Viola, instead of hesitating, asked back, “Why is that?”

As if she already knew everything but was skipping the order of answers, so naturally.

“Alright, that was smooth!”

As expected, Hela seemed quite pleased.

“I thought you would know everything, but it’s just as I thought.”

Hela’s gaze shifted to Carlo.

That look seemed to say, ‘Did you see that? This is what my sister is like!’

“As you know, I had to consider my relationship with the second son of Louis Varten.”

She spoke as if it were directed at Viola, but in the end, it was for Carlo.

“Louis Varten is one of the prominent houses, and we, Bellatu, are trying to maintain a good relationship with them. I could somewhat gauge the first princess, Serza. She has outstanding abilities and is active in various fields.”

The first, Serza.

The second, Serfon.

Hela had to weigh the two.

The head of the Varten family, who could be considered the actual power behind Louis Varten, and Carlo were already quite old.

Preparation needed to be made for the next generation, and Serfon seemed much easier to handle than Serza.

“So, I reached out to the second prince, Serfon.”

Noble houses do not show their heirs properly.

Even if they have flaws, they hide or conceal them.

To properly assess an opponent, direct contact is the best.

“If it were Princess Serza, she would have at least noticed that my wheelchair is a work of a master craftsman.”

Serfon was deemed a failure.

A cold sweat trickled down Viola’s back as she realized everything behind her.

‘So, this is why they orchestrated such situations.’

To assess the seemingly more approachable Serfon and to build rapport.

If Serfon had shown a commendable demeanor, things might have turned out differently.

Hela seemed to have planned today long ago.

Carlo sighed deeply.

“I see. That scoundrel must not have been chosen by Princess Hela.”

“I’m not someone who chooses or judges others.”

“Such overly humble words.”

“Not humble, but the truth.”

A chill ran down Viola’s spine for some reason.

Without knowing why, her neck felt cold.

She wanted to avoid Hela’s gaze.

“But if it’s my sister, that’s a different story.”

Hela’s loving eyes turned toward Viola.

“You must have seen it just now, Designer Carlo.”

Carlo had seen it too.

The laid-back demeanor.

The unique atmosphere that only an absolute master can possess.

An aura that seemed to look down upon everything as if it were placed in the palm of its hand.

Viola felt all of that from her.

“My sister will be in a position to choose someone. I may not be able to be a ruler, but my sister can. Today is the day I introduce my sister to Sir Carlo.”

In Hela’s loving gaze, there was also boundless trust.

The one who helps shape a king.

A king-maker saw the king.

“Haha. Truly an honor to meet you. I had thought that the one to lead Bellatu would be Princess Medea, but now I see it may not be that simple.”

Carlo etched ‘Viola Bellatu’ into his heart.

Carlo stood up from his seat.

“Everything for my sister should be ready, right?”

“Of course!”

Long ago, Hela had ordered many things tailored for Viola.

“I will bring what you ordered. I hope you like it.”

When Carlo returned from somewhere and began to pull out items from the dimensional space, Viola gasped.

‘Oh my…!’

Extravagant items poured out at a glance.

“This is a shoe crafted from ultra-fine diamond processed into thread, with detailed features. You already know, but this processing technique is something only the head of the Herpes family can accomplish.”

The long-time friendship between the head of the Herpes family and chief designer Carlo was well-known in the world.

It seems Carlo must have asked the head of Herpes to specially craft these shoes.

“And these are earrings made from gold and specially treated red Seron ore…”

They were small earrings in the shape of a four-leaf clover.

The special ore, Seron, which emits a faint red light even in darkness, sparkled beautifully.

“The technique of smelting gold and Seron ore together is something only the Biando Kilaf family can do. I’ve also specially crafted a necklace to match these earrings.”

Viola had to try hard to hide her astonishment.

The Iron-Blooded Princess of Bellatu shouldn’t be gaping like this at things.

‘How much are all these worth?’

Having a rich sister was nice, but…

These must be items that couldn’t be found even with money.

‘It’s a bit overwhelming.’

Whether it be friends.

Boyfriends.

Even husbands or parents.

Receiving ultra-high-value luxury items as gifts would be a load.

But it seemed it didn’t bother Hela at all.

