I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter
Chapter 217

Prince Chrisetos had come to the Voreoti estate to ask about the ceremony of honor held earlier that day.

But the moment he arrived, he was shocked once by seeing Leonia among the knights, shocked a second time when she caught him off guard and dragged him into her ridiculous game, and shocked a third time by the shameless repetition of this absurd play.

I’d better stay on Voreoti’s good side...

The prince told himself for the thousandth time.

If I get on her bad side, that crazy duke will have my head...!

Next to him, as Prince Chrisetos imagined his grim future as a whimpering victim under the rule of Leonia the Mad Duke, Princess Scandia quietly watched only Leonia.

Leonia was bouncing excitedly in front of Varia, passionately explaining just how much joy the “Dark Duke” game brought her.

Varia gently rolled up Leonia’s sleeves with a kind smile.

“It’s so much fun! Mom, do you want to play too?”

“Mom’s fine. I don’t have to.”

Varia declined, saying she wasn’t suited to be a Dark Duke.

“Well, yeah. If we’re being honest, you’re more of a ‘Silly Pureheart.’”

“What’s that?”

“One of the few traits that can defeat a Dark Duke.”

The pendant around Leonia’s neck swayed as she spoke nonsense with her corrupted childlike spirit.

“......”

Princess Scandia couldn’t take her eyes off that necklace.

She’s actually wearing it...

The princess hadn’t expected Leonia to really wear the necklace she’d given her.

At the same time, she was relieved that she’d worn the wristwatch Leonia had gifted her when coming here today.

Somehow, that thought made her happy.

She gently fiddled with the wristwatch on her left hand, her emotions clearly written across her face.

“What are you grinning ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) about again?” grumbled her brother, still oblivious to her thoughts.

“This place is seriously weird. Does Voreoti think this kind of narcissistic display is fun? How long are we going to keep doing this crazy nonsense?!”

“For someone who barged in uninvited, you sure talk big.”

“What do you mean ‘big’? No sane person would ever—”

Prince Chrisetos’s words froze in his mouth.

“Ever?”

Without a sound, Ferio had descended and now stood squarely in front of the prince and princess.

“And what comes after ‘ever’?”

His fierce black eyes welcomed his guests with violent intensity. The knights had long since fled the scene.

“N-Nothing important...”

Chrisetos stammered, his lips trembling harder than an earthquake.

“It better not be.”

“O-Of course not.”

“Words are like water in a cup.”

Once spilled, they can’t be gathered again.

In other words, Ferio had heard everything.

I want to faint.

Chrisetos closed his eyes, silently saying farewell to what remained of his lifespan.

“I see your escort came with you.”

Ferio turned his sharp gaze to Princess Scandia. She instinctively hid her left hand behind her back and awkwardly turned her head. Ferio’s expression grew even colder.

“Dad!”

That’s when Leonia came running up.

“I was having fun! Why are you interrupting?!”

“I’m not interrupting. I came down because I heard you were harassing the knights.”

“When did I harass them?!”

“There were multiple reports that you kept sneaking glances at their muscles as you walked between them.”

“Tch.”

Leonia clicked her tongue regretfully, disappointed that her secretive admiration had been exposed.

“Anyway, what’s that on your neck?”

Ferio finally noticed the pendant necklace around his daughter’s neck. At the same time, he glared at the princess with a murderous intensity. Scandia gulped.

“Looks good on me, right?”

Leonia smirked, fiddling with the necklace.

“I kept reaching for it today—must’ve been because a certain guest was going to show up.”

She looked at Princess Scandia as if asking for confirmation. Caught off guard, the princess could only nod in response.

“And our knight is even wearing the wristwatch I gave her, huh?”

“Today... it just felt right.”

The princess mumbled an excuse.

In truth, she wore it all the time, but for some reason, admitting that felt embarrassing.

“How charming.”

Ferio let out a dry laugh.

“My daughter gives you a watch, and you ‘just happened’ to feel like wearing it today? What a—”

“...Oh, oh my!”

Just as Ferio was about to curse like a blade, Varia jumped in and swiftly blocked him.

“Now that the game is over, shall we go upstairs?”

“You think so too, Duchess?”

Chrisetos jumped on her suggestion like a lifeline.

Only then were the uninvited guests treated like actual guests. Though not very well.

Servants brought tea and quietly withdrew, but Ferio didn’t even let them enjoy the aroma before cutting to the chase. No one had time to even touch their cup.

“...Duke, you’re so cold.”

Prince Chrisetos wore a wounded expression.

“You were rather kind to me when I was a child, weren’t you?”

“Apparently, you don’t remember sobbing when you saw me.”

Ferio smirked, clearly amused.

“You burst into tears and wet yourself the moment you laid eyes on me.”

