Chapter 65

I ended up playing the role of the adopted daughter too well 065

“I have something to say.”

Xenon smiled.

He continued with a kind expression and warm tone.

“I’m going to do some background checks on you, Miss Jermi.”

“...Hmm?”

Jermi, who was always positive and carefree, laughed as if she didn’t quite understand.

“Background checks on me?”

“Yes.”

Xenon looked at Jermi with a warm smile.

Jermi also laughed and looked back at Xenon.

An awkward silence fell between them.

“Well, you mean background checks on me? Not someone else, but me.”

“Yes, I’m going to do some background checks on Miss Jermi.”

“Right in front of me?”

19

“I want to get your permission.”

“If I don’t give it, will you not do the background checks?”

“No, I will do them anyway.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“People’s feelings are different. Getting permission and not getting permission are different things.”

Jermi blinked her eyes for a moment.

Xenon seemed to be an unpredictable character to her.

Viola, who was quite familiar with Xenon’s personality, just watched silently.

‘But why does he want to do background checks?’

Given Jermi’s personality, she was likely to just say okay.

But why would Xenon insist on doing background checks on Jermi?

No matter how she thought about it, there was no clear reason.

“I’ll allow the background checks, but I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“I’ll speak informally.”

Jermi giggled.

Viola found her laughter a bit annoying.

It’s like she’s possessed by a ghost who couldn’t speak informally and died.

Xenon, who was openly doing background checks, and Jermi, who accepted it in exchange for speaking informally.

‘Neither of them seems to be in their right mind.’

She needed to stay focused.

There were plenty of people in the world who weren’t in their right mind.

“But why are you doing background checks on me?”

“Hmm.”

Xenon tilted his head.

After a moment of contemplation, he answered honestly.

He never lied.

“Because Duke Heron gave the order.”

“The ruler of Winter Castle?”

“Yes. He gave the order directly through a letter.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about why, since I received the order.”

“Still, you must have some idea, right?”

Viola also focused on Xenon’s words.

Why would Heron suddenly order background checks on Jermi?

This was not mentioned in the original story.

Even when she recalled the contents of the setting book, there was no reason for Heron to do background checks on Jermi.

‘Is something happening that I don’t know about?’

It wasn’t strange.

Viola had changed many things, and the butterfly effect couldn’t be ruled out.

Viola thought rationally.

‘There seems to be some political issue between Winter Castle and Storm Fortress.’

However, Jermi thought differently.

‘As expected, Duke Heron is also a helpless father.’

Unlike Viola, she didn’t think about it in a complicated way.

Jermi grasped it intuitively.

‘Jermi, the mysterious young man who is approaching his daughter, who is about to enter society.’

Jermi was somewhat aware of the rumors surrounding her.

The most absurd rumor was that she already had twenty-four wives.

It was an unbelievable rumor, but some people even believed it.

‘Since I’m sticking around his daughter,

it makes sense that he would order a background check.

Jermi felt it was getting more and more interesting.

She had already developed a sense of defiance because of Tundra.

‘Tundra is one thing,

but they saved Tundra’s life.

They took Tundra in and helped her all this time, and even knew that Tundra had grown up offering to be a companion.

So, it made sense that Tundra was obsessed with Viola.

‘But Duke Heron too?’

Her defiance grew even more.

Why do they all want to be close to Viola?

Why do they keep excluding others?

That doesn’t seem right.

‘It’s intriguing and fun.’

She muttered to herself in a very low voice.

“I really want to get closer. More and more.”

Viola felt a chill run down her spine for no reason.

***

Until they arrived at their destination, the ‘Red Tree Forest,’ Viola was lost in deep thought.

Why is he doing this?

Is there some political dynamic involved?

As Bella-Tu, what position and attitude should I take?

‘It’s really a headache to unravel things not in the novel.’

Anyway, they arrived at the Red Tree Forest.

It was named so because the trees here had red trunks.

“Here is where our first exploration team went missing. The location is over here.”

Jermi pointed to a spot on the map and took the lead.

After about two hours of walking, Jermi pointed to the map again.

“The second exploration team went missing here.

And the third exploration team reported that there might be ruins here.”

Discovering the existence of ruins is the role of the exploration team.

Activating and thoroughly exploring those ruins is the responsibility and duty of the powerful.

“I hope we find something really good.”

According to the novel’s setting, there existed an ancient civilization called the ‘Golden Magic Civilization.’

Most of the ruins discovered so far are remnants of this ‘Golden Magic Civilization,’ and many magic books, historical texts, and useful magical items and knowledge have been unearthed here.

“I hope we find something that can help the common people. What do you think, Viola?”

The items from the Golden Magic Civilization were mostly valuable.

Some of them were very helpful to the common people.

