“……Waaaaaah!”

The eyes of a pretty child with a red ribbon in her hair filled with year, and soon began tearing up. Then the child began crying, as if the world was ending.

She was having a seizure, as if she saw a monster.

Duke Paul Voreoti, whose face was filled with annoyance, frowned and waved his hands.

One of the orphanage staff members, who had been watching nervously behind the door, quickly took the child out.

As the child’s crying faded away, a voice spoke.

“How long do I have to put up with this?”

Whew, his black hair swayed with his short sigh.

His uninterested black eyes were filled with boredom, and Paul soon turned to leave after staring at where the child had been for a moment.

There was a bottle of whiskey on the orphanage director’s desk.

“You’re the one who asked for it, Duke.”

His secretary, Loupe, replied.

“This is a new record.”

“What is?”

“All the kids cried when they saw your face, Duke.”

This was the fifth orphanage Paul had visited.

“They all get so scared after seeing his excellency’s face……”

“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since my sword has drawn blood.”

“……They’re quite rude, aren’t they? This is the problem with kids.”

They weren’t able to see the Duke’s greatness. Loupe, who quickly changed his attitude, was also exhausted.

They were in a hurry to return to the Voreoti mansion, but it was tiring because they had to stop by every orphanage.

Loupe stared at the back of Paul’s head.

Paul Voreoti, ruler of the Voreoti land, which was famous for its violent and dangerous nature, was famous for his looks in two different ways.

The first was his handsome looks, and the other was his violent look.

His hair and eyes were black, his light colored lips were just the right thickness, his nose and chin were sharp, and his neckline was also well built.

His body was also revealed clearly through his thick clothes due to his long training.

On top of it, he belonged to one of the only two Dukedoms in the entire empire.

He was the most popular husband material in the empire.

However, despite being like this, Paul’s violence was enough to hide even his handsome looks.

He was a representation of how the ‘beasts of the north’ held power in their eyes and could kill with a single look.

Even Loupe, who had worked by his side for a long time, got scared from time to time, so how could those children not?

‘But why does he suddenly want a child…….’

Loupe thought of what had caused this mess.

‘I’m going to adopt a child.’

After returning from the royal palace, Paul threw his coat to the butler and said this nonchalantly.

And he really was going to every single orphanage on the way home and making all the children cry.

‘He should just get married instead.’

Then he’ll have a child of his own, even if it does take a while. Loupe couldn’t understand Paul at all.

Although he was violent, he was still the most popular husband candidate in the empire.

The number of women and families who wanted him was neverending.

Loupe then thought of what happened last winter. There was a false rumor that Duke Voreoti was planning on getting married, and families whose daughters were at the age to marry began sending letters to the mansion, and because of this, winter had been a bit warmer than usual.

“Was that the last child?”

Loupe had been thinking about the warm fire that didn’t go out thanks to all the papers he had burned, but returned to reality at Paul’s voice.

“With the last one, we have seen all 18 childs in this orphanage.”

Loupe signaled with his eyes at a knight standing nearby. Understanding his message, the knight left first and told the others to prepare for departure.

Paul and Loupe appeared when the huge carriage was ready for departure in front of the orphanage.

“Are you leaving already?”

The orphanage director followed Paul, rubbing his palms together. Despite the chilly weather, the director’s red face was oily and sweaty.

“We’re sorry we weren’t able to treat you well enough.”

His expression seemed way too relieved compared to his statement.

At the same time, he revealed his greed.

“They are truly beautiful and angelic children. They’ve used up all the luck in their lives now that they’ve met his excellency. But I’m not sure if they’ll last, since winter is coming up.”

Loupe was skeptical.

All the orphanages they had been to were not in good states. However they still prepared warm clothes for the children, and the facilities looked taken care of, to a certain extent.

But that was not the case for this place.

The playground looked as if it had been in ruins for a long time, and the glass window hidden behind a huge vase was broken, and the walls were cracked.

It showed how disinterested the director was in operating the orphanage.

It was the same with the children.

In the other orphanages, the kids would go looking for their teachers after running away from the Duke, but the children here flinched when the staff or teachers grabbed them.

Currently, Paul was going around these orphanages, using his intention to donate to them as an excuse to look for a child to adopt.

So this place would also receive the Voreoti family’s support.

