The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 40

“Pink?”

Nivellia tilted her head back.

In her round, blue eyes, Muniel’s warm smile reflected upside down.

“You said you saw pink when Azel was trapped in the storage room, remember?”

“Yeah. But I don’t see it anymore.”

Nivellia straightened her head and pressed her fingers firmly to her temples.

“After Grandma pressed here like this… I stopped seeing it.”

“That’s a relief.”

“…Was I supposed to see it?”

“It’s okay even if you don’t.”

Muniel, having mostly dried Nivellia’s hair, picked up a brush.

Nivellia started playing by herself, moving her stuffed wolf around as if acting out a little story.

As she murmured through her imaginary dialogue, Muniel spoke again.

“Nini.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever seen the pink color anywhere else?”

“You mean the poisonous mushroom color?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

The stuffed wolf’s paw flopped up and down.

“I have.”

Its paw pointed toward the window.

“With Mister, and Al, and Rubens.”

She remembered the pink that clung thickly to the bodies of the De Gladius family members.

“And Aref too.”

“Is it still there?”

“Nope.”

Nivellia patted her stuffed wolf on the head.

“It disappeared after I said his name.”

But if someone had to ask who had the most pink on them—it was Aref.

Magia and Della had traces of it too, but ever since Nivellia started pressing on her temples and “became a genius,” she hadn’t seen it anymore.

“I thought it was that thing… when everyone copies what someone else is doing…”

“A trend?”

“Yeah! That.”

“What do you feel when you see the pink?”

“Hmm… Not great? Kinda ugly?”

“I see…”

Tap.

Muniel looked down at the soft weight resting against her chest and smiled gently.

Nivellia, who hadn’t taken a nap all day, had finally dozed off.

Even her breathing, soft and steady, carried the boldness of a little soldier.

“She should’ve eaten dinner first, though…”

Thankfully, there was still some time before dinner.

Muniel finished brushing her granddaughter’s hair, gently dried it one last time, and then laid her down in bed.

The Deiamor family usually left for their estate every summer.

They would rest there until the worst of the heat had passed, returning around the start of autumn.

But this year, with everything going on—like the launch of the new pharmaceutical company—they were too busy to make the trip.

Not to mention the presence of the Evil Dragon Ather hiding in the mansion played a major role in the decision.

Still, they couldn’t keep something that serious completely secret. The staff might suffer if they were left unaware.

So, the family claimed that a magical “black lizard” gifted by the Mage Tower was roaming the estate.

They also strictly instructed everyone to stay in pairs and to run away immediately if they saw it.

“…So, we’ll be staying in the capital this summer,” Caleo explained, apologizing to the children.

The news was met with groans of disappointment.

Soles, especially, looked devastated.

“I really wanted to show Aref the estate…”

“Leticia’s probably disappointed too. She’s waiting for you all there.”

“Yeah…”

Soles answered reflexively, then quickly bit his lip—realizing he might’ve said too much.

Luckily, the only one who caught it was Caleo.

He winked playfully and brought a finger to his lips.

Soles gave a sheepish grin and nodded.

“…Leticia?”

Aref tilted his head. He hadn’t heard the name before.

Nivellia filled him in right away.

“She’s Nini’s friend.”

Aref’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“She’s not a subordinate?”

Nivellia always introduced people—regardless of age—as her subordinates.

That included adults like Magia and Della. Everyone was a subordinate to Nivellia.

But this was the first time she called someone a “friend.”

“Yep. Nini’s friend.”

She nodded firmly.

“She was a subordinate at first, but I promoted her.”

“Leticia is the daughter of the Pretto family, vassals of Deiamor.”

The House of Deiamor had been a noble family with a long, honored history, but they’d fallen from power and had little wealth left.

As a result, most of their vassals had scattered over time like leaves in the wind.

But one family remained loyal to the end: the Pretto family.

And now that Deiamor was rising again—miraculously—the Pretto family was experiencing a golden age as well.

“She’s kind and amazing. You’ll definitely get along with her, Aref.”

“…But you still have to like Nini more, got it?”

Just in case, Nivellia issued a stern warning.

“If you cheat, I’ll punish you!”

“Uh… okay.”

He didn’t really understand what she meant, but he nodded without hesitation.

Even if he met Leticia, there was no way he’d like her more than Nivellia.

Seeing his answer, Nivellia beamed.

And because she smiled—Aref did too, just a little.

“You’re already under her thumb,” Soles muttered with a sigh.

