I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

As Viola focused her mind, a light breeze stirred, causing the grass to flutter in all directions.

 

There was no killing intent but the grass moved as if dancing.

 

Viola asked, “How am I doing? Am I doing well?”

 

Shailan was internally shocked.

 

‘What should I do? Should I tell the truth? What you achieved in a day took me three years to master, but I was praised by the master for achieving it quite quickly.’

 

Though he wasn’t a prodigy, Shailan had never thought himself untalented. Nor had he been lazy in his efforts. He had fallen in love with the grass sword and devoted himself to it.

 

Someone once said, ‘Those who enjoy the challenge cannot be defeated by those who only strive.’

 

“You accomplished in a day what took me three years.”

 

It was beyond belief and left him feeling empty. Yet, Shailan didn’t show it. He remembered the master’s teachings.

 

“However, too swift a progress at the beginning can be poisonous.”

 

“Why is that, master?”

 

“Because pride grows in the heart. It’s also called arrogance. So always carry humility in your heart and strive.”

 

Shailan calmly held back trembling lips and continued, “Yes. You’re quite good at this.”

 

“I see.”

 

Viola was satisfied with that response. After all, she didn’t have ambitions to become the best swordsman on the continent. She just wanted to maintain her status, and being ‘decent’ was enough for her as the White Bellato.

 

‘At least I’m above average.’

 

She thought it would be like that. After all, she had the body of the protagonist, Viola. Getting confirmation that she was doing better than average boosted her mood.

 

Three days passed like this. The grass wind created by Viola gained a slight cutting force. It was enough to cause minor cuts on a person’s skin.

 

Shailan carefully managed his expression and said, “With this, the basics are complete.”

 

‘In 3 days, as if it were nothing.’

 

He swallowed hard.

 

‘She’s a monster.’

 

She felt like the protagonist of the hero novels he read as a child, possessing unbelievable abilities. Yes. A protagonist in a novel. Otherwise, this wouldn’t make sense. He couldn’t help but think that their world was created especially for this lady.

 

“Now that the basics are done, let’s return to Bellato.”

 

Shailan wanted to enter Bellato Manor quickly. Before Duke Mariantu sent more assassins.

 

It was a different story from fearing their skill. Cockroaches can’t harm people, but many fear them. An assassin couldn’t harm him, but still, being a coward, he was afraid of assassins.

 

“Now that you’ve barely grasped the basics, you need to work hard.”

 

“Got it.”

 

As she watched the fluttering blades of grass, Viola thought, ‘Hmm… It’s more enjoyable than I thought?’

 

Viola began to enjoy learning the grass sword.

 

***

 

Winter Castle began to appear in the distance with the south gate of Winter Castle’s outer wall coming into view first. 

 

Zenon, who was driving the carriage, said, “Princess, someone seems to be here to welcome you. We’ll stop for a moment as a precaution against any unforeseen accidents.”

 

Despite speaking from outside the carriage, his voice was clear. The carriage stopped and Viola leaned her head out of the window to look around. Dust was rising.

 

“What’s going on?” 

 

Someone was rushing over with a lot of momentum.

 

“Vichen?”

 

Editor’s Note: previously spelled, “Vicen,” we’ve now corrected it to “Vichen.”

 

Viola swallowed hard. If it was the same as the original, he would be running towards her with a sword in hand, laughing mischievously. He was obscured by dust and not clearly visible.

 

“Vi! O! Laaaaa!”

 

Fortunately, Vichen didn’t have a sword in his hand. Tundra, who had been tense for a moment, relaxed.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“What else, Viola, I was waiting for you.”

 

“Why?”

 

Vichen grinned, “No reason?”

 

He casually wiped his nose. From what he heard, Hera had been sitting in front of the south gate every day since she returned.

 

“Just because Viola wasn’t here, I was bored.”

 

He laughed heartily, “No one was here to apply ointment.”

 

“Why did you need ointment?”

 

“A few days ago, I fought with the bastard Third Prince, you know?”

 

Editor’s Note: Kundo, 3rd Bellato child. 

 

Vichen suddenly rolled up his sleeve. The wound on his arm was serious. If Vichen, with his superhuman recovery abilities, looked like this, it must have been a really serious injury.

 

Thinking about the duel with the Third Prince, Vichen bit his lip.

 

“I’m angry. If I was just five years older I could have killed him.”

 

Sensitive to the atmosphere, Viola could feel the aura emanating from Vichen. It was tangible energy. If given the chance, Vichen seemed really intent on stabbing the Third Prince to death.

 

‘Wake up, Viola! Don’t be fooled by Vichen’s appearance and forget his essence is a murderer.’

 

“So, you were waiting here for me to apply ointment?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“If that’s the case, you could have just waited for me at home.”

 

“Hmm. Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

 

Vichen quickly acknowledged it and grinned.

 

“Looks like Vichen is a simpleton. Oh, by the way, want to see something impressive?”

 

Vichen laughed heartily and opened a spatial pocket.

 

A troll’s head, dripping with blood, rolled out.

 

“Ah!” Viola suppressed a scream.

