I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter

Chapter 19

She soon noticed the Voreoti manor’s employees lined up in the entrance hall, and she slowed her steps. Then she came down gracefully, as if nothing had happened, and she stood before Leonia.

“Madam Tedros.”

Pavo warned in a stern voice.

“That’s enough.”

The escort knight did not allow Cerena to come any closer to Leonia’s side. Connie was also very wary by hiding Leonia behind the width of her skirt.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that she seems to have misunderstood something…”

“Misunderstood?”

The innocent, good-natured child’s eyes narrowed for an instant.

“I guess I unintentionally…”

“Unintentionally?”

“…I, I think I hurt your feelings.”

“Hurt my feelings?”

For Leonia, Cerena’s utterances were just disturbing. Cerena was looking into the child’s eyes.

‘No, this is…’

More precisely, Cerena was frightened.

At the same time as she realized a little late—the temperature inside the front hall began to cool down slowly. A golden mist slowly rose in Leonia’s dark eyes, which had barely subsided.

‘Damn it!’

Pavo noticed a change in the child. The fangs were activated again.

“Miss Connie! Step aside right now…!”

He tried to tell her to hurry up and go, but it was already late.

“Ah, aahh…!”

Connie sat down as if pierced by the fangs of the beast and her whole body trembled. She wasn’t the only one. Ordinary employees who had never experienced the fangs firsthand were frightened by the child’s not yet developed fangs and collapsed or couldn’t catch their breath.

Cerena, who was right in front of Leonia, was even worse.

Step, step.

The Miss approached the lady, who was sitting on her knees as if punished.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

The sweet, cold voice whispered in her ear.

“The Madam’s words will always be engraved in my heart.”

Leonia pointed her finger at Cerena’s chest.

“On the first day, you told me that I have to fill in the many gaps where I am lacking. On the second day, you said that I should work even harder to repay the Duke’s benevolence as he brought me in. The next day after that, you were worried that it would be difficult to shake off the old habits that were stuck on my body.”

Her fingers moved up slowly, stopping under Cerena’s quivering chin.

“Are you afraid I don’t even know what those words really mean?”

You are an illegitimate child. You have to know your place. You should know that you were just lucky. No matter how hard you try, your lowly past will not disappear.

As Leonia interpreted the hidden meanings as if she was reciting a poem, Cerena’s blue eyes grew smaller and smaller. She couldn’t see the naive child who just listened to her teacher. The daughter of Duke Voreoti, who held this arrogant noblewoman’s life in her hands, did not smile any longer.

The black eyes tinged with gold were not human at all.

“And what did you say to me today?”

“Misun, misunde…”

“Hmm?”

“That, that, I mean, it’s a mis, misunderstanding…”

“Ah. Misunderstanding.”

Leonia nodded her head softly.

“Didn’t you look at me today and say I should know my place? That I shouldn’t be any more of a nuisance to the Duke. So what did you mean by that today? This time, unlike before, you couldn’t hide your true intentions.”

Leonia stroked Cerena’s cheek.

“To my ears, it sounded like a saying that I am nothing but a nuisance to the Duke’s family…”

Leonia had a dead expression on her face, as if showing disappointment.

“In your eyes, what kind of place do I have here, Madam?”

Wherever the child’s soft palms passed, they became hot as if she was being scorched with a hot iron. Cerena was afraid and in pain, but she couldn’t even scream—and as she was terrified, only tears fell from her eyes.

“A filthy illegitimate child? From an orphanage without a mother?”

The tears dripped down her chin, seeping into the hem of the skirt.

Pavo huffed as watching from behind them.

‘This is bad…!’

The beast’s fangs went wild. From Leonia’s back, the golden energy that was slowly rising shook unsteadily. It was because she hadn’t properly trained her fangs yet, so it didn’t have a proper shape.

That’s why she was dangerous.

A young beast can’t handle this power properly.

The air, slowly freezing from Leonia’s surroundings, now spread throughout the entrance hall. No matter how cold it was, there was frost inside the mansion that had a warm feeling, and the windows became brittle and even cracked. In addition, every time Cerena made an excuse, large, sharp icy thorns came up from the floor at random, encircling the two of them.

As if to express a beast’s intentions, the icy thorn barely passed Cerena as if it would pierce through.

Drops of blood were forming on the edge of the ice as it passed her. Red blood flowed from the noblewoman’s body, where the expensive fabric and hem tore, and the hem of her skirt, which she was wearing, was gradually dyed deep red.

She was terrified, and it was not strange that she collapsed immediately and froze.

But Leonia did not allow even this.

Crunch. Cerena’s white cheeks, which Leonia was stroking, were covered with cold ice.

‘Come on, stop it!’

However, Pavo was also pierced by the fang and could not even do a thing. Of course, he was in a better position than Cerena, who was right in front of Leonia, and also the servants who had no resistance to the effects. But at the very best, he could only lift one finger.

‘If Milord was here…!’

If only he was here, he was the only one who could subdue those little fangs!

Pavo cried out inwardly.

