I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Connie was worried these days.
Leonia, who was always so lively and full of spirit, had been completely drained of energy.

“What should we do…”
“Yeah, I don’t know…”
Mia was just as troubled.

Actually, both of them already knew.
The little lady’s slump was because of Connie’s betrayal—the real Connie, that is.
And the fact that she had to use her Fangs of the Beast, which ended up hurting the people in the estate, didn’t help either.

Because of that, any mention of Connie, or anything related to her, had become a taboo in the mansion.
“I heard the orphanage teachers got really punished.”
Connie cautiously brought up what she’d heard while lying in bed.

The orphanage staff had been punished severely by Ferio, supposedly because of the mess their loose lips had caused.
Of course, it was all just rumors.
But knowing how precious Leonia was to Ferio, it wasn’t hard to believe.

“…He didn’t kill them, right?”
“With our lord? He totally would.”
The two maids went silent, unnerved by the gruesome possibility. Then they turned to look at the tightly shut kitchen door.

Inside, Leonia was baking cookies all by herself for the servants she’d hurt.
They had offered to help, saying it was dangerous to do alone, but she’d refused flat-out, so they had no choice but to wait outside.
At least Manus was with her, standing guard.

“That huge knight?”
Mia pictured the smallest lady in the mansion and the biggest knight baking cookies together.
“…That’s kinda sweet.”
It was a heartwarming image.

“You’ve finally been converted to the lady’s taste.”
Connie warned her not to say things like that in front of their lord.
One of Ferio’s biggest concerns was Leonia’s corrupted tastes.

“It’s wholesome, okay!”
Mia fired back immediately.
“I imagined a big bear and a tiny squirrel, that’s all!”

“What were you imagining then?” Mia shot back. “You’re worse than me.”
“Am not!”
The two maids bickered about who was more corrupt.

“Connie, Mia.”
Madam Felica appeared, walking briskly toward them.
“The master’s called for you.”

They both jumped.
“The master?”
“But the young lady is…”

Mia glanced nervously at the kitchen door. The smell of freshly baked cookies was already drifting out from underneath.
“I’ll stay with her. Go now.”
Felica gave the two hesitant maids a firm push. Connie and Mia couldn’t even complain, dragging their feet as they headed to the office.

“Wanna just jump out the window?”
Mia pointed at the snow falling heavily outside.
Connie was tempted for a second but dragged Mia along, finally reaching the office door.

Falling into a snowbank was scary, but disobeying Ferio was way scarier.
“M-Master…”
They knocked, announcing themselves.

A voice told them to enter. Before stepping inside, they clasped their hands tightly and prayed.
Prayed they’d walk out on their own two feet.
“Sit.”

Ferio gestured to a sofa as they entered.
Kara was already there, seated calmly.
Without hesitation, Connie and Mia rushed to sit beside him.

“Mr. Kara…”
“Waaah…”
“You’re fine, you’re not gonna die.”

Kara ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) comforted the terrified maids, patting their trembling hands.
They weren’t the only ones here. Lupe and Mono were sitting on the opposite couch.
Basically, all the central figures of House Voreoti were gathered here.

Connie and Mia, being mere servants, could hardly relax in a room like this.
“There’s something important.”
Ferio, confirming that everyone was present, rose from his seat. He walked to the front of his desk, leaning lightly against it.

“Leo…”
As soon as he spoke her name, his expression turned deadly serious.
“These past few days…”

Ferio slowly opened his eyes after a pause and dropped a bomb.
“She hasn’t touched my thigh.”
“…What?”

Lupe blinked, dumbfounded.
For a second, he thought he’d misheard.
But looking at Ferio’s face, shadowed with genuine concern, there was no hint of a joke.

“Those damn bastards!”
Mono slammed his fist into the armrest of the sofa. It shook so hard that Lupe bounced slightly.
Mono’s clenched fist trembled with fury.

“She must be truly heartbroken if she hasn’t touched your thigh, my lord!”
The vice-commander of the Gladiago Knights ground his teeth in rage.
“She hasn’t even snuck into the training grounds! Normally, she’d sneak in at least twice a day to watch the knights train!”

“No way!”
“What’s going to happen to our young lady…!”
Connie and Mia wiped away tears with their aprons, hearts breaking.

“C-come to think of it…”
Mia, who had been holding something back, spoke carefully.
It was quite brave of her, considering she’d just wanted to escape out the window a minute ago.

“She hasn’t talked about muscle names lately.”
Connie nodded.
“She promised to tell me about the importance of the erector spinae muscles…”

She held up her pinky finger, remembering the promise.
Then, overwhelmed, Connie broke into tears. She’d been holding it in, not wanting to make things harder for Leonia, but she couldn’t anymore.
“Our lady has such a soft heart!”

She sobbed, leaning on Mia’s shoulder. Mia sniffled and patted hers in return.
“So do I.”
Kara took off his glasses.

The only time the capable butler removed his glasses was to wipe away tears.
He, too, was deeply worried about Leonia’s strange behavior.
“She’s been playing with dolls, something she used to hate. And instead of her usual heavy reading, she’s been reading fairy tales.”

