I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 93

The brief unveiling of the wristwatch had received an enthusiastic response.

‘Of course it did.’

Leonia, who had been pretending to be shy, curled her lips into a smirk.

‘My dad’s the model!’

The most powerful, most splendid man in the world—Duke Voreoti himself—had revealed his wrist for all to see.

A solid wrist wrapped in trained muscle. And around it, the wristwatch, elegant and refined, was a work of art in and of itself.

The skin partially hidden beneath the watch strap was more tantalizing than ever.

“Phewww!”

The little beast cub, smitten with her father’s charm, finally let out the admiration she had been holding in.

“Did you drink or something?”

Ferio, holding her in his arms, gave Leonia a light glare.

He checked the glass he had handed her earlier when she said she was thirsty. It didn’t smell like alcohol.

“I’m drunk on how cool you are.”

“You always waste your breath on the obvious.”

“That line just annoyed me a little.”

But since it was true, she’d let it slide—Leonia declared smugly.

Her little legs, dangling in the air, kicked lightly.

“Is ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) your performance over now?”

Ferio picked up a piece of fruit and fed it to her.

She’d claimed she’d act like a shy seven-year-old, but couldn’t hold it in for long and was back to her usual antics.

“Mmm! Mmmph mmmph...”

Leonia mumbled through a mouthful of fruit, her words unintelligible.

“Swallow first before talking.”

“...Seriously.”

After chewing and gulping it down, Leonia wagged her finger annoyingly.

“The real show hasn’t even started yet.”

Then she lifted her gaze upward.

At the highest point of the banquet hall, a yellow banner bearing the imperial golden eagle fluttered.

The little beast cub was still waiting for the prey that had yet to appear.

***

Leonia didn’t really know what a proper banquet was like.

The only social gatherings she had attended were tea parties hosted in rotation by noble parents, where they brought their children, or gossip sessions where noble ladies vented their stress over refined refreshments.

So this imperial banquet felt quite different.

“Why isn’t the Emperor here?”

Leonia asked as she looked up at the still-empty high seat.

“Because he lacks basic decency.”

“My lady, please know that this is truly an exception.”

Ferio openly cursed the Emperor, and Lupe hastily warned her not to take this as the norm.

“Normally, he would’ve appeared long ago. Especially since this event is also meant to honor the memory of the late Emperor.”

“Not seeing his face is easier on the stomach, though.”

The problem now was Leonia.

Even if she was still lively thanks to her long nap, no one could be sure how long a child who usually went to bed early could last.

“Damn... my chaos plan...”

Leonia knew her own body well.

She’d been sleeping more lately—probably growing fast—which made her a little anxious.

She assessed how she felt. At best, she estimated she had about one hour left.

‘Do I need to switch to Plan B?’

Should she show off her infamously bad sleepy tantrum? She was still deciding when—

“Duke Voreoti.”

“That was quite the impression earlier.”

Marquis Ortio and Marquis of Hesperi approached and offered their greetings.

East, West, and North.

Three of the five regions of the Empire were represented by the people now gathered.

That alone was enough to draw attention.

But the overpowering presence of these nobles naturally created distance from the surrounding crowd.

“Hello, young lady.”

Marquis Ortio was the first to greet her.

“It’s been a while since I saw you.”

The beautiful woman, her blue hair swept halfway back, smiled softly.

She was referring to when she had briefly encountered Leonia at the northern mansion.

“You’ve met the young lady before?”

Marquis of Hesperi sounded surprised, then turned to greet Leonia with a warm smile.

Leonia responded to both with a brief nod of acknowledgment.

“It’s a secret.”

Marquis Ortio smiled lightly.

Though it had only been a brief encounter when she had transformed into a snow leopard in the North, the marquis knew full well that the young lady had recognized her true identity.

The adults exchanged brief pleasantries and moved on to discussing the aftermath of the attempted illegal monster trade incident.

The matter hadn’t yet been publicly announced, so they avoided directly naming it—but Leonia understood perfectly.

“....”

During that exchange, Leonia slipped down from her father’s arms.

She was worried about how long Ferio had been holding her.

“The South didn’t show up again.”

Ferio said as he pulled Leonia close.

The child wrapped herself tightly around his leg like a doll.

“In some ways, they’re even more shut off than the North.”

Marquis Ortio responded, clearly not surprised.

“Marquis Meridio, yes, but Duke Aust too...”

The conversation shifted to the South.

‘Meridio and Aust.’

Leonia perked up her ears.

In the Bellius Empire, there had always been two ducal houses.

Voreoti, the Black Beast.

‘And the Sapphire Whale.’

Leonia recalled the other ducal house’s title.

There were only two dukes in the Empire—one ruling the North, and one the South.

Both houses shared a tendency to remain secluded from public affairs, but when it came to isolation, Aust surpassed Voreoti by far.

Everything about House Aust was a mystery.

Nothing was known about them.

At least the Voreotis ruled the North directly, commanding immense presence and power.

Even without trying, people envied and resented them.

But Aust had none of that.

Their movements were so vague that their ducal title almost seemed meaningless.

There were even old records suggesting that the title "Ruler of the South" had been handed over to the Marquis Meridio’s family long ago.

In fact, most people today would say that the Meridio family was the true ruler of the South.

