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019: Overdoing the Role of Adopted Daughter

“Can you tell me who killed my uncle’s daughter?”

Hixson shuddered. Even in his drunken stupor, the mention of ‘daughter’ seemed to ring a bell.

“What are you talking about?”

It was as though all of his inebriation had suddenly vanished.

Viola swallowed hard.

In this world, there’s something called mana, and it’s said that with determination, one can clear all intoxication from their body.

It seemed to be true. Life returned to his eyes, which had grown dull and lifeless, like the eyes of a rotten fish.

“I saw my uncle’s daughter.”

“Where?”

Killer intent flashed in Hixson’s eyes. The word ‘daughter’ was Hixson’s sensitive spot.

Anyone who toyed with that word, no matter how young, wouldn’t be spared.

That’s how it was for Hixson regarding ‘daughter.’

“Street 11 in the Svenu Slum. Underneath the terrible scene in the sewer.”

All of this would be something Hixson would come to understand soberly in a few years.

As Hixson taught Tundra, he began to gather his thoughts. He intended to go back for the first time and search for traces of his daughter.

In the end, he would find his enemy.

Viola continued nonchalantly.

“Her bright red hair, almost like it was burning. Freckles clustered on her cheeks. She wore a tiny cross-shaped earring in her ear.”

“……”

Hixson’s body stiffened.

‘Could she be Bellatu?’

He didn’t know who this girl was, but she radiated Bellatu’s energy.

The atmosphere was that way.

‘There cannot be a Bellatu I don’t know.’

From what she wore, she seemed to have come from a high-status family.

However, Hixson didn’t fully believe it. Many had approached him like this over the past three years. All of them wanted to utilize Hixson’s sword skills.

Hixson’s misfortune was a stroke of luck for numerous powerful figures in need of him.

So Hixson had come to trust no one.

“That child believed until the moment she was dying that Daddy would come to save her. She was proud to have a hero like Hixson as her father.”

The description of how she died wasn’t revealed in detail. It seemed she had suffered something too horrific to describe.

“Anyway, she’s definitely dead. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“With your eyes?”

“I told you. I was under the sewer.”

Hixson clenched his fist. In truth, he had anticipated this.

That his daughter was dead. Yet, he had not acknowledged it until now. Even now, he did not want to accept it.

Just as he was about to shout that it wasn’t true, Viola quickly continued.

“You were a hero, known as the Black Whale, weren’t you?”

“……What are you trying to say, kid?”

His tone had softened significantly. He judged that she was not just babbling nonsense.

“And you were a friend of the Lord of Winter Castle, my great father.”

Only then did Hixson realize who this girl was.

Recently, Winter Castle had been abuzz. They said Duke Heron had adopted a daughter from the slums.

So it made sense. It seemed she’d unwittingly witnessed the daughter in the slums. Doubts began to fade.

“Are you Viola?”

“That’s me. Anyway, uncle, you had skills to rival our father. But think about it. You’re a hero. You killed and kidnapped the wife and daughter of such a hero. So it must be one of two things.”

Viola smiled slyly.

“Either you’re a madman with no sense of the world.”

If not,

“A thoroughly planned, perfect crime.”

Viola began twirling her lavender hair with her finger.

“What do you think, uncle? Do you think a madman would do that? Or was it a power that moved under meticulous planning?”

“…….”

“If it was a madman, you would have found them quickly when you looked for them.

Because you’re capable.”

“But you couldn’t find them. Plus, the timing was just too precise. Right?”

His daughter was kidnapped.

While he went out to find her, his wife died.

“It was as if someone had calculated it perfectly.”

When he lost his wife and daughter, he had been too delirious to look back at the situation.

Afterward, he became a drunk, unable to see the situation clearly.

“And why couldn’t you figure out something that even a kid like me could?

Is it all just a coincidence?”

Viola enlightened him.

She felt a slight pang of guilt.

Actually, this was something that the uncle would reason out for himself.

All of this would eventually lead to Hixson piecing it together when he regained his sanity. He would find his enemy.

That enemy was also deeply connected to the final antagonist of this novel.

“Think about it, uncle. Who benefited the most when you lost your mind?”

Meanwhile, Zeno looked up at the sky.

The sun was setting. The sky was red. It looked like it was soaked in blood.

The red sunset smeared across Viola’s face. Her face seemed to be ablaze.

‘What a beautiful sunset. It’s a perfect day to wake the Black Whale.’

