I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

Hera was sitting at the desk and looking at an unidentifiable document. She was so preoccupied with the document that she didn’t even notice that Viola had come in. Viola walked closer to Hera with long strides. Ersa, who was standing behind Hera, looked at Viola in a slightly nervous manner.

 

“Princess Viola?”

 

Only then did Hera realize that Viola had come. Lifting her head, she smiled lightly.

 

“Viola?”

 

Smack!

 

Viola slapped Hera on the cheek without hesitation.

 

“Princess Viola!”

 

Hera caressed her cheek and gestured to Ersa. It was okay, so Ersa needed to step back. 

 

Viola’s heart was pounding.

 

‘I hit her.’

 

In fact, a thousand thoughts were going through her mind until she took that last long stride and slapped Hera. Slapping someone’s face was too difficult and hurtful for Viola. Moreover, she had already experienced being afraid of Hera. Even now, as she was looking into Hera’s eyes, she was very, very afraid.

 

‘Nevertheless… I have to do it.’

 

Viola looked down at Hera with dry eyes and shook the letter! 

 

Throwing it down she asked, “Why are you doing things as you please, without consulting me?”

 

“…Ha.”

 

Hera caressed her swollen cheek with one hand and picked up the correspondence with the other.

 

“Did you hit me just because of this?”

 

“Just this?”

 

“It is true that I sent a gift to Chief Designer Carlo in your name.”

 

The gift was a human head.

 

“But isn’t this something you should be grateful to me for? Didn’t I help you by paying attention to things you don’t need to pay attention to? You have done the Louis Bartengan family a great favor. Thanks to my caring.”

 

Hera’s eyes showed a hint of disappointment along with her subtle anger.  She seemed to ask, ‘I tried so hard for you, and you hit me?’ Viola was terrified on the inside but acted out a completely different emotion on the outside.

 

“Sister. I am Bellato.”

 

“Don’t I know that you are Bellato?”

 

“It’s not like a Bellato to profit from something I didn’t do myself.”

 

“Don’t say you’re fully Bellato. Sister, you are too far behind compared to Medea. Even if I do everything I can, regardless of means or methods, I wonder if you can ever catch up to our older sister.”

 

Viola inhaled her breath imperceptibly.

 

‘At this point… Should I hit you one more time?’

 

She clenched her teeth without anyone noticing. As expected, hitting people was not her forte.

 

‘I didn’t want to hit you.’

 

Still, she had to do it.

 

‘Maybe… Yes, I’m sure you want this, too.’

 

Hera was showing her disappointment but it probably wasn’t sincere. Just as Viola was ‘acting out’ her emotions, Hera was likewise acting out her lies. She was a reader, so she knew Hera well.

 

Smack!

 

She slapped her again.

 

“Don’t force me to be anything other than Bellato. Even if I walk slowly, I must walk the right path.”

 

“I did it for you.”

 

“So?”

 

“It was something I did for you, but is it something that would make you come and slap me?”

 

“Are you sad?”

 

“Wouldn’t it be weirder if I wasn’t sad?”

 

“Don’t be sad. You have no right to be sad. My sister forced me onto a path that wasn’t Bellato. Without consulting me at all.”

 

Hera closed her mouth. She looked really sad on the outside. Beyond being disappointed, she seemed to feel betrayed.

 

“Because Hera is my sister. Because she is a sister I love, I will barely get over this. Take this as a warning.”

 

Viola turned her body.

 

“If you feel like apologizing, send Ersa to me.”

 

Viola walked forward, opened the door, and left as if nothing had happened. After Viola left, Hera smiled.

 

“What do you think? I was right.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours ago Hera said, “Viola will be visiting tonight. Yes, she has to come. If she doesn’t come, I will be very disappointed in Viola.”

 

“Why is that so?”

 

“I gave Viola an unfair advantage by using her name. Viola will be angry.”

 

Hera looked happy.

 

“How will she get angry and protest against me? My heart is pounding. I hope she will protest as strongly as possible.”

 

“If there is too strong a protest…”

 

“Well, isn’t she just going to slap me?”

 

Ersa tilted her head.

 

“Isn’t this Winter Castle?”

 

Physical persecution is prohibited within Winter Castle, especially within the Duke’s residence. The only person who could do it was the head of the family, Duke Heron. Or only if someone received special orders to do so from Duke Heron.

 

“Because we’re inside Winter Castle, I think she will hit me.”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

Ersa has outstanding skills but she had only been employed as Hera’s butler for a year. She didn’t exactly understand Hera’s words.

 

“It’s a way to strongly protest against me while at the same time showing trust in me.”

 

Violence was prohibited within the Winter Castle. And protesting against Hera using violence? Viola would be taking a huge risk in protesting.

 

“If that happens, I think I’ll be really happy. It means that Bellato truly loves me.”

 

“If that’s what you say.”

