Chapter 44

I overdid it with the adopted daughter role, Chapter 044, a few minutes ago.

Heron moved his steps while thinking.

‘Why am I going to Viola’s room?’

He had been looking at the wreath preserved by the low-level freezing magic.

Then, he suddenly thought of Viola and came here.

There was no particular reason.

When he arrived in front of Viola’s door, he heard a voice.

“Please be my sister, Medea.”

From outside the room, it seemed that Viola and Medea were hugging each other.

Heron controlled his mana to the extreme, silencing all sounds and movements.

He opened the door without making a sound.

Sure enough, Viola and Medea were hugging.

Viola, being much shorter, was on her tiptoes.

“What are you doing? Some explanation seems necessary.”

Heron’s rationality thought.

What an unseemly scene.

Why are the Bella Tus, who are supposed to be so composed, showing such a soft side?

Medea took a step back from Viola.

Then she lightly bowed and placed her right hand on her left chest.

“I greet you, Father.

She showed respect to Heron, the Lord of Winter.

Viola wondered if she should follow or not.

‘Actually, Father doesn’t like such formalities.’ Everyone is supposed to show respect to the Lord of Winter, but in fact, Heron didn’t like such respect and formalities.

‘Should I do it anyway?’ There are formalities in this world.

But I probably missed the timing. I should have shown respect earlier.

It would feel more awkward to place my hand on my chest now.

‘Forget it, I’ll just be casual.’

She slightly lifted the hem of her dress and bowed.

“Welcome.”

Medea’s body, which was bowing, twitched.

“Welcome”?

Such a common greeting. It was so ordinary that it might even be a problem.

This is not an ordinary family, but the Bella Tu family.

Medea worried inside.

‘Viola, don’t relax.’

Before being Father, Heron is the Duke of Thousand Swords.

To Medea, Heron as the Lord of Winter was closer than Heron as Father.

“Then, what explanation are you asking for?”

“Didn’t you support White Bella Tu?”

White Bella Tu should be smart.

They are the ones who can read through the opponent’s mind and devise strategies.

So, what Heron meant was:

‘White Bella Tu should interpret the situation on their own.’

“I hugged Viola.”

“I hugged my sister, Medea.”

Heron’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“You both know I’m not asking for an explanation.”

Medea thought for a moment.

The conversation just now was not fitting for a Bella Tu.

Especially for Viola.

‘A war among blood relatives. All the intrigues and hidden struggles for succession, I hate them. I have always longed for a family.

The family I dreamed of and admired is not like this.’

Whether Father heard those words or not, Medea couldn’t tell.

‘I have to protect Viola.’

Medea answered in a very common-sense way.

“Isn’t it a basic virtue of Bella Tu? To hug and analyze the opponent’s physique and feel their mana’s grade and flow.”

“Did you hug Viola?”

Heron knew Medea’s skills well.

She was a first-class knight in her early twenties.

A swordsman who achieved growth comparable to Heron’s in his youth.

There was no need for Medea to hug Viola.

Physique analysis was not necessary at all.

Viola said,

“I asked her to hug me.”

“Why?”

Medea’s heart burned.

Heron didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

The Bella Tus were acting un-Bella Tu-like.

She couldn’t openly defend Viola either.

That would be even less Bella Tu-like.

‘What are you trying to say?’

“Please be my sister, Medea.”

Viola said that.

At that moment, Medea made a decision.

To become this child’s sister.

Not just a Bella Tu sister, but a Medea Bella Tu sister.

She had to protect this child.

From a disappointed Father.

‘I don’t know.’

But she didn’t know how to protect her.

If it were a fight with swords, she could somehow fight, but this was different.

Viola continued,

“I wanted to know what common points there are between the body of the Lord of Winter and the White Gale. Medea is my sister who directly inherited Father’s blood.”

“What common points are there?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Heron’s eyes narrowed.

If she couldn’t figure anything out, all this behavior would be meaningless.

A wasteful act that just consumes time.

“I need to touch and feel to figure anything out.”

She tried to stretch her arms, but Heron’s chest was too broad.

“Father’s embrace is too wide.”

“So, you didn’t figure anything out?”

“I figured out that Father’s embrace is very wide and warmer than expected.”

“What’s the point of that?”

“Does it have to have a point?”

Heron put Viola down.

Viola’s feet touched the ground.

“Every moment should have meaning to be valuable. Bella Tu must use every moment meaningfully.”

“Just.”

Viola took a deep breath.

With the heart of a reader who adored her favorite character, she shaped the world of the novel.

“I wanted to hug you.”

“Why?”

Medea was confused.