But Leonia knew better.

‘It’s all a ruse.’

Just like how the Voreotis wield the power of the Fangs of the Beast, the Aust family had long inherited a mystical power of their own.

The Meridio family existed to serve the Austs—a kind of guardian house.

This was also why both houses used whales as their symbol, differing only in color.

Only the Voreotis, as fellow dukes, were aware of this truth.

Even the Imperial family knew nothing of Aust’s mysterious power.

“Good riddance if they didn’t come.”

As if this place was anything special anyway.

Marquis of Hesperi said it as a joke.

“Right?”

Ferio responded with equal humor, saying he was honestly jealous.

The conversation, which had been heading toward Meridio and Aust, ended there.

After all, what truly mattered now weren’t the southern nobles who hadn’t shown up.

“What about Olor?”

“They’re over there.”

Lupe pointed to a group gathered some distance away.

At the center were two men with red hair.

Viscount Olor and his adopted son.

“Marquis of Pardus, Grandpa.”

Leonia spotted the Marquis of Pardus among the group, seemingly engaged in cheerful conversation with them.

‘Poor man...’

But to Leonia’s eyes, it looked completely different.

Outwardly, he seemed to be enjoying the conversation.

But to her, it looked like he was forcing himself to smile, enduring it all.

As if he were complimenting and flattering people he couldn’t stand just to get through it.

Ferio thought the same.

“Father...”

Even Lupe looked at his father with pity.

‘Hardships in old age...’

Ferio even wondered, seriously, whether the marquis’s sly personality was a side effect of spending too much time with those kinds of people.

With that brief moment of sympathy for the marquis, Ferio turned his gaze toward the Olors.

And then immediately looked away.

He’d memorized their faces—no need to look any longer.

No reason to curse his dreams over that.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"That's Viscount Olor."

Marquis of Hesperi, who had been looking in the same direction, spoke quietly.

His voice was sharp—like a blade scraping against rough dirt.

It meant the marquis was deeply displeased.

And considering how harsh that tone was despite his clear attempt to suppress his anger, it said a lot.

He quickly composed himself when he noticed Leonia’s startled expression.

Leonia shook her head to show she was fine. The Marquis of Hesperi gave her an apologetic smile.

"So shameless."

Marquis Ortio wasn’t any fonder of the Red Swans either.

If this weren’t the Imperial Palace, she would’ve gone over there and hexed them on the spot.

Because of those people, three regions had suffered various degrees of damage.

"Olor..."

Leonia, peeking out from behind her father’s leg, muttered softly.

"That’s a foul word."

"Watch your mouth," Ferio warned, frowning.

Lupe nodded in agreement.

Leonia nodded too.

But she didn’t stop sneaking glances at Viscount Olor.

‘Well... he does have a nice face.’

Especially the viscount’s adopted son—he was a handsome man with gentle features.

The kind of face that looked too kind to ever ignore someone in need—an easy mark.

‘You really can’t judge people by their looks.’

Ferio, with his sharp, intimidating appearance, might not be kind, but he was a man of principle.

Meanwhile, Viscount Olor—handsome and gentle-looking—was one of the most notorious villains in the story.

Leonia had learned something new again.

Experience really was important.

‘Hmm...’

A question suddenly arose.

‘Now that I think about it, why is the South just letting this happen?’

Olor was an arrogant swan strutting around like he owned the place, even though the true lord of the South was Marquis Meridio.

And yet, no one seemed to question that.

It was one thing for Aust to stay silent—but for Meridio to turn a blind eye too? That was strange.

‘If it were my dad, he’d have half-killed them already.’

Which, in fact, he had.

Leonia recalled the fate of the three families that had tried to disrupt the North.

Voreoti despised having its territory encroached on or tainted.

Just like the beast carved into their crest, they had the instincts of territorial animals.

And Viscount Olor had dared to play games on the Black Beast’s land.

‘You’re all going to die soon.’

At the hands of my dad.

Leonia snorted quietly to herself, like she was blowing raspberries at them, and let out a low, growly breath as if she were the one who would punish them.

‘Seriously, I can’t stand them.’

Leonia was dumbfounded by how brazen the Olor father and son were.

Thanks to them, monsters had nearly spread across the Empire, which could have led to catastrophic casualties.

Yet here they were, shamelessly showing their faces at a banquet just because the incident hadn’t been made public yet.

‘Too bad they look normal.’

After cursing them thoroughly in her head, Leonia finally turned her gaze away.

"When His Grace showed the wristwatch earlier, Viscount Olor’s son was sneaking a look from the back."

Marquis Ortio added slyly, like a tattletale proud of catching someone red-handed.

"Now that I think about it, I heard he’s getting engaged?"

Marquis of Hesperi offered Leonia some grapes as he said this.

Leonia received them politely with both hands and munched on them.

‘Delicious!’

They were incredibly sweet green grapes.

Seeing the child enjoy them so much, the marquis smiled contentedly.

"That’s why everyone’s congratulating him these days."

"He still isn’t married?"

Ferio sounded surprised.

From what he remembered, Viscount Olor’s son was older than himself.

"Which family is it?"

Ferio silently prayed it wasn’t a northern house.

"A noble family from the South."

The House of Count Erbanu.

That name struck Leonia’s ears like a bell.