Chapter 70

The hangover after drinking for the first time after entering the novel was worse than she thought.

“Uh… I’m still nauseous.”

“Right. That’s why Kiehl hated it.”

Bella spent the day lying on the bed with Rinne.

“It’s nice to have a day off.”

The carriage guarded by the demons arrived in the afternoon though the journey to Cruell could not be continued until the next morning.

“I know, right? Miss Bella, do you remember everything from yesterday?”

Bella barely turned her head to look at Rinne’s face in the bed opposite her.

“I remember everything.”

‘You dared to retort that Kiehl was not cute.’

Rinne, not knowing that Bella was staring at her with such a thought, said excitedly, “You would give me the magic walkie-talkie, right?”

Even though she said it was all right, she didn’t mean to give everything up. Bella didn’t know Rinne was such a greedy one. The next moment, as soon as the demons arrived, Pur rushed to her first as if it was a separated family reunion.

“Princ—Miss! It’s me! Princess’s favorite Pur!”

However, except for Pur, the atmosphere seemed to be strangely tense.

“What happened?”

“Nothing!”

Although she was just asking, Zanbar answered aloud with a blushing face.

“We were a little homeless for one day.”

Bella clicked her tongue, but except for her, even the twins noticed roughly.

“Maybe, that…”

“I guess. They kissed in the carriage.”

The journey that started again was easier than they thought.

Since the carriage was said to be narrow, Zanbar even walked, escorting them with leopards. They took turns riding the horse and being the coachman with each other before spending several days traveling without problems.

And, finally…

“From here on, it’s Cruell.”

The door to a new beginning has opened.

* * *

How many doors were there…? After passing through a large front door, they saw a small building.

“Is it that?”

However, the building wasn’t small, it just looked small from afar.

“This is mostly used as a hunting ground.”

It was a very large forest path to be called a garden. After passing that forest road, another door opened.

“From here on, it’s the garden.”

“Why is so big? The Imperial Palace wasn’t that big either.”

“Have you ever been to the Imperial Palace?”

“Hmm. You… Ahhh—No no. I saw it in a book.”

She almost misspoke. Bella turned the topic and asked Kiehl.

“They don’t put any restrictions on that. Usually, they take care of themselves.”

“Really?”

“As soon as I entered the Imperial Palace, the first thing I met was the Cruell family. He must have thought it was okay.”

Strictly speaking, Kiehl was the first to call. Calling Juan Cruell to find Bella.

“And, the current ward, Shuria Kruel… Here she is.”

A shadow that hadn’t arrived yet, riding a horse across the garden towards them from afar. Bella stuck her head out to confirm her bias.

“Wow… Just as I thought.”

A silver-haired knight radiating from afar. It wasn’t just the features that were as pretty as a picture. Just sitting on the horse and laughing out loud, that confident attitude made everything she had look beautiful.

“I’m going to meet Shuria…”

Bella’s carriage stopped, and she got out of the carriage in anticipation.

“Thank you so much for coming, Your Highness Kiehl. and… Miss Bellatrice.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Everyone there felt it. It was the first time Bella showed respect to someone and kept her manners, Shuria Kruel.

“I’ve heard a lot about it through His Highness. Thank you for choosing our family.”

Even though the word choice was a bit annoying, Bella didn’t probe about it.

Instead…

“It’s an honor to be part of a family with such a promising person as Shuria Kruel.”

Bella treated Shuria differently to the extent that the demons who had been with her for several years got goosebumps.

After all, Shuria was a character Bella admired. She was strong, capable, and morally flawless. In addition, she was dignified and popular with everyone. It was just not the popularity she got with the opposite sex.

She remembered Shuria’s lines that made her cry.

— “When a person is born, they must dream big. To give up everything you’ve accomplished for an insignificant life where emotions are everything?”

As a knight, as someone who would lead the duke’s family.

The person who gave up everything and was challenged to be the Crown Princess was most likely to be her and dreamed of becoming a future empress.

Shuria slowly introduced her own family.

She boasted about the large territory and how influential she was in the Empire. Shuria also showed off that, although their hometown is far from the capital, the Cruelle annex in the capital is larger than any other family.

However, Bella asked the things she wanted to ask when she met her, rather than that.

“Are there many female knights like Lady Shuria in the Knights?”

“Yes, it’s a lot more than I thought. They’re all wearing helmets, so you just can’t recognize them.”

Bella asked Mary, who had come to her swordsmanship class a long time ago.

“We had a kid like that, so I sponsored her swordsmanship, I should have asked her to take the Knight’s exam. To be a mercenary seemed to be the easiest, so I introduced her to the mercenary group.”

“Sponsored a swordsmanship class…? That’s great?”

Shuri did not know that Bella was a demon. So maybe, Bella was feeling like she was having a conversation with a normal person after a long time.

“What’s great about it? It was just a small town.”

