I Played the Role of the Adopted Daughter Too Well

[My beautiful daughter, you will soon be like this, too.]

 

It was obvious who sent it. 

 

‘Duchess Isabella!’

 

Viola threw the note on the floor and picked up Butterfly. The Qualtons’ characteristic shadow was moving over Butterfly, and the cat was barely breathing.

 

‘Don’t die.’

 

What did Butterfly do wrong? Butterfly was just close to Mr. Hickson and only occasionally interacted with Viola.

 

‘Butterfly is not guilty at all!’

 

Isabella even calculated the time meticulously. Butterfly would die about the time Viola checked the note. 

 

“Zenon!”

 

Zenon opened the door and came in as Viola called loudly. 

 

“Yes, Princess?”

 

Zenon looked at the cat in Viola’s arms. In Zenon’s eyes, Butterfly was already dead, or at least it would be better to be dead. 

 

Viola’s voice was heard calling, “Do something… please.”

 

At that moment, Zenon felt a strange sensation. It felt like something heavy had fallen on his chest with a thud! He saw tears welling up in the eyes of Viola, the Iron-Blooded Princess. Zenon’s eyes sank coldly as he quickly grasped the situation. 

 

‘Duchess Isabella.’

 

Zenon noticed both that Isabella had done this, and that Viola was sad because of it.

 

‘You are now my enemy.’

 

Through today’s events, Zenon clearly realized his mindset with Viola was no longer towards a potential successor. It actually broke his heart for him to see Viola sad. Zenon completely acknowledged that he liked the Princess. He didn’t wish for Viola to be sad and thus he was filled with anger towards Isabella for making her sad. ‘He’ was actually angry! Zenon thought that he lived without emotions. In fact, his friends at the Academy had called Zenon an emotionless monster. But no, Zenon had emotions and right now he was both sad and mad.

 

“Princess, don’t be sad.”

 

Zenon summoned his mana and used Rathbone Bingum’s magic of ‘rapid freezing’ to cryogenically freeze the cat. It was a temporary measure, but it would allow him not to die right away.

 

“As your butler, I will carry out your orders no matter what.”

 

* * *

 

The person who delivered the note and small box containing Butterfly was Vichen. Vichen, who had grown bored waiting for Viola, had gone outside to look around and just now arrived back.

 

“Huh? Viola!”

 

Vichen smiled brightly. 

 

“…Huh?”

 

But he noticed that the situation wasn’t so bright. He pointed at Butterfly with his finger.

 

“Is that Butterfly?”

 

Butterfly was trapped in solid, transparent ice. It looked bad at first glance.

 

“Did my brother bring it?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Vichen instinctively avoided answering. To be truthful, Vichen hadn’t cared at all about what was in the box. He was just happy that he was going to the capital where Viola was. As his mother, Isabella, had repeatedly emphasized that he should never open the box or even pay attention to it, Vichen had left the box with the butler and then completely forgotten about it. 

 

“That’s…”

 

Still, he couldn’t lie. 

 

“That’s right, I brought it.”

 

“Why did you do that?”

 

“I, I did nothing wrong.”

 

Vichen waved his hands in embarrassment and took a couple of steps back. The aura he felt from Viola was unusual.

 

‘Eek, this is going to be a big deal.’

 

Vichen almost drew his sword without realizing it. Viola’s murderous intent was that strong. Cold sweat began to run down Vichen’s back.

 

“Do-do you want to fight me?”

 

“Princess, do you want to kill me, Vichen?”

 

After hearing Zenon’s question, Viola was able to regain her senses. In fact, it wasn’t Vichen’s fault. He was just doing his mother’s errand too cheerfully.

 

‘Yes, it’s not Vichen’s fault.’

 

Viola took a deep breath. Since Zenon had already done the rapid cooling, the most urgent task was to find an excellent priest.

 

“No. I’m sorry. When I think about it, it’s not my brother’s fault.”

 

“Don’t hate me.”

 

‘…Huh?’

 

Viola doubted her ears at the unexpected words. Vichen’s body was trembling slightly.

 

‘Now that I think about it… Vichen’s reaction is strange.’

 

Viola had unknowingly let out a murderous aura and Vichen had almost pulled out his sword in response to that murderous aura. If it had been Vichen in the original novel, he would have swung his sword, saying, ‘Hehe! Are we going to fight a duel to risk our lives? This is exciting!’ But this Vichen was afraid of something. 

 

“I hope you don’t hate me.”

 

Vichen was afraid. He was afraid that Viola would hate him. Viola felt a little unfamiliar with this appearance, but at the same time, it felt familiar.

 

‘He’s become just like my dad.’

 

Yes, he was the same as Heron. Vichen, the cheerful killing machine in the novel, was now Viola’s family who liked her.

 

“I don’t hate you.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Vichen heard her words, but he wanted to confirm it one more time. 

 

“I don’t hate you. I was so surprised and upset that I took it out on my brother.”

 

“That’s fortunate. Hehe.”

 

Vichen finally felt relieved and laughed. It was a behavior that was so different from the original, but Vichen himself didn’t feel anything strange. Zenon, who was waiting and watching, didn’t feel anything strange either. However, Zenon noticed one thing. 

 

‘You’re not just laughing happily, young master.’

 

Vichen was laughing, but there was a subtle murderous intent in that laugh. It wasn’t a murderous intent toward Viola, but a murderous intent toward Isabella. On the outside, he was smiling faintly but on the inside, he was asking, ‘Duchess, why did you do that?’ He wondered. Why did Isabella do this? Why did she make Viola so sad? 

