Surviving as the Adopted Daughter of the Genius Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
My reading was interrupted by a loud crash just before the last page of the novel.
And right then, Kirian appeared before my eyes.
It was Kirian, whom I hadn’t seen in a week.
Right after the viscount’s family left, the duchess had rubbed his face so hard that the red spots were instantly revealed to be ink, but claiming it was to prevent any unforeseen disaster, she’d locked Kirian in his room for a whole week.
Then, hearing Kirian rolling around noisily inside, she turned away coldly, leaving only a cryptic remark: “What you brought upon yourself, you can’t blame anyone else for.”
“Nuna.”
Kirian hurriedly examined me from head to toe.
“You really are Nuna, right?”
It was a side of him I’d never seen before.
His large eyes trembled anxiously, and even his voice, produced by nervously licking his dry lips, shook.
It was completely unlike the calm and slightly haughty demeanor I’d always known.
He looked so visibly distressed that, without thinking, I reached out and took his hand.
“It’s me. What’s wrong?”
“I—I thought you’d disappeared, Nuna.”
Kirian finally calmed down only after clutching my hand tightly several times.
“Disappeared? Why would I?”
“You kissed Olivia and rode off together in a carriage.”
“Me?”
I blinked in surprise several times.
“Uuuh… You didn’t even look back. You said Olivia was better.”
Kirian began to sniffle.
He spoke as if something that had never happened had actually occurred—like a child confusing a frightening dream with reality.
“No, I’d never do that.”
Truthfully, leaving by carriage was exactly what I wanted, but for now, the lie slipped out effortlessly.
Knowing he hated being treated like a child, I still gently patted Kirian’s shoulder, unable to bear how pitiful he looked while sniffling.
“Re-really?”
Kirian looked up at me with eyes wide as saucers.
For a moment, mesmerized by his fluttering long lashes and tear-blurred crimson irises, I nodded emphatically.
“Really, really.”
His desperate clinging was strangely heart-wrenching.
Kirian, who had always been immersed solely in lessons and training at the ducal estate, had never had the chance to make friends his age—it seemed I was his first.
Now, gripped by the fear of losing the friend he’d worked so hard to gain to another child, he’d even hallucinated me boarding a carriage. No matter how cruelly he might act in the future, I couldn’t help but feel moved by this young Kirian before me.
All sorts of thoughts suddenly flooded my mind.
Couldn’t I just raise this kid for a few years? People foster cats temporarily, after all. I’d just play the friend until right before his personality turned nasty, then slip away quietly.
While I was lost in thought, Kirian dashed off somewhere and quickly returned with a box.
“Nuna, take this. It’s for you.”
He practically thrust the box into my hands, and I accepted it absentmindedly.
It was none other than Kirian’s prized treasure No. 1: his chocolate box.
“But this is something you really cherish.”
“Take it, Nuna. I don’t really like sweets.”
Though he claimed not to like sweets, his eyes lingered on the box with unmistakable reluctance.
But when he immediately looked up at me with a bright, cheerful smile, my heart ached.
It was impossible to imagine this child growing up to become a psychopathic tyrant who savored others’ suffering like fine wine.
“Thank you, Kirian.”
I’d intended to end with a brief expression of gratitude, but against my initial plan, the words kept pouring out.
“Even if you don’t like sweets much, you’ll eat them with me when I do, right? It’s boring eating alone.”
I thought this would only give us an excuse to grow closer,
but by the time I came to my senses, Kirian was already gazing at me with deeply touched eyes.
“Mm, I’ll definitely do that.”
Kirian’s ears suddenly turned red all the way to the tips as he fidgeted, darting his eyes around uncertainly.
“And… um…”
Kirian squeezed his chubby fists, shut his eyes tightly, and blurted out quickly,
“I want a kiss too.”
Seeing how shy he was—his cheeks practically quivering—I had to bite back a giggle.
I clenched my teeth to suppress my laughter and gave Kirian a quick peck on the cheek. It felt softer than dough.
But fearing Kirian, who absolutely hated being treated like a child, might resent me if I lingered too long, I pulled away as soon as our lips barely brushed.
I clenched both hands tightly behind my back, barely suppressing the urge to immediately grab his chubby cheeks with both hands and squeeze them playfully.
“Well, done?”
Kirian lowered his head and shook it firmly. His face, glimpsed briefly, looked utterly gloomy.
Had I kissed him too long after all?
Just as I began worrying I’d made a huge mistake, Kirian finally spoke.
“We have to get married too.”
“Married?”
Kirian nodded vaguely and pointed with his drooping finger at the snack box I held.
“’Cause you gave it to me…”
“Kkup.”
I bit my tongue again and pressed my trembling lips with my fingers.
I shook the snack box slightly.
“Is this your proposal gift?”
Kirian nodded seriously.
“Oh dear, this is serious.”
After all, it was a proposal from the male lead of the novel himself.
I struggled to maintain a serious expression and nodded.
“There’s no more splendid proposal than one with candy and chocolate.”
“Mm.”
“Heh.”
When Kirian earnestly nodded along with me, the second crisis struck.
“Nuna, why are you laughing?”
