Surviving as the Adopted Daughter of the Genius Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8
“Isn’t there any lining softer than this? It’s a dress she’ll have to wear throughout the entire Founding Day banquet. Our child must have inherited my sensitive skin—it’s extremely delicate, you know. Hehehe.”
The Duchess gently squeezed my still-chubby arm as she spoke.
At her words, the designers gathered in the drawing room sprang into coordinated action.
“How about this one, Your Grace? It’s a cotton lining, meticulously handwoven stitch by stitch from the finest cotton fibers. It’s incredibly gentle—won’t irritate even the most sensitive skin.”
The Duchess stroked the lining for a long while before reluctantly nodding.
“Well then. It doesn’t quite meet my standards, but if this is truly the best available, I suppose we have no choice.”
The designers visibly swallowed sighs of relief. The head designer, mopping sweat that had been dripping since earlier, bowed deeply.
“Next time, I’ll surely bring fabric that pleases Your Grace.”
They looked utterly exhausted—no wonder, after already spending an hour arguing over “a shade of blue for Reina’s pale blonde hair that’s more transparent than sky blue, subtly tinged with yellow and green, bright yet not garish, fresh yet not overly playful.”
Even I, who’d spent the whole time sitting on the sofa crunching on sweets, felt utterly drained.
We hadn’t even chosen the dress design yet, and I was already deeply worried about what lay ahead.
“Blindfold! Blindfold!”
Short limbs flailed beside me.
Kirian, wedged against the Duchess’s side like a bundled parcel, hadn’t lost an ounce of energy and had been flapping about nonstop for the past hour.
If released into a swimming pool as he was, he’d effortlessly set a new world record with that intensity.
After he’d rampaged through the drawing room and torn every sample garment the designers had brought, the Duchess had simply picked him up—but Kirian kept muttering stubbornly about “Founding Day Sirro” or “Blindfoldie.”
“Sigh. Kirian, you need a fine outfit of your own too—you shouldn’t be disturbing the designers like this. Can’t you see how hard they’re working because of you?”
The Duchess was under a rather odd misconception. Yet not a single designer dared correct her misunderstanding.
Smiling gently, the Duchess elegantly gestured to the head designer.
“Please don’t mind him—just carry on with your work.”
I shook my head at the utter chaos unfolding before me and crunched into another sweet.
After a grueling five-hour ordeal, the dress fitting was finally more or less complete.
I stood awkwardly in the center of the drawing room, clad in my new outfit.
Kirian stood beside me, wearing a similar design, his plump fists clenched and his face full of discontent.
The moment he’d been released, he’d nearly torn his clothes right off—but after tearfully whimpering, “If there are two matching ones, I can’t rip them!” he’d resorted to glaring daggers at the fabric instead of using his hands.
The Duchess clapped her hands, beaming with delight.
“Oh my! How could you possibly be so adorable? Do you like it, Reina?”
I looked down at the dress I was wearing.
Since it wasn’t finished yet, I couldn’t be certain—but I honestly couldn’t tell if it was pretty or not.
Thanks to the Duchess’s insistence on only the most expensive and luxurious materials, the dress was completely smothered in jewels, embroidery, and lace.
Once completed, it would surely become even more extravagant—there was no chance it would ever look simpler.
Besides, I wasn’t blessed with the dazzling beauty needed to do such a dress justice.
With my faded blonde hair and eyes the color of washed-out denim, I was as mismatched with this gown as a potato stuffed inside a sack woven with gold thread.
Still, perhaps in this world, a dress’s value was measured precisely by how ornate it was.
Unable to disappoint the Duchess, whose eyes sparkled eagerly as she awaited my answer, I gave a reluctant nod.
“Yes, it’s pretty.”
Surely the Duchess, standing at the pinnacle of noble society, understood this world’s fashion far better than I did.
The Duchess smiled again and applauded the designers.
“You’ve all worked so very hard—thank you.”
But the designers, seemingly too exhausted to even smile, could only barely croak out a feeble “Y-yes…” in response to her praise.
Only the head designer managed to summon enough professional spirit to lift the corners of his mouth slightly as he spoke.
“Thank you for your kind words, Your Grace. I had no idea you possessed such refined taste in clothing—you’ve always seemed to prefer only the most durable fabrics before.”
I glanced once more at my dress, practically vibrating with the scent of money. Still, it was somewhat reassuring that the designer acknowledged the Duchess’s fashion sense.
Of course, standards of fashion would naturally differ greatly in a different world.
Meanwhile, Kirian darted over to the Duchess and tugged at her arm.
“M-Mother! Can’t we just stay home? Nu-na and I will stay home with you!”
“No. For any other event, perhaps—but as a member of House Istira, you absolutely must attend the Founding Day celebration.”
“I won’t cause trouble! I’ll listen to the butler and behave!”
“No.”
Kirian’s expression instantly darkened, so the Duchess affectionately ruffled his hair.
“If you must blame someone, blame the first Duke Istira. After founding the empire, he found state affairs boring and dumped the imperial throne onto the chancellor. That’s why the current emperor keeps loudly insisting that any Founding Day celebration without descendants of the founder is meaningless.”
I’d never heard before that the first emperor had actually been from House Istira, not the imperial family.
