#1

Leonia Voreoti.

First daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Voreoti, and the undisputed heir who would lead the North.

There had been a time when she was looked down upon—scorned as a lowborn bastard who grew up in an orphanage. But now, not a single soul dared deny her position.

Especially after her performance during the recent suppression of the rebellion, Leonia’s standing had grown even firmer. The nobility had begun whispering that she might become an even more fearsome Voreoti than the current duke, Ferio himself.

Even Empress Tigria, who had recognized her potential early on, once “praised” her with a warning-like compliment: “You’ll become an even worse duke than your father.”

The girl was cunning and strong.

She didn’t even try to hide her slyness—at times, she could be downright brutal.

But even Leonia, for all her cruelty, was still just an ordinary child before her parents.

She would squirm bashfully under their affection, cover her blushing face with her hands when praised, hoard the strawberry milk-flavored candies Ferio gave her in a glass jar, and happily read books with Varia, chatting about the stories.

Sometimes she’d get into mischief, driving her parents to scold her properly.

To the ducal couple, Leonia was still such a young, adorable daughter.

But that didn’t mean they spoiled her.

Especially Ferio—there were quite a few things he strictly forbade Leonia from doing. One of the top ones: romance.

Anyone who heard this might assume Ferio was simply an overprotective father. But that only meant they didn’t know him at all.

Ferio truly banned Leonia from dating. Marriage? That wasn’t even on the table.

However, Leonia, as the future heir to the Voreoti line, had a heavy duty—to carry on the family. That meant she had to bring in a husband eventually, and this wasn’t just the opinion of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Lupe Ricoss, but one shared by the diehard noble loyalists as well.

And Ferio’s answer to that had always been the same:

“Just take the seed. The seed.”

Romance and marriage—absolutely forbidden.

But obtaining a seed for succession—allowed.

This rigid yet bizarrely liberal stance of Ferio’s had become an almost unshakable doctrine.

‘Dad’s definitely not right in the head, huh?’

‘It’s because he loves you so much.’

‘Mom, are you seriously saying that?’

‘...Okay, maybe he’s a little weird sometimes.’

Of course, his daughter and wife never took him seriously.

Still, it was undeniable proof of just how deeply Ferio cherished Leonia.

In his eyes, his daughter was always small and precious. Leonia knew this well—so she decided to take a more cautious approach to dating.

On the outside, she radiated the aura of someone who could bring every man in the world to his knees. But because of her birth mother’s past, she too was being careful with relationships.

...But.

Ferio kept testing her filial patience.

He tells me not to, and yet...

While he so stubbornly opposed his daughter’s romance, he himself was basking in the sweetness of a newlywed-like relationship with Varia.

Right in front of their lonely daughter, no less.

Of course, Leonia loved her parents. How could she hate the people who would do anything for her?

Still, moderation would’ve been nice.

Even as their daughter, she had her limits. Watching their constant affection was hard to bear.

She, a child, was suppressing her dark desires every day—and yet her parents just did whatever they wanted. It was so unfair, she couldn’t put it into words.

So Leonia dropped a bomb.

“I kissed Her Highness, the Princess!”

She had felt a little guilty telling Ferio about it.

But since she was nearly fifteen, she figured she was old enough to do at least this much as she pleased.

She was wrong.

“Master! Are you alright?!”

“H-Hurry, fetch the physician!”

“Please, stay with us!”

Leonia’s kiss triggered a massive storm.

Ferio collapsed.

***

Ferio was deeply shaken by his daughter’s kiss confession.

It was a kind of betrayal he had never experienced in his life, and it hit his otherwise healthy body like a truck.

The moment they arrived at the Northern estate, he staggered the instant he stepped out of the carriage.

“Dad!”

“Rio—your body’s burning!”

Startled, Leonia and Varia rushed to support him before he could fall.

Everyone at the estate, including Kara, was thrown into chaos.

Ferio was immediately moved to the bedroom with the help of the knights.

The physician, who had only just been hired to care for the pregnant Varia, ended up examining Ferio first in confusion.

Thankfully, nothing serious was wrong.

“It seems extreme fatigue has built up. A few days of rest should be enough.”

And so the two causes of that fatigue dragged their chairs over and sat at Ferio’s bedside.

Ironically, they were the two people Ferio cherished more than anything in the world.

“Dad, are you okay...?”

Leonia looked on the verge of tears.

“He’ll be alright.”

Varia pulled her daughter close. Leonia, now in her mother’s embrace, nodded weakly.

“I didn’t think Dad could be this weak.”

“He’s... not really weak, just...”

Varia paused, struggling to find the right words.

“...Hmm...”

After a moment of thought, she finally said:

“It’s because he loves you so much. Of course it bothers him if some cross-dressing brat clings to you.”

“Mom!”

Leonia shot up, upset.

“How could you say that?!”

Clearly stung, she stood upright.

