I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter

Ferio had only hired two tutors for his daughter. And yet, not a single one of them was normal. One tested the employer’s daughter instead of teaching her, while the other subtly belittled her with veiled words.

‘Uncle really is something else.’
How did he manage to gather only such peculiar people around his daughter?
Still, Leonia didn’t doubt that Ferio had hired them with sincere intentions. On the day he departed, she had eventually succumbed to the cold and drowsiness, dozing off in a maid’s arms. Yet even through the haze of sleep, she clearly remembered the warmth of his hand as he stroked her head and the sound of his voice as he said he would return.

‘Grandfather Ardea isn’t a bad person, at least.’
Thankfully, Ardea was dedicated to his role as a tutor.
Leonia diligently read the assigned portions of her books, jotting down any questions or confusing passages before bringing them to Ardea. Whenever she encountered a roadblock, she immediately sought clarification and reviewed the material on the spot.

At some point, Ardea’s demeanor began to change. The gentle old man, who had only answered the questions she brought to him, gradually transformed into a demanding instructor who anticipated her struggles and began proactively teaching her new material, bombarding her with questions about what she thought and how she understood things.
At the same time, the quality of the lessons improved.
After class, they would often share meals or snacks together, engaging in idle chatter, and their relationship naturally deepened.

"Teacher, what kind of person is the Countess of Tedros?"
"The Countess of Tedros…"
Leonia posed her question while they were eating together, as usual. Ardea, who had been cutting a jelly-like grain dessert made from ground beans, muttered the name several times under his breath, as if retrieving it from his memories.

"I remember her."
Then, he gave a firm nod.
"Though the name I recall isn’t Tedros."

The name Ardea remembered was Kerena Mereocha. It was the name Kerena had used before marriage.
"The House of Count Mereocha is a noble family with enough prestige to maintain an estate in the capital. However, unlike other old-line aristocrats, they are newcomers who settled in the North from the central regions. Because of that, they don’t hold as much sway here as they do in the capital."
Whether it was due to some personal dissatisfaction with the Mereocha family or merely the pride of a native northerner, Ardea’s words carried a clear distinction.

"For reference, old-line aristocrats are those who, along with the Voreoti family, have defended the North from the very beginning."
Tracing back through history, most of them were once cadet branches of House Voreoti.
"Some of them are even born with the fangs of a beast."
Like Regina, perhaps? Leonia nodded at the thought.

"And the former Lady Mereocha…"
Ardea reminisced about his time in the capital, which wasn’t all that long ago.
"…was famous in high society."

It wasn’t much different from what Ferio had said.
"She’s someone who carries poison."
That, however, was something Ferio hadn’t mentioned, making it all the more intriguing.

"She’s a person who has mastered the art of toying with others."
"Why is it that people with that kind of talent always turn out rotten?"
"It’s just the way things are—those with talent tend to be even more insufferable."

Of course, Ardea added with an innocent expression, that he himself was an exception to that rule.
"In any case, Countess Kerena Tedros is someone who manipulates people with words."
Be careful, my lady. Ardea took the opportunity to warn Leonia to be wary of Kerena.

"Her words of concern and praise are always coiled like a serpent, concealing insults and disdain beneath the surface."
And words, at times, could cut far deeper than a finely honed blade.
"The wounds left by words do not heal easily."

It wasn’t the sort of advice one typically gave to a seven-year-old. However, over the past three weeks, Ardea had come to understand that Leonia was far more intelligent and perceptive than other children her age. That was why he spoke to her seriously.
"…You’ve already been on the receiving end, haven’t you?"
Leonia, who had been eyeing Ardea’s half-eaten jelly dessert, flinched. Seizing the moment, Ardea slid the plate away from her. His gaze was filled with concern as he looked at her.

This translation is the intellectual property of .
"…Three times."
Leonia confessed.

Over the past three weeks, during the single weekly lesson she had with Kerena, the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ woman had relentlessly ridiculed and belittled her origins in the most cunning and insidious ways.
"Not that any of it got to me."
"Heh…"

"The Countess of Tedros is practically begging me to kill her…"
Having successfully swiped a piece of Ardea’s jelly dessert, Leonia lifted the corner of her lips ever so slightly.
"…Shouldn’t I grant her wish?"

But her eyes remained utterly devoid of amusement.
"I’m going to tattle on her as soon as Uncle comes back."
Ardea clicked his tongue in sympathy for Kerena. At the same time, he marveled—though with a hint of trepidation—at Leonia’s cunning.

He had spent the past three weeks acutely aware that this child was not just intelligent but outright formidable. Despite her young age, she was undeniably a black beast of the North. She had inherited Ferio’s cold, ruthless nature completely. The little beast before him was crouching low, waiting. Waiting for the moment to rise and bare her hidden fangs.
‘The House of Count Tedros is finished.’
Ardea silently offered his condolences in advance for their inevitable downfall.

***
"Kiiieeeek!"
With a grotesque cry, the monster vomited black blood and collapsed with a thud.

Ferio flicked his bloodied sword through the air. The blade sliced through the wind, sending droplets of dark blood scattering across the pristine white snow.
"Sir Ceres."
Mono approached from nearby. Ferio steadied his breathing and scanned his surroundings.

"Where’s the offspring?"
"There are no signs that it followed."
"Even considering that you all handled mountain clearing without me for three years, and that this has been a particularly active breeding season for the beasts, this is still strange."

Ferio stepped closer to the corpse of the monster he had just slain. With a nudge of his boot, he rolled the carcass onto its side. His black eyes shifted as he observed the monster’s exposed belly.
Its teats were swollen—evidence that it had recently given birth.
"…Bifera aren’t even supposed to be hunting targets."

The creature he had just slain was a bifera, a type of beast that gave birth in winter and spent the season in its den with its young until the following spring. Though large and predatory in appearance, they primarily fed on small creatures like mice and posed no threat to humans unless provoked.
And yet, this one was wandering alone without its offspring.
Even when he extended his sharpened senses—enhanced by his beast’s fangs—he could detect no traces of the newborn, only the faint presence of the mother who had just been killed.

"The monsters are far more aggressive than I remember, and the young are nowhere to be found…"
Ferio tilted his head slightly. Though the movement was slight, Mono and the other knights instinctively lowered their heads, as if bracing themselves. The suffocating silence spread across the snow-covered mountain like a looming shadow.
"…We’re descending the mountain."

After three weeks and three days, the hunt had finally come to an end.
The moment Ferio issued his order, the knights exhaled in relief. The long and tedious hunt was finally over. The regular knights and trainees who had joined the expedition for the first time looked as if they would collapse from sheer exhaustion.