I played the role of an adopted daughter way too well. Episode 087: A Year Ago.

Carlo had found the “Abandoned Mine of the Forsaken Ones” located in the northern part of the continent.

It was due to rumors that a very special mineral called Linda could be found there.

They said it shimmered with a black light.

Linda, shining with black light, was an extremely rare mineral, available only once every thousand years.

Carlo was determined to obtain Linda.

In front of the mine entrance.

“Somehow, this feels ominous.”

A chilling aura emanated from the cave-like entrance.

“I can’t turn back now that I’ve come this far.”

He overcame his fear and stepped into the mine.

And he lost track of how much time had passed.

He felt as though he was enchanted, going deeper and deeper into the mine.

It was because of the song of a flower called ‘Mujinia.’

Mujinia was a carnivorous flower that lured people closer with its song only to devour them whole.

By the time he regained his senses, it was already too late.

At that moment, a helping hand appeared—Hela and her butler.

Hela’s butler had split Mujinia in half.

“Ugh, uhhhhh!”

Hela, seated in her wheelchair, looked at the fallen Carlo and said,

“Looks like there was a fool who ventured here without a knight.”

Finally coming to his senses, Carlo trembled.

“W-where am I…?”

“In the depths of the abandoned mine. Are you the Chief Designer from Louis Varten?”

Hela warned him.

“You’d best turn back. The 4th Princess of Bellatu didn’t come here just to acquire a single ore.”

“No way. I have to find Linda.”

“Well, do as you wish.”

It goes without saying that where Mujinia is present, the monster Bihas exists, but she didn’t need to mention that.

He swallowed that thought.

And seven days later.

“AAAAAH!”

Carlo encountered the monster Bihas.

Bihas was a high-level monster known as the faceless Reaper.

In a panic while trying to escape, he came face to face with Hela again in a narrow passage.

“P-please save me.”

“My mission was just to confirm Bihas’s presence and return.”

Then stronger martial artists would join the raid from the main house.

“I have no reason to fight Bihas. It’s a dangerous creature. Now that I’ve confirmed Bihas’s presence, I can go back.”

“P-please, just save me!”

“The choice was yours.”

Hela started to turn away.

Carlo was about to meet his end here, but Hela didn’t care much about it.

After all, she couldn’t fight Bihas either.

It would have been difficult for just the butler to take down Bihas.

“Let’s go back.”

However, Hela’s butler did not heed Hela’s command.

“Designer Carlo, you must repay this favor with your life.”

The butler was fully aware of his own limitations.

He also knew he couldn’t aid Hela till the end with his capabilities.

He had even found a suitable successor to take his place.

Choose the Sword Demon as a butler. I will now take my leave.

He believed that only if he disappeared could the Sword Demon take up the role of butler.

He thought of himself as Hela’s only blemish.

“If it were Princess Viola, she would have expelled me long ago.”

But Hela didn’t do such a thing.

The butler swore loyalty to Hela.

Moreover, the Chief Designer from Louis Varten was someone who could greatly help the princess in the future.

In the end, he succeeded in subduing Bihas and guided Hela and Carlo out of the mine.

“It was an honor to fulfill Lady Hela’s orders to the end.”

He staged it as if Hela had ordered him to save Carlo.

Having completed all his tasks, the butler closed his eyes there.

Hela did not cry.

Getting out of her wheelchair, she limped over and began to dig into the ground with her hands.

Just then, it started to rain, and raindrops flowed down Hela’s face.

“Help me, Carlo. I would love to tear you apart right now.”

Blood gathered under her nails as she dug into the earth.

Hela took off her coat and laid it over the butler’s grave.

“You fool.”

Hela hadn’t wished for the butler’s death.

Even if his abilities weren’t perfect compared to other butlers, he was one of only two friends she had in the world.

After standing for a long moment to honor the grave, Carlo finally spoke with difficulty.

“I didn’t realize my greed could lead to someone’s death. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t insult my butler. He chose death himself.”

Carlo nodded.

Regardless, he had been saved.

“I don’t know if this can be a form of repayment, but I will consider Lady Hela my lifelong benefactor and serve her.”

That was the first meeting between Carlo and Hela.

*

Carlo wanted nothing more than to smack Serfon hard on the back of the head right now.

‘That damn bastard caused this mess!’

He had spent a year getting to know Hela.

Hela was a terrifying princess.

Carlo was one of the few who truly understood the fear of Bellatu, part of the noble order of Parah Viscountcy.

‘The fates of those who insulted Princess Hela were dreadful.’

