Chapter 34

I overdid it with the role of the adopted daughter 034

"Is this it?"

It was incredibly large.

It was a ten-story building.

This was a fantasy world.

While magic engineering had developed, the architectural technology for building tall structures was not particularly advanced.

It wasn't that the magic engineering here was inherently inferior to scientific technology, but rather that in this vast world, there was no real need to build buildings unnecessarily tall.

'Is ten stories really that high?'

It was hard to make a direct comparison, but it seemed comparable to a 70-story building in the modern world.

It was the largest building in the area.

Viola's heart raced.

'Building owner!'

Indeed, it was surprising.

'But a building owner at twelve?'

In a certain sense, she was an incredibly overpowered character.

Viola had known this from reading the original work, but experiencing it firsthand made it feel even more intense.

She reaffirmed her resolve.

I need to get close to her.

"I really, really like you, big sister."

They entered the Tera Merchant Guild building.

Inside, people of all kinds were bustling about.

"Who's the front man?"

"You know about that too?"

Viola was from the slums, so they thought she wouldn't know much.

The more she saw, the more amazed she became.

Her father bringing her to Bellator seemed to have a reason.

"There was a prominent merchant in the area."

It wasn't 'there is,' but 'there was.'

"Now?"

"He's dead."

Viola felt a chill.

The original work didn't describe this in detail.

Just in case, she composed herself and asked.

"Did you kill him?"

"Of course not."

That's right.

Bellator's nature is such that while they are cruel to enemies, they don't indiscriminately kill civilians.

"He was already dead."

Hera continued quietly.

"That's why I asked."

"Then how…."

Viola thought she understood.

'Seyban Marcos!'

That's right.

The owner of the Tera Merchant Guild.

At this point in time, the owner was 'Seyban Marcos.'

He can peel the face skin from a corpse and recreate a person who looks exactly the same.

It seemed that Seyban Marcos was peeling the face skin to take on the role of the front man.

'Ugh!'

She had let her guard down for a moment.

Yes, this is the kind of world.

You can't let your guard down.

Viola composed herself.

"Then where is Seyban Marcos?"

"Seyban Marcos?"

Hera turned her head to look at Viola.

Hera giggled again.

She didn't deny the fact.

"Did you figure that out too?"

Hera extended her hand. Viola, not knowing what was happening, took it.

Hera pulled her hand and placed it over her left chest.

"Can you feel it?"

"Your heartbeat?"

"Yeah. You would know."

What does she mean by 'you would know'?

It was completely incomprehensible.

"My heartbeat is much faster than usual."

Ah, that's what she meant.

"Meeting you is a bit of a pleasure, Viola."

It was a situation Viola had intended, but it still felt a bit embarrassing.

Still, Hera was relatively normal compared to other Bellator members.

Using her knowledge from the original work, Viola felt she had somehow stolen this child's heart, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

'Why do I feel uncomfortable?'

She composed herself again.

'Just be really close friends.'

Rich friends are good friends, right?

Especially a building owner, or rather, a skyscraper owner.

If possible, it would be great to help this skyscraper owner grow even bigger.

Hera giggled several times.

It seemed she could definitely become close friends with Hera.

Then, using her knowledge from the original work, it would be even better to help Hera.

'She'll figure it out on her own eventually, but…'

Wouldn't it be better to speed up the process a bit?

Then they could become even closer, and she would be on Viola's side!

Viola and Hera wandered around the building and then got into a carriage.

"Big sister."

"Yeah?"

"Are you rich?"

Hera smiled.

"Why? Do you want to steal my money? Did you get greedy after seeing my wealth?"

"What would I do with a measly amount of money?"

In the future.

Hera will become a great merchant.

Even if Hera is rich now, she will be even richer in the future.

"Measly amount? I'm pretty rich, you know."

"You're not."

Viola firmly denied it.

It was true.

Compared to the future Hera, she was almost at the level of a beggar.

Hera met Viola's eyes, which were full of confidence.

She realized that Viola was indeed very confident.

'She's not joking, is she?'

Hera was a bit taken aback.

Considering the size of the building, a measly amount of money?

'She grew up in the slums, right?'

She seemed to have the confidence of a whale.

Han Arin, feeling excited about the prospect of making a future tycoon friend, continued.

"I'm talking about cash. Physical assets and cash assets are different, right? Big sister, you're always short on cash, aren't you?"

..

Suddenly, cash?

"I want to join your business."

Big sister is good, and I'm good.

It's good for both of us, right?

"How much do you have?"

"None."

