I Became the Assassin Family's Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6
“Riche is a name that suits you well too.”
At the butler’s words, Jed also surrendered and praised the name.
Tuariche Rodwick.
Agnes—now bearing the name Riche—froze, her face deathly pale.
‘Is this really my name?’
Her mind grew tangled.
Why had Duke Rodwick given her such a name? Perhaps he had realized she was Ltiom and intended to confine her within this mansion.
After all, there was no prettier excuse for any scheme than family.
Even when she stayed at her uncle’s house, neighbors never meddled in Agnes’s affairs, saying it was a family matter and none of their business.
‘I hate it.’
Once again, she seemed to hear Duke Gerwer’s voice whispering in her ear.
Just as fear threatened to swallow Riche whole—
“Have you read the name?”
A blunt voice cut through. Riche jumped and turned around.
A man entered through the door of the butler’s office.
Black hair, red eyes—it was Blake, handsome as a statue yet expressionless.
“Yes, sir.”
The butler nodded.
Jed, meeting Blake’s gaze, clearly had much to say but kept his mouth shut.
He couldn’t ask something like, ‘You’re seriously giving this child the Rodwick name?!’ in front of the child herself.
Riche felt tears welling up but held them back, watching as Blake walked toward her.
“You look clean now.”
Blake lightly patted Riche’s head.
Come to think of it, this was the first time they’d met since her bath.
Though the air grew awkward, she had to ask him.
Why had he given her this name?
Her round, silvery eyes looked up at Blake.
“Your Grace, I have a question.”
“……”
She’d mustered all her courage to speak, yet Blake remained silent, his hand still resting on her head.
Riche truly wanted to cry, but squeezed out another burst of courage.
“Your Grace.”
“You may ask.”
“Why… am I a Rodwick?”
At her words, both the butler and Jed perked up their ears.
They, too, were curious about Blake’s reasoning for bestowing the Rodwick name upon the child.
“Hmm.”
But Blake himself was just as unprepared for this situation.
Though his expressionless face hid it well.
‘Tears?’
The child’s eyes, fixed on him, shimmered as if about to spill over.
‘Does she dislike the name Rodwick?’
This was the same child who’d calmly discussed her uncle’s death in the carriage.
Surely she wasn’t suddenly afraid of an assassin lineage now.
He couldn’t fathom her reason at all.
In the Locksha Empire, a commoner becoming nobility was an extraordinary privilege—no one would refuse it.
There were many reasons for that: the enormous taxes involved, the pride of high-born nobles, and so on.
But none of that had mattered to Blake when he decided to grant her the name.
Surely even the child understood this wasn’t an opportunity that came often.
Truly baffled, Blake asked her directly.
“Do you dislike the name?”
“……Hic.”
Just then, a hiccup escaped Riche’s lips.
For the past two minutes, Blake had been lost in thought.
Riche, imagining a future spent as a purification tool due to his silence, had held back tears until the hiccups began.
Hic. Hic.
She covered her mouth with her hands.
“Are you alright?”
Jed hurriedly patted her back, but the hiccups showed no sign of stopping.
Just as she began to feel miserable, Riche oddly sensed her breathing growing calmer.
“Master…!”
Jed was the first to notice, urgently calling out to stop Blake.
Following Jed’s gaze, Riche realized Blake was using his ability on her.
The Rodwick power—to regulate another living being’s breath.
‘Why?’
She was confused.
Every time an ability user employed their power, a curse-like black aura accumulated in their body.
Most ability users died before forty because of this aura.
Only Ltiom could purify it—but such beings appeared once every hundred years.
Thus, Blake’s current action was even more incomprehensible.
Using his ability just to stop a child’s hiccups?
Did he really know she was Ltiom?
“Those fools can’t even recognize you. Only I, blessed with insight, can see you for what you are—my Agnes.”
Blake’s aura rippled. The accumulating black aura gnawed away at his life force.
Riche shook her head at him.
‘Don’t.’
She meant to tell him not to use his ability—but to Blake, it seemed like her answer to his earlier question.
“So you don’t dislike the name?”
“Th-that’s…”
Now that her hiccups had stopped, Riche opened her mouth.
She needed to say more, but her lips wouldn’t move properly.
‘I’m scared.’
What if she said she disliked it and he used his ability again? He might stop her breathing this time.
Reluctantly, Riche nodded through tears.
“I… I like it.”
“Good enough.”
Blake lifted Riche into his arms, satisfied.
He met her eyes as she nestled against his chest.
“From now on, call me Father.”
[This is the timeline separator]After sharing a late breakfast with the child and watching the knights’ morning drills, noon had already passed.
“Seriously?”
The moment Jed followed Blake into the study and closed the door, he blurted out.
He’d had no chance to speak privately until now.
Blake understood Jed’s abrupt question but said nothing, sitting at his desk and picking up a document.
Papers awaiting his signature were piled high on the desk.
“You’re really taking her in as your adopted daughter?”
“Is there a problem?”
“A-ah, no.”
Meeting Blake’s sharp gaze, Jed flinched and waved his hands frantically.
Actually, there were plenty of problems—very serious ones.
It was rare enough for a commoner to become nobility, but even rarer for a ducal house to adopt a child.
Nobles typically adopted heirs to continue their lineage.
But in the Locksha Empire, the four ducal houses each produced one ability user per generation, who inherited the title of head.
For centuries, ability users had always been born, so the position of head never went vacant.
Thus, ducal families were seen as impenetrable to outsiders.
“No problem, but… once you announce it, rumors will spread fast.”
A ducal house had taken in an adopted daughter.
