I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

“The reason why Duke Ferio Voreoti suddenly decided to adopt a child was incredibly trivial.”
“My son spoke yesterday!”

It was a single offhand remark from his only friend.
Two years ago, Count Carnis Rinne, who had welcomed his second child, would take any chance he could to brag about how adorable and precious his children were. Ferio always found it strange that his friend would go on and on about his kids every time they met, and yet, despite all that talking, he never seemed to lose his voice.
But that was just the way Carnis was.

Count Carnis Rinne was one of the few people who could approach Duke Ferio Voreoti without hesitation and have an honest conversation with him. If Ferio was a towering, merciless snow-covered mountain, then Carnis was a warm, sunlit meadow. Despite their polar opposite personalities, the two got along surprisingly well.
“So, when are you getting married?”
“When you’re dead.”

“I really want to be in-laws with you!”
Carnis would constantly talk about the joys of marriage and the adorable nature of children. The plump little bottoms in diapers, the chubby arms, the way his eldest daughter would run to greet him whenever he came home exhausted—he wasn’t just bragging at this point; it was practically evangelism.
Normally, Ferio would have let it go in one ear and out the other, but for some reason, that day, he couldn’t ignore Carnis’ words. Maybe he had heard them so often that they had been permanently carved into his brain.

“A father is truly a noble existence.”
But the one saying this didn’t look noble at all. His upper lip stretched in a sappy grin so exaggerated that it was almost disgusting. Before marriage, he had made that same face whenever he talked about his fiancée, and now, he wore it every time he gushed about his children.
“They’re really adorable! Why don’t you believe me?!”

Ferio had scoffed and told him to look in a mirror before saying nonsense like that, then climbed into his carriage.
That day, the streets were unusually full of families. Everywhere he looked, he saw parents and children laughing together. They all looked… happy.
Was it really that great?

Resting his head against the carriage window, Ferio closed his eyes.
***
“…So that’s why you adopted me?”

Leonia was dumbfounded.
Even though the adoption had happened so suddenly, the carriage was still parked in front of the orphanage. Lupe had gone inside to fill out the adoption paperwork, while the knights stood guard around the vehicle. In the meantime, Ferio had decided to tell his new daughter the reason he had adopted her.
He adopted a child… because of something his friend said?
During the two years she had spent at the orphanage, Leonia had seen many adults come looking for children to adopt, and each had their own reasons. Some had struggled to have children for years. Some simply loved kids. Others had come to volunteer and couldn’t bear to leave without taking a child with them. Some had lost their own children and wanted to fill that void.

But no matter what, they had all shown some form of affection or interest in the children.
Ferio had not.
“You’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

She had never heard such a ridiculous reason for adoption before. Leonia openly sneered at him.
“What a lovely way for my only child to speak.”
Ferio clicked his tongue, but he wasn’t actually displeased. In fact, he much preferred her bold and defiant attitude over the children who had shied away and cried before him.

“Either way, wasn’t this what you wanted? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have stood in my way.”
“…Yeah.”
Leonia reluctantly admitted it.

She had chosen this man because she wanted to escape the miserable orphanage. But it had been nothing more than a gamble. Unexpectedly, luck had been on her side.
Even so, she didn’t feel entirely at ease just yet.
“Hey.”

Gazing at the orphanage building, Leonia spoke up. Just then, Lupe appeared, stepping out of the building, with the orphanage director groveling behind him. Leonia’s round eyes narrowed.
“…I have a request.”
The orphanage director looked uneasy. The other teachers weren’t any better.

“The director and the teachers here are embezzling funds.”
“I suspected as much.”
“They also abused us. And lately, they’ve been in contact with a pimp.”

Ferio, who had been looking distastefully at her tattered sleeves, suddenly froze.
“…Do you even know what a pimp is?”
“Of course I do! They sell people to bars and brothels.”

Leonia grit her teeth.
“…They were planning to sell one of the older girls to him.”
“……”

“So, can you punish them?”
“All of them?”
At Ferio’s question, Leonia quickly corrected herself.

“Except for Teacher Connie. She was the only one who looked after us.”
“The woman with brown hair and an injured finger. Is that right?”
“Yeah!”

How did he know that? Leonia was amazed.
Ferio didn’t mind her wide-eyed admiration. The way she stared at him made his chest feel oddly ticklish, as if a loose thread had gotten caught inside his clothes.
“She was the only one worried about you children.”

Unlike the director and the other teachers, who either groveled or watched cautiously, Connie had kept a close eye on the Duke. Each time a child had burst into tears, she had shot him looks filled with resentment.
She was the only one in that place who had been truly concerned about the children.
“Whenever he got drunk, he always hit us.”

“The director?”
“Yeah.”
Ferio’s gaze dropped to Leonia’s arm, where a faint bruise peeked out from under her short sleeves.

“Did he do that one?”
“No, that was another teacher.”
Leonia subtly pulled her sleeve down, hiding the bruise.

“The ones the director gave me are on my back.”
She spoke as casually as if she were brushing off dust from her clothes.
Leonia then proceeded to tell Ferio about every cruel thing she had endured at the orphanage.

As he listened in silence, his dark red eyes grew sharper.
“So, punish them.”
“How?”

