Chapter 4
The duke gently pulled Lepoña toward him, slid his hands under her armpits, and lifted her up high just like before.
“Uwaah.”
She had been slung over someone’s shoulder like baggage plenty of times, but it was her first time being lifted as though she were flying through the sky. Startled, Lepoña instinctively grabbed tightly onto Duke Krytan’s wrist.
“…Oh.”
Reacting shortly, the duke raised her even higher.
For a five-year-old, her small body floated up effortlessly.
“Having fun?”
Lepoña, who had been staring at him with full caution the entire time, suddenly made a flustered face.
“P-put me down!”
How old did he think she was to play like this…? And there were far too many people watching.
Feeling heat rush to her face, Lepoña squeezed her eyes shut.
At the same time, she heard a faint chuckle escape someone. She slowly opened her tightly-shut eyes.
“Now you finally look five years old.”
The duke gazed at Lepoña with a satisfied expression.
Behind him, the butler approached.
Their eyes met. When the butler saw Lepoña’s face, he flinched and froze on the spot as if nailed to it.
What’s wrong with him?
The butler, face drained white, cautiously tested the atmosphere before speaking.
“My lord… this little guest is—”
“Lepoña.”
The duke spoke her name while looking at Lepoña, who shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Lepoña couldn’t tell if he was speaking to her or simply informing the butler of her name, so she kept her lips firmly sealed.
Perhaps he never expected a reply, because he continued speaking naturally.
“Lepoña Krytan.”
“……!!”
At that one sentence, both the butler and the servants who stood with bowed heads…
And even Lepoña, who was still being lifted high in the air…
All widened their eyes in shock.
“From today on, she will become my daughter.”
The duke’s deep voice echoed loudly throughout the vast mansion.
Does that mean I’m becoming… a lady?
A daughter? She had only thought that if she wasn’t dragged away or sold off, she’d be lucky—and if she could find work as a servant, she would be grateful.
But… a daughter?
Without realizing, Lepoña glanced over at the servants—that was originally where she was meant to be.
The bewildered butler attempted to stop the duke.
“My lord, you are far too emotional right now—this is an impulsive decision—”
“I thought it through carefully on my way here.”
“But there is a procedure for adoption—”
“You mean confirming the adopter’s verified identity? In this entire empire, is there anyone with more secure identification than me? Financial capability to raise the child? I doubt there’s anyone more qualified than I am in that regard either.”
“Yes, but this is not the same as purchasing an item. Shouldn’t you think just a little more—”
The butler had a valid point. Even when purchasing goods, things weren’t done so abruptly.
Lepoña nodded in agreement, and the duke stiffened his expression, glaring at the butler.
“So if I take my time and think slowly, that’s considered careful, but choosing quickly is impulsive? The moment I saw this child, I felt it. And if I decide to think slowly and send her to the orphanage, I know I will regret it without question.”
The butler let out a deep sigh.
“But you still need to hear the little guest’s opinion.”
“Very well. Lepoña, I grant you the choice.”
Her loose strands of hair brushed against the duke’s cheek. Their eye colors differed, but with similar hair color, they really might appear as a real family together.
“You heard earlier, but you were originally meant to go to the orphanage. After confirming your identity and parents, if there is no guardian ready to receive you, you will remain there.”
Lepoña already knew that all too well.
“And whenever donors or potential adoptive families visit, you would smile prettily and work hard to impress them.”
“…”
“But I have no intention of sending you there. None of that matters—because I will adopt you.”
Why? He was adopting a child whose identity he didn’t even know, after only a moment of consideration, as if he were buying something?
“On the other hand, if you dislike being here, I will immediately send you to the orphanage.”
And what about searching for his missing youngest daughter?
The question pressed against her tongue, but she swallowed it.
The Krytan family’s daughter had been attacked and disappeared twenty years ago. If she were alive, she would now be twenty. If the duke planned to adopt, it would make more sense to adopt someone around that age.
Yet here he was, declaring he would adopt Lepoña—a child he just found on the streets, whose background he didn’t even know.
Ah. So this is an adoption game, isn’t it?
Adoption games—something nobles routinely played.
Whenever they were bored or needed a child to handle tasks, they adopted any random child.
When they grew tired of them or no longer needed them, they simply annulled the adoption.
Or sold them into marriage.
