Chapter 26: Overacting as the Adopted Daughter

‘I believe in the setting values!’

Viola decided to believe in the novel’s settings.

In the novel, Viola drinks a potion called ‘Viola Potion’ in the middle of the story.

She deliberately drinks it, thinking that a potion like this couldn’t possibly do anything to her.

Viola doesn’t die after drinking the Viola Potion.

Even Viola, who had been so bold, felt a moment of panic inside her.

"Why am I completely fine?"

Later, she realizes the reason.

"Viola had a unique constitution that made her immune to the Viola Potion."

Viola decided to trust the setting values that the author had directly set.

Among the five potions, she chose to drink the most potent one.

To make the strongest impression in front of them.

‘I won’t... die, right?’

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.

But she had to do it.

She had to completely overwhelm them.

She couldn’t survive in the Bellaudo family with a half-hearted attitude and challenge.

If she had come this far, there was no turning back.

“I will drink it, dear family.”

Viola put her nose to the mouth of the glass bottle.

The smell was surprisingly pleasant. It had a sweet, wine-like aroma.

“Who made this potion?”

She asked, even though she already knew.

“Why does this potion exude such a nostalgic feeling?”

A moment of silence fell.

The silence was broken by none other than Duke Heron.

Heron slowly rose from his seat and walked closer to Viola.

His eyes showed no particular emotion, but Viola could sense the fierce aura hidden behind his calmness.

Heron asked in a low tone.

“What did you hear, and where and how did you hear it?”

Viola hid her fear and acted.

“I didn’t hear it; I saw it.”

“Saw it?”

“Just saw it.”

I saw it in the novel.

“What did you see?”

“Longing for someone. More than death.

A love that surpasses it. And a desperate wish. That’s what I saw.”

Duke Heron stared at Viola intently.

Viola felt herself shrink under his gaze.

It was an odd feeling.

His eyes seemed to have a life of their own, probing into the secrets hidden deep within her, even those she didn’t know herself.

“Duke Heron has very special eyes. They have an instinctive ability to discern truth from lies.”

These were the ‘True Eyes’ mentioned in the novel.

‘Because of the True Eyes, Heron will be even more confused.’

Viola was only telling the truth right now.

She tilted the mouth of the Viola Potion to her lips and drank.

Gulp, gulp.

The Viola Potion slid down her throat and entered her body.

Her entire body felt hot.

It was as if sweet sugar water was running through every vein in her body, burning as it went.

‘It’s hot.’

Her whole body was burning.

She felt like she was on fire from head to toe.

‘Is this okay?’

Her throat was dry.

She wanted to drink anything, anything at all.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

‘Blood.’

The body of the ‘Man-sa’ (萬殺) princess character craved blood.

‘What kind of blood?!

Of course, Viola didn’t want to drink blood.

The thought of it made her feel sick. So she thought hard.

‘Grapefruit juice, watermelon juice, orange juice.’ The best of all,

‘Strawberry juice, no, strawberry milk!

Mix strawberry syrup with milk, sweetened with sugar,

‘No, no. Soda would be better than milk.’

Then it would be a sweet and refreshing strawberry ade.

If you add some ice, it would be even better!

Thinking about the strawberry ade, her thirst for blood subsided a bit.

Meanwhile, her eyes had inadvertently turned red.

They emitted a ghostly aura, craving blood.

She hadn’t intended it; it was just a setting value of the Man-sa princess character.

Heron, Isabella, and the brothers all saw and felt this aura.

Especially Isabella, who couldn’t take her eyes off Viola.

‘This child... was born with the fate of a ‘Killing Star (殺星).’

The blood-craving eyes were visible.

They shone eerily but, paradoxically, were also beautiful and captivating.

This was how Isabella saw Viola.

With her brilliant mind, Isabella thought the opposite.

‘She genuinely craves blood, but she’s controlling it with her reason.

What an amazing insight.

And even more remarkable self-control.

She’s perfectly acting this out in front of us.’

Viola’s ability to enhance her value through acting and adapt to the situation.

‘This is interesting. An interesting Bellaudo has entered.’

Isabella’s lips curved into a smile.

The Duke’s keen eye was correct.

