I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

As soon as Ferio turned around, the two of them averted their gazes as if nothing had happened.
“So just hurry up and go.”
Leonia personally opened the front door to send him off, adding a promise that he had to tell her later how he toyed with the Emperor.

Only then did Ferio climb into the carriage that had been prepared.
“Miss, thank you so much.”
Taking advantage of the moment, Lupe expressed his gratitude to Leonia.

“To be honest, I don’t want to go either, but… it’s the Imperial Palace after all, so I have to show up at least once. As you know, the Duke really hates that emperor bastard.”
“That emperor bastard?”
Leonia frowned.

A man who claimed to be a man of common sense was cursing in front of a child?
“……I mean, no?”
Lupe smiled awkwardly, pretending as if he had no idea what such a word even meant.

But inside, he was deeply flustered at how easily the truth had slipped out of his mouth.
“Whatever, just go.”
Leonia, now too annoyed to even question it further, waved her hand dismissively.

“Come back safe!”
And cause just the right amount of trouble!
Leonia kept waving until the carriage passed through the front gates and disappeared from sight.

More than a farewell, it was to make sure those two adults didn’t suddenly change their minds and come back to the mansion.
Thankfully, the carriage left without turning around.
“Ugh…”
Leonia plopped down heavily onto the sofa as soon as she stepped back into the mansion, looking exhausted.

“Men are still boys even when they’re grown.”
Why did he have to be so obvious about hating it?
Resting her chin on one hand, Leonia chuckled as she thought of those two childish adults.

In any case, just getting her stubborn father out the door had drained her completely.
She gave her soft shoulders a couple of light taps with her fist and let out a huge yawn.
“Tired, miss?”

At some point, Tra had brewed tea and handed her a cup.
It was milk tea, generously filled with milk and sugar, served in a dainty teacup.
The sweets on the side were colorfully decorated and looked delicious.

“Thank you.”
“You may speak informally with me.”
“You’re Kara Grandpa’s son, Tra oppa.”

Leonia smiled gently as she savored the milk tea.
“And you get along well with my dad, so I’m not going to treat you carelessly. If I did, my dad would lecture me, you know? He treasures his people.”
Tra raised his eyebrows in surprise before letting them soften into a gentle curve.

‘Just like in the letter Mother sent.’
The letter had said that although Leonia was much smaller than her peers, she was remarkably clever, even surpassing most adults.
She had only been studying for a few months, yet already reached an academy-level proficiency, and was learning the Fangs of the Beast with such speed that it rivaled Ferio’s own childhood.

‘He’s adopting a child.’
Tra had been the very first to hear of Ferio’s impulsive adoption last autumn—right beside him when it happened.
Back then, he thought Ferio had finally lost his mind.

That this perfect beast, bored and contemptuous of the world due to his own excellence, had finally decided to cause real chaos.
Naturally, he had tried to talk him out of the adoption.
But it seemed when a perfect man made a decision on impulse… it still worked out perfectly.

Leonia was the perfect beast.
Hair and eyes darker than night, the power of the Fangs of the Beast, intelligence far beyond her age, delicate features with a proud temperament.
And a very selective kindness that only extended to those within her circle.

Tra quietly placed a hand over his chest.
The pounding of his heart was overwhelming joy directed toward the future heir of House Voreoti.
It was the same mysterious feeling he had the first time he met Ferio as a child.

‘But… when exactly did he cause that accident?’
Not knowing the full story, Tra naturally became curious about Leonia’s birth mother.
There had never been any rumors of a woman who had gotten pregnant or gone missing after meeting Ferio.

“Housekeeper.”
Just then, a servant entered, holding a tray with the day’s mail.
“What is it?”

Leonia, her mouth full of snacks, swallowed quickly and asked. Crumbs clung to the corners of her lips.
“A letter for the master.”
Tra pulled out a handkerchief and gently brushed away the crumbs from her face.

They fell neatly into the white-gloved palm of his hand.
“That’s a lot.”
The stack of letters was thicker than a chicken breast sandwich.

Leonia recalled her days in the North.
Sometimes she waited for Ferio in his office, reading books. Even then, it had never been like this.
Back then, he only received three or four letters a day, usually related to work.

“In the North, the master’s authority is absolute.”
Tra swiftly sorted through the letters on the tray as he explained.
“No fool would dare send him a frivolous letter.”

“You’re from the North too, right, Tra oppa?”
“I lived there until I became an adult.”
Tra tilted his head slightly as he sorted letters. The look in his eyes said: Why do you ask?

“I figured.”
His tone of pride when speaking of the North, and the subtle condescension in his choice of words—both were typical traits of Northerners.
‘Is it environmental influence…?’

The harsh northern landscape must’ve made people just a bit rougher.
Leonia quietly sat beside Tra and peeked at the letters he was organizing.
There were family names she’d often seen in novels and others she was hearing for the first time.

‘No letter from Erbanu…?’
Leonia felt rather disappointed. She’d hoped Baria’s family might have sent a letter too.
Since she was in the capital now, she wanted to meet the other main character, Baria.

