I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 74

“Big brother...”

Bopa looked up at his older brother with eyes glistening with tears, seeing him again after so many years.

Thick fingers gently wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes.

“What... what happened to you?!”

The emotional moment immediately vanished for Paavo.

“How did this happen?! Why the hell did you turn into Manus?!”

It was practically a scream of anguish.

The once-delicate younger brother he hadn’t seen in years had become so well-built that he resembled Manus, the most physically impressive knight in the Gladiago Order.

Paavo was still taller, but Bopa was noticeably broader.

“Remember what you gave me before you left home...?”

“Yeah, I gave it to you.”

Paavo’s one and only weak spot had always been his fragile little brother.

Fearing he’d be lonely or scared without him, he had given Bopa a sturdy teddy bear as a final gift—something to lean on in his place.

“That teddy bear you gave me is why I turned out like this.”

“What the hell did you do to that poor bear...?”

Paavo was on the verge of ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) tears.

“I trained my punches on it until it burst.”

Recalling how his older brother had never skipped training while preparing to become a knight, Bopa had turned the bear into a sandbag and pounded away at it.

“And after it burst, I stuffed a heavy rock inside, stitched it back up, and used it for weighted training.”

Once his stamina started building up, a lot changed.

With a stronger body, just a slight push was enough to keep bullies away. He even stopped getting sick as often.

“It’s all thanks to you, big brother.”

“No... no, it’s not...”

Paavo didn’t want to take responsibility for that muscle.

As a member of the Gladiago Order himself, Paavo also had muscles forged from rigorous training.

He deeply understood the aesthetics and effort behind true strength.

He was one of the knights who flexed his pecs in time with Leonia’s “muscle songs.”

But he really didn’t want his precious little brother turning into another Manus.

And most of all, he didn’t want to admit this might have all started because of him.

“Paavo oppa.”

At the tug of a sleeve slowly pulling downward, Paavo looked down.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

Leonia was peeking at Bopa with eyes sparkling brighter than ever.

There was a hidden, sinister greed lurking in that gaze—as if she were appraising him like a prized beast.

In that moment, Paavo deeply understood Ferio’s daily parenting struggles.

“Well... I’m just glad you’re doing okay.”

Maybe too okay—but still, it had been years since they last met.

He barely managed to hug his brother, who had grown too big to wrap both arms around.

“Bopa, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Paavo turned to introduce Leonia.

“She’s the young lady of Duke Voreoti. This is Miss Leonia.”

“Voreoti...”

Bopa echoed the name in a daze before snapping out of it.

“Forgive me for the late greeting! I’m Bopa Gaber, younger brother of—well, of Sir Gaber here. I’m studying watchmaking at the Academy.”

“Nice to mee—”

“Young lady.”

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Paavo shook his head.

It meant: no honorifics.

No matter how precious Bopa was to him, Leonia had no reason to speak to him with formal respect.

This kind of line had to be drawn clearly.

And in fact, Bopa was visibly flustered by Leonia’s polite tone. Noticing this, Leonia quickly adjusted her words.

If she kept speaking formally, it would probably make both Paavo and Bopa uncomfortable.

“I’m Leonia. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

Leonia extended her hand for a handshake.

Bopa hesitated, glancing at Paavo. Paavo just smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

It meant: go on, just shake her hand.

“But those muscles are incredible.”

No sooner had the introductions ended than Leonia dove straight into the main topic.

“How did you train? Do you have some special method?”

Her tiny hands moved in the air as if kneading invisible muscles.

She couldn’t just go touching Bopa’s muscles without permission, so she roughly traced their shape with her eyes and fingers.

“Ah, well...”

As Bopa stammered in embarrassment, Paavo smoothly stepped between them.

“Why don’t you show us around the Academy?”

“Huh? Oh, sure! This way.”

The brothers, reunited after years apart, moved in sync without even a trace of awkwardness.

***

As Bopa guided them around the Academy, he and Paavo updated each other on their lives.

But the conversation didn’t go very smoothly—people’s gazes were constantly drawn toward Leonia.

Feeling guilty, Leonia offered an invitation to visit their mansion next time.

“C-Can I really go...?”

Bopa couldn’t answer right away. Even if his body had grown bigger, his timid and cautious nature hadn’t changed one bit.

Paavo, remembering his little brother as a child, suddenly felt choked up.

“Of course! You’re my brother!”

He laughed heartily and gave Bopa’s back a pat.

It was meant as a light, encouraging tap—but he flinched at the hard mass of Bopa’s latissimus dorsi.

