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Adopted Daughter’s Role is Too Good 092

“That’s just too much! I’m really mad.”

For a brief moment, I felt a chill down my spine.

I thought a ghost was about to pop out in this empty room.

Better a ghost than an assassin, I guess.

Of course, this is Winter Castle, and if an assassin sneaks in, my father, Heron, would slice them into pieces.

Anyway, when I heard a voice in this deserted place, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.

‘But…

That voice sounds familiar.’

The sound was coming from under the bed.

Viola peered down at the space under the bed.

A small boy had crawled in there.

The small boy’s name was Pongpong, a newly born spirit and the one contracted with Viola.

‘Huh?’

Not only was it unusual for him to be under the bed, but his expression was quite remarkable too.

“Are you crying?”

“W-who’s crying!”

Big tears dripped down from the water spirit Pongpong’s large eyes.

Pongpong seemed really upset and spoke sloppily.

“I’m not crying. I’m not bad.

It’s Viola who’s bad; I’m great.”

……

Viola figured out why Pongpong was acting this way.

When Viola made the contract with Pongpong, she said:

‘Shall we water the pretty flowers together?’

But things got busy, and she couldn’t summon him. Pongpong never got to see the Duke’s mansion’s flower fields or water them.

“Yeah, I was wrong.”

“You promised me. Why didn’t you keep your promise?”

“I’ll definitely keep my promise.”

Looking at his face, drenched in tears that resembled chicken droppings, it seemed he felt very wronged.

“Liar. You promised last time too.”

“I really will keep it this time.”

When she thought about it, it was a bit too much.

Luring the little spirit with sweet-talk (?)

And then not even fulfilling that simple wish.

“Liar. I waited for 10 years.

You didn’t keep your promise for 10 years, and now you say you will? I’ve lost trust in Viola.”

“10 years?”

Now that she mentioned it, there seemed to be a setting about the flow of time being different between the spirit realm and here.

Of course, the lifespan of spirits was nearly infinite, so 10 years didn’t hold great significance for them, but still, ten years was no small amount of time.

“Isn’t 10 years just a blink for the great water spirit?”

“But we promised to go to the flower field. You said you would let me water the flowers. Right?”

Viola got off the bed.

She crouched down and met Pongpong’s eyes, who was all scrunched up under there.

Right then, fresh tears poured out of Pongpong’s clear eyes again.

“Let’s go now. To water them. I’m sorry for not keeping my promise.”

“I’m not going! Viola is a liar.”

“By now, the flowers in the Marguerite Flower Field must be blooming beautifully.”

Pongpong abruptly turned his head.

He bumped his head against the bed floor while turning but didn’t show any pain.

Instead, more tears flowed down.

“Do you know what the language of the Marguerite flower is?”

“Language of flowers?”

“True love, prophecy, divining love, revealing secrets.”

In the past, Kang Han-jun had given it as a talisman, and Tundra had gifted it to Viola as well.

She couldn’t precisely remember the time, but the Marguerite Flower Field was created at the Duke’s mansion.

It was a special space conjured by magic, said to be wider than an ordinary plain.

Viola hadn’t been there yet either.

“True love? Prophecy? Divining love? Revealing secrets?”

Pongpong began to show interest.

His brightening eyes couldn’t hide the love and hope for the flowers.

“Yeah. That flower.”

“That flower?”

Viola pointed with her finger.

The Marguerite flower that Tundra had once given her was magically preserved in a vase.

“I can’t see it.”

“You need to come out from under the bed to see it.”

“I’m not going out…”

“Let’s uncover the secret hidden in the Marguerite flower together. If you water it, it will become prettier.”

Pongpong’s body twitched.

He seemed to be feeling restless.

“You’ll keep your promises from now on, right?”

“I’m keeping my promise right now.”

“It took you 10 years, though.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for making you wait for 10 years. The great Pongpong has a big heart, so can’t you forgive me?”

Finally, Pongpong looked at Viola.

Pretending to be reluctant, he crawled out from under the bed.

“I’m forgiving you because I’m great.”

Then he rolled his eyes toward the vase.

His eyes widened.

“Is that the Marguerite?”

“Yeah. It’s like my talisman.”

“Pretty.”

Pongpong couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Let’s go give it some water!”

*

Viola was extremely tired.

It had been quite a trek from the Parah Viscountcy to here.

Moreover, she had exhausted immense mental energy while slapping Hela.

She felt utterly drained and thought she might collapse at any moment.

Yet, seeing Pongpong happily trying to hide his excitement made her fatigue feel like it was evaporating.

‘How cute.’

Who knew watering flowers could be this thrilling?

‘Seeing this, I can’t help but feel sorry for that Pongpong in the original story.’

Such a richly emotional spirit with clear desires.

In the original story, the villainess Hela had turned Pongpong into a blood spirit, bringing misfortune wherever she went.

She was the worst of the worst, taking everything for herself without giving anything back.

“Are we going this way? I can feel the power of artificially processed mana.”

