입양딸 역할을 지나치게 잘해버렸다 037화

“This is a mistake. This kind of thing as a gift?”

“What do you mean by ‘this kind of thing’?”

‘This kind of thing’?

Just look at what my father is saying.

No way.

I have to scold him with the coronet.

Viola walked over to Heron, holding the coronet.

It wasn’t a stealthy assassin’s approach, nor did she use any efficient techniques.

She just walked over.

It wasn’t necessary for a daughter to showcase the movements of a princess when walking to her father.

“I made it while thinking of you, Father.”

She extended her two hands to show him.

Standing there with her dirt-covered hands, she faced Heron.

Viola was smaller than Heron, who was seated in his chair.

Viola stood on her tiptoes and placed the coronet atop Heron’s head.

Viola clapped her hands and laughed.

“It looks great!”

Of course, she is my favorite character.

A coronet on that beauty.

It looks like something out of a romance comic, Father.

The hawthorn coronet and Heron Bellatu.

They were such a mismatched pair, yet that made them fit even better together.

Heron didn’t say a word.

Was he feeling bad?

No.

He shouldn’t feel bad.

He should feel bad.

But wait, does he really need to?

Heron Bellatu was slightly confused by this new type of child he had never experienced before.

Heron spoke with a serious expression.

“Men shouldn’t do such delicate things.”

Oh my. What a fantasy-like remark from our favorite character.

“For someone claiming that, you seem to pull it off quite well.”

“……”

“You’re very pretty.”

Noble daughters don’t express themselves so directly.

Especially not to men.

They think it’s vulgar.

Viola chuckled.

“It was worth it.”

She looked at her dirt-covered hands.

Her heart felt all warm and fuzzy.

Heron silently lifted his hand to touch the coronet.

“You laugh easily.”

In that moment,

Viola focused her gaze.

With a deadly glint in her eyes, she looked at Heron.

Three years since I possessed this body.

Viola was a character born to kill— a ‘Killing Star’ type.

Thanks to this genius body, something like this was possible.

Viola relaxed and smiled.

“You know how I usually am.”

She didn’t usually show this kind of side.

After the banquet, Viola earned the nickname ‘Iron-Blooded Princess.’

Rumors circulated that she was the adopted daughter of the most Bellatu-like Bellatu, and she diligently played the part.

Heron knew this well.

So he didn’t outright deny it.

“……”

Viola released her expression again.

The hand that had offered an egg tart three years ago.

Now, she extended her dirt-covered hand again and laughed.

“It’s just in front of Daddy.”

Viola smiled brightly like sunshine.

“Just in front of Daddy. Is it bad if I show this side? I’m living without forgetting that I’m a Bellatu. But I can be a daughter in front of Daddy, right?”

Three years of being possessed.

Viola had completely adapted to the fantasy world.

*

Carlton was the chief butler of the Bellatu Duke House.

He had absolute trust from Heron Bellatu, and beyond the Duke’s wife, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was a secondary figure in the house.

He held a certain privilege.

If Carlton deemed it was valuable information or urgent, he could enter the Duke’s office without knocking.

This method was a product of war.

In a battlefield where every second counted, knocking was a luxury.

That tradition had continued until now.

With a bang.

The office door swung open.

Carlton was panting heavily.

“Gasp… gasp…”

Something caught Carlton’s eye.

“Duke…?”

The Duke looked as if nothing was amiss.

As if this was no big deal at all.

With a very calm expression and leisurely demeanor, he placed his hand atop his head.

A coronet made of hawthorn rested on his head.

Heron gently set the coronet down on the desk, worried it might be ruined.

“What’s the matter?”

Carlton had to doubt his eyes.

‘Is the Duke wearing a coronet?’

If anyone had seen it, the reputation of the Bellatu Duke House would have been tarnished.

A coronet on the head of the infamous ‘Duke of Thousand Kills’?

A floral decoration?

A coronet on the head of the man called ‘Duke of Thousand Kills’?

Plus, he looks flustered right now?

Outwardly he appeared calm, but having served the Duke for a long time, Carlton could sense it.

The Duke was in a state of confusion.

He couldn’t understand or believe it.

Carlton felt as if his world was collapsing.

“Is this a report urgent enough to race against the clock?”

“Not really.”

Coincidentally, the report was related to Viola.

“It concerns Princess Viola. Should I report it immediately?”

Heron looked at Viola.

“You said you wanted to become the White Bellatu, right?

At this moment, what could be urgent enough for Carlton to rush to me with?”

“I think it’s related to the whereabouts of the 200 million Dallia from three years ago.”

Heron turned his gaze to Carlton.

Carlton, who had doubted his eyes earlier, now had to doubt his ears.

‘The White Bellatu?’

Viola Bellatu, the Iron-Blooded Princess?

That Bellatu, who embodies the essence of Bellatu, decided to become the White Bellatu?

“Carlton, that’s uncharacteristic of you.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Carlton lightly bowed his head and replied.

“Yes, it is related to the 200 million Dallia.”

“Then Viola, why don’t you explain first?”

Viola nodded.

Three years ago.

Viola had told Hela this.

“I have 200 million Dallia. I could easily borrow around 100 million Dallia from the Imperial Bank using my cash as collateral.”

With 200 million as collateral, she borrowed 100 million more.

And handed that 100 million to Hela.

