Viola mastered her role as an adopted daughter far too well. As she focused her mind, a gentle breeze stirred and made the grass sway to and fro.

While it lacked lethality, the grass danced around as if it were alive.

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

Sheilan was internally shook.

What to do now?

Should I tell the truth?

What you accomplished in a single day is what took me three years!

‘I was also praised for my speed by my master, you know.’

Sheilan wasn’t a once-in-a-century genius, but he never considered himself talentless.

He hadn’t slacked off either.

He had been thoroughly enamored by the allure of the Grass Sword and had loved it dearly.

Some say, “Those who work hard cannot beat those who enjoy what they do,” and Sheilan was precisely one who enjoyed it.

‘She did what I accomplished in three years in just one day.’

It was beyond belief and made him feel almost deflated.

Nevertheless, Sheilan did not show his feelings.

He recalled his master’s teachings.

“Rapid achievements at the beginning can be a poison.”

“Why is that, Master?”

“Because it allows arrogance to fester in the heart. That poison is called pride, and sometimes haughtiness. Always carry humility in your heart and work diligently.”

Sheilan steadied his trembling lips and calmly replied, “Yes. You’re doing quite well.”

“Really?”

Viola was satisfied with that level of an answer.

After all, she had no ambition to become the finest swordsman in the continent through the Grass Sword.

She thought that if she could just defend herself and maintain a decent appearance as White Bellatu, that would be enough.

‘Seems like I’m doing above average.

She thought so.

Considering she inhabited the body of the female lead, it made sense.

She felt quite pleased to have confirmed she was doing at least better than average.

Three days went by.

The grass winds created by Viola gained a slight cutting edge.

They could now make minor scrapes on human skin.

Sheilan kept a straight face and said, “Now, we’ve barely completed the basics.”

As if this were nothing at all.

He swallowed hard.

‘This is a monster.

It was like the protagonists he read about in childhood hero novels, equipped with absurd abilities.

Yeah. A protagonist from a novel.

This simply can’t be real otherwise.

He began to think that this world was perhaps built for that princess.

“Now that the basics are done, shall we return to Bellatu?”

Sheilan wanted to enter Bellatu Duke House quickly.

Before Duke Mariantu sent more assassins.

That was a separate matter from skill.

A cockroach can’t harm a person, but many are still terrified of them.

An assassin wouldn’t be able to hurt him, yet still, coward that he was, he feared them.

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

“Got it.”

Viola gazed at the fluttering grass and thought, ‘Surprisingly… this is fun?’

Viola began to enjoy training with the Grass Sword.

*

In the distance, the Winter Castle started to come into view.

The southern gate of the Winter Castle was getting closer.

Zeno, who was driving the carriage, said.

Even speaking outside, his voice could be heard clearly.

“Princess, someone is here to see you. To prevent any potential safety accidents, I will stop for a moment.”

The carriage halted.

Viola leaned out the window and looked.

‘What is that?’ Dust was rising.

Someone was dashing towards them with great energy.

‘Bichen?’

Viola swallowed hard.

If the original story held, he’d be rushing in with a sword, laughing ‘hee hee!’

It was hard to see through the dust.

“VI! OLA! AAAAA!”

Fortunately, Bichen was not holding a sword.

Tundra, who had tensed up for a moment, relaxed again.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just waiting for Viola.”

“Why?”

Bichen tilted his head.

“Is there any reason not to?”

He rubbed his nose.

From what I gathered, he had been squatting in front of the south gate daily since Hela’s arrival.

“I was just bored since Viola was gone.”

He smiled widely.

“I have no one to apply ointment for me.”

“Why the ointment?”

“I fought that guy, the Third Prince, a few days ago.”

Bichen suddenly rolled up his sleeves to show his arms.

The wounds looked serious.

For someone with superhuman recovery like Bichen, it had to have been a real injury.

Recalling the duel with the Third Prince, Bichen bit his lip.

“It’s frustrating. If I were just five years older, I could have killed him.”

Viola, sensitive to the killer intent, felt the murderous aura emanating from Bichen.

It was the real deal.

If given the chance, Bichen truly seemed like he wanted to stab the Third Prince to death.

‘Snap out of it.

She must not forget that beneath Bichen’s exterior lay a murderous essence.

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

“Yeah.”

“You could have waited at home.”

“Hmm. Thinking about it, that seems right?”

Bichen accepted that very quickly.

Then he grinned.

“I might be an idiot. By the way, do I have something to brag about?”

Bichen beamed as he opened a space pocket.

The head of a troll rolled on the ground, dripping blood.

‘Eek!’

Viola bit her scream back.

The troll’s head emitted a foul odor.

“I found a troll with three heads. So I killed it. The other two heads are in my space pocket.”