Those who insulted her were found cold as corpses or had their business and families shattered.

A prime example was the eradication of the Pra Dia family a year ago.

“Young Master. If it’s not too much trouble, may I handle the guests from now on?”

“… Go ahead. The fourth floor belongs to the Chief Designer anyway.”

Serfon wiped cold sweat from his brow as he excused himself.

Viola also broke into a sweat for no reason.

Once Serfon left and all the servants cleared the room, Carlo threw himself to the ground.

“Princess Hela, I’m sorry. I’ve committed a grave sin. Please forgive me.”

A heavy silence followed for a moment.

Even Viola was scared of Hela.

So she just stayed quiet, which only intensified the deadly atmosphere.

“Though he is a damnable fool, he is a direct descendant of Louis Varten. I’ll bear the weight of this sin in my lifetime, so could you forgive him?”

At last, Hela smiled.

“My sister will debut in the social circle.”

“Please say anything you wish. I will do my utmost to help. I will escort you to my workshop.”

*

Upon passing through the magic circle, an incredibly spacious area appeared.

It had a completely different atmosphere from the lower floors of the Louis Varten estate.

‘I thought it would be filled with luxuries.’

It was wide, but it felt like an old workshop.

A few old tables were visible, and various unknown tools lay scattered around.

This appeared to be Carlo’s workspace.

As they passed through the workspace, a clean area emerged.

Overall, it was decorated in white, and although it lacked the grandeur of the lower floors, it resembled a neatly organized showroom.

“Would you like some tea?”

They had a simple tea time.

As Hela sipped her warm black tea, she opened her mouth.

“By the way, Designer Carlo, I have your invitation, so why was it necessary to be accompanied by Young Master Serfon?”

Viola, who was sipping strawberry ade, flinched.

In fact, Viola was curious too.

Why did she have to move with Serfon?

Even though Serfon was the second son of Louis Varten, he couldn’t even hold a candle to the fame and honor of Chief Designer Carlo.

‘Huh? Why is she looking at me?’

Viola realized she was making eye contact with Hela.

You better be the one to answer that, sister.

That was undoubtedly what Hela was demanding.

She relaxed for a moment.

Right. This was the world of “The Shadow of Bellatu.”

Even though Sister Hela had taken her side, she couldn’t let her guard down.

Viola sipped her strawberry ade slowly as if to appear relaxed.

Cold sweat trickled down her back, but she didn’t let it show.

Hela smiled brightly.

“I’m not trying to test you. I hope you don’t take it the wrong way.”

Glug glug.

Viola continued to think as she slowly sipped her strawberry ade.

That relaxed appearance seemed like that of a murderer in Carlo’s eyes.

“I just wanted to introduce my sister to Designer Carlo.”

Thud.

Viola set her empty cup down, and both of their gazes turned to her.

“I thought it was strange from the beginning.

To think my sister, the owner of the Tera Pavilion and the 4th Princess of Bellatu, would bring in an unknown mage. She intentionally brought in a dimwitted mage for Ersa to manage.”

Viola glanced at Ersa.

Ersa smiled sweetly as she made eye contact with Viola.

“I did my best.”

“Even if you do your best, some things just can’t be done.

Ersa’s radical training worked because Crimson had a fragile will from the start.”

It would have been ineffective against a mage with a hardened resolve and true strong pride.

“That means my sister must have deliberately picked a mage like Crimson, someone whom Ersa’s methods could work against. Someone who would crumble in the face of power.”

“You knew all along, huh?”

No, I just barely figured it out.

“After choosing that kind of opponent, my sister headed to the 7th Retreat. She must have already known that Young Master Serfon was there.”

In the end, according to Hela’s intention, Serfon approached and established contact.

“Young Master Serfon likely thought, ‘Ah, Bellatu is an easy target.’”

Since he didn’t know much about Bellatu, he probably had to figure it out through his subordinates.

But the mage following him was in such a sorry state.

He had been jumping for joy the moment he received money and descended.

A wizard from the Be Magic Tower with not a shred of dignity.

“And that’s why he let his guard down with us, treating us trivially, and approached us, thinking he would give us VIP treatment. During which, he might have even flirted with Ersa.”

All of this was possible because they underestimated them, and it was exactly as Hela intended.

“Up to this point was all according to my sister’s plans.”

As a reader of this work, I was able to piece this much together.

If I had more time to think, I’m sure I could have figured out even more.

However, time was too short.

‘I don’t know.’

I couldn’t figure out any more.

‘What should I say next?’

The moment felt like an eternity.

After that eternal moment passed, Viola finally spoke up.