I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 200

The bald man's report on the Empire's current state was nothing short of shocking.

"Not long after we set sail, a major corruption scandal broke out."

"Corruption?"

"An art organization sponsored by imperialist nobles."

Apparently, it was discovered that the organization had been manufacturing drugs and committing serious crimes.

On top of that, the donations made by the imperialist nobles were used for tax evasion and to amass slush funds.

“What a godless age we live in!”

The bearded man clicked his tongue and spat out a curse.

"Rich bastards are always the worst!"

He was deeply shaken by the news. Before boarding the trade ship, he had strongly supported the imperial road construction project the imperial family had been promoting.

He never imagined he’d return to the Empire only to be greeted by this level of betrayal.

"So what happened to the project?"

"It just fizzled out."

The bald man shared what he'd read in the newspapers.

"The regional leaders ended up fixing their roads with their own money. But apparently, they always did that anyway."

"Then what the hell..."

The bearded man muttered in a hollow voice.

"Was the road project a waste of money from the start?"

"They didn’t even get started in the capital."

"What do you mean?"

"That art organization scandal I mentioned earlier."

The bald man lowered his voice even more than before, now downright whispering.

"As for where that money went..."

Apparently, it went straight to the emperor.

The bearded man dropped his fork.

"So the project couldn’t even begin. Turns out the funds allocated to the imperial family never included any money for the project. Looks like they were planning to use the organization’s donations instead."

"Dear gods...!"

The bearded man felt light-headed.

In the short time he'd been away at sea, the authority of the Imperial family had fallen to such depths—he never would've imagined it.

"The late Emperor would rise from his grave if he heard this."

The bald man nodded solemnly at his companion's bitter mutter.

"But how did you find out?"

"Me? I set foot on land, picked up a newspaper, and asked around. What, you think I only look at the crossword?"

The bald man laughed heartily.

***

"...Oh, Leo."

Varia gently called out to Leonia, who had fallen asleep with her head on Varia’s lap.

"We’re almost there. Time to wake up."

"Uuhng...!"

Still half-asleep, Leonia grumbled and turned her head sharply—burying her face straight into Varia’s stomach.

The child burrowed even deeper into her mother’s embrace.

"Oh my, oh my."

Varia was startled for a moment, then chuckled warmly as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

"My little spoiled one."

"I’m not spoiled—I’m a pervert."

She was definitely awake.

Sitting across from them, Ferio looked at the back of her small black head with suspicious eyes. Sure enough, Leonia’s shoulder twitched.

“Get up, little pervert.”

“...Leo not pervert.”

Leonia clung to Varia’s waist, whining.

“Leo just... love Mama toooo much.”

“Say that properly or you’re disinherited.”

“I, the young lady, revere my mother.”

Her gooey, slurred voice instantly hardened into steel.

Only then did Leonia sluggishly sit up. Varia giggled as she gently wiped the sleep from the child’s eyes.

Varia could now talk to Leonia comfortably, like this, as if it had always been so.

“Dad’s really too much, huh? Could’ve let me sleep a bit longer.”

Her mother’s gentle tone made the little beast cub feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Then, with a wicked grin, she turned to Ferio.

“Yeah! What’s so bad or perverted about a daughter snuggling up to her mom?”

“My little pervert.”

Ferio was absolutely sure he saw her smirking in Varia’s lap earlier.

“But we’re really back, huh?”

Leonia’s wide-awake eyes looked out the carriage window.

The familiar Voreoti estate in the capital was right in front of them. Leonia opened the window and stuck her head out.

“I’m ho~me!”

Her loud, beast cub voice reached the estate gates, where Tra, waiting outside, bowed in greeting.

When the carriage entered the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) estate—

“Rrgh!”

Leonia was the first to hop out and stretch her whole body wide. Her limbs were stiff from having slept curled up.

“Ugh, my aching joints...”

“People might think you’re a senior citizen.”

Why did a child act so old? Ferio rapped her gently on the head.

“Dad, I’m tired. Piggyback!”

“Not possible anymore.”

“Why?”

“You weigh a thousand pounds.”

Ferio replied coldly.

“Upsy-daisy!”

But Leonia ignored him entirely and jumped onto his back on her own.

The sudden leap made Ferio stumble forward.

“Hff! A man’s back shouldn’t be this weak!”

From his back, Leonia nagged while adjusting herself into a stable position.

“Leo, I’m going to scold you.”

“Try it, go on, scold me~”

The little beast cub, who only feared disinheritance, stuck out her tongue and teased him.

“Mom, I could piggyback you too!”

Watching from the side, Varia pouted in envy.

“I’ve been working out a lot lately. Look! I’ve got muscles!”

She flexed her arm proudly.

“......”