"Then how can you join?"

"Big sister, how much do you need?"

If you just give her the money, Hera will know how to grow it.

Hera never lies or cheats about money.

"If I need it, I'll find a way to get it."

"Okay."

"Why?"

"I want to invest in you."

Hera giggled again. Invest in her?

What is this child basing her confidence on?

"What if I take it?"

"Then my judgment is wrong."

No, big sister won't take it.

Big sister is a character who never plays with money.

Hera giggled again.

Where does she get such confidence?

Hera said,

"100 million dalia."

It wasn't that she really needed 100 million dalia.

In fact, 100 million dalia wasn't a huge amount for Hera's business.

This 100 million dalia was a realistic and symbolic amount that Hera thought Viola could somehow come up with.

"100 million dalia?"

"Yeah. Is it too much?"

"No, it's less than I expected."

"It's not that easy, you know?"

"I'll find a way."

Hera hummed and stroked her chin.

"What's your plan?"

"You'll see."

A few days later,

The finance butler of Bellator was in an uproar.

*****

Zeon took out a white towel and wiped his forehead.

"You want to go see the Duke directly?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Zeon wiped his forehead again.

He was sweating, even though he hadn't when the Duchess Isabella had grabbed his neck.

"As you know, the Duke is very, very busy and values his time more than gold."

"So?"

Viola sat with her legs crossed.

Her legs were too short to touch the ground, but her presence was no less imposing than the Duchess Isabella.

"That's why he really dislikes unscheduled visits."

"So I told the butler to set up an appointment."

"So the reason for setting up the appointment is….

to borrow money?"

Zeon cleared his throat, just in case, and Viola nodded.

"I feel like my head will roll. Can you reconsider?"

But Viola was firm.

Zeon sighed, looking like he had lost everything, and then closed the door and left.

He walked with heavy steps.

Zeon's expression, which had been full of complaints, changed instantly.

The worried look he had in front of Viola was gone.

'He should be in his study at this time.'

He immediately headed to the Duke's study.

Knock knock.

He knocked and entered.

Sure enough.

The Duke, who lived like a machine, was working in his study.

"Duke, the Lady Viola wishes to see you."

Heron, who was writing with a quill pen, looked at Zeon.

"Why?"

"Well…."

He laughed awkwardly.

"She wants some pocket money."

The quill pen, which had been moving continuously, stopped abruptly.

Zeon laughed awkwardly and said,

"Should I tell her no?"

"If I had intended to say no, I would have stopped you from the beginning."

Zeon stood at attention.

"I apologize."

"No."

Heron trusted Zeon.

"Bring her in."

"Yes, I understand."

Zeon left the room.

Carlton, who was standing behind Heron, asked,

"You're not angry?"

"Isn't it interesting?"

"Doesn't the Duke value his time more than anything?"

"It would be better if you kept quiet."

"I apologize."

Carlton shut his mouth.

Heron began signing the documents on his desk.

Carlton found it hard to understand.

The Duke's attitude was a bit different from usual.

The Duke didn't like nonsense.

He despised those who wasted his time with nonsense.

Setting up an unscheduled appointment just to ask for pocket money? Yet the Duke accepted it.

It was strange.

'Does he plan to scold her severely?'

A while later.

Knock knock.

It was Lady Viola.

Duke Heron, sitting in his chair, looked at Viola.

"You want pocket money?"

"Yes."

Viola involuntarily swallowed.

She didn't know why the fatherly atmosphere was so intense.

His eyes seemed capable of devouring the world.

"Why?"

"I need some money."

Chief Butler Carlton was flabbergasted.

He had never seen a crazy noble lady who would come to the Duke's study just to ask for pocket money because she needed some cash.

He had never imagined such a situation. To Carlton, Viola seemed confident.

She was so shameless that it was hard to believe.

'If she talks like that, her head will roll…'

That's what Carlton thought.

But he was wrong.

This method had already been used by Rae and had been successful.

"The Duke surprisingly likes straightforwardness.

He prefers direct and blunt speech over scheming and plotting from behind.

It's just that no one dares to try because of the Duke's intimidating presence and his murderous eyes.

Han Arin, who had been a reader, had deeply analyzed her favorite character, Heron, and knew how to deal with him.

"Since Father has adopted me as his daughter, I, as a daughter, can also ask for some pocket money, right?"

"So that's why you came?"

"Partly as an excuse for pocket money, but I also wanted to see Father."

Heron paused for a moment.

An awkward silence filled the room, and Chief Butler Carlton had to break out in a cold sweat.