I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 118

“Those bastards!”

“They should take responsibility if they took him!”

Leonia was fuming, as if it had happened to her personally.

She had envied Yuben so much when he escaped that hellish orphanage, and at the same time, she had sincerely prayed for his happiness, with all her heart.

Leonia had always prayed that the other children adopted into new families would find happiness.

‘That’s all I wanted...’

Seeing Yuben like this again, Leonia couldn’t help but feel a deep, painful sorrow.

“I’m fine.”

It was Yuben himself who tried to calm Leonia down, insisting that he was okay.

“I’m glad to be back.”

“Oppa...”

“Really. I mean it.”

Leonia was speechless.

Just how horrifying must that adoptive home have been for him to say he was glad to be back at the orphanage?

He’d left with such a happy face...

“...”

Leonia couldn’t bring herself to ask.

It would only reopen Yuben’s wounds. And besides, the joy on his face as he said he was glad to be back—it didn’t seem like a lie.

“I was worried about the kids, but seeing everyone together like this makes me feel better.”

“Dad brought everyone here.”

It was Ferio who had done that.

The orphanage where Leonia had stayed had burned to the ground and was officially declared a total casualty site.

But all the children and Teacher Conniee had been relocated to the North, where they now lived in far more comfort.

Ferio had also donated more money to the new orphanage than ever before.

“So it was true...”

Yuben murmured in disbelief.

“The kids were saying Nia became a noble.”

He hadn’t believed it at first. But now that he had seen Leonia in person, it finally made sense.

She used to be all skin and bones, her body covered in bruises, her eyes sharp with nothing but stubbornness.

But now, she was clearly a different person.

Her skin was smooth, her body had filled out, and she wore expensive clothes.

On top of that, she had two maids with her.

“Oppa, I’m not Nia anymore.”

Leonia let out a short laugh and told him her new name.

“I’m Leonia now.”

“Whoa, that name’s way too cool for you, isn’t it?”

“What did you just say, oppa?”

Leonia jokingly raised her fist to hit him, and Yuben laughed heartily.

“But it suits you,” he said honestly. “It sounds brave. Just like you.”

At that, Leonia lowered her fist and smiled softly.

“Alright, everyone.”

That moment, the orphanage director called the children.

“The young lady of House Voreoti has brought us delicious treats. Let’s all wash our hands and enjoy them together!”

“Yay!”

“Yes, sir!”

The children cheered and scattered with excitement.

“Oppa, I’ll talk to you later.”

Leonia couldn’t brush off the younger kids pulling her to come wash hands with them.

Yuben nodded silently in understanding.

“Were you close with that boy, Yuben?”

Connie, who had come to help the children wash up, asked.

“Yeah. But he wasn’t around that long. He left just a few months after I came to the orphanage.”

“I see...”

Connie answered carefully.

She could tell that all the friends in the young lady’s painful memories had gone through similar hardships.

Having grown up in a warm household herself, it was hard for Connie to find the right words.

She couldn’t begin to imagine how Yuben must have felt, being disowned and returning to the orphanage.

“Connie.”

Leonia, who had been rolling up a younger child’s sleeves, spoke quietly.

“We’re okay now.”

The children no longer had to starve, nor suffer from cold or heat.

They could all bathe in a large tub with warm water.

Maybe Yuben’s return to the orphanage after being disowned was actually a great stroke of luck.

And it was all because Leonia had met Ferio.

“Dad really is the best!”

“Fufu, he truly is.”

Connie smiled in agreement—there was no one like her master.

The children, having washed their hands, lined up in a row to receive the snacks.

Holding their plates, they chattered excitedly as the teachers passed out bread and sweets.

Connie and Mia went around placing cups of milk on each child’s seat as they returned.

‘She’s not here today either...’

Leonia, sipping her milk and having already given her share of food to the younger kids, glanced around.

‘When is Teacher Conniee coming back?’

Last time she visited, she’d heard Conniee had returned to her hometown for a while.

‘Maybe she went back for good.’

After finishing her milk, Leonia stood up from her seat.

“Connie, Mia.”

She told them she was going to visit the director’s office.

They offered to go with her, but Leonia declined, saying it was just next door.

‘Come to think of it, Ardea isn’t around either.’

Since arriving in the North, she hadn’t seen either of them.

According to Ferio, Ardea had gone down to the West on important business.

Leonia had been eager to ask about a paper he had written—she was a little disappointed by his absence.

‘Both of them are gone.’

Could they be... romantically involved?

Leonia instantly thought of something terrible but quickly dismissed it.

The two had no connection, too big an age gap, and besides, Ardea still ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) had feelings for Countess Bosgruni.

