Viola had been contemplating this for a long time. Even though she aspired to the White Bellato and was growing in that direction, she felt the need to have at least a basic level of combat skills. However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. If she couldn’t properly handle her genius-level physique, it would be a significant disadvantage in its own right.
‘Viola is the protagonist and she’s naturally talented physically.’
But if she couldn’t utilize such exceptional talent properly? In that case, it would be much better not to learn martial arts at all. Being unable to do something because you haven’t learned it is quite different from not being able to do it even though you have learned it.
So, Viola deliberately avoided learning Bellato’s Swordsmanship. While Bellato’s Swordsmanship was evaluated as the strongest swordsmanship on the continent, it was also a skill learned by all the family members. If she hastily learned Bellato’s Swordsmanship, all her flaws would undoubtedly be exposed.
‘I’ve been acting like a real dog to create this image; I can’t let that happen.’
The evaluation of Viola was generally like this: She is a princess with the qualities of a Black Bellato but she chose to be a White Bellato for her own ambition. Thus, even though Viola wanted to learn Bellato’s Swordsmanship, she couldn’t.
‘In that sense, the martial arts of the Eastern Continent are perfect for me.’
The main stage of <The Shadow of Bellato> was the Central Continent ruled by the Monarch Empire. People from the Eastern Continent did not appear often, however, they had their own unique characteristics.
For example, the comedic character Shailan.
Shailan was learning a martial art called ‘Grass Sword’ which used grass to kill his opponents.
‘It’s good because there’s usually grass around, and if not, I can make it artificially. I can use mana to create grass and also carry it around in my pockets. I won’t accidentally stab myself and it’s a technique that specializes in surprise attacks. Also, it’s a martial art unfamiliar to Bellato!’
Actually, it was ambiguous to call this ‘swordsmanship,’ but since Shailan himself called it swordsmanship it was decided to just call it that… in accordance with the author’s setting.
‘I always thought that if I learned swordsmanship, I would need to learn it from the Eastern Continent, and preferably, learn in a way that doesn’t require me to stab myself.’
She had made this decision two years ago, and today, she encountered the Eastern Continent’s assassin, Shailan.
***
“If the master orders it, I’ll bite out the assassin’s throat and cut off his airway.”
Viola replied, “Nah, forget it.”
Viola approached Shailan closely. Even though his hands and feet were bound, Shailan’s aura was still alive.
“Don’t insult me, just kill me!”
Viola crouched down. Then, she poked Shailan’s neck.
Viola smirked, “If I stab here, you’ll die within three seconds.”
Viola was well aware of the atmosphere created when she smiled like this. She was certain that to Shailan, she would look like the Grim Reaper.
“But you dared to attack Bellato. Too comfortable of a death wouldn’t be fitting, right?”
The smile never left Viola’s lips. Of course, she intentionally widened her mouth.
‘Ugh, my muscles are going to cramp.’
It wasn’t a funny situation and Viola wasn’t happy, so forcing a smile tasted like death.
‘But at least my eerie and ominous assassin vibe is in full force.’
Viola knew one very important fact: Shailan, the assassin from the Eastern Continent, appeared quite serious initially but ended up becoming a comedic character. His biggest characteristic was being a coward. Being a cowardly assassin caused many incidents, and he ended up as the most inferior assassin in comparison to his abilities.
‘Anyway, he’s the most cowardly of all assassins.’
Viola’s finger swept across Shailan’s throat.
“How should I kill you?”
Shailan’s body twitched and goosebumps rose along his neck. Viola’s gaze suddenly softened.
“But just killing you is boring. Maybe throwing you to a pack of carnivorous monsters wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Viola turned around.
“Zenon, are there any carnivorous monster colonies nearby? Insects would be good, if possible.”
“There probably are. If you give the command, I’ll find them within two days.”
“Seeing you being torn apart while still alive might be amusing.”
‘Aaargh!’
Viola wanted to scream. Even with the magical possession of the last five years, such words were still not easy for her. But there was someone who wanted to scream even more than Viola.
“P-please spare me.”
He was so terrified that even his pronunciation faltered. Hera burst into laughter.
‘It’s no use begging for mercy, I can tell you!’
“For an assassin from the Eastern Continent, you’re quite sloppy.”
The Eastern Continent produced many exceptional assassins. They were proficient in mysterious powers, and just counting the emperors who died by their hands was too numerous to count with the fingers of both hands. But seeing an assassin from the Eastern Continent in this state was unexpected.
Hera asked, “Oppa, is this your first time?”
Shailan vigorously nodded his head. For some reason, he felt that if he confessed it was his first time, he might be forgiven. In reality, he was too scared at the moment to make a rational judgment. Especially that girl with violet hair frightened him the most. Her sparkling eyes seemed like a witch obsessed with blood.
“It’s his first time, Viola. Who is the lunatic who sent such a sloppy assassin to attack Bellato?”
“He mentioned it earlier.”
“Did this oppa mention something?”
