I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Varia, who had suddenly ended up with an overwhelming collection of jewelry, looked half out of her mind.
Leonia took the opportunity to play gleefully, placing all sorts of accessories on the dazed woman’s head while giggling away.

“But hey, unnie,”
While they were having fun like that—
“You’re a noble, so why are you so surprised?”

Leonia asked.
She found Varia’s reactions strange.
Even Leonia, who’d grown up in an orphanage, had been shocked more than once by the Voreoti family’s wealth—but by now, she’d gotten so used to it that it felt completely normal.

But Varia was different.
Despite being born a noble, she was reacting way too strongly to mere jewels.
“Well…”

Varia hesitated as she answered.
“These kinds of things usually went to my little sister…”
The Erbanu household had enough wealth to maintain a fairly comfortable life.

But the count and countess had always favored their younger daughter, Lota, over their firstborn, Varia.
Even when Varia received high-quality jewelry or a rare gift by chance, Lota would throw a tantrum and cry until it was taken from her.
“Are you kidding me, seriously.”

Leonia muttered, visibly annoyed by what she heard.
“They sound like freaking lunatics!”
“It’s fine, really.”

Varia offered a strained smile.
She held no attachment to things like that.
Sure, at first, she had been jealous and hated the idea of giving something to Lota. But after nearly dying, she realized none of that mattered anymore.
Even the thought of receiving anything from people like that disgusted her.

“Heeeng, my poor unnie…”
Leonia wrapped her arms tightly around Varia.
“Thank you for caring.”

Varia gently patted the girl’s arm in return.
“But this is just too much. Can’t I just borrow them instead?”
“Oh, that’s totally—”

“—a stain on the Voreoti name,”
cut in Ferio, who had appeared at some point, slicing through Leonia’s sentence.
“Dad!”

The little beast puffed out her cheeks, sulking hard.
It wasn’t enough that he stole the line she’d been about to say—he even had to show off while doing it. How annoying.
“Is something the matter?”

Ferio looked at Varia’s hand, hovering uncertainly over the jewels on the table.
“N-No, not at all!”
Varia quickly pulled her hand back.

“I see. That was careless of me.”
Ferio’s sharp gaze narrowed as he examined the jewels spread out before him.
Varia stared at the furrow in his brow with growing unease.

“I didn’t prepare nearly enough, did I? At this rate, there’s barely anything worth choosing.”
“No, Dad, that’s not it.”
Thankfully, Leonia stepped in to help.

“She’s overwhelmed because there’s too much.”
“This is… too much?”
Ferio looked genuinely puzzled. He clearly didn’t understand.

“I already got help with the dress. This is just… too much.”
“We haven’t even gotten to the shoes yet.”
“S-Shoes?”

“What, were you planning to go barefoot?”
“Wow, what a bold style choice…”
The beastly father and daughter stared at Varia with strange expressions.

At this point, Varia felt a little unfairly treated.
'Do I really deserve to be looked at like that by you two…?'
She was grateful—truly—but she still wasn’t ready to accept these gifts with no strings attached.

Was it really okay for someone like her to receive such things? Even she wasn’t sure.
Even if the Voreotis had accepted her, she was still an outsider.
Varia vowed not to forget that.

She couldn’t let herself slip into thinking she belonged between that close-knit father and daughter.
If she got too comfortable and overstepped, she'd only end up being resented.
She’d already been hurt enough by misplaced hope—from the very family that had gifted her with death.

A quiet sorrow crept into her chest.
The warmth she’d felt since coming to Voreoti dulled and cooled.
“What will you do with your hair?”

At that moment, a large hand suddenly reached out.
“I’m not very good at this sort of thing.”
Ferio, now behind Varia, bent forward to examine the jewelry.

Varia’s green eyes widened in surprise.
His torso, clothed in a crisp white shirt, loomed right in front of her nose. Beneath the thin fabric, the vague outlines of solid muscles stood out.
'Oh no, oh god!'

Varia squeezed her eyes shut.
She remembered her foolish, innocent days—back when she didn’t understand the beauty of muscle and mistook abdominal muscles for a fancy bellybutton.
And she also remembered the moment Ferio had grabbed her hand and traced his abs for her.

“Why are your eyes closed?”
Ferio looked down at her curiously.
“T-The sparkle’s blinding!”

“The jewelry?”
“S-Seems like it!”
Her voice wavered just slightly as she tried to sound casual.

'She’s really hopeless…'
Ferio looked at her again, that same intrigued expression on his face. Sometimes she was so steady and dependable, and sometimes—completely clueless and clumsy.
Still, he didn’t find it unpleasant.

“Pardon me for a moment.”
He reached out and gently swept her hair up.
The small, warm ear that had been hidden under thick locks was now exposed to the cool air for just a moment.

