And so, from that moment on, every meal Leonia ate contained plenty of meat.
Ferio refused to leave for the Voreoti territory until she had eaten to the point that her stomach was full and she let out a proper burp.
Having eaten too much, Leonia lay sprawled across the carriage seat, sluggish and drowsy. A few small hiccups escaped her lips.
“What if you throw up?”
Ferio answered flatly, reviewing documents in his seat.
“But this carriage is expensive. It would be a waste. And it would be hard for the cleaners.”
“...Why are you worrying about that?”
Ferio was genuinely curious.
Only then did Leonia slowly sit up.
The bright blue dress, the fur cloak, and the red ribbon neatly tying her hair together—it all suited her so well that it was as if she had always worn such things.
‘There’s a lot to buy.’
The Voreoti mansion had absolutely nothing meant for a child. The only things that came close were Ferio’s own childhood belongings, but those were long buried in a storage room, covered in dust.
And he didn’t want to give her those.
For a brief moment, memories he didn’t want to recall surfaced in Ferio’s mind. He set the documents aside.
Leonia was still staring at him.
“You are now the Lady of House Voreoti.”
As he met her gaze, he continued.
“If we have to throw out a carriage, so be it. Even as you breathe right now, I’m earning enough to buy a new one. Whatever you want, just say it.”
Leonia exaggerated her admiration.
“Mister, you’re actually kind of cool.”
Then she chuckled, mumbling about how money was the best.
For a moment, Ferio felt like there was a stingy old miser sitting across from him instead of a child.
She wasn’t acting because she was a commoner. No, her mannerisms resembled that of an adult who had seen all the hardships of life.
And that bothered him—like a tiny splinter stuck in his finger.
“I still don’t want to throw up.”
Throwing up hurts. Leonia muttered this as she gazed out the carriage window. Ferio’s eyes followed hers. Outside, the trees were painted in brilliant colors, barely clinging to the last traces of autumn.
“And a person should be rich in spirit.”
“That’s all nonsense.”
Leonia shrugged, her tone indifferent. It was just something poor people told themselves to feel better.
“You actually understand something for once, Mister.”
On their first day as father and daughter, they found that they got along surprisingly well in many ways. Ferio was rather satisfied with this family relationship that had formed on a whim.
A moment later, a knight tapped on the carriage window. When Ferio lowered it, Meleis bowed slightly and informed them that they were about to arrive at their destination.
Leonia recognized her and immediately brightened, waving excitedly.
Leonia greeted her cheerfully. Meleis returned a small smile and bowed her head.
“She’s an excellent knight.”
Only then did Ferio realize that he needed to assign knights for Leonia’s protection. He didn’t just need things—he needed people, too. A tutor, a governess, and personal guards. Meleis was already a strong candidate to become Leonia’s escort knight.
As Ferio quickly sorted through the things that needed to be done once they arrived at the territory, he suddenly asked,
“Have you ever used a gate before?”
Leonia clung desperately to a withered tree as she emptied her stomach.
Just moments ago, the forest had been filled with the vibrant hues of autumn. Now, all around them, towering evergreen trees stood blanketed in pristine white snow. The scene was breathtaking.
But Leonia had no time to admire it.
The recoil from using the gate to instantly cross into the Voreoti territory had hit her hard, leaving her completely overwhelmed by nausea.
“Young Miss, are you alright?”
Meleis gently patted her small back.
Ferio clicked his tongue in disapproval.
When the carriage had arrived near the gate, Leonia, wide-eyed, had immediately asked what it was. Ferio explained that it was a method of traveling long distances in an instant, but that a small number of first-time users sometimes experienced motion sickness.
‘So, like a tunnel or something?’
She had mumbled something incomprehensible to herself before nodding.
‘I’ve never used one before, but I should be fine.’
She was one of the rare few who suffered extreme motion sickness from their first gate travel.
Weakly leaning into Meleis’ arms, Leonia looked like a withered weed.
“No one has ever died from motion sickness.”
Seeing her so frail and miserable irritated Ferio once again. The child was already too thin, and now she was listless and groaning in pain.
But this irritation was different from his usual kind.
It felt similar to the anger he had felt when he first noticed the bruises on her arm.
“You’re awful, Mister...”
Even as she suffered, she still had the energy to complain.
“See? You’re not dead yet.”
