I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Leonia’s voice, asking the question, was more serious than ever.
Ferio didn’t hide the truth.
“…There is.”

But the way Leonia’s black eyes trembled in that instant made him briefly regret being so honest.
What was happening now wasn’t something a child should be told.
However, Ferio knew well that Leonia was no ordinary child.

His one and only daughter was more wise and intelligent than anyone. Her taste might be a bit… twisted, but she outshone most adults.
“It’s okay.”
So instead of hiding it, he chose to ask for her understanding.

“It’s a problem we adults can handle.”
“Is it really serious? Is it dangerous?”
Leonia hurriedly searched through the events from the original story in her mind.

If it was something that could put her father in danger, then she had to help.
But the truth was, Leonia still didn’t know what point in the original story’s timeline she was currently in.
‘Come to think of it…’

She remembered something she’d forgotten to ask before.
‘The First Prince’s birthday!’
The original story began on the First Prince’s sixteenth birthday. If she could just find out his current age, she’d know the timeline—but she still hadn’t asked.

“Dad, how old is the First Prince right now?”
“That’s sudden.”
“Quickly!”
“That brat? He should be eleven this year.”

Ferio mumbled that he was two years older than the Second Prince.
He asked why she wanted to know, but Leonia bit her lip anxiously instead of answering.
‘It’s before the story begins!’

At last, she had the answer—right now was five years before the start of the original story.
Which meant… all the events she remembered from the book were currently useless.
“…Is there anything I can do to help?”

Leonia asked, now clearly alarmed.
“Dad, is there something I can do?”
“Leo.”

Ferio tilted his head slightly. Leonia was fidgeting like a puppy that needed to pee. Her eyes flickered uneasily.
“There’s no need to worry.”
His precocious daughter clearly sensed something wasn’t right.

Unfortunately, her instincts were spot on. The way things were going now, something bad was definitely coming.
But that was only by normal standards.
“There’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Ferio said with arrogance bordering on pride.
There was nothing the House of Voreoti, blessed with the Black Beast’s Fangs, couldn’t overcome.
And his prideful confidence wasn’t far from the truth.

“So don’t worry.”
Ferio lifted Leonia up into his arms.
“There’s only one thing you need to do.”

“…What is it?”
Leonia asked, her worry slightly eased.
“Eat, play, and sleep.”

Ferio whispered as he kissed her cheek.
“Live happily, more than anyone else, in the safest place in the world—the Voreoti estate.”
That was the most important duty of Leonia Voreoti, daughter of the Duke.

***
A bit of bittersweet news reached Leonia, who had spent her days enjoying time with the Rinne family.
“We’re going home in three nights.”

Ufikla delivered the news of their departure from the North. Her voice was filled with disappointment.
Their first meeting might have been rocky, but during her stay at the Voreoti estate, Ufikla had grown close to Leonia.
Despite being much smaller, Leonia was smart and always looked after her. Ufikla had come to like her very much.

Leonia felt the same.
She had grown attached to the Rinne family over the past days.
She had a feeling they would be leaving soon, but hearing it confirmed made her feel unexpectedly sad.

Ferio, on the other hand, felt quite the opposite.
“Finally.”
He made no attempt to hide his relief. The moment Carnis clung to him in mock sadness, Ferio didn’t hesitate to kick him away with his foot.

“They’re still guests.”
Even if his friend was a nuisance, Ferio couldn’t just send off noble guests without proper courtesy. So he decided to host a rare tea party at the Voreoti mansion.
It was a gesture to show the friendship between House Voreoti and House Rinne to the Northern nobility.

“…Why are you acting so coy?”
Leonia narrowed her eyes at him.
Ferio looked baffled.

“You think this is being coy?”
“You’re pretending not to care, but it looks like you want to do all kinds of things for them.”
“You’re misunderstanding again.”

“…No.”
“What’s with the pause.”
“Just… whatever.”

She shrugged like it was nothing, but internally, Leonia had already placed Carnis on her watchlist.
A higher priority than even Lupe or Mono.
Either way, preparations for the tea party proceeded smoothly.

It had been a very long time since a gathering was held at the ducal mansion. The last one had been when the previous Duke and Duchess were still alive.
By year, that had been more than seven years ago.
Ever since Ferio inherited the title of Duke upon reaching adulthood, he hadn’t held a single such event—not even anything similar.

So it was no surprise that the nobles who received the invitations were shocked.
Especially since the date of the tea party was set just two days after the invitations were sent out.
Leonia thought to herself that it was just like Ferio.

“…Dad, do you ever think about other people’s schedules?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Leonia began to scold him.
It was the same flaw she’d noticed when he hired her tutors.

“Dad, your conscience is even smaller than my childhood innocence.”
“What a brutal insult.”
“Well, that’s just how you are.”

“I still don’t see why I should care about anyone else’s schedule, though.”
“Are you serious?”
There wasn’t a single line in the original novel saying her father had sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies.

Leonia scrunched her brows like she was looking at something incomprehensible.
“We are Voreoti.”
Ferio raised one corner of his mouth as he looked at her suspicious gaze.

“They should be the ones adjusting to us.”
It was confidence so arrogant, it was almost offensive.
“Dad, seriously, one day you’re gonna…”

Leonia started to snap back instinctively—then paused.
This translation is the intellectual property of .
It felt wrong to say that Ferio might one day get stabbed in the back or take a blade to the side—because, just as he claimed, Ferio really was too exceptional for that.

His wealth increased every second he breathed, his looks were flawless, almost annoyingly so.
He might seem lazy, but his physique was solid, not a single part out of line, and on top of that, he had the absurdly overpowered ability known as the Black Beast’s Fangs.
And that man… was her father.

A father who cherished her deeply.
“……”
Leonia blinked a few times. She quickly adjusted to reality.

“Dad.”
Then she suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Ferio’s leg.
“I love your arrogance so much.”

“It’s not arrogance. It’s confidence.”
“Same difference.”
Still clinging to his leg, Leonia suddenly lifted her head.

“I want to live my life loving myself just as much as you do.”
“Then live like that.”
Ferio said it as naturally as if he were telling her to breathe.

“But I have a conscience.”
Leonia pouted in regret.
Unless she lived completely alone, she couldn’t live that way—not when she’d feel guilty toward others.

“…You little gremlin with a conscience.”
Ferio clicked his tongue shortly in exasperation.
“……”

Abipher, who happened to pass by and spot the father and daughter, muttered silently to herself.
They were absolutely the same. She was sure there was no other pair like this father and daughter in the entire world.
***

All the nobles residing in the North attended the tea party.
Naturally, that meant no children were allowed.
Officially, it was because the large number of adults might make children uncomfortable.

“It’s because of your face, Dad.”
At breakfast on the day of the event, Leonia teased Ferio, saying that kids screamed the moment they saw him.
She even wiggled her fingers mockingly around his face.

Count and Countess Rinne did their best to pretend they hadn’t heard anything and focused on their food.
“But the Duke is handsome!”
“So cool!”

Ufikla and Pinu remained blissfully cheerful.
As a result of teasing her father, Leonia lost her afternoon snack as punishment.
The date on the nobles’ invitations had been tight, but in truth, preparations for the Voreoti tea party had begun long before.

In one way or another, it was proof of how much Ferio valued Carnis and the Rinne family.
The tea party began in the afternoon, when the sun had just started to tilt westward.
Carriages rolled in nonstop through the gates of the Voreoti estate.

It was the first time in seven years that the mansion had been opened to outsiders.
Everyone arriving bore tense expressions, as if they were attending a martial arts tournament rather than a tea party.
No children were allowed.

“Woooow…”
But there was one exception.
Flomus, stepping down from her carriage, couldn’t stop herself from gasping.

Viscount Rebous Kerata’s daughter, who had received a personal invitation sealed with the Duke of Voreoti’s crest, was visibly tense.
The mansion sat at the very edge of the northern mountain range, blanketed year-round in white snow. It was massive and imposing, exuding authority and beauty.
Its outer walls looked like they were shrouded in storm clouds, and the pitch-black rooftops rose sharply into the sky as if to pierce it.

It was so ominous, it wouldn't have been surprising if someone had died there.
Flomus stared up at the mansion for so long that her head tilted back and she stumbled a little.
She had never seen a building this large.

“You alright?”
Her mother, the Viscountess, smiled gently from behind.
Flomus hesitated.

“It’s not scary, but…”
In truth, she was terrified.
This was the home of the Duke of Voreoti, after all. The sheer size of the mansion and the grim, looming exterior crushed her with intimidation.

Still, she was curious.
What kind of home did the Voreoti family live in?
Was it true, like her brother claimed, that they mounted monster heads on the walls?

Did they really eat monster meat every day?
“…I’m okay!”
Flomus clenched her fists.

It was her attempt to summon courage, puffing herself up with resolve. To her parents, she looked absolutely adorable.
They suppressed their laughter for her sake.
Since she began exchanging letters with Leonia, their shy daughter had clearly grown bolder.

Unlike before, when she always lost to her older brother, she had even started pushing back now and then.
‘Besides, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) her brother didn’t get to come.’
A hint of smugness bloomed on Flomus’s innocent face.

She was the only child invited to the tea party.
Her brother, left behind at home, had pouted his lips in envy.
Thinking about that again gave Flomus a wicked little sense of satisfaction.

“I’m Lady Leonia’s friend.”
She declared proudly to her parents, claiming she wasn’t scared.
However—

“Waaahhh…!”
The moment she encountered Ferio inside the mansion, Flomus’s chin began to tremble and tears welled up in her eyes.