Chapter 4

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

Minji leaned against the window, gazing at the distant mountains while deeply reflecting on yesterday's events.

---

Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

---

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

In the role of an adopted daughter, I ended up doing it a bit too well. Chapter 004

"I am both a guardian who monitors Lady Gong and, at the same time, an assistant."

"So?"

"Please use my services often. Despite appearances, I am quite capable."

Viola narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure you're capable?"

Of course, I know that.

It's mentioned several times in the story.

'Zaen is an extremely excellent butler.'

This description appears at least three times.

There are very few characters in the story who are directly described as outstanding.

"I may have shown a poor side, but I will assert that I am capable. Is that not possible?"

"It's better than claiming you are incompetent."

Viola nodded and continued.

"Since you've made two mistakes, you need to do better."

"Of course."

Zaen bowed.

"I am the butler, Zaen."

Viola secretly observed Zaen.

She had often been told she was perceptive since childhood, and she had already read the novel.

'It seems like you're itching to ask something.'

She noticed that he was barely holding back his curiosity.

"Ask your question. If it's valuable, I'll answer."

"Really?"

"You look like you're dying to ask."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes."

Zaen gently scratched his cheek.

He smiled warmly but did not take his eyes off Viola's.

'Is it insight or just being perceptive?'

Of course, Zaen could not imagine that Viola had read the novel.

'Growing up in the slums, it makes sense that she is perceptive... but...'

After concluding that she was perceptive, he asked:

"Why did you allow Lord Bizhen to hug you?"

In the original, the response is, 'It's none of your business.'

Viola chuckled.

"It's none of your business."

"That's true, isn't it?"

Aerin had slightly altered the scene.

She chose a better approach than the original Viola.

"If you hug someone, it's easier to analyze their physique. You can identify weak points, gauge their mobility based on the thickness of different body parts, and even feel the muscle fibers to determine which areas of the nervous system are well-developed. That's why I allowed the hug."

Zaen was momentarily speechless.

She was a seven-year-old girl from the slums, supposedly untrained.

If she hadn't learned it, it must be an innate instinct.

Zaen, hiding his surprise, continued:

"Doesn't that apply to Lord Bizhen as well?"

"Is that a problem?"

"It's... not a problem."

Zaen felt as if he had been hit on the head.

'Impressive.'

He genuinely admired her.

While anyone in Bellatu could have given that answer, it was not something a girl who had only been in Bellatu for three days could have said.

Zaen approached Viola and knelt on one knee.

"I have nothing to say against your well-reasoned argument. Frankly, I didn't expect you to think that far ahead."

"..."

"It's not a problem. Your confidence is truly admirable, Lady Gong."

Zaen pulled out something from his front pocket.

It was a small knife.

Viola was slightly startled, but she did not show it.

Zaen fixed a loose thread near Viola's sleeve.

His touch was very gentle and meticulous.

'This scene isn't in the original?'

Zaen was a bit more affectionate than in the original.

"I will report to the Duke."

"Do your job."

"However, I also plan to inform Lady Gong."

Zaen pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

It seemed to be a report.

This content was not in the original.

[She possesses the basic qualities required to become the absolute ruler of the Winter Castle.]

[She has an instinctive desire for dominance and ambition.]

[She has the necessary madness for Bellatu.]

[She also has the rationality to control that madness.]

While it was a better approach,

The content was a bit strange.

Instinctive desire for dominance?

Ambition?

"Why are you showing me this?"

In the original, he doesn't show it.

"Lady Gong, I have seen enough of your qualities and talents. As you intended, you have proven your worth in your meeting with Lord Bizhen."

"......"

"Therefore, I will do my best to make you the next Duchess."

"......"

"Is that what you want, Lady Gong?"

No.

I don't want to be a thousand-year-old Duchess.

My goal is to survive.

I plan to pass the position of heir to the First Lady.

I want to live as a human, not a killing machine or a thousand-year-old Duchess.

'Please!'

Her eyes were filled with a desperate plea that she couldn't show outwardly.

"I can read the desperation in your eyes."

That's not what I meant!

"I haven't seen such a look in a long time."

"......"

"I will work hard, Lady Gong."

Her head throbbed, but she decided to do what needed to be done.

"Get me a detailed family tree. The more detailed, the better."

***

A stormy day passed.

The meeting with Bizhen was chaotic, and the conversation with Zaen was terrifying, but somehow she managed to get through it.

'Phew.'

She lay on the bed and took a deep breath.

Aerin made a firm resolve in her heart.

'I will survive.'

She needed to prove her capabilities.

She couldn't be a disgrace to Bellatu.

The moment she showed a side unworthy of Bellatu,

Viola would be eliminated without anyone noticing.

'Phew.'

She sighed deeply, not knowing how many times.

She decided to focus on what she needed to do now.

'Bizhen must be getting punished right now.'

