The reason Duke Paul Voreoti decided to adopt a childhood was unbelievably simple.
'My son talked yesterday!'
It was the words of the Duke's only close friend.
Count Canis Linet, who had his second child 2 years ago, always bragged about how lovely his children were.
Paul thought it was strange for his friend to be so dedicated to his children.
It was amazing that his throat hadn't closed up with all the talking he did.
But this was only possible because Canis was Canis.
Count Canis Linet was one of very few people who could speak to Duke Voreoti so freely.
If Paul was a steep, snowy mountain, Canis was a warm field.
Although they had completely opposite personalities, the two of them got along well.
'But when are you going to get married?'
'When you die.'
'I want to become in-laws with you though!'
Canis actively told Paul about the benefits of marriage and children.
A chubby butt wrapped with a diaper, the fat folds of the arm, his daughter's bright welcome when he came home exhausted. He was preaching it as if it were his religion.
Normally he wouldn't have paid much attention, but for some reason, Paul couldn't ignore Canis' voice that day.
It was practically etched into his brain from hearing it so much.
'Being a father is truly sublime.'
But Canis didn't look sublime at all while saying this.
He actually looked quite gross with his stretched smile.
He was the same way when he talked about his fiancee before marriage, and now he made the same expression when talking about his children.
'They're really cute! Why don't you believe me?!'
Paul climbed into his carriage after telling him to go look in the mirror and stop talking.
There seemed to be more families on the streets than usual.
Everyone seemed so happy.
Was it that nice?
Paul closed his eyes after watching with his head leaned against the window for a while.
* * *
"……That's why you adopted me?"
Leonia was speechless.
Paul's carriage was still in front of the orphanage because of the sudden adoption.
Loupe was in the orphanage completing adoption documents, and the knights were guarding the carriage.
And while this was happening, Paul told his adopted daughter the reason he had decided to adopt a child.
He adopted a child because of his friend's words.
Leonia had seen adults who came to adopt a child in the two years she had been here. They all had different reasons for adoption.
Because they were unable to have a child, or they liked children very much, or they took a liking for a child while coming for charity work, or the child looked like their dead child.
One thing was for sure, they all had some sort of love and interest for the child. But Paul didn't.
"Old man, are you stupid?"
It was the first time she had heard of such a dumb reason for adoption. Leonia smirked openly.
"My one and only child seems to talk very nicely."
Paul clicked his tongue. But he didn't hate her arrogant personality.
It was way better than the other kids, who cried or stayed quiet.
"Didn't you want it too, though? That's why you stopped me."
"……Yeah."
Leonia agreed.
She wanted to follow this person out of this terrible orphanage.
But what she had done was close to a gamble. Thankfully, it had worked out.
She was finally able to leave the orphanage, and she should feel happy if she thought about what she had gone through here, but Leonia felt uneasy.
"Hey."
Leonia spoke with her eyes on the orphanage.
Loupe was on his way out.
The director of the orphanage was behind him, bowing. Leonia glared.
"……I have a request."
The orphanage director looked uneasy. It was the same with all the teachers.
"The director and the teachers are embezzling orphanage funds."
"I noticed."
"They abused us. They also contact pimps these days."
Paul had been looking at the child's old clothes, but paused at her words.
"Do you even know what a pimp means……."
"I do! They buy people and toss them to their clients."
Leonia clenched her teeth.
"……They said they were going to sell one of the girls here to the pimp."
"……."
"So, can you punish them?"
"All of them?"
Leonia corrected herself at Paul's question.
"Not teacher Konie though. That teacher took good care of us."
"The woman with brown hair and a wound on her finger, right?"
"Yeah!"
How did he know? Leonia was amazed.
Paul didn't hate Leonia's round eyes looking up at him, as if he was amazing.
His chest area tingled, as if there was something in his clothing.
"Only that person seemed to be worried about you guys."
Konie was the only adult in the orphanage who was on guard and cautious towards the Duke.
She also sent him glares whenever the children came running to her in tears.
She was different from the directors or other teachers, who just wanted to suck up to him.
"He always hit us after drinking."
"The director?"
"Yeah."
Paul glanced at Leonia's arm.
"The bruise on your arm, too?"
"That one's from a different teacher."
Leonia hid her bruise by pulling down her sleeves.
"The wounds from the director are on my back."
Her voice was calm, as if she wasn't talking about someone who abused her.
Just like this, Leonia told Paul about all the terrible things that happened in the orphanage.
Paul's black-red eyes turned sharp as he listened quietly.