“Anyway, I heard from His Highness Kiehl. He said you are quite good at swordsmanship, would you like to fight with me when you have time?”

There was no need for any particular reason to meet someone for the first time and get to know them closely… if you have an interest in your heart.

“That’s good.”

“There are rules when you fight with me.”

“Rules…?”

“We won’t say the beginning. If you decide to fight, you can suddenly aim for the key point at any time.”

“Then, maybe Kiehl…”

Bella was going to talk about Kiehl though she paused and gazed at him walking behind her. When their eyes met, he was looking at her with a happy smile.

“…With His Highness Kiehl, have you ever fought?”

Because it was always just Kiehl to her, but it wasn’t to Shuria. She tried to attach a slightly awkward title.

“Yes. It’s still a draw. It’s five to five. I think I’ll give it a try later when I get a chance.”

“Hahaha.”

Indeed, she was a talent for the knights that were too precious to be greedy for the Crown Princess’ position. People see Shuria and call her a ‘villainess,’ but to Bella, her position as Empress seemed like a small vessel to her.

Then, Shuria threw the sword she was wearing around her waist at Bella.

“So, you can come to me anytime.”

“Aahh.”

Bella grinned and pulled the sword straight from the scabbard.

Anytime…

She aimed straight at Shuria’s neck.

The moment the blade entered the neck and the sunlight reflected off it. All of Shuria’s escorts, who had been hiding, appeared somewhere.

She glanced at Shuria with bewildered eyes, but Bella quickly looked down at the tip of her sword. She didn’t even draw her sword. It was marvelous that the knife stopped within close range of her neck, and she swallowed her saliva at such a rapid rate.

“Is that a good move? Attacking when you think you will never attack.”

The corners of Shuria’s lips rose. Bella was saying the words that Kiehl said when she first confronted him.

It was Jenkins, not Kiehl, who stopped Bella.

“I’m sorry, our Miss doesn’t know a bit of human etiquette…’

Then, he grabbed Bella’s hand and nagged in a low voice.

“What are you doing now? Where are we know? You came here as an adopted daughter.”

“Oh, why? It was a promised fight.”

“What kind of fight is this? It’s a surprise attack…!”

“Then, a surprise attack.”

Shuria smiled at Bella’s other appearance when she had been polite so far.

‘…She’s a charming person.’

She then pushed the sword away from her neck and laughed. And, as Kiehl passed them, he threw a word.

“Princess Shuria likes things like that.”

Shuria reassured the red-haired man she had seen for the first time.

“Yes. It’s promised beforehand, so it’s ok. As he said, I like things like this.”

Bella liked her cool words.

* * *

Her life at Cruell was more comfortable than it looked. First of all, Bella had to learn history, manners, and fundamental personal relationships to fit into the Cruell family.

“Can Miss do this?”

Jenkins was very openly offending Bella’s nerves.

“Are you looking down on me now?”

“What kind of study did the Demon King do?”

In addition, Zanbar joined to express dissatisfaction with the situation.

“You guys, did you get closer with each other after kissing me last time? Completing each other’s sentences.”

Both of them shut their mouths.

“Get lost, both of you.”

For Bella, this was basic. Of course, she had been holding the pen in her hand for a long time, but it was nothing compared to preparing for a police officer exam.

‘I can make this into a song and memorize it just like ‘my very excellent mother just served us noodles’*.’

[ T/N: Here, if you take each letter of the word, you’ll get the whole solar system, so it’s kind of like rhymes to help memorize things. ]

Besides, she already had a solid foundation because she had read the novel dozens of times. Contrary to Jenkins’ concerns, Bella quickly memorized it all and was recognized by Duke Herod Cruell, who now led the Duchy.

He had been lying on his sickbed for several years though he still had the nickname as an eagle.

“…Contrary to what I heard… Cough… You are fast.”

Herod Cruell was relieved to see Bella.

For him, she had a skill more significant than he had expected. In the first place, he just accepted the offer because it was the request of the Crown Prince.

‘I just thought she was going to be a country maid.’

There wasn’t much to be desired.

Besides, more importantly.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard, Herod Cruell… step-father?”

“Haha. It was just out of boredom.”

He was a little afraid to treat her as an adopted daughter, even if the Crown Prince didn’t back her. In particular, she had dark black hair and red eyes that bloomed like flowers of evil alone, in a family which was characterized by their silver hair.

That was then.

“Hey, the topic of the conversation is you.”

Bella slowly turned her head at a sound that came from behind her.

“I’ve been looking for you for ten years. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

A man with silver hair and clear features.

…It was Juan Cruell.

He strode over, kissed the back of Bella’s hand, and gazed into her eyes. Unlike the way that he was more like a silvertail when he was young, he also had a very manly scent.

“If you needed an identity, you could have been my bride.”

Bella was really quite pleased with what he said.

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