I had played the role of an adopted daughter a bit too well. Chapter 130. In the slum, there was the leader of the beggar gang, representing the area.

The beggars referred to him as “the king.”

As representatives of the weak, they were extremely perceptive and, in some cases, very sensitive to the atmosphere.

They had an instinctive ability to easily read the invisible ‘presence of the strong.’

Keitarun, the king of the second beggar cave, was no different.

He recognized it the moment he saw Viola.

‘That’s an absolute being!’

I couldn’t tell what he was, but my instincts were speaking.

A noble born with the fate of an absolute being, blooming gracefully in a place that one could not dare to look at.

That’s how Viola appeared to him.

‘Don’t make eye contact.’

Just a brief moment of eye contact, and fear began to creep all over him.

He had seldom felt such an intense aura.

‘This is frightening. What on earth is someone like that doing here?’

Keitarun was sweating profusely, unsure of what to do.

Viola wasn’t comfortable either.

Though she smiled warmly, it did absolutely nothing.

Keitarun swallowed hard and asked back, “W-What are you curious about?”

“I’m looking for Sirson’s fallen disciple.”

“W-We don’t know such a person!”

Keitarun jumped in alarm at the thought of something bad happening and immediately denied Elcina.

Elcina had become someone disliked by the powerful of the Magic Tower, and the beggars hated becoming entangled with her.

They were afraid that if they got mixed up with Elcina, they would be chased out of the Magic Tower.

“Don’t you know Elcina?”

“I really, really don’t know her!”

“It’s hard to believe a person from the 6th Magic Tower doesn’t know Elcina. Even a passing hedgehog wouldn’t buy that.”

He knelt down.

Upon facing Viola’s “Killing Star,” his mind went blank.

“We will live carefully as if we don’t exist. Just please spare our lives.”

“From what I see, you would.”

Viola spat out a line she didn’t mean.

She even felt a bit deflated.

‘Wow, I’m really becoming Bellatu now.’

Somehow, she felt like Zeno standing behind her was grinning with satisfaction, making her too scared to look back.

Viola opened her mouth again.

“Alright. Let’s say you don’t know Elcina. You have someone who teaches you how to read, right?”

“Uh, no!”

One thing Elcina wanted to do the most with the beggars was to help them escape illiteracy.

She believed that knowing letters was essential for them to live a human-like life.

At the very least, they could gain the right to leave the Magic Tower and acquire knowledge about the outside world.

However, Keitarun frantically waved his hands, insisting they had no such person.

‘He really seems to not know.’

They must be using a pseudonym.

But I can’t just say a pseudonym I read in the novel.

“Then is there someone who teaches you gymnastics?”

“Gy-gymnastics?”

“Think carefully and answer. Don’t make me ask multiple times.”

I’m sorry, everyone.

I don’t want to be oppressive, but if the Magic Tower Security Force comes running over because I stirred up a ruckus, it would be troublesome.

Time is of the essence.

Please understand.

Internally, Viola was apologizing to them.

“There must be one. Someone who teaches Yorga gymnastics.”

Yorga gymnastics was merely a name for what effectively was a meditation technique.

It was something Viola had told Jeremy a long time ago.

‘Practicing Yorga meditation would greatly help.’

The ‘Yorga meditation’ that was mentioned was the same as ‘Yorga gymnastics.’

The beggars had so much aversion to the term meditation that they renamed it gymnastics.

Elcina had incorporated some movements into the gymnastics.

“Aha! If it’s a gymnastics teacher, there is one! I-I know! They live in the first beggar area!”

*

Viola and Zeno walked the well-paved road.

The ground was marble and felt plush beneath their feet.

The sensation relayed through the soles of their feet was quite pleasant.

Though the sun had set and night had fallen, the Magic Tower was brightly lit.

The city of the Magic Tower boasted a dazzling brilliance that never dimmed.

‘In such a splendid and clean city…’

It was truly bittersweet that a beggar gang like Keitarun existed.

It felt like coexistence could have been possible without making them that way.

People truly are cruel.

I couldn’t forget the eyes soaked in fear and terror.

‘Is it really that scary?’

It wasn’t very pleasant to see someone trembling at the sight of me.

I couldn’t understand what I did wrong, and his figure, bowing and begging with his hands together, continued to linger in my mind.

At that moment, Zeno asked, “What is Yorga gymnastics, Your Highness? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“I only learned about it recently through a newsletter.”

In fact, I saw it in a novel.

“You know about Yorga meditation, right?”

“I know it’s an elegant meditation practiced by noblewomen. I’ve heard it’s not very effective for practicing mana, but it greatly helps in refining the mind and maintaining a clear mental state.”