 

A foul smell emanated from the troll’s severed head.

 

“I found a 3-headed troll so I killed it. The other two heads are still in the spatial pocket.”

 

Even among superior monsters like trolls, a 3-headed troll was classified as a higher-ranking mutant. As time passed, Vichen’s abilities seemed to become more and more monstrous.

 

Vichen lifted the troll’s head from the ground.

 

“This one is incredibly rare. Here, I’ll give it to you.”

 

Vichen presented the head to Viola with pure intentions. Viola lowered her eyes. She didn’t want a gift like this.

 

‘H-How do I deal with the sticky green blood dripping out?’

 

Trolls were magical creatures with incredible regenerative abilities. Even with its head severed, the troll’s eyes blinked. It looked truly bizarre.

 

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

 

“Uh, not really.”

 

Vichen looked a bit sulky. He thought Viola would like it but he seemed to have miscalculated. After a brief moment of contemplation, Vichen clapped his hands together.

 

“Ah! I get it.”

 

He seemed to understand why she refused the gift.

 

“Indeed, you probably need at least a 2-headed ogre, right?”

 

Vichen chuckled and put the troll’s head back into the spatial pocket.

 

“I’m going to catch one of those!”

 

After appearing like a storm, Vichen quickly moved away like a tornado.

 

Viola, looking at Vichen in a puzzled manner, also smiled.

 

‘He… can he catch a 2-headed ogre at this age?’

 

It felt much sooner than in the original work.

 

‘It must be because of his improved mood, right?’

 

For some reason, her throat felt dry.

 

***

 

Viola entered the Duke’s mansion.

 

“Zenon, submit a report on Shailan.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Zenon walked over and tidied up the bed. Using mana, he removed any foreign substances, dust, etc., from the bed and raised the blanket.

 

“Are you tired, Milady?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Rest for a moment. I will prepare strawberry ade for you as soon as you wake up”

 

Viola nodded her head. As expected, Zenon was competent. The author didn’t mention Zenon’s competence for no reason.

 

‘I wonder how he understands my thoughts so well.’

 

Viola nestled herself under the blanket and Zenon smiled as he covered her.

 

‘I hope Milady can rest comfortably, even if it’s only for a moment. She was so impressive at the Forget-Me-Not Ball. How much mental strength must it have taken to display such a performance?’

 

Zenon pulled out a scroll from his pocket. It was a scroll enchanted with the ‘Silent’ spell, which blocked out all surrounding noise.

 

‘Well, there goes a month’s salary.’

 

Then he took out a similar luxury item, the ‘Terra Phee’ magic scroll. This scroll assisted the body to recover during sleep, improving skin complexion and loosening tense muscles, even inducing a pleasant sleep. It wasn’t very effective compared to its price, but it was a highly sought-after magic scroll among nobles.

 

‘And now two months’ salary is gone.’

 

He looked at Viola, who was now sleeping soundly. While chewing the ends of her hair, she murmured indecipherable words, talking in her sleep. She always talked like that when she was deeply asleep.

 

‘Using two months’ worth of my salary to ensure Milady sleeps well seems like a fair deal to me.’

 

With that thought, he closed the door and headed to the Duke’s study. Inside the study, instead of the Duke, Lady Isabella was seated.

 

“Lady Isabella, it’s been a while.”

 

“Zenon.”

 

Isabella spoke calmly as she put down her glasses.

 

“I’m acting as the Duke’s proxy since he went on a mission to a blizzard-stricken area.”

 

“A mission? I hadn’t heard about this.”

 

“He went alone.”

 

“Alone?”

 

“We detected signs of a Great Monster being created. He went to confront it despite the harsh conditions.”

 

“I see.”

 

For the Duke to endure such harsh conditions meant that the Great Monster created must be one of the more powerful ones. To prepare for any potential chaos, he moved quietly to prevent any rumors.

 

“Until the Duke returns, all reports will come to me. Hera has handed in all her reports related to the Forget-Me-Not Gathering, so there’s no need to add separate reports about that. Also, I anticipate a duel challenge from Duke Mariantu. I’m aware he’s recruited an assassin from the Eastern Continent. Do you have anything else to report?”

 

“Indeed, Lady Hera is thorough. She’s covered all the items I was going to report.”

 

Zenon smiled warmly and bowed his head, “I’ll return later.”

 

“Wait a moment, Master Zenon.”

 

Isabella’s body melted into the shadows, then reappeared right in front of Zenon. It was a characteristic movement of the Qualton Family, who could manipulate shadows.

 

Isabella lowered her voice, “Are you really leaving just like this?”

 

Her hand rested on Zenon’s abdomen. Isabella’s hand harbored a sharper threat than any famous sword.

 

“You feel quite threatening, Lady Isabella. I’d appreciate it if you backed off a bit. It’s quite intimidating.”

 

Zenon spoke with a non-threatening expression, and Isabella stepped back a couple of steps. She leaned against the door and opened her mouth.

 

“Alright, then. Tell me what you intended to report in the first place.”

 

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Translator Note:

 

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