“......”

The beast father and daughter looked at her with expressions full of melancholy.

“Is Mom just naturally lean?”

“Doesn’t show much.”

“But look here. Mom’s biceps are like fairies born in flower petals.”

Crushed by disappointment, Varia looked visibly dejected.

“That means they don’t exist...”

Despite training hard with Ferio and Leonia in the North, her dream of strong arm muscles remained elusive.

“Mom, you’ve got two visible abs now!”

Leonia tried to console her.

“And that happened in a short time! That’s super impressive!”

“Let’s work out more... at night...”

“Why are you saying that with a kid on your back?!”

Leonia tugged Ferio’s hair, scolding him.

“Welcome back.”

Tra, who’d been watching with amusement, stepped in smoothly.

It had been five long months since the beast family last returned to the capital—and they were louder than ever.

“Tra!”

Leonia beamed at him.

“We’re back!”

Her hand still firmly clutching Ferio’s hair.

***

A week after their arrival in the capital—

“The sternocleidomastoid is beautiful.”

Leonia raised a perfectly inappropriate topic for breakfast. Because there were sausages on the table.

“Didn’t you say you liked the serratus anterior last time?”

Ferio asked, swallowing his food.

“When did it change again?”

“Dad, muscles are always beautiful.”

Leonia closed her eyes in bliss, praising the beauty of muscle.

“We actually had a passionate debate about this last night.”

Varia said as she cut up a well-grilled sausage and popped it into Leonia’s mouth.

Leonia opened her mouth like a baby bird and munched happily. The salty taste whetted her appetite.

“After discussing it with Mom, the area just below the collarbone felt extra charming.”

“Mom kept complimenting it a lot, you know.”

“Is that your favorite, Mom?”

“Well, to be honest, your dad’s collarbone area is gorgeous.”

Blushing, Varia confessed she had completely fallen for it.

“See? Mom’s got high standards. And Dad’s muscles are amazing!”

“Don’t get too excited about stating the obvious.”

Ferio pretended to worry about the two of them.

And felt a hint of emptiness.

Is this okay...?

Even Ferio, whose standards were far from ordinary, found the conversation at the breakfast table a little strange.

If anyone heard only the content, it sounded like they were objectifying his muscles.

...Whatever.

But he didn’t feel bad. So he let it go.

At this point, he’d reached the level where he could calmly accept having his muscles critiqued by Varia and Leonia.

In fact, when trying to seduce Varia at night, he’d sometimes suggest she study his muscles first.

After breakfast, the three went about their own schedules.

Ferio remained stuck at the estate dealing with paperwork that had piled up during his absence.

Meanwhile, Leonia and Varia were getting ready to attend a tea party they had been invited to.

Before they left, Ferio came to see them off.

“Memorize the names of anyone who gives you trouble.”

“I know.”

“Not a single one missing.”

“I said I know!”

Leonia grew visibly annoyed at the prolonged lecturing.

“So I’m supposed to memorize every annoying person’s name and report back to you, right? Got it, okay?!”

“This isn’t something to take lightly.”

Ferio narrowed his eyes.

“You know exactly what kind of place you’re going into.”

“Leo, listen to your father.”

Varia backed him up. Truthfully, she didn’t feel completely at ease either.

“...Okay.”

Leonia finally nodded, her energy deflating a little.

“I’ll be careful, so don’t worry too much.”

“I trust you’ll handle it well.”

Ferio gave Leonia a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his back in return.

“I’ll keep an eye on her, too.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Let’s go, Leo.” freewёbnoνel-com

“Mm...”

Leonia reached out and took Varia’s hand.

On her wrist was a golden bracelet—delicate and thin, wrapped around twice. A tiny swan charm dangled from it, a lovely little accessory.

***

The tea party hosted by Empress Tigria last late spring had been tepid at best—far too mild to be considered the true force of the empire’s “Capital Social Circle.”

With the Empress herself present, everyone naturally kept their mouths in check.

But the real capital social circle wasn’t nearly so gentle.

“Duchess Voreoti. Young Lady Voreoti.”

This time, the host was the wife of the Baron of the Kapher family.

The Kaphers were a noble family based in the capital with a long, respected lineage.

Which meant no one could afford to look down on them.

However, they had no particular ties to House Voreoti.

If you had to draw political lines, they leaned imperialist—and leaned more toward Pardus than Olor.

“This must’ve been quite a sudden invitation, so thank you for coming.”

The baroness greeted Leonia and Varia politely.

“I’ve been looking forward to this.”

Varia smiled lightly.

What she said a moment ago was by no means a compliment.

It meant: Your invitation was abrupt and rather pushy, but since I came all this way, I’ll be watching very closely to see just how well-prepared you are.

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