“Because I’m so happy. Yes, let’s get married—ugh!”
Kirian suddenly hugged me without warning, and I stumbled backward a few steps, unable to brace myself.
“Nuna!”
Though he was destined to marry the novel’s heroine—who would later tenderly embrace even his broken personality—Kirian’s eyes sparkled excessively.
“You’re that happy?”
“Mm!”
“Sigh… In the future, if you try to ‘propose’ again by just throwing a few candies and demanding marriage like a threat, you’ll instantly become a tragic figure.”
I could already picture it: the future Kirian, devoid of basic decency, arrogantly tossing a cheap gift and imperiously raising an eyebrow while saying, “We’re getting married, got it?”
I clicked my tongue and silently offered my condolences to the future heroine.
“Hehe.”
Kirian, clearly not understanding a word I’d said, just giggled softly.
“Marriage? What does that even mean?”
At that moment, a firm voice came from behind me.
The duchess approached, carrying a door panel with a hole in it over her shoulder.
The hole was just big enough for a small child to pass through.
The door was so thick and solidly made of wood that when the duchess set it down with a “thud,” the floor vibrated.
“Oh, Mother. I’m sorry.”
Seeing the broken door, Kirian fidgeted anxiously, twisting his fingers.
“I was in such a hurry I didn’t even realize…”
The duchess chuckled softly, apparently finding Kirian’s behavior endearing. She quickly composed herself, smiled warmly, and shook her head.
“It’s alright. Everyone makes small mistakes sometimes. Our Kirian is smart—I’m sure next time you’ll remember that doorknobs exist. Fixing a knob is simpler than fixing the whole door, after all.”
Though the door’s condition hardly seemed like a “small mistake,” the duchess remained remarkably indulgent.
“Still, I’m curious—what were you two talking about? I thought I heard the word ‘marriage.’”
Seeing the duchess’s serious expression, I started worrying I’d said something foolish to Kirian.
Given he was the only son of a noble house, nothing could be more important than marriage,
and even if it was a harmless white lie, the duchess might not take it lightly.
But oblivious to my anxiety, Kirian cheerfully clung to my side and proudly declared,
“I’m going to marry Nuna.”
The duchess’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Oh dear. Kirian, family members can’t marry each other.”
Kirian’s eyes began to wobble anxiously.
“Huh?”
The duchess smiled gently as she delivered the final blow.
“No matter how much you like your older sister, a brother and sister can never marry.”
Kirian’s face twisted in shock.
“No way…!”
As expected of an old, prestigious family—they addressed even a child’s innocent dream firmly when it came to such a grave matter as marriage.
I found myself nodding unconsciously. I fully understood the duchess’s position.
Since marriage was such a sensitive and critical issue for noble families, she had to teach him properly, no matter how difficult.
Yet instead of explaining the duties of the future duke or family traditions, the duchess began a completely different conversation.
“Reina must marry a man from a good family—someone perfect in every way.”
Kirian’s eyes, which had seemed as wide as they could possibly get, grew even rounder.
“N-Nuna’s going to marry another boy?!”
“Yes. She must marry the best man in the world.”
The duchess remained serious throughout, but I could easily see her intention: using me as an excuse to ruthlessly crush Kirian’s dream once and for all.
I felt slightly embarrassed and fiddled with my ear.
He’d fall in love with the heroine as if by fate later—there was no need to stop Kirian with such absurd stories now.
“No, no way!”
Kirian glanced back and forth between me and the duchess.
In an instant, I was suddenly lifted into the duchess’s arms, and Kirian was sprawled on the spot where I’d stood just a second ago.
“No waaay!!”
Crash!
Tearful and sobbing, Kirian bolted out of the library.
Not through the door—but through the window.
Stunned, I stared blankly at the high window with a hole in it.
This is the third floor.
Yet strangely, I wasn’t particularly worried. If anything, the window probably hurt more than he did.
The duchess seemed to feel the same, muttering briefly, “I’ll have to tell the butler to get a new window installed,” before setting me down.
Then, as if remembering something, she clapped her hands once.
“The upcoming Founding Festival will be perfect for scouting suitable suitors for our Reina.”
The duchess spoke words that would surely make Kirian faint again if he heard them.
Perhaps it was for the best that Kirian had fled out the window—at least he couldn’t hear what was being said from the third floor down on the first.
The duchess stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“All the imperial nobles will attend, and quite a few foreigners too—so there’ll be plenty of choices.”
Judging by how seriously she pondered this, her talk of marrying me off wasn’t just to crush Kirian’s hopes.
Upon reflection, I realized they might have adopted me specifically as a piece for political marriage.
Though I doubted someone of ordinary looks and commoner birth would be particularly useful, at least now I had one more reason to seek independence sooner.
The duchess continued muttering to herself.
“No, no. Since he’s still young, we can’t predict his future yet. For now, we’ll just do some scouting. I wonder if there’ll be anyone who catches my eye…”
The duchess let out a deep sigh and gently stroked my hair.
“How could I have brought our Reina home otherwise.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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BWAHAHAHAH if only we all had a buff in life 🫡🫡it should be tha easy 😩