I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 201

‘Ooh, Mommy!’

Leonia beamed brightly.

The baby beast was awestruck by the mama beast’s sharp verbal jab.

Baroness Kapher, who had been harshly hit the moment she entered, looked genuinely flustered.

Her eyes clearly reflected the embarrassment. It seemed she hadn’t expected to be struck so directly by the mild-looking Varia, and the shock hit her hard.

“...Of course.”

Still, the baroness was someone with considerable composure. She swiftly composed herself and offered a pleasant smile.

However, the look in her eyes had changed.

Where she had once underestimated Varia, Baroness Kapher now showed wariness.

“Then let’s head inside.”

She took the lead, saying everyone was waiting.

“Leo.”

Varia reached out her hand. Leonia took it and whispered,

“Mom, that was amazing.”

“I just mimicked you a little.”

Varia whispered back with a shy smile.

“Oh, Mommy.”

The baby beast flapped her shoulders in delight.

They arrived at a parlor decorated with brilliant flowers and elegant ornaments.

“Everyone, the Duchess of Voreoti and her daughter have arrived.”

At Baroness Kapher's announcement, the noble ladies who had arrived earlier all stood up.

Leonia quickly scanned their faces.

‘...Excellent.’

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Leonia’s lips.

All the pieces were gathered on the board.

“The Duchess and her daughter, this way.”

Baroness Kapher guided Varia and Leonia to their seats.

Once seated, Varia turned the teacup upright, and a maid behind her filled it. Leonia’s cup was also filled in turn.

“The warmth of spring has arrived,”

said Baroness Kapher, the hostess of the tea party.

“It really is spring already.”

Varia responded as she lifted her cup.

“...However.”

Just as she seemed about to sip the tea, Varia lowered her cup and put on a mildly concerned expression.

“I’m worried about the cold snap.”

After all, one had to get through the biting cold snap before true spring could arrive.

“Mother, do you think many petals will fall?”

Leonia blinked her round eyes as she asked.

“Perhaps. Fallen petals are so...”

Varia, speaking while making eye contact with her daughter, slowly turned her gaze.

“...pitiful.”

Her gaze landed on the wife of Viscount Olor’s son — her younger sister, Lota.

Lota’s face turned pale as their eyes met. Beneath the table, her clenched hands were trembling.

The noblewomen seated beside Lota didn’t look any better.

“The tea smells wonderful.”

Varia took the first sip.

“It really does.”

Leonia followed suit, sipping her tea.

The swan ornament hidden beneath her sleeve now felt a little less bothersome.

***

When Leonia received the invitation from the Kapher family—

‘I know this place!’

She had kicked up a fuss.

Because in the original story, the Kapher family’s young lady had been a villainess.

She had adored Ferio and was fiercely jealous of Varia, who worked as his secretary.

She had sided with Varia’s younger sister Lota and harassed her with intent.

But the original story had been completely rewritten with Leonia’s appearance.

Leonia had never once faced the Kapher family. Not even at last year’s tea party.

In fact, she had forgotten about the Kapher young lady for years.

“Our daughter returned from the East not long ago.”

Just then, Baroness Kapher introduced the young woman seated next to her.

The Kapher young lady, with dark hair cut short, smiled confidently. Leonia, staring at her for a moment, leaned over and whispered into Varia’s ear.

“Her hair color looks like basalt.”

“Leo.”

Varia chided gently, suppressing a laugh.

“She trained at the Eastern Magic Tower.”

“Oh my, how impressive.”

“Magical talent is rare, isn’t it?”

“She must’ve worked very hard.”

All the noblewomen praised her with admiration. The Kapher young lady lifted her shoulders with pride.

Just as the original had described — she adored praise directed at herself.

“That’s truly admirable.”

Varia also offered sincere praise.

One of the essential traits of a mage was mana, a gift considered innate.

Even if one wanted to become a mage, it was often impossible without being born with mana.

‘Was it like that in the original?’

Leonia tried to recall the now-fuzzy details.

‘I don’t think so...’

As far as she could remember, the Kapher young lady had nothing to do with magic.

She’d have to review the setting and notes she wrote in her childhood to remember more.

“Why didn’t you go earlier?”

asked the Countess of Neophelli, from the East — daughter of the Marquis of Pardus.

“Usually, if someone has mana, it’s discovered at a young age...”

“I was stubborn.”

The Kapher young lady gave a strained smile.

She then glanced briefly at Leonia. Leonia tilted her head slightly, hiding her discomfort.

“...Embarrassing as it is, there was a big turning point a few years ago.”

It was that turning point that made her resolve to enter the Eastern Magic Tower.