“If you’re putting your hair up…”
Ferio picked out a pair of earrings he’d been eyeing earlier.
“I think these would look good.”

He held a pair of long, teardrop-shaped earrings against her earlobe.
“They suit you well.”
His low voice brushed against her ear like a whisper.

Varia instinctively straightened her back. Her ears began to heat up again.
“What? What is it?”
Leonia suddenly popped in.

“Waaah, so pretty!”
“I’ve got a good eye, don’t I?”
“Ugh, and there he goes again.”

Just a little praise and he was already bragging. Leonia gave him a sharp look.
But Ferio really did have a good eye—Leonia couldn’t deny that part.
“So, unnie, are you going to tie your hair?”

“M-My hair?”
“You were planning to leave it down, right?”
Since the dress was all black, Varia had wanted to wear her hair down to make it feel a little less formal. Leonia had agreed with that.

“Don’t leave it down.”
But Ferio disagreed.
“Tying it would be better.”

He gently lifted her hair from the nape of her neck. Fine baby hairs clung to her slender, exposed skin.
Varia clenched her fists on her lap.
“Dad! You can’t just touch a lady’s hair like that!”

Leonia snapped, slapping the back of Ferio’s hand.
“You don’t just go grabbing people! Unnie looks flustered!”
“I asked for her opinion.”

“Doesn’t mean you get to just touch her.”
Leonia demanded an apology in a scolding tone.
Ferio admitted she had a point and gave Varia a sincere apology. Varia tried to smile and said it was okay.

“But I meant it when I said it suits you.”
He smiled softly, now seated right beside her.
“I don’t say it looks good unless it really does.”

“Ugh, so smug.”
Leonia huffed. Ferio’s brow twitched.
“Leonia, one more week of sketchbook confiscation.”

“Our dearest Father is so charming, I mean it!”
She wiggled her shoulders dramatically in mock-flattery. Ferio looked exasperated, but eventually broke into laughter.
“……”

Varia watched the two of them fondly.
'They really are a family.'
She hadn’t thought much of it before, but seeing them like this again today made her ache with envy.

She felt ashamed of herself—her feelings felt pathetic and dirty.
It would’ve been less shallow if she’d just coveted the jewelry.
“Unnie! Varia unnie!”

Just then, Leonia grabbed her hand tightly.
“When you get back from the banquet, tell me exactly how you crushed them!”
“C-Crushed?”

“Count Erbanu and House Olor! I want all the juicy details!”
She smiled like she couldn’t wait. Varia twitched at her /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ touch—she almost hugged her on the spot.
Just moments ago, she’d been feeling lonely watching the father and daughter—but now, seeing this child smiling at her made her chest swell with emotion.

“It probably won’t be that exciting.”
Varia reached up and gently tucked Leonia’s loose hair behind her ear.
“I love that kind of thing.”

The girl beamed innocently as she revealed her vicious little taste for watching people she hated suffer.
“Who did she inherit that from…”
Ferio clicked his tongue like he was watching someone else’s mischievous child.

Varia simply stared at him without a word.
There was so much she wanted to say—but she was too aware of her place to speak up just yet.
The three of them continued browsing the accessories together.

Ferio picked out pieces that would suit Varia, and Varia, half resigned, accepted them one by one.
“Mmhmm, hmmmm~”
Leonia hummed as she braided Varia’s long hair.

'Will this really be okay?'
Varia carefully ran her fingers over the earrings in her hand.
She still didn’t think they suited her. They felt like too much.

But since Ferio and Leonia said she looked good… maybe she could be just a little shameless.
At some point, her lips, once firmly pressed together, had curled upward into an uncontrollable smile.
'This is unreal…'

Standing a few paces away, Tra looked like he was in a trance.
Even though it was unfolding right before his eyes, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was so overwhelming, he felt tears prick his eyes.
He had experienced something like this once before—thanks to Leonia.

The Voreoti estate, once filled with silence and emptiness, had been given warmth and laughter by a single, fearless little girl.
And now, today, Tra felt that same miracle again.
“Unnie, I think this one would look good too.”

“You seriously have no taste.”
“Everything Dad picks is so stiff and boring.”
“They’re elegant and dignified, thank you very much.”

“You both have amazing taste.”
The beastly father and daughter bickered across Varia, who gently mediated their debate.
Both Voreotis listened carefully as she spoke softly between them.

Then Leonia burst out laughing and clung to Varia.
Ferio leaned in subtly, drawing even closer to her side.
'This might really be…'

As he watched the three of them together, a small hope quietly bloomed in Tra’s heart.
“Maybe… just maybe…!”
He was just about to say it aloud—

“Duke!”
The door swung open with a loud bang. Meleis appeared from the other side.