“…What a mess.”

At that time.

“You did say you were going to make a mess, but I can’t believe you’re really doing it.”

What a mannerless daughter.

The only savior who can overcome this situation has appeared.

With a package of ‘Fluffy Cloud Cream Puffs’ in one hand.

* * *

As the knights returned from a long expedition watched the Duchy of Voreoti getting closer and closer, both their eyes were moved with emotion. Some of them even sniffled and wiped their tears with their sleeves.

“Finally back…!”

“This is our house! Well, not really, but still…!”

Whether they want to soak their body in hot water, or they want to accompany a cold drink with an oily snack. Or the knights who even say they want to be alone.

Pelliot, who was silently looking at the fussy servants, lowered his gaze.

‘Something delicious when you come…’

In his hand, there was a cute box packed with six ‘Fluffy Cloud Cream Puffs’ that he bought when he stopped at the town square. It was a combination that didn’t go well with the scruffy appearance after not being able to bathe properly for a month.

“…….”

Mono looked at the box of cream puffs with compassionate eyes.

“Why didn’t Your Grace ask your subordinates to buy it?”

“I was asked to buy it myself, so I should buy it.”

Pelliot carefully handled the box. Still, Mono thought that it was a gift, and that the Miss must know that Pelliot had handpicked the ribbon decorations on the wrapping paper.

‘The puffery owner won’t be able to sleep tonight.’

Mono could not forget the terrified face of the bakery owner.

How could he not be afraid? Knights armed with swords and armor came to the shop like it was normal.

Apparently, they unintentionally created a terrifying atmosphere due to being homeless and after hunting monsters for a month. In addition, Pelliot, who led them, was no ordinary person.

‘Fluffy cloud cream puffs, to go.’

Pelliot turned around with a pack of cream puffs covered in armor splattered with monster blood, and he looked like a rare hero who confidently struck down the numbers of the enemy’s army.

“…The Lady will be delighted.”

The bakery won’t be open for a while, but Mono was very pleased with Pelliot’s care of Leonia. As someone who watched him up close from childhood, he was quite happy with the change.

“I’m glad you didn’t complain.”

Pretending not to be, Pelliot’s lips opened.

“Perhaps Milady is waiting for you at the front door.”

“It’s her naptime right now.”

“The Miss must be up waiting for the Master a lot.”

This was absolutely certain, Mono said sincerely. There were no words in reply, but Mono noticed Pelliot’s very slight nod of his head. Pelliot was also expecting to meet Leonia to some extent.

Mono was delighted. These two wild beasts, who were brought together through impulsive adoption, became a real family.

‘Mister!’

It was easy to imagine Leonia running towards Pelliot as he returned.

However, what greeted them was not such a warm scene.

The footsteps of the knights who returned to the longed-for mansion stopped for a moment. It was because they felt an unusual energy around the Voreoti manor, to which they returned after a month. The Knights of Gladigo froze as they felt the merciless atmosphere that threatened the breath of all life around them. It was a crude, wild, murderous energy.

“…Beast’s fang?”

Mono’s face, who was trying to refute his murmuring as nonsense, became unsure for an instant.

In Voreoti, there was one black beast other than Pelliot.

“Master!”

Mono exclaimed. Pelliot was already staring intently at the mansion. The red highlights on his black eyes were proof that he was reacting to the clumsy and unstable fangs that could be felt in the mansion.

“Everyone get away.”

“Master! We’ll go with—!”

“You’ll be a hindrance.”

Pelliot coldly pushed aside the knights who were trying to follow him and headed for the mansion alone.

He quickly grasped the situation, feeling Leonia’s power becoming clearer.

‘The power is unstable. It’s pretty messy.’

Leonia still can’t handle her fangs properly. The young beast, untrained, would be unable to overcome their temper. At best, what’d be exposed would only be the tips of her fangs. If such a child had activated fangs with great energy that enveloped the mansion, there was only one conclusion.

‘Fury.’

Pelliot lowered his voice. It is an urgent situation that could seriously injure Leonia herself as well as the people in the mansion.

“…What a mess.”

Pelliot entered the mansion and was amazed at the sight unfolding before his eyes.

The employees, crushed without warning by Leonia’s fangs, were collapsed here and there, shivering from the cold and murderous energy. Unrefined energy attacked everyone without even distinguishing between sides. Because of the sunken air, there were even icicles in various places.

“You did say you were going to make a mess, but I can’t believe you’re really doing it.”

Pelliot, who was walking briskly as his breaths came out as fog, held out his arm.

“Leonia.”

The child he held in his arms after a month was much heavier than he remembered. She ate well and had a good time, so her cheeks were quite chubby.

“Your dad came back, but you weren’t even there to greet me.”

However, the child was in such a precarious state that she did not notice Pelliot. Although her father, who had returned after a month, was in front of her, the daughter could not answer.

Exhaling slowly only with a stifled breath, Leonia was quite exhausted. She couldn’t hold back her anger and couldn’t properly control the burst of power coming from within her.