Chapter 61

Hikson overdid her role as an adopted daughter. Chapter 61: Hikson's apple was quite rough.

"..."

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry."

"So, what exactly are you sorry for?"

Hikson's face turned red for no reason.

Why is it so hard to apologize now that I'm older?

"I used to hit you a lot, didn't I?"

"I heard you became a complete rascal when you were drunk."

"Are you talking about the past?"

"And correct your language."

Count Seal put down the cup he was drinking warm tea from.

Steam rose from the transparent cup.

"It wasn't that you hit me a lot."

"..."

"It was just that I didn't think it was worth responding to."

"Is that so?"

"I judged that responding to violence with violence wouldn't befit a noble."

Count Seal chuckled.

"Let's put the past behind us."

"Really?"

"When you lost your daughter, I must admit I felt a bit vindicated."

Hikson frowned.

He had come here with a determined heart to apologize, but it felt like he was just rubbing salt in the wound.

Should I just punch him?

After all, he had been known as a rascal for a long time, and it felt like it wouldn't matter if he continued to live as one.

"My heart was so wicked. Let's just let it go."

"You know how to say 'let it go'? I thought your talk of dignity and honor would make my ears bleed."

"Let's agree to move on."

Count Seal extended his right hand.

"I confess and apologize for my wicked heart. I seek your forgiveness."

"Fine. So, you're accepting my apology? No backtracking later, okay?"

Hikson shook Count Seal's hand.

"And... I'm sorry about your son."

A strange sense of empathy formed between the two.

One had lost a beloved daughter, and the other had lost a beloved son.

Count Seal cleared his throat and released Hikson's hand.

"I have one question."

"What is it?"

"You volunteered to be Lady Viola's guardian, right?"

Hikson's face broke into a broad smile.

He wiggled his index finger from side to side.

"Really? Viola asked me for help."

"Lady Viola did?"

The Viola Count Seal knew was cold and rational.

She didn't seem like the type to ask someone for help.

"Viola said she wanted a good adult by her side. She needed an adult."

"Surprising."

"What's surprising?"

"That she chose you as a good adult."

"Indeed."

Hikson found it funny too.

What did Viola see in him that made her ask for help?

Why did she reach out to him?

"The Viola I know is a person of thorough character."

"I know. That's one of her sides."

"Viola needed your help, and at the same time, she recognized your need."

"My need?"

"Maybe she wanted to help a rascal like you."

"Viola wanted to help me?"

Hikson fell silent for a moment.

Thinking about it, it did seem that way.

His life changed after meeting Viola.

'She reformed me, who was living like a loser.'

How should he express this?

Was it a kind of salvation?

"Ultimately, she did help me. But why?"

"Viola is a White Belladonna. I've never seen a more fitting successor for a White Belladonna."

That was true.

Hikson felt the same way.

"Lady Viola seems to have the discernment to judge potential."

Otherwise, this situation wouldn't make sense.

"Even before the baby is born, she knows about its magical talent?"

"Hasn't been born yet, and she knows?"

Count Seal nodded, and Hikson snorted.

"Hah!"

"Why are you laughing?"

"Isn't she having too many fantasies about the Belladonna?"

"What?"

Hikson wiped his nose.

He had a very indifferent attitude.

"Didn't you know? Heron Belladonna is my friend."

"Right."

"Even if the Belladonna has monster-like blood, would they have such abilities?"

"..."

"Fantasies should be kept in check, you know. Why would Viola say such a thing? She just gave you an excuse. How could she know about the baby's magical talent? Is she a god?"

Count Seal felt as if he had been hit in the head.

Thinking about it, it did seem that way.

Knowing the baby's magical talent? That was impossible even for the mages of the Magic Tower.

'Ah...'

Count Seal was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a while.

He felt like he was seeing a different side of Viola.

Hikson chuckled and continued.

"She can wear a thousand masks, a ruthless Belladonna."

"......"

"But she's really warm and cute."

"Your standards for 'warm and cute' are really strange. Are you crazy?"

Really. She doesn't seem to realize it herself.

He didn't say that.

"Indeed. Even I find it a bit strange. Right?"

Hikson burst out laughing.

'Viola's warm and cute side is my secret!'

He decided to keep this precious secret to himself.

But then,

Count Seal's butler knocked urgently.

"What is it? I told you not to disturb me."

"There's a commotion in the city, my lord."

"Commotion?"

"Sir Ghermi has appeared, and many women who admire his beauty have gathered, causing small accidents."

"Accidents?"

"Three collisions with carriages, six injuries from pushing, and two incidents of hair-pulling."

