헤론 stopped right in front of Viola.

Viola looked up and stared at Heron.

‘Even from below, there’s not a hint of humiliation, is there?’

Is that what they call being a face genius? By the way, he’s really handsome.

As expected, he’s my ultimate favorite.

My love for my favorite character welled up, and I wanted to shout, “My favorite character is love! Long live fanfic that expresses it through the body!”

…That thought crossed my mind for just a fleeting moment, but Viola quickly gathered herself.

“Do you regret that choice?”

Feeling oddly different about the character Heron that Ah-rin knew, Ah-rin replied like a true Viola.

“Regret doesn’t suit Bellatu.”

“This place is the training ground, Viola.”

“I know.”

“That means it’s not a public space.”

Viola was slightly puzzled. ‘What does that mean?’

The training ground is a place to hone oneself, a place where one must sweat and bleed to become the heir. It’s much closer to a public realm than a private one.

But Heron said it’s not a public space. Why would he say that? ‘I don’t get the reason.’

Suddenly, Viola focused on the name ‘Viola.’ ‘He specifically mentioned my name.’

He called my name when he didn’t need to. It was typical of Heron to emphasize certain things.

For instance, when he wanted to highlight ‘Bellatu,’ he would have called me ‘Viola Bellatu.’

“So…”

Viola couldn’t take her eyes off Heron. ‘He called me Viola, right?’

A private training ground. Calling Viola without mentioning Bellatu.

Those two clues hinted at one fact. ‘He’s referring to me, Viola, as his daughter, not as a candidate for heir.’

At least at this moment. Viola’s heart began to race.

She always needed family.

She needed her dad, who said he would come back after one hundred nights.

‘No, get a grip.’

Even if my favorite character was acting strangely, this is the world of Bellatu’s shadow. I needed to keep my wits about me to survive in this hopeless novel.

Viola steadied her breathing and answered.

“I have no regrets.”

“Why is that?”

“I chose Dad, and he chose me too. Is there any reason to regret?”

“You call me Dad.”

“You said this isn’t a public space, Dad. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll call you Father again.”

“No.”

Heron Duke’s expression was cold. He stared at Viola with a blank look and raised his arm. Viola flinched inwardly.

‘Wow, I almost freaked out.’

With the experience of six years in another body, she barely hid her true feelings. Heron’s fingertips touched the tips of Viola’s fingers.

It was the finger wearing the ring Heron had gifted her long ago.

‘Huh?’

Heron gently lifted that finger. “Adjust the angle like this.”

Raising his arm to shoulder level made her shoulders stiffen. “With this position, you’ll be able to harmonize with spirit energy more easily while wielding the Grass Sword.”

“…Thank you.”

Viola’s sharp observation caught Heron’s fingertips trembling slightly. ‘Why is he doing that?’

The Heron she had adored didn’t allow trembles of the hand. Of course, it was true that Viola’s body was outstanding, but still, she shouldn’t have been able to detect Heron’s trembling. ‘Oh, it must be because of the ring!’

The Bellatu lineage had an extremely poor Spirit Affinity. Therefore, it seemed that the ring saturated with Arena wasn’t working well with Heron. ‘Huh?’

Heron’s body seemed to glide as he quietly moved behind Viola. He supported Viola’s elbow with his left arm.

“You need to lift it to this height.”

He slowly applied pressure and slightly bent Viola’s elbow. It formed a shape as if she were covering her mouth with her fingers while smiling.

“After that, adjust the angle like this, and then try wielding the Grass Sword.”

It looked as if she were hiding her mouth and smiling with the palm turned outward. Just a slight movement following Heron’s guidance made it much easier to wield the Grass Sword.

‘Huh?’

Even without formulas, she could wield the Grass Sword. A seemingly minor difference had brought about a significant change.

Even with Heron guiding her, this would have been impossible.

‘It’s not just me doing this.’

Viola could tell. Heron’s mana was being transmitted to her.

She felt a subtle, delicate flow of mana that would have gone unnoticed without concentrated focus.

‘If it weren’t for Viola’s genius body, I wouldn’t have sensed it.’

Heron’s right arm lightly grasped Viola’s arm. The left hand rested on her left elbow.

His right hand touched her right arm.

She felt as if she were snuggled up against him.

Through their hands, he was subtly flowing mana to help Viola wield the Grass Sword.

He guided her toward a better path, leading her to grow.

‘Long live my favorite character!’

Forget about wielding the Grass Sword; I felt like I had succeeded in my fan obsession. Viola’s lips curled up involuntarily.

Heron, standing behind her, noticed the smile at the corners of her mouth.

‘She’s smiling?’

