I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

There was earnestness in his eyes. Selvin, moved by something profound, clasped her hands together and looked at Viola and Tundra with a reverent expression. Though young, Selvin could fully perceive Tundra’s earnestness.

 

Chewing over Tundra’s words, she resolved, ‘Someday, I too must become someone who can say such things!’

 

Meanwhile, Viola, who had gotten up, felt conflicted. 

 

‘He’s become a completely different person.’

 

His aura. The way he looked at and treated Viola. Everything was different.

 

‘What happened?’

 

The Tundra now was neither the Tundra Viola knew nor the Kang Han-joon from her memories. He was a new person.

 

“You’re asking for a name?”

 

“Yes, like you gave one to Pom-Pom.”

 

Viola pondered. Should she give him a name? Giving a name changed many things. It’s okay for Tundra, the pet, to make mistakes. It doesn’t carry a huge responsibility for Viola. But for someone who has received a name from Viola, mistakes mean something different. She decided to delay the decision.

 

“Not yet.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Tundra did not show much disappointment. He seemed resigned, but not disappointed.

 

“Even though I have no name, you’ll allow me to stay by your side, right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

In fact, Viola felt grateful to Tundra. She believed she may have died at the hands of the vengeful spirit without him.

 

“Did you kill the vengeful spirit?”

 

“Yes.”

 

In truth, Tundra had only finished it off. He knew that even without his arrival, Viola could have defeated the ghost.

 

Tundra mistakenly thought, ‘The princess is strong enough, so asking me, ‘Did you kill it?’ when she surely knows everything, implies a reason for the question…’ 

 

So, without arguing, he promptly answered, ‘Yes.’ Consequently, this caused Viola to underestimate her own abilities.

 

“What exactly happened in the Northern Forest?”

 

“I trained there, longing for the princess over many years.”

 

“Many years?”

 

“I can’t be sure of the exact passage of time, but it feels like it was at least 10 years.”

 

Viola felt as if she had received a blow to the head. Tundra was the protagonist of this novel. The tragic male lead who, despite being stronger than Viola, willingly died by his own sword out of love for the female lead, Viola.

 

‘He trained for 10 years?’

 

Then, he must have abilities near, or perhaps even surpassing, the strongest in the universe. Moreover, Tundra always gave himself a harsh and critical assessment. 

 

‘At least 10 years.’

 

If his perception was of 10 years, then in reality, it was probably much longer, possibly 15 or 20 years. This explained the drastic change in Tundra.

 

‘So, he’s at the level of the latter half of the novel, or even beyond?’

 

With such abilities, he could rival her father or the Swordmaster. 

 

‘Wow, unbelievable.’

 

She had never thought such a thing could happen. Knowing the novel <The Shadow of Bellato> so well, she hadn’t anticipated such a significant variable.

 

‘This should be impossible.’

 

Suddenly, she remembered a setting about Tundra from the author’s blog. 

 

[Attribute 1: Turns the impossible into possible.]

 

Viola was at a loss for words. Broadly speaking, it wasn’t outside of his character setting. The male lead Tundra has the attribute of making the impossible possible, and now he was just acting according to that attribute.

 

Tundra continued, “The Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors. I saw Kang Han-joon there.”

 

Viola felt her legs go weak; she almost collapsed. If she hadn’t been training all this time, she would have really fallen. The pronunciation of ‘Kang Han-joon’ was extremely difficult for people in this world. Usually, they pronounced it as ‘Garhanjiun,’ but now the pronunciation of ‘Kang Han-joon’ was clear, as if a Korean was speaking.

 

“And I defeated that person.”

 

It was a statement loaded with many meanings, a clear declaration that he was not Kang Han-joon. 

 

“He taught me a lot. About what the princess needs. About what I can do for the princess.”

 

The motivation that kept him enduring in The Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors was Viola. His motivation was to escape from there and be by Viola’s side. As Viola listened to Tundra’s words, her thoughts began to clear.

 

‘Tundra has moved beyond his past.’

 

He was different from Viola. Viola had not yet managed to escape from her past. That’s why she always felt unsettled and couldn’t steady her heart when she looked at Tundra. 

 

‘Tundra is Tundra.’

 

Not Kang Han-joon. That was certain now. It felt like the god that had been clouding her mind disappeared.

 

‘He is more mature than me.’

 

Now, thanks to Tundra, her memories of Kang Han-joon were erased and she was able to escape from the illusions those memories cast.

 

‘Okay, I am Viola.’

 

Arin was no more.  The world within the novel was a real world, it was hers and her name was Viola. Like it or not, she had a family and was living and breathing here. She quickly made up her mind.

 

‘It would be foolish not to give a name when the strongest in the universe is asking for one.’

 

“I will give you a name.”

 

Tundra smiled brightly. 

 

“Yes, Princess.”

 

Then, he knelt. This was not Tundra the pet dog yearning for Viola’s touch. He bowed his head and humbly waited for the name.

 

“Your name is… Tundra.”

