I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

“…Uh, that?”
“Wh-what the hell…”

Paavo and Probo were speechless.
The two of them just stared blankly at Gladiago’s tallest, most muscular knight, who was grumbling about the dull color of the training uniform.
“Y-you look great in it!”

“Yeah! It totally suits you!”
Snapping out of it, the two of them hurried to reassure Manus.
Luckily, this big guy didn’t seem to have any real issues with the weirdly tight training outfit.

Thank God for small miracles.
And it wasn’t just Manus. Surprisingly, the other knights felt the same way.
“You know, this is actually kinda comfy.”

“Right?”
“Way better than I expected.”
The new training uniforms were a hit.

The tunics they normally wore were comfortable, sure, but the loose fabric sometimes got in the way when swinging a sword or moving around.
This new uniform, though snug, stretched easily and didn’t restrict movement at all.
“My lord.”

Mono approached Ferio.
He, too, hadn’t escaped the clutches of the pervy—no, new—training uniform.
“This perv—no, I mean, the new training gear is going over well.”

“Did you just call me a pervert?”
Ferio glanced down at Leonia, who was clinging tightly to his leg.
His narrowed eyes clearly said, do you have a problem with what you’re wearing?
“I meant, like how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, it’s a glorious perversion—uh, transformation.”

Mono smoothly twisted his words.
“Learned that kind of backpedaling from Lupe, did you?”
Ferio snorted.

“Tell me, has anything I decided ever been a bad idea?”
With a smug grin, Ferio practically dared him to name one.
The Black Beast acted like this whole thing had been calculated from the start.

Mono, in many ways, found his lord utterly impressive.
It wasn’t easy for someone to be this arrogant.
He was speechless.

This time, reality had struck the Voreoti father and daughter hard.
But even that hadn’t left the slightest scratch on the Black Beast’s pride.
If anything, it just pissed him off more.

Mono remembered Ferio’s words.
I’ll teach them myself.
The Black Beast had, in his own way, decided to be generous—and had finally bared his fangs.

It’ll be a long, slow hunt.
Ferio had personally declared the hunt, and just like he said, the slow preparations had already begun.
The North, Voreoti, wouldn’t end this quietly.

Mono was certain.
Olor and the Emperor would face a fate far more horrifying than the orphanage scum or that woman Saura.
While Mono brooded alone—

“Leo, just run two laps around the training ground with the knights.”
“To heaven I gooo!”
“No, you stay right here.”

“Ugh, why again?!”
Ferio and Leonia were at it again, bickering like it was their full-time job.
Leonia struggled, huffing, trying to escape his grip ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) as he held her by the scruff.

The supposedly sturdy Eastern-style training outfit held up just fine against the little beast’s wriggling.
Having lost her chance at more muscles, Leonia drooped her shoulders.
“…I guess you learned how to twist your words from Uncle Lupe too.”

And then she parroted exactly what Ferio had said to Mono just a moment ago.
But in the end, just like Ferio said, Leonia had to wait until the knights finished their laps before she could run around, grumbling all the while.
Still, it was back to their usual, wonderfully perverted routine.

Leonia, with renewed energy, ran a solid three laps around the training ground.
She used to whine after just one lap, but not today.
Her condition was top-notch.

“This place is heaven! Heaven!”
“Stop shouting weird slogans.”
Ferio calmed the overly excited Leonia down and helped her warm up.

She swung her wooden sword fifty times—three sets of fifty, no less—and held a low stance with her knees slightly bent, gripping the sword, for longer than usual.
And she did it all perfectly.
There was nothing to criticize. She was focused and worked harder than ever.

Ferio, watching his impressive daughter, suddenly frowned.
“Don’t tell me…!”
He finally realized.

Leonia had been holding back all along—doing everything half-assed.
A shock that felt almost violent hit Ferio. Mono, too, was stunned.
“You’re just figuring that out now?”

The sly little thing was totally unfazed. She didn’t even bother to make excuses.
“Honestly,”
Leonia said, annoyingly scratching the entrance of her nostril with her pinky.

“I didn’t really want to be the heir, so I just pretended to try for your sake. But not anymore.”
Before, she trained as a form of filial duty. Now, she was committed to becoming the next Duke of Voreoti for herself.
“It’s all about mindset, you know?”

She stared at her pinky, then casually wiped it on her pants.
Ferio winced.
“You little brat.”

“Like that’s news.”
“You’ve gone beyond just being a brat.”
Ferio felt dizzy, like he’d just taken a punch.

The whole world bent to his will, but this wicked little gremlin always slipped past his expectations.
Even the mighty Black Beast couldn’t predict the little beast.
“Where the hell did you get that from?”

