I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter
Chapter 153

At first, Varia had only started studying muscles because she wanted to get closer to Leonia.

But somewhere along the line, she fell head over heels for the illustrations of Ferio’s muscles in the anatomy guide, and before she knew it, she was whispering muscle names to herself while running her hands over her own body.

She still couldn’t forget the thrill she felt when, murmuring “biceps,” she successfully located her own.

It had been so long since she felt that kind of rush.

For someone like Varia, whose life had always revolved around study and physical training, this was the birth of a brand-new hobby.

And that was the problem.

She should be drafting countermeasures against the Imperial family, House Olor, and House Erbanu. She needed to gather intel and make a formal proposal to Ferio. She even had to prepare Leonia’s private tutoring sessions.

She was swamped—so swamped it felt like even two bodies wouldn’t be enough.

‘I get it now. I really get how the young miss feels.’

Varia slowly traced her finger over the illustration of Ferio’s thigh in the dictionary.

‘So beautiful.’

Muscles were like flowers that bloomed with effort as their fertilizer.

The more meticulous the care, the more dedication invested, the more splendidly muscles would swell.

And Varia respected effort.

She despised wasted effort poured into hopeless dreams—but muscles would never betray that labor.

So of course she’d fall for them. It was inevitable.

‘The Duke’s body really is something else.’

Now that she was properly hooked, Varia found herself facing a very serious dilemma.

Like someone addicted to something they picked up too late in life, she now compared everyone she met to Ferio’s body without even thinking.

Whenever she thought of Ferio, her mind wandered to his firm build.

‘...God, I’ve really lost it.’

Crushed by self-loathing, Varia buried her face in her hands.

‘The Duke helped me!’

He was the one who reached out a hand to someone who barged in out of nowhere demanding a deal.

She should be repaying his kindness, and yet here she was doing shameful, petty things behind his back.

Varia felt utterly pathetic.

She didn’t even deserve to look Ferio in the eyes.

‘So much for “keeping work and personal matters separate.”’

She wanted to slap herself for spouting nonsense like that before. There was no separation of anything right now. She was being disgraceful to the man who had shown her kindness.

Suddenly, she remembered the look in Ferio’s pitch-black eyes as he stared at her like she was some strange creature.

At the very least, there had been no contempt or disappointment in his gaze.

Ferio was more accepting than she’d expected.

But if he saw her in this state now, he would probably think she was pathetic.

And if he ever looked at her with genuine disgust... that would hurt.

‘No...’

No, it wouldn’t just be sad.

It would be unbearable. Lonely.

“Haah...”

Varia let out a heavy sigh.

“I hate this...”

“Hate what?”

“Eek!”

Startled by the unexpected voice near her ear, Varia flinched violently.

“Hehe, did I scare you?”

Leonia had taken a quick step back, grinning like a mischievous child who had pulled off a prank.

“Huh?”

Then her eyes caught something familiar.

Varia tried to hurriedly hide it, but Leonia leapt over the sofa and snatched it first.

“This is...!”

Leonia’s eyes widened.

It was the muscle dictionary she’d drawn when she was nine years old.

Inspired by the muscle sketchbook Lupe had given her as a gift, she’d created her own “first doujinshi” in this world.

She’d given it to Ferio as a birthday present.

Leonia still remembered the expression on her father’s face when he saw it.

That helpless look—wanting to scold her but unable to ignore how well-drawn the muscles were.

“It’s, it’s just—!”

Snapped out of her nostalgic thoughts, Leonia looked up at Varia.

Varia stumbled over her words, pleading not to get the wrong idea.

“I, I said I wanted to study muscles, s-so the Duke let me borrow it for just a little while! Really, just a little!”

She hastily added that she’d meant to return it. In truth, she’d been so absorbed in it she forgot all about that.

“Dad did?”

Leonia blinked, staring back and forth between the dictionary and Varia.

The more she did, the deeper Varia sank into guilt.

“...I’m insane.”

Leonia exhaled through her nose, half-sighing in quiet irritation. The way she brushed her bangs back with one hand made her frustration all too clear.

Varia immediately regretted everything.

‘Shouldn’t have borrowed it.’

Ferio and Leonia were such kind, generous people.

They had taken her in even though she had appeared suddenly out of nowhere. Thanks to them, she had come to place deep trust in them.

But no matter how close they’d gotten, there were lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

And Varia now realized that borrowing the dictionary had been crossing that line.

Leonia had drawn this as a precious gift for Ferio. A complete stranger like her shouldn’t be holding onto it.

It was perfectly reasonable to be angry.

“That thing’s from three years ago!”

Leonia snapped, visibly irritated.

“What ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ am I supposed to do with that awkward mess now?!”

“...Huh?”

Blindsided by the unexpected direction of her anger, Varia blinked dumbly.

“Varia unnie, I drew this when I was a kid, so it’s super sloppy.”

“N-no, it’s amazing.”

Varia shook her head emphatically.

She had never seen drawings this well done before. The muscles looked like they could spring right off the page.

“No, it’s not.”

Leonia looked mortified.

“I drew this when I was nine, and it’s a mess. The muscle curves and flexibility are totally lacking.”

“...”

“Now that I look at it again, it’s so bad.”

She couldn’t believe she’d let someone else see this.

“Dad is seriously annoying.”