‘So shameless.’

Leaving so heartlessly and still holding on like that—he was truly something else.

Really, there was nothing to learn from that man except academics.

“...This must stay strictly confidential.”

Just as Leonia was about to open the director’s office door, she stopped.

“The young lady will be shocked.”

The serious voice belonged to the director.

‘Shocked? Me?’

Leonia pressed her ear to the door. Her breath naturally slowed. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

“It will hit her hard.”

“Exactly.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There were two other teachers inside.

All of them were speaking with deep concern for Leonia.

The person holding their breath just outside the door felt her heart start to pound.

Something was wrong.

“Could it be... Teacher Conniee...”

“Don’t even call her that.”

“She’s not even worthy of being called a teacher,” someone growled.

It was a teacher who always sang cheerful songs for the kids.

‘I shouldn’t hear this.’

You’ll regret it the moment you do.

Leonia’s body trembled.

But her shoes felt glued to the floor—like she’d stepped in something sticky or her soles had been nailed down. She couldn’t move.

‘Please... Please...’

She squeezed her eyes shut.

But it was no use.

“She sold the kids from the orphanage where she used to work!”

Leonia’s knees buckled.

It felt like her world was collapsing.

Unaware of her presence outside the door, the teachers continued their conversation.

“Yuben—he was found working like a slave at some bar.”

Only now did Leonia realize why Yuben’s body looked just as it had back then.

Even after all that time, she had recognized him instantly—and that was why.

“The Duke has been tracking the whereabouts of children adopted from that orphanage since spring.”

“What about the others?”

“We’ve found four who were adopted two years ago...”

The director trailed off.

There was no way to trace the children adopted after that.

That orphanage hadn’t even been properly run.

Records had only begun to be kept in the last three years.

‘Three years...’

Leonia slowly moved her fingers.

It had been nearly a year since she was adopted by the Voreoti family.

And she had spent roughly two years in that horrifying orphanage.

“Anyway, everyone needs to be careful what they say.”

The director was emphasizing discretion again when—

“Ugh... uh...”

The teachers froze, hearing the faint presence beyond the door. Their faces turned pale.

One of them carefully opened the door.

Of course.

Leonia was standing there, her face pale as if she would collapse at any moment.

“It’s not true, right?”

Her voice shook as if she were about to cry.

The corners of her mouth twitched violently, as if trying to smile.

“Teacher Conniee wouldn’t do that... She wouldn’t.”

But no one answered her desperate plea.

“Please... someone say something!”

Leonia shouted, pleading.

But no one responded. The director even averted his gaze, muttering an apology.

At last, Leonia turned and walked away.

She could hear frantic voices calling her from behind, but she didn’t stop her barely-moving legs.

“Young lady?”

“Young lady, where are you going?!”

Connie and Mia had come looking for her after handing out the snacks and now hurried after her.

“What happened? What’s wrong?!”

Mia, faster than Connie, just barely managed to grab Leonia.

“I have to go to Dad.”

Leonia’s voice trembled.

“T-They’re all mistaken. The teachers are wrong.”

“Please calm down, my lady.”

“I have to ask him! I have to know!”

“Alright. But first, breathe—”

Mia pulled Leonia into her arms, gently rubbing her back over and over again.

Only then did Leonia’s strength give out, and she slowly leaned into Mia.

“Nia!”

Just then, Yuben came running.

Connie followed shortly behind with Leonia’s cloak.

“Nia—no, Leonia!”

Breathing heavily from running, Yuben suddenly paused.

The boy who used to grit his teeth even when beaten now stood stunned, blankly.

“...The others don’t know yet.”

Yuben had realized Leonia had found out.

And he fully understood why she was so devastated.

Because they had all believed in her.

“I wasn’t adopted.”

Yuben bit down hard on his lip.

It was nearly impossible to say aloud to the one person who had believed in that woman more than anyone else.

But he had to.

“I was sold.”

And he wasn’t the only one.

The other three children who had been adopted while Leonia was still there—they’d all been sold too.

“I worked every day in a bar. They barely let me sleep. I was hungrier than I ever was at the orphanage.”

“...”

“Then one day, Teacher Conniee came to the house.”

Yuben’s voice trembled.

“My adoptive parents gave her money.”

He had begged her over and over to save him. Told her it was too hard, that he couldn’t endure it anymore.

But Conniee had smiled kindly as she gently pushed him away.

‘It suits you perfectly.’

You’re the perfect kind of beggar for that place.

Yuben confessed the cruel truth, voice wet with tears.

“Teacher Conniee sold us.”