Pongpong frowned slightly.

Spirits were said to have an instinctive aversion to magic or magical engineering.

Spirits use the powers of nature directly, while magic is the force that humans artificially arrange and manipulate the power existing in nature.

“Yeah. Once we pass through this door, the flower field will unfold.”

“Why bother with such complicated things? You could just make a flower field in a plain.”

“The land in Winter Castle is too barren.”

“Barren? Why?”

“It’s right next to the Place Where the Eye Shines. That place is said to have an energy that drains life.”

“I don’t feel that way, though.”

“Because this whole area is protected by a huge magic circle along with the Bellatu.”

Pongpong seemed to understand and nodded.

“Those Bellatu guys. They’re quite great, though not as great as me.”

Viola chuckled.

It felt like playing with a young nephew.

They passed through the ‘Secret Door’ and entered the Marguerite Flower Field.

‘Wow.’

Viola gasped internally.

The Marguerite flowers spread endlessly before her.

‘Amazing.’

A flower field filled with Marguerites.

In the green plains, a world of white and yellow was spread out.

Pongpong murmured as if he were enchanted.

“Lush emerald green, pure white light.”

He took a deep breath.

Phew!

“Soft aroma.”

Pongpong was overjoyed like a child who finally met what he had longed for.

“Pretty yellow light.”

He started humming a tune.

Viola looked at Pongpong, her contracted spirit, with warm eyes.

“I’m going to give water.”

“Yeah. The flowers will like it.”

“I’ll give them clean, delicious, and cool water.”

Pongpong’s body turned into bubbles and vanished.

Then, those bubbles became a huge droplet of water that floated up high into the sky.

The enormous droplet of Pongpong flew around, raining everywhere.

Pongpong was singing a strange tune while sprinkling rain.

“Grow, grow. This is the gift from the great Pongpong.”

He seemed to forget the past when he disliked the name Pongpong.

The Marguerite Flower Field was so vast he couldn’t water it all at once.

“I may be great, but those Marguerites really love their water.”

Pongpong returned to human form, panting and wiping sweat from his forehead.

Trying to pretend it wasn’t hard, he was taking utmost care with his breathing, which was both cute and amusing.

“You don’t have to act so strong.”

“I’m strong.”

“You’re breathless, though.”

“I’m not breathless.”

Even though he was obviously gasping for air, Viola let it slide.

But just then, a voice echoed.

“My Lord?”

*

Tundra often visited the Marguerite Flower Field.

For some reason, it felt comforting to be there.

When she missed Viola, she would come into the flower field and meditate.

She didn’t know why, but surrounded by the Marguerite flowers, it felt like she could sense Viola’s fragrance.

‘I heard you came to the Duke’s mansion.

But Viola must be really busy, as she didn’t meet with me.’

‘She must be busy.’

When Viola returned, Tundra felt even more lonely.

Tundra didn’t deny feeling lonely.

‘It’s a perfectly normal feeling for a pet.’

As a pet, wanting to see one’s owner is only natural.

Wanting to meet the master, wanting to see the master’s eyes, waiting for the master’s touch.

A pet behavior expert she had met several times recently had also said the same.

‘Let’s meditate.’

Accepting her loneliness, she decided to surrender herself to meditation.

When meditating, she often lost track of time, staying up all night on several occasions.

As she focused on her meditation, she suddenly heard a humming sound from somewhere.

Lush emerald green. Pure white light.

Soft aroma.

Lovely yellow light.

Since she was meditating, she couldn’t catch the details of the words, but her concentration was disturbed.

‘Who is it at this hour?’

And Tundra suddenly snapped to attention.

‘It’s my Lord’s scent!’

She could smell Viola.

Her little nose twitched like a puppy’s.

It was clear.

‘That’s my Lord’s scent.

The scent of the mana that Viola has.’

Her heart started racing wildly.

Although she had no tail, she felt like it was wagging like crazy.

Another odd thought crossed her mind.

‘What’s a propeller?’

Just as before.

It felt like her rear was shaking like a propeller.

She still didn’t know what a propeller was, but she fully woke from her meditation.

Viola’s voice rang out.

“Yeah. The flowers will like it.”

It was a much warmer voice than usual.

Viola’s voice rang out again.

“You don’t have to act so strong.”

“You’re breathless, though?”

Tundra involuntarily sat up straight.

“My Lord?”

She gazed at Viola’s face.

Viola looked pretty happy somehow.

‘Ah….’

Seeing that made her heart feel warm for no reason.

‘I’m happy too.’

She felt a fulfilling satisfaction rising from deep within her chest.

“Tundra? What are you doing here?”

“I was meditating. It seems I can concentrate better when I come to the Marguerite Flower Field.”

Tundra couldn’t take her eyes off Viola.

In that moment, Tundra’s mind was filled with thoughts of Viola.

Viola felt like everything in the world to her.

Tundra said, “Thank you for coming back.”

Tears of joy glistened in her eyes.