This little girl clearly had the ambition to swallow Bellaudo whole.

And she was showing that ambition without hesitation.

‘This much determination means she’s not hiding her desire to become the ruler of Bellaudo.’

Isabella interpreted it as a subtle and clever declaration of war.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

Viola was just preoccupied with the thought of a sweet strawberry ade with ice.

She didn’t genuinely crave blood; she just didn’t want it at all.

Some time passed.

The burning sensation that had felt like it would consume her body disappeared.

Her thirst for blood also gradually faded.

‘Is this... okay?’

It was just as the novel’s settings described.

‘Yes, it’s fortunate.’

Fortunately, she was fine. The gamble had paid off.

Viola shook the empty glass bottle above her head. Not a drop fell.

“I’ve finished it.”

The brothers were still too scared to look.

She glanced at Duchess Isabella, who was covering her face with a veil.

She picked up her fork and sat down.

“Shall we eat now?”

Duke Heron’s gaze on his youngest daughter, who had passed the test with flying colors, was peculiar.

Why am I not happy to see a perfect Bellaudo?

‘Why am I not satisfied?’

This thought made Heron’s mind complicated.

He couldn’t understand his own feelings, so he just stared at Viola in silence.

‘I don’t like it.’

No matter how hard he stared at Viola, he couldn’t understand why.

On the other hand,

Viola could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

‘Heron doesn’t even give a glance if he’s not interested.’

It’s fortunate if he doesn’t give a glance.

He erases from his memory those he’s not interested in.

If she were forgotten, she would eventually be hunted down by the brothers.

‘He seems somewhat satisfied.’

She felt a bit proud.

She could feel the Duke staring at her for quite a while.

‘This level of satisfaction isn’t just satisfaction; it’s very satisfying.’

She was confident she had seen through his favorite character.

The plan had succeeded.

Until she was ten, when she would decide her path as a Bellaudo, there would be no major variables.

‘First, I need to survive until I’m ten.’

The weak get eaten.

While pretending to be calm and chewing on her steak, she met the gaze of another person.

She was being stared at intently.

It was a girl with silver hair.

Viola would clash with this silver-haired girl, who would grow into a strategist in the Bellaudo family.

She was also a character Viola had found quite challenging up to the latter part of the novel.

‘The sister who would be the biggest headache if she became an enemy.’

Moreover, she would become a ‘Juchang’ (巨常), a wealthy and powerful sister.

After all, being rich is never a bad thing.

‘I need to be friends with her.’

She took in the sister’s face.

After the welcome banquet, the ‘Meeting with Hera’ episode would soon follow.

Hera also looked at Viola. Their eyes met.

Viola deliberately smiled.

I need to look nice to this sister.

I need to be friends with her.

She’s going to become incredibly wealthy.

She’s the main stock of this work.

Hera’s face turned slightly red when she met Viola’s gaze.

She averted her eyes.

This was the same as in the original work.

“Hera avoided Viola’s gaze.

After that, Viola ignored Hera.”

In the original, the young Hera seemed like a coward or a loser who didn’t fit in the Bellaudo family.

So the Viola in the original ignored Hera.

In the chapter following the ‘Welcome Banquet,’ where Viola meets the four princesses, she makes the tragic mistake of dismissing Hera.

“Hera came to see Viola, but Viola immediately chased her away.

‘Get lost, before I kill you.’”

That’s how Viola and Hera become enemies in the original novel.

‘Well, doing that would create enemies and tension.

I don’t care about the ‘quality of the work’ from the author’s perspective, but Viola didn’t care about that at all.

Living a long, happy life...!’ The quality of the work is none of her business.

Viola thought this to herself and met Hera’s gaze again.

‘Stock. My stock. Make it soar.’

She didn’t take her eyes off Hera, filled with anticipation.

She wanted to make a good impression on Hera.

‘Being strong isn’t everything.’

Being strong is good, but it’s not everything.

Even here, it’s the same as in the modern world.

‘Being rich is stronger than being strong. Period.’

She had to become friends with her.

Viola reaffirmed this as she prepared her mindset for the new chapter.

The ‘Welcome Banquet’ ended like this.