I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter
Chapter 155

Varia had always been certain of one thing: there were many kinds of families in the world, and among them, the Voreotis were shockingly unconventional—and refreshingly genuine.

Their playful teasing and borderline-out-of-line jokes weren’t born from cruelty, but from deep trust and affection. That was what made them real.

To Varia, this was what a true family looked like.

Her own so-called family—a domineering father, a mother who avoided everything, and a selfish little sister—was nothing of the sort.

“...Specifically, what exactly did he say?”

Varia finally managed to swallow her fury and asked. She was morbidly curious about what kind of nonsense her father had spouted behind her back.

Ferio, who had spent the last few minutes quietly watching her keep her emotions in check, opened his mouth at last.

While Varia had been angry, Ferio had largely returned to calm. Not that he’d ever been angry, really.

Just annoyed. Disgusted, even. It was all just too absurd to take seriously.

“He made me out to be quite the villain.”

Ferio scoffed, remembering the Count of Erbanu’s indignant shrieking.

‘Why did you take my daughter?!’

‘She’s not even married yet!’

‘Return my daughter immediately!’

The man had screamed himself hoarse demanding his daughter back.

Ferio had found the whole act revolting—especially the way the Count kept repeating my daughter, my eldest. As if she were an object.

He couldn’t understand it at all.

Weren’t daughters supposed to be precious to their fathers?

After all, his Leonia was everything to him.

“...Then he should’ve taken the married one instead.”

Leonia scoffed, mocking the man who wasn’t even present.

“Taking the married one’s worse.”

“That’s not the point of this story.”

Ferio watched his daughter grumble beside him. How could the Count of Erbanu fail to see the value of someone like her?

“What about Olor?”

Leonia asked sharply.

“Don’t tell me he stopped the Count?”

Ferio let out a cold laugh.

Olor was his in-law. Naturally, he had sided with Erbanu.

“That filthy swan bastard!”

Leonia mimed grabbing a swan’s neck and twisting it violently. She did it so fluidly, it was clear this wasn’t her first time practicing the motion.

“And you just sat there and watched, Dad?”

“I sat. And watched.”

“What’s the point of having the Fangs of the Beast if you don’t use them?”

She huffed angrily. “You should’ve smashed his face in.”

“And then what? Clean up the aftermath with what?”

“Say it was an accident!”

“What kind of accident?”

“Spread rumors that you’ve been losing bladder control lately. People will understand.”

“Are you trying to destroy my reputation entirely?”

Father and daughter were soon bickering again like the world’s most violent comedy duo.

“....”

Between them, Varia sat deep in thought.

“...So you’re saying my father and Viscount Olor claimed you kidnapped me?”

“I was basically treated like a depraved criminal.”

The way they’d yelled at him, you’d think he’d ruined a maiden’s honor.

“Maybe they had some grand marriage arrangement in mind.”

Ferio said it like a joke, but Varia’s spine chilled.

She’d been right.

If she’d let herself be dragged home that day when she was dismissed from her post, she might’ve been forced into a marriage without her consent.

“Then they’ll both be attending the imperial banquet.”

“They will.”

Ferio grimaced just thinking about it.

“Then I’ll go too.”

Varia offered firmly.

“Will you let me be your partner at the banquet?”

***

Varia’s suggestion was simple.

The nobles attending the upcoming imperial banquet were the most influential figures in the Empire and its various territories.

Her plan was to stand before them all and make it publicly known that she had gone to Ferio of her own will.

“If I don’t speak up for myself, my father will just keep using this to harass you.”

“I could just crush them.”

“That works too, but... it’s troublesome, isn’t it?”

She knew Ferio well enough by now.

He was diligent, yes, but he hated unnecessary hassle. He only left things alone when they were too pathetic to be worth his time.

And Varia understood exactly how terrifying that kind of neglect could be.

Five years ago, back when she had just started working at the Ministry of Finance, she’d once pulled a string of all-nighters.

Why? Because of Ferio Voreoti.

He had cut off the financial arteries of several noble houses—sealing off every possible loophole.

With no way to breathe, many of those houses had filed for bankruptcy.

It wasn’t even her department’s business at the time, but the impact was so massive that everyone had been dragged into the chaos.

Later, once things had settled, her friend Les told her the real reason behind it all.

“They insulted the Voreoti girl.”

They had called her bastard-born, fatherless, orphan trash.