 

His name had always been Tundra. It wasn’t a sophisticated name nor particularly befitting a male lead. Even as a reader, she hadn’t liked that name. But Viola decided to bestow the name Tundra once more, affirming his current existence.

 

“Thank you for giving me a name.”

 

Though it was the same name, the Tundra now was different from the Tundra before. Tundra stood up and, looking at Viola with eyes filled with joy, he bowed respectfully.

 

“I have been named by you here.”

 

Just then, magical energy gathered in the Black Temple as its monsters began to regenerate. Tundra grasped his sword, conjured mana, and quickly shaped it into multiple sword forms, shooting them out in all directions. A wave of mana swept the surroundings, and all the regenerating monsters were instantly annihilated before they could fully form. 

 

Viola froze in place.

 

‘Did that… really happen?’

 

Tundra thrust his sword into a pool of blood formed from the monsters’ blood and despite the solid stone floor, the sword sunk in as if into pudding and began to emit a reddish glow. Tundra drew the sword

 again and knelt before Viola, respectfully presenting it.

 

He formally introduced himself.

 

“I, the Princess’s…”

 

No. He decided to clarify his identity further. It didn’t matter to Tundra whether Viola was a princess or not.

 

“I, Viola’s knight, Tundra.”

 

***

 

Vichen’s butler said, “The Duchess does not wish to meet with My Lord.”

 

“Why?”

 

“That’s…”

 

Duchess Isabella was thoroughly furious with her son’s absurd decision. It wasn’t just anger; it had reached the point of contempt.

 

Vichen smirked, “Because I renounced my inheritance?”

 

The butler was puzzled. 

 

‘He’s not crying.’

 

The butler knew how much Vichen loved his mother. He seemed like the kind of boy who would jump into hell if his mother said so.

 

‘The Duchess has come to despise My Lord, and he doesn’t seem to care?’

 

Vichen continued, “Butler, are you disappointed in me, too?”

 

“If I said I wasn’t, it would be a lie.”

 

“I’ll give you a generous severance. You’re free to leave this house.”

 

“My Lord!”

 

“As you’ve served the Bellato household, you’ll be well-treated anywhere.”

 

The butler bowed his head. After much thought, he finally accepted Vichen’s offer. In the end, he decided to resign from his position as a butler and leave for another place.

 

“Butler, I have a question. Oh, I’m sorry. Since you’re no longer my butler, I’ll address you by your name, Fallon.”

 

“Please speak.”

 

“Did my mother love me?”

 

“I don’t believe that’s within my capacity to judge, My Lord.”

 

In truth, Vichen didn’t want an answer from Fallon. Right now, he just needed someone to converse with.

 

“I don’t think Mother loved Vichen, did she?”

 

“It’s not that. She must have loved the 5th Prince, ‘the heir candidate.’”

 

More accurately, she loved the 5th Prince as the supporter of the 2nd Prince. Vichen was aware of this fact but had never acknowledged it until now.

 

“I loved my mom.”

 

Vichen smiled brightly. It was a bright smile, yet it didn’t seem happy.

 

“My Lord.”

 

“It’s okay. I’m sad, but I’m fine. Even though I lost my mother, I gained a younger sibling!”

 

Tears fell from Vichen’s eyes as he continued to smile brightly. 

 

“So I’m happy! Extremely happy!”

 

Former butler Fallon couldn’t bear to look at those tears of pain. He approached Vichen and patted his shoulder. After a while, Vichen spoke again.

 

“Fallon.”

 

“Please speak.” 

 

“Isabella, the Duchess.”

 

He referred to her not as Mother but as Isabella, the Duchess. 

 

“She won’t forgive a betrayer. But did I betray the Duchess?”

 

“…My Lord?”

 

“She won’t easily kill me. But what about Fallon?”

 

Fallon, who hadn’t thought that far ahead, widened his eyes. Come to think of it, that was true. Cold sweat began to form on his back.

 

“Fallon, who failed to properly raise me, would be subject to revenge murder as soon as he left Winter Castle, wouldn’t he? It would be difficult for Fallon, who resigned from his position as a butler, to find another job within Winter Castle. What if he becomes unemployed? How pitiful would that be?”

 

There was no way out. 

 

“So let me propose one last thing. Will you become my butler again?”

 

The butler had no choice. Whether he liked it or not, he had to continue living as Vichen’s butler. He couldn’t run away. He had fallen completely into a trap that wasn’t a trap.

 

‘My Lord has changed…!’

 

Things were changing in <The Shadow of Bellato>. Vichen, who had been simple, cheerful, and ignorant, began to scheme. Cowardly Shailan lost his fear. These were minor(?) changes that were happening where Viola couldn’t see.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Viola, the main cause of these changes, still hadn’t left the first floor of the Black Temple. 

 

‘This can’t… be happening.’

 

Viola, frozen in place, was experiencing in real-time one of the miracles that only the male protagonist of a novel could create.

 

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Translator Note:

 

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