I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Leonia, who had just received a shocking revelation, immediately went to find Kara.

“Kara Grandpa! Kara Grandpa!”
Kara, who had been giving instructions to the servants, initially greeted Leonia with a warm smile as she ran toward him. However, he quickly forced a stern expression.
“You must not run. You could get hurt.”

“But Uncle said I’d just break my nose and bleed.”
“And you must also stop speaking informally to us.”
“But I’m not used to it.”

“You do just fine with the Master. In fact, you should be more formal with him.”
Only after his gentle scolding did Kara ask why Leonia had come to find him. Leonia, still dazed from the barrage of nagging, tightly gripped the hem of Kara’s clothes.
“It’s a secret.”

She covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, afraid that someone else might overhear. Seeing this, Kara and the surrounding servants melted at the sight. As requested, Kara dismissed the servants and led Leonia into a nearby servants' lounge. Fortunately, since everyone was busy working, there was no one resting inside.
“What did you need me for?”
He wrapped a blanket around Leonia’s small body, just in case she was cold.

“Uncle told me something.”
“What was it?”
“About the person who gave birth to me.”

“Oh, I see… Pardon?”
Kara’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of his head. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out as if ironed, and Leonia let out an admiring “Ohhh” at the sight.
“He really told you that?”

“Yes.”
Leonia nodded.
“Uncle said that the person who gave birth to me was his cousin.”
“H-How did he confirm that?”

“With the fangs of the beast.”
A small finger pointed to her round, dark eyes.
“I have them too.”

“……”
“The person who gave birth to me had them as well…”
“……”

“Grandpa, are you crying?”
Startled by the drops of water falling to the floor, Leonia jumped up and waved her arms frantically.
Kara took off his round glasses and wiped his damp eyes with a gloved hand. As his once-cloudy vision cleared, he saw Leonia watching him with concern.

“I’m sorry. So my suspicions were correct.”
It hadn’t even been a few days since he had discussed with Lupe the possibility that Leonia might be Regina’s daughter. Kara hadn’t expected the truth to come out so quickly. It felt as if a heavy stone that had been weighing down his heart for so long had finally disappeared.
But soon, another stone took its place.

‘So she’s no longer in this world.’
She had managed to escape from the estate safely, but in the end, she had met a tragic fate far too soon.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”

Kara quickly composed himself and smiled warmly. Leonia, in turn, reassured him with a bright, confident voice. The sight of the strong, steadfast butler shedding tears felt strange, but Leonia assumed it was because Kara had been close to Regina.
‘If you’re curious, just ask Kara.’
For someone who had just dropped such a bombshell about her origins, Ferio had handled the aftermath rather sloppily.

‘He seemed to dislike Regina.’
Even the phrase “She was the most bothersome person in the world” wasn’t exactly something one should say to the deceased’s child. That was why Leonia had come to find Kara—to relay Ferio’s words exactly as she had heard them. She had worried that Kara might be too saddened, but instead, the older man responded with a bitter smile and a nod, as if he had expected it.
“Did Uncle dislike the person who gave birth to me?”

“That’s not the case.”
Kara immediately refuted the idea.
“If the Master had truly hated Lady Regina…”

Kara trailed off, struggling with his words. But Leonia understood the meaning behind them perfectly. If Ferio had really hated Regina, he would have personally ensured that his cousin was sent off to the afterlife.
It seemed more like she was simply a family member he found too difficult to tolerate.
‘Uncle is just that kind of person.’

In the novel, Ferio was compared to a male lion. While there was a common perception that male lions were lazy and incompetent because lionesses did the hunting, the truth was that they constantly patrolled their territory, protected cubs while the lionesses hunted, and rushed to aid them in times of danger.
The author had likened Ferio to such a lion. He exuded an intimidating, almost ominous aura, but unless something significant happened right in front of him, he didn’t concern himself with it. However, if someone crossed the line and disturbed his peace, he would not be merciful.
“Lady Regina was…”

Kara struggled to find a softer way to describe her and eventually shifted to explaining Regina’s personality instead. But even then, he seemed to have difficulty choosing his words.
After much contemplation, he finally squeezed his eyes shut as if bracing himself, then reopened them.
“She was very oblivious.”

“…Excuse me?”
“I know it’s not my place as a mere servant to say such things. But at least, that’s what the Master thought. Of course, she was kind and a good person. Many people loved her.”
Put nicely, she was someone who cared for everyone. Put bluntly, she was so oblivious that she never knew when to step in or step away. Most people saw her as the former, but to Ferio, she was undoubtedly the latter.

“In truth, Lady Regina was quite unique. Even though she was a branch family member, she still carried the blood of House Voreoti. Yet she always smiled, treated everyone with kindness, and was a hopeless romantic who dreamed of ideals.”
“Ideals?”
“She loved peace and romance.”