So House Voreoti hunted them all down.

And taught them the price of insulting their own.

“...Well, yes. It’s annoying.”

Ferio raised an eyebrow in surprise at her understanding.

Leonia, too, looked shocked at Varia’s calm.

“This all started because of me.”

So it was only right that she end it.

“At the banquet, in front of everyone... I’ll sever ties with my family.”

Her words were cold. But her face was serene, and her green eyes gleamed with conviction.

Ferio watched her, impressed.

“That would be greatly appreciated.”

Honestly, it was perfect for him.

With the troublemakers publicly humiliated, it would be easy to sweep them out while they were vulnerable—and move forward with his plans.

“Then at the banquet—!”

Leonia jumped in excitedly.

“No pregnancy.”

“No pregnancy.”

But Ferio and Varia both shut it down immediately, clearly predicting where she was going with that.

They exchanged surprised glances at their perfectly synchronized reaction.

“...Anyway, are you sure about this?”

Varia looked away first and asked quietly.

Ferio looked away second, hesitated, and then nodded.

“As I said—it’s something I’m very grateful for.”

“But unnie, if you do that, you’ll be kicked out for good.”

“That’s fine.”

Varia smiled. It was genuine, fearless.

“I belong to the North now!”

At those words, Ferio’s lips curved faintly.

“Spoken like a true Northerner.”

He sounded sincerely proud.

“A Voreoti never abandons a Northerner who carries themselves with pride.”

“That’s right! The Voreotis are the guardian spirits of the North!”

Leonia chimed in energetically.

“We’re not exactly spirits.”

Ferio didn’t quite love that description.

“You’re a muscle spirit!”

“No, I’m not.”

But the tension melted in an instant.

Varia watched the loud Voreoti father and daughter with a soft, warm smile.

“I think the Muscle Spirit is kind of cool.”

She offered timidly.

“See? Unnie gets it!”

“There’s nothing cool about it. It’s creepy.”

Ferio muttered while spinning Leonia’s hair around his finger like a wind-up toy.

“But muscles are cool.”

“They’re the fruit of hard work,” Varia added sincerely.

“....”

Ferio looked at her like she was a lost soul.

“I told you not to let Leonia get to you.”

And yet, Varia had been swept up in the Muscle Tide too.

***

Varia’s plan was excellent, but there was a problem.

“We don’t have much time.”

Leonia frowned. There were only eight days left until the imperial banquet.

“Accessories and stuff—we can buy those easily. That’s not the problem...”

The problem was the dress.

There were no other women in the Voreoti estate besides Leonia.

Meaning: Varia had nothing she could borrow.

And even if she could, Leonia’s dresses were mostly tea-party attire—far too plain for a banquet.

“Can’t I just buy something ready-made?”

Varia wasn’t picky.

But Leonia was.

“You want to wear off-the-rack next to my dad?”

She looked scandalized.

“Unnie would look good in anything, but there’s no such thing as ready-made in Voreoti history!”

“R-right...”

“If we kidnapped # Nоvеlight # a designer right now...”

“Kidnapping is illegal!”

Varia cut her off in horror.

“Kidding! Obviously kidding.”

Leonia laughed brightly.

But then she muttered, “...We could hush them with money.”

That didn’t sound like a joke at all.

That’s when—

“Young Miss, Lady Varia.”

Trà came over and gestured for them to follow.

“You’re worried about the dress?”

“We may have to kidnap a designer after all.”

“Young Miss!”

“It’s fine. Everything can be solved with money.”

Especially in House Voreoti, she added, forming a circle with her fingers and smiling like a greedy goblin.

“Indeed, there’s nothing Voreoti can’t do.”

Trà nodded in agreement.

“But if I may...”

He stopped in front of a heavy door.

“Wouldn’t something truly Voreoti be better?”

He pulled out an enormous key and turned it in the lock. With a heavy click, the door creaked open.

“These are items left behind by previous generations of House Voreoti.”

“Like the Northern treasure vault?”

Leonia peeked into the dusty, shadowy storage room.

She sneezed from all the dust the moment they stepped in.

Varia quickly took out a handkerchief and covered Leonia’s nose and mouth.

“They’re more like heirlooms than treasures,” Trà clarified.

“But in here...”

He scanned the room, then approached an ancient wardrobe.

Carefully peeling off the dusty cloth, he gently opened a drawer.

“Found it.”

Inside were several preserved dresses.