Surviving as the Adopted Daughter of the Genius Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
“Reina, you’ve never tried a macaron before, have you?”
While enjoying afternoon tea, the Duchess pulled a small box out from under the tea table.
“They’re a new snack brought in from the capital—supposedly incredibly sweet.”
Across from me, Kirian, who had been sipping warm milk from his teacup with both hands, visibly hesitated.
“You seem to like sweet things.”
Since the Duke, the Duchess, and Kirian never touched anything sweet, whenever sugary treats like jam or tarts appeared at tea time, I was the only one who eagerly ate them—and it seemed the Duchess had noticed.
The Duchess smiled and pushed the box toward me.
“I always wanted to buy something this sweet if I ever had a daughter—and now I finally get to. Go ahead and try one.”
The Duchess often expressed her longing for a daughter like this. It seemed likely that bringing me here was her way of fulfilling that unachieved wish.
For me, this was perfectly welcome.
As long as I played the part of a cute and well-behaved daughter, I wouldn’t be kicked out of this house anytime soon.
I deliberately laughed in a girlish “hehe” and clapped my hands.
“Thank you! I’ll enjoy it!”
I popped the prettiest-looking one among the colorful treats into my mouth, and its crisp shell crumbled, releasing thick, gooey jam.
“It’s really delicious!”
The Duchess smiled gently at my heartfelt, soul-deep exclamation—not an empty compliment.
“Kirian, would you like one too? I know you don’t usually care for sweets, but since your sister says it’s delicious, why not give it a try?”
Kirian, who had been staring at the macaron box as if entranced, suddenly snapped out of it and shook his head vigorously.
“Nope. Don’t really wanna eat it.”
“You don’t want to eat it? That’s surprising—you seemed like you wanted to eat all the sweets.”
“Ahh, no! I mean—I don’t wanna eat it!”
Kirian huffed once, then picked up his teacup again.
“Only kids like sweet things.”
“Well then, Reina can have them all.”
The Duchess placed the box right in front of me.
What a windfall! Just as I hummed a little tune and reached for another macaron, I sensed an immense aura.
Across the table, Kirian, sporting a milk mustache, was trembling violently. His teacup, tightly gripped in both hands, even cracked.
“Oh dear, Kirian. You’ll need a new teacup.”
The Duchess, seemingly oblivious to Kirian’s state, calmly handed him a fresh cup.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t as dull as the Duchess—I quickly pulled my hand away from the macaron box before my forehead burst open.
Now that I thought about it, in the original story, there was always a description of the adopted daughter greedily devouring all the delicacies served at the Duke’s table.
If I ate all these here, I wouldn’t just get cavities—I’d lose my head.
“Oh, I don’t think I can eat them all at once.”
“Really? Then take the box and have one whenever you’re hungry.”
I quickly nodded at the Duchess’s suggestion.
“Yes, I will. Thank you.”
The Duchess refilled my empty teacup and, smiling, even added a spoonful of honey.
“If there’s anything you’d like to eat, just tell me anytime. I’ll get it for you.”
“The goods?”
A dangerous black-market deal began, with the library bookshelf between us.
“I brought them.”
“Good. Thanks for your trouble.”
A chubby hand suddenly popped out from between the books. Instead of immediately handing over the macaron box, it paused.
“What’s my payment for running the errand?”
A small sigh came from the other side.
“Are you seriously being this petty? That’s so childish.”
But having tasted macarons once, I couldn’t give up easily.
“Could Kirian be mature and spare me a few?”
Another sigh.
“Fine. Since I’m the adult, I’ll cut you some slack. I’ll give you two.”
“Thank you.”
I placed the macaron box—minus two—onto the chubby palm.
After the deal was sealed, we settled into a corner window seat in the library and began diligently devouring the macarons.
My share vanished into my mouth in an instant, leaving me to watch Kirian diligently tackling all twelve macarons while I licked my lips.
Eventually, unable to resist my instincts, I subtly tested Kirian to see if I could get even one more.
“If you eat something that sweet all at once, you’ll get sick of it.”