This is a scene from the novel.

"Bizhen, what did you think of the child?"

"He was interesting."

The Duchess Isabella raised her switch.

The switch was made from a thin piece of Aisella wood, which in the southern dialect means 'loving.'

While it was called a switch, it was more like a whip, and some people referred to it as such.

"That child will be your enemy."

"Is it right to show such kindness to an enemy?"

"An enemy?"

"Should be crushed."

"I know, but why did you do that?"

"I was wrong."

"If you were wrong, then?"

"You should be punished."

"You know that. Are you ready to receive the switch, my son?"

Bizhen silently knelt and prepared to receive the switch.

Bizhen did not argue with his mother, the Duchess Isabella, and silently accepted his punishment.

"Why are you crying? Does Bellatu show tears?"

"Your hand is bleeding."

The bark of the Aisella tree causes a chemical reaction when it touches human skin.

In some cases, it can cause severe burns, as it did with the Duchess Isabella.

Whenever she used the switch, the Duchess Isabella would suffer burns.

Bizhen did not feel pain when he was hit.

However, it pained him to see his mother's hand hurt.

"Don't hurt yourself."

A typical child would not have been able to endure the punishment, but Bizhen silently endured it each time.

According to the story, he would recover superhumanly and return to his daily routine within a day or two.

'Bizhen needs to be on my side.'

Not just Bizhen, but everyone, if possible.

1:00 AM.

The blue moonlight seeped through the window.

She clapped her hands.

"Zaen."

The door opened, and Zaen entered.

"There's a place I need to go. Guide me."

"At this hour?"

Zaen was as usual.

He showed no signs of being disturbed by the sudden call at 1:00 AM.

"Yes."

"Where to?"

"To Bizhen's room."

Zaen's gaze turned to Viola.

"Lord Bizhen will be in a difficult state, having collapsed."

Not just from the pain of the switch, but from the guilt of disappointing his mother.

Because of me, Mother's hand is hurt. It's my fault. I'm a bad child. He would be muttering this with unfocused eyes.

"I know."

"You knew?"

Zaen's eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?"

"I saw the family tree."

Before Zaen could become more suspicious, Viola continued.

"If I were the third dark assassin in this household, I would harshly punish the son who sought out a non-pureblood enemy first.

The Duchess Isabella, being from the famous Quelton family, would be merciless. Bizhen, having undergone terrifying training, would be lying there in agony."

"Ah, so you plan to stab the fallen Bizhen?"

Zaen subtly offered a dagger.

The blade was coated with a purple semi-solid substance, clearly a potent poison.

"Can you handle it? I've already learned about the absolute laws."

One, no violence or murder is allowed within the Winter Castle, except by the absolute ruler, the Duke.

Two, all children under ten are protected.

"If I kill the fallen Bizhen now, you, Zaen, would be executed for failing to protect me properly."

"That would be a problem."

"I also need my butler to be alive."

Zaen was a necessary figure for Aerin, now Viola.

"Why?"

She didn't expect him to ask 'why?'

Viola was slightly taken aback.

Because I need you. She inadvertently said it in full name.

As if she had become a third party. A habit from when she was a reader.

"Because I need you, Viola Bellatu?"

Zaen was silent for a moment. He specifically referred to her as Viola 'Bellatu.'

Zaen felt a chill. That single word carried a lot of meaning.

'You specifically mentioned Bellatu.'

The little girl seemed to understand her role and position in this place accurately.

'It's not just being perceptive.'

She was not just a perceptive girl from the slums.

It couldn't be explained by perception alone.

'This is...'

An astonishing insight.

Zaen smiled, attributing it to this.

"Since you need me, I feel empowered."

He bowed.

"I will continue to serve you. I am the butler, Zaen."

"Alright."

Aerin did not relax.

Zaen was a loyal butler to Viola, but only in the later parts of the story.

At the beginning, he did not genuinely serve Viola.

He continuously tested and judged whether she was suitable to serve.

There was a description in the original:

"If Lady Gong did not fit in with Bellatu, I would probably have committed suicide, keeping her head as a memento."

In the later part of the novel, this was a joke Zaen made after becoming close to Viola.

But as a reader, Aerin knew better.

More than half of that statement was true.

So she decided to be careful, very careful. It couldn't hurt to be cautious.

"This way."

They walked down a long corridor and climbed some stairs. The mansion was vast, and it took quite a while.

"This is the room of the Fifth Son, Bizhen."

"Thank you."

She took a deep breath.

Behind this door, a battered Bizhen would be lying.

"Open the door."

"Without knocking?"

"Yes."

"Understood."

1:00 AM.

It was extremely quiet.

There was no sound at all.

Creak—

The door opened with a very slight sound.

When the door opened, a strange and unfamiliar atmosphere and smell greeted her.

The smell of decay, which she had only experienced through the words in the novel and imagined in her mind, now stung her nose.