Chapter 1

Adopted Daughter Role Played Too Well 001

Prologue

I thought everything was just a dream.

“Better to quickly read the winter castle’s decree. If you want to survive.”

“The duke brought the child, so even without telling her, she will soon show her sharp and cruel side.”

It was a familiar line.

The handsome man who reminded me of the sharp blade was very much like Heron Belato, my favorite character that I had always imagined.

And those were the words Heron Belato said in his first meeting with his adopted daughter Viola.

‘It must be a dream, right?’

Of course, it was.

I thought it was a dream.

I always felt a sense of regret while reading the novel *Shadow of Belato*.

The goal of the female protagonist, Viola Belato, was to dominate the Belato family.

In the end, Viola ascended to that position through her innate talent and relentless effort.

However, to me, Viola didn’t seem happy.

As a ruler, Viola was successful, but as a person, she was lonely and isolated.

Near the end of the novel, she muttered to herself:

“I have obtained the Belato I so desired. But I have lost everything else except Belato.”

As a reader, I always found that part regrettable.

I could have handled it differently.

Such thoughts led me to have this dream.

Wait a moment.

This must be the beginning of the prologue in *Shadow of Belato*.

The first day Heron Belato, the master of the Winter Castle, brought Viola from the slums.

This was the exact moment of the novel’s prologue.

Heron Belato brought Viola to the Winter Castle for one reason:

He recognized her talent as a killer at first glance.

The duke usually spoke, and the seven-year-old Viola, who knew nothing, just stood there.

As a reader who loved this novel, this was also a regrettable part.

After all, the first impression is always crucial.

‘It’s just a dream, right?’

I decided to do as I pleased.

“Are you going to be my dad now?”

Hearing my voice, Duke Heron, who was walking down the corridor, stopped.

A man standing beside him flinched.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be Carlton, the head butler of the Belato family.

Dream father.

Duke Heron answered in a dry voice.

“It will be so.”

The duke adopted me because of my outstanding talent as a killer.

According to his judgment, my talent would serve as a good stimulant for the direct descendants of the Belato family.

In simple terms, I was brought here to be used and then discarded.

However, Viola was the protagonist of the novel and, with her protagonist-like abilities, overcame everything and became the successor.

In the process, she faced immense crises and trials.

“‘Have I ever been your family, even once?’

‘You have grown into an excellent Belato.

Family? That’s an inappropriate word to use.’

‘Yes, it doesn’t suit me.’”

But Han Arin, the reader, knew.

Viola actually wanted to hear the word family.

Not the cruel successor Viola Belato.

She wanted to be the daughter Viola Belato.

In the end, that wish was never fulfilled, and Viola ascended to the throne of Belato, even killing Heron.

Incidentally, at this point, many readers cursed the author and stopped reading.

Although there were many hidden backstories, the readers who quit didn’t get to read this part.

Anyway, I asked the dream father, Heron.

“I’ve heard a lot about Belato.”

“How did you hear about it?”

“They said it was a rational family.”

“Since it’s a rational and logical family, why don’t you give me the choice to select my father? It would be more Belato-like if you let me choose.”

Carlton tried to stop me.

“Miss, Duke?”

Please show some manners. You are now a duchess of Belato, a character of a different caliber from the slums.

That’s what he seemed to be saying.

But I knew.

Duke Heron would actually want to hear such a provocative question from me.

My favorite character is that kind of character!

“You seem to know a lot about Belato.”

“Yeah.”

I probably know more about Belato than the Belatos themselves.

“Tell me what you know about Belato.”

I could answer like someone who had memorized the answer sheet for an exam.

“A survival of the fittest ecosystem where everything is proven by ability.”

“A ruthless family that even encourages fratricide.”

“Simultaneously, the northern shield that protects humanity from the northern forest, ‘the place of snowstorms.’”

“A ducal family that values only rational choices and the family’s interests, with an iron-blooded approach.”

Good.

I should give a light laugh here.

Hehe.

“Why didn’t you give me a choice and just decided on your own, given how thorough and rational your family is?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

The duke asked me.

“Will you be my daughter?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Your decision is quick.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re handsome.”

A moment of silence followed.

I continued without missing a beat.

“To be precise, our becoming father and daughter is my choice, not yours. You made a ‘proposal,’ and ‘I accepted it.’ Right?”

“Right.”

“It sounds interesting.”

I could feel Heron Belato’s gaze.

Despite his seemingly cold eyes, I could sense a hidden curiosity.

By the way, when will this dream end? It’s not a bad dream, but it will end soon, right?

I asked again.

“Since I’m your daughter now, I have the qualifications to be a successor, right?”

“Of course.”

“I understand. I’ll make sure you don’t regret bringing me here. And by the way,”

Not as a sacrificial adopted daughter, not as a tool to stimulate,

“I’d like you to love me, if possible.”

