Chapter 54

I overdid it with the role of the adopted daughter 054. When she entered Sir Seal's room, Viola's head went numb.

The smell of blood.

Far away, a white blanket was dyed red.

It was definitely the blood Tundra had shed.

An alarm began to ring loudly in her head.

The memories of Han Arin, buried deep in her mind, surged to the surface.

‘Pull yourself together!

‘Emergency! It’s an emergency!’

‘Move aside!’

Kang Hanjun had been in a car accident.

Han Arin, who had made plans to meet Kang Hanjun, immediately rushed to the hospital.

There, she saw Kang Hanjun, covered in blood.

Kang Hanjun couldn't open his eyes.

That scene was etched too clearly in her mind, no matter how much time passed.

No matter how she tried to ignore it, it haunted her like a nightmare.

At the time, Kang Hanjun was unconscious, only making strange groans of pain.

Even now, groans could be heard.

“Ugh….”

Snap!

Viola felt something inside her head break.

“Was it you?”

She walked over to Sir Seal, who was kneeling.

Hixon, sensing something was off, tried to grab Viola, but Zaneon blocked him.

Zaneon shook his head.

He mouthed the words.

‘Her Highness must have her reasons.

Hixon's eyes turned to Viola.

A fierce killing intent, strong enough to make ordinary people struggle to breathe, emanated from him.

It was clearly the aura of a born killer.

Sir Seal let out a small groan.

“Ugh.”

Blood flowed from Sir Seal's right ear.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Viola's movements were quick and cruel.

“Did you, dare to, do this to my dog?”

Except for a brief moment of trembling, Sir Seal maintained his composure.

He answered calmly.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“All the preparations Her Highness made were accurate, and the companion sword was severely injured while dealing with the enemies.”

Viola then regained her senses.

She had lost control when she saw Tundra, covered in blood.

‘No, this isn’t right.’

She pushed the ‘Viola in the story’ buried deep in her consciousness to the forefront and hid behind it.

Viola bit her lip.

‘This still isn’t right.’

She had predicted most of the situations and they had unfolded as expected.

However, she hadn't anticipated that Tundra would be so severely injured.

She had given the order, and she was the one who had injured Tundra.

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’

She had thought it was too easy.

Tundra is the male lead.

She believed he could easily overcome any obstacles or difficulties.

That belief was the root of the problem.

But she couldn't show that.

If she did, she would admit her mistake in front of Sir Seal and take responsibility for the ear.

‘I’m sorry.’

Fortunately, in this world, advanced grafting magic could quickly heal severed parts.

She decided to put out the immediate fire.

“If my dog doesn’t recover, the Seal family will be exterminated today, Sir.”

***

Viola's party was led to the reception room by the butler.

They were served some pastries and tea, but Viola didn't touch the food.

“I will draft part of the report to be sent to the Duke, Highness.”

“Alright.”

Zaneon took out a notepad and pen from his pocket.

After writing something, he asked Viola.

“May I ask why you cut off the Earl’s ear?”

Zaneon was hopeful.

He wanted to see if the picture Viola Bella Tua was drawing matched his own.

He wanted to confirm it.

“Why are you asking that?”

“You must have known that Tundra would be injured to this extent.”

No.

I didn’t.

I was too focused on the male lead setting and didn’t expect Tundra to be injured this badly.

“Did you proceed with all this to save the Seal family? You must have known that the Earl didn’t hurt Tundra. Isn’t that strange?”

Viola was silent for a moment.

He was right.

She had been sent as a special envoy, and cutting off the Earl’s ear was a rash action.

But as the White Bella Tua, Viola pretended it was nothing.

“A warning for making me go through the trouble.”

Zaneon's pen was busy.

He scribbled something down.

“A warning, huh!”

Zaneon was a bit pleased.

His thoughts were correct.

He felt even better knowing that his thoughts aligned with Viola's.

“By saving their lives and then cutting off the Earl’s ear, you established the order as a Bella Tua.”

She couldn’t lose her prestige as a Bella Tua.

But she couldn’t punish the Earl without reason.

So she deliberately saved his life.

By saving his life, she created a justification for cutting off his ear.

Hixon snorted.

“Do you really think so?”

“Is that not the case?”

“Viola was angry. Angry that Tundra was hurt.”

“Her Highness is grasping the situation most rationally and resolving it in the most efficient way.”

Hmm, not really.

Hixon saw a different Viola.

When she saw Tundra, Viola had lost some of her composure.

‘I like you, kid.’

He thought she was made of iron and blood.

But seeing her angry like this made her seem more human.

Zaneon didn’t seem to think so.

