I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

As Senna entered Viola’s room, the voice of a child could be heard.

 

“This is the forehead of truth.”

 

For a moment, Senna thought she had entered the wrong room. It was a child’s voice that didn’t seem to match Viola’s. Looking, she saw a child pointing to the space between her eyebrows with her index finger.

 

“Lady Selvin?”

 

Senna couldn’t understand. Why was Selvin, who had been Viola’s duel opponent, here? And why did she look so happy despite being the loser?

 

“Thistheruththebeth! The’thawethom! Thoawethom!” 

(Sister is the best! She’s awesome! So awesome!)

 

Because her mouth was full of food – probably with egg tarts, or maybe her tongue was naturally short – her pronunciation was muddled. Anyway, Selvin looked very happy. 

 

In fact, Selvin was happy. Even though they were only allowed to buy two egg tarts per person in line per day, there were three boxes here. Since one box contained 12 tarts, from Selvin’s perspective, there were 36 treasures sleeping in Viola’s room.

 

This place was heaven for Selvin.

 

“Oh? Lady Senna? Hello. Do you want to try one?”

 

The way Viola treated Senna and Selvin was subtly different, but it was ambiguous whether it was enough to point out. When dealing with Viola, Senna’s tongue seemed to get shorter.

 

For some reason, Selvin suddenly exclaimed proudly, “Viola is amazing! Don’t you know? The sweet shop’s boss is a fan of Viola. To celebrate her victory in the duel, they sent three boxes! Yay!”

 

Thump!

 

“Mmmm!”

 

Selvin felt a thrill of joy as she grabbed her cheeks with both hands. The sweet taste of the egg tart spread throughout her body causing Selvin to tremble with delight.

 

“It’s so good. If I’m with Viola, it’s always fun.”

 

Senna looked bewildered, then glanced at Viola and Selvin before speaking.

 

“This could be a significant diplomatic issue. Doesn’t Lady Viola know that?”

 

Selvin and Viola seemed to get along well. Maybe they were already friends.

 

Viola chuckled.

 

“Surely, Lady Selvin didn’t create a diplomatic issue on purpose. You don’t really want to say that, do you?”

 

“I’m not saying that, but considering the current situation, there seems to be enough reason.”

 

Senna bit her lip.

 

‘Something seemed off about Selvin volunteering to be the Black Knight. Ever since she stepped forward, it’s been strange.’

 

In fact, Selvin volunteered to be the Black Knight because of her desire to prove herself as a warrior, but Senna didn’t believe that.

 

“Was this a trap to insult me?”

 

Viola inwardly chuckled, ‘She’s consistent.’

 

Viola seemed to understand that Senna didn’t want to apologize under any circumstances and unconsciously clicked her tongue.

 

“If it were me, I would have handled it more wisely.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Lady Senna, I mean I wouldn’t have accused someone of creating a diplomatic issue without concrete evidence of collusion with Lady Selvin.”

 

Was Senna too angry to see anything, or had she grown too delicate like a flower in the Mariantu Duchy? She seemed too sloppy.

 

“What I’m seeing right now isn’t evidence enough?”

 

Selvin replied, “You’re criticizing me.”

 

For a moment, Senna looked at Selvin with a bewildered expression.

 

Then Selvin giggled, “Oh. This? I’m just unwrapping the packaging.”

 

Senna’s face turned slightly red. She knew the Brandia family was barbaric, but she didn’t expect it to be this bad. And the shocking sight continued.

 

‘What is she doing?!’

 

Selvin lowered her hand to hide Viola and lifted her middle finger toward Senna. Senna didn’t exactly know what that gesture meant, but she felt very uncomfortable. She vaguely remembered hearing that when street thugs insulted someone, they would make such a gesture.

 

“Lady Senna, you don’t seem like someone who came to apologize.”

 

Viola crossed her legs as she sat back. She bounced her foot up and down.

 

“If you came to apologize, then act like someone who came to apologize.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Senna’s face turned red. She tried to hide it and said, “Let me confirm one thing. Did Princess Selvin Brandia indeed lose to Lady Viola Bellato?”

 

“She beat me.”

 

Senna’s nose wrinkled slightly. Perhaps because Selvin grew up in the far western duchy, she seemed to use a lot of words and actions that were hard to understand.

 

“What do you mean by ‘she beat me’?”

 

“It roughly means I lost.”

 

While Senna looked puzzled, Selvin ate another egg tart as if Senna didn’t matter. Her tone and behavior were strangely irritating. Although Senna seemed to belittle herself, it was somewhat ambiguous to nitpick from the perspective of someone who came to apologize.

 

‘I have to apologize.’

 

She lost the duel so it was right to apologize. Whether she liked it or not, if she was born a noble, it was a rule she had to follow.

 

Senna grabbed the edges of her skirt with both hands and bowed.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ve been terribly rude and improper.”

 

“Is that so? What grave rudeness and impropriety have you committed?”

 

“I insulted the value of the gift given by Duke Heron and tried to publicly humiliate him. I showed a lot of inadequacy.”

 

“A lot?”

 

“I did.”