She had seen countless children adopted quickly, only to be abandoned or sold off later.
Now she understood.
He plans to use me as a substitute for the missing daughter.
It was common among nobles.
They adopted children of the same gender as the one lost prematurely, treated them kindly, and soothed their guilt that way.
Then, once the child grew up, they annulled the adoption or sent them away somewhere far.
A common story.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to adopt a child met by chance on the street.
If I become the daughter of House Krytan…
It would be easier to explore that massive mansion…
and to search for the family treasure.
Lepoña swallowed dryly. She had been silent for a long time, but the duke didn’t rush her.
So you want to play adoption games with me? I’ll tear that arrogant fantasy to pieces.
If they planned to use her, then she would use them.
“Alright.”
Lepoña calmed her confused emotions and smiled. She had practiced this smile since childhood—it wasn’t difficult.
“I’ll become Your Grace’s daughter.”
Dry gasps sounded around them.
“Butler.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Prepare the adoption paperwork for the child—no, for the young lady. And gather anything else she may need.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At last, she was called young lady.
Feeling her cheeks burn, Lepoña buried her blushing face into her tiny palms.
The duke then lowered her gently to the ground.
At that moment, all of the servants bowed deeply and in perfect unison.
“Greetings, my lady.”
She had pretended to be a noble with false identities during missions before—
but never had she been properly treated as one by an actual noble household.
I made the right choice… didn’t I?
Unfamiliar with such treatment, Lepoña rolled her eyes nervously.
It was the day she officially became the young lady of House Krytan.
* * *
The duke suggested that they eat first since he was hungry, but Lepoña refused.
The mansion was too grand, enormous, spotless, and fragrant—just existing inside it shrank her confidence.
So, at the very least, she wanted to wash away her filthy appearance.
“I don’t want to eat while smelling bad. I want to wash first.”
“Who said you smell?”
“No one needs to say it. You can tell just by looking.”
“I can’t.”
With a flat expression, the duke tilted his head, as if her appearance posed no issue at all.
“A-also, I want to look at where I’ll sleep. I’m staying here starting today, right?”
What if he changed his mind in the meantime?
He made the decision easily—so he could just as easily withdraw it.
To avoid getting kicked out, she needed to secure her own space first.
“…Am I wrong?”
Swallowing nervously, Lepoña looked up at him.
Their eyes met, and the duke reached out to pat her gently on the head.
“Why ask something so natural like that? Of course you’ll sleep here starting today.”
He ordered the maids to wash her and guide her to her bedroom.
As she wished, Lepoña soaked in a warm bath and then headed toward the room where she would stay.
She tried to wash alone, but the maids insisted on helping, and she thought she might die from the exhaustion of resisting.
Her body might be that of a five-year-old, but her mental age certainly wasn’t.
She firmly refused, but the maids coaxed her like a child and even put sweet candy into her mouth, and in the end, she gave up and bathed while feeling practically stripped bare.
The maids flinched when they saw the wounds and scars on Lepoña’s body, but they did not show it outwardly.
Lepoña didn’t care at all.
Since there were no prepared children’s clothes, she wore what she had on before, and the maids looked terribly apologetic, as though they had committed a sin.
Nobles change clothes every day…
Lepoña buried her face in her clothes and sniffed.
In the orphanage or poorhouse, wearing one outfit for over a month was normal, and even when she stayed in the house the Pope prepared, she only rotated a few outfits and wore each for several days—so she never cared.
Since I just washed, my clothes don’t smell anyway.
Removing her hands from her clothes, Lepoña looked around the bedroom she had been shown.
The maids, feeling guilty over her shabby clothing, stepped out, saying they would check whether the young masters’ old clothing still remained.
Once alone, Lepoña looked around the room freely.
This room…
Filled with warm sunlight and the cozy scent of sunshine, the bedroom had a large fireplace with plenty of dried firewood stacked beside it, and behind that, a carved wooden rocking horse shaped like an animal—perfect for a five-year-old to ride.
It appeared to be crafted by a skilled artisan, smoothed carefully and coated with varnish.
The carpet beneath was soft, so even if a child fell while running, they would not be hurt.
The bookshelf, filled with picture books and fairy tales, was ridiculously low.
And the bed was far too large to have been prepared for a five-year-old child.
A room tailored specifically for a child.
…So this is the room prepared for the daughter they lost.
