I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter-Chapter 250

She instinctively raised her guard against the unfamiliar sensation and ran through every possible explanation she could think of.

‘Don’t tell me... did Remus somehow obtain a Beast’s Fang?’

Leonia knew it was impossible, and yet the unease gnawed at her.

That unfamiliar presence above—its aura felt exactly like the Beast’s Fang.

It wasn’t just a vague discomfort.

Now and then, she could sense a violent killing intent, but Leonia couldn’t determine whether to classify it as “enemy.”

‘...I need to see for myself.’

She figured it was best to go up and witness it directly with her own eyes.

Leonia sped up.

The summit was close, and with it, Ferio and Varia’s presences were also drawing nearer.

Just as she was beginning to feel relief that her parents were safe—

Crunch.

The sound of bones being crushed rang clear in Leonia’s ears.

Startled, she sprinted forward, nearly tripping, but caught herself and pushed her body to its limit.

“Mom! Dad!”

When she reached the summit, Leonia finally saw that her parents were unharmed.

“Holy shit, what the hell is that?!”

And then—her eyes widened at the bizarre sight before her.

“Leo!”

“Don’t get close!”

Ferio and Varia quickly pulled her into their arms.

Pressed between their chests, Leonia let out a strangled squeak.

“You’re okay... You’re really okay...!”

Varia cupped Leonia’s face with both hands, frantically checking her for injuries.

She gasped when she saw the child’s clothes soaked in blood—but sighed in shaky relief when she realized Leonia hadn’t been wounded. The breath she exhaled trembled like the last leaf of winter.

“Are you okay, Mom?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

“That’s a relief. I was going to give you a serious scolding once we got home.”

Leonia exhaled deeply, and Varia wilted just a little at the comment.

“Save the chatter for later,”

Ferio gently admonished them both.

But he too was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that his daughter had reached them safely and unharmed.

“What the hell is that?”

Leonia narrowed her eyes at the lioness with suspicion.

The moment she’d set foot on the summit, she had seen it—the black lioness clamping her jaws around the nape of Remus’s neck.

The louder the sound of cracking bone, the redder the white snow turned.

“Leo, you can see the lioness?”

Varia was shocked.

“Wait, you can’t? She’s literally mauling—no, wait!”

Leonia shouted at the lioness in a panic.

“Don’t kill him! He’s ours! That bastard belongs to us!”

She was terrified that Remus’s head might get torn off.

“We have to salt him, turn him into pickled side dish, and feed him to his own dad! Agh—don’t you dare bite off his balls, that’s my job!”

At her loud and ridiculous plea, the lioness paused. She turned her gaze and calmly looked at Leonia.

“...What are you looking at, huh?!”

Still on edge, Leonia growled back at the lioness.

Varia gently patted her excited daughter’s head and asked in a lowered voice,

“Ferio, can you see her now?”

“No, I still can’t.”

Ferio narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t see anything, and only when the lioness got overly agitated did he faintly sense Regina’s Fang again.

The lioness slowly released Remus and began to approach.

Leonia stared her down, completely on guard.

But the lioness simply sniffed at her body, bringing her nose close to various spots.

“...What the hell is up with this lion?”

Leonia looked baffled as the lioness began rubbing herself against her.

“Why does she feel like she has a Beast’s Fang?”

“What else?”

Ferio asked quickly.

“Do you see anything else?”

“Huh? Uh...”

Leonia examined the lioness as she sniffed under her chin.

“Her eyes... are sky blue? Like, really pale blue?”

At that, Varia looked over at Ferio. His eyes trembled slightly at the mention of that color.

“Ugh, she’s heavy!”

The lioness suddenly stood up and wrapped her forelimbs over Leonia’s shoulders.

Unable to bear the weight of the massive paw, Leonia toppled over with a thud.

“Oh no, oh no...”

Tears welled up in Varia’s eyes as she watched. Her lashes grew damp with emotion.

Even Ferio—who still couldn’t see the lioness—was growing increasingly conflicted.

“Don’t just stand there, help me!”

Leonia, pinned beneath the lioness, slapped the snow-covered ground in protest.

Eventually, she wriggled free and caught her breath.

Then the lioness licked her face.

“Wha—what are you doing?! Hey, back o—”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Leonia shut her mouth tight and flailed, trying to escape the affectionate tongue of the lioness.

“She must really like you.”

“Just stay still for a bit longer.”

Ferio and Varia, instead of helping, held Leonia’s head still so the lioness could get closer.

“Let me go! Let gooo!”

Leonia trembled in betrayal.

Like a loyal servant enduring torture, she struggled valiantly—but in the end, she received the lioness’s intense affection with her entire body.

Afterward, Leonia’s face was drenched in drool.

“My lips...”

The girl sniffled in despair.

She had saved her first kiss for a special someone with nice muscles, and now it had been stolen—by some mysterious lioness.

“Just think of it as filial piety.”