*

The conversation concluded rather well.

In an unusual turn of events, Hixson invited Zeno and Viola to the room where he was staying and even brewed them tea himself.

Zeno smiled broadly.

“That you, Sir Hixson, invited us first is unprecedented at the Duke’s Mansion.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you didn’t just invite; you frequently assaulted innocent guests in the annex, causing quite the headache. I heard the Duke found himself in a difficult situation.”

“Do you want to experience some difficulty too?”

As Hixson raised his fist, Zeno cleared his throat.

He subtly averted his gaze and spoke to Viola.

“Anyway, for three years now, Sir Hixson has not allowed anyone to invade this space.”

“What about your father?”

“The Duke graciously provided this room to Sir Hixson and never once visited.”

Viola nodded.

‘If it were my favorite, it would be perfectly fine.’

Unless Hixson pulled himself together, he wouldn’t be the type to step in with uplifting words of encouragement.

If Hixson did regain his sanity, he would surely return to being a friend as if it had always been that way; and if not, he would have likely just killed him.

That would have been Heron’s last consideration for a friend.

Viola took a sip of warm apple tea. The refreshing aroma spread in her mouth.

‘Not too many changes to the plot.

After all, Hixson was bound to regain consciousness soon.

The plot didn’t change significantly. Hixson sat before Viola.

“My friend has adopted an interesting daughter.”

“Everyone says that.”

“So? What do you want?”

“What I want?”

Hixson chuckled.

“I’ve seen many with eyes like yours, kid.”

“What does that mean?”

“Eyes that resemble Heron’s.”

“I look like my father? But I’m an adopted daughter.”

“It means you have eyes that won’t suffer loss.”

“Hmm.”

Viola waited for the tea to steep.

You know, they do this in the novels.

She followed the trope. Whether by misfortune or fortune, she wore an arrogant expression.

Thanks to this, she appeared like a seasoned negotiator.

Hixson said,

“Quit stalling and just tell me what you want.”

“I have a dog I take care of.”

“A dog?”

“It is a dog, but it’s a person. Big. It bites.”

“I see.”

Strangely enough, Hixson accepted this explanation quite readily.

Viola found it irritating yet strangely convenient.

“You should train it.”

“How?”

“Teach it swordsmanship.”

“No.”

“I’ll help you find the daughter’s killer?”

“I can find him by myself.”

Viola nearly lost her words for a moment. That statement was indeed true. In the novel, he found everything by himself.

Currently inebriated, he was still a hero comparable to Duke Heron once he pulled himself together.

“Why do you refuse?”

“Too bothersome.”

“Just meet him first.”

Once they met, the conversation would be different.

The moment Hixson saw Tundra, he would become enamored.

He would immediately realize Tundra was born for the physique of a swordsman.

Hixson, teasingly, said,

“No.”

Viola decided to shift her strategy a little.

“Uncle.”

“What?”

“I thought you would be really cool. Because the dying child called for you with such desperation. To ‘our daddy’ while hiding in the sewer felt like a sacred language.”

Hixson closed his eyes for a moment.

Remembering his daughter made his heart heavy.

“But honestly, you don’t seem cool at all right now.”

“What?”

“Do I really have to say it like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking you to help me.”

At that moment, Zeno’s ears perked up.

Here it comes.

The virtue of a ruler. The ability to adeptly wear different masks to maneuver people.

That seemed to have surfaced. He focused even more on Viola’s words.

“I want to live.”

“Who would kill you?”

“I’ve studied a lot about this place.”

It was true. She had studied the fictional world and had a bit of a character crush.

“This place is wild. It’s filled with a mother who lashes out and brothers who want to kill me. And a violent father.”

Hixson reacted sharply to one word.

“A violent father?”

“My father is indifferent to me. Tossing me into this wilderness and remaining indifferent is a form of violence, isn’t it?”

“You’re supposed to be smart, right? You know why I came here. You know and are pretending not to.”

Viola reached out her hand.

“Stay by my side.”

“……”

“I need an adult I can lean on.”

A hammer was driven into Hixson’s heart.

“I am alone.”

Hixson saw Viola’s hand.

Her outstretched hand looked especially pale and small.

Hixson’s gaze began to waver significantly.

He knew from raising his daughter.

This girl appeared much smaller than a typical seven-year-old.

She could even pass for five.

A girl with such a small frame extended her hand.

“Hold my hand.”

The final words resonated in Hixson’s heart.