Should I just kill them?
Ferio asked without hesitation.
But Leonia shook her head.

This translation is the intellectual property of .
“Torture them until they beg for death.”
Her black eyes glistened.

Ferio stared at them intently, watching as they sparkled like scattered gold dust.
‘…Is she really a child?’
The first image that came to mind was Carnis’ eldest daughter, Ufikla.

“The little girl, who resembled a red fox, had the guts to look Ferio Voreoti in the face without shedding a single tear. If he remembered correctly, Ufikla, the eldest daughter of his friend Carnis, was six years old this year. But Leonia was even smaller than her.
Even taking into account the poor conditions of the orphanage, she was far too thin. At first glance, she looked no older than five. But in contrast, the way she spoke was far more mature than children her age. Words like ‘embezzlement’ and ‘torture’ were not ones a child that young should even know.”
“Your Grace.”

At that moment, Lupe returned with the adoption documents. Ferio didn’t bother with praise, simply gesturing with his fingers for him to hand them over. The papers contained Leonia’s personal information.
She was seven.
“Lupe.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”
“You’re staying here.”
“…Excuse me?”

Just when he had finally relaxed, thinking he would be returning to the territory, Lupe received a devastating blow. Leonia pitied his despair, but Ferio remained indifferent. He didn’t seem to care at all.
“It’s filthy here. You should at least clean up.”
Lupe opened his mouth a few times, then let his shoulders sag. His complexion turned pale, as white as his hair.

“Make sure you clean thoroughly. Don’t leave a single speck of dust.”
“…Understood.”
“Mister!”

Leonia gave Lupe an enthusiastic cheer.
“While you’re cleaning, you should break their arms and legs! Whip their backs with a leather belt! Dunk their heads in dishwater! Shake them until every last speck of dust falls off! Make sure they never get back up again.”
Lupe’s face turned as blue as his hair. Ferio, on the other hand, was quite pleased by her fiery spirit.

“Oh, but leave Teacher Connie alone! She was good to us.”
“The evidence of embezzlement is behind the picture frame, in the safe!”
The carriage began moving. Lupe, along with two knights who had been left behind, stood silently as they watched the carriage disappear into the distance. Leonia kept sticking her head out the window, waving until the orphanage was completely out of sight.

“…Your Grace, she isn’t actually your secret daughter, is she?”
Knight Manus asked hesitantly. Had he scoured orphanages so thoroughly because he was searching for his hidden child? That was how shocking Leonia’s presence was. Not to mention, she shared the same black hair and black eyes as Ferio.
“You’re saying something quite outrageous with a straight face,” replied Probo, another knight, agreeing with his comrade’s sentiment.

“…Anyway.”
Lupe looked completely exhausted. The knights pitied him.
“We should get started.”

If they wanted to return to the territory quickly and rest, they first needed to carry out Ferio’s command—to ‘clean up.’ Lupe’s eyes sharpened. There was a mountain of filth to get rid of.
***
Two days after leaving the orphanage, Leonia had finally rid herself of the grime that clung to her body.

During a stop at an inn, she washed herself three times in warm water before she was finally clean. Meleis, the only female knight among Ferio’s retinue, helped her.
Once she was clean, Leonia’s small body was revealed to be covered in scars. Scratches and bruises were everywhere, and on her back were several bright red welts, as if she had been beaten with a leather whip. Meleis immediately reported this to Ferio.
Upon hearing the news, Ferio ordered a knight to return to the orphanage and bring back every single person who had laid a hand on the children. He would deal with them personally.

The next day, Leonia was dressed in a soft blue dress and a thick, long fur cloak that /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Ferio had somehow procured. Her roughly chopped black hair was neatly arranged with a red ribbon, thanks to Meleis’ help.
“I’ve never worn something like this before!”
Excited, Leonia spun around and eagerly asked how she looked. Even she thought she looked quite nice now.

“It suits you well.”
Meleis, who had helped her bathe, smiled warmly.
But inside, she felt heartbroken. Not only had this child suffered in an orphanage, but she had never even worn proper clothes before. Meleis had a younger brother around Leonia’s age, which made it even harder for her to accept.

Meanwhile, Ferio remained silent for a long time.
“…Now you actually look like a person.”
When he finally spoke, his words were nothing but sarcasm.

“I was always a person,” Leonia shot back.
She was clearly expecting a compliment.
“You’re not even pretty. What would I compliment you for?”

“Aren’t you being too harsh? You’re my dad now.”
“And yet, you still call me ‘Mister.’”
“Because ‘Dad’ doesn’t feel natural yet!”

“Well, I’m not used to giving compliments either.”
Ferio smirked unapologetically.
Leonia, irritated, puffed up her cheeks in frustration. But because she was still so thin, the effect was more pitiful than cute. Ferio frowned. The lighthearted mood he had been enjoying a moment ago immediately vanished.

“If you want to hear compliments, put on some weight.”
The only child Ferio had ever known was Carnis’ daughter, Ufikla, and Leonia was so scrawny in comparison that he couldn’t even begin to compare the two. A sudden surge of irritation welled up in him. Of course, the target of his anger was not Leonia—but the orphanage staff, whom he would soon meet in the underground dungeons of the Voreoti estate.