When thinking of how the director would take all the money instead of using it to operate the orphanage, Loupe, for the first time, was unwilling to spend the Voreoti family’s money.

‘Although it’s nothing more than dust compared to the Voreoti family’s wealth.”

Right then.

“Nia!”

A sharp scream came from behind.

Everyone turned around to see who dared to disturb the Duke on his way out.

And there was a teacher from the orphanage, scolding a child with a flustered expression.

“Let go of me!”

The child bit the man’s hand with all her might.

“Ack!”

When the man let go of her, the child quickly ran and stood in front of the Duke.

The Duke, who had been the only one to not turn around, scanned the child from head to toe.

Her greasy hair and dirty clothes caught his attention first.

The children from before had at least been clean.

But this child was not washed, and not brought to see him. Her clothes were even worse than the rags the maids at the mansion used to clean.

However, her eyes sparkled like a jewel in a pile of dirt.

“Old man!”

Loupe and the knights gasped at the child’s word choice. How dare she call Duke Voreoti an old man? It was a statement that could cost her her life.

A few knights turned blue, as if their lives were the ones in danger.

“……Oh gosh.”

Loupe, who had finally gotten a hold of his senses, also gasped at the child’s fearlessness.

She was the first child who did not cry after seeing Paul.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

‘Her hair and eyes……!’

The child’s hair and eyes were black, just like Paul’s.

“W-We’re sorry! We’ll get rid of her immediately…….”

Paul raised his hand to stop the director from moving.

The director, who was about to drag the child away, flinched. His body was trembling from the Duke’s gaze.

“Loupe.”

Loupe quickly thought of the list of children at Paul’s voice.

“She was not on the list of children sent to us.”

The director quickly began making excuses.

“T-The thing is, that child has terrible manners, and she just makes a mess all the time……”

“That’s your excuse for lying to the Duke? Didn’t I tell you that the Duke wishes to see all the children in the orphanage?”

“I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me……!”

The director quickly got on his knees at Loupe’s anger and lowered his gaze. The other teachers did the same.

The child stared at the adults acting this way in awe.

“So.”

A voice grabbed the child’s attention.

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You should have a name, even if you’re from an orphanage, no?”

“The adults call me ‘Nia’, but I hate that name.”

They always referred to her as ‘hey’, but called her Nia during times like these.

She had been so shocked when the director told her that the name came from a ********** in an adult genre novel he had read.

Paul gazed into the child’s sparkling eyes.

“……You’re fearless.”

Paul’s black eyes filled with a red color, symbolizing violence. A strange aura squeezed the orphanage’s atmosphere.

The child shrinked her body, but did not run or fold her straightened arms and legs.

“Do you have any idea who you’re disturbing?”

The child’s arms began trembling when he began threatening her Her expression was filled with fear for the first time. Even her eyes began to water.

“It wouldn’t be strange even if I killed you on the spot.”

The child trembled even more when Paul took a step towards her.

Even so, the child did not step back. She clenched her teeth and held it in.

“…….”

Right then, Paul stopped in his tracks.

The Duke looked at the child’s eyes, which were similar to his. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, as if someone had sprinkled gold flakes on them.

“……Baby beast.”

Paul murmured.

Satisfied of his own statement, Paul rubbed his chin and examined the child.

It was interesting that she didn’t not back away despite her fear.

“Indeed, that name does not suit you.”

Such a calm and soft name did not suit the fearless child of a beast.

His black-red eyes calmed down and soon returned to its pure black state. Paul gave the child a more suitable name.

“Leonia Voreoti.”

The child’s mouth widened.

“……It’s too long.”

“Leonia is the name, you idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot!”

“We’ll have to call in a teacher once we get back home.”

Muttering that there was a lot of things to teach her, Paul grabbed Leonia and tossed her into the carriage. Leonia screamed in fake pain as she landed on the soft seat.

Loupe and knights watched in shock.

“……Y-Your excellency!”

Loupe clinged onto the carriage handle.

“Wait! What is going on……!”

Something even more shocking happened.

Paul, who was often referred to as the black beast, was pressing a finger on Leonia’s forehead and laughing.

“You old man!”

Getting mad, Leonia glared at Paul.

“Do you enjoy making fun of kids?”

“It’s more enjoyable than I expected.”

“Gasp, this old man must be a pervert!”

“Watch your language.”