“I foolishly insisted on staying in the capital. But now I feel like such a fool for not leaving earlier.”

“Oh my, was it a sad reason?”

“At the time, it was.”

But not anymore.

“I think I’ve grown a lot because of it.”

At the Eastern Magic Tower, the Kapher young [N O V E L I G H T] lady had learned and realized many things.

That clinging to a man’s attention was a waste of life — and that the way she had viewed the world had been far too narrow.

“I was truly happy there.”

She smiled with genuine joy.

“...”

Leonia was stunned.

‘I changed her...!’

The girl felt chills run down her spine.

The "turning point" she had just mentioned — was Leonia.

Six years ago, Ferio had adopted a child of unknown birth and even made her his heir.

That action had broken the hearts of many women — the Kapher young lady among them.

She had been heartbroken and fled to the tower for solace.

But now, the Kapher young lady had become a completely different person from the one in the original.

‘You are a new movement.’

‘So much has already changed.’

She remembered the prophecy.

The prophecy Duke Aust had shared — it had been chillingly accurate.

And now it was proving itself — teaching Leonia to witness the future she had altered.

“How are things recently in the East?”

asked a noblewoman from the South. Her glance briefly skimmed over the Voreoti mother and daughter.

She clearly asked knowing the recent relationship between the North and East had grown tense.

As expected, the Kapher young lady gave a faintly awkward smile.

“I was only at the tower...”

She deflected, implying she didn’t know much about the East’s current affairs.

But hidden in her words was a meaning everyone caught — things aren’t good, just as you suspect.

Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to Leonia.

“Oh my.”

Leonia offered a serene smile.

“You know, the weather at a mountain peak is never easy to predict.”

As if saying — what would tagalongs like you know about the relationships between regional leaders?

At the baby beast’s strike, everyone coughed awkwardly and sipped their tea. The Kapher young lady watched Leonia with great interest.

“No matter how rough the weather, the mountain range always stands tall.”

Varia added smoothly.

No matter the relationship between the two regions, the North’s prestige remained untarnished.

The Voreoti women were unshakably composed. Their confidence — bordering on arrogance — made everyone else shrink back in silence.

“...That’s true.”

“Circumstances always change.”

“There’s friction in every region.”

“But.”

While everyone tiptoed around Voreoti’s authority, one bold voice rose in challenge.

“If the wind blows too hard, doesn’t the land get eroded?”

It was Lota Olor.

‘Nice, Legal Aunt!’

Leonia smiled behind her teacup. She had joined in at just the right moment.

“But...”

Leonia set down her cup and murmured with a concerned tone.

“A wind that strong might even cause the sea to overflow, don’t you think?”

She meant tidal waves crashing onto shore — a metaphor for the fall of the South’s upstart nobles, especially those centered around Olor.

“The mountains still stand, but what of the sea?”

“Oh Leo. The sea remains the same, doesn’t it?”

Varia corrected gently.

“And an overflowing sea... isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Why not, Mother?”

Leonia tilted her chin as if puzzled.

At that moment, her sleeve quietly slipped down.

“Because waves wash away the debris on the shore.”

“Oh, I see! The sea, like the mountains, is always in its place.”

The mountains were Voreoti.

The sea — Meridio and Aust.

Varia had just made it clear: the true masters of the South were the two noble houses that had stood there the longest.

And Olor? Just debris to be swept away by the tide.

Realizing this, Lota’s face turned red.

“Y-You’re talking about me, aren’t you...?!”

“My goodness!”

The Countess of Neophelli gasped behind her fan.

“What did I just hear?”

She was scandalized.

“No matter how close you are, calling her ‘unnie’...”

“There are rules of decorum at a tea party.”

“She may be young, but still...”

“Do you take the Duchess of Voreoti lightly?”

“Such disrespect...”

At Lota’s single slip-up, the noblewomen aligned with House Voreoti pounced.

“The Viscount’s wife just made a small mistake.”

Panicking, the southern ladies rushed to defend Lota.

“It was just a habit — they’re close sisters, after all.”

“They are family, you know?”

Tears welled in Lota’s eyes as she lowered her head.

“I-I’m sorry...”

She confessed it had been a mistake she made without thinking.

“It’s just... what the Duchess said was so sad...”

“Madam.”

Leonia looked at Lota with pitying eyes.

“You shouldn’t say ‘what she said’ — it should be ‘what Her Grace said.’”

“...”

“One mistake, we can call that an accident.”

Her voice was endlessly kind, like an older sister scolding a childish sibling.

“But twice? That’s a problem.”

Either you're stupid — or doing it on purpose.

“Please show respect to my mother.”

Don’t you dare speak to her like that again.

Leonia gave a chilling warning.

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