Then, discreetly, he felt along his own back. It was almost the same as his, after all that training.

“Let’s hang out next time. And tell me more about Academy stuff.”

“Y-Yeah! If you come to the mansion, the young lady will be super happy too.”

“Ah...”

Bopa quickly lowered his head, eyes stinging. He gently wiped his damp lashes with his sleeve.

“What’re you crying for over something like that.”

Leonia patted the back of his other hand reassuringly.

“Your body may be big, but you’re still just a kid.”

She held out a handkerchief, clearly offering it for him to wipe his tears.

But Bopa no longer needed it.

As soon as a much younger kid called him a “kid,” his tears vanished on the spot.

Still, he couldn’t dare to reject a gift from the young lady, so he lightly dabbed the area around his moist eyes and handed it back.

Leonia smiled in satisfaction and tucked the handkerchief into her pocket.

“Miss Bosgruni once told me—a lady’s handkerchief exists to wipe a gentleman’s tears.”

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“Bosgruni?”

Bopa perked up.

“Would you happen to mean Ardea Bosgruni?”

“You know him?”

Leonia had meant Hero Bosgruni, but the name Ardea caught her interest, so she kept asking.

“He was a professor at the Academy until last year.”

“Oh, right...”

Leonia recalled something she’d forgotten.

Before becoming her tutor, Ardea had lived in the capital.

Ferio had mentioned once that he used to be a professor at the Academy and a member of the Research Institute.

“He was quite the figure.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Leonia and Paavo exchanged glances.

To Leonia, the Ardea she knew back in the northern mansion didn’t seem like someone so “great.”

He’d sit reading from morning to night like a stone statue, and when teaching, he’d twist every question just to torment her.

Then Hero Bosgruni showed up as her etiquette tutor and completely turned the tables on him.

That was her impression of Ardea.

But it seemed the Academy folks, including Bopa, saw him differently.

“He was eccentric, sure, but his skills were top-notch. There’s a sort of legend that every student he favored went on to succeed. And it’s not just a rumor—it really happened.”

Bopa offered to show them proof and led them to a display room.

It was filled with awards, achievements, and relics from the Academy’s long history.

“Wow!”

Leonia couldn’t help but gasp—and the sound echoed in the room.

“Look over here.”

Past various trophies, certificates, even a sword bestowed by a former emperor—

Bopa pointed to plaques covering an entire wall.

They listed the names of valedictorians—top graduates of the Academy.

“Duke Voreoti is here too.”

He pointed to the seventh plaque from the end.

Paavo lifted Leonia up so she could get a better look.

“Dad’s name...”

Her small finger traced the engraved letters.

On a smooth bronze plaque, the name Ferio Voreoti stood out clearly.

Leonia was fascinated.

“I’ve heard Professor Bosgruni was hired after the Duke graduated. Some say the North put pressure on the Academy...”

Bopa said this cautiously, watching Leonia’s expression.

But Leonia was calm.

In fact, she believed the rumor was probably true.

The former Duke Voreoti likely had pulled strings.

The Bosgruni family was a fiercely loyal house to Voreoti.

And for their head to abandon the family and move to the capital with wife and children? It wouldn’t be strange if Ferio had made sure he wouldn’t get to work at the Academy while he was a student there.

“Anyway, everyone who graduated after the Duke until last year was apparently his student. Many even worked as his assistants.”

Bopa gestured to the far right of the plaques.

Leonia casually scanned the names.

‘None of them are better than Dad...’

She was about to scoff—until—

“...”

Her fingers froze on the last plaque, which bore the name of the most recent top graduate.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her dark eyes, filled with that name, trembled.

“This person...”

She tried to ask about the name on the plaque but let out a small cough instead.

She’d choked from sheer shock.

Paavo quickly covered her mouth with his sleeve and handed her a water bottle.

As Leonia calmed down, Bopa spoke.

“That’s Senior Erbanu.”

“You... you know her?”

Leonia asked, still catching her breath.

“She was pretty famous.”

Bopa chose his words carefully.

“A senior who shared my dorm once said he’d never seen someone study that obsessively in his entire life. Apparently, she barely had any social life—she just studied.”

“...”

“Come to think of it, she’s just like the Duke.”

“What do you mean, just like?”

“She entered the Academy as top of her class... and graduated top of her class too.”

Leonia looked again at the final plaque.

Varia Erbanu.

‘Holy...!’

Leonia bit her lip hard.

‘That woman—she’s regressed!’