I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 99

A few days later.

A column appeared in the newspaper evaluating the banquet hosted by Emperor Subiteo.

It was described as the first official banquet since his coronation and as a ceremony to honor the late Emperor.

Among the invited noble families listed, Voreoti came first.

In particular, there was much talk about the watch. The wristwatch presented by Duke Voreoti received overwhelming praise as the forerunner of a new trend.

“...That’s it?”

From behind the large, unfolded newspaper, Leonia appeared.

Her usual twin pigtails were decorated with large green triangular baubles, and she wore a light pink short-sleeved shirt paired with navy shorts.

“This is seriously all there is?”

Disappointed, Leonia wiggled her bottom. The soft sofa barely budged under her movement.

“Who reads the newspaper and makes that much noise.”

From the opposite sofa, Ferio lightly admonished her.

He was reclining alone on the long couch, reading a book.

His long legs extended out, inevitably sticking beyond the edge of the sofa.

He wore a light pink short-sleeved shirt and navy pants—the exact same outfit as Leonia.

Beside his head sat a cup of dark, rich coffee, the kind he favored.

It was a rare imported product sourced from a foreign country by the Rinne Guild.

Thanks to that, the living room where father and daughter lounged was filled with the deep aroma of roasted beans.

“Hmph, Pink Daddy is loud.”

“You’re Pink Daughter today too.”

“I’m cute. You’re indecent.”

“What you see is what you are.”

As usual, the father-daughter duo squabbled back and forth, neither ever backing down. It was a typical day.

“What’s bothering you?”

Ferio closed the book and straightened up, setting it aside.

From what he’d been hearing, this clearly wasn’t just about the so-called ruckus she’d caused.

Her lips were tightly pursed in a stubborn pout.

“Didn’t you go to settle things with the Emperor? Over my little rampage?”

“I went and had to deal with quite a bit.”

The day after the banquet, Ferio entered the palace to resolve Leonia’s “mistake” from the night before.

Naturally, the Emperor had been furious.

Ferio had a degree of sympathy—the man had been humiliated by a little girl while completely off guard.

But only some sympathy.

“And that brat of a daughter doesn’t even know what her dad went through, just keeps grumbling.”

“It’s just... disappointing.”

“What’s disappointing?”

“It just is!”

Leonia shouted, getting emotional.

“In exchange ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) for covering my mess, you buried the attempted monster trafficking scandal.”

Even now, it made her feel both frustrated and guilty.

To think her father had used such a massive trump card—something that could have cornered the Emperor—for the sake of hiding her mistake...

“If you were going to help me like that...”

Her voice cracked, and her head dropped.

“If you were going to help me that way, I wouldn’t have made a scene.”

She would've just whined about being sleepy and gone home. In the worst case, it would’ve been better to wet herself like Ferio had joked about.

“My daughter.”

My still-young daughter.

Ferio moved beside the dejected Leonia.

He pulled her onto his lap.

The little beast squirmed to get down, but Ferio held her tightly in both arms and told her to sit still.

“Pervert! Let me go!”

“You’re the pervert.”

You muscle-freak, pervert of affection.

Ferio clasped her small hands and gently told her to keep it down.

Leonia pouted, thumping the back of her head lightly against his chest—but stayed quiet, just as he asked.

“That scandal isn’t as big of a deal as you think.”

Ferio said.

“Like you said, it’s definitely a weak spot for the Emperor.”

“See? It is important—”

“But it was only an attempt.”

They had indeed tried to secretly capture monsters and sell them at an illegal auction.

But in the end, nothing happened.

It was all swept under the rug, and Ferio hadn’t made it public.

That made the leverage far weaker than Leonia believed. Ferio compared it to spilled milk.

When spilled, it was noticeable.

But if not used quickly, it spoils and loses all its value.

Ferio’s explanation was surprisingly easy to understand.

“In fact, using it now was perfect timing.”

“R-Really?”

Leonia hesitated, unsure. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Even though she understood now, it still felt like a waste.

“Now you’re making me a little disappointed.”

Suddenly, Ferio muttered like he was feeling let down.

“You think this father—and Voreoti—can’t handle the Emperor without some little scandal? You’re not putting that yellow chick in the same league as us, are you?”

“No!”

Leonia shouted, clenching her fists.

“No one can beat Voreoti!”

“That’s more like it.”

“And Daddy is the strongest, most handsome, most muscle-packed, and virile papa in the world!”

Ferio was enjoying the flood of praise—until the word virile made his brow twitch.

“Where did you learn that word?”

“The orphanage!”

“....”

Ferio was starting to seriously doubt her go-to line of “I learned it at the orphanage.” It sounded more and more like an excuse.

Still, the orphanage had been vile, so...

As a result, the hospitality standards for northern orphanage staff were growing stricter by the day.

“Anyway, you understand now.”

Voreoti was the strongest in the world, and its head—Ferio—was hailed as the strongest in Voreoti history.

“So you get it, right?”

Ferio bent down and lightly bumped his forehead against hers.

