Chapter 24

I overdid my role as the adopted daughter, Chapter 24: The testing ground led by the formidable Duke of Bellatuga. If I fail this test, I will undoubtedly be disposed of.

'Hmm.'

While taking a deep breath to steady herself, the large door opened, revealing the interior.

Viola walked in quietly with Xenon.

"The 7th Princess of Bellatuga, Lady Viola Bella Tou, has entered."

She was called the 7th Princess, not the 6th.

Just like in the novel.

Viola took a few steps inside and looked to her right.

She saw the butler who had called her the 7th Princess.

This was where the test truly began.

Would she correct the mistake on the spot, or not?

If she corrected it, how well would she do it in a way that was fitting for Bellatuga?

'I can't be exactly like the real Viola.'

The original Viola swiftly moved to stab the butler's neck.

She couldn't replicate that exact movement.

Trying to mimic it might only expose her weaknesses.

Instead, Viola chose a different approach.

A better way, click, click.

In the silent space, the sound of Viola's footsteps echoed.

She slowly approached the butler.

According to the original, she should kill the butler.

But Viola slightly altered the original.

'That's not a real butler.'

It's not a person.

It's a puppet controlled by a puppeteer.

"The butler's fourth finger on his left hand was connected to a thin thread."

A very fine, shimmering thread was visible.

Viola stood silently in front of it.

She slowly drew the dagger from her bosom and swung it leisurely.

Swish!

It was a very lackadaisical attitude.

The dagger given to Viola was a special one made in the Bellatuga Duke's workshop.

A masterpiece with a sharp edge.

Although she swung it carelessly, it was enough to cut the thread.

Snap!

The thread broke.

The butler puppet lost its strength and fell.

Knowing it was a puppet, she wasn't too surprised.

'Now, I just need to step on that head.'

Stepping on a person is hard, but stepping on a puppet isn't that difficult.

Crunch!

Viola deliberately placed one foot on the butler puppet's head and pressed down firmly.

She had practiced a lot in front of the mirror last night.

She smiled.

"This kind of game is boring."

She curled her lips and laughed.

She hid her tension with her smile and looked at a man behind her.

"Seiban Marcos."

"The person controlling the puppet was the puppeteer Seiban Marcos."

She felt his gaze.

At the long table in front, all the other family members except Viola were seated.

Duke Heron Bellatuga.

Duchess Isabella.

Today's episode was thoroughly centered around the Duke, Duchess Isabella, and Viola. The three of them would carry the story.

She decided to focus and concentrate.

Then Seiban approached.

"Oh ho ho."

Seiban walked a few steps, covering his mouth with his hand and laughing.

Seiban bowed in front of Viola.

"I have been rude, Princess."

"You knew it was rude."

"I apologize."

"Will you commit suicide if you're sorry?"

Viola made a gesture as if offering the dagger.

Seiban waved his hand.

"It doesn't seem to be a crime that serious. Ho ho ho, please look here."

Seiban pointed to his neck.

Tiny wounds were visible.

They were from the scissors Viola had swung in her sleep.

"Would you consider this as having paid for my crime? I almost died."

Seiban Marcos looked at the Duke.

Viola involuntarily followed his gaze.

She looked at the Duke.

The man who adopted her and the master of the Winter Castle.

The handsome man with black bangs and eyes was truly good-looking.

Viola's gaze, filled with deep affection as she looked at her favorite character, was evident.

'Isn't that face too good-looking, even for a novel?'

That face had the power to forgive any minor mistakes.

Hana Lin felt that the father's appearance in the novel was less plausible than her own possession.

'You are truly handsome, my favorite character.'

Through the setting of 'Jin'an' in the novel, Heron read the affection in Viola's eyes.

He tried to ignore it.

Such affection.

It didn't suit Bellatuga.

He spoke in a calm voice.

"Viola. Stop and sit down."

Viola turned around. Quietly.

She walked carefully.

She put the dagger back in her bosom and held the sides of her dress.

She felt the gazes of her siblings.

She saw the excited expression on Bizjen's face.

As usual, she decided to ignore them.

Xenon pulled out a chair for her.

"You can sit here."

Viola's seat was facing Duke Heron and Duchess Isabella.

At the end of the rectangular table.

The protagonist's seat.

Duchess Isabella's face was covered by a white veil, so it wasn't visible.

Viola knew how the story progressed in the novel. Isabella would start with a question disguised as a test.

"6th Princess. I have two questions for you."

So Viola took the initiative.

She needed to take control of the situation. To survive as Hana Lin Viola, she had to do her best.

She smiled leisurely and said,

"It doesn't seem like this is just a welcoming atmosphere."

She deliberately scanned the surroundings.

"Bringing me here unilaterally was Father's decision."

"......"

"To verify my qualifications as a Bellatuga."

Viola looked at Isabella's eyes hidden behind the veil.

"It should be verified by the other two masters of this house."

The other two masters.

It referred to the two duchesses.

She couldn't kill anyone, and she didn't want to die.

So she chose this path.

'If I can't prove myself with my body, I have to prove myself with my mind.' If I can't prove my qualifications, I will die.

Fortunately, Hana Lin knew the content of the novel 'The Shadow of Bellatuga' thoroughly.

Duchess Isabella's red lips moved.

"You're right. Clever, 6th Princess."

It sounded like a sarcastic 'Is that so?'

Duchess Isabella was momentarily taken aback by Viola's attitude.

"What?"

The family's gazes fell on her.

'Scary!'

Viola deliberately looked only at Duchess Isabella.

Isabella's face was hidden behind the veil, and her eyes weren't fully visible, which made it a bit better.

'Right. I'll just look at Isabella.'

"Doesn't that mean you want me to kill it?"

She laughed seductively.

"But this is a place where the absolute law of the Winter Castle applies, so I can't kill, right? So the answer is one. A 'puppet' that can be killed. Right, Mother?"

"Keep talking."

"There was an outsider who was strangely involved, so he must have been the one controlling the puppet. Ultimately, it must have been Seiban Marcos, the puppeteer of the Winter Castle."

Viola spoke as if she had seen everything from above.

"But Seiban Marcos wouldn't act on his own without Father's permission, right? In other words, Seiban Marcos's actions were carrying out the orders of Father and Mother."

She looked at Seiban Marcos.

"That's why I didn't kill him. Does that make sense, Mother?"

Silence fell for a moment.

"Why?