The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 47
“…Ah, the witches.”
Right. They were here too.
The evil dragon Ather slowly rose to his feet again.
“A rare sight. The spirits of the forest, and witches… to see such rare races gathering in one place again. And this close to human territory, no less.”
Why had these two human-avoiding races returned to this place?
Because of the Saintess?
Or maybe…
“That rude little cat.”
The Great Spirit of the Forest gently tapped Ather’s head with his snout again.
Ather, with a resigned sigh, flopped onto his back.
“Her own aunt sent me to protect her, and she hissed at me and chased me off. That cheeky brat. Maybe I shouldn’t protect her.”
“Protect her.”
“Hmph.”
“You saw it too.”
That… thing.
The rest went unsaid, but Ather understood exactly what the Great Spirit was referring to.
He had been circling around the Deiamor estate because that thing had kept nagging at his instincts.
He knew the moment he drifted too far from the Saintess and her circle, that twisted presence would reach for him as well.
Even Ather, a dragon who inherited centuries of knowledge and memory, was afraid of it.
Because it was something that had never existed since the creation of the world.
“Do you know what it is, Great Spirit?”
“It devours our world… twists it… and tries to remake it.”
“Remake…”
That did seem to fit.
That bizarre force kept touching its targets—then twisting them into something strange and unnatural.
But it didn’t seem to have full strength yet.
Because—
“It’s powerless against the Saintess’s blessing.”
That’s why Nivellia Deiamor and those around her remained unaffected, even with the thing lurking nearby.
Muniel’s divine blessing was still protecting them.
“Camping always calls for meat!”
On the first night of the trip, dinner was charcoal-grilled meat.
Ardoreth had worked up a sweat tending the fire while the witches marinated various cuts in their own special blend of herbs and spices.
“……”
“……”
The kids stood in front of the grill, drooling helplessly.
“Don’t touch.”
Caleo waved his tongs firmly, creating a safety zone around the hot grill.
Tonight’s chef was Caleo.
“It’s dangerous. Stay back. Or else—”
Before he could finish, a strong gust of wind blew in, scattering glowing embers like red snowflakes.
“Whoa!”
“Fire! Fire!”
The kids squealed and scattered, only to run right back the moment the sparks faded.
Nivellia, who had been watching for a while, suddenly narrowed her eyes at her father.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you good at grilling meat?”
“I’m great at it. Even Ralph loved my cooking.”
“Who’s Ralph?”
“That’s Mr. Kallaroff’s nickname,” Soles explained from beside her.
“Dad and Mr. Kallaroff have been friends since they were kids.”
“Ohh,” Nivellia nodded, taking in the info.
Caleo chimed in.
“Whenever Ralph and I went hunting in the woods, I was always the cook. That guy can’t cook to save his life. If it weren’t for me, we’d have starved.”
He clearly enjoyed bragging, listing all the ways he had saved their trips from culinary disaster.
Nivellia, listening quietly, suddenly asked:
“Were you and Mr. Kallaroff in love?”
“…What?”
“Ahahahaha!”
Before Caleo could recover from the shock, Celletina burst into laughter from behind him.
Nivellia skipped over to her mother.
“Mom! Dad said he loved that man!”
She looked alarmed, like she’d uncovered a scandal.
“Oh dear, that is serious,” Celletina said, playing along. “What should I do now?”
“You should get a divorce and demand alimony!”
“And where did you learn that bit of wisdom?”
Celletina leaned down and kissed Nivellia’s forehead gently, her voice soft and amused.
But Nivellia still wore a very serious frown.
“One partner only. That’s the rule.”
“Of course. Cheating is never okay.”
“Nini got mad today because Aref cheated!”
Aref, standing nearby, shook his head frantically.
All he’d done was reach out to a cat once—and now he was being labeled a cheater. Aref couldn’t stop glancing nervously at Nivellia, trying to read her mood.
“Nini was waiting for Aref the whole time…”
“I see. But Aref really does care about you, Nini,” Celletina said gently, stepping in to help.
Aref nodded vigorously in agreement.
“I—I like you the most, Miss Nini…!”
His voice was small and shy, and his face turned bright red—hotter than the glowing coals.
“Hear that?”
“……”
“Nini.”
Come on, forgive him now.
Truthfully, Aref hadn’t done anything wrong. If you had to name a crime, it would be looking at another cat in front of Nini.
“He was just petting a cat.”
“That’s the problem! While I was right there!”
