Chapter 14

I ended up playing the role of the adopted daughter too well 014. It was unrelated to Viola's will.

"Go... to sleep."

Her body crumbled.

'Sleepy...'

Her consciousness grew hazy, and she drifted into sleep.

3:45 AM.

A seven-year-old's body couldn't handle it.

A seven-year-old's body was very vulnerable to basic human desires.

Eating, defecating, and sleeping.

Her appetite, bowel movements, and sleep were especially weak points.

If she was too sleepy, if there was something too delicious, or if she really had to go to the bathroom, she couldn't hold it.

At such times, her body moved on its own, regardless of her will, just like now.

Squeak-squeak—

Viola was asleep. Her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath.

Xeon stared at her intently.

"Well, well."

He scratched the back of his head.

"Would it be rude to say this?"

Xeon calmly bent down and gently covered her with a blanket.

A few strands of purple hair had fallen into Viola's mouth.

Was she dreaming? Viola was chewing on her own hair.

Xeon gently pulled the hair out.

The hair brushed against her plump cheeks.

Viola, feeling ticklish, shifted in her sleep.

"You look so cute when you sleep."

The extremely Belatus-like young lady looked no different from any other child when she was asleep.

Xeon was serious.

'Seriously. She's so cute.

She was much smaller than a typical seven-year-old.

She looked like she could pass for five.

Upon closer inspection, she was sleeping with her eyes slightly open.

Xeon closed her eyelids with a much more tender and careful touch than when he covered her with the blanket.

He straightened up.

"Hmm."

Seeing the sleeping Viola, he found her cute.

However, the process leading up to this wasn't entirely cute.

Viola was testing him.

Xeon liked that.

'Sleep... tight.'

It meant she wanted him to take care of it himself.

'How could someone who can handle mana like that not control their sleep?'

He had seen her handle mana.

When she threw the quill at Bichen.

When she subdued Tundra in an instant.

When she slapped his cheek.

Mana is a product of this era that gives superhuman strength.

Someone who could handle mana to that extent wouldn't be overpowered by sleep... he had naively assumed.

'She's doing this on purpose, right?'

This was a test by the butler Xeon, a test of himself.

It was also a way to indirectly show that reporting to the duke wasn't a particularly special matter for him. Very Belatus-like.

'I'll take care of the report myself.'

Xeon smiled.

He turned off the lights, careful not to wake Viola, and slowly walked out.

The smile on Xeon's face didn't fade.

Xeon, who had quietly closed the door, said softly,

"Test. I'll pass it, Lady Viola."

It was a strange test where there was no one to set the questions, only someone to solve them.

***

5:00 AM.

The time when Duke Heron Belatus opened his eyes.

As usual, Heron got up from his bed.

Since losing his first true love, 'Rael,' he always slept alone.

He took in two more wives to continue his lineage, but he only shared a bed with them when it was necessary for that purpose.

As always, the head butler Carlton was the one to greet Heron Belatus in the morning.

"I'll prepare your shower robe and a warm cup of tea."

Duke Heron lived like a machine. He woke up at 5:00 AM.

Carlton would find the duke's bed at that time and attend to him.

Duke Heron took a shower for exactly 15 minutes. He walked out of the shower.

He loosely put on the white shower robe Carlton handed him.

Through the gaps in the robe, his chiseled pectorals and deeply etched abs were visible.

Head butler Carlton approached Duke Heron.

With his white-gloved hands, he closed the duke's shower robe.

He pulled out the ties at the back and tied a bow at the front, hiding the duke's smooth body under the robe.

"If Lady Rael were still alive, she would have disliked it."

"She is dead."

She always warned me. 'You'll get a stomachache if you do that.' 'I don't get stomachaches.'

Duke Heron's body contained powerful mana.

This mana protected his body.

He wouldn't get a stomachache, and he couldn't get one.

But he liked Rael's concern.

He liked and appreciated it when Rael came to him first, so he always deliberately left his shower robe open.

'She told me many times that I'd get a stomachache. Are you going to ignore me like this?'

'If you always do this for me, it's fine, isn't it?'

That was actually Duke Heron's wish.

He wanted Rael to be by his side.

Not to die,

She was the only person he had loved with all his heart and soul in his entire life.

So he deliberately said this.

'Managing my health is your calling. Never forget it.'