Ferio patted her back.

“What kind of filial piety is that?! Want me to give both of you a taste of ungrateful rebellion?!”

“When we get home, I’ll let you see the knights shirtless—yes, even their thigh muscles.”

“I also ordered you a book,”

Varia added cheerfully.

“A romance novel disguised as a tale of tragic male friendship between two men...”

“I will fulfill my filial duties with utmost sincerity!!”

Leonia wiped the lion drool on Ferio’s coat with fervor.

“This is filial duty...?”

Ferio side-eyed his now stained coat in # Nоvеlight # displeasure.

Varia gently rubbed his arm with a bittersweet smile.

“So... can we go home now?”

Leonia asked, still fending off the clingy lioness.

“I want to go home. I’m tired.”

She just wanted to take off these bloody clothes and soak in warm water.

Leonia muttered a curse at the collapsed Remus with all her weary heart.

“All this mess over that pathetic little bastard throwing a tantrum with his lower half...”

“Leo!”

Ferio shouted.

“What, can’t I even curse?!”

Leonia snapped in protest—only to be suddenly pulled aside by Varia, who grabbed her arm in haste.

Only then did Leonia realize something was happening behind her.

Her eyes trembled.

“He moved...”

Varia pointed a shaking finger at Remus.

Despite having been mauled all over, Remus was twitching—then slowly rising.

There was nothing intact about him.

Blood still poured from the lion’s bite at his neck. The hole pierced by the Fang remained gaping.

His movements made a grotesque sound, as if frozen muscles and bones were being forced into motion.

His bitten body was horrid, and his clothes were torn to shreds.

His frostbitten fingers were pitch black. The exposed skin under his clothes was beginning to darken.

Blood dripped from his nose and mouth with every breath.

And yet... Remus moved.

On two feet—standing on his own.

In his bloodshot eyes, a chilling clarity glinted.

“...Haha.”

Leonia forced her stiffened lips into a smile.

“What the hell is that bastard?”

“Leo, get back.”

Ferio shielded her behind him. Leonia hesitated, then slowly retreated. Even the mighty baby beast felt disturbed by Remus.

‘I’m not scared.’

She told herself it was just disgust—that she simply didn’t want to be near him.

Even in a world where mana, ora, and unscientific phenomena were normal, this was beyond belief.

At that moment, the lioness growled.

Claws extended, she crouched low, ready to pounce on Remus again—

Don’t.

A voiceless command brushed against her ears.

The lioness glanced upward.

Ferio, Varia, and Leonia were all watching Remus with intense wariness.

You promised, the silent voice said.

That was the condition.

A hand from one of the three Voreotis gently stroked the lioness’s head.

It’s almost over.

So please, wait just a little longer, the soundless voice soothed her rage.

The lioness glanced at Varia, who stared back with fear in her eyes.

A faint, eerie mist of black shadow drifted through her green gaze—and her lips curved into a subtle smile.

***

The moment the lioness sank her teeth into him—

As his body froze and his consciousness dimmed, Remus’s vision gradually grew brighter.

He could hear the loud voices of the Voreotis.

He could see snowflakes falling onto the bloodstained snow around him.

And from somewhere deep inside him, heat began to spread.

It burned like a blade at first, but warmth soon reached even the fingers that had lost all sensation.

“...This is it! This was it!”

Awed by the unknown power awakening within him, Remus clutched his face and let out a twisted laugh.

His rotting black fingers combed back his frost-covered red hair.

“The legend was true!”

Stopping his laughter, Remus turned swiftly toward the three Voreotis. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“I have it in my hands—that power is mine!”

Blood dripped from his wide eyes. It gathered like tears from a wound.

“...Eh?”

Leonia squinted.

Luckily, her dumbfounded mutter didn’t reach Remus’s ears.

“I’ve obtained the Beast’s Fang!”

He could hear neither the howling winds, nor Leonia twirling her finger by her temple with a deadpan, “He’s seriously lost it.”

Ferio, meanwhile, watched Remus in silence.

And like Leonia, he furrowed a brow.

“There’s... nothing there?”

Leonia couldn’t feel any power from Remus.

“Dad, you too, right?”

“...Yeah.”

Ferio also couldn’t sense the Beast’s Fang in Remus.

In fact, the only place they could sense it was from the black lioness beside them.

And yet, Remus’s gaze remained vicious.

There’s nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Which made it all the more dangerous.

A man who had been on the brink of death now standing upright, claiming he’d gained power—it wasn’t normal.

It would’ve been better if he had obtained a Fang.

At least then they could identify the source and respond accordingly.

“...Ah, I see it now.”

Remus whispered, gazing skyward. His twisted grin stretched so wide it seemed his face might split.

His parched lips cracked and bled with the effort.

Then he whipped his head around. Ferio and Leonia raised their guard once more.

Their reaction only made Remus grin wider.

Blood dripping from his torn lips added to the grotesqueness.