“But you’re not a cat, Nini. You’re a person. Can’t you let that slide?”
“Nini is a cat.”
“But also a person, right?”
Celletina gently took hold of Nivellia’s chubby hand and rubbed it between her fingers.
Nivellia stared at her hand.
There were no soft, pink paw pads. No hidden claws popped out when she pressed her palm. No fluffy white fur—just smooth, warm skin.
“…Yeah.”
I’m a person now.
Nivellia always felt strange when she had to face that fact head-on.
“Aref.”
Pushing down that hard-to-name feeling, she stepped up to Aref.
And gave him a tight hug.
The children clung to each other like sweet little lovers, and the adults around them smiled warmly at the heartwarming scene.
Only Caleo fidgeted nervously, trying not to worry—but definitely worrying.
Isn’t this a bit too fast? I’m not saying it’s bad, I mean, no, I am a little worried…!
“Aref.”
“Yes?”
“If you cheat again, I’ll kill you.”
“…Okay.”
Aref never had any such intentions to begin with.
Honestly, he didn’t even fully understand what had happened.
But still—he gave Nivellia the answer she wanted. He was going to do whatever made her happy.
Finally, Nivellia pulled away, her face blooming into the kind of silly, radiant smile that could melt anyone’s heart.
And just like that, Aref’s heart melted too.
That night, the meat Caleo grilled melted like honey in their mouths.
And the first night of their camping trip came to a peaceful close.
“Damn it!”
Count Petra’s son slammed the newspaper to the floor.
His well-groomed mustache trembled with every angry breath, looking like it might fall right off.
On the discarded newspaper was a report from a recent press conference held by Celletina, head of the Rubeo family.
That wretched woman made me look like a liar!
Celletina had stated clearly that she had no personal relationship with Petra’s son and that Rubeo was busy with new business ventures—drawing a firm line.
Until then, he had been leading slightly in the competition to succeed the family title. But with that article, his reputation took a hit.
Taking advantage of the moment, his older sister began to climb.
Lady Petra had introduced a new financial product called “insurance.” It had already received positive feedback in the northern region where it was first launched.
She even announced plans to expand into the capital and beyond—an open challenge, almost like mocking her brother.
“Those fools don’t even know their place…”
He seethed—furious at both his ambitious sister, who kept standing in his way, and Celletina, who had made all his efforts look like nothing.
As if sensing his rage, a calm voice spoke from nearby.
“It’s alright. This isn’t over yet.”
Count Petra’s son turned his head.
There stood a man he had recently entered into business with—a broker.
“Pellsoné.”
The man was well-built, with broad, squared shoulders that left a strong impression. In the world of finance, Pellsoné was a highly respected name.
Every business he touched, every stock he showed interest in—turned to gold.
To secure him, both Petra siblings had pulled every string they could.
Petra’s son in particular had wanted him desperately—knowing he couldn’t outmatch his sister on skill alone. He needed someone powerful at his side.
Then, by sheer luck, he met Pellsoné in his favorite tavern—and managed to win him over.
“Rubeo is extremely cautious and conservative. You think Celletina rose so high at such a young age without being smart?”
“She made me look like a fraud!”
“Call it a miscommunication. You can spin it that way.”
Pellsoné shrugged his broad shoulders, unbothered.
His face was always half-hidden behind a white mask that covered his eyes. No one had ever seen what he truly looked like.
“The important thing is: you may still be able to seize the investment opportunity Rubeo passed up.”
“Easier said than done.”
Petra’s son gave a dry laugh—but inside, he was burning with desperation.
The mana stone mining project in the Kingdom of Frok was a guaranteed win.
If the stones were high quality, even a piece the size of a fingernail could sell for millions of uvas.
When Pellsoné brought him the tip, Petra’s son had discreetly met with an information broker to confirm the details.
Thankfully, it turned out to be true.
“Frok recently discovered a mana stone mine, and they’re short on funds. It’s very likely they’ll seek outside investors. You remember—they tried to betray the Saintess 40 years ago and ended up getting crushed…”
After confirming the intel, Petra’s son immediately gathered his liquid assets and handed them to Pellsoné.
Not long after, Pellsoné returned with documentation proving the investment had gone through.
“If you invest a million uvas now, you’ll receive ten times that in raw mana stones.”
It was something Pellsoné had told him before, and now he repeated it in a whisper.
Still, Petra’s son was anxious.
If I could just buy up the stock that Rubeo foolishly gave up on, I’d surpass them within months.
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