 

Senna lowered her head and bit her lip. It couldn’t be helped. She was prepared for this level of embarrassment as someone who came to apologize.

 

“Lady Senna, there was someone who sincerely apologized to me recently.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“That person practiced handwriting and sent me over ten letters. They even traveled a long distance just to wait for my response from a close distance. And when they met me, they sincerely apologized and offered me their most precious possession.”

 

Senna felt uneasy. Every word from Viola felt like a dangerous poison.

 

“Their attitude and yours are starkly contrasting.”

 

It seemed obvious when compared. How sincere Jeremy was. How urgently he approached her. In contrast, Senna appeared forced to apologize.

 

“That person said, ‘An apology should be done properly to be considered an apology. Nobles should behave like nobles.’”

 

“…Does that mean my apology wasn’t proper? Does it mean I’m not behaving like a noble?”

 

“Shouldn’t someone of that caliber show respect? You even lost the duel.”

 

“I don’t know who that person is, but comparing them to me isn’t fair.”

 

Although everything leaned toward Viola, Senna couldn’t let go of her last shred of dignity.

 

“I am an heiress of the Mariantu Duchy.”

 

She bit her lip tightly. Her eyes turned red and filled with tears. She gripped her skirt tightly, exerting more and more force with her fingers. She tried not to cry.

 

“What does that have to do with anything? That person was a noble too.”

 

“The heiress of a duchy and an ordinary noble are different.”

 

Viola twisted her hair with her index finger and asked, “How are they different?”

 

Senna lost all composure and became childish in front of Viola.

 

“Qualitatively, everything is different!”

 

Viola murmured leisurely, “Is the heir of the Storm Fortress which guards against the Canyon of Savages really such a low-quality person…?”

 

Senna’s face turned pale. She couldn’t help but think that person was Prince Jeremy. And Prince Jeremy practiced handwriting for his apology. She felt like the sky was falling.

 

“Things seem to have gotten quite tangled from the beginning. The person before me who came to apologize questioned if the duel results were manipulated. They insulted Medea, who oversaw the duel as a 1st-class Imperial Knight of the Empire.”

 

“Th-That’s…”

 

“Not only that, they doubted the honor of the Brandia Duchy. They insulted Bellato, whom they fought against in the duel, and even lowered the status of the guardian of the Storm Fortress. Can you handle all of this?”

 

She smirked.

 

“I don’t think these words of someone who came to apologize can be considered appropriate.”

 

***

 

Tears streamed down Senna’s eyes. The more she talked with Viola, the deeper she felt she was sinking into a dark abyss. It felt like being trapped in a dark maze without light.

 

“I-I did everything wrong. Please forgive me.”

 

The tears that once started didn’t stop. Senna was afraid. Viola herself seemed too terrifying. Viola felt like a giant.

 

“I hope you can specifically tell me what you did wrong and how you’re going to apologize. In front of my sister.”

 

Hera opened the door and entered. Senna desperately wanted to escape from this situation. She blurted out everything she could think of.

 

“Please forgive me for subtly ignoring Lady Hera. I was so bad. I was so, so wrong. I was really, really wrong.”

 

She had ignored Hera. She had colluded with other nobles to subtly ostracize her at social gatherings. She commented that Hera was a failure for not becoming a Black Bellato and inevitably becoming a White Bellato.

 

Senna sobbed, confessing all her sins. Hera glanced at Viola in confusion.

 

She quietly mouthed, “What did you do?”

 

It was surprising to see Lady Senna, such a proud young lady, crying and confessing everything. Hera even found it a bit absurd.

 

‘It doesn’t seem like Viola used violence.’

 

It seemed like Senna was made to cry just by using words. If it were considered a talent, it would be quite an amazing one. In any case, Viola kept her promise.

 

Viola had promised, “I will kill her step by step, starting from the heart.”

 

The current Senna was as good as dead. Crying and confessing everything, she felt like she was willing to do anything to escape from here.

 

Hera felt something warm rising deep in her chest.

 

‘Senna is apologizing to me.’

 

She turned to gaze at Viola.

 

‘I’m glad you kept your promise.’

 

Hera felt even better because she was able to confirm another of Viola’s abilities.

 

‘As expected of Viola.’ 

 

“That’s enough. I understand Lady Senna’s sincerity, and according to the laws of the Empire, the entirety of your apology has been recorded by a magical device. I hope you will become a noble who takes responsibility for your words from now on.”

 

Only then did Senna remember that all of her actions were being recorded and her face turned a deep red.

 

“I… I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for forgiving me.”

 

Senna grabbed her wobbly legs and moved away. Once she regained her senses, all sorts of humiliation rushed in. She would rather die than recall herself crying and apologizing in front of the savage family.

 

‘I’ll kill them all!’

 

She dared not show it in front of Viola, but anger rose to her head. She hated Bellato and Winter Castle. She had the urge to destroy everything.

 

‘Just wait and see. I’ll definitely kill them all!’

 

She didn’t know that her suffering was far from over. There wasn’t just Viola and Hera at Winter Castle.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note:

 

Want to read more?