Everyone looked utterly heartbroken.
They all fell silent, each lost in worry for Leonia.
‘…What the hell?’

Only Lupe felt completely out of place. He couldn’t relate at all, and he felt like an alien in the room.
‘Is it me? Am I the weird one?’
But Lupe was convinced he was right.

Normal kids don’t obsess over muscles, don’t sneak around spying on knights, and don’t grope their dad’s thighs.
Leonia had a disturbingly corrupted taste for her age.
This—this was normal.

But everyone else was deeply, seriously worried about her.
This translation is the intellectual property of .
If he dared say they were the weird ones, he’d probably end up buried alive in the snow.

“Leo’s birthday is coming up,” Ferio said.
The biggest event in the Voreoti estate was now less than four days away.
“No way in hell I’m letting her birthday be anything less than perfect just because of this mess.”

The Black Beast muttered with a grim voice.
Lupe thought to himself that anyone overhearing this would think they were rebels planning a coup, not a family worried about a kid’s birthday.
“We need to cheer Leo up, no matter what.”

It was Leonia’s first birthday at Voreoti.
Ferio wanted her to be happier than anyone else on that day.
Hell, not just that day—he wanted her to be happy every day.

“Connie, Mia.”
Ferio called the two maids.
“You spend the most time with Leo. I figured you’d have good ideas about what would make her smile.”

They finally understood why they’d been called.
They straightened up and started thinking seriously. Connie spoke first.
“What if we show her something she really likes?”

Muscles. Obviously.
“Thankfully, the young lady is thoughtful and brave.”
“Y-Yeah. She’s trying to handle things on her own right now.”

The way she’d been apologizing and giving cookies to the servants was proof that Leonia was trying to pick herself back up.
“So, if we reward her with something muscle-related, I think she’ll be really happy.”
“That makes sense.”

Ferio nodded.
‘No, it makes no sense at all.’
Lupe’s head was pounding.

“Sir Ceres.”
Ferio turned to Mono.
“Tomorrow.”

Gather the entire knight order.
***
Leonia and Manus carefully wrapped cookies together.

“Do you need help?”
“I’m doing it all myself.”
She’d started out confidently insisting she’d do everything alone, but she’d slowed down and ended up needing Manus’ help.

And, frankly, Manus was way better at it.
His big hands worked deftly, wrapping the cookies in paper and tying neat little bows.
‘Domestic beefcake…’

Leonia looked at Manus with a mind far too corrupted for her age.
After the cookies were wrapped, they went around the estate, handing them out and apologizing.
“Are you feeling okay? I’m really sorry.”

The servants all felt bad for the droopy little beast.
“Young lady, we’re fine.”
“Look at this! Totally fine.”

They puffed themselves up and rolled up their sleeves to show her they weren’t hurt.
Their over-the-top kindness helped heal Leonia’s heart little by little.
Especially Ferio—he was her biggest comfort.

Since that day, Ferio had been letting Leonia sleep in his room.
‘Dad is such an amazing person.’
He’d pat her until she fell asleep, and no matter how busy he was, he always found time to check on her, even just to see her face.

Thanks to her doting beast of a father, the little beast regained her strength.
‘I really need to be careful.’
Leonia realized it again.

The Fangs of the Beast weren’t just strong and cool—they were dangerous enough to hurt the people she loved.
She wanted to control that power as soon as possible.
She didn’t want to hurt her precious Voreoti family. She wanted to be someone her dad could be proud of. Someone confident and strong on her own.

“I’m going to train hard.”
She hugged the basket she was carrying tightly.
It used to be filled with cookies, but now it was empty.

The opposite of her chest, which was full of courage now.
“An excellent thought.”
Manus looked at the determined little lady with admiration.

He was proud of how much she’d grown, even if it was a bit sad that it had to happen because of something so awful.
Manus, too, cared deeply for Leonia.
“I’ll give cookies to the knights later, too.”

Leonia told Manus to wait a bit longer.
This time, she wanted to bake them all by herself.
Manus smiled softly and said he’d wait.

“But what should I give Dad?”
Leonia wanted to give Ferio something extra special.
“Our lord would be happy enough just knowing you’re healthy and cheerful.”

Manus replied.
What Ferio wanted most was Leonia’s happiness.
“Still, I want to give him something cool.”

“Just a kiss on the cheek would have him jumping high enough to hit the ceiling.”
“My dad…?”
Leonia’s face twisted at the mental image.

“My dad doesn’t do that!”
She huffed.
“The Ice Duke of the North doesn’t jump!”

“He does though.”
Manus quietly pointed out.
And also wondered, who the hell is the Ice Duke?

“My dad is the Ice Duke.”
“The lord is a duke, yes, but—”
“He belongs to that kind of title, so it’s fine.”

“…Are you sleepy, young lady?”
Manus could tell it was about time for her nap.
She’d been baking cookies and running around all day. No wonder she was tired.

That had to be why she was spouting nonsense.
“I’m not sleepy…”
But Leonia swayed on her feet. Manus picked her up and carried her to bed.

“My dad is sweet… and strong… and totally dominant…”
She mumbled something bizarre before collapsing onto the bed.
‘She’s definitely better now.’

To call their lord totally dominant…
Manus smiled in relief.