입양딸 역할을 지나치게 잘해버렸다 025화

Duchess Isabella bit her lip slightly.

It was too far from what she expected.

How should I put it?

She felt taken aback.

‘In such a short time, did she really figure everything out just from hearing the term 7th Princess?’

In truth, Isabella had somewhat anticipated Viola’s reaction.

She thought Viola would poke the butler doll.

But Viola’s reaction far surpassed her expectations.

‘She didn’t poke the doll; she cut the strings. It’s as if she knows everything.’

That wasn’t the end. She even pinpointed the identity of the one controlling the doll in an instant.

She seemed to know everything with striking accuracy.

‘What ridiculous insight… she must be born with it.’

It was shocking.

Moreover, Viola was only seven years old.

‘Children can be dangerous.’

How could a seven-year-old show such behavior?

On top of that, Duke Heron praised her as “excellent.”

In fact, this was the most shocking part.

Duchess Isabella looked at the duke.

“You’re actually giving compliments?”

“I praised her for a reason.”

Silence fell once again.

Among the duke’s five children, the only one to hear even occasional praise from him was the 1st Princess.

The duke was usually stingy with compliments.

Yet, he praised her.

And he did so in front of the whole family.

This had significant implications.

Though she may be the last to enter the heir competition, she was effectively claiming a favorable position right out of the gate.

The duchess asked again.

“Is the second question meaningless?”

“Do as you will. Two questions are your right, dear wife.”

“Since you’ve already complimented her, it might seem pointless.”

Ah.

It can’t end like this.

So Viola made the first move.

“The second question is obvious.”

After all, she knew the content from the novel.

“Isn’t it a question of why I wielded a weapon in front of the Duke and Duchess?”

Viola tried her best at every moment.

Suddenly, silence descended once more in the dining hall.

Viola’s words were accurate.

Isabella momentarily lost her words.

She had not expected that young princess to come prepared to that extent.

‘What answer will she come up with for that question?’

Suddenly, she didn’t want to ask.

*

“Stop.”

Heron said. His gaze didn’t leave Viola.

At this moment.

She truly looked like a Bellatu.

She didn’t flinch from Isabella’s gaze even once.

She displayed a demeanor that not only matched but outshone, with an attitude deserving of praise.

‘But why do I feel this way?’

Her feelings were not particularly pleasant.

Viola was witnessing the most Bellatu-like Bellatu at the moment.

As Zeno mentioned, maybe that child might show a “progressed Bellatu.”

That would be a good thing.

Yet, strangely, she felt bad.

‘It’s absurd!’

The child who used to say ‘It’s absurd!’ came to mind again.

The hand that presented the Egg Tart flashed in her head.

The little one with that hand gazed at her today with eyes full of affection.

‘Unexplained affection. Blind goodwill towards me.’

The duke’s true heart reads that.

‘That’s goodwill she’s held onto for quite a long time.’

Bellatu-like Bellatu.

Why does that thoroughly calculated child possess such illogical goodwill remains unknown.

‘And most oddly.’

The blind and strange goodwill didn’t feel bad at all.

Living as Duke Bellatu, she had never experienced such ‘unfounded goodwill’ before.

Everyone who showed goodwill to the duke had some reason behind it.

Whatever it may be. But that child had none.

‘She likes me while also fearing me.’

That was not unpleasant.

It was the first unfamiliar feeling she experienced as the lord of the Winter Castle and Duke Bellatu.

‘Why do I feel… not bad?’

The duke maintained an expressionless face while adjusting her thoughts.

‘No. It’s a celebration for Bellatu. Thus, I merely feel good. It’s unrelated to my child’s inexplicable affection.’

Having adopted the most Bellatu-like child among anyone, isn’t that a fortune for the Bellatu house?

The duke reasoned that way.

The depth of his gaze sank deeply.

Isabella read that deep gaze.

She misunderstood the duke’s mental state.

‘I didn’t expect you to be so deeply satisfied.’

If Viola were seventeen instead of seven, it could have caused a massive upheaval in the heir dynamics.

It was fortunate she was seven.

Soon, Heron opened his mouth.

“Bring the welcome gift.”

Knock. Knock.

A knock resounded.

A man with graying hair and a scar-filled face.

It was Chief Butler Carlton.

He bowed his head.

“Chief Butler Carlton, at your service.”

In his right hand was a tray.

There, five potion bottles filled with different colored liquids swayed.

The number of potions totaled five.

The contents of the story came to mind.

“The final test of the Duke’s house was the ‘ability to doubt’ and the ‘spirit that defies authority.’”

All five were poison.

Extremely toxic too. One sip could kill.

In other words, one shouldn’t drink anything.

That is, under normal circumstances.