 

Ersa came to her own realization. Although it was difficult for her to see it as a normal sisterly relationship, she seemed to be able to understand the Bellato family tradition a little more.

 

“I’ve become very friendly with Viola recently.”

 

“Yes. That is even more true when we were in Parr Viscounty.”

 

“A Bellato who is weak in emotions and cannot point out things properly is not qualified to be a Bellato.”

 

And Viola Bellato brilliantly proved to have Bellato’s qualifications.

 

* * *

 

Although her cheek was red and swollen, Hera seemed to be in good spirits.

 

“Is your cheek okay?”

 

“I don’t think it’s that bad.”

 

There was a magic ointment, but she decided not to apply it. She really liked this sharp pain.

 

“It’s so beautiful how she doesn’t lose her Bellatoness at any moment.”

 

Hera lost her butler once. Hera knew very well why her butler made the choice she did.

 

“I couldn’t do it.”

 

Because she couldn’t win over affection. In the end, she was unable to sacrifice her butler. Instead, she chose to kill herself.

 

“Viola can do what I can’t do. That’s the difference between me and Viola.”

 

“I really had no idea it would turn out like this.”

 

Ersa felt like she had to study a little more about Bellato. She would try her best in the future… 

 

“Princess?”

 

Ersa felt strange.

 

“Princess!”

 

Ersa hurriedly shook Hera’s shoulder.

 

‘She’s lost consciousness.’

 

Ersa injected her mana into Hera and hurriedly checked the condition of her body. She took out an emergency potion from her space and poured it into Hera’s mouth. She carefully picked Hera up and laid her on her bed. Fortunately, it was something Ersa was used to. She was actually quite familiar with mana handling, so she was able to deal with it quickly.

 

‘It wasn’t just a slap, it was loaded with mana.’

 

She could say that up to that point. But there was another surprising fact. Viola used Hera’s cranial bones as a conduit in order to strike the brain with her mana. This was a skill that could only be achieved if you were at least a 7th-level knight and it was a method of corporal punishment frequently used by instructors at knight training academies.

 

‘You did this when you were only twelve?’

 

It was difficult to determine her skill based on this alone, but in any case, it was a skill close to that of a 7th-level knight.

 

‘Without any preliminary movements? Just naturally? A White Bellato, not a Black Bellato, did this?’

 

Ersa couldn’t believe her eyes.

 

‘Princess Medea became a regular 9th-level knight at the age of twelve.’

 

This meant that Princess Viola’s growth rate was faster than Medea’s. And Viola did not train as a ‘Black Bellato’ at all. Cold sweat ran down Ersa’s back. This was an area beyond the realm of genius.

 

‘While protesting to Princess Hera, did you show your trust by intentionally revealing your abilities as well?’

 

Hera, who had lost consciousness, slowly opened her eyes again. 

 

As she looked at Ersa, she muttered, “It’s obvious what you’re thinking.”

 

Still dizzy, Hera smiled.

 

“Did you see it? Viola is like this. I saw it. It’s amazing, really. If it’s Viola, she will be able to write a new history for Bellato.”

 

Ersa thought that maybe those words were true.

 

* * *

 

Back in her room, Viola lay down on her bed. Her body was tired but she couldn’t sleep.

 

‘I did well. It’s okay. Hera would have wanted this, too.’

 

Even though she knew it in her head, she was still afraid. Because having Hera as an enemy was a very scary thing.

 

‘Ersa must have been told in advance by my sister. That’s why she didn’t stop me.’

 

If it were Ersa’s choice, she probably would have protected Hera. However, Ersa did not react. Thinking like that made her feel a little at ease.

 

‘Okay. It will be fine. I did well.’

 

She thought of Hera’s swollen face.

 

‘Still, I don’t feel comfortable.’

 

Aside from the fact that Hera was scary, it was also true that her heart felt uncomfortable. It was never pleasant to slap someone who was connected by the bonds of being her family.

 

‘Does it hurt a lot?’

 

Still, since Hera had a Bellato’s body, she wouldn’t be seriously injured. Even if she got hurt, she would be able to recover quickly with magic.

 

‘I’m sorry…’

                                       

As time passed, her mind became more and more deranged. Her heart ached as Hera’s swollen cheek and bloodshot eyes kept coming back to her. Soon it was 1 o’clock in the morning.

 

‘I’m starting to feel sleepy, right?’

 

It was quite a difficult time for a twelve-year-old’s body to endure but she still couldn’t sleep. But then a voice came from somewhere.

 

“It’s too bad.”

 

For a moment she thought she had heard wrong.

 

“It’s too much.”

 

She hadn’t heard wrong.

 

“It’s really too much! I’m angry.”

 

A voice was coming from under the bed.

 

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Translator Note:

I’m baaack!! Next 15 you are min… I mean, I will be translating the novel lol