Chapter 51

I ended up playing the role of the adopted daughter too well. In 051, Tundra couldn't help but let out a snicker.

She was holding ten egg tarts.

Viola had once said,

‘You can eat about ten, right?’

It’s exactly ten.

‘Will she enjoy them?’

These are egg tarts that I made with extra care.

I hope Viola likes them.

"I hope she likes them."

Just imagining her reaction made me feel good.

But at the same time, I was worried.

When it came to anything related to Viola, I was overly concerned from one to ten.

'She won’t be angry, right?'

Since I got the egg tarts through proper means, she should like them.

The sweet smell of the egg tarts tickled my nose.

‘They must be delicious.’

My mouth watered on its own.

Actually, Tundra really likes these egg tarts too.

She always gives them up because Viola likes them.

It’s a taste you can’t find anywhere except Winter Castle, and it’s fortunate that Azulegia is here.

Knock knock.

I knocked and entered Viola’s room.

"Here are ten egg tarts. The owner of Azulegia said they were made with special care."

Fortunately, Viola liked them.

After asking for a cup of bitter tangerine tea, she enjoyed the egg tarts with it.

Mmm!

Chomp!

She was already on her fourth one.

"Tundra, sit down."

"How can a dog sit at the master’s table?"

Tundra stood stiffly, looking down at Viola.

Viola found this uncomfortable.

So, in a manner befitting Bellato, she said harshly,

"I don’t like being looked down on by someone higher than me."

"I’m sorry."

Tundra knelt in the same posture, lowering her gaze.

Her eye level was now below Viola’s, who was sitting in a chair.

I seem to have given the wrong command.

‘Ugh.’

It became even more uncomfortable.

‘Just sit down.’

Tundra is overly concerned with etiquette.

‘Anyway, stubborn as a mule.’

Han Jun was also stubborn in strange ways.

His tightly pursed lips.

When I said it was unpleasant, she took it seriously and knelt, staring at the ground with her inflexible attitude.

Her legs must be numb, but she doesn’t show it at all.

‘Why does she act more and more like my brother the more time passes?’

The older she gets, the more she acts like him.

In Han Ah Reum’s memory, the most prominent image of Han Jun was from his late teens to early twenties.

Tundra turned seventeen and became even more like the strong Han Jun in her memory.

‘My brother also loved sweets a lot.’

In the orphanage, he was called a chocolate killer.

"Do you want one too?"

"How can a dog eat with the master? I’m happy and content just being with you, my master."

"……You don’t like sweets?"

"I don’t like sweets."

But why did she swallow hard?

And why did her nostrils flare?

"Do you really dislike them?"

"Yes, I don’t like them."

Viola’s eyes narrowed.

It’s obvious to anyone that she likes them, yet she insists she doesn’t.

"I hate dogs who lie."

Tundra flinched.

Her body trembled.

"I’ll ask again. Do you like sweets?"

Tundra hesitated for a moment.

She was quite in a dilemma.

If she says she likes sweets now, it will be clear that she lied earlier.

But if she says she doesn’t like them, Viola might be disappointed.

"Open your mouth."

Viola forcibly put an egg tart into Tundra’s mouth.

Tundra couldn’t react.

She put the egg tart in her mouth and chewed.

"Kashihami (Thank you)."

"Be honest with me."

"Un (Yes)."

A bit of egg cream stuck to the corner of Tundra’s mouth.

She seemed so tense that she didn’t even notice it.

‘Cute.’

Was my brother like this when he was young?

In my memory, the fifteen-year-old Han Jun was quite tall, but now, looking at Viola, he wasn’t that big.

To Viola, who has Han Ah Reum’s mind, Tundra really seems like a young Han Jun.

‘What should I say to make her treat me more casually?’

Just telling her to be more casual won’t make her do it.

I adapted my words to fit the world of 'Bellato’s Shadow.'

"You are a dog, right? You know that?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the difference between a human and a dog?"

"I will study if you tell me."

Her extremely polite response made me feel even more stifled.

"Humans have to think deeply, but dogs don’t need to think deeply."

"……"

"If you like it, say you like it. If you don’t, say you don’t. If you’re happy, say you’re happy. If you’re hungry, say you’re hungry. Just be honest. You’re a dog. Why do you think so much like a human?"

If you want to eat, say you want to eat.

If you like sweets, just say you like them.

I don’t understand why it’s so difficult.

"I’m sorry."

"If you know you’re sorry, then straighten out your identity. Understand?"