Therefore, the powerful,

that is, warriors and mages, had to thoroughly explore the ruins and bring this civilization to the world.

Because it would be beneficial to the world.

‘But I already know what we’ll find here.’

A special magic circle will be generated, allowing a contract with a guardian spirit.

Even if one’s affinity with spirits is low, this special space helps form a contract.

‘First, I need to find a tree in the shape of a trident.’

Viola knows everything about how this place works, what traps are here, and how to form a contract with a spirit.

‘For now, I’ll just stay quiet.

Publicly, Viola is coming here for the first time.

It would be strange if she knew too much.

Six hours had passed since they entered the forest.

Night fell quickly in the forest.

‘It’s already dark.’

Whoosh!

Xenon started a campfire.

“There don’t seem to be any dangerous monsters around, but just in case, I’ll stand guard.”

“If there are no dangerous monsters, why did the exploration teams go missing twice?”

Viola hit the core of the issue.

“Don’t classify dangerous monsters based on your standards. Classify them based on the standards of common people who don’t have mana.”

“Yes, this is a very dangerous forest, Miss.”

“Right. So what should we do?”

“I won’t let my guard down.”

Xenon smiled.

‘She’s testing me.

As a butler of Bella-Tu, I must always do my best.

Even if the situation isn’t dangerous and it’s just practice, I must treat it like the real thing.

Viola Bella-Tu is giving me that message.

Stay alert and treat it like the real thing.

It’s a sincere warning not to let my guard down just because it’s not dangerous.

‘Indeed, our Miss!’

Viola sighed in relief.

Please set the standards properly.

What isn’t dangerous by your standards might be dangerous by mine.

‘Anyway, I’ll do my best to stand guard.’

Actually, Viola was scared of this dark forest.

According to the novel, it’s a forest where faint eerie sounds can be heard.

Ghostly monsters often appear and bewitch explorers who enter the Red Tree Forest.

‘If Xenon stands guard seriously, we’ll be safe.’

Whoosh—

A foreboding wind blew from somewhere.

Sssss~

Eerie sounds could also be heard.

The sound of ghosts buried in the wind made Viola’s nerves stand on end.

‘Ugh. I can’t sleep.’

She tried to sleep but couldn’t.

Why is the ground so damp?

The magic tent, which maintains a certain temperature and humidity, felt damp for no reason.

Morning came.

The foreboding wind and eerie sounds disappeared.

Morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, brightening the surroundings.

‘This won’t do.’

In the novel, Jermi spent quite a long time wandering here.

The novel described it as ‘a few days later, by chance.’

‘I don’t want to spend a few more days here.

She thought of the warm bed and delicious food at home.

Ah, I want an egg tart.

I want a pancake with honey.

I want a strawberry ade with crushed ice.

No, today, a strawberry shake seems more appealing.

“Until when are you going to wander?”

“It’s only the second day.”

“Don’t you still find it strange?”

It’s natural that she doesn’t understand.

Jermi is a warrior, not a professional explorer.

Even professional explorers went missing twice.

‘Now that I think about it, this system is really irrational.’

Regular exploration teams first investigate potential sites of ruins and report back.

Then, the powerful noble class revisits to explore the ruins.

‘Anyway, it’s irrational. It would be much easier if the explorers just came with them.’

There were reasons and logic behind this.

If common people die or get injured when nobles are around, the responsibility falls solely on the nobles.

It’s the duty of the powerful to protect them.

So, they send explorers first and then the nobles move separately.

‘This won’t do. For my safety and a happy retirement, I need to tweak this setting a bit.’

In the future, one of the social reformers, Lucas, will appear and change society.

He will grant noble status to capable explorers.

That way, there will be no problems.

But that’s a story for the distant future.

Anyway, she needed to focus on the present.

Viola took out a dagger and lightly scratched the tree trunk.

“This dagger is a top-quality item from the Winter Castle workshop.”

“It looks like it.”

“It would have left a mark on most trees the moment it touched them.”

But there was no mark.

“The red trees are this hard. That’s why they were once used as materials for magic armor.”

“I haven’t heard that before?”

“They are too vulnerable to fire.

As the magic civilization developed, fire magic also advanced, and the red tree armor was too vulnerable to fire magic. Eventually, it disappeared from history.”

Viola pointed to a tree.

“Look at the end of that tree.”

Jermi tilted her head and looked at the treetop.

“Don’t the branches look strange?”

“Now that you mention it, they do look strange. They seem to have been artificially cut. On this hard tree.”

Some of the branches were shaped like a trident.

Given the characteristics of red trees, only a few trees had this shape.

It looked as if someone had carved them.

“Someone must have artificially made them like this. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

Viola walked over and touched the tree.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a strange voice echoed in Viola’s mind.

[You. What are you?]