“You remember what I just said about forgiving Prince Serfon, right?”

Cold sweat dripped down both Carlo’s and Viola’s backs.

“Y-yes, of course. I still have a lot more to show.”

“Of course, right? I almost would have been disappointed.”

“No way! Hahaha!”

That was a complete lie.

‘Damn that scoundrel!’

He was going to wipe out whatever little fortune there was.

And he had to mess with Princess Hela of all people.

If Hela got annoyed, there would be nothing left but bones.

Hela alone could do that.

‘And now, Princess Hela and Princess Viola are coming along?’

But today, Viola seemed scarier than Hela.

Just look at her now.

That expressionless, apathetic attitude!

That inscrutable gaze seemed almost bored.

I’d heard rumors she was the Iron-Blooded Princess, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.

‘Damn!’

I felt an overwhelming urge to show something of the best luxury I had.

‘I-I didn’t want to show this much.’

I had no choice.

If I didn’t give it my all, Hela would never forgive this rudeness, and she would turn Louis Varten against us too.

Carlo loved Louis Varten more than he expected and did not want to push his family into crisis.

He took out two dresses.

One was a dress as white as snow, and the other was a dress as red as blood.

What Carlo truly wanted to hide was the red dress.

‘Please, choose the white dress!’

“I prepared two dresses as I wasn’t sure which would suit your taste. Which one do you like?”

In her left hand was the white dress.

It was off-the-shoulder and made of an incredibly luxurious fabric that cascaded beautifully.

The pure white dress, shimmering like water, was decorated with silver thread lace that was delicate and intricate.

‘Wow…’

Even though this wasn’t exactly my style, Viola couldn’t help but admire it inwardly.

‘It’s beautiful.’

Regardless of taste, this dress was a luxury piece that conveyed the artisan’s dedication.

Even someone without an eye for fashion could tell how elegant and beautiful it was.

‘Really pretty.’

She imagined herself wearing that dress.

‘Ah. It’s too babyish.’

Suddenly, the fantasy shattered.

Her soul was that of a 20-something Han Ah-rin, but her body was that of 12-year-old Viola.

Moreover, she grew considerably slower than other kids her age.

Though it was far prettier than her original body…

The tenager Han Ah-rin always wanted to grow up.

She thought if she became an adult faster, Kang Han-jun would at least see her as a woman.

When she just reached her twenties, Han Ah-rin wanted to be in her thirties instead.

She thought that being in her thirties felt a bit more mature as an adult than being in her twenties.

So, with Han Ah-rin being like that, the current body felt so mismatched with that dress.

‘Ugh. When will I grow?’

Seeing that, another cold sweat ran down Carlo’s back.

‘Did I just sigh?’

That white dress was undoubtedly a luxury piece.

But it couldn’t compare to the red dress.

‘I’m pretty sure I just sighed.’

It felt as if he sighed on purpose for her to hear.

Carlo concealed his fear and trembled slightly.

“Please take a look at this as well.”

Please don’t look at it.

He desperately tried to hide that thought.

Whether she knew that thought or not, Viola turned her gaze sideways.

It was as if a blood-stained dress was being displayed.

The outer layer was a dazzling red, while the inner layer was a dark black.

So intense.

Compared to the white dress, it had a slightly more casual feel.

I couldn’t pinpoint the exact material.

It flowed like water yet gleamed slightly.

It had less elegance and fewer details than the previous dress.

‘This feels like something a scary aunt would wear.’

It felt like something the witch Hela would wear in the story.

‘Wait? Hela?’

Now that I thought about it, Hela wore just this sort of outfit.

The outer layer was red.

The inner layer was black.

‘Patterns embroidered with golden thread.

It wasn’t apparent at a glance but could be seen when focused.

Those faint patterns created a simple magic formula.

Suddenly, a quote from the novel came to mind.

“Here’s the loot obtained in exchange for saving Serza’s life.”

It wasn’t particularly significant in the novel.

The anecdotes related to Louis Varten weren’t heavy in weight at all.

‘Serza is the first princess of Louis Varten.

If the villainess Hela had taken Serza’s life hostage to steal the artifact, then could this be that outfit?

“Can I take a closer look at this?”