I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter-Chapter 251

I Became the Male Lead’s Adopted Daughter-Chapter 251

‘Saura...’
Leonia thought the eerie madness radiating from Remus resembled Saura.
Back when Saura had lived among them as “Connie,” deceiving the orphanage children, there had been a similar, inhuman sense of dread about her.
‘No wonder she fell for him.’
Birds of a feather.
Leonia finally understood why Saura had been so obsessed with Remus.
They were both trash who had long since left the realm of human decency—and Remus far more so.
“So, what now?”
Remus asked with a childlike smirk.
“Now that I have a Beast’s Fang, am I a Voreoti too? That makes us family!”
“That crazy bastard—what the hell is coming out of that gaping mouth...”
Leonia grimaced as though hearing a sphincter babble nonsense—but she paused.
Ferio had raised his hand in front of her. Leonia followed the gesture and looked up at her father.
His black eyes, once filled with faint tension and confusion, were now clouded with a rising red mist.
‘Ah!’
Realizing what he intended, Leonia released her Beast’s Fang as well.
Golden mist bloomed in her eyes, and they locked onto Remus.
“I don’t get it.”
Remus stared back at Ferio and Leonia with curiosity.
When he tilted his head slightly, his charred, rotting skin was clearly visible.
“Why wouldn’t you use a power like this to rule the Empire?”
“What’s so impressive about it?”
Ferio scoffed with a crooked smile. Remus’s brow twitched at the mockery.
“...You stupid, ignorant bastard!”
Then he suddenly burst out laughing in a crazed fit, eyes wide.
His blood-flecked lips sprayed red spittle as he shouted,
“This power lets you dominate everyone! Make them all kneel before you!”
“Lovely taste.”
Ferio’s face darkened in open disgust at Remus’s crude phrasing.
“Too bad that arrogance ends now.”
Remus snorted.
‘...Oh, come on.’
Leonia felt disappointment flicker across her eyes.
‘That’s the kind of line villains say right before they die!’
The original plot had veered wildly, but this moment felt suspiciously close to its intended climax.
Remus was the most vicious and persistent opponent she’d ever faced.
And this was the childish line he went with?
Leonia felt all the tension draining from her body.
‘The hostility’s gone now.’
Ferio felt the same.
Being forced to waste time on a guy who spouted lines like that was beyond pathetic.
Sensing their shift, Remus snapped.
“What’s with those smug looks?! You brats don’t even realize what situation you’re in—!”
“That’s my line.”
Leonia sighed and pointed straight at him.
“You should take a look at your situation.”
In that instant, countless ice spikes erupted from the ground like a chaotic storm.
Remus screamed as the ice spikes rained down on him and formed a frozen prison.
“If you’ve got all this power, why don’t you try escaping?”
Behind the calmly smug Leonia, golden fangs shimmered.
Inside the icy cage, Remus glared at her with venomous hatred.
He grabbed the frozen bars that sliced into his skin, desperately trying to break free—but to no avail.
“Thought so.”
A thin, razor-sharp shard of ice stretched toward Remus’s face.
In the blink of an eye, it was in front of him.
The shard moved slowly, first aiming for his eyes, then drifting downward—until it stopped right at the center of his neck.
“...What did you do?”
Remus growled.
“Nothing at all.”
Ferio answered coolly, guiding the ice with fingers tinged with red.
Even without summoning his own Fang, it was more than enough to kill Remus.
“Honestly, I still don’t know why you, a man practically dead, suddenly started moving again.”
Ferio spread his fingers wide.
“But one thing is certain.”
The floating shard grew larger—then slipped neatly into his palm.
“There’s not a trace of the Beast’s Fang in you.”
Remus’s heart sank. His eyes shook uncontrollably, and the shameful panic on his face made Ferio sneer.
“There’s not even a resonance.”
“R-Resonance...?”
“You pretend to know so much about us, yet you don’t even know that?”
Ferio was no longer amused.
Because the Fang is passed through blood, its waveforms are similar.
Especially in young Voreotis, their Fangs often respond to the Fangs of their parents or relatives.
When that happened, golden mist would always rise in their black eyes.
“But you didn’t resonate.”
“...”
“Even Leonia, who knew nothing of the Fangs at the time, resonated with me.”
So why didn’t you?
Ferio didn’t bother voicing that last part.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Remus understood what went unsaid.
“Ugh... AAAAAAAGH!”
Remus howled like a rabid beast.
“There is something in you...”