Maybe this was why old men sighed whenever they talked about their children.

Paul let go of Leonia while thinking of this.

Leonia opened her eyes wide and growled. She really was like a baby beast.

“Leonia.”

Paul called his daughter’s name.

In the crest of the Voreoti family that was on the carriage, there was a black lion roaring.

A lion (Leonia) that was roaring (Paul).

There was no name that could suit Lady Voreoti more than this one.

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.

**************

Because of this, Leonia's meals always had meat.

After making sure that Leonia ate enough for her stomach to pop out a little and burp uncontrollably, Paul headed for the Dukedom.

"I'm ful……."

Leonia lied down in the carriage seat in exhaustion from eating. Small burps continued to come out of her mouth.

"What if I throw up?"

"That's fine."

Paul answered uninterestedly while looking over documents.

"The carriage is expensive. It would be a waste. The people who clean it will have a hard time as well."

"Why are you worrying about that?"

Paul was genuinely curious. Leonia lifted her upper body.

Her red dress and cape, and the red ribbon that was used to tie her hair suited her so well that they all looked as if they belonged to Leonia from the start.

'There are a lot of things I need to buy.'

Nothing that a child needed was in the Voreoti Dukedom.

The only things were Paul's things from when he as a child, but those were all dusty from being left in the storage all this time, so you couldn't exactly use them.

And Paul didn't want to give something like that to his child.

"……."

Paul let go of the files in his hands as he recalled unwanted memories.

The child was still looking at Paul.

"You are a lady of the Voreoti Dukedom now."

Paul spoke, gazing back at the child.

"Don't be afraid to let some carriage go to waste. Even as you breathe, I'm making enough money to buy another carriage for you, so just do anything you want."

Woah! Leonia made an exaggerated gasp.

"Old man, you're kind of cool, aren't you?"

Leonia giggled, remarking that money was the best after all.

Paul felt as if some cheapskate was sitting in front of him.

He wondered if she liked money so much because she was a commoner, but if you thought of her age, that didn't seem to be it either.

She actually acted like an adult who had gone through all the ups and downs of life.

The child wasn't childlike at all.

This irritated Paul as if it were a rash on his finger.

"Even so, I don't want to throw up."

Looking out the window, Leonia muttered that it would hurt if she did.

Paul's gaze followed Leonia' out the window.

The trees were colorful, as it was the end of autumn.

"And people need to have rich hearts, not rich in money."

"That's a load of crap."

"You're right, it is."

Leonia added that it was something poor people said to make themselves feel better.

"You sure know your stuff, old man."

The 1 day old father and daughter were really connected, in many different ways.

Paul was extremely satisfied with the family he had formed out of his sudden change of mind.

Moments later, a knight knocked on the carriage window. When Paul looked out, Meles told him that they had almost arrived at their destination.

Leonia smiled brightly and waved her hand when she saw the familiar face.

"Meles!"

Leonia greeted her. Meles greeted her back with a smile and a nod.

"I like her."

"Meles is a good knight."

Paul realized that he would need knights to guard his daughter as well.

He not only needed to buy materialistic things, but also needed to find people. He needed teachers, a maid, and knights.

And Meles over there had just made the list of the lady's personal guards.

"Right, Leonia."

Paul asked after he had sorted out the things he needed to do once he returned home.

"Have you ever ridden a gate?"

* * *

"Uwaaaack!"

Leonia threw up while holding onto a thin tree.

Instead of the autumn leaves they had seen a moment ago, a huge pile of snow had taken its place.

But Leonia was suffering from nausea after using the gate to come over to the Voreoti land directly.

"Lady, are you okay?"

Meles tapped her small back.

"How weak."

Paul clicked his tongue.

When the knights informed him that they had arrived near the gate, Leonia had widened her eyes asked what it was.

Paul explained that it allowed you to travel a long distance in an instance, and people riding it for the first time may experience nausea, although it wasn't common.

'Must be like a tunnel.'

Leonia nodded after muttering something Paul couldn't understand.

'I've never been on it, but I think it'll be fine.'

But the results were terrible. Leonia happened to be one of the rare cases where she experienced extreme nausea after going on the gate for the first time.

"I'm going to die……."

Leonia looked like a dying weed in Meles' arms.

"I've never seen anyone die from nausea."

Paul became irritated when he saw the child.