Leonia’s irritation shifted toward Ferio.

“Wait here.”

She snatched back the dictionary and stormed off somewhere.

Left alone, Varia blinked in a daze. She still didn’t quite understand what had just happened.

But one thing was certain: Leonia wasn’t actually mad at her.

Varia finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“I’ll lend you this one.”

Leonia returned, handing her a different book.

“This one’s really good.”

She whispered like someone selling illicit goods in a dark alleyway, her face twisted into a wickedly devious grin.

In that moment, Varia sincerely wondered if the mental stability of this lovable child wasn’t more important than the future of the Empire.

“What is it?”

Still, she couldn’t help but glance at the book. Her voice was cautious as she asked.

As someone who had only just discovered the beauty of muscles, Varia had a feeling.

Judging by the flow of their conversation, this was going to be something massive.

“It’s the newest release.”

“The new one...”

Varia swallowed dryly. There was no need to ask what kind of new release it was.

Her pale hands cradled the book reverently. There was no way she’d just grab it carelessly with one hand.

To her, the crimson hardcover looked like some priceless antique tome.

“You’re never going to sleep at night again, unnie.”

Leonia whispered like a shady street vendor pushing forbidden goods.

Heheheh—her quiet chuckle only stoked Varia’s anticipation.

"I especially recommend this part."

At some point, Leonia had dropped the formal tone and flipped open the page marked with a bookmark.

Varia’s green eyes went wide, nearly popping out of her skull.

“G-good heavens...!”

The illustration on the opened page from the new edition couldn’t even be compared to what Leonia had drawn at nine years old.

“Amazing, right?”

“Young Miss, you’re going to hell...”

Varia muttered in genuine concern—but her eyes never left the book.

“I’ve already been. For two years. It’s fine.”

Leonia scoffed.

She had already survived the hell that was the orphanage for two whole years. Compared to that, this level of depravity was practically wholesome.

No hell could ever surpass that place.

Leonia generously lent the new edition to Varia, who accepted it like she’d just been handed a priceless treasure, awkwardly fumbling as if unsure what to do with her hands.

“The Duke’s going to be disappointed in me...”

Varia mumbled miserably.

“I’m someone he’s helping. And yet here I am, staring at his muscles with these perverted eyes. I’m horrible.”

“I’m his daughter, and I do it too.”

Leonia declared shamelessly, telling her to toss away that worthless thing called “conscience.”

“Just read it. Fall with me into the world of muscles.”

“The world of... muscles...”

Varia swallowed hard.

Leonia looked dazzling in that moment—her eyes twinkling with conviction as she clasped Varia’s hand.

And somehow, just from looking at her, Varia could see Ferio.

She vividly recalled that moment when he had laughed and told her not to fall for him.

Leonia beamed proudly and squeezed her hand tighter.

“You’ve got potential, unnie.”

“M-me? How could I?”

Varia hesitated.

“I knew from the first time I saw you.”

Leonia kneaded her forearm a few times, her confident smile growing broader.

She had known it right away—back when Varia was holding her gelato and she’d grabbed her arm.

“You’ve done some training, haven’t you?”

Her arm looked soft, but it was tightly packed with lean muscle. Not the kind of firmness that came from housework, but the kind from dedicated conditioning.

“Very nice.”

Muscle parents, huh?

“Extremely nice.”

And Varia had started to notice Ferio.

“Absolutely perfect!”

Leonia couldn’t contain her overflowing joy any longer and shouted in triumph.

And in that moment, she understood why the original novel had always referred to their romantic tension as “working out on the bed.”

It wasn’t just because The Black Beast’s Varia was an all-ages book.

No—it was because of Varia’s hidden preferences that never made it into the story.

It was all about the muscles!

Leonia had a revelation.

It was destiny! Me, a muscle-freak, becoming the daughter of a muscle-bound father! And Varia, discovering her love of muscles because of me!

A family united by muscles.

Perfect!

Leonia felt tears welling up.

Such a perfect family was right before her eyes.

She renewed her resolve.

She would make Varia her mom. No matter what.

The day her parents started “working out together” in bed wasn’t far off.

***

...Or maybe it was farther than she thought.

The world wasn’t so easily bent to the will of even the fiercest baby beast.

Leonia’s plan had hit a snag.

“So it really is harder for women to gain muscle compared to men.”

Varia muttered to herself, deeply pondering over the dictionary Leonia had lent her.

She held the book in one hand, the other slowly rubbing over her flat stomach.

From her soft pink lips came a faint, “Is it a biological difference...”

“You can still do it if you try!”

The pink little beast wasn’t giving up.

Moved by Varia’s unyielding passion, Leonia nodded along, albeit in a daze.

“I’ve learned a lot thanks to you, Young Miss.”

I should never have taught her...

“I think what drew me to the Duke’s muscles was the sincerity of his effort.”

No, unnie, you idiot.

“His body reignited the fire of motivation that had nearly gone out in me.”

It ignited the fire of pervy thirst, more like.

Leonia looked on with empty eyes as Varia burned with righteous determination.

“I’ll do my best in the duties I’ve been given—and in the time I have left, I’ll train my muscles too!”

“Please don’t...”

Leonia smacked her forehead with her palm.

For the first time, the girl had to admit it.

Her muscle gospel had failed.

She hadn’t created a disciple.

She’d awakened a monster.

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