The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 102

“I’m only twenty…”

Leaving the critically wounded Deters behind, Nivellia skipped down the hallway, humming a tune.

Then, she spotted the prettiest back of the head in the world.

“Aref!”

Aref, who was on his way to sword training, turned around.

Nivellia ran to him with a flourish, holding up the chocolate cookie-shaped wallet she wore around her neck.

Then, she giggled.

“Look! I put a lot of me in here, okay?”

Inside the wallet were Nivellia’s precious treasures.

A gold coin with Muniel’s face on it, a gold coin she received as a reward for saving Azel, two honey lumps for emergency rations, and a whistle she received when she went camping in the forest.

And even a free pass to the Mercenary King.

“It’s a treasure wallet!”

Aref gave a shy smile. He felt proud to see her making good use of his meager gift.

“But where are you going, Aref? Are you going to learn swordsmanship?”

“Yes.”

“Ooh…”

Nivellia made a displeased sound, as if she was disappointed.

Then, she suddenly made a determined expression and said to Aref.

“I want to go too.”

“Where to?”

“I want to follow Aref. I want to watch you learn swordsmanship!”

Aref was startled by the unexpected declaration.

“R-really?”

“Yeah!”

“But I’m learning swordsmanship? I’m swinging a wooden sword, are you really okay? Really?”

“Hmm, I don’t know!”

In fact, Nivellia wasn’t sure if she would be okay either.

But today, for some reason, she wanted to follow him and watch.

Once she put that feeling into words, she felt like she could really just watch.

In the end, Aref took Nivellia to the training grounds. But even as they went together, he glanced at Nivellia several times.

Each time, Nivellia smiled brightly when their eyes met.

‘Will she really be okay?’

He was worried, but Aref decided to trust Nivellia.

The two headed to the annex.

The front yard of the annex, where Aref had stayed when he first adjusted to the mansion last spring, was being used as a sword training ground.

“Huh?”

Solés, who was already there waiting, widened his eyes.

Ardores, who was next to him, was the same.

“Oppa’s here too?”

Nivellia waved her hand and greeted him.

“N-Nini, why are you here?”

“I came to watch!”

Solés, unable to believe what he was hearing, turned to Aref.

As expected, everyone, like Aref, was worried when Nivellia said she was going to watch the sword training.

“I’m going to watch! I’m going to watch!”

Nivellia, who was getting a little annoyed with the flood of worries, hissed and swung her fist in the air. At this point, she became stubborn.

“Well, then watch.”

In the end, Ardores gave his permission.

But as expected.

As soon as Nivellia saw the wooden sword, she took a step back.

As soon as Aref and Solés grabbed their wooden swords, she took another step back, and when they swung their wooden swords at each other, she took two steps back.

By the end of the training, she was about ten steps away.

But instead of teasing Nivellia, everyone was busy admiring and praising her, saying she was amazing.

Because she had watched until the end, after all.

Even though it wasn’t a real sword, even though she was ten steps away.

Nivellia had persevered to the end.

“You’re so admirable!”

Ardores picked up Nivellia and spun her around.

“Kyaaaa!”

Nivellia, who was floating in the air, burst into laughter, praising her own bravery.

“I watched until the end! I won!”

“Yes, you won!”

“Nini is amazing! You’ve become so brave!”

“Miss, you’re really wonderful!”

Soles and Aref also spared no praise.

Nivellia, who had landed safely, made a determined expression and held up her thumb.

“Applause!”

As Nivellia commanded, everyone spared no applause and cheers.

‘She’s growing.’

Ardores let the tears that welled up in his eyes fall.

The cat and wolf, whom he had failed to protect and had sent away in vain, had returned to their side and were showing them how they were growing every day.

‘Ah…’

When he met Aref, who had recognized him even after being reborn.

When he first met Nivellia, who had come to him as his granddaughter.

When he took care of Aref, who had lost his memory but still returned to this place.

Each time, Ardores felt a warm emotion washing over him.

Now he knew what this emotion was.

It was comfort.

It was the gentle comfort of the two children, melting away the guilt he had felt for failing to protect them 40 years ago.

–

“Celi.”

That night.

“You still haven’t found the owner of the Meow Meow Merchant Guild, have you?”

Caleo asked Celletina, who had finished preparing for bed.

Celletina, who had just finished brushing her hair, put down the brush and slowly rose from the dressing table. Her expression was not good.

“I can’t find a single clue.”

“Damn it. Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to say that to you.”

“I know. I also think this situation is very f***ed up.”

“Oh my.”

Caleo chuckled at his wife’s rough language and threw back the blanket to make room for himself to lie down.

Celletina willingly lay down on the bed and received the touch of his hand tucking the blanket neatly up to her neck.