While reading the novel, I felt so sorry.

Viola eventually became the ruler, but no one was left by her side.

Everyone feared Viola, but no one loved her.

“Will you do that?”

“……”

“I’ve always wanted to have a family. Not just in words, but a real father.”

The Viola Belato I imagined in the prologue.

I think I did it perfectly.

It’s like I’ve become a super fan.

Entering the world of a novel I loved and changing it.

Isn’t this the ultimate form of fanfiction?

I’m glad this dream is lasting long.

I glanced at the duke.

Head butler Carlton stood there with a bewildered expression.

Despite his neat suit, his face was covered with small scars.

I could see right through the head butler’s thoughts.

He must be thinking that this adopted daughter will die soon.

Duke Heron chuckled.

“It’s interesting.”

Duke Heron’s nickname is the ‘Thousand Killer Duke’ because he killed a thousand people to become the head of the Belato family.

Suddenly, a terrifying aura emanated from him.

Yikes!

I couldn’t help but flinch.

Is this the killing intent from the novel?

My whole body tingled.

It felt like electricity was coursing through me.

My heart trembled, and cold sweat trickled down my back.

This is getting a bit strange.

Why is it so vivid?

Why isn’t it ending?

“Try to survive as best as you can. I won’t kill you myself.”

It felt ominous.

An unknown sense of unease began to creep over me.

Why isn’t this dream ending?

***

Heron sat at his desk in the study, lost in thought.

‘It’s interesting.”

When he first discovered Viola.

Viola had red eyes.

In her hand was a blood-stained glass shard.

Not far away, a slave trader who had tried to kidnap her lay on the ground, clutching his neck.

‘Seven years old. And she did that without any training.

She seemed like a child born with the ‘Killer Star’ that occasionally appears in history books.

He brought her because he found it intriguing.

It was a whim.

It was like finding an interesting animal and confining it in a zoo that only he could see.

Through adoption,

The child didn’t act like a seven-year-old.

‘Why didn’t you give me a choice and just decided on your own, given how thorough and rational your family is?’

Head butler Carlton said.

“Your Grace, you seem to be in a good mood.”

“It was interesting.”

“What was interesting, Your Grace?”

“The content of her words was far more mature than a seven-year-old’s, and the tone was even more childish.”

The content and pronunciation were not those of a seven-year-old.

“She claimed to be seven, but physically, she’s more like five. She probably didn’t get enough to eat and grew very slowly. Or she might be confused about her age.”

“Did she seem confused about her age?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“It felt like her mind and body were out of sync.”

Heron accurately read Ahrin’s, or rather, Viola’s state but didn’t think it was possession.

“Do you mean she was unnatural?”

“Yes.”

Carlton didn’t consider possession either.

He explained it in a very practical way.

“She pretended to be confident but was ultimately nervous. That’s why she might have seemed awkward.”

As Carlton spoke, he realized something.

‘Ah…!’

In that nervous and fearful state, she spoke to Heron with such confidence.

It meant the little girl had an incredibly strong heart.

‘The mental strength to overcome fear. You found that impressive.’

To Carlton, Viola had made a great first impression.

She showed the best possible face for a seven-year-old adopted into the Belato family.

Her somewhat rude attitude might have been a problem, but since the duke didn’t mind, it was fine.

However, the duke was thinking about something else.

‘I’d like you to love me, if possible.

No one in the Belato family.

No one would boldly ask for affection like that.

But Viola was different.

She shamelessly and confidently asked for love.

The important thing was that it wasn’t humble but confident.

It was a character he had never encountered before.

‘And… she was small.

Unlike the children of the Belato family.

She didn’t look seven at all.

Her body was so delicate it seemed it would break if you held her.

The duke asked.

“Carlton, what do you think is the probability that the child will survive in Belato until adulthood?”

“I think it’s less than 40%.”

“I see.”

The duke fell into thought.

He had an instinctive ability to read people’s true intentions.

In the novel, it was called the ‘True Eye.’

Using the True Eye, he read:

Viola had a very strong liking for him.

Her desire for a family was genuine.

She acted as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.

It wasn’t an act but genuine.

He couldn’t understand.

‘Why does she like me?’

When did she see me?

It wasn’t just a simple liking.

There was a hint of longing and affection.

Why?

He couldn’t figure out the reason.

In a place where family bonds were nonexistent,

Heron Belato, the ruler of the Winter Castle, found this unexplained affection very strange.

Heron said.

“Assign Xenon as her butler.”

“…Xenon?”

He’s too capable to be a butler.

He held back his words.

He confirmed again.

“A regular butler, not a temporary one?”

“Yes.”

Here, the duke’s word was law.

“I understand.”

Two days passed.