It meant, please don't die and leave me.

From the moment he met Rael, she had a limited lifespan.

She was suffering from an incurable disease that even the temple priests couldn't cure.

Still, Heron loved Rael.

She was his entire life.

'I should be able to do this much on my own.'

'I am busy. I don't have the time to worry about such trivial matters.'

He deliberately left his shower robe open.

It had become a habit.

This habit was also a way for the duke to remember Rael.

"I will inform you of today's schedule."

But today, there was a special item on the agenda.

"25 minutes ago, Xeon said he would give a face-to-face report. He is currently waiting outside. It's a report related to the Sixth Lady."

*

Duke Heron listened to Xeon's report while drinking tea.

After hearing the report, Heron smiled faintly.

"An interesting report."

Especially the part about Isabella and Viola meeting was intriguing.

"Isabella is wary of her."

The duke doesn't love Duchess Isabella, but he acknowledges her abilities as a mistress of the house.

Duchess Isabella was a necessary presence in this household. She is wary of Viola, a mere seven-year-old.

Xeon said hesitantly,

"I didn't say she was wary, Your Grace."

"Isabella tells me about most of the household matters."

The same goes the other way. Duke Heron consults Isabella on many matters.

They have a political marriage, helping each other based on mutual interests.

"But she didn't mention anything about Viola."

That means she doesn't want to talk about Viola to the duke. It could be interpreted as wariness.

Carlton, standing beside him, asked cautiously,

"Perhaps she thought it wasn't worth mentioning?"

"From what I heard from Xeon, it doesn't seem that way."

Carlton glanced at the duke sitting in the chair.

'It's been a long time... since someone has piqued the duke's interest.'

Fifteen years have passed since Duchess Rael died. The duke had lost his emotions.

He had been buried in his work.

The duke had been running forward as if chased by something.

That's how the current Belatus household was formed.

A person who could be a king but chooses not to be.

A great ruler, Heron Belatus, who guards the Winter Castle.

Heron asked,

"When is the welcome banquet?"

"In three days."

"What time can I spare before then?"

"From 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM tomorrow, your official schedule is free."

"Good."

Duke Heron decided to meet his adopted daughter.

"Extremely Belatus-like, yet with a progressive twist."

A progressive Belatus. At first glance, it sounds unpleasant.

Does that mean the current Belatus is a stagnant Belatus?

"A seven-year-old adopted daughter who can thoroughly wear a mask and use others."

"You won't regret meeting her, Your Grace."

"My time is expensive, Xeon."

"Of course."

The duke's time is as valuable as gold. Stealing it for meaningless matters is a greater sin than stealing gold.

Xeon knew this well.

"Judging by your request for a face-to-face report, you must be confident."

"Yes, Lady Viola gave me a test."

"A test from the lady?"

Duke Heron smiled faintly.

Butlers always doubt the qualities of the heirs.

If the heirs don't grow properly, the butlers are eliminated. Therefore, they always doubt and test the heirs.

That's how butlers survive.

But a Belatus who tests the butlers appeared.

Xeon smiled.

"If the meeting with Your Grace goes well, I might be able to earn some points with Lady Viola. Of course, if the meeting is unsatisfactory..."

He scratched his head.

"But I doubt you'd kill me, right?"

"I'll come at 3:00 PM tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand."

Xeon bowed and straightened up.

"Oh, and one more thing. It's not an official report, but... as a person, not a butler, I have something I really want to say."

"Go on."

Carlton also listened intently.

Xeon was someone Heron had personally recruited.

This was the first time he had added a personal opinion.

"Lady Viola is actually very cute."

"..."

He had seen her sleeping soundly, chewing on her own hair.

She looked very cute.

"Cuteness. It's not Belatus-like, yet more Belatus-like than anyone else. It's a truly remarkable quality."

"It's a pointless sentiment."

Carlton, who had been listening, was a bit disappointed.

'Cuteness?'

How could cuteness be relevant to a Belatus, who should be fully armed with a ruler's charisma?

'It's a useless virtue.'

He understood why it wasn't adopted as an official report.

What use would cuteness be to a Belatus?

Cuteness was a completely unimportant virtue for a Belatus.

Until now.

Heron thought the same.

"I'll see her at 3:00 PM tomorrow."

A day passed.