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Viola had played the role of an adopted daughter exceedingly well, desperately trying to think of why this was happening with all the knowledge she had as a reader.

“I can’t explain it perfectly logically.”

Both of them were incredibly skilled.

If she tried to explain it with hasty logic, it could lead to an adverse effect.

So, she decided to explain based on emotion.

“It’s because my father is kind.”

At those words, Hixson raised his eyebrows.

He suddenly rubbed his ears.

“That’s strange. Is something wrong with my ears?”

He asked again with a serious expression.

“You said your father is kind? Your father is violent.”

Hixson clearly remembered what Viola had said.

She had extended those small, delicate, fern-like hands toward him and said:

“My father is indifferent to me. Throwing me into this wilderness and being so indifferent is a kind of violence, isn’t it?”

How could the Duke Heron be kind?

It was utterly incomprehensible to Hixson.

He didn’t even want to understand.

“He gifted me a ring.”

“I know. He completely transformed the Marguerite Flower Field, right?”

Hixson seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

“Yep. But it wasn’t just an ordinary flower field.”

“Then?”

“It was a flower field filled with Arena.”

Arena is a spirit water that creates miracles, and even the spirits can only extract it once.

Pongpong had brought in a large amount of Arena to sprinkle over the flower field to cultivate his first flower field.

Medea seemed quite intrigued as well.

“If it’s Arena…… it’s the spirit water that creates miracles?”

“Exactly. If it were my father, he would have known that the Marguerite Flowers were infused with Arena.”

In truth, Viola didn’t know either.

Whether Heron knew that or not.

“So it seems he may have put those flowers in the ring and gifted it to me.”

Hixson’s expression grew worse and worse.

He sat with his legs crossed, responding with a nonchalant face.

“What’s the connection between flowers infused with Arena and the gift for you?”

“It’s the Grass Sword I’ve mastered.”

“So?”

“Perhaps my father hoped I would master the Grass Sword. This ring grants great power to those who master the Grass Sword.”

Nonsense!

Hixson wanted to shout that out.

That despicable guy just wanted to give a gift of flowers to his cute daughter!

Although he wanted to say that, he also thought maybe Viola had a point.

‘That guy is so meticulous.’

He had a brief thought that it could be possible since he could see far into the future.

‘A ring filled with flowers that contain spirit water.’

Hixson muttered with a frown.

“So, there must be an infinitely generating flower field within the ring.”

Given the power of the miraculous spirit water Arena, it was a plausible statement.

It was also evident that the compatibility with the Grass Sword would be beyond imagination.

“All you have to do is draw out that power through the Grass Sword. Your affinity for spirits is among the best in the continent, so you could use the power of the flowers infused with spirit water much more advantageously.”

Viola sipped her cocoa.

Hixson’s soliloquy served as a lesson for Viola.

“Hm. Now I’m starting to understand a bit.”

Hixson continued speaking.

“However, to contain that degree of miracle, it has to be an artifact surpassing miracles….”

Hixson scratched his head.

Listening closely, it seemed that Viola’s words might all hold true.

‘Did that guy really prepare such an arrangement?’

What he had thought just a simple gift seemed to be something else entirely.

If it were just a gift, it wouldn’t be designed this elaborately.

“So, was it to seek Master Mage Kurumkurum?”

To contain a miracle, a miracle was necessary.

So, it seemed they needed the power of Master Mage Kurumkurum who creates miracles.

“I heard that the chief designer Carlo’s teacher is Kurumkurum.”

“Indeed, no wonder there seemed to be a peculiar connection between the ring and the dress.”

“Did you feel that way too, Uncle?”

“It seems that Viola’s aura reacted and organically shaped the flow of mana in the dress. That allowed you to handle the powerful spirit’s strength generated from the ring without much difficulty.”

Medea smiled sweetly.

“Viola’s aura must have been the key to awakening the dress’s power.”

“That must be the pride of a Master Mage.”

Thanks to the sharpness of the characters, Viola was able to sip her cocoa in patience.

‘Ah, so that’s how it is. That’s why I’m strong.’

The cocoa felt sweet.

*

Chief Butler Carlton gazed at the moon, lost in deep thought.

“The Duke is taking a long time to return.

He sensed the signs of a Great Monster and headed to the Place Where the Eye Shines, alone, with the chill of winter.

It had been a long time since they lost contact, and Carlton secretly worried.

“He is strong, but Great Monsters are also strong.

If the Lord of Winter Castle wasn’t Heron Bellatu, then the Winter Castle might have collapsed long ago.

Heron had already eradicated various species of Great Monsters that could be called disasters.

The peace enjoyed by the people of the world was thanks to Heron.

At least, that’s what Carlton thought.

Let’s wait a few more days.

If the return takes this long, I must secretly form a search party to head to the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines.’

Carlton spent the night with wide-open eyes.

*

Heron walked, holding the chill of winter.

The Place Where the Eye Shines was a place where the snow blew fiercely, making visibility difficult.

However, for Heron, it posed no problem.