“Seriously?”
Leonia stared at him like he was insane.
“No matter how bad I get, I’m still not as bad as you.”

“You’re worse.”
“No way, you’re way worse.”
“You’re more shameless.”

“Nooope.”
The father and daughter beasts launched into yet another childish argument over who was more shameless.
A knight watching them muttered, “Makes you afraid to steal a seed, huh?”

He was, of course, referring to how terrifyingly alike the two beasts were.
The way they fought to one-up each other was ridiculous and deadly serious at the same time.
“Miss Leonia really is something else.”

“Yeah. She’s the only one who can turn the lord into this.”
“Didn’t think I’d live to see the day the lord argued with a kid.”
In the middle of their squabble, Leonia got so pissed she snapped her teeth at Ferio in a mock attack.

Ferio even stuck his finger in her mouth and pulled it back out like a taunt, which just fired her up more.
Then suddenly, both of them burst out laughing.
The knights, still whispering, showed both surprise and relief in their expressions.

“I’m glad she’s got her spirit back.”
“Yeah, this is more like her.”
“I’ve been worried for a while.”

They all felt a huge weight lift from seeing the little beast back to her usual self.
Thank goodness.
Meleis, secretly listening in, smiled quietly.

These two really were a family. No one could ever question the bond they’d built.
“Hey, Dad.”
Then Leonia spoke to Ferio.

She was eyeing the knights’ new training outfits with envy.
“I want to wear that too.”
“No.”

Ferio shut her down with a firm voice.
“Why not? I want to wear it.”
“It shows off your whole body.”

“But it looks cool.”
Leonia puffed out her little belly.
“When I get all muscly, I want to wear it too!”

“Not unless I’m dead and buried.”
“Why?! The knights get to wear it!”
“They’re not my kid.”

“…Wow.”
A wave of groans rippled through the knights.
No one could believe such ridiculous reasoning actually came out of Ferio’s mouth.

Leonia puffed up her cheeks in frustration.
“….”
Then she glanced around the training ground, searching for something.

“You ungrateful little brat.”
Ferio caught his daughter’s head just as she started looking for dirt.
Her hand twitched like she was about to scoop up a handful and throw it right in his face.

“Seriously, stealing a seed isn’t worth it.”
This translation is the intellectual property of .
Paavo whispered into Meleis’ ear.

“Right…”
Meleis nodded slowly.
She was one of the few who knew these two weren’t actually blood-related.

It was a secret she’d take to the grave, but honestly, there didn’t seem to be much point.
Ferio and Leonia had become such a happy family that they could smash that cruel truth to pieces.
***

On a day when pure white snow was gently piling up—
Leonia's birthday had finally arrived.
And from the moment she woke up, she was happy.

“Happy birthday.”
Ferio had been the first to say it, waking her up himself as soon as morning broke.
Still half-asleep, Leonia grinned wide and threw her arms around him.

“Thank you, Daddy!”
“Just with words?”
“Mmmwah, kisses!”

Eagerly, Leonia planted kisses on both of Ferio’s cheeks.
“Daddy, it’s snowing outside.”
She pointed to the view through her bedroom window. Thick, heavy snowflakes were pouring down.

“What if the carriages can’t make it?”
A worried look crossed her face. She fretted over whether the guests invited to her birthday party might not be able to come because of the snow.
“They’ll make it just fine.”

Ferio gently draped a light robe over her pajamas as he answered.
“The North handles worse than this. Carriages won’t stop for a little snow.”
“Really?”

Her eyes, which had drooped a little, lifted again.
Ferio roughly tousled her messy hair.
Under his large palm, laughter bubbled up.

Soon, Connie and Mia came in.
“Happy birthday, Miss!”
“You’re eight years old today!”

Leonia’s smile stretched even wider at their cheerful congratulations.
“Today, Leo’s hair will be tied with this.”
Ferio handed something over to the two maids. Then he kissed Leonia on the cheek and said he’d go down to the dining room first.

“What is it? What is it?”
Leonia, bouncing with curiosity, asked eagerly.
Connie and Mia shared a bright smile.

“Just look at this!”
“This is your first birthday gift from the Master.”
It was a hair ornament.

Colorful, radiant gemstones clustered together to create a lovely piece, like a little flower garden.
And each and every stone was a precious gem found only in Voreoti.
“It’s so pretty!”

Leonia’s cheeks turned a shy shade of red. Her chubby hands pressed against her face, making her smile even wider.
Just trying on the hair ornament made her feel like she could float right up to the sky with happiness.
“Miss, you can’t be satisfied with just this one!”

Connie, as excited as if it were her own birthday, waved her hands.
“There’s a whole room filled with gifts waiting for you today!”