“What did you just say, Nuna?”
Kirian, who had been eating with a macaron in each hand and crumbs all over his mouth, set them down for a moment and glared at me.
“Oh—no, I just meant it’s probably too sweet.”
“It’s not sweet!”
Kirian was spouting miraculous logic on the level of “salt isn’t salty.”
“You eat sweets like a child.”
The word “you” nearly burst from my lips, but I swallowed it with effort.
Kirian haughtily lifted his chin and resumed demolishing the macarons.
“I haven’t eaten sweets since I was two. It’s just not my taste.”
For a moment, I nearly snorted in laughter, but luckily Kirian was too busy picking his next macaron to notice.
“Well, so what if it’s sweet? I happen to like it.”
“That’s exactly why you’re still a kid, Nuna. Real adults don’t eat sweets.”
Then I remembered the Duke and Duchess’s eating habits.
“Oh! Like the Duke and Duchess?”
Kirian nodded seriously as he picked up a pink macaron—surely filled with sticky strawberry jam.
“Yeah. Ever since I was two, I’ve been an adult like my parents.”
Right on cue with his words, I clapped enthusiastically.
“An adult since the age of four? That’s impressive.”
“Told you.”
Kirian, having licked every last finger clean, handed me the empty box.
“Dispose of this without anyone noticing.”
His line alone was straight out of a crime boss handing over a bloodstained black briefcase.
“Got it.”
As I obediently took the box, Kirian fidgeted with his fingers for a moment before speaking.
“Since I gave you two, you’ve gotta do another favor for me.”
Even after stuffing all twelve macarons into his plump belly, Kirian was showing off over just two.
But keeping my goal of longevity in mind, I nodded earnestly.
“Of course. You can treat me like your own hands and feet.”
“Nuna, don’t you wanna eat chocolate and hard candy?”
He might not understand much, but he was spot-on about reading my cues.
“Absolutely. I should tell the Duchess right away how desperately I want chocolate and hard candy.”
“Good. Since you’re still a kid, that’s fine.”
Kirian spoke as if bestowing a great favor.
“Right, right. Since I’m a kid, I’ll ask her to buy lots.”
Seeing me understand his unspoken wishes so perfectly, Kirian patted my shoulder.
The touch of his chubby hand on my shoulder felt blissful, so I subtly hunched my back a little to make it easier for his short arms to reach.
“You’re useful, Nuna. Really useful.”
“Oh, thank you! If you need anything else, just call me anytime—anytime at all!”
Smuggling deals continued endlessly in the library. Any unsold stock after a deal was neatly stored in a box on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.
Of course, Kirian remembered the exact count like a ghost, so I couldn’t sneak any extras—but occasionally, when he felt generous, I’d get a treat.
As these library smuggling operations went on, Kirian’s opinion of me seemed to steadily improve.
Judging by his occasional remarks like “That job was tough—thanks for your trouble” or “You’re actually pretty decent at this,” I figured I’d become a trustworthy business partner.
If only this relationship could stay exactly as it was—neither more nor less—I’d have no complaints.
Everyone Kirian had met so far had treated him with utmost politeness.
No matter how young he was, as the only son of House Istira, nobody dared act carelessly around him.
Of course, there were adults—like the Emperor, whom Kirian dreaded just hearing the name of—who’d pinch his cheeks or smack his bottom every time they met, saying, “Oh my, what a cute little thing! Duke, why not donate him to the nation and leave him at the palace this time?”
But most people merely clicked their tongues regretfully, not daring to lay a finger on Kirian.
Being called “cute” annoyed Kirian, but as an adult, he could tolerate it.
Other noble children were also thoroughly trained by their parents to accommodate Kirian’s mood as much as possible.
Naturally, among peers, no one would ever dare utter the offensive word “cute.”
But what about the adopted older sister from commoner stock?
From the very first day we met, she’d grabbed my cheeks and kept calling me cute!
Her eyes even held that unbearably irritating look—as if I were some much younger child, despite our small age gap.
In short, it was the worst first impression imaginable.