“Not here either.”

He looked around.

It seemed it had already become night.

The Place Where the Eye Shines was a place where the boundary between day and night was unclear.

Sometimes it was bright, and sometimes it was dark.

There were even places where hot springs flowed amid the snow.

A new world, far removed from this world’s common sense.

That’s how Heron defined the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines.’

“It’ll take a bit longer.”

Heron was tracking something day and night.

He showed no signs of fatigue even after walking for a long time, and he was fine without eating or drinking.

Heron spoke.

“I don’t plan to kill you, so stay still.”

Those words were directed at the throngs of monsters surrounding him.

It was human language, but his will was embedded in those words.

The monsters could instinctively read that will.

As Heron took a step, all kinds of monsters took a step back, step by step.

What was contained in the ferocious monsters’ eyes was clear fear.

The instinctual dread of prey toward a predator.

The monsters of the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines,’ whom humanity feared so much, were afraid of Heron.

Heron continued to walk, paying little mind to the monsters.

In the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines,’ he read traces of something, aided by the surging mana.

“Is it here?”

He drew the Frost Blade and swung it toward the ground.

“A storm erupted in the Place Where the Eye Shines.

He drove away the endlessly swirling snow, and the ground split apart.

Heron’s gaze fell beneath the split earth.

He saw something enormous wriggling from beneath the ground.

It looked like a hellish monster that had crawled out of the depths.

He had ventured alone to the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines’ to find that.

“I hold no grudge against you, but this is the way of nature.”

He swung his sword once again.

A sharp wind from the sword cleaved something.

Heron leaped lightly and landed deep underground.

He had come to hunt this creature.

It was a very special kind of mealworm that only inhabited the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines.’

Its overall rainbow-colored appearance earned it the name ‘Rainbow Mealworm,’ but only a very few people, including Heron, knew of this entity.

Reaching about 30 meters in size and existing only in the depths, it was extremely difficult to hunt.

Furthermore, its shell was so hard that unless one possessed the strength of a 5th Rank Knight or higher, even a scratch wouldn’t be possible against the powerful monster.

“It would be best to crush it into small pieces.”

Just as he had done when crushing the Marguerite Flower Field, he cut it into small portions.

Having hunted the powerful upper-class monster dwelling in the depths, Heron wore a satisfied expression.

“No worries for a year.”

The hedgehogs were picky eaters and would only eat the Rainbow Mealworm.

Reluctantly, he had to come hunt the Rainbow Mealworm at least once a year.

“I need to head back.”

He turned his steps toward the Winter Castle.

*

Carlton let out a sigh of relief and went out to welcome the Duke.

“Did you handle the Great Monster?”

“Yes.”

Though it doesn’t invade human territory, the Rainbow Mealworm could certainly be classified as a Great Monster.

“Lady Isabella is waiting for you.”

Heron met Isabella and heard various stories.

There were topics of great interest to Heron among them.

“Zeno reported this.”

“I’ll relay it as is.”

Isabella conveyed the contents of the report.

[He has fallen into a very comfortable sleep and seems to be chewing on his hair. Perhaps he is having a nice dream. He might be eating an egg tart in his dream.]

Isabella watched for the Duke’s reaction.

Surely, there must be some hidden secret within that content.

“What could it be?”

She unleashed Quilton’s power.

With keen insight, she observed the Duke and read the subtle tremors of his shadow.

‘The shadow is flickering.’

That meant there had been some change in sentiment.

‘There’s definitely something.’

Isabella continued relaying the happenings from the Duke’s mansion.

“Recently, Viola achieved an overwhelming victory in the duel. Princess Selbin didn’t use the potion I gifted her.”

“……I see.”

The flickering of the shadow continued.

Reading this level of agitation from Heron was almost unprecedented.

What could cause his heart to tremble so?

“The martial art Viola has mastered is the Grass Sword, which has a very good synergy with the ring you bestowed upon her.”

She cautiously asked.

“Is it okay to ask if you had the Grass Sword in mind when you gifted it?”

“I leave that judgment to you, my lady.”

In truth, he had never considered such a thing.

He first learned there was a martial art called Grass Sword.

“Indeed. And there is one more important piece of news.”

Isabella closed her eyes for a moment.

In fact, this news was the most important.

“All of Mariantu’s escort knights were annihilated. It was a tragedy that occurred eight days after leaving the Winter Castle.”

The escort knights were all wiped out.

Princess Sena was missing.

“It seems there may have been an insider. Mariantu immediately organized a search party and requested our cooperation.

The search party led by 1st Princess Medea is currently searching for Princess Sena.”

Having heard all the details, Heron stepped off in a direction.

“Where are you going?”

“I will visit the 6th Princess.”

Isabella’s eyes narrowed as she watched the distant figure of Heron.

To dash to Viola’s room right after a hunt and hearing this report.

There was surely something hidden between Viola and Heron.

‘What could he be going to do?’

Isabella barely suppressed her curiosity and arrived at the door of Viola’s room.