She didn’t understand what Viola was saying, and it was strange that Father was being more lenient than usual.

‘Father is different from usual.’

If I had done the same, he would have been greatly disappointed.

But it was hard to see any disappointment in Heron.

Something was off.

“Figuring out the reason also seems meaningful.”

“Do you mean you don’t know now?”

“Yes.”

Viola was confident.

“I think the most important thing for White Bella Tu is the insight and discernment to see through the essence of the world. That leads to intuition. I wanted to grasp the essence of this feeling whose cause I don’t know. I thought that if Father hugged me, I might understand the essence of this feeling.”

Viola frowned slightly.

She looked like a child lost in her own thoughts.

“But I still don’t know. There’s no rational reason.”

In fact, this question was directed at Heron Bella Tu’s heart.

Heron Bella Tu must be feeling the same way.

“Why did I want to hug Father? And why did Father hug me?”

There’s no rational reason.

Why did I hug this child and not question it?

This question stirred a big wave in Heron Bella Tu’s heart.

And Viola’s words fanned an even bigger wind in that wave.

“Just. Can you hug me more?

I’ll try to figure out the rational reason and the essence.”

Viola stretched out her arms.

In the end, Heron, as if bewitched, hugged Viola again.

Viola whispered,

“Thank you. For hugging me.”

***

Heron returned to his room.

Lately, everything has been irrational.

‘Why did I go to Viola’s room and hug her without a word?’

Viola’s words pierced Heron’s heart.

‘But I still don’t know. There’s no rational reason.

‘Just. Can you hug me more?

I’ll try to figure out the rational reason and the essence.’

Knock knock.

A knock came.

It was Medea.

Medea’s ruby-like eyes were visible.

“What is it?”

“Are you going to punish that child?”

“Are you talking about Viola?”

“Yes.”

Medea bit her lip slightly.

This action is not Bella Tu-like.

It’s not right for a Bella Tu to protect another Bella Tu.

But today, she wanted to act on her feelings.

Viola had taken off her mask and approached her first.

She had shown her honest self and reached out her hand.

That young child had taken the first step with courage.

‘This time, it’s my turn to be brave.’

‘Even if I’m making a mistake, it’s okay.’

She had always acted as if she were perfect.

But she knew very well that she wasn’t perfect.

An unexpected answer came.

“I don’t know. If I were going to punish her, I would have done it on the spot. Why do you think I would punish Viola?”

“…Father seems different from usual.”

Different from usual.

He treated her much more gently than usual.

That meant,

He had given up all interest and expectations in Viola.

Medea Bella Tu interpreted it that way.

Heron fell into thought.

‘Different from usual.’

He had indeed noticed it.

He was very different from usual when dealing with Viola.

“Would it be okay if I go on the next mission with Viola?”

“Your mission is to kill Jackal, the commander of Storm Fortress.”

“I know. I also know that it’s an extremely dangerous mission for her level.”

Medea thought.

‘If she successfully completes this mission, Viola can prove her abilities again.’

While her previous performances were not bad, killing the commander of Storm Fortress was a completely different matter.

If her previous performances were excellent for her age, this mission would be excellent regardless of age.

If she could accomplish it, Viola’s position and status would skyrocket.

‘If I help her, Viola can prove her strength as a Bella Tu again.’

Medea sincerely decided to help Viola.

‘I wish you were my sister.

I decided to be her sister.

The next day, Medea visited Viola’s room.

Viola was drinking strawberry ade at the time.

Medea received the strawberry ade from Viola.

It had been a long time since she had such a sweet drink.

The refreshing coolness spread through her body.

“Is it good?”

“It’s good.”

To Medea, Viola was just a ten-year-old kid.

“Viola, you’ll soon receive a mission order.”

“A mission order?”

“Yes. You’ll be going on a mission with me.”

Viola tensed up instantly.

The mission Medea received was an extremely difficult one, beyond imagination.

‘D, do I have to, with me?’

Medea said sincerely,

“I’ll be your sister. I’ll help you more to prove yourself as a Bella Tu.”

No.

Sister, something seems off.

“We’re going to Storm Fortress.”

She had an idea of what the mission was.

To kill Jackal, the commander of Storm Fortress.

It was a mission where even the great Medea almost died.

“Could it be the mission to kill Sir Jackal, the Storm Sword?”

She hoped it wasn’t.

She hoped it wasn’t that mission.

It’s too dangerous. This is definitely not right.

“You’re so much like a White Bella Tu. Accurate.”

“………”

An excessively beautiful smile appeared.

It was so fresh that she would rather die.

It had been four years since the possession.

It had been a long time since she felt her breath catch in her throat.