“I didn’t mean it like that...”

Varia flailed. She’d only said it from her husband’s perspective—truthfully, Varia liked Scandia very much. Leonia knew that too.

“You have no idea how rare a sane cross-dressing man is!”

Leonia shouted.

“And he’s even pretty! He’s gonna end up as muscular as Dad someday!”

“......” 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Varia began to question whether she should’ve felt bad for Leonia earlier.

“Anyway, what’s Dad going to do now?”

Back in her seat, Leonia already worried about the future.

“What’s he going to do when I get married and pregnant someday?”

“If he only faints, that’d be a blessing.”

Varia was also worried.

Even when the Finance Ministry had gathered information on Leonia, it was clear how much Ferio adored her. But seeing it up close—he doted on her even more than she imagined.

Honestly, Leo’s too good for this world.

Now Varia could understand Ferio’s feelings better.

But still, she didn’t want her husband to go around murdering their daughter’s suitors.

“Mom.”

Just then, Leonia mumbled.

“...So, Dad collapsed because of me, huh?”

“Of course.”

“Knew it. I’m the strongest in the world.”

Looking at her father groaning under the blanket, the shameless daughter declared with pride.

“My daughter...”

Varia tightly held Leonia’s hand.

“Let’s show some restraint for now.”

Ferio really was on the verge of getting sicker.

“But, Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t you think Dad’s kind of hot?”

Varia’s jaw dropped.

“Leonia!”

She stared at her daughter in disbelief.

“How are you thinking the exact same thing as me?”

“That’s why I love you, Mom.”

Leonia scrubbed her arms like she had goosebumps.

From the moment Varia awakened to the glory of muscles, it had been clear she wasn’t ordinary.

“You know, seeing your dad sick is such a rare sight. Of course I hope he gets better soon.”

“But he’s still hot even when he’s sick.”

“He looks a little stiff—should we unbutton his shirt a bit? Maybe lift one arm onto the pillow...”

“Ah crap, my soulmate was right here all along!”

The two locked eyes with deep understanding.

In that moment, mother and daughter were one—not just by blood, but by something beyond.

“......”

Ferio opened his mouth weakly.

“Dad, what is it?”

“Do you need anything?”

Leonia and Varia leaned in to listen.

“Both of you...”

A voice hot and ragged burst out between heavy breaths.

His eyes were slightly swollen, bloodshot red.

“Get out...”

Ferio finally chased the two villains out of his room.

***

Ferio was sick for a full week.

It was as if all the illness he’d never experienced in his life had come crashing down at once. The fever tormented him more than he’d expected—he’d barely been sick before, so it hit hard.

“Kara said it’s been nearly twenty years.”

Leonia muttered while reading documents.

She was filling in as acting Duke during her father’s recovery.

According to Kara, who had once been Ferio’s wet nurse, even as a child, he’d only had the occasional cold.

“I don’t recall the Duke ever being sick either.”

Lupe, reminiscing, nodded.

“It’s rather strange, honestly.”

“You mean Dad being sick?”

“It’s like... realizing the Duke is actually human.”

For the first time, Lupe understood on a deep, primal level that Ferio was just like the rest of them.

“He really is human...”

Lupe muttered in awe.

“Wow, that guy’s talking trash since Dad’s not here.”

Leonia narrowed her eyes at Lupe.

“Want me to tell him you said that?”

“Ahem—Acting Duke, a letter just arrived from the capital.”

Lupe quickly pulled an envelope from his coat.

“So you do talk trash the moment Dad’s gone?”

“If I didn’t vent a little, how could I possibly survive?”

Lupe brushed it off as harmless venting. Leonia silently scoffed, thinking he’d be dead if he did that more than twice.

“You still get paid a ton though, right?”

“That’s how I endure with just a few moments of petty revenge.”

“You’re unbelievable...”

Leonia stared at him for a moment, then sighed deeply. Yup—he wasn’t normal either.

“By the way, how’s the Duke doing?”

“When I checked earlier, he and Mom were tangled up in bed.”

Lupe’s face crumpled like a pickled cabbage.

“They were clothed.”

“Good to hear he’s recovering.”

Lupe’s complexion returned to normal.

“Dad’s been fine for days. He’s just pretending to recover to punish me.”

Frowning, Leonia examined the letter in her hands. Lupe silently handed her a letter opener.

“This acting Duke work is basically your punishment, huh.”

“If that’s the case, just give me the title for real already.”

Leonia muttered as she twirled the letter opener between her fingers. Doing all this work for nothing was just frustrating.

Swish.

She neatly sliced the envelope and pulled out a beautifully folded letter.

The sender: Prince Chrisetos.

After a polite greeting, the letter went into detail about the recent rebellion suppression.

“...Prince Alis,”

Leonia curled her lip into a pleased smirk.

“Apparently accepted the Olor title with deep regret and disgust.”