***

Tundra felt as if she had been hit on the head.

Everything Viola said was true.

A dog is a dog.

A dog shouldn’t pretend to be a human.

‘She’s scolding me.’

I was reprimanded.

Then I had to show her a changed attitude.

‘Be honest, act like a dog.’

Viola wants this.

So, Tundra decided to do it.

It wouldn’t happen in a day or two, but she resolved to be more honest in front of Viola.

So, the next day,

She found Viola again.

Viola was drinking tea with Zaneon.

"For my master."

She decided to act like a dog.

The steps of a pet sword who had been scolded and taught were unhesitant.

Viola tilted her head.

"Flowers?"

Zaneon’s eyes narrowed.

"Those are marguerites."

Marguerites have pure white petals with a yellow center.

Viola’s eyes fell on the vase.

"I remembered that you once looked at these flowers on the roadside with interest."

"Miss Tundra, do you know the meaning of these flowers?"

"I don’t know."

Tundra was confident.

She doesn’t know the meaning of flowers.

She just remembered that Viola’s eyes had fallen on these flowers.

So, she wanted to bring them.

Viola muttered,

"True love. Prophecy. Revealing a secret."

"Do you study the meanings of flowers, Miss?"

Viola just looked at the vase.

I don’t understand why this is happening again.

‘It was a charm my brother gave me.’

‘Here, take this.’

‘If you have this, good luck will come.’

At the time, Han Jun didn’t know the name of the flower.

He said he just thought it was pretty.

To Han Ah Reum, who had a tough life in the orphanage, marguerites became a charm.

After a long time, she had looked it up in a dictionary.

[The meaning of marguerites is ‘true love, prophecy, divining love, revealing a secret’.]

So, Han Ah Reum was secretly excited.

She even had the absurd thought that young Han Jun was confessing to her through the flowers.

‘But, brother, you gave me marguerites back then, didn’t you?’

‘Oh, did I? ’

‘Yes, it was a charm for me.’

‘I should have given you a few charms. You cried so much.’

‘Do you know the meaning of marguerites, brother?’

‘I don’t know. What is it?’

‘Actually, I don’t know either.’

Han Ah Reum knew but pretended not to.

She was embarrassed by her own excitement.

Zaneon said,

"It seems you don’t know the meaning of the flowers at all."

"I didn’t know, but is that a problem, Zaneon?"

"No, it wouldn’t be a problem if you don’t consider it one, Miss."

Zaneon’s eyes narrowed even more.

"However, the vase has been specially enchanted. It must be quite expensive."

"I also receive a salary from Bellato."

For the past three years, Tundra has received a salary from the Bellato family.

This was Zaneon’s consideration.

To ensure that Viola, the lady, was well taken care of, he allocated a minimum amount for maintaining her dignity.

"An item like this would require saving every penny for three years."

Tundra nodded.

"I’m grateful that I can gift three years of effort."

I hope Viola likes it.

I hope she’s happy.

I hope she’s enjoying it.

This thought dominated her mind.

‘Will she like it?’

This thought made her watch Viola’s reaction.

Viola seemed both pleased and displeased.

She kept staring at the marguerite vase with a mysterious expression.

‘Why are you doing this to me, of all people?’

Is this also a coincidence?

A person with the same face as Han Jun suddenly gives me flowers.

‘Especially marguerites, and especially not knowing their meaning.’

Why does she act so much like Han Jun?

‘You’re not my brother.’

Viola spoke.

Even though she’s not Han Jun, she keeps looking like him.

She had to hold herself back.

‘He’s not Han Jun.’

She hardened her resolve.

She said coldly,

"Wouldn’t it have been better to spend three years’ effort on weapons or armor? Be a dog. Sharpen your teeth."

Her harsh words were also a self-lashing.

A few days later,

The official second mission for White Bellato Viola was assigned.

‘Here it comes.’

A mission Viola herself had requested.

Duke Heron accepted Viola’s request.

‘I never thought I’d be sent on a special mission at the age of twelve.’

Actually, this was the second time.

I had been to Storm Fortress before.

I want to live a long, thin, and happy life, but being sent on a special mission at twelve.

‘Anyway, I must be doing well, right?’

I keep getting involved in big things, but it’s probably just my imagination.

‘Still, it’s better to suffer as a special envoy now than to face the Great Mage Bengus in the future, I guess.’

The news of Bellato’s special envoy was covered in depth by various news outlets, and rumors about Viola began to spread across the world.