Chapter 91

I played the role of an adopted daughter too well, Chapter 91: Hela sat at her desk, examining documents of unknown origin. She was so engrossed in the documents that she didn't notice Viola entering. Viola walked up to Hela with determined steps. Ersa, who was standing behind Hela, looked at Viola with a slightly tense expression. "Lady Viola?" Only then did Hela realize Viola had come. She lifted her head and smiled lightly. "Viola?" Slap! Without hesitation, Viola slapped Hela's cheek. "Lady Viola!" Hela touched her swollen cheek and gestured to Ersa. It meant she was fine and Ersa should step back. Viola's heart was pounding. 'I, I hit her.' In fact, a myriad of thoughts had raced through her mind as she moved to slap Hela. Slapping someone's cheek was too difficult and scary for Viola. Moreover, she had experienced Hela's fear before. Even now, as she met Hela's eyes, she was extremely afraid. 'Still... I have to do it.' Viola looked down at Hela with a blank expression and threw the letter. "Why did you proceed with things without consulting me at all, Sister?" "...07." Hela stroked her swollen cheek with one hand while examining the letter with the other. "You hit me just for this?" "Just for this?" "I did send a gift to Carlo, the chief designer, in your name." That gift was a human head. "But isn't this a situation where you should be grateful to me? I took care of things you didn't even notice, and helped you. You've done a great favor for Louis Bartenka, thanks to me." Hela's eyes were filled with a faint anger and a hint of hurt. It seemed to ask, 'I did all this for you, and you hit me?' Viola was very scared inside but showed a completely different emotion on the surface. "Sister, I am Bellatu." "Do I not know that you are Bellatu?" "It's not like Bellatu to benefit from something I didn't do myself." "Don't be so full of yourself. Compared to Sister Medea, you are far too slow. Even if you do everything possible, you might barely catch up to her." Viola took a subtle deep breath. 'At this point... should I hit her again?' She clenched her teeth tightly, unnoticed by anyone. Hitting someone just didn't suit her. 'I don't want to hit her.' But she had to. 'Perhaps... Sister also wanted this.' Although Hela seemed hurt now, it wasn't genuine. Just as Viola was acting, Hela was also putting on a show. As a former reader, Han Arin knew this well. Slap! She slapped Hela's cheek again. "Don't force me to act in a way that's not like Bellatu. Even if I walk slowly, I should still walk on the right path." "I acted for your sake." "So what?" "Since I acted for you, is it really a reason to come and slap me?" "Are you hurt?" "Isn't it more strange if I'm not hurt?" "Don't be hurt. You don't have the right to be hurt. Sister, you forced me to act in a way that's not like Bellatu, without even consulting me." Hela fell silent. On the surface, she really looked hurt. She seemed to feel betrayed beyond just being hurt. "Because you are Sister Hela. Because you are the sister I love. I'm letting this slide just this once. This is a warning." Viola turned her body. "If you want to apologize, send Ersa to me." Viola walked away as if nothing had happened, opened the door, and left. After Viola left, Hela smiled faintly. "How about that, I was right, wasn't I?" *** A few hours earlier. Hela said, "Viola will come to see me tonight. No, she must come. If she doesn't, I'll be disappointed in her." "Why is that, my lady?" "I gave her an unfair advantage by using her name. Viola will be angry." Hela looked pleased. "I wonder how she will express her anger and protest to me. My heart is racing. I hope she protests strongly." "If it's a strong protest..." "Well, like slapping my cheek?" Ersa tilted her head. "But this is inside the Winter Castle?" Inside the Winter Castle, especially in the Duke's residence, physical abuse is forbidden. The only person who can do this is Duke Héron, and those who receive special orders from Duke Héron. "Because it's inside the Winter Castle. I would like her to slap me." "I don't understand at all." Ersa had only been a butler for a year, despite her excellent skills. She didn't fully understand Hela's words. "It's a way to protest strongly against me, and at the same time, a way to show me trust." Physical violence is forbidden inside the Winter Castle. Yet, by