The child was already extremely thin, but now she looked even more ill because she was out of energy.

But it was different from the irritation he usually felt. It was the same type of feeling as when he found the bruise on the child's arm.

"Old man, you're mean……."

But her mind seemed to be fine, since she was talking back.

"Look, you're not dead yet."

Paul took off his cape and carefully wrapped Leonia in it as he took her from Meles.

Some thick piece of blob was created in a matter of moments.

"Whew……."

Leonia let out a breath comfortably. Paul stared at her for a moment, and patted her back awkwardly.

"Ughhh, don't pat me……."

Paul quickly stopped when Leonia said she felt like puking again.

"You sure talk a lot."

Paul told her to stop talking if she was feeling so unwell.

Leonia just made noises now, because she was out of energy.

"Can I throw up on your clothes……?"

"Am I just a joke to you?"

Paul frowned. But his hands were still careful as he patted her.

Soon, Paul heard a soft breathing. Leonia had fallen asleep in Paul's arms.

"……How ugly."

Paul remarked as he looked at the child's sleeping face.

But his usually indifferent lips had formed a curved.

Paul quietly ordered for the knights to prepare for departure, and the knights waited until Paul and Leonia had entered the carriage before preparing.

The knights were horrified at what Paul had just done.

"……Did you see that?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I thought I was seeing things."

"He must've hurt his head……."

"It must really be his real daughter that he's kept hidden."

Everyone from the Voreoti family was famous for being cold and indifferent towards people, and Paul Voreoti was the worst of them all.

But he was now pouring all his attention towards a child he had brought from the orphanage yesterday.

He even lowered his voice so the child would not wake up.

This brought more fear to Paul's knights than the monsters in the Northern mountains.

"The lady isn't normal either."

Meles, who had looked after Leonia at the hotel, added.

Meles was already thinking of Leonia as the lady of the Voreoti Dukedom, and was treating her with respect.

Since Paul had said Leonia would be his daughter, his loyal knights had to follow without question.

"She even pretended to kick the Duke when he wasn't looking yesterday."

"Woah!"

"How brave of her!"

The knights turned pale, as if they'd seen a ghost.

Meles, who was explaining, was also pale.

"He said 'You're still ugly even after washing' to her when she came out of the shower. Then the lady talked back, asking if he did anything to contribute to her looks, and pretended to kick him."

The knights all rubbed their ears. They all believed they were hearing things.

But after seeing Meles' serious expression, they were in awe.

There were two reasons as to why they were surprised.

The first reason was Leonia's courage.

Another was the fact that Paul had made a joke to the child.

"……She must be his real child."

There was no way the small child could act such a way if this wasn't the case.

The knights all decided that it was only possible because she was related to him by blood.

A knight was usually not allowed to speak like this about their master, whom they swore their loyalty to.

But this time, everyone was talking about the strange father-daughter relationship they had seen, and people began to strongly believe that Leonia was Paul's real child.

* * *

The Voreoti Dukedom.

There was only one name for the harsh Northern continent, but it had several nicknames.

Monster's den, land of perpetual snow, and home to the black beasts.

The black beasts referred to the Voreoti Dukedom family that ruled over the land.

The family, whose strength exceeded that of normal humans, had black hair, which was unusual in the empire, and the nickname was formed by those who respected and feared them.

The black lion on the family crest was also derived from the nickname.

"You're lucky."

Paul told Leonia, who had woken up.

The child stared at her father and made chewing movements with her mouth, still half asleep.

"Since you have the color black on you, like me."

"Hmm."

Leonia looked out the window, still wrapped up in Paul's cape and arms.

The sun was high up in the sky.

"There's a lot of snow."

"It snows until spring in the Voreoti Dukedom."

"Is it super cold?"

"It's fine once you get used to it."

"I like the cold, too."

Leonia smiled. Paul also loosened his lips.

"Is it your first time seeing snow?"

"Nope."

Leonia shook her head.

Her eyes held longing, which didn't suit her age.

Paul quietly observed his daughter.

He had felt it since they first met, but the child was excessively mature.

He thought of the personal information document from the orphanage, which estimated her to be seven.

Her physical appearance could not be seen as any more than five.

But even if she really was seven, the difficult words that didn't suit her age and her calm face expressions surprised Paul.

'She may not be a commoner.'

His black eyes gazed at Leonia.

**************

... ...