In the original story, House Istira was certainly an ancient, prestigious noble house—but merely one among many in the empire.
They absolutely weren’t a family possessing the legitimacy or power to rival the emperor.
“Then just get rid of the Founding Day celebration altogether!”
At Kirian’s unreasonable demand, the Duchess chuckled softly and patted his cheek.
“You’ve finally grown into a proper little tantrum-thrower for your age.”
“Tantrum—tantrum-thrower?!”
Kirian recoiled as if he might collapse foaming at the mouth—clearly, for someone who desperately wanted to be seen as a “cool adult,” those words struck a deep blow.
From then on, Kirian became eerily quiet. He no longer glared at clothes or designers, nor flailed his limbs about.
Instead, he sat in a corner, frowning deeply in concentration, repeatedly counting on his stubby fingers—as if pondering something very seriously.
Once the fitting ended, Kirian vanished somewhere, leaving only the Duchess and me in the drawing room.
“Um…”
When I cautiously opened my mouth, the Duchess immediately sat down beside me.
“What is it? Don’t you like the dress?”
“No, it’s not that. What do we actually do at the Founding Day celebration?”
The Duchess fell into thought for a moment, apparently pondering how best to explain it to a young child.
“You’ll eat lots of delicious food, listen to wonderful music, and dance. You must have been bored staying only with Kirian—this is a great chance to make plenty of new friends.”
“I see…”
Just as I’d expected.
“But I’m worried I’ll make mistakes—I don’t know noble etiquette very well.”
Though I’d lived in the ducal mansion for several months, the Duchess had never once corrected my manners or suggested I attend the lessons noble children usually took.
I’d assumed she didn’t feel the need to educate an adopted commoner child, so I hadn’t asked either.
But since we were attending the Founding Day celebration, I figured I should ask at least once.
In romance fantasy novels, noble children were always thoroughly taught etiquette and information about other noble houses.
Without any preparation, I’d probably end up picking up utensils in the wrong order or stomping repeatedly on someone’s feet.
If I was lucky, it would only end in minor embarrassment. But I might even disgrace House Istira’s reputation.
Since the original story mentioned that Istira’s standing in high society had wavered after the noble daughter’s debut, my worries only deepened.
“It might be best if I learn at least a little etiquette before going—for the sake of the ducal family’s dignity.”
The Duchess blinked in surprise, then murmured almost too softly to hear,
“My goodness. Not even Kirian—how can you have such grown-up thoughts?”
She gently stroked my hair once.
“So that’s what’s been worrying you, our Reina. That’s why you didn’t seem happy at all, even while getting your dress fitted.”
I didn’t feel the need to correct her misunderstanding.
“I’ve heard other girls your age absolutely adore dresses. Poor thing—you couldn’t even enjoy it properly because of your worries.”
The Duchess pulled me into a tight hug.
“It’s alright not to know etiquette, Reina. And why should you worry about the ducal family’s dignity? We’ve no dignity left to lose anyway.”
The conversation was veering in a direction I hadn’t anticipated at all.
“But wouldn’t it still be better to learn at least basic things like tableware order or simple dances?”
The Duchess pulled back slightly to look me straight in the eyes.
“Reina, do you want to take lessons?”
Afraid I might seem greedy for noble-only education, I quickly shook my head.
“No, I don’t particularly want lessons—but at least the basics—”
“Lessons at your age, when you should be running and playing?”
The Duchess shook her head firmly. That made me wonder what Kirian—who took lessons all day despite being younger than me—was supposed to be, then.
“Reina, you don’t need to act so grown-up.”
She stroked my cheek as if wiping away tears I hadn’t shed.
“You’ve been struggling all alone, haven’t you? We may still be far from perfect, but there’s one thing I want you to know for certain: no matter what happens, we’ll always be your family, standing firmly on your side.”
Her eyes overflowed with nothing but compassion and tenderness toward me.
I felt so frustrated I wanted to pound my chest. I was actually an adult! I didn’t even know what my deceased parents looked like! Somehow, I’d become an old soul burdened with all the world’s worries far too young.
Grasping at straws, I tried once more.
“But I don’t want to become a laughingstock at the Founding Day celebration—not even over something as simple as tableware order.”
Please, just let me eat my meal in peace.
“It’s alright! It’s perfectly fine!”
The Duchess patted my shoulder reassuringly.
“What’s so important about tableware order anyway? Get it wrong if you want! Eat with your hands if you like! Wipe sauce off your fingers right onto the tablecloth!”
Apparently, the Duchess truly didn’t care what mistakes I made. I wanted to protest that I understood that much myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt her passionate speech.
“No one dares say a word against you—you’re my daughter, after all. Who do they think they are?”
I finally gave up.
“Yes…”
The Duchess sighed and gently stroked my hair.
“Oh dear. Where in that tiny little head of yours is there room for tableware order?”
There was surely plenty of space for something as simple as that—but again, I said nothing. Or rather, I didn’t want to.
Under the Duchess’s affectionate touch and warm gaze, I found myself believing, without even realizing it—
That I truly was the noble daughter of House Istira, and above all, this woman’s child.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
BWAHAHAHAH if only we all had a buff in life 🫡🫡it should be tha easy 😩