using violence to protest against Hela, Viola would be taking a significant risk. "If that happens, I will be truly happy. It would mean that she truly loves me as Bellatu." "So it's come to this." Ersa felt she had gained some insight. It was hard to see it as a normal sisterly relationship, but she felt she could understand the Bellatu family's way a bit more. "I've become much closer to Viola recently." "Yes, especially during this Parua schedule." "Being weak in the face of emotions, Bellatu is not a true Bellatu." And Viola Bellatu proved herself to be a true Bellatu. *** Hela's cheek was swollen and red, but she looked happy. "Is your cheek okay?" "Not really." She had magical ointment but decided not to use it. She quite liked the sharp pain. "It's really beautiful how she never loses her Bellatu nature, no matter what." Hela had once lost a butler. Hela knew very well why the butler made that choice. "I couldn't do that." Out of emotion. In the end, she couldn't dismiss the butler, and the butler chose death. "What I can't do, Viola can. That's the difference between me and Viola." "I didn't think it would come to this. I feel like I've learned more about Bellatu. I will try harder in the future... Lady?" Ersa sensed something was wrong. "Lady!" Ersa hurriedly shook Hela's shoulder. 'She fainted.' She injected mana into Hela's body and quickly checked her condition. She took an emergency potion from a subspace and poured it into Hela's mouth. She gently laid Hela down on the bed. Fortunately, this was a familiar task for Ersa. In fact, it was quite common for martial artists who handle mana, so she could respond quickly. 'She didn't just slap me, she infused it with mana.' That much was understandable. But there was a more astonishing fact. 'She used the bones as a conduit to directly hit the brain with mana.' This was a technique that required at least a 7th-grade knight, and it was also a common punishment method used by instructors in knight training academies. 'She did this at twelve years old?' It was hard to judge her skill based on this alone, but it was certainly close to the ability of a 7th-grade knight. 'Without any preparatory movements? Just naturally?' A white Bellatu, not a black Bellatu, did this? Ersa doubted her eyes. 'Lady Medea became a 9th-grade regular knight at twelve.' If that was the case, it meant that Lady Viola's growth rate was faster than Medea's. Moreover, Viola hadn't even practiced as a 'black Bellatu.' Cold sweat trickled down Ersa's back. This was beyond the realm of genius. 'While protesting to Lady Hela and showing trust, she also deliberately revealed her ability.' Hela, who had fainted, slowly opened her eyes again. She smiled faintly, still feeling dizzy. "I can see right through you, Ersa." Hela continued to smile faintly. "You saw, didn't you? That's how far Viola has come." "I saw. It's amazing. Really." "Viola can write a new history for Bellatu." Ersa began to think that those words might be true. *** When Viola returned to her room, she lay down on the bed. Her body was tired, but she couldn't sleep. 'I did the right thing. Yes, Sister Hela probably wanted this too.' She knew it in her head, but she was still scared. Making Hela an enemy was a very frightening thing. 'Sister must have given a hint beforehand. That's why Ersa didn't stop me.' Ersa's skills were such that she could have protected Hela. But she didn't react. Thinking about this, Viola felt a bit more at ease. 'Yes, it will be fine. I did well.' She thought of Hela's swollen face. 'Still, I don't feel at ease.' Besides being scared of Hela, she also felt uncomfortable. Hitting the cheek of someone tied by family bonds was not a pleasant thing. 'Did it hurt a lot?' But since she had Bellatu's body, she probably didn't get seriously injured. Even if she did, she could recover quickly with magic. 'I'm sorry...' The more time passed, the more alert she became. Hela's swollen cheek and bloodshot eyes kept coming to mind, making her heart ache. It was already 1 AM. 'I should be getting sleepy by now.' It was a tough time for a twelve-year-old body, yet she still couldn't sleep. Then, a voice came from somewhere. "That's too much." She thought she had misheard at first. "That's too much." She hadn't misheard. "Really too much! I'm angry." The voice was coming from under the bed.