But one day, her attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, and she even became a rather useful subordinate.
Apparently, after secretly observing me for several days, she’d been overwhelmed by my true nature—
not cuteness, but something closer to coolness.
Father always said that if one diligently strives for self-improvement, people will naturally follow.
It seemed I’d finally gained someone of my own.
My first subordinate. My first person.
But now, someone had appeared who wanted to tarnish that person.
“You’re from commoner stock, right?”
The venomous voice of a distant cousin from a cadet branch, who’d recently appeared at the Duke’s residence, drifted through the door.
“Yeah.”
My foolish older sister, unable to even detect the obvious sarcasm in those words, replied flatly.
“If it were me, I couldn’t show my face in public. You’ll have a rough time in high society later.”
“If it were me, I couldn’t show my face in public. You’ll have a rough time in high society later.”
I stared blankly at the cousin, who’d just hurled a scathing insult.
Yesterday, this cousin had played the demure lady, but as soon as the adults and Kirian left, she revealed her true colors.
Still, no matter how openly she showed her true self, it took me a moment to decipher her tongue-twisted, triumphant jab.
“Oh, high society? I don’t plan on entering high society anyway.”
High society? Forget it. My goal was to become independent before Kirian reached adulthood.
In the original story, Kirian—renowned for his incredible humanity—immediately plotted to overthrow his father and usurp the dukedom as soon as he fell in love with the original female lead.
Once the Duke and Duchess, the only ones in the household who felt responsible for the adopted daughter, were driven out, her execution followed swiftly.
No matter how well things were going with Kirian lately, you never knew with people.
Right now, winning Kirian’s favor was the best course—but the moment he came of age, I planned to leave immediately.
I was already steadily saving up my independence fund.
“Hah, if it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to go out.”
“Yeah, go ahead and sell your shame hard.”
Only two things mattered to me: maintaining a harmonious relationship with Kirian, and faithfully fulfilling the role of the daughter the Duke and Duchess wanted.
Lately, both were going smoothly—which was probably why this little miss’s words couldn’t shake me at all.
I scratched my ear and headed toward the parlor door.
Seeing me ignore her, Olivia trembled even more furiously and shouted. She clenched her chubby fists and stamped her little foot.
“You’re ignoring me?!”
“Pfft—.”
It felt like watching a fierce but insignificant Maltese bark its heart out.
Just as I was about to burst into laughter, I quickly kicked open the parlor door—and saw Kirian standing in the hallway.
“Kirian!”
Olivia brightened immediately upon spotting him and hurried over.
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been looking for you forever!”
I was delighted too.
Letting these two tots who spoke the same language play together while I slipped away quietly—nothing could be more perfect.
Given that I’d already built up a certain level of goodwill, spending too much time with Kirian could become poisonous.
The more time we spent together, the more goodwill I might gain—but there was also a risk of doing something that annoyed him.
Rather than take that risk, it was better to stay just distant enough while keeping things pleasantly amicable.
That’s why, ever since starting the candy smuggling, I’d actually spent more time alone in the library reading romance novels than following Kirian around.
I waited slightly tensely for Kirian to speak.
But Kirian just stared at Olivia with a strange look for a long while, saying nothing.
At first glance, his red eyes, glinting with a cold light, even seemed to glare at Olivia.
For a moment, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
But the very next instant—
“Alright.”
Kirian’s icy expression melted away as if it had never existed, replaced by a radiant smile.
He even extended his hand first toward Olivia.
“Let’s go, Olivia.”
Olivia took Kirian’s hand with a triumphant smile—and shot me a quick, disdainful glance.
“You’re not coming. I won’t play with you.”
It was exactly what I wanted to hear—but watching their two round little backs disappear, a creeping sense of unease began to rise.
“Nuna, wait just a bit. I’ll be right back.”
Just then, Kirian turned around, grinned, and waved.
It was a picture-perfect, beautiful sight—but an inexplicable anxiety slowly seeped into my chest.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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BWAHAHAHAH if only we all had a buff in life 🫡🫡it should be tha easy 😩