I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 255

"...What are you doing over there?"

The lady-in-waiting who served the Empress frowned.

Sent to check on the Duchess of Voreoti’s condition and convey greetings, she found several maids clumped together outside the door.

“Ah, well—!”

“It’s just that...”

Startled by the lady-in-waiting’s stern tone, the maids quickly stepped away from the door.

They were holding trays with fresh towels and neatly arranged fruit.

The lady-in-waiting’s gaze sharpened at the sight.

“It seems you've forgotten where you are. Eavesdropping on the guests instead of fulfilling your duties?”

“N-no, not at all!”

“That’s not what we were doing—!”

Just as the pale-faced maids were scrambling to defend themselves, a loud stream of nagging burst out from the crack of the door.

“...To elevate the dignity of House Voreoti—such a grand lady you are.”

“You followed that man without a weapon? What were you thinking?”

“If you’re going to be a duchess, you’d better have the skill to boss around the servants at least.”

“Why are you so hopelessly nice! Huh? Might as well be an angel in your next life!”

“From now on, don’t go out alone without a guardian.”

“Should we just nail the door shut?!”

“When we get home, I’ll buy a lovely shackle and give it to you as a present.”

“Will shackles be enough? Add handcuffs too.”

The relentless nagging barrage from the beastly father and daughter duo made the lady-in-waiting flinch.

“Um, ma’am...”

One of the maids bravely spoke up.

“We really were about to go in.”

“It’s just that the two of them were so... worried about the Duchess...”

“They were worrying too much...”

In short, they were too scared of Ferio and Leonia’s nagging to recklessly enter the room.

The lady-in-waiting sighed soundlessly.

“Wait here.”

Feeling a bit of sympathy for the maids, she knocked softly on the door.

“Excuse me.”

Only then did the exhausting barrage of nagging come to a halt. A drained voice from the duchess, saying “Sounds like someone’s here!” could be heard.

The moment the door opened, the maids hurriedly placed the items where they belonged and cleaned up the room.

“Her Majesty the Empress sends her regards. She regrets not being able to come herself due to her heavy schedule, but she asked me to check on the Duchess’s well-being.”

The lady-in-waiting respectfully conveyed the Empress’s message.

“I’m already receiving so much help as it is.”

Varia expressed her gratitude.

“...She should give more.”

Leonia grumbled, saying that after informing them about the rebellion and helping make her son the Crown Prince, this was hardly enough.

Ferio silently agreed with his daughter’s opinion.

“But... for what reason?”

Varia deliberately raised her voice in concern, worried the lady-in-waiting might feel hurt.

Fortunately, the lady-in-waiting showed no such reaction. Rather, she was sincerely impressed by Leonia’s boldness in demanding more from the Empress.

“Her Majesty wishes to speak with the Duke of Voreoti regarding the noble council today.”

“Oh, really?”

Just as Leonia was about to rise—

“Why are you getting up?”

Ferio pressed down on his daughter’s head and stood up himself. An exasperated Leonia quickly slapped away her father’s hand.

“What are you doing, Father?”

“She said she wants to speak to the Duke.”

“Exactly, so I—!”

Leonia growled, then suddenly stopped. A look of annoyance blossomed brightly across her face.

“It’s about how the noble council agenda was handled, isn’t it.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I think I did a damn good job, though?”

Leonia argued with a very indignant tone. She had expressed her opinion well, made the Viscount Olor taste the bitterness of life, and even held back her fury until the meeting ended.

But the lady-in-waiting shook her head apologetically.

“Though Lady Leonia Voreoti did attend in place of the Duke, unlike the Young Lord of Marquis Pardus, she did not submit an official letter of delegation.”

“Well, that’s because I was the Duke!”

“But the official certificate for the Duke of Voreoti...”

“Has my name on it.”

Ferio finished with an arrogant smirk.

Deeply sulking, Leonia clung to Varia and flopped onto the bed.

Clinging tightly to her mother’s waist, she tattled to the baby in her belly, “Dad’s so annoying.”

Varia comforted her, gently patting her back and assuring her it was alright.

“I’ll be back then.”

“Come back safely.”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“Might as well tell her to stop breathing too.”

Ferio and Varia exchanged a light kiss, and only after letting his sulking daughter’s grumbling farewells pass through one ear and out the other did Ferio follow the lady-in-waiting out of the room.

Even after that, Leonia stayed lying down for quite some time.

“...Hey, Mom.”

Rolling around the wide bed, Leonia suddenly came to a stop.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

She spoke gently.

Varia thought for a moment about what her daughter meant and gave a bitter smile.

“No, I should’ve been more careful—”

“There was nothing to be careful about.”

Leonia slowly sat up and spoke seriously.

“The reason Dad and I scolded you so much... was because we were scared and worried something might’ve happened to you.”

Neither of them had ever believed what happened was Varia’s fault.