"Is that a summary?"

"Yes, my lord."

The butler adjusted his glasses and continued the report.

"They call it the 'new culture of the young.'"

"New culture?"

"Yes, my lord. They are called 'fangirls' or 'fandoms,' expressing almost fanatical admiration."

"Fangirls? Fandoms? What strange terms."

"Some of them are quite radical. They idolize Sir Ghermi and follow him."

"What exactly is happening in the territory?"

The butler took a deep breath.

This was the main point.

"Especially because he mentioned waiting for a beautiful young lady... the commotion grew even larger."

Some hardcore fans even assumed the 'beautiful young lady' was themselves and got into hair-pulling fights.

"It seems Sir Ghermi is waiting for Lady Viola."

***

[I'll be waiting in the town square.]

Viola frowned.

At the end of the short note, the name 'Ghermi' was engraved.

Viola recalled the novel's content.

「When Ghermi appeared in the town square without disguise, accidents caused by his hardcore fandom never ceased.」

She knew without seeing.

There must already be a commotion.

'Early days of fandom culture...'

The author even described it.

Ghermi is almost like the first-generation idol in this world.

It was the very early days of fandom culture, before it became mature.

Thus, compared to 21st-century South Korea,

The hardcore fans were much more numerous.

'Should I not go out at all?'

No matter how she thought about it, staying put was the best option.

If she got involved with Ghermi, she might face all sorts of curses and stones from his fandom.

But then, the writing on the note started to form on its own.

It seemed designed to reveal the text after some time.

[If you don't come out after an hour, I'll sing a song praising Viola Belladonna.]

Viola sighed deeply.

'A song praising Viola Belladonna?'

To Ghermi's fandom, the greatness of the Belladonna didn't matter.

The moment Ghermi sang a song praising Viola Belladonna, countless Ghermi fans across the continent would treat Viola like an enemy of their parents.

'What's his plan, really?'

Viola called Zeon.

"Mask."

"Yes, Lady."

It was a specially made mask by the puppeteer Seiban Marcos.

So intricately crafted, it was indistinguishable from a human face.

After completing her disguise, Viola started walking at the front.

"Zeon, follow me. Tundra too."

To prevent any unforeseen incidents, she brought two sturdy guards to the square.

She deliberately took the largest and most luxurious carriage in the Count's residence.

She asked the Count to deploy security guards in advance.

'This way, I can avoid unnecessary trouble.'

Near the central fountain in the square, Ghermi was sitting, surrounded by hundreds of fans who were peering at him.

Some were even crying as if their lifelong wish had been fulfilled.

"Zeon, was the Count's territory so large that hundreds of girls could gather?"

"It seems they came from the neighboring barony in carriages, Lady."

"...I see."

"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths to meet Sir Ghermi?"

The sturdy carriage and two horses, the mask made by Seiban Marcos, and the security guards of the Count's territory.

"I can't just kill innocent people. I need to be cautious so they don't offend me."

"Wouldn't it be quieter to reveal yourself as Viola Belladonna?"

Viola shook her head.

Zeon was an excellent butler, but he didn't seem to understand the fear of hardcore fandoms.

"Even the Belladonna's name won't work here."

"Is that so?"

"They'll glare at me with hatred. If they find out I'm Viola Belladonna..."

It would be pitch black.

They would never look favorably upon Viola Belladonna.

It would result in making tens of thousands or even millions of invisible enemies.

Just thinking about it made her feel the sky was falling and she was terrified.

But she said it differently.

"They'll offend Viola Belladonna, and then Viola Belladonna will have to kill them. I don't want to shed unnecessary blood."

"Indeed, Lady."

They arrived at the fountain.

The carriage door opened, and with Zeon's escort—Zeon also wore a mask—she got out of the carriage.

Viola felt countless gazes on her.

Wow.

She could feel intense hostility.

Her heart raced.

'No, Viola. Stay calm.'

The hostility was so intense that it felt like the original Viola would burst out.

The hostility of hardcore fans was, in a way, more intense than the Belladonna's.

"Did you predict all this, Sir Ghermi?"

"You came."

Ghermi jumped down from the fountain and bowed.

"Welcome. I don't know what to do with myself now that you're here, Lady."

"Then I'll make sure you really don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

Ghermi had predicted all this and deliberately called Viola.

He thought that even the great Viola wouldn't be able to move in such a situation, but he was mistaken.

Ghermi still didn't know Viola well.

He heard a response he never expected.

Ghermi's plan was to trap Viola in a situation where she couldn't move, but it didn't work.