I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 87

The day of the banquet arrived.

The attention of every noble in the Empire was focused on the Imperial Palace in the capital.

It was the first memorial banquet to be held in the three years since the death of the late emperor—and the very first hosted by Emperor Subiteo since ascending the throne. A profoundly important event.

But that wasn’t all.

The precious young lady adored by Duke Voreoti was said to be attending.

When the news first broke, it stirred an uproar across the capital with endless speculation.

People whispered about why Emperor Subiteo had invited the young lady of the Duke to the Imperial banquet.

Some claimed it was a political move by the Emperor to assert dominance over the Duke through a child; others thought it was a publicity stunt to draw attention to his first official banquet.

But the nobles didn’t care about the truth behind the rumors.

In the end, the conflict between the Imperial family and the North was a spectacle to be enjoyed.

Of course, no one could say that aloud. After all, the ruler of the North was far more terrifying than the Imperial family.

Besides, the chance to see the infamous young lady of House Voreoti in person was too good to pass up.

Meanwhile, the Voreoti household remained quiet.

Even on the day of the banquet, the estate was no different than usual.

Dead silent.

There was no bustle or flurry of movement preparing for the trip to the palace.

The beastly father and daughter were no exception.

In fact, their attention wasn’t on the banquet at all—it was focused elsewhere.

“Tell me more about Grandpa Count Urmariti.”

Leonia said as she lay in bed for a nap.

A black lion plushie was nestled in her arms.

“Go to sleep.”

Ferio, who had come to put her to bed, opened a storybook. It was filled with warm and sweet tales he occasionally read to her before bed.

But this one was still untouched—never once opened.

“If you sleep well now, you won’t doze off during the banquet.”

“Falling asleep there is part of my chaos plan.”

“Then just pee yourself instead.”

Ferio, ever unnecessary in his concern, offered the suggestion while noting they could simply pack extra clothes and undergarments.

“Have you lost your mind...”

Leonia glared with eyes as icy as frost. She had no intention of defiling herself just to spite the Imperial family.

“Fine, fine, I was joking.”

Ferio eventually closed the storybook.

Once again, the warm bedtime story didn't get a single page turned.

“You're curious about Count Urmariti?”

“Yeah!”

“What are you curious about?”

“Everything!”

The baby beast’s eyes sparkled. Ferio tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.

“Do you want to go live with him?”

His question was filled with a hint of concern, just in case.

“No way!”

Startled, Leonia flung off the blanket and sat up.

“I’m just curious about my birth mother and her family! Why would I ever leave you?”

She stressed again and again that it wasn’t like that at all.

Only then did Ferio nod, a little relieved.

“Besides, Voreoti has way more money.”

She declared she’d never leave Voreoti until she inherited all of that.

“Thanks for the mercenary honesty.”

“So tell me—what’s he like?”

“He really loved your aunt.”

A memory surfaced in Ferio’s mind.

“Loved her so much that...”

It was when he had only been a year or two older than Leonia.

“...after she passed away, he struggled for quite some time.”

“Huh? Aunt... that means...”

“Your grandmother.”

“Ah...”

So she had passed away.

Leonia muttered weakly.

She’d guessed it after hearing from Ferio the day before that Count Urmariti had remarried, but actually confronting the truth made her feel unexpectedly somber.

“Who did he remarry?”

“A maid who used to be your grandmother’s companion.”

“Whoa!”

A forbidden thought sprang to life in Leonia’s head.

“A love triangle between Grandpa, Grandma, and the maid...”

“You disrespectful little imp.”

Ferio immediately frowned.

To stop Leonia’s imagination from delving deeper into that mix of scandal and disrespect, he hurriedly brought the conversation back on track.

“Your aunt was always very frail.”

She passed away shortly after giving birth to Regina.

Because of that, Count Urmariti had been devastated, and naturally, hadn’t had the emotional capacity to show much affection to Regina either.

“He hated my birth mother?”

“No.”

He simply hadn’t had the strength to face his child at the time.

When he finally gathered himself, Count Urmariti began visiting her regularly even after Regina started living at the Voreoti estate because of the Fangs of the Beast.

“He really loved her.”

As a boy, Ferio had once hidden and watched as Count Urmariti met with Regina.

The two of them always talked warmly in the sunlit garden.

Young Ferio had watched them from behind a pillar in the shadows of the corridor.

He had found it strange.

Because he had never had that kind of relationship with his own parents.

“......”

Ferio’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even recalling it briefly brought back that same quiet loneliness.

It wasn’t until later in life that Ferio came to understand that aching feeling in his chest was called “loneliness.”

At that moment—

“Daddy?”

A small warmth touched the back of Ferio’s hand.

The cold emotion vanished in an instant, replaced by surprising warmth.

“What’s wrong?”

Leonia, noticing Ferio’s sudden silence, looked at him closely.

“Do you need to pee? Should I lend you the chamber pot?”

“...Thanks for the unnecessary concern.”

“I’ll wash it and give it back.”

“No need.”

He was dumbfounded, but the melancholy was gone without a trace.

“Does Grandpa know I’m her daughter?”

“No.”

Ferio hadn’t told him yet.

As always, when it came to Leonia’s origins, her own wishes came first.