Leonia glanced at Princess Scandia at that.

She subtly looked down at the princess’s pants, as if asking Did you pee too?

Scandia shook her head and pointed with her chin at her brother sitting next to her, meaning It was just him.

“Ahem, well, more importantly.”

The prince, flustered at being exposed, cleared his throat.

“The ceremony of honor is finally over.”

He smiled slyly.

“Thanks to our help, of course.”

“Are you trying to take credit?”

Leonia asked, sensing that the prince seemed far more confident than before.

“Well, don’t we deserve at least a little?”

He leaned back on the sofa, looking much more at ease and self-assured.

“We played a major role in making the magic potion.”

Ferio had commissioned Marquis Ortio to craft a magical potion that would only react negatively if Leonia and Remus Olor’s blood were incompatible—a specialized paternity test.

The marquis’s husband, infamous for being obsessed with alchemy, had been thrilled. Ferio’s request was a cruel, intricate prank in the form of a scientific challenge.

But from Voreoti’s perspective, it was a gamble.

Sharing this with the Ortio couple meant sharing Leonia’s secret.

The couple had been stunned into silence when they learned the truth.

Chrisetos and Scandia, who had helped procure Remus’s blood for the potion, had reacted similarly.

“To be honest...”

At first, they had been told it was just a scheme to discredit Olor. So they disguised themselves as vagrants and ambushed Remus, cutting his arm with a dagger to extract blood.

Only today had they learned the true nature of the potion.

“It was a bit chilling.”

Given everything, Remus’s words seemed to be true—at least to him.

Chrisetos and Scandia had to put on quite the performance at the temple, pretending to be unaffected.

“But... is it really alright?”

The prince asked, a trace of sincere concern in his voice.

“What if I or the Ortio family try to use this as blackmail...?”

“Blackmail?”

Leonia echoed mockingly, her tone dripping with disdain.

“What could you possibly use to blackmail us?”

“Aren’t you being a bit too confident?”

“I’m not being confident. I just genuinely don’t know what you think you’re holding over us.”

Remus, who called himself her father, was nothing more than a disgusting, delusional pedophile.

And Leonia had merely wasted two precious drops of blood on the bastard.

Those were the only truths confirmed at the ceremony.

Besides, Olor was finished.

The imperial family would never protect them now. In fact, they’d probably denounce Remus just to cover up their own underhanded dealings in the North.

Voreoti and Urmariti were planning to demand enormous compensation.

Once Olor was destroyed, there would be no way left to prove a blood relation to Leonia.

There was no more leverage to threaten her with.

“But still...”

If, by some chance—

“If Your Highness or Marquis Ortio were to try that, well...”

Leonia slowly clenched and unclenched her small fist.

“We’d just start blabbing too.”

A wicked smile played on the baby beast’s lips as she lifted her gaze.

Prince Chrisetos felt a chill run down his spine. He realized, far too late, the solid collar now around his neck.

“Things like imperial legitimacy.”

The Empress Tigria’s affair, the secret of Princess Scandia.

“Or the Eastern experiments.”

The human trials secretly conducted by House Ortio on violent criminals.

“Who do you think has more to lose?”

Leonia tilted her head as if genuinely curious, but the message was clear—a vicious warning.

Don’t think you’ve gained the upper hand just because you helped us this once. Shut up and enjoy the throne we’re handing you.

“...Goodness, Lady Leonia.”

Prince Chrisetos laughed brightly, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

“Now where were we in the conversation?”

“Who knows? What were we talking about again?”

“Come to think of it, we hadn’t even started.”

At last, Leonia seemed to ease her stance. Ferio and Varia looked on at their daughter with pride.

Whoever her real parents were, she was certainly brave and impressive.

“......”

Princess Scandia quietly glanced at her brother, who had now tucked his tail between his legs.

“Well, a favor’s still a favor.”

Only after thoroughly enjoying the scene did Ferio speak up. The filth he’d felt at the temple had been cleansed by his daughter’s antics.

“Should I hand over what you mentioned before?”

Ferio had already compensated the two for their help with something he’d kept in his estate.

They had come to obtain a magic item to aid in Scandia’s escape from the West, and Ferio, who collected magical tools as a hobby, happened to have just the one they needed.

“That is why we came, but...”

The prince looked troubled.

“The plan might have to change.”

“Realized the consequences a little too late, huh.”

Ferio caught on and let out a scornful snort.

Princess Scandia’s wedding to a foreign king was fast approaching.

But after the ceremony of honor revealed Remus’s repulsive nature, Emperor Subiteo was feeling the heat.

The king she was supposed to marry was much older, and she was still a minor.

“They really do flock together, don’t they.”

Varia couldn’t even bring herself to laugh.