I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter

“I don’t know.”

Lupert shrugged.

“I have no authority over the Duke’s lower body.”

“You are so good at lying because you look so much like me.”

Marquis Pardus entered the unoccupied office. He put the box he was carrying on the table and sat comfortably in the chair. Lupert asked as he poured the tea.

“So you can tell right away.”

Because the Marquis was so good, he was able to notice it.

“You’re talking like you know something.”

As the Marquis drank the tea handed to him, he grinned. His mustache wiggled slightly.

“It must be a daughter from a relative that died the other day.”

Lupert’s eyes widened. The Marquis said his reasoning as if he was surprised once more. In fact, this degree was not even included in the axis of the Marquis’ reasoning.

“Eloping with an unidentified wandering knight, on a day when it rained, which was rare even in the north, the carriage fell into overflowing water, but the bodies of the two were nowhere to be found.”

The heavy rain must have erased all traces of the two people who ran away.

“Ten years have already passed since that day, and if the two of them survived and escaped safely at that time, there would be enough to have one child. Well, honestly, I thought they both drowned.”

The face of the Marquis, who said that it was a bit surprising to have survived, was only calm. Lupert stared at his father, who had recognized Leonia’s identity at once, with a surprised look. After receiving such glances often, he shrugged his shoulders like his son before. Lupert’s face turned red.

“Did you not know?”

“Even the Duke didn’t know.”

Lupert used Pelliot, who was not present, as an excuse.

“……  can’t help it.”

The Marquis lowered the teacup and moved his eyes lightly.

“Because the Duke hated Miss Regina.”

“He didn’t hate her.”

“She was a person with a flower garden in her head.”

His youngest son liked Regina, but his father, Marquis Pardus, was the little polar opposite. He was one of the few people who viewed Regina negatively. She was rather unhelpful for Voreotti, and he had even been coldly criticized.

“Father talking about Miss Regina’s life and death…….”

“no.”

Marquis Pardus said in a clear voice.

“I don’t pry behind the master.”

The previous duke also gave up on Regina, who ran away eloping, and so did Pelliot. Marquis Pardus also had no intention of following after such an insane person. Rather, the fact that such a person had disappeared from the Voreotti family made him feel at least a bit of comfort.

Although it was a cruel sentiment, to the Marquis, Regina was just that.

“But Lady Leonia’s is very interesting.”

Her skinny cheeks gained weight, and thanks to her feeling a peace of mind and body in the Duchy, Leonia became so healthy that he hadn’t recognized it. And she looked so similar to Pelliot.

The precious black color embracing her body, raised eyebrows, and even her straight lips.

“The face is too, but…….”

In addition to that, she looks as if she had lived her entire life, and she looked more confident and mature than her peers.

As soon as people saw Leonia, they were convinced that she was Pelliot’s illegitimate child. Even the Marquis was skeptical even though he had confirmed the secret of the child’s birth.

“In any case, the rumor that she is the Duke’s real daughter would be much better for the Lady.”

“Of course.”

Pelliot entered through the roughly open door. As Marquis Pardus rose from his seat and was about to prepare himself, Pelliot raised his hand to prevent it. The Marquis shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the table with a nod to Lupert.

“I have caused trouble to the  Lady.”

“That is unheard of.”

“It was a good thing I bought the fluffy cloud cream puff.”

Leonia, who was wary of him but couldn’t take her eyes off of the cream puffs, was an innocent child. Pelliot knew it too, so when he went to pick up the child, he just took the cream puff from the Marquis’ hand.

“Next time, I will buy a better snack.”

“Don’t come.”

“I have to look good to the next Duke of Borreotti.”

“Did you bring it?”

Pelliot lightly ignored the Marquis’ smirk. Lupert, who was waiting next to him, immediately opened the box. It was another box that the Marquis Pardus had brought. When the velvet fabric was removed, a lattice pattern of repeated light and dark colors was revealed.

When the lid of the box was opened, there were thirty-two sculptures trapped in a narrow compartment.

It was a chess piece.

Lupert pulled out all the chess pieces. All were works of art crafted with precious jewels from the Northern mines. Unlike ordinary chess pieces, they had a variety of colors and more diverse animal shapes.

“I want to destroy this.”

In fact, Pelliot muttered as if he did not know the value of it. In his hand was a swan chess piece carved out of a red ruby.

“The price of one mansion on one chess piece.”

“In the northern part, the gems are widespread.”

“To be precise, it was only found in Duchy Voreotti.”

Each piece was placed on the chessboard where the marquis had corrected the pieces.

“I have learned about the recent situation in the north and the situation of smuggling goods.”

“You are very late.”

“I’m sorry.”

The chessboard was filled with a tapping, light sound.

“There must have been circumstances.”

“It is an honor for you to understand.”

Pelliot tapped the black chess piece in the shape of a lion with his finger. It was a black diamond mined only in the north, and only in very small amounts.

The chess pieces divided into two pieces were colorful. There were mainly black and white chess pieces in front of Pelliot, and red and yellow chess pieces in front of Marquis Pardus. And next to Pelliot’s seat, a blue chess piece stood alone like a spare dragon.