“Mom just wanted to go out, and you took knights with you for safety.”

Being concerned when a child selling flowers nearly got hurt—that wasn’t wrong at all.

“The bad one is Remus.”

“...”

“Mom, and those children who were taken hostage...”

And all the countless victims who had suffered at the hands of the Olor family.

And Varia’s first life, lost because she refused to give up her beliefs.

And Regina, who had once loved garbage like Remus.

Leonia didn’t want any of them to believe their wounds were due to ignorance or weakness.

Regret was unavoidable—but the blame always lay with the one who inflicted the pain.

“You did well, Mom!”

Leonia grinned and gently patted Varia’s shoulder.

“...”

Varia, who had been listening quietly, felt her eyes grow moist. Leonia quickly wiped her mother’s tears with the sleeve of her newly changed clothes, urging her not to cry.

“My daughter...”

Varia sniffled and smiled as if she held the whole world in her arms.

“You always make me feel so happy.”

“Well, that’s ‘cause I’m on your side!”

It’s only natural—we’re family!

The little beast answered confidently.

She felt a bit shy that her words made her mother cry, but hearing that it made her happy still filled her with joy.

The mother and daughter held each other tightly.

“Come on, stop crying. I don’t want my little sibling to be a crybaby too.”

Leonia hugged her mother tightly and patted her back.

“...Did Regina get to rest peacefully?”

Leonia recalled the lioness who had once cried as she looked at her.

It was a moment she’d kept in a corner of her heart, and only now that everything had calmed down did she speak it aloud.

“Are you curious?”

Varia suddenly spoke with a mischievous tone, giggling.

“...Why are you talking like that?”

Leonia frowned. That tone was nothing like the Varia who always thought fondly of Regina.

“You sound like some weird kid...”

She looked up at her mother and froze.

“Want me to tell you if you’re curious?”

In Varia’s eyes, black mist shimmered.

“You...!”

Leonia’s body tensed, and she slowly backed away. Even the rustling of the blanket was cautious.

As the distance grew, golden mist began to rise in Leonia’s black eyes.

“Who are you.”

The little beast bristled with sharp wariness.

Varia laughed brightly.

“We met earlier, remember? Over there.”

She pointed out the window.

Leonia realized there was a Gate connected to the North in that direction.

But she didn’t welcome the being inhabiting her mother.

“Shut up and get out.”

Instead, she grew even angrier and demanded that it leave Varia’s body at once.

“Do you even know how much danger you put my family in today because of you?!”

“How arrogant and disrespectful.”

The being inside Varia frowned and snapped its fingers. The golden mist in Leonia’s eyes vanished.

“You know exactly where that power came from.”

The deity silenced the power of Leonia’s Fangs.

“I didn’t come to fight you.”

With a serene smile, the god tried to calm Leonia down.

Of course, it didn’t work at all—Leonia bared her teeth, remembering what had happened in the Northern Mountains.

“Why did you interfere earlier?!”

“I had no choice.”

The god raised its hands and shrugged. Leonia hated seeing that expression on her mother’s face more than anything.

The god simply looked at her with amusement.

“I made a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“With Regina.”

The mention of that ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) name instantly changed the god’s expression to something serious. Leonia’s eyes widened, and she fell silent.

“She said she couldn’t go on like this.”

Regina, who had returned to the arms of the divine, was suffering.

She was in agony.

She said she couldn’t rest like this.

She pleaded to let go of her resentment.

Leonia’s eyes trembled violently.

“So that lioness really was Regina...!”

“No.”

At that moment, a small lioness leapt into the air. It pranced around the god and then ran toward Leonia.

“That’s just the source of power.”

“Source?”

“The true form of the power you call the Fangs of the Beast.”

As the explanation ended, the lioness vanished like smoke. Leonia, who had watched it in wonder, turned back to the god.

The black mist covering its green eyes thickened.

“That power is both our love and trial for the Voreoti line. It is with you from birth, and when you die, it returns to us.”

“But...”

Leonia recalled the lioness with sky-blue tears.

“Regina was crying.”

“I said it wasn’t Regina.”

The god grumbled, annoyed.

“Regina is dead.”

That harsh judgment—that she had died a ridiculous death for a Voreoti—twisted Leonia’s expression.

But the god was unrelenting.

“It’s bad enough she died like that...”

The god, who had been criticizing coldly, suddenly fixed its gaze on Leonia.

“But to drag another Voreoti into death as well.”

“Another... Voreoti?”

“The true owner of that body.”

Leonia swallowed dryly as the god pointed at her. Even from a distance, it felt like she was being pierced.

“Still, I’m not blaming you.”

The god retracted its finger and softened its expression.

Leonia was more surprised by the fact that this being didn’t seem to hate Regina as much as she expected.

“Anyway, what you saw wasn’t Regina.”

The god finally revealed the lioness’s true identity.

“It was a Fang soaked in Regina’s resentment.”