“...You love me too much.”

Leonia muttered bashfully and turned around to wrap her arms around him.

Her arms were too short to hug his broad waist fully, but she squeezed with all her might.

A large hand gently stroked her head.

“That’s why you used such a big card to cover for a little kid’s mess.”

“It’s not that big a card, remember?”

“But you could’ve made it big.”

She was right. It could’ve been used to strike the Imperial Family harder than anything she did at the banquet.

“Well...”

Ferio curled one side of his lips.

As Leonia said, if he’d wanted, he could’ve gotten a lot out of it.

He’d even planned out some fun ways to use it.

“See? Not worth it.”

“It was worth it.”

This deal had brought more profit than expected.

Ferio patiently explained it to her.

“Now the nobles know.”

Who you are.

They had laughed and whispered about Leonia behind her back, and once she appeared in the capital, they tried to assess her value in secret.

But after the banquet, everything changed.

With her Fangs and parting words, Leonia had filled them with fear.

And Ferio erased it all as if nothing had happened, silencing them.

Now everyone would fear Leonia—Duke Voreoti’s one and only beloved daughter.

“So what’s the second benefit?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“No idea.”

“Think about it.”

Leonia folded her arms and tried.

“...Still don’t know.”

But her energy was low today, and her brain wasn’t working well.

The little beast still felt like she’d made a huge mistake.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

He loved that she was clever—but it wasn’t what he needed her to be.

Even if she didn’t have the answer, he still loved her all the same.

“Everyone knows how terrifying the Fangs of the Beast are.”

Ferio said.

“But no one really understands what they are.”

Those who bore the Fangs, like the Voreotis, avoided using them on ordinary people.

Because the power could truly end a person’s life, it had to be used with great caution.

That was why Leonia had asked about pregnancies and illnesses beforehand.

“But Dad...”

Leonia tilted her head, making an odd expression.

“Didn’t you use them pretty freely in the North?”

“When did I do that?”

“With the Mereoqa count’s daughter, and during the monster trafficking case...”

“Those were exceptions.”

Ferio dismissed it—those who had defiled the Beast’s territory didn’t count.

“In any case, you won’t have many reasons to use the Fangs on people.”

“....”

“...Unless they’re really annoying.”

Eventually, Ferio loosened the restrictions on her use of the Fangs.

Leonia gave him a look as if to say, I knew it.

“Anyway, His Majesty the Emperor experienced that power himself.”

He gave her plenty of hints.

Then passed the question to Leonia, gesturing for her to answer.

Her eyes sparkled—she looked like she was just realizing something.

“He got scared.”

“That’s right.”

“The Emperor won’t touch Voreoti for a while?”

Leonia’s Fangs had filled the Emperor with fear.

“But it won’t last long.”

Anyone else, maybe—but Emperor Subiteo was petty and full of insecurity.

The fear he felt would surely fester into shame and humiliation.

He would act on it. Sooner or later.

“He’s gonna try something, huh.”

“Exactly.”

“Then write me a three-page report on what kind of petty ways the Emperor might try to bother Voreoti.”

The little beast’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s your homework.”

“You cruel dad! Who gives out homework like this?!”

“I do.”

Ferio smirked with arrogant pride, saying it was part of her successor training.

Fuming, Leonia could only puff out angry snorts.

“Ugh, you—!”

Finally, the enraged little beast cursed.

“You look just like a dad with a kid! You better raise me for life!”

Unfortunately, that was true—so it didn’t land as an insult.

Still, Leonia was sentenced to wear an adorable necklace labeled [I Tried to Say Something Bad to Daddy] until dinnertime.

***

Successor training, homework, and all that aside—

The truth was, there was another benefit Ferio gained while covering up Leonia’s rampage.

The wristwatch.

After the banquet, once he agreed to keep the incident under wraps, the Marquis of Pardus reached out.

The Emperor didn’t want anyone to know he had fainted from the Fangs.

'What shall we do?'

'I’ll take care of it.'

Ferio agreed it wasn’t too much to ask, and went to the critic who had been invited to the banquet and planned to write a review.

What exactly that “small request” entailed wasn’t known—but the critic complied with Ferio’s wishes.

As a result, the article didn’t go into much detail about the banquet itself.

Instead, it praised the wristwatch to the point it practically read like an advertisement.

Thanks to that, the wristwatch received massive attention.

From the day the newspaper was published until now, Ferio had been inundated with inquiries—requests to buy, invest, and collaborate.

“We’re short on hands.”

And a few days later—

Ferio finally admitted they didn’t have enough manpower.

In truth, the newspaper review barely described the banquet itself.

Instead, it praised the wristwatch in glowing terms—almost like an advertisement.

Thanks to that, the wristwatch received major attention.

From the very day the paper was published up until now, inquiries had poured in—people asking about the wristwatch and offering to invest or collaborate.

''We’re short on hands.''

And then, a few days later—

The words finally came out of Ferio’s mouth: a shortage of manpower.