Caleo, who lay down next to her, turned on his side and propped his chin up with his hand.

“I think we need to take care of Persone.”

Caleo’s face was filled with displeasure as he said that.

“You’re very angry, aren’t you?”

“How can I not be angry? That swindler!”

Broad shoulders, a mask that always covers his eyes and nose.

The true identity of Persone, the transaction broker who guarantees success just by showing up, was none other than Calleo.

“How dare he impersonate me?”

The world greatly underestimates Calleo.

Since his wife, Celetina, is so famous as the head of Rubeo, it’s easy to see his life as a marquis as too ordinary and boring.

But Calleo made full use of that point.

While the world’s attention was focused on Celetina, he disguised himself as a transaction broker named Persone and exerted a secret influence.

“Just in case, it’s better to stop working as Persone for a while. I’d really laugh if I heard that you got caught while trying to catch the impersonator.”

“Worry about me first. Don’t laugh…”

“I have a feeling that information is being strangely blocked…”

Celletina was careful with her words.

But Caleo immediately understood what she wanted to say.

“You think the information broker is involved?”

“That’s the most likely possibility. We can’t even see a strand of hair.”

“Hmm, should I ask the Lady?”

“…It might be better to leave it alone.”

“That’s true too.”

If the information broker was involved, there is a high possibility that Muniel was involved in this.

Because the information broker, Lady Della, would never do anything to betray her benefactor, Muniel.

‘That’s right. In the end, looking only at the results…’

‘It was only good for Deiamor.’

Caleo and Celletina swallowed the same thought.

Then why.

The information broker.

And Muniel.

What were they doing all this for?

–

But Caleo and Celletina couldn’t easily find an answer to this.

For a full two years.

In the meantime, Nivellia turned seven years old.

In the meantime, she never encountered Rima even once.

–

Nivellia, who turned seven, graduated from the Magic Tower Kindergarten and advanced to the Magic Tower Academy, which her older siblings attended.

Instead, she only attended twice a week. On the remaining days, she called a tutor and took classes at home.

Etiquette, history, musical instruments.

She could no longer live as a reckless brat like she did when she was four years old.

Fortunately, Nivellia had somehow accepted this fact, and she participated in the classes quite diligently.

The tutors also greatly praised Nivellia’s active learning attitude.

“Teacher, I have a question!”

“Yes, Young Lady. What is it?”

“The Duke’s family is higher than the Marquis’ family, right?”

“That’s right. You’re memorizing it well.”

“But Al and Rubens are my subordinates, so I’m higher as the Marquis’ Young Lady, right? Deiamor is the strongest!”

“……”

Putting aside the absurd answers and slow learning progress that were inversely proportional to her active attitude.

In that way, Nivellia learned knowledge, manners, the principles of how the world works, and the truths of life.

This was a significant achievement.

If Nivellia at the age of four was like a reckless little kitten who didn’t know the fear of the world.

Nivellia at the age of seven was….

“Miss!”

“St-stay still! You must stay still!”

“If you move any more, something terrible will happen!”

“If you don’t listen to me, I’ll break this!”

A much more cunning and quick-witted child cat.

“I don’t want to get a shot!”

Today, Nivellia, who had heard the news that she was scheduled to be pricked by a terrifying needle called a vaccination, was holding Muniel’s precious porcelain hostage and confronting the maids who had come to catch her.

In the end, Caleo appeared with a sigh after hearing the news.

Nivellia, who found Caleo, immediately positioned herself as if she would drop the porcelain she was holding in her arms.

Heeek! The faces of the maids watching turned pale.

It was not known where or how much they had paid for that porcelain.

But it was said that Muniel had cherished it very much even before she came to Deiamore.

So it must be expensive.

The maids strongly believed that if that porcelain broke, their heads would break too.

“Papa!”

Nivellia presented her demands.

“I don’t want to get a shot! I don’t want to die!”

“You won’t die from getting a shot.”

Calleo first calmed Nivellia, who was standing precariously on the table.

He spoke with slow gestures, as if soothing a dog barking wildly in excitement.

Whether it was effective or not, Nivellia’s voice became much calmer.

“I don’t like it when it hurts. I don’t want to get it.”

“If you don’t get the shot, it will hurt more later. And your brothers have already gotten it. They’re all eating snacks after getting it.”

Today’s snack was chocolate cookies.

And it was a super sweet and sticky chocolate cookie with twice as many chocolate chips as usual.

Caleo showed her the cookies he had wrapped in a handkerchief, as if to prove it.

As soon as he unfolded the handkerchief, Nivellia paused at the sweet smell that wafted out.

“……”

Saliva was already dripping from the corners of her mouth.

The maids thought that the scene looked like they were luring a stray cat with food.

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