 

‘I won’t let this go.’

 

She was no longer his mother. To him, Isabella was not his mother, merely a duchess. He decided to quickly return to Winter Castle and hold Isabella accountable.

 

“Oh, by the way, I have an important mission, so I’ll go out first.”

 

He waved his hand vigorously. 

 

“If I get hurt, you have to put ointment on me!”

 

The only person who could put ointment on him was Viola! He swallowed those words and headed straight back to Winter Castle.

 

* * *

 

In a dark room, Isabella pronounced, “They say you have to kill your mother to become a true monarch.”

 

The second prince Garcia was lying under her feet. Despite being in that state, Garcia shook his head. Isabella’s eyes were dark and an ominous, dark energy was leaking out of her body.

 

“Have you been using black magic?”

 

The second prince was not greatly intimidated. He had been used to Isabella’s behavior since childhood. However, today, it seemed that she had crossed a line. 

 

“I will not kill my mother.”

 

He pushed Isabella’s feet away with force and stood up. He hadn’t been helplessly defeated like when he was young. He looked at Isabella with a contemptuous gaze and then turned around to leave.  

 

“My mother is not worth killing right now. Please, come to your senses. What would my father think if he saw this?”

 

He tried to go outside but he couldn’t. 

 

“W-what is this…!”

 

A shadow had stabbed his chest. The shadow of the Qualton family, filled with the aura of death, pierced his heart.

 

“Oh my… you?”

 

The second prince Garcia died on the spot. He never thought his mother would do something like this in Winter Castle, causing him to be careless. He had thought that today’s occurrence was just a regular meeting. 

 

Blood dripped from Isabella’s hand, which was linked to the shadow.

 

“There is no need for a lion that cannot eat its mother.”

 

Isabella stared blankly at Garcia while black tears flowed from her eyes.

 

“It hurts my heart.”

 

Hahaha! 

 

She burst into laughter.

 

“It hurts my heart so much. I want to kill them all.”

 

She waited for someone while looking at her son’s body. 

 

“It’s about time for you to come.”

 

Another son. Vichen was coming. He would probably come back very angry as Isabella had calculated the time thoroughly prior to proceeding with her work. It was too short for the elders of Winter Castle or anyone else to notice this change, but enough time for Vichen to return. In fact, Vichen had already passed through Winter Castle’s southern gate and soon came to find Isabella.

 

Isabella smiled brightly and said, “I’ve been waiting for you, my son.”

 

Vichen stopped when he found Isabella. The smell of blood he had been smelling for a while ago was not a lie.

 

“Why did you kill my brother?”

 

“He was not worthy of being a lion.”

 

“This is inside Winter Castle. Mom forgot that, didn’t she?”

 

Vichen bit his lip. 

 

“I have to kill my mother. To atone for the sin of breaking the law.”

 

“They say you have to kill your mother to become a true monarch.”

 

In a place Viola didn’t know, a similar story as <The Shadow of Bellato> unfolded.

 

“I have to kill my mother. To atone for the sin of breaking the law.”

 

“They say you have to kill your mother to become a true monarch.”

 

Isabella spread her arms wide. 

 

“Now, kill me.”

 

Isabella waited and waited. Her body was full of others’ mana. When she killed her blood relatives and drank their blood, the true value of black magic was revealed.

 

‘I drank my blood relatives’ blood and amplified my mana.’

 

Now, if she could give all this mana to Vichen, everything would be complete. Vichen could become a true monarch who ate his brother and mother. Vichen had to do that.

 

‘My child, a child who inherited my blood, must rule Bellato.’

 

That was the only thought that filled her mind. 

 

‘If you kill me, you can become the ruler, Vichen.’

 

Bellato, ruled by someone who was not her child, was meaningless. 

 

“I miss my mother every day.”

 

“I miss my son, too.”

 

“I wish I had my mother by my side.” 

 

Vichen loved his mother, Isabella, and shed tears as he said, “That’s why I can’t forgive her.”

 

He wiped away his tears. He didn’t cry anymore.

 

‘I won’t ask her why she did that to Viola.’

 

In fact, he had been thinking about it since he left to return here. Why did his mother do such a childish thing to Viola? He was angry, but how could he ask her? It was now meaningless. 

 

“I’ll make your wish come true.”

 

He would lose his mother but he was no longer afraid of that. 

 

‘I’m not sad.’

 

Even if he was badly hurt, there was someone who would apply ointment. He drew his sword and rushed at Isabella.

 

* * *

 

Viola followed Zenon’s guidance to a bar. He said it was a branch of the most famous intelligence group in the empire, but also said he didn’t know their name.

 

‘We have to save Butterfly.’

 

It didn’t matter if it cost a lot of money, she wanted to save Butterfly. If she went back like this, she wouldn’t even be able to look Hickson in the face.

 

‘There’s no one here?’

 

There was not a single person but Viola’s keen senses caught a strange feeling.

 

‘Strangely… I smell death.’

 

This was where Medea met Gaia and while Viola didn’t know that, she could still smell the recent death. 

 

At that moment, a voice was heard calling, “Oh my. An unexpected nobleman came to visit.”

 

It was the woman who had just spoken to Medea. Gaia, the head of the intelligence group ‘Night Cat,’ appeared and spoke as if she knew everything.

 

“Are you looking for a way to save Butterfly?”

 

“Is there a way?”

 

“There is, but…”

 

Gaia glanced at her with a meaningful smile.

 

“I wonder if the princess can pay the price…”

 

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Translator Note: