I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

As soon as the work was finished, he’d said he’d return—but even today, the day before the banquet, Ferio still hadn’t arrived. Outside, darkness had already fallen like ink.
“What matters most is that he returns safely.”
Varia comforted Leonia, saying everything would be fine.

She’d been putting on a brave face, but truthfully, Leonia missed Ferio every single day.
Noticing her loneliness, Varia came to her room every night and stayed by her side until she fell asleep.
“Sis, sleep with me again tonight.”

Leonia crept over and held Varia’s fingers.
“Yes, of course.”
Varia readily agreed.

Sleeping beside Leonia was something she truly enjoyed.
What especially pleased Varia was the massive bed.
It was the largest, softest bed she’d ever seen—big enough to fit at least four fully grown adults with room to spare.

Leonia had once told her that the bed in Ferio’s room was even bigger.
“When I was little, I used to sleep with Dad all the time.”
Tucked under the covers, the two of them talked about everything and nothing until sleep came.

“But now that I’ve grown, he doesn’t anymore.”
The girl admitted that she was a bit upset her dad didn’t sleep next to her anymore.
“The Duke is always thinking of you, Miss.”

Varia gently stroked Leonia’s head. A peaceful smile bloomed on the child’s face beneath her palm.
“You’ve grown so much now. The Duke’s just being careful—he’s worried you might feel uncomfortable.”
“I know… but it still makes me a little sad.”
“I’m sure he feels just as sad about it.”

The more Varia listened, the more clearly she understood how deeply Ferio treasured Leonia.
She started to wonder if he was really the same "Black Beast of the North" everyone claimed was so terrifying.
“……I envy you.”

Varia’s voice began to quiet, sleep creeping in around the edges.
As her mind blurred, she found herself speaking about her own family.
“I really hate my family……”

“You hate them a lot?”
Leonia, who had been quietly listening, scooted closer to Varia.
Varia nodded silently. The movement made the blanket rustle.

“Why did they treat you that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“My parents said the color of my hair was wrong.”

“But it’s so pretty.”
“They said it was wrong.”
Her vivid pink hair was a symbol of House Erbanu. Her father, the Count of Erbanu, and her younger sister Lota both had beautiful, clear shades of pink.

But not Varia. Hers was murky and dark—like ashes or soot had been rubbed into it.
“I was always the defective one.”
Even half-asleep, she let out a short laugh at how absurd that reason for discrimination sounded.

What the hell did hair color matter, for them to draw such a line between her and her sister?
Sometimes, people become blindly obsessed with the strangest standards.
And that kind of blindness can limit a person’s potential—or even destroy them completely.

That’s what happened to Varia.
That’s how Varia died.
“Thinking about it now, I’m so embarrassed.”

“About what?”
“When we first met. I showed you such a pathetic side.”
Varia still felt ashamed about the fight with Lota that Leonia had witnessed.

“Your sister really was something else.”
She was a lot more vicious than Leonia remembered from the original story, and it genuinely caught her off guard.
If only she’d used that much energy for something productive, the world might be a better place.

“She really is something.”
Unable to resist the pull of sleep any longer, Varia finally closed her eyes.
Leonia pulled the blanket up over Varia’s shoulders and gave her back a gentle pat.

Thump, thump. Slow, rhythmic taps guided Varia deeper into slumber.
“She wanted my hair ornament… but I wouldn’t give it to her……”
Right before falling completely asleep, Varia murmured softly.

“So she pushed {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} me into a lake……”
Soon, Varia was fast asleep.
“……You’ve had a hard time, Sis.”

Leonia looked at Varia’s sleeping face with a complicated expression, then nestled in beside her and closed her eyes too.
When she saw Lota at the banquet, she figured it might be fine to rip the girl’s scalp off.
'I’m still a kid.'

The cunning twelve-year-old fell asleep imagining herself yanking out Lota’s hair.
***
The day of the banquet brought mild weather.

“Thank goodness it’s not raining.”
Looking up at the sky, Varia let out a sigh of relief.
At the very least, she hoped the weather would stay calm until Ferio returned to the capital.

“It’s the perfect day to raise hell at a banquet!”
“Miss……”
Varia gently scolded her.

Before leaving, Ferio had clearly told her: No chaos at the banquet. But the little beast cub brushed off her father’s nagging without a second thought.
“I’m not gonna knock out the Emperor with my fangs again or anything.”
“You knocked out the Emperor?”

“He got back up right away.”
Leonia whistled innocently, pretending nothing had happened, which only made her more annoying.
The banquet for the First Prince’s birthday began in the late afternoon, just as the sun began to dip.

Leonia and Varia had eaten lunch, digested thoroughly, and only then started preparing for the event.
“Will the young miss be all right?”
Varia murmured as the maids helped her into her dress.

“It’s quite a late banquet… she might get sleepy or tired……”
“She’ll be fine.”
One of the maids smiled warmly.

“She attended a banquet five years ago without any trouble.”
Leonia already had experience attending a late-night banquet once before.
The thoroughly wicked little seven-year-old had taken a long nap that day just to throw poop at the Emperor.

Thankfully, she didn’t need to go that far today.
That banquet had been deep in the night, but today’s was only starting in the late afternoon.
Besides, now that she was twelve, staying up late wasn’t quite as hard as it used to be.

“Miss Varia!”
That was when Leonia showed up.
“May I enter the lady’s chamber?”

Knock knock. The girl imitated a gentleman’s tone as she tapped the door. Varia and the maids inside stifled their laughter.
“Of course.”
“Then pardon my rudeness.”

As Leonia entered the room, her black eyes widened.
“Wow! Sis, you look amazing!”
She rose up on her tiptoes, genuinely impressed.

“Oh my, young miss.”
Varia was just as surprised.
“Hehe, don’t I look cool?”

Leonia twirled in place, dressed to the nines.
Wearing a black formal suit, she looked exactly like a miniature Ferio.
“This is the only thing I had that was fancy enough for a banquet.”

She tugged at the fabric awkwardly. Intricate embroidery shimmered faintly across the suit.
The only bits of color breaking up the black were the crisp white tie and the brooch at her neck.
“You look even cooler than the Duke.”

Varia spoke from the heart.
“Just for today, I’m the better one!”
Leonia shrugged proudly, making her low ponytail sway behind her. It gave her a slightly more mature look than usual.

“Of course, you’re beautiful too, Sis!”
She trotted over to Varia, grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re so pretty, I don’t even want Dad to see you.”

The girl glanced over the jewelry laid out on the table—all personally selected by Ferio before he left.
Among them, Leonia picked up a pair of earrings.
They were teardrop-shaped—the very first pair Ferio had picked out.

“Seriously, Dad’s taste is just……”
Annoyingly good.
The earrings he chose matched Varia so well, it was almost creepy.

Even Varia had to admit—those earrings suited her better than anything else.
“Sorry to the First Prince, but…”
Leonia reached out her hand.

“Tonight, Miss Varia is the main character.”
“That tone sounds awfully familiar.”
Varia chuckled and placed her hand in Leonia’s.

“I was copying Dad a little.”
To Leonia, no gentleman in the world was as stylish or impressive as Ferio.
***

The First Prince’s birthday banquet was held on a grand scale.
It was a display of the Emperor’s overbearing favoritism—and it emboldened the Emperor's faction, the nobles who supported the First Prince.
They swaggered through the central hall like they owned the place, indulging themselves in everything.

Yet, the birthday boy himself—the First Prince—and the rest of the imperial family had not appeared.
And so the Emperor’s faction acted like they were the true rulers of the room.
The other nobles, meanwhile, clustered at the edges, quietly bad-mouthing the Emperor’s blatant favoritism while sipping their drinks. To them, the whole event was less than enjoyable.

Amidst it all…
“The Duke of Voreoti hasn’t arrived yet?”
The young heir of the Marquis of Pardus and Count Urmariti were huddled together on a secluded balcony, speaking quietly.

The Marquis’s heir peered through the glass window, observing the banquet hall.
One particular crowd stood out—unsurprisingly, a bright red head was right in the middle of it.
It seemed Remus Olor was running his mouth and bragging again.

The thought of having to cozy up to that idiot later made him want to leave the banquet already.
“We sent someone to the estate earlier, and he still hasn’t arrived,” Count Urmariti reported.
“Traveling between the North and the capital does take time.”

“Everyone’s got it rough, here or there.”
“Apparently the damage was less severe than expected.”
“Well, that’s good news.”

The young heir gave a slight nod.
He hoped his youngest sibling and their family, who had stayed behind in the North, weren’t struggling too badly.
He pictured Lupe’s face—the man had been giddy about how happy he was to be married—and that lifted his mood a little.

But the moment he saw Olor still swaggering around like he owned the place, that warm feeling froze over.
Especially with that damn pink rabbit clinging to him, chattering away.
“She’s really gotten full of herself lately.”

“Erbanu?”
“Especially during the last gathering.”
She hadn’t even been officially added to the registry yet, but Erbanu had dared to publicly demand that Voreoti take her daughter.

That was utterly unacceptable behavior.
Hanging around with the Red Swans must’ve taught her some bad habits.
Or maybe she was just naturally oblivious to her place.

‘Probably the latter.’
Why else would she try to marry off her underage daughter to a man in his thirties?
‘And that daughter isn’t exactly normal either.’

The Marquis of Pardus spotted another head of pink hair beside the red swan.
Word had already reached him that the girl had made a scene in the street, grabbing her own sister Varia and hurling abuse at the Voreoti girl.
At this point, it felt like a miracle Varia had been born into that family at all.

And then—
“……It’s getting noisy.”
Count Urmariti narrowed his eyes.

The commotion wasn’t coming from the center, where Olor and Erbanu were.
The Marquis’s heir noticed it too, turning to look.
“V-Voreoti……!”

A palace official by the entrance raised his voice loudly.
“Acting on behalf of the Duke of Voreoti, Lady Leonia Voreoti and Lady Varia Erbanu!”