I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Five years ago.

When the illegitimate child of the Duke of Voreoti first appeared.

It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that the entire empire turned its gaze to the North.

Especially the nobles, who, even as they whispered malicious rumors and slander about the child, kept a close watch on the Duke’s bastard.

But all of that disappeared almost immediately after the father and daughter made their debut in the capital.

The Duke of Voreoti cherished the child beyond words. Witnesses claimed he never let her out of his sight.

The young duke’s paternal affection was legendary, so much so that people whispered that the real power behind House Voreoti was that young girl.

Varia, too, was shocked by Leonia’s sudden appearance.

Though, for a very different reason.

Varia found the young lady of Voreoti deeply suspicious—because she had never existed in her previous life.

‘She wasn’t supposed to exist...’

No matter how many ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) times she thought about it, the girl had never once been mentioned in her past life.

And yet now, she was one of the most talked-about figures in the empire.

‘Leonia’ had become an icon.

With the same striking black hair and eyes as the Duke, her beauty was already apparent, even at the age of twelve.

Whenever she visited the capital, foolish young nobles would crowd around the tea shops and bookstores she was known to frequent, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

And there were endless rumors of her being a prodigy.

Academics? Swordsmanship? She excelled at both.

There was even talk that a professor who once shook the empire with scandal was personally teaching her.

On top of that, at just seven years old, she had come up with the idea of the wristwatch—and turned it into a massive business.

Wristwatches didn’t just become a trend—they practically replaced pocket watches.

In the capital, it had become fashionable to buy a Voreoti-made wristwatch as a wedding gift.

And the watches that Leonia herself had supposedly designed? They sold for more than most gemstones, easily costing as much as three or four houses.

With each passing day, Leonia Voreoti’s status as the next Duke seemed more and more inevitable.

But Varia was disturbed.

In fact, she was terrified of Leonia’s rapid rise.

“...Is it because of me?”

Varia muttered.

Because she had been murdered and thrown back into the past—because she had made choices to change the future—something had shifted.

That’s what she believed.

And so, Varia kept her eyes on the young lady.

She needed to get close to the Duke, show him the evidence she’d gathered, speak with him—but more than the Duke himself, she watched his daughter.

Because Varia was afraid of her.

That girl was the one unknown, the one variable that didn’t exist in her memories.

So she made every effort to learn about her.

It might even be easier, she thought, to approach the young lady rather than the Duke.

So Varia studied.

Whenever an article about Leonia appeared in the papers, she cut it out and saved it. If she heard about a novel Leonia liked, she bought and read it.

She spent the last of her money to try the expensive strawberry milk-flavored candy the girl supposedly loved.

She even browsed accessories that might match black hair.

And she scrimped and saved to buy one of the wristwatches Leonia had designed.

Half her paycheck went toward her “research.”

“Variaaa.”

Knock, knock. Les was at the door.

“There’s a new article about the young lady of Voreoti in today’s paper.”

“J-just a second!”

Varia frantically stuffed the evidence back into its hiding place, covered it, closed the drawer, and then opened the door.

Les stood there in casual clothes, holding the newspaper.

“She’s in here.”

“Thank you, really!”

Varia carefully took the paper.

She then just as carefully cut out the article and pasted it into her notebook, while Les watched, fascinated.

Because of this constant routine—

“You’re obsessed.”

Varia had come to be known among her coworkers as a diehard follower of the young lady of Voreoti.

***

“My house!”

A few days later.

After returning from the mountaintop, Leonia finally made it back to the mansion.

“My house, my home...”

The property she’d inherit one day.

She kissed the front door repeatedly, too happy to care.

She had never loved the gloomy exterior more. Heaven, it seemed, had always been right here.

“You’ve finally lost it.”

“This is all your fault, Dad.”

“Of course, everything’s my fault.”

Ferio gave her a light push on the back and told her to go get cleaned up.

“You’re back, Miss!”

“We’ve got your bath ready.”

“Connie, Mia!”

Leonia ran toward the two maids who greeted her—but stopped.

She was still wearing her bloodstained armor.

While they added bath salts and scattered flower petals into the tub, Leonia took off her armor by herself.