“Yeah. It was Mariantu.”
Shailan’s eyes widened significantly, passionately admitting that the statement was correct.
“See? He admits it?”
Only then did Shailan realize his mistake and shook his head. However, it was already too late.
“Me? When did I? I’ve never admitted that!”
“He clearly said so earlier.”
“I never said that!”
“You did.”
Viola confidently declared, and Shailan’s eyes began to waver. He was confused.
‘Did I really say that?’
Viola chuckled again.
‘One of the two weakest debaters in <The Shadow of Bellato>.’
One was Vicen, and the other was Shailan. Both were terrible at verbal sparring. At least Vicen had Bellato’s buff, while Shailan, being a comedic character, often faced verbal struggles from all directions.
“Earlier, it seemed like his abilities were outstanding. So much so that Zenon had to reattach his fingers.”
Though it appeared easy, even Zenon had a hard time. It was only because Ersa and Tundra cooperated in the attack that he could be captured so easily.
“So Mariantu hired him based on his abilities alone.”
“I’ve seen his ability as an assassin but I haven’t seen his ability as a person. Is that what you mean?”
“Yeah. If it was someone with a lot of experience like Duke Mariantu, they wouldn’t have made such a mistake.”
“Then…”
“It must be Lady Senna.”
Viola lifted Shailan’s chin with two fingers.
“Isn’t it Senna?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“I’ll be honest. If you tell me the truth I’ll spare you.”
Suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared in Shailan’s eyes.
“Y-you’ll spare me?”
‘Me, the assassin?’
It was hard to believe. He was scared of death. Moreover, this witch seemed likely to kill him in the most painful way possible.
“Is it Senna?”
“I-I don’t know. In reality, I received the commission through an errand runner.”
“You must have followed that errand runner.”
Shailan shivered all over. It was clear that he secretly investigated the client. This person was undoubtedly a genuine witch.
“Fine. Let’s not mention her name but your client was a young lady in her late teens or early twenties, riding in a carriage drawn by two white horses. She was wrapped in splendid jewelry, with brown hair and relatively fair skin. Her eyes were quite large, and her expression was a bit fierce. Crucially, she must have been wearing at least five, if not more, flashy rings. Right?”
Viola drew a dagger from her thigh.
“It’s your last chance. If you lie, I’ll cut out your tongue.”
“Uh, uh, uh!”
Tears welled up in Shailan’s eyes. He was too scared after seeing her cruel weapon.
“I don’t know!”
Who knew if his denial was an assassin’s virtue or nonsense. What was true was that he was terrified to death. Finally…
“Yeah, everything’s true. Your words are all true!”
Sniffling, he raised his voice.
“You’re right.”
***
Hickson opened the door to Duke Heron’s office. Heron was busy examining stacks of documents. Without giving Hickson a glance, he asked, “No knock?”
“You already knew I was coming, so why bother knocking?”
Hickson sat on the sofa.
“Hey, Heron.”
If Carlton were there, he would’ve been leaping around, shouting, ‘Please, Mr. Hickson, show some respect!’ but Carlton wasn’t here. Besides, Heron didn’t particularly mind Hickson’s disrespectful attitude.
“Why did you speak at the Forget-Me-Not Banquet?”
“Do I need a reason?”
Heron put down his quill. He looked at Hickson, and Hickson met his gaze.
“Because you couldn’t be her escort, so you might as well make a speech?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Hickson was convinced. Heron volunteered as a speaker because of Viola.
“No you be honest with me.”
“About what?”
Heron turned his gaze back to the documents murmuring, “You mentioned Viola back there.”
“I did.”
“Just call her by name; why make it so complicated?”
Hickson sighed, “Why make it so roundabout? Then I’ll just call her ‘my youngest daughter.’”
“Hickson, the reason I let you live is that we were friends.”
Hickson twitched.
“Don’t cross the line.”
While Hickson had been stagnating, Heron had been improving. He fought and won against monsters coming from the Northern Forest every day. Hickson scratched the back of his head, standing up.
“All right, I got it. You’ll end up killing a friend at this rate.”
If the current Heron didn’t scare him, it would be a lie. Heron was more merciful than people thought, but the moment someone crossed a certain line, he could ruthlessly cut the opponent’s throat without hesitation.
Hickson could be his next target. Nevertheless, he had to say everything he wanted to say.
“Clearly define your position. Whether you’ll become a good father or remain as Bellato’s Duke. An ambiguous attitude will only confuse Viola even more.”
Viola, in fact, was gentle and delicate. A cute girl who pleaded to hold hands! Nobody believed that, but Hickson said it anyway. After saying his piece, Hickson left the room.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Viola, with lively eyes, spoke leisurely.
“Shall we make a deal? Of course, the choice is between the two.”
“What, what is it?”
“Whether you’ll end up as food for the fire ants, ending a miserable life, or accept my proposal.”
She didn’t reveal what the proposal was in concrete terms.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on Februeary, 22.
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