Normally, trolls, an upper-tier monster breed, were classified as high-grade mutations if they had three heads.

With time passing, Bichen was turning more and more monstrous.

“This one’s pretty rare.”

Bichen lifted the troll’s head from the ground.

“I’ll give this to you.”

With pure intent, Bichen presented the gift to Viola.

Viola shook her head.

“I don’t want such a gift.”

‘What do you expect me to do with that, with that green, gooey blood dripping everywhere!’

Trolls have incredibly powerful regeneration, and even without a head, its eyes were blinking.

The sight was truly grotesque.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“Um, not really.”

Bichen looked a bit downcast for a moment.

He thought she would like it, but it seemed he was mistaken.

Stuck in thought for a moment, Bichen clapped his hands.

“Ah! I get it.”

He seemed to grasp why Viola wouldn’t accept the gift.

“You mean it has to be at least a Twin-Headed Ogre or something, right?”

Bichen shoved the troll’s head back into his space pocket and chuckled.

“I’m going to go catch one!”

Bichen, who had appeared like a storm, disappeared again like a typhoon.

Viola watched him leave, both dumbfounded and puzzled.

‘Could he… really be able to catch a Twin-Headed Ogre at that age?’

He seemed to be growing far quicker than the original.

Must be just my imagination.’

For some reason, her nape felt chilly.

*

Viola entered the Duke’s Mansion.

“Report about Sheilan, please.”

“Understood.”

Zeno strode ahead, tidying up the bed.

He used mana to dust off any potential foreign substances and dirt and lifted the covers.

“Are you tired?”

“Yeah.”

“Please take a little rest. I’ll prepare strawberry ade to match your waking time.”

Viola nodded.

Zeno was indeed capable.

The writer was mentioning his competence for a good reason.

How can he understand my thoughts so well?

Viola nestled into the blankets, and Zeno smiled as he covered her up.

“I hope the Princess can rest comfortably, even if just for a moment.”

She had shown a magnificent side at the Forget-Me-Not Ball.

How much focus must it have taken to display such a sight?

Zeno pulled out a scroll from his pocket.

It was a ‘Silent’ magic scroll that worked to eliminate surrounding noise.

‘And with that, my monthly salary just flew away.’

He then took out a ‘Tera Pi’ magic scroll, famous as a luxury item.

This scroll had effects of aiding recovery during sleep, improving skin texture, and relieving muscle tension.

It had a pleasant side effect of helping one fall asleep nicely.

Although not very effective for its price, it was greatly favored by nobles.

‘And with that, my two months’ salary has vanished.’

His gaze fell on Viola, who was sleeping, chewing her hair, mumbling in her sleep.

Mm, mm, she was even sleep-talking.

When she fell into a deep sleep, she always did that.

“If I can get the Princess a warm sleep with two months’ worth of salary, it feels like a fair deal.”

He closed the door and headed to the Duke’s office.

In the office, Duchess Isabella was sitting instead of the Duke.

“Duchess Isabella, it’s been a while.”

“Zeno, right?”

Isabella calmly set down her glasses and replied.

“I’m acting on behalf since the Duke has gone on an expedition.”

“An expedition? I hadn’t heard any news of departure.”

“He went alone.”

“What?”

“One of the Great Monsters is showing signs of emerging. He took the Ice Storm with him.”

“I see.”

The Duke’s taking the Ice Storm meant that a powerful Great Monster could potentially arise.

He seemed to have moved quietly and independently to prepare for any chaos.

“Until the Duke returns, all reports should come to me. Hela has already reported everything related to the Forget-Me-Not Ball, so there’s no need to report on that separately.

I also know that the duel arena from Mariantu will be flying soon. I know he also made a reverse recruitment of assassins from the Eastern Continent on his way back. Is there anything else to report?”

“As expected, Princess Hela is thorough. You’ve covered everything I intended to report.”

Zeno smiled brightly and bowed his head.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“Wait a moment, Butler Zeno.”

Isabella’s body slithered out of the shadows and appeared right in front of Zeno.

It was characteristic of the Quilton House’s unique shadow manipulation.

Isabella lowered her voice.

“Are you really planning to go back like this?”

Her hand touched Zeno’s abdomen.

Her hand radiated a sharper edge than any famous sword.

“I find this incredibly threatening, Duchess. I would appreciate it if you could step back a little.”

Isabella’s eyes narrowed.

“If it were the Duke instead of me here, what report would he have wanted to bring up?”

“Honestly, Duchess, you cannot be deceived by your eyes. I shall speak honestly, so please stop the threats. It’s frightening.”

Zeno spoke with a completely nonchalant expression, and Isabella stepped back a couple of paces.

Leaning against the door, she opened her mouth.

“Fine. Then tell me. What exactly were you going to say originally?”