I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Leonia, caught moments later, looked utterly defeated.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Ferio’s gaze held a mixture of firm resolve and tender affection.

“Leo.”
“…What is it, Dad?”
“You need to run and play like a normal child.”

The uncharacteristically cautious tone made Leonia deeply uncomfortable. Ferio wasn’t someone who tiptoed around people.
Of course, Leonia knew she had long since become an exception to that. Still, this kind of gentleness? She couldn’t stand it.
Especially not after reading that invitation.

“You’re still young. There’s no need to force yourself to act like an adult.”
“What the fu—”
Startled by what almost slipped out, Leonia hastily summoned every bit of her filial piety.

No matter what, she couldn’t say “bullshit” right to her father’s face when he was clearly worried about her.
“Um, Dad.”
She decided to try persuading Ferio that she was doing just fine.

“I like books and being alone more than toys. And you know this—I'm really mature for my age.”
“But that’s not what you really want.”
“What is with this guy all of a sudden…”

Leonia couldn’t hold it in and ended up calling Ferio “this guy” for the first time in a while.
She hoped it was just her imagination, but something about the way Ferio furrowed his brows and pressed his lips together looked terribly melancholic.
She really hoped that wasn’t pity in his eyes.
But as usual, her bad feeling hit the mark.

“Leo.”
A large hand gently stroked her head.
‘…What’s with this atmosphere?’

Her round eyes darted, unable to find direction. The mix of sympathy and sadness in the air was something she had never imagined, let alone experienced.
“You should make real friends now, too. Play like children your age…”
“I have friends! You saw them at the orphanage!”

Leonia immediately brought up the orphanage she’d recently visited.
The other kids there had been comrades, family, and precious friends who had endured hardship together.
When she saw them again after months apart, many of them cried tears of joy.

Thanks to her, they’d escaped that hellish orphanage and been relocated to the Voreoti orphanage, where they now received warmth and proper care.
No more empty stomachs, warm clothes provided, and even the chance to study.
“Those aren’t friends.”

But Ferio’s thoughts—and his memory of that day—were quite different from Leonia’s.
“They’re your wards. You’re their guardian.”
Ferio didn’t deny that the orphanage children welcomed her.

They clung to her, sobbed into her shoulders, and seemed so close to her it was painful to watch.
But it only looked like friendship for that one brief moment.
‘How’ve you been? Getting enough to eat?’

‘Let me see—whoa, you’ve grown so much!’
‘You spilled? Don’t cry, here. Noona will wipe it for you.’
‘Hey, you bastard! How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with the little ones?’

‘Unnie, did you memorize all your letters now? You’re amazing!’
Leonia tended to each one of them with practiced care. From the tiniest kids to the older boys and girls, everyone seemed like little babies when standing in front of her.
And the kids accepted her care like it was the most natural thing in the world.

No one in that place had protected or nurtured them before.
That was why the strong, sharp-tongued Leonia had taken the role of an adult and watched over them.
Things like dreams or childhood innocence were pure luxuries in a place like that.

A child acting as a protector of other children?
It was absurd.
Ferio regretted it—for the first time.

If only he’d shown a little more concern, a bit more compassion, for his runaway cousin back then.
If only he’d extended the search just a little longer… that child wouldn’t have had to live such a harsh life.
‘There were several scars on the young lady’s back. Looked like she’d been hit with a whip or a leather belt…’

Ferio recalled what Meleis had reported after examining Leonia’s bare, malnourished body.
So much smaller than other kids her age, and yet she never once spoke of her suffering.
He swallowed the rising fury and quietly studied her face.

The moment Leonia noticed the faint trembling in the hand gently cupping her cheek, her eyes widened in shock.
“Leo.”
“Yeah?”

“You’re my only family.”
“Dad…”
The unexpected confession made Leonia’s eyes burn with emotion.

“I didn’t expect you to become someone this important to me.”
“…Are you picking a fight?”
Damn it, Leonia grumbled right away.

“That’s why I want to give you everything you want.”
But you’re the one stopping me from doing most of it…
She swallowed those words before they could escape.

Trying to “restore her childhood,” he made her play with toys.
He confiscated her favorite book, Life Is Utterly Pointless.
In its place, he handed her Fairy Tales of Dreams and Fantasies.

No matter how childlike her appearance might be, Leonia really didn’t want to be treated like a child.
“Your childhood is precious.”
But with Ferio being this sincere, she couldn’t bring herself to say no anymore.