“That’s right. Yorga gymnastics forces that clear mind.”

Originally, meditation was meant to be completed with meditation techniques, guiding the movement of mana through it.

That was the original order of Yorga meditation.

However, gymnastics were the opposite.

“Through special postures and breathing methods, the mana moves on its own.”

Mana is guided without the individual recognizing its state.

“Since the mana moves like that, I unintentionally accumulate mana in my body. It has a similar effect to meditation.”

“Is that possible?”

“If it’s the Demon Mage Medea, it would be possible.

Sister Medea has turned impossibility into possibility.”

“That’s true.”

Zeno chuckled and matched his pace with Viola.

Today too, Viola was amazed.

‘When did they study something like that?’

Their relentless struggle to live day by day was quite moving.

‘Indeed, she is our princess.’

Zeno reaffirmed once again that he would wholeheartedly assist Princess Viola, who was living her life to the fullest.

Before they knew it, they arrived at the first beggar district that Keitarun had mentioned.

The first beggar district was a rundown place quite far from the city.

It was dark and filled with a stench.

They saw a wooden gate that likely served as the entrance to the village.

Having aged over the years, the wooden gate was almost rotten.

Children playing near the gate spotted Viola.

The moment Viola raised her hand, they all ran away in terror.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Viola lowered her hand as if nothing had happened.

‘The gates and windows of the houses were closed, and all the children in the alley had disappeared.

The few adults who could be seen had vanished as well.

‘Am I that scary?’

Or perhaps it was an unwritten rule that one should not dare to face another (a mage) except during ‘work hours.’

Viola softly spoke, “I have come to learn Yorga gymnastics, Teacher Elna.”

According to Keitarun, her name was Elna.

It was a pseudonym for Elcina.

Though Keitarun didn’t suspect Elna was Elcina.

“I can hear all that you’re saying.”

Though she spoke softly, Elcina would definitely hear it all.

But there was no sign of presence.

‘What can I do?’

I had presumed this would happen.

I didn’t want to drag it out too long.

“If you don’t respond, I’ll kill you all.”

When Viola threatened to kill them, her aura naturally reacted.

Her aura wafted through the air, swirling around.

It unleashed the energy of the Grass Sword.

It was a mere ‘luck,’ but Viola’s killing intent overlayed onto the Grass Sword.

Being someone sensitive to killing intent, Viola could clearly feel what she had done.

She wanted to cry.

There was a dreadful aura.

The kind of energy that could cause the weak-hearted to hallucinate or faint.

A Young Noblewoman dreaming of the warm roots of a happy world was not here.

Only a budding killer unable to control their overflowing killing intent remained.

‘Zeno. Please don’t smile like that.’

Exactly two seconds later, the door of a house opened, and a tall woman appeared.

Viola unintentionally gasped in admiration.

‘Wow, she’s a grown-up.’

The woman, tall and with graceful lines, was close to Viola’s ideal type.

She had a different body shape from a sturdy martial artist.

Viola grabbed her skirts and bowed.

“Nice to meet you, Elcina.”

Even though she called her by name rather than a pseudonym, she did not deny it.

“What brings you here? Did the Magic Tower send you?”

“No, my name is Viola. I’ve come to recruit Elcina.”

“Me?”

Elcina didn’t seem very warm towards Viola.

It was understandable since she had unleashed her killing intent as soon as she arrived.

“There’s a child who needs Elcina’s warm care.”

“There are many such people here too.”

Viola knew the future.

Though Elcina would embrace the beggars with a warm heart, in the end, the beggars would not appreciate her kindness.

Due to the betrayal of the beggars, Elcina would eventually be executed, and the beggars would lead even more miserable lives.

In other words, it meant that Elcina’s methods produced no significant results.

“If you help me, I’ll help you too.”

“Why?”

“I just met a guy named Keitarun. Despite not doing anything wrong, he was bowing his head and begging on his knees. He was pleading for his life.”

Viola looked at Elcina.

“Something is wrong somewhere. This isn’t how it should be.”

She smiled slyly.

“If we see a mistake, isn’t it our duty as nobles to correct it?”

“I’ll help you.”

Elcina furrowed her brows slightly.

She knew who Viola was.

The Iron-Blooded Princess of Bellatu, a girl with the talent of a demon.

It was hard to understand why she suddenly appeared and said such things, but it didn’t seem like empty words.

“How would you do that?”

Then, words that were uncharacteristic of a child began to flow from the little girl’s mouth.

They were words Elcina had not thought of.