"So scold them."
"How?"
Should I kill them? Paul asked. But Leonia shook her head.
"Torture them until they beg you for death."
The child's black eyes sparkled. Paul gazed into her eyes, which looked like it had sprinkles of gold powder on them.
'……Is she really five?'
The first thing he thought of was Canis' first born daughter, Lupicla.
The cute child, who looked like a red fox, didn't cry when looking at Paul, and he remembered that she was turning six this year.
However, Leonia was smaller than Lupicla. Even if he took into consideration the state of the orphanage, she was way too thin.
On the contrary, her words were much more mature than those of her age.
Embezzlement and torture weren't words that children of her age would use.
"Duke."
Loupe returned with the adoption documents.
Instead of praising him, Paul signaled with his fingers for Loupe to hand over the papers.
Leonia's personal information was written on the documents.
"Loupe."
"Yes."
"You stay here."
"……What?"
This was shocking for Loupe, who had been relieved that they would finally be returning to the Duke's mansion.
Leonia felt bad for him, but Paul was uninterested. He didn't seem to care one bit.
"It looked quite dirty, so we should clean up the mess for them."
Loupe's mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something, but soon dropped his shoulders and sulked. His face had turned as pale as his hair.
"Clean it up so there's not a speck of dust left."
"……I understand."
"Old man!"
Leonia shouted at Loupe encouragingly.
"While you're at it, chop off their arms and legs! Beat their backs with your belt! Smash theyr nose in a plate full of water! So they never get up again."
Loupe's expression turned blue, like his hair. Paul smiled in satisfaction.
"Ah, except teacher Konie! She was good to us."
Leonia waved and told him to be safe.
"The evidence of their embezzlement is in the safe behind the photo frame!"
The carriage took off, and Loupe stared at the carriage, dumbfounded.
Leonia waved until the carriage could not be seen anymore.
"……Is she the Duke's real daughter that he's been hiding?"
One of knights, Manus, asked if he had gone looking around all the orphanages to find his real daughter.
That was how strong of an impact Leonia had left them.
On top of it, the child held the color black in herself.
"She said something terrifying while smiling."
Another knight, Frobo, agreed.
"……Anyway."
Loupe's expression was filled with exhaustion. The knights felt bad for him.
"Let's get to work."
To get back to the mansion and rest as quickly as possible, they had to do the 'cleaning' the Duke ordered them to do.
Loupe's eyes became sharp. There was a huge pile of dust to clear.
* * *
Two days after leaving the orphanage.
Leonia had to wash three times in warm water in a hotel they stopped at for her body and hair to become clean.
The only female knight Paul had brought, Meles, helped her.
The child's small body had many wounds.
Not only were there scratches and bruises, but there were several red lines on her back, as if she had been beaten with some sort of leather.
Meles reported this to Paul.
Paul told the knight to return to the orphanage and bring everyone who had ever hurt the children to his mansion.
This meant he would punish them himself.
The next day, Leonia dressed in a warm blue dress and a long fur cape that Paul had gotten somewhere.
Her black hair, which looked like it had been chopped off without care, was tied with a red ribbon by Meles.
"This is the first time I've worn something like this!"
Leonia asked how she looked in an excited voice. She looked like a child that had grown in a good environment.
"It suits you."
Meles smiled. But she was feeling terrible inside.
It was sad to think that a child like this had not only gone through a terrible experience at the orphanage, but had never worn normal clothing like this before.
She felt even worse because she had a younger brother about the same age.
Paul did not say anything for a long time.
"You're finally looking like a person."
A mocking voice came out when he finally spoke.
"I was always a person!"
Leonia said, and asked for a compliment.
"I can't compliment you when you're not pretty."
"Aren't you being mean, old man? You're my dad now."
"And yet you're calling me old man?"
"It's because I'm not used to calling someone my dad!"
"I'm not used to complimenting someone either."
Paul laughed as he refused to lose to a small child.
Leonia's cheeks puffed in anger. But it made people feel even more sorry for her because of how thin she was.
Paul frowned. His good mood dropped in an instant.
"If you want to be complimented, gain some weight."
The only child of Leonia's age Paul knew was Canis' daughter, but Leonia was so thin that the two could not even be compared.
He suddenly felt irritated. Of course, his anger would be taken out on the orphanage staff whom he would meet in the cellars of his mansion.
**************
HIDDEN LABORATORY: This was originally to be posted tomorrow, but I thought I might just push it up a day since it’s only the second chapter and I want the story to hurry up and be told hehe