Honestly, she was touched. Very touched. Her eyes burned and her nose stung for no reason.
Just as she had come to see and follow him as her real father, Ferio was holding her close and cherishing her with all his heart.
‘I knew he liked me, but…’

Knowing and seeing it firsthand were two very different things.
“Uuuugh!”
Embarrassed, Leonia covered her face with both hands.

“I’ll go!”
She gritted her teeth.
“It’s not like going to a tea party will kill me!”

“It’s an invitation, not a duel,”
Ferio said as he gently patted his brave little daughter’s head.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

***
Winter in the North was longer and darker than anywhere else.
Viscount Kerata had just returned from inspecting the large reindeer ranch outside the estate.

The land was so vast that just making a full round to check for needed repairs had taken him half the day.
Fortunately, he managed to finish before sunset, and everything had been in good condition.
“You’re back already?”

“Father! Welcome home!”
“Welcome home!”
As he arrived back at the mansion, Viscount Kerata was warmly greeted by his family, ending the day on a pleasant note.

Then, later that night, when everyone had gone to bed—
“…Darling.”
The Viscountess, already lying in bed, looked at her husband with a worried expression.

“I did send the invitation to the Duke like you said, but… do you really think he’ll come?”
“That’s what’s troubling you?”
The Viscount, lying beside her, gently stroked her shoulder and gave a faint smile.

With a deep sigh, the Viscountess admitted honestly that yes, it was.
She had never imagined a day would come when they would be sending an invitation to the House of Voreoti.
Even now, it didn’t quite feel real.

“It’s not that I’m underestimating our family.”
The House of Kerata was a noble line that had existed since before the founding of the Empire, just like the House of Voreoti.
So while their title may only be that of a viscountcy, the nobles of the North did not treat them lightly.

“But… we’re talking about the Duke.”
The ruler of the North—the Black Beast himself.
“If he used our invitation as firewood «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» for his hearth, I’d consider that a relief. At least it wouldn’t have gone to waste.”

Viscount Kerata laughed at his wife’s dramatics.
But the Viscountess narrowed her eyes. To her, it was a very serious matter.
“Ahem, you really don’t have to worry about that.”

The Viscount glanced at her as he continued.
“After all, it was the Duke himself who asked me directly.”
“I still can’t believe that, honestly.”

“Please have a little faith in your husband.”
His thick fingers began to tickle her side, making the Viscountess squirm and laugh.
Only after she agreed—fine, I believe you now—did he pull away slightly.

“And yet you’re working so hard to prepare for the tea party.”
“Well, that’s…”
If, by any chance, the Duke and his daughter really did come, not a single thing could be allowed to go wrong.

The Black Beast of the North was a figure that commanded reverence.
“Come to think of it, you said you met the Duke’s daughter in person, didn’t you?”
“She was a very small and very adorable girl.”

The Viscount’s expression softened fondly as he recalled Leonia.
Her firm tone and bright, dark eyes were not something easily forgotten.
And hadn’t she even called Flomus, who was quite a bit larger than her, a “baby”?

“I don’t know if it’s proper to say this, but… she was like a little old woman.”
“Oh my.”
“She looked at Flo and said, ‘Oh dear, still a baby, I see.’”

“Heavens!”
The Viscountess burst into laughter.
Following her, the Viscount chuckled as well. But deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness for the girl.

Even if Flomus was a bit big for her age, Leonia was far too small compared to other children her age.
In fact, Viscount Kerata had first assumed she was maybe five years old at most.
And yet, that child had looked at someone her own age as if they were much younger than her.

It wasn’t arrogance or entitlement that made her do it. It felt more like her heart had matured too quickly, and kids her age simply didn’t register as peers.
She must’ve had a hard time in the orphanage.
Even if it wasn’t within the Voreoti territory, it was widely known that most orphanages elsewhere weren’t properly managed.

The Duke must want to care for that girl.
He likely wanted to give only the best to the daughter he’d found so late.
As a father of two himself, Viscount Kerata could fully understand the sentiment.

When the Duke had contacted him to request an invitation to a tea party with children, in that moment, he hadn’t seemed like a fearsome noble—but simply a parent.
“Rumors really are just rumors.”
The Viscountess thought of the gossiping nobles who had spread nonsense.

“The Duke must want his daughter to make friends at this tea party.”
“That’s why I chose the guest list very carefully.”
The Viscountess had deliberately excluded every family that had recently been summoned to the Voreoti estate.

They had committed minor and major offenses while the Duke was away in the capital—and worse, they had spread cruel rumors about Leonia.
Some of those families had close ties to House Kerata.
Of course, when they found themselves left off the invitation list, they demanded to know why.

But the moment she mentioned that the Duke and his daughter would be attending, they all fell silent.
“…Do you think he had Flo in mind?”