I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

Heron came to a halt right in front of Viola.

 

As Viola lifted her head to look at Heron, she thought, ‘There’s no shame in looking at you from way down here. Is this what being a facial genius is like? Anyway, he’s really handsome. He’s still my favorite.’

 

As pride in her favorite character swelled up, love for her favorite character also rose! 

 

‘Hooray for fanfiction written to honor one’s body!’

 

Viola briefly wanted to shout that, but she quickly regained her composure.

 

“Do you regret your choice?”

 

The character known as Heron whom Arin knew seemed somehow different. Viola responded like the original Viola.

 

“Regret doesn’t suit Bellato.”

 

“This is the training ground, Viola.”

 

“I know.”

 

“That means it’s not a public space.”

 

Viola was a little puzzled.

 

‘What?’

 

The training ground was a place for self-discipline, where one must sweat to become the successor. It was much closer to a public space than a private one. But Heron said it wasn’t a public space. Why wasn’t it a public space?

 

‘I don’t know the reason.’

 

Viola suddenly focused on the name he called her, ‘Viola.’

 

‘He mentioned my name for a reason.’

 

Whenever Heron wanted to emphasize something, he would use a name to do so. For instance, he would have said ‘Viola Bellato’ to emphasize the family ‘Bellato.’

 

‘So…’

 

Viola couldn’t take her eyes off Heron.

 

‘He called me Viola, right?’

 

In the private space of the training ground. He called her Viola without adding the Bellato surname. Those two clues hinted at one fact. 

 

‘He called me Viola, not as a successor candidate, but as his daughter.’

 

At that moment, Viola’s heart started pounding. She had always needed a family. She had needed her dad, who promised to return to her after a hundred nights.

 

‘No. Get a grip.’

 

Although her favorite character was behaving strangely, this was the world of <Bellato’s Shadow>. She needed to keep her wits about her to survive in this sordid novel.

 

Viola steadied her breath and answered, “I don’t regret it.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I chose my dad, and my dad chose me. Is there a reason to regret?”

 

“You called me, ‘Dad.’”

 

“You said this isn’t a public space, Dad. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll call you Father again.”

 

“No.”

 

Duke Heron’s expression was stern. Looking at Viola without changing his expression, he raised his arm and Viola flinched inwardly. Thankfully, with the savvy of six years of possession, she managed to hide her true feelings. 

 

‘Whoa, that was close.’

 

Heron’s fingertip touched Viola’s fingertip. It was the finger that wore the ring Heron had given her a long time ago.

 

‘Huh?’

 

Heron lifted that finger slightly.

 

“Try adjusting the angle like this.”

 

After Viola’s arm was raised to shoulder height, her shoulders felt stiff. 

 

“Using your sword qi in this position will facilitate the harmonization with elemental energy.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Viola’s keen eye caught a slight tremble in Heron’s fingertips. 

 

‘Why is he acting like this?’

 

The Heron she had been a fan of wouldn’t allow even the slightest of trembles. Even though Viola’s physical skills were exceptional, she wasn’t at the level where she should be able to detect Heron’s tremble to this extent. 

 

‘Ah, is it because of the ring?’

 

Throughout generations, the Bellato family had extremely poor compatibility with spirits. So, the ring steeped in the arena and Heron’s relationship didn’t seem favorable. 

 

‘Huh?’

 

As if his body moved without conscious thought, Heron was suddenly standing behind Viola. He supported Viola’s left elbow with his left hand.

 

“You need to lift it to this height.”

 

He slowly applied pressure to Viola’s elbow, bending it slightly. It made it look like she was covering her mouth with her fingers.

 

“Now, adjust the angle like this and try using your sword qi.”

 

The pose was like she was smiling while covering her mouth with her hand, palm facing outward. Just by following Heron’s guidance and adjusting her body slightly, the flow of sword qi became much easier.

 

‘Hmm?’

 

Even without meticulous adjustment, she could wield the sword qi. A seemingly insignificant change led to a significant difference. But with just Heron’s guidance, this was impossible.

 

‘I’m not doing this alone.’

 

Viola realized that Heron’s mana was being transmitted to her. She could feel a subtle and delicate flow of mana that would be imperceptible without concentration.

 

‘If it weren’t for Viola’s exceptional physique, I wouldn’t have felt it.’

 

Heron’s right hand lightly touched Viola’s right arm while his left hand continued to hold Viola’s left elbow. It felt like they were snugly nestled together. Through his hands, he was subtly sending mana to assist Viola in wielding the sword qi. He guided her toward a better path and helped her to grow.

 

‘Hooray for my favorite character!’

 

Beyond just mastering sword qi, it felt like she was basking in her fandom. The corners of Viola’s mouth curled up involuntarily. Standing behind her, Heron noticed this.

 

‘She’s smiling?’

 

Heron thought she must be feeling the growth of her sword qi control as well as realizing that she was able to use it without meticulous adjustments. Thus, he thought she was smiling for those reasons. 