Ferio took off his fur-lined cloak. Then, carefully pulling Leonia from Meleis’ arms, he wrapped her snugly in the thick fabric. In an instant, she became a small, bundled lump.
Leonia sighed in relief.
Watching her closely, Ferio hesitated before awkwardly patting her back.
“Ugh, don’t do that...”
She felt like she would throw up again.
Ferio immediately stopped.
“You sure do talk a lot.”
He grumbled, telling her to just shut up and rest if she wasn’t feeling well.
For once, Leonia didn’t argue back. She only let out a soft groan before growing quiet.
“...Can I throw up on your cloak?”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
But despite his irritation, his pats remained careful and gentle.
Before long, steady breathing could be heard.
Leonia had fallen asleep in his arms.
“...Ugly little thing.”
Ferio muttered, staring at her sleeping face.
But despite his words, the corners of his lips curled up ever so slightly.
As soon as Ferio gave the quiet order to move, the knights waited until he had entered the carriage with Leonia before beginning their preparations for departure.
They were utterly shocked by what they had just witnessed.
“...Did you see that?”
“I thought I was hallucinating.”
“He hasn’t hit his head recently, has he?”
“...No way. She really is his hidden daughter.”
Duke Ferio Voreoti, the most formidable ruler in the Voreoti bloodline, was infamous for his indifference toward others. Like the lords before him, he was known for his lack of emotions, his cold nature, and his ability to disregard anything he deemed unimportant.
And yet, here he was—gently cradling a child he had picked up from an orphanage just the day before, lowering his voice so he wouldn’t wake her up.
To the knights who had served him for years, this was more terrifying than any monster lurking in the Northern Mountains.
“The Young Miss isn’t ordinary either.”
Meleis, who had briefly looked after Leonia at the inn, suddenly spoke up.
She already considered Leonia a Voreoti, treating her with the respect due to the Duke’s daughter. Ferio had acknowledged her as such, and so, as loyal knights, they had no reason to object.
“Yesterday, she even kicked His Grace in the back.”
The knights turned pale.
“What kind of lunatic does that?!”
Even Meleis looked just as shocked as them as she continued.
“His Grace had just come out of the bath and made a comment about how even after washing # Nоvеlight # up, the Young Miss was still ugly.”
At that, the knights winced.
Of course, their lord would say something like that.
“So then, the Young Miss immediately shot back, ‘Did you contribute anything to my face?’ and started arguing with him. But even that wasn’t enough for her, so she kicked him.”
The knights frantically rubbed their ears, convinced they had misheard.
But Meleis’ expression was dead serious.
The shock among them deepened.
There were two things that astounded them.
First, Leonia’s sheer audacity.
Second, Ferio’s reaction.
He had teased a child.
He had joked with her.
It was such a small, simple thing—yet it was unthinkable.
“...She really must be his biological child.”
Otherwise, how could such a tiny little thing be so fearless in front of the Duke?
The only explanation was that she was his blood.
And so, as they whispered among themselves, the knights slowly began to settle on the same conclusion:
Leonia Voreoti was the Duke’s trueborn daughter.
The name referred to a single northern region, but it had earned several nicknames—the den of monsters, the land of eternal snow, and the home of black beasts.
The "black beasts" referred to House Voreoti, the ruling family of the land. Known for their exceptional strength beyond human limits, they were among the few in the empire who possessed black hair, a trait that inspired both reverence and fear. The roaring black lion on the family crest was a reflection of that legacy.
Ferio Voreoti spoke as Leonia stirred awake. Half-asleep, she lazily smacked her lips and blinked up at her father.
“You have the same black color as me.”
Still wrapped tightly in his cloak, Leonia turned her drowsy gaze to the window. After settling her stomach and getting some rest, she found that the sun was now high in the sky.
“There’s so much snow.”
“Snow stays on the ground here until spring.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Leonia smiled brightly.
Ferio found himself unconsciously relaxing at the sight.
“Is this your first time seeing snow?”
Leonia shook her head.
Her reflection in the glass held a deep, lingering expression that didn’t belong to a child.
Ferio quietly observed his daughter. He had felt it from the very first time they met—she was too mature.
The orphanage records had listed her age as seven, but she looked more like five due to her frail frame. Yet, despite this, she used complex words and sometimes carried a quiet, knowing expression that startled him.
She might not be a commoner.
Ferio’s sharp black eyes carefully studied her.