“I see. Sir Hixon is not wise. Her Highness has taken all the benefits through thorough calculation.”

“Yeah. Let’s go with that. No matter what, Seal has been given a lesson. He must be struggling a lot right now.”

“What do you mean?”

To Hixon, Viola didn’t seem normal.

Her eyes were filled with deep anxiety.

Viola seemed on the verge of breaking.

‘Wow.’

Who would have thought the Iron-Blooded Bella Tua could look like this?

‘Why are you acting so out of character?

I want to protect you.’

So he continued boldly.

“One person did two contradictory actions. That’s impossible unless they have two personalities, right?”

“Right.”

“So the Earl will interpret it this way.”

“How so?”

Hixon continued.

***

Knock knock.

A knock was heard.

The butler reported to Sir Seal.

“I have led them to the reception room and prepared warm tea and pastries.

How is your ear?”

“The cut was so clean that it will heal in a day.”

“I see. Was it a consideration from Lady Viola?”

“Perhaps. I didn’t expect her to have this level of skill at twelve.”

“Was it that good?”

“The priest was amazed. He even said it matched the abilities of the young Lady Medea. That’s why she was sent as a special envoy.”

The butler was both an employee and a long-time friend of Sir Seal.

He asked cautiously.

“Why did she do that to you, Sir? She knows the situation better than anyone.”

“She’s sending me a message.”

“A message?”

“Someone in the Bella Tua family wants to warn me.”

That someone was probably Duke Heron.

Sir Seal judged that they were warning him not to cause trouble or entertain strange thoughts, or they would kill him immediately.

“So the special envoy, Viola Bella Tua, harshly warned me on behalf of the Bella Tua family. My ear really hurt.”

“...”

“But the human Viola Bella Tua seemed to want to consider me.”

That’s why she created this situation.

By saving his life first, she created a justification before giving the warning.

“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

“Viola has already earned the name of Iron-Blooded Bella Tua. Moreover, she has been on the path of the White Bella Tua since two years ago.”

“The White Bella Tua...? Isn’t the White Bella Tua a failed Bella Tua?”

“Originally, yes.”

Therefore, the White Bella Tua needed to show even greater results.

“She chose to become the White Bella Tua herself.

All of this must be a rational plan in her mind.”

“But... the Lady is only twelve years old.”

“Lady Medea became the youngest 9th-grade knight at twelve. She single-handedly exterminated a group of goblins. Does that make sense?”

That also didn’t make sense.

“Anyway, the Lady successfully delivered the warning from the Bella Tua family. Duke Thousand Kill may not like me, but the Iron-Blooded Lady must have a clear liking for me.”

The butler trusted Sir Seal but was also a bit worried.

After all, the Bella Tua family and the Seal family were not on good terms.

The Bella Tua family had killed the Seal family’s eldest son.

“Viola Bella Tua will skillfully balance between being a Bella Tua and a human to approach me. To achieve the best result she desires.”

“Use us for her own achievements?”

“Probably.”

“That’s a bit...”

“So we need to watch her.”

Sir Seal looked at the bed.

“With her keen insight and strategy, she must have already realized that the companion sword’s life was not in danger.”

Tundra had lost a lot of blood and was unconscious, but his injuries were not life-threatening and would recover soon.

Viola, who noticed this, said deliberately.

“If my dog doesn’t recover, the Seal family will be exterminated today, Sir.”

“Lady Viola will come to see me before the day ends. She will start a conversation because the companion sword is recovering.”

“...Is that the message?”

“Yes.”

Viola will come again.

“And she will say what she really wants to say. Perhaps the human Viola will approach me in a more human way.”

“A human way?”

“An apology for killing my son, perhaps.”

“An apology? From the Bella Tua family?”

The butler thought it was impossible.

And in fact, killing his son was not something that could be resolved with an apology.

“I’m not sure either.”

It’s not something that can be resolved with just an apology.

One of them would have to die.

Of course, it would be him.

“So I plan to watch for a while. It’s too strange not to.”

The Iron-Blooded Bella Tua.

He couldn’t understand what Viola Bella Tua was thinking.

He could interpret her actions, but it was hard to predict them.

The Lady already had a broader perspective than him. At just twelve years old.

Indeed, what would she say?

He decided to wait and see how she would resolve the situation.

“Will Lady Viola really come tonight?”

Among the nobles, it was an unwritten rule not to visit each other after 10 PM.

It was already past 10 PM.

“She will.”

It was 11 PM.

“It’s 11 PM...

Will she really come?”

“She will.”

Just then, Tundra regained consciousness.

Knock knock.

A knock was heard at the perfect moment.

It was Viola.