 

‘Because you’re smiling…’

 

The sword qi flew and the green grasses, which had recently lost their strength, filled the training ground.

 

‘I’m happy.’

 

Thanks to the flying grass, no one saw that faint but definite smile carved on Heron’s face.

 

“You are….”

 

Viola could hear Heron’s voice near her ear but she couldn’t hear it properly because the sound of her grass sword was louder than usual.

 

She couldn’t hear the words, “…my daughter.”

 

* * *

 

Startled by the tremendous flow of mana, Hickson hurriedly ran to the training ground.

 

‘It’s sword qi.’

 

Had Viola ever exerted such a tremendous force like this? Who on earth is she fighting against to consume such immense power?

 

‘Is it Vichen?’

 

It didn’t seem like Vichen. If it were him, his peculiar vigor would have been strongly felt.

 

‘Is it the Third Prince?’

 

That ominous and inscrutable guy. If it was him, it was possible for her to exert such power during a fight. Remembering the time when Kundo threw a dead cat at Viola, anger surged within him.

 

‘Come on, I’ll make you pay!’

 

As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he shouted, “I’ll kill you and send you to hell!”

 

But the Third Prince was nowhere to be seen. No matter how stealthy Kundo was, he couldn’t be this secretive.

 

‘So, who are you fighting?’

 

The grass flying around was too dense to see anything.

 

“Huh?”

 

Hickson’s eyes widened as he saw the figures of two affectionate-looking people. He blinked, then blinked again. He thought it must be an illusion, but the illusion didn’t disappear. Next, he roughly shook his head, but the picture remained the same.

 

‘It’s not an illusion?’

 

The appearance of Viola and Heron was surreal. And Heron even seemed to have smiled briefly. Eventually, as the use of sword qi ended, the grasses lost their strength and fell to the ground. 

 

Hickson stomped over to Viola with heavy steps. He looked like a rhinoceros. 

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

“I’m not hurt.”

 

Hickson quickly approached and half-knelt, examining Viola’s condition. It looked as if they had engaged in a life-and-death struggle, could she really not even have a minor injury?

 

“Are you really not hurt?”

 

“Did you hope I was hurt?”

 

Hickson stood up and looked at Heron.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Training supervision.”

 

“Why are you supervising training so closely?”

 

Heron’s expression slightly tightened. 

 

“That’s none of your concern.”

 

“Why don’t you care? You’re the type of person who doesn’t care about the little details. If you’re not careful, Viola could be seriously injured.”

 

“Viola is Bellato.”

 

“Ugh, Bellato. That damn Bellato.”

 

Hickson reached out roughly as if trying to yank Viola away.

 

Viola went to flick Hickson’s arm away but hit it instead. 

 

“…You?”

 

Actually, this wasn’t the action Viola intended. It was her instinctual desire to stay close to her favorite character.

 

Seeing Hickson’s bruised appearance made Arin feel unreasonably sorry.

 

‘No, that’s not what I meant to do!’

 

Before she could make an excuse, Heron gently pulled Viola away and she couldn’t resist his irresistible touch.

 

“Your touch wasn’t very careful either.”

 

Hickson chuckled, hiding his deeply wounded heart. 

 

“Ultimately, this is how it turned out. The sword qi just now was almost perfect.”

 

The reason Viola now felt connected to Heron was simple. He had greatly aided her growth and so it was clear why Viola was leaning on Heron. At least Hickson thought so.

 

‘There’s no other reason!’

 

Heron spoke.

 

“Hickson, you’ve been spreading strange rumors.”

 

“What rumors?”

 

Heron didn’t explain in detail. He conveyed his voice through mana to Hickson alone.

 

[Viola is my daughter, Hickson.]

 

Then he said out loud, “Are you going to kill me and send me to hell?”

 

Hickson’s body flinched as killing intent emanated from Heron. It was a formidable aura that would make it difficult for an ordinary person to even stand before him.

 

“Would it be fair to say you’re challenging me to a duel?”

 

“Hmph. Just what I hoped for.”

 

Hickson raised his sword. Although the blade was dulled for practice, Hickson’s rogue swordsmanship didn’t require the sharpness of a blade. Hickson also gathered his aura.

 

Aura collided against aura. Killing intent collided against killing intent. Standing in between them, Viola’s heart felt like it was about to burst.

 

Thump!

 

Thump!

 

The expansion and contraction of her heart continually sped up.

 

‘No, heart. Please don’t act up!’

 

But Viola’s body responded to the killing intent of these two absolute beings and her eyes turned red. At the same time, an unexpectedly powerful storm of grass began to blow. Sharp grass blades imbued with murderous intent attacked Hickson.

 

‘Please! Body, please!’

 

But Viola’s body moved on its own, grasping the dagger she had strapped to her thigh. Viola raised it as she turned her body, stabbing it directly at Heron, who was standing right behind her.

 

The dagger was aimed straight at Heron’s heart.

 

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Translator Note:

 

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