“…… Count Mereocca family.”

One of the chess pieces in front moved. It was a pawn carved out of a chameleon.

The chess between Pelliot and Marquis Pardus began.

“They are a noble who moved from the center. After the last countess had a very serious accident, they received a lot of rebuke from above. Duke Voreotti demanded a huge compensation.”

“Baron Gliss.”

Tap, another chess piece moved.

“This is a new noble who has just been given the title. Originally from a merchant family, the youngest daughter got a job as an administrator, and was rarely granted title and territories. The previous Duke Voreotti was appointed as deputy under the orders of the imperial family.”

The two continued to talk while moving their pieces in turn. Each time the black chess piece moved, Pelliot asked a question, and the Marquis Pardus answered the question by moving the red and yellow pieces of chess.

The black pieces caught by Marquis Pardus were received by Lupert and put in a separate box. It was Mereocca and Gliss.

Pat, pat.

Only the sound of moving chess pieces echoed in the quiet office.

“Count Tabanus.”

A chess piece in the shape of a disgusting fly was placed in front of the Marquis.

“It’s a headache.”

The hand of the Marquis, who had no momentum to stop, stopped for the first time.

“This is a long-established migrant family in the North. It’s from the south. It’s not like our family, but, well, it has a history. And it’s an imperial sect to the bone. You must have been tired of seeing it in the capital for three years, so you know it.”

Marquis Pardus smiled as if he was stunned as he recalled the time. On the other hand, the curves between Pelliot’s flat eyebrows became thick. He was so annoyed that he wanted to nail Count Tabanus’ head to the table in the conference room at the time.

“He was the one who said that the mistress should be made the empress.”

This was the reason Pelliot stayed in a mansion in the capital for the past three years and went in and out of the Imperial Palace.

After the abdication of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, who was about to ascend to the throne, suddenly announced the mistress as Empress. Even though the Crown Princess, who gave birth to two of his children, is still alive.

In order to prevent this, the northern nobles, including Pelliot, and the western nobles who supported the crown prince stayed in the capital for three years and put pressure on the imperial family. Even the East, which always maintains neutrality, expressed the opinion that this should not be done.

Of course, the South, to which the mistress’ family belongs, approved of this.

‘It was a shameful time.’

It was the black history of the current emperor that will remain for a long time in the history of the empire even if they think about it again. Eventually, the Crown Princess became the Empress unharmed, and the mistress reached an agreement to become the concubine.

“…… Anyway.”

Marquis Pardus continued to look at Pelliot’s eyes. If only the capital and the imperial family were involved, it would be so unpleasant, so it was reasonable to skip the topic quickly.

“Since then, Count Tabanus has been staying in the capital mansion. He was on the other side of the Duchy, so he won’t come to the North for a while, even if he’s afraid.”

“In Tabanus’ mansion, where Mereoca and Gliss sent people?”

“The eldest son of Tabanus is the deputy head of the family.”

At the same time the Marquis moved the white goat chess piece.

“…… Yes, he ran the merchant alliance.”

Count Tabanus used the connections in the center and the south to run a fairly large merchant alliance. It was the third largest in the North.

Pelliot rolled the corners of his eyes languidly.

“How did you catch a baby monster? I wonder…….”

Tabanus’ merchant alliance buys and sells herbs that grow wild in the north and the appendages of monsters caught and killed by the Knights of Gladigo. All items for sale had powerful effects.

If so, the behavior of the monsters that Mono, the vice-captain of the Knights Order said was exceptionally chaotic during the last breeding season was easily explained. Since they already have the ingredients with strong effects, they would have hired two or three wizards to make the medicine. Encouraging the breeding of monsters and catching the newborn babies was that easy.

“Then.”

One of Pelliot’s eyebrows rose.

“It’s going west.”

A white goat chess piece moved by Marquis Pardus a while ago. White is the color that symbolizes the west, and the upper part of the north had to move to the west in order to go to the central capital. A large mountain range was blocking the road between the capital and the north, and it was because the road was steep.

So who can help Tabanus’ scheme?

Pelliot twisted the corners of his lips.

Western nobles were involved here.

“…… They used their head.”

Soulless laughter flew through the air from the quiet office.

“It was aiming for Her Majesty the Empress.”

It was a masterwork attempt to scratch Empress Tigria, the daughter of Marquis Hesperi family, the owner of the West. At the same time, it’s better to touch the thorny north altogether.

“Who’s head?”

“You don’t know?”

The marquis moved the red piece. it was a swan

“Olor…….”

Viscount Olor.

“He was a fool who earned the title of Viscount for having a clever daughter.”

“Recently, the center of the South is the Olor family.”

“Even if Marquis Meridio is doing his best?”

Marquis Meridio was the old master of the South.

“The South now is not the old South.”

At the words of Marquis Pardus, Pelliot thought of Pavo from the south. He came to the North in admiration of the most powerful Knights of Gladigo in the Empire, but he was also fed up with the changes in his hometown.

“Whales in the water, swans above the water.”

The whale is unable to even come to the surface due to the loud kick of the swan. This meant that Viscount Olor was taking over the South in place of Marquis Meridio.