And not just any ducal house—the Rodwicks, known as the most insular of them all.
‘The other ducal houses will keep watch. The Emperor might even take action.’
The Empire was balanced not by the Emperor’s power, but by the equilibrium among the four ducal houses.
Therefore, any unusual move inevitably drew suspicion.
Blake, of all people, surely knew this.
“What can those fools possibly do?”
Blake scoffed lightly.
“……You knew, didn’t you? That the child would read the name.”
All that talk about granting a name upon reading letters—it was clear he’d known all along.
Look at him now.
Blake neither confirmed nor denied Jed’s question, but a faint smile touched his lips.
As if he’d anticipated this exact situation.
Just as I thought.
Jed felt a dull ache at the back of his head but what could he do?
In this household, the head’s word was absolute. His objections wouldn’t change a thing.
Rubbing his neck, Jed asked,
“At least tell me your reason. Why adopt her? If it’s for Young Master Deon, you could’ve just kept her as a playmate.”
Blake fell silent for a moment.
It was true he’d felt tender toward Riche, reminded of the child he and his beloved wife had lost.
But that reason alone was far too insufficient to justify adopting her.
Then why did this dirty commoner child, whom he’d only met yesterday, keep tugging at his thoughts?
The main reason was that an ability user’s power reacted to Ltiom—but how could Blake possibly know that?
Instead, he offered Riche—and Jed—a plausible, convincing explanation for his actions.
“Family is special. With a younger sister, Deon will feel responsibility and act differently than before. Right now, he’s far too isolated—even more than any other Rodwick.”
Seeing Blake speak so earnestly, Jed inwardly narrowed his eyes skeptically.
‘Using the young master as an excuse again.’
Of course, Blake’s reasoning wasn’t entirely unreasonable—
Jed snorted inwardly.
‘Call me Father~? Not “Father,” but “Daddy”~?’
He’d been in the Rodwick Mansion for sixteen years. Never in his life did he expect to hear Blake say something like that.
This was the same man who’d never once told his own son Deon to call him “Daddy.”
He wanted to tease him, but his life was precious—so he’d hold his tongue.
“Master.”
“What.”
Come to think of it, who knew how that ill-tempered young master would react upon suddenly learning he had a little sister?
He certainly wouldn’t throw a celebration party for her.
Scratching his cheek, Jed muttered as if to himself,
“…He won’t kill the young lady, will he…?”
Both fell silent for a moment.
Blake asked Jed,
“Did you tell anyone today that the child received her name?”
“I didn’t say a word.”
“Then Deon probably doesn’t know yet. I’ll go tell him myself, so don’t worry.”
Butler Paul was tight-lipped, so the news wouldn’t have spread through the mansion.
“But Miss Riche might have told Anna.”
Jed recalled his younger sister’s suspicious glare when he’d come to fetch the child.
She’d surely interrogated Riche upon her return: “Did Jed do anything to you?”
And there would’ve been other maids present besides Anna.
Ah, so the rumor’s already out.
Both men had the same thought.
Blake set down the documents and stood up.
Jed followed him out of the room.
‘Caught at first sight.’
Jed shrugged, watching Blake’s retreating back as he walked briskly down the hall, feigning indifference.
If asked whether he was worried about the child, Blake would surely play dumb and deny it.
But when had anyone or anything ever mattered more to Blake Rodwick than his work? Yet here he was, abandoning documents without a second thought.
‘It’s obvious. Our master’s turned into a doting father.’
Just imagining Blake grinning foolishly while cradling Riche sent chills down Jed’s spine.
Then, spotting a flustered servant rushing down the corridor, Jed dashed forward and grabbed his shoulder.
“What’s the matter?”
“M-Mr. Jed! Oh—Master!”
The servant, caught off guard by Jed’s arm around his shoulders, spotted Blake walking down the hall and stammered urgently,
“Young Master has disappeared! And the child you brought yesterday is nowhere to be seen either!”
[This is the timeline separator]“……”
Kreee.
An eerie birdcall echoed. The dense forest path was dark, sunlight unable to pierce the thick canopy.
Riche walked along the shadowed trail, gazing up at patches of clear sky visible through the tightly packed leaves.
“There.”
She called out to the black-haired figure ahead.
No reply came.
Huff. A sigh escaped her small lips.
‘How much farther are we going?’
About two hours earlier.
Back in her room, Riche had confessed her new name under Anna and the maids’ relentless questioning.
Afterward, the servants’ overwhelming attention became unbearable, so she’d hidden inside a wardrobe.
Not long after, the wardrobe door flew open.
It was Deon.
She didn’t know how he’d found her, but judging by his angry expression, he’d heard she’d received the Rodwick name.
His red eyes glared at her before he spoke.
“Follow me.”
And so, riding a pony behind Deon, she’d arrived here.
A forest near Rodwick Ducal Castle. They’d tied the pony at the forest’s edge.
‘He just keeps going deeper.’
She didn’t sense any murderous intent from Deon, but not knowing his intentions made her uneasy.
At this rate, they might lose their way in the woods—and he wouldn’t even respond when she spoke.
‘I guess I have no choice.’
Riche hurried forward and gently tugged Deon’s sleeve.
“Oppa.”
“……What?”
Deon turned his head, his voice annoyed, as if asking why she dared call him brother.
So this is what it takes to get you to acknowledge me.
Deliberately making her face look like a rain-soaked puppy, Riche said,
“Riche’s legs hurt.”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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At least that will make her discovered sooner by her new family.
Oh no! An enemy. How did she get discovered so fast?