That was what Hela had requested.

“I’m going to buy land in the Shaik Wasteland with the remaining 200 million Dallia.”

The Shaik Wasteland.

It was the land located between the Winter Castle and the southern metropolis Garnias.

Abandoned land that had no value whatsoever.

It was known as the Shaik Wasteland, barren and useless for farming, and sometimes leopards roamed around, making it completely worthless.

“That’s right. The treasury’s butlers were astounded.”

Viola shifted her gaze to Carlton.

“So, how’s the market value now?”

“…The current imperial assessed value has increased more than seven times, and the market price has surged over ten times.”

To put it simply, 200 million Dallia turned into 2 billion Dallia.

“However, no one is selling the land, so its value is skyrocketing. Yet…

most of it is owned by Princess Viola.”

Viola nodded.

“Has my qualification as the White Bellatu been proven?”

“Why, did you buy land there?”

As she had seen from all the novels.

Viola swallowed her laughter.

“The emperors of the empire have intentionally isolated the Winter Castle.”

It was a deliberate political decision.

If communication between the Winter Castle and the continent were made too smooth, two risks would emerge.

If the Winter Castle were to ever crumble.

‘Monsters from the Place Where the Eye Shines could easily invade the continent.

Or when the Bellatu of Winter Castle plot treason.

Because the Bellatu are exceedingly dangerous individuals.

So instead of granting Bellatu absolute honor as the ‘strongest shield,’ the empire kept the Winter Castle barren and perilous.”

“The Winter Castle has always been lonely. I understand that. Since it’s a political decision, the more isolated and lonely the Winter Castle is, the more the brave warriors of Winter Castle, including the Bellatu, will unite.”

The people of the Winter Castle are inherently different.

They protect humanity from the Place Where the Eye Shines.

Those from the Winter Castle live with their own pride.

With that sense of mission, they become strong warriors.

Therefore, they didn’t point their swords at the empire.

From the beginning, their enemy was the ‘monsters from the Place Where the Eye Shines.’

“It’s too good for the empire. They can fend off the monsters, and keep the dangerous inhabitants of the Winter Castle from dreaming of treason.”

“And what does that have to do with the 200 million Dallia?”

Carlton asked.

“Could you pass me some paper and a pen?”

Viola took the paper and pen and roughly drew a map.

“…If you draw an axis connecting the cities and the Winter Castle vertically, this would be the perfect spot.”

Along that vertical axis, several key cities were scattered.

“In the end, to develop the city and the roads, the connection between the cities is crucial. When the cities are linked, the synergy is explosive.”

“……”

“So, I purchased a lot of land in the Shaik Wasteland. It was abandoned land, so it was very cheap. And as you can see, it has turned out like this.”

She shifted her gaze toward Carlton.

Carlton cleared his throat and offered the report.

“Just now, the empire officially announced it. They will create a massive trade route connecting the Winter Castle to the central monarch of the continent.”

Viola continued.

“Three years ago, they said that a brilliant minister in the empire began to lead, right?”

He was a remarkable person who sought the welfare of the empire and its people above political interests.

His name was Selina.

At a young age of 37, she became the finance minister and bore a significant part of the empire’s responsibilities.

“That person had always worked for the people. You could even hear songs praising her in the slums.”

“……”

“If it’s that person, I expected she would persuade the Emperor to create a road connecting the Winter Castle and the empire. Because that’s the road for the empire.”

“Is that all?”

“No. It should be in the report that Zenon provided. The empire’s growth rate recorded a negative number, and inflation was predicted. There was a lot of money circulating, but its direction wasn’t determined. The value of currency kept falling…”

Ultimately,

“The empire would attempt to stimulate the economy through large-scale civil engineering projects.”

She smiled brightly.

“That point would be around three years from now, I suspected.”

Of course, it was all revealed in novels.

Exactly today.

The official announcement came from the empire.

“So at this point, I declared I wanted to become the White Bellatu. What do you think?”

Heron and Carlton simultaneously shut their mouths.

What sounds good is a tenfold increase; in terms of returns, it leads to a whopping 1,000%.

Particularly, Chief Butler Carlton was so shocked that he couldn’t say a word.

She turned 200 million Dallia into 2 billion Dallia.’

Yet it keeps on rising.

Leaving Carlton to drown in shock, Viola continued speaking.

“However, Selina doesn’t handle everything in the empire alone.”

Selina is a warm person, but not everyone in the empire is like that.

“There might be acts done in a somewhat coercive and rapid manner.”

This isn’t a democratic society.

It’s a world where the Emperor’s and king’s power reaches the sky.

“So if someone without power owns this land, they could have everything taken from them.

They might be gotten rid of without a soul knowing.”

Viola smiled again.

Her gaze towards her father was filled with trust.

Wow.

At moments like this, he feels reliable.

My dad is none other than Duke Heron.

“So because I’m your daughter.”

The peak of Bellatu.

The master of the Winter Castle and the northern shield, Heron Bellatu.

They couldn’t forcibly take the land bought by his daughter.

They couldn’t assassinate his daughter either.

“Even the Emperor of the empire can’t take it away too easily. My father is Heron Bellatu.”

She grabbed her skirt and bent her waist.

“I’m glad I’m your daughter.”

The tips of Heron’s fingers, hidden beneath the desk, trembled slightly.