Duchess Isabella spoke.

“Now, Viola. I have prepared a gift for you, my youngest daughter.”

“Those liquids?”

“Although their effects vary, they are potions known to be very good for your health.”

“Why should I drink such things?”

In the original story, Viola would throw the tray to the ground.

And with a terrifying attitude, she’d say:

“Why do I feel like I’m being tested?”

“You’re the one who brought me here without even asking for my opinion.”

In the original, Viola would unleash a tremendous aura towards the duke.

Then she would cause a big incident like a true heroine.

“If I were stronger than you, I would take your head right here.”

It’s fortunate she was the protagonist, or it would’ve become a major problem.

Viola decided to approach it a little differently.

More tailored for Han Ah-rin.

“Thank you for the gift you prepared for me. That is very kind of you.”

She moved closer to Chief Butler Carlton.

Carlton bent at the waist and knee to meet Viola at eye level.

“What color potion would you like to drink, Your Highness?”

Carlton smiled broadly.

He looked like a kind old grandfather.

But Viola knew.

Chief Butler Carlton was formerly a very famous assassin.

He had failed to kill Duke Heron and ended up becoming his follower.

Now he was Duke Heron’s most trusted vassal.

Viola, seated at a distance, addressed her father.

She needed to raise her voice as she was quite far away.

“From the moment you called me 7th Princess, this place was not a welcome feast but a testing ground for Viola Bellatu’s qualifications.”

In the original story, Viola overturned this place, making an intense impression.

Han Ah-rin decided to take a more clever approach.

She intentionally chuckled softly.

“I think I understand what kind of appearance you expect from Viola Bellatu.”

Viola lifted a potion bottle filled with red liquid.

And she made a show of dropping it to the ground.

Crash!

With a loud noise, the potion bottle shattered.

In the original story, Viola would’ve smashed them all, but Han Ah-rin Viola shattered only one.

“Is this the kind of look you want?”

The red liquid splattered everywhere.

A few drops hit Viola’s feet.

Oh, ouch! Ah, hot!

Yikes. I thought my foot was burning.

Viola barely managed to maintain a calm expression.

“They say anyone bearing the name of Bellatu should doubt everyone except themselves.”

Duchess Isabella nodded.

“That’s good advice. Who said that?”

“My butler did.”

“You have a good butler.”

Zeno, with no visible agitation, knelt beside Viola to clean up the shattered potion shards.

His face was hidden as he lowered his head to pick up the glass fragments.

In the meantime, he took out some ointment from his pocket and gently applied it to Viola’s shin.

The touch of applying the ointment was incredibly delicate.

Viola lifted a bottle filled with purple liquid.

“However, somehow, this smells nostalgic. It feels like it has a special story.”

Viola could see Duke Heron twitch slightly.

Viola understood the reason.

This purple potion is related to the duke’s one and only loved wife, Rael.

“Shall we open it?”

To survive in this survival of the fittest, Viola decided to take a gamble.

*

“Duke Heron became so cold and mechanical after losing his only beloved wife 15 years ago.”

The duke had a woman he loved.

She passed away fifteen years ago.

Though she didn’t physically appear in the work, Duke Heron often sat in the study under the blue moonlight whispering her name.

“Her name was Rael.”

She was a brilliant alchemist and potion maker.

She also had a knack for tea.

Therefore, she was also known as the Water Magician.

“On the day she passed away, Rael faintly smiled and murmured.

‘My lonely one. I want to be with you forever.’”

She died of a disease, mentioned to be a rare illness.

“So she created the purple potion ‘Viola’.”

The name of the character ‘Viola’ derives from this potion.

Just before her passing, she handed the duke the potion ‘Viola.’

“If you drink this, you’ll die too.”

‘My lonely one. Let’s go to a warm place together.’

‘If we die together, it’ll hurt less.’

Duke Heron, who loved his wife Rael so dearly, almost drank that poison to commit suicide.

The one who stopped him was Chief Butler Carlton over there.

‘Anyhow, none of them seem sane in this world.’

Neither the woman who hands her husband poison while suggesting they die together, nor the husband who accepts it.

Moreover, that husband named his adopted daughter after the poison.

Nothing seems normal at all.

It became clearer that this world is indeed insane.

Duke Heron asked.

“What are you doing?”

“I know it’s poison.”

She shook the glass bottle.

A liquid that looked like grape juice swirled inside.

“I somehow want to try it.”

Zeno whispered.

“Your Highness? That’s the most toxic of the five potions.”

“Well, yes.”

Viola grinned.

Although it felt like she might die inside.

She decided to take a gamble, but her heart was in turmoil.

“This calls out to me. It feels like it has the voice of some woman inside it.”