This girl must be feeling the growth of her Grass Sword. She probably knew she was wielding it without formulas.

So, he thought, this girl is smiling. ‘Since you’re smiling.’

The Grass Sword scattered. The once lifeless green grasses filled the training ground.

‘How delightful.’

Thanks to that, no one saw. The faint but clear smile that had formed on Heron’s face.

“You are.”

Viola heard Heron’s voice in her ear. The sound of the Grass Sword was so loud that she couldn’t hear it properly.

-My daughter. …She couldn’t hear those words.

*

Surprised by the overwhelming flow of mana, Hixson hurried to the training ground.

‘It’s the aura of the Grass Sword.’

Had Viola ever emitted such an overwhelming aura? Who the heck was she fighting to use this much power?

‘Bichen?’

It didn’t seem to be Bichen. If it were Bichen, he would have felt that unique spirit of his in full force.

‘Could it be the Third Prince!’

That sneaky and inscrutable fellow. If it were him, it would be possible to fight without exerting too much power.

The image of him throwing a dying cat at Viola resurfaced, fueling his anger.

‘Alright. I’ll make sure you meet your end!’

As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he shouted. “I’ll kill you and go to heaven!”

Yet the Third Prince was nowhere to be seen. No matter how stealthy one might be, it shouldn’t be this secretive.

‘Is she not fighting anyone?’

What the…? The grass from the Grass Sword was so lush that he couldn’t see anything.

‘Huh?’

Hixson widened his eyes. He saw a pair of two people who looked friendly.

He rubbed his eyes.

He thought for sure it was an illusion, but the illusion didn’t break.

He banged his head with his rough hands, but still, the mental magic was intact.

‘It’s not an illusion?’

The sight of Viola and Heron was surreal. Even Heron seemed to have smiled briefly.

Soon the operation of the Grass Sword ended, and the grasses lost their vitality and crumbled away.

Hixson stomped over to Viola.

He looked like a rhinoceros. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt.”

Hixson quickly approached and knelt halfway, scrutinizing Viola for any scratches. If she had even the smallest of wounds, it would have looked like he had fought a life-or-death battle with the Duke. “You’re really not hurt?”

“Were you wishing for me to be hurt?”

Hixson stood up. He looked at Heron.

“What are you doing here?”

“Guided duel.”

“Why are you so close while doing a guided duel?”

Heron frowned slightly. “That’s none of your business.”

“Why isn’t it my business? You’re a guy who has not a smidge of consideration. If you don’t pay close attention, Viola could get seriously hurt.”

“Viola is Bellatu.”

“Ugh, that annoying Bellatu, Bellatu.”

Hixson roughly stretched out his arm. It seemed like he was trying to bring Viola over.

Viola quickly slapped Hixson’s arm away.

“……You?”

In fact, this was not an action Viola intended. It was the instinct of Viola wanting to be just a little closer to her favorite character.

Seeing Hixson in pain made her feel unnecessarily guilty.

‘No, wait, I mean—

Before she could even explain, Heron gently pulled Viola closer.

Ah-rin’s touch was irresistible.

“I think your touch wasn’t so careful either.”

Hixson concealed his greatly wounded heart and snorted. “Result-wise, it turned out this way. That last Grass Sword was almost perfect.”

The reason Viola was opening her heart to Heron now was simple.

He had greatly helped her growth.

So it was obvious that Viola was clinging to Heron. That was what Hixson thought.

‘There can’t be any other reason!

Heron spoke.

“Hixson, I heard you’ve been spreading strange rumors.”

“What rumors?”

Heron didn’t elaborate. He whispered something to Hixson through mana.

[Viola is my daughter, Hixson.]

Then he said, “You want to kill me and go to heaven?”

Hixson flinched. A murderous aura radiated from Heron.

It was a murderous aura so powerful that an ordinary person wouldn’t even dare to stand up against it.

“Can I consider that as a challenge to a duel?”

“Sure. That’s what I was hoping for.”

Hixson drew his sword. Although it was a dull practice sword, Hixson’s fierceness didn’t require the sharpness of a blade.

Hixson also raised his spirit.

The clash of spirits. The clash of murderous auras.

Viola, caught in between, felt like her heart was about to explode.

Thud.

Thud.

The expansion and contraction of her heart were repeating.

‘No, heart, please! Don’t act up!’

Viola’s body reacted to the murderous auras of the two absolute beings. Her eyes turned red.

At that moment, an unprecedentedly powerful storm of grass began to blow.

Sharp blades of grass imbued with the intent to kill struck Hixson.

‘Please! Body, don’t move on its own!’

Her body moved against her will. Viola picked up the dagger hanging from her thigh and twisted her body.

She aimed it right at Heron’s heart.