“Right now, only three people besides me know the truth of your birth.”

The first to notice was Kara, then Lupe, and the last was the Marquis of Pardus.

“So the old Marquis finally figured it out?”

Leonia made a face. She could vividly picture that smug grin of his.

“But Daddy.”

“What.”

“Was Grandpa sad?”

Leonia didn’t specify when.

She didn’t need to.

They both knew what she meant—when Regina had eloped with some mysterious wandering knight.

“Even after House Voreoti gave up the search, the Count kept looking for her in secret.”

“I see...”

Her voice was thick with emotion.

“Are you sad?”

Ferio asked.

“Just... I feel sorry for him...”

Leonia still hadn’t developed a deep emotional attachment to Regina.

But she felt sorry for Count Urmariti, who had searched alone for his missing daughter.

She felt sorry for Regina, who had died young—and for the “original” Leonia, who had been left behind.

‘Maybe it’s the same over there?’

Perhaps, in that other world, there were people who were also desperately searching for her.

“......”

The thought came unbidden, and quickly turned into sorrow.

Her arms, holding the stuffed lion, began to tremble faintly.

“Daddy.”

Leonia called out to him, as if asking for help.

“Stay with me until I fall asleep.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Leonia patted the spot next to her on the bed. Soon, there was the faint rustle of the blanket.

Ferio lay down beside her and extended one arm.

Leonia slowly crawled over, resting her head on his arm and nestling her face into his chest.

“Pat me, please.”

Pat, pat. His large hand began gently stroking her back.

A tiny sigh of relief brushed against the fabric of Ferio’s clothes.

He quietly watched his daughter.

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“Are you okay?”

He asked again.

“...I feel a little sad right now.”

It wasn’t exactly because of Regina or Count Urmariti, but Leonia didn’t mention that.

Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on her father’s hand, his warmth, the sound of his heartbeat.

Once she had calmed down, Leonia opened her mouth.

“Tell Grandpa Count... later, okay?”

“I will.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

“Should I have not said anything?”

“No.”

Leonia slowly shook her head. The drowsiness that came with relief weighed down her eyelids.

Her pupils were already half-rolled back.

“Time to sleep.”

A large hand gently covered her eyes.

That warmth fully blocked her vision.

Drowsiness crashed over her like a wave before she could resist.

In truth, Leonia had always been a child who fell asleep easily, without fuss.

“I’m glad, though...”

Just before falling asleep, she used the last of her strength to whisper:

“...I had someone like you, Daddy...”

She was glad someone cared about her—that one sentence was all she needed to say before sleep took her.

Ferio stayed beside her even after she had drifted off.

He didn’t stop patting her back until the moment he stood.

Then, he quietly left the room.

Waiting outside the door were Connie and Mia.

“I’ll come wake her later.”

It was an instruction to let her sleep undisturbed until then.

Connie and Mia nodded respectfully.

“Duke.”

When Ferio entered the study, Lupe approached.

“This is the banquet guest list.”

“From the Marquis of Pardus?”

“It arrived just a moment ago.”

“I can’t help but pity your father.”

The Marquis of Pardus, ever the Emperor’s man in public, had reportedly had tea with the Emperor twice since arriving in the capital.

In moments like this, Ferio felt real sympathy for the old man.

This guest list was proof of his labor.

As Ferio scanned the list, his brows furrowed.

“Olor...”

The name of one of the Red Swans, prominently listed, irritated him.

After staring at the name for some time, Ferio abruptly asked about the North.

“Any updates?”

“There was a message from Sir Mono.”

Apparently, the young monsters released into the Northern Mountains had finally settled.

Reports said that attacks on settlements had begun to decrease.

“And...”

Lupe glanced around the study, confirming they were alone, and lowered his voice.

“They still haven’t spoken.”

Ferio curled his lips.

“Mono’s interrogations are known to be ruthless.”

And yet they endured?

Muttering to himself, Ferio eventually let out a short, breathy laugh.

“Let’s see how far this goes.”

His slowly blinking black eyes gleamed with something chilling.

Contempt and scorn—directed at “that thing”—and perhaps, just ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the slightest trace of respect.

The aura Ferio gave off was so cold that Lupe could do nothing but swallow dryly.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking...”

Ferio’s gaze landed on the stack of books on his desk.

They were from the bookstore he’d visited with Leonia during their stroll through the capital.

Among them: a scholarly paper that had stirred academia the previous year; a digest of recently enacted or revised laws; a book on management theory long beloved by readers; a classic text by a philosopher often quoted in Academy lectures.

And finally, the report on ancient ruins—the one Ferio had specifically ordered.

“I might have underestimated this.”

The ancient ruin investigation report.

‘None of these go together, do they?’

Ferio looked at the books he’d bought and scoffed.

All five were on completely unrelated topics.

In fact, the management and philosophy texts were impulse purchases—books he remembered reading back in the Academy and thought might make good decoys.

“They’re more complicated than I expected.”

He picked up one of the five.

A paper that had made waves the moment it was published.

“Which one are you referring to?”

“Both.”

The Red Swans—and the little yellow fledgling.

Ferio smoothed his hand across the book cover before setting it back on the desk.

Ardea Bosgruni.

That was the scholar’s name, etched faintly where his fingertips had passed.