Ferio’s narrowed eyes examined him up close.
Remus’s condition was far worse now than when he had collapsed, nearly dead.
The ice spikes had torn his already rotting clothes, revealing skin blackened by frostbite, and a foul odor radiated from his body—different from blood.
‘No ora. No mana.’
Not even a Fang.
Ferio couldn’t sense any power within him.
Those ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ born with power typically healed faster and were far more resilient than normal humans.
But Remus was neither.
His frostbite had worsened with time, and his bleeding hadn’t stopped—his skin paler than snow.
‘That power is a poison.’
Its origin was still unknown.
But Ferio was certain.
That power wasn’t helping Remus—it was destroying him.
“Dad!”
Just as Ferio reached that conclusion, Leonia drew her sword and charged.
“Lioness! Take care of Mom!”
She left Varia to the lioness and poured power into her sword.
Golden mist wrapped around the blade, and behind her, a baby lion roared.
“This is the end.”
Ferio tightened his grip on the ice shard. Red aura sparked across it with a fierce crackling sound.
The ice shattered and reformed—becoming denser and sharper.
The red ice and golden blade rushed toward Remus.
With a crashing roar, they shattered the ice spikes surrounding him.
“...What the?”
Leonia scowled.
Ferio’s expression mirrored hers.
Both father and daughter stared in disbelief as their weapons halted just short of Remus—as if striking an invisible wall.
Leonia’s palms burned from forcing her sword forward.
“What the hell is this?!”
She shouted in frustration.
Something unseen was blocking her sword and Ferio’s ice.
The resistance wasn’t just firm—it was immovable. The sharp end of Ferio’s ice began to crack. Leonia’s blade trembled in her grasp.
“HAHAHA!”
Remus had braced for death—but now, miraculously spared again, he laughed in awe.
“...Still clinging to life?”
Behind Ferio, the red aura of the dormant Beast’s Fang burned brighter.
Despite Varia’s pregnancy weakening his power, he summoned as much strength as he could.
Leonia too released everything she had into her Fang.
The golden baby lion grew clearer—then was overlaid with a red tint. Its roar turned savage, fangs bared.
But the more they pushed, the stronger the resistance grew.
Ferio finally lost his temper.
“Regina Voreoti!”
Leonia’s eyes snapped toward the lioness standing protectively beside Remus.
Floating above her was a sky-blue Fang—the very thing blocking them.
“...What?”
Leonia’s eyes trembled.
The golden Fang entwined around her sword wavered. Her shocked face turned toward the lioness.
“You’re... Regina?”
The lioness didn’t answer. She simply crouched low and growled.
Her round ears drooped faintly.
‘...Wait, no!’
Leonia quickly realized something wasn’t right.
‘Was Regina ever this strong?’
Ferio had never hidden Regina from her.
If Leonia asked, he answered. Sometimes, he brought up Regina first—especially during Fang training.
‘You share similarities with Regina.’
‘But your power is stronger.’
Ferio had said outright that Regina’s strength was less than theirs.
So why was this lioness—who appeared to be Regina—blocking both her and Ferio so easily?
‘Is she really Regina?’
Just as Leonia opened her mouth to call the name again—
“Ugh!”
“Waaah!”
A blinding snowstorm surged over Ferio and Leonia. It was a merciless gust like a giant hand sweeping away ants.
The wind was so fierce, they couldn’t stay upright. Both of them staggered.
And in that moment, the Fangs vanished—carried away like mist in the gale.
When they opened their eyes again... Remus was gone.
Only frozen blood remained inside the partially shattered ice spikes.
A trail of crimson led beyond them, dripping endlessly.
Father and daughter both turned pale.
“Varia!”
“Mom!”
They spun around too late—Varia was no longer where they’d left her.
“I guess the gods...”
Holding a broken shard of ice, Remus grinned as he pressed it toward Varia’s throat.
“...must love me.”
While Ferio and Leonia were distracted by the storm, Remus had taken a fallen ice shard and seized Varia, holding her hostage.
“That bastard again!”
Leonia was on the verge of exploding.
The more she looked at him, the more revolting he became.
Grabbing someone weaker just to shield himself—it was repulsive.
“...Huh?”
As she reached for her sword to activate the Fang again—nothing happened.
“What the—why?! What now?!”
The Beast’s Fang wouldn’t respond. No matter how much strength she used, it wouldn’t emerge.
“Dad!”
She turned to Ferio.
But he was the same. His Fang wouldn’t activate either.
Leonia stared at him, shocked and speechless.
But only for a moment.

Chapter 251