She rinsed off with warm water, then slipped into the bath.

“Aaaah...”

The fragrant, steaming water melted her muscles, and her face turned to mush.

“This is heaven!”

For the first time in days, Leonia felt human again.

“You must be exhausted.”

Connie poured more hot water in.

“You’re still only twelve, isn’t it too soon to be doing all this?”

Mia added more bath salts, her voice full of concern.

“Dad went when he was eleven.”

“That’s too young, too...”

“I wanted to go, so it’s fine.”

Leonia cupped water in her hands and splashed her face.

The truth was, Ferio hadn’t planned to take her monster hunting.

He had intended for her to join him only after graduating from the Academy, when she turned twenty.

‘I want to go monster hunting too!’

But Leonia had insisted, and eventually, he gave in.

She had only one reason for pushing so hard.

To become stronger.

When she eventually took Ferio’s place as the Duke of Voreoti, she wanted to be capable enough to uphold his legacy. She wanted to train as early as possible.

‘...I’ve changed a lot.’

I wasn’t like this before.

Leonia tilted her lips into a crooked smile.

Though the water was cloudy, hiding her reflection, she could easily remember how much she’d grown.

It wasn’t just her appearance. Her personality had changed, too.

The old her wouldn’t have bothered with the hassle of being an heir. She’d have chosen to live lazy and carefree.

But now, she dreamed of becoming the strongest Voreoti.

Somehow, she’d come to adopt the same mindset as her family and the North.

And that change made her a little happy.

“So here’s how I took it down...”

Emboldened, Leonia began bragging about her exploits.

Connie and Mia just smiled and nodded proudly, listening with affection.

“And, Miss.”

After her bath, Connie came to tell her she had a visitor.

Leonia didn’t even have to ask who it was.

Connie’s face was glowing, barely able to contain her joy.

Leonia hurried out.

“Inseréa!”

Just as expected.

Inseréa was waiting in the living room, where a fire blazed in the hearth. Beside her was a large basket and a middle-aged woman.

“Miss!”

“Ahhh, Sis!”

“You came back safe.”

Inseréa smiled with relief, clearly having worried.

Her silver-blue hair was cut short now, and she’d filled out since they first met.

She looked more at peace, more content than ever.

Leonia greeted the woman who’d come with her.

“So, where’s our little wolf?”

“He just woke up.”

Inseréa glanced lovingly at the basket. The middle-aged woman carefully lifted something from inside.

“Wah... wahhh...”

It was a baby.

With silver-blue hair, he cooed and fussed softly, then broke into a smile when he saw Inseréa.

Leonia collapsed.

“He’s too cute...!”

“He just defeated you, Miss.”

“I’ll lose to him a hundred times over...”

Leonia managed to sit up and held out her arms.

“Ready to hold him!”

Inseréa chuckled and nodded to the nanny.

“Give Lupe to the young lady.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Our little wolf cub.”

Leonia took the baby carefully. He didn’t cry or fuss, just settled quietly in her arms.

“Oh, dear god...”

She had to thank the heavens for creating this warm, milk-scented, chubby, adorable life.

“But you know, little Lupe...”

Leonia smiled a little sadly as she looked at him.

“You look exactly like your grandpa.”

“Right?”

Inseréa agreed wholeheartedly.

“I was shocked when I saw him.”

“If he ends up with his personality too, we’re in trouble.”

“But he takes after me—he’s gentle.”

Inseréa smiled, telling her not to worry.

Leonia still thought that was a bit risky, but she didn’t say it aloud.

“My little wolf cub.”

Leonia whispered softly.

“Lupe Ricoss.”

And from the bottom of her heart, she prayed.

“Please, don’t grow up to be a sleazy pervert like your grandpa, okay?”

One man like the Marquis of Pardus was more than enough in this world.

***

Lupe and Inseréa had gotten married three years ago.

Their path to marriage hadn’t been easy.

Lupe had fallen for her early on, but winning over a former stalker-turned-workaholic who was obsessed with Voreoti wasn’t exactly simple.

So Lupe made the biggest gamble of his life.

‘If you marry me, our child will become the young lady’s secretary one day!’