After all, Baria Erbanu was currently the most likely candidate to become her new stepmother.
‘Not that I plan to force anything.’
If Ferio happened to fall for someone else more than Baria, then Leonia thought it would be just fine for him to end up with that person instead.

What mattered more than the original storyline… was Ferio’s personal happiness.
But regardless of all that, Leonia was simply curious about Baria as a person.
“She must be pretty, right?”

“Who?”
Tra tilted his head at Leonia’s mumbled thought.
Startled, Leonia quickly waved her hand and said it was nothing.

“Ah, that person?”
But unfortunately, she happened to be holding a letter.
It was from a pile Tra had deemed as trash—most of which were love letters sent to Ferio.

“Lady Hieina.”
“Hieina…?”
“She’s a noblewoman who adores the Duke.”

Tra let out a sigh and shook his head, his face immediately clouded with fatigue.
Hieina was a name Leonia was familiar with.
That older girl who picked a fight with six-year-old Ufikla.

“Thanks to her, last winter was warm, though.”
Tra sarcastically remarked that at least they didn’t have to worry about firewood for the fireplace.
Among the mansion staff, it was an open secret that she was called ‘firewood.’

“That’s a bit much!”
Leonia frowned.
Sure, she wasn’t happy with how Hieina treated Ufikla, but throwing out someone’s heartfelt letter like firewood still seemed too harsh.

Rather than make excuses, Tra simply sliced open a letter from Lady Hieina with a letter knife.
Leonia’s eyes widened in surprise. It was addressed to Ferio, and yet Tra was casually opening it without hesitation. His boldness impressed her.
But only for a moment.

Leonia read the letter.
The bright red ink immediately caught her eye.
“Let’s see… ‘Duke, I love you…’”

I love you, Duke.
I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

“I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. I love you, Duke. Duke…”
“……”
Leonia froze completely.

“...There are many corrupt trends in the capital these days,”
Tra said as he carefully took the letter from Leonia’s hand.
He folded it about four times so the contents couldn’t be seen, slipped it back into the envelope, and tucked it into the middle of the pile labeled as trash.

Leonia still hadn’t moved.
Her black eyes, which had just moments ago sparkled so brightly, were now dull and blank, as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ if her spirit had fled.
“A few days ago, one of the maids told me there’s a popular little charm going around. Supposedly, if you write a letter in red ink to the person you like, your feelings will be returned.”

“C-Charm?”
“There was also a trend a couple years ago where people were eating snacks made from who-knows-what.”
Compared to that, this is much more “charming,” Tra said, raising an eyebrow.

“Charming, huh…”
Leonia nodded quickly in agreement—but a headache followed just as fast.
‘Did I mistake the genre of this novel?’

The Black Beast and Baria was definitely a romance novel.
But that letter felt like something straight out of a thriller.
“From now on, letters like that will start arriving—about ten a day.”

If it were only ten, that’d be a blessing, Tra muttered.
“Dad…!”
Leonia covered her face with her tiny hands.

“My poor dad!”
A pitiful cry burst out of her.
***

“……”
Ferio suddenly frowned.
“Your Grace?”

Lupe, following behind, spoke up.
A little ahead, the attendant turned his head slightly and glanced back.
He gave a subtle nod as if to ask whether they should keep going, and Ferio, removing his hand from his ear, gave a signal that it was fine.

“Was your ear itchy?”
Lupe asked, recalling the earlier gesture.
“Maybe someone’s bad-mouthing you?”

“Wouldn’t be the first, and definitely not the last.”
“Haha, then Your Grace will live a long life.”
“So you’ll be dying today?”

“Such a beautiful day to be alive, wouldn’t you say?”
Lupe looked up at the clear sky beyond the corridor, hiding his grumbling behind a smile.
The pure blue sky, unmarred by even a single cloud, stung his heart a little.

It was far too clear, too bright, for a visit to the Imperial Palace.
Summer was just around the corner.
“……How about taking a summer vacation?”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”
Ferio thought back to the beach trip he’d taken recently with Leonia.
The child had so much fun playing in the sand where the waves crashed.

She built sandcastles, dipped her feet in the water, and laughed endlessly.
Next time, the eastern valley might be a nice destination.
Of course, to do that, he first had to wrap up his business in the capital as quickly as possible.

“When is Sir Levipes arriving?”
Ferio asked.
Before answering, Lupe glanced briefly at the attendant walking ahead of them.

The servant, eyes fixed forward, had the tiniest twitch in his ear.
“He sent a message that he’ll be arriving in the capital in a week.”
“That’s a long time.”

“It seems the matter is taking longer than expected.”
“Nothing to be done. It is what it is.”
Soon, the three arrived at the Emperor’s private reception room.

The attendant told them to wait a moment and went inside.
As the door opened slightly during his entry, a strong, sweet scent drifted out.
“If I feel this way…”

Ferio frowned at the thick aroma, then looked over at Lupe.
“Lupe, you’d better be careful too.”