Watching from nearby, Caleo had a look on his face that clearly said, “That’s my girl.”

“But since it’s summer, and the weather’s finally cooling off a bit…”
He thought it’d be a shame to just stay cooped up doing nothing—so he made a suggestion.

“How about a camping trip in the woods?”

“Soles, you went last spring with Grandma and Grandpa, didn’t you?”

“Yes! It was really fun!”

“Great. This time, let’s all go together as a family. And if the forest doesn’t work out, we can just pitch tents in the garden instead.”

The idea of making special memories made the kids’ eyes light up as they nodded eagerly.

Gathered in Soles’s room, the three of them excitedly discussed all the things they could do while camping.

“There are lots of interesting animals and plants in the woods. If we bring binoculars, we can spot them from far away.”

“I liked picking berries the most. And going on walks.”

“Nini wants to pick berries too! And look at flowers!”

“Do you know how to make a flower crown? Grandpa taught me. I’ll show you later.”

What they’d bring, how they’d explore—it was clear the kids’ minds were already in the forest.

“Soles.”

Aref spoke up.

“When we visited the De Gladius estate the other day…”

“Yeah?”

“Sir Al and Sir Rubens said they were sad they didn’t get to see you.”

“I missed them too.”

“Let’s bring them a gift.”

Nivellia said, her mouth full of the chocolate cookie they’d been snacking on.

“While we’re in the woods, let’s find something to give to Al and Rubens.”

“That’s a great idea.”

Now that they had a plan, the three of them shared their snacks in peace.

Nivellia’s mouth was soon covered in cookie crumbs and milk. Her hands, too, were completely soaked in milk.

“Are Al and Rubens going anywhere like we are?”
Aref asked, wiping Nivellia’s hands with a handkerchief.

“They’re probably heading to the De Gladius estate again,” Soles replied with a small nod.

“Because over there, in their territory…”

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to come with us?”

Kalaroff asked Rima one more time.

It was the thirteenth time he’d asked.

“Yes! Rima is okay!!”

And for the thirteenth time, Rima gave the same firm answer.

Just like every winter and spring before, Kalaroff was planning to take the children to the De Gladius estate for the summer.

Naturally, he’d hoped to bring Rima too—after all, he was her sponsor.

The De Gladius estate was quite a distance from the capital. Once there, they’d be gone for over a month. It wouldn’t feel right leaving Rima behind all alone.

“Goncha-nim.”

One of Kalaroff’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Did her pronunciation just get worse than last time?

Rima’s speech was always a bit shaky. Just when it seemed like she was improving, it would suddenly regress again.

Maybe she really does need to see a proper specialist…

While he was seriously debating it, Rima, completely unaware, repeated her resolution for what had to be the twelfth time.

She looked slightly down, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and spoke with deep sincerity:

“Last time… Rima… zamotan… something, so now Rima… book read… alone in room…”

“……”

Kalaroff almost said out loud, “What did she just say?” but managed to hold it in.

Thankfully, he had experience raising children.

By mentally translating her garbled sentences into toddler babble, he barely managed to interpret what she meant.

“You’ll be lonely. And bored. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes!”

“…Alright.”

In the end, Kalaroff agreed to let her stay behind.

Maybe she still feels awkward around the boys, he thought.

He could tell—Rima didn’t seem to fit in naturally with his sons.

It wasn’t that the boys excluded her. They greeted her when they passed by, and Rubens especially had tried a few times to ask her to play.

But Rima had turned down every offer. Eventually, Rubens stopped asking altogether.

Is it because she’s a girl?

But strangely enough, she got along just fine with the girl next door—Nivellia.

So well, in fact, that Rubens and Al had said they wanted to play with her again soon.

“Then… safe trip!!”

Rima bowed deeply.

“Rima.”

“Yes!”

“When we come back—”

“When you come back?”

“…Never mind.”

Kalaroff couldn’t bring himself to say, “Let’s work on your pronunciation when I return.”

There’ll still be house staff around, including the head maid, he reassured himself. So she won’t be entirely alone.

And so, a few days later…

The De Gladius family left for their summer vacation.

After waving goodbye to the carriage, Rima returned to the quiet estate alone.

“Wow…”

The moment she was alone, she gave a huge, disappointed sigh.

“They really left…”

But then she let out a quiet chuckle and shrugged.

“It’s fine. That’ll come back to bite them later anyway.”

Perfect setup for a ‘regretful family reunion’ arc.

“They’ll come crawling back, begging to treat me better. And when they do… we’ll see how hard I play hard-to-get.”

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