butler. Even though her abilities might have been slightly inferior to other butlers, she was one of the two friends Hera had in the world.

 

Carlo, who stayed by the grave for a long time, said with great difficulty, “I didn’t know my ambition would lead to someone’s death. I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t insult my butler. She chose to die on her own.”

 

Carlo nodded his head. In any case, he had been saved.

 

“I don’t know if it will be a repayment, but I will think of Lady Hera as my benefactor for the rest of my life.”

 

That was Carlo and Hera’s first meeting. 

 

***

 

Carlo wanted nothing more than to hit Serphon hard on the back of the head.

 

‘That idiot! What a stupid mistake he made!’

 

He had known Hera for several years and knew she was a fearsome Lady. Carlo was one of the few people among the noble families belonging to Parr Viscounty who knew the true terror of Bellato.

 

‘The fate of those who insult Lady Hera is dreadful. They were either found as chilling corpses or their businesses and families were destroyed.’

 

As a clear example, the fall of the Paradia family a year ago was the most prominent.

 

“Serphon, may I be so bold as to receive these guests from now on?”

 

“…Sure. Besides, the fourth floor is the responsibility of the Chief Designer anyway.”

 

Serphon got up from his seat, sweating coldly. Even Viola was sweating for no apparent reason. After Serphon left and all the servants vacated the area, Carlo prostrated himself before Hera.

 

“Lady Hera, I apologize. I’ve committed a grave sin. Please forgive me.”

 

A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment. Viola was also intimidated by Hera. Her quiet presence had a way of intensifying the already tense atmosphere.

 

“Even though that bastard is nothing but a troublemaker, he is from the Louis Bartengan family. I will repay this debt in my lifetime. Can’t you forgive him?”

 

It was only then that Hera chuckled.

 

“My little sister is going to make her debut in society.”

 

“If you tell me what you want, I’ll do my best to help. I’ll even welcome her into my workshop.”

 

***

 

As they passed through the magic circle, a vast space opened up before them. It had a much different atmosphere from the lower floors of Louis Bartengan’s main headquarters.

 

“I thought there would be luxury items here.”

 

Although it was spacious, it had the feel of an old workshop. Several old tables were visible, and various unidentifiable tools were scattered around.

 

It seemed like this was Carlo’s workshop.

 

Beyond the workshop, they entered a clean area. Overall, it was decorated in white and resembled a neatly arranged showroom, although it lacked the extravagant ambiance of the lower floors.

 

“Shall I make tea for you?”

 

They had a brief teatime. Hera sipped warm tea and began to speak.

 

“But Chief Designer Carlo, I have an invitation from you so why did we receive guidance from Lord Serphon?”

 

Viola, who had been sipping strawberry lemonade, twitched. In truth, Viola was curious as well. Why did they need Serphon to accompany them? While Serphon was the son of Louis Bartengan, Carlo’s fame and honor as the Chief Designer had no rival.

 

Hera looked directly into Viola’s eyes.

 

‘Wha… Why are you looking at me?’

 

Viola understood that Hera wanted her to answer the question. Viola had to think for a moment. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down.

 

‘Yes, this is the world of ‘The Shadow of Bellato.’ Hera might say she’s on my side, but I can’t relax.’

 

Viola pretended to be relaxed and drank her strawberry lemonade slowly. Even though she had sweat running down her back, she didn’t show any signs of it.

 

Hera smiled.

 

“Hmm. It’s not my intention to test you. I hope you don’t take it badly. I just wanted to introduce my younger sister to the designer Carlo.”

 

Gulp. 

 

Viola continued to think as she slowly drank her strawberry lemonade.

 

Clink.

 

Viola put down her empty glass and both of their gazes were fixed on her.

 

“From the very beginning, I thought it was strange. My older sister, the owner of Terra Merchants and the 4th Princess of Bellato, brought an unheard-of magician. She deliberately brought a weak magician and let Ersa take charge of him.”

 

Viola looked over at Ersa. Ersa met her gaze with a sly smile.

 

“I did my best.”

 

“Doing your best wouldn’t have been enough. Ersa’s intense training only succeeded because the magician Crimson had a weak character to begin with.”

 

If it had been a magician with strong willpower or mental strength, Ersa’s method wouldn’t have worked.

 

“In other words, it means that my sister initially sought out the magician Crimson as a target for Ersa’s brutal training. Someone who would bow down and grovel before a strong force.”

 

“Wow, you know everything.”

 

No, Viola only just realized it.

 

“After choosing that magician, she headed to shelter number 7. My sister must have already known that Lord Serphon was there”

 

Eventually, as Hera had intended, Serphon approached their group.

 

“Lord Serphon must have seen us and thought, ‘Ah! They’re so weak and will be easy to deal with!’”

 

But Serphon didn’t know much about the Bellatos. He could have found out about Bellato from his attendants, however, he just assessed the weak magician in their group. He was so happy when he received his pay, he immediately ran down the mountain. This was a magician who didn’t belong to a magic tower and had no dignity whatsoever.

 

“That’s why he lowered his guard against us and approached us so easily, promising VIP treatment. He was just using us to get close to Ersa. He was very careless in the process.”

 

All of this was possible because Serphon looked down at them, exactly as Hera had intended.

 

“Everything up to this point was planned by my sister.”

 

As a reader of the work, she could deduce up to this point. If she had more time to think, she might be able to uncover more. But time was too short.

 

‘I don’t know.’

 

Viola couldn’t think of anything else.

 

‘What should I say next?’

 

The brief moment felt like an eternity.

 

After the eternal moment passed, Viola finally spoke.

 

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Translator Note:

 

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