The wistful smile lingering on Kara’s lips gave weight to his words.
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Leonia frowned slightly. That didn’t seem like something to say with a smile.

“Lady Regina was very fond of the Master. Since neither of them had siblings, she always hovered around him, asking questions and trying to play together. She had no ill intentions—she did it out of pure kindness, but…”
Kara trailed off again, but Leonia nodded in understanding. She didn’t need to hear more. It was clear that Ferio and Regina were complete opposites.
‘Though it seems like she was only an opposite to Uncle.’

Ferio hated people who were oblivious and overly eager around him. And yet, his cousin—who lived under the same roof—was exactly like that. It must have been a tremendous source of stress.
‘Just how oblivious was she…?’
If Kara was saying it so openly, she must have been even worse than Leonia had imagined. And on top of that, she was a dreamer who pursued grand ideals.

From what Leonia had experienced in another world, nothing was more exhausting than an idealist who lacked awareness. They failed to grasp reality, babbled on about naive ideals, and inevitably caused trouble for those around them. Getting involved with such people was an express ticket to frustration.
‘I wonder if the author planned this character trait.’
Regardless, it was now clear why Regina wasn’t mentioned in the novel—Ferio simply didn’t care enough about her to bring her up. To him, his cousin was just an inconvenient presence when she was around, and someone he could live without when she was gone. Thinking about it that way, Leonia actually felt a little sorry for Regina.

“Do you… want to see Lady Regina?”
Kara knelt down to meet Leonia’s gaze. His deep gray eyes trembled slightly.
Not at all.

“……”
That’s what she wanted to say, but the words didn’t come out. Her curiosity about Regina was lighter than a puff of air. There was no way she could feel longing for a woman she didn’t even remember. The proof was that she had never once called Regina “mother.”
“I have Uncle, Grandpa, Meleis, and the maids. That’s enough.”

Leonia hugged Kara tightly.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Honestly, she regretted asking.

The so-called secret of her birth had only left her disappointed.
***
The fierce snowstorm had been raging for weeks.

Since asking Kara about Regina, Leonia hadn’t once shown any interest in the parents who had given birth to her. Since she herself didn’t care, the topic naturally faded away.
“Are you really fine with that?”
In the end, it was Ferio who brought it up first.

Leonia, who had been reading Life Is Ultimately Meaningless in front of the fireplace, turned her head sharply. Ferio was sprawled lazily on a long sofa, his long arm idly toying with the ends of her hair.
It had been about a month since Leonia arrived at the Voreoti estate.
The once-skinny child’s limbs had become sturdier, and her messy, unkempt hair—once reeking of filth—was now soft, fragrant, and well-maintained thanks to constant care. Her black hair had grown down to her shoulders, and soon, the maids would be able to braid it. They were more excited about it than Leonia herself.

Ferio was relieved that she had regained her health. The fact that he genuinely cared about such things surprised even him.
“What do you expect me to do? Cry over someone I don’t even remember?”
Leonia turned back to her book.

Truthfully, she had tried—at least for a little while—to take some interest in the parents who had given birth to her. She was curious about how a Voreoti had ended up in an orphanage.
‘So what happened to the person who gave birth to me?’
And so, just once, she had asked.

The answer she received was completely unexpected.
‘She ran away.’
Regina had a lover—a wandering knight. Naturally, Ferio’s father, the head of House Voreoti at the time, opposed their relationship. But Regina, blinded by love, defied her family and eloped with him in the middle of the night.

From that moment on, Leonia lost all interest in her birth parents. Regina was one thing, but the so-called “father” who ran off with her was just as ridiculous.
‘A mysterious wandering knight?’
It wasn’t even laughable—just suspicious. He was obviously some nobody pretending to be something more, and Regina had fallen for it, spouting nonsense about “destined love” before running away with him.

‘They were a perfect match.’
Kara had looked a little disappointed by Leonia’s reaction, but it couldn’t be helped. If anything, Leonia was annoyed that she had even asked. She spent the next few days feeling irritated at her birth parents. At least she had gotten the information quickly, without having to drag out the mystery.
“I don’t dwell on the past. I only look forward.”

“In that sense, you’re much more like me than Regina.”
Now that her face had filled out, people were starting to say that Leonia resembled Ferio more and more.
“Good. That means I have common sense.”

Her voice carried no hint of longing or attachment for her birth parents. Instead, it was clear that she was more than ready to put an end to the conversation.
“I miss Teacher Connie and my friends.”
Rather than the mother she had never met, Leonia was more concerned about Connie and the other children from the orphanage. Ferio told her that they had all been transferred to an orphanage within Voreoti territory. He promised that once the weather cleared, he would take her to visit them.

“Aren’t you busy, Uncle?”
Leonia stared at Ferio, who was lounging on the sofa, looking completely ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ relaxed.