The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 55

“If you carry it with you, evil and impure things won’t be able to harm you. Since I’m an Archdragon, most common evils can’t get past me.”

In short, evil would block out evil.

What Ather meant was that the “evil” within her could ward off the eerie, creeping forces that had begun to notice and target Nivellia.

Though it’s only temporary, she admitted silently.

Even Ather, for all her power, couldn’t say for sure how well her presence could hold those things off.

They were strange. They had once tried to go after even an Archdragon.

Even now, they were lurking.

But the ones that had already been twisted—those, Ather could still block.

“If it’s too much trouble to carry it around, you can crush it into powder and drink it. It’s just… hard to grind down.”

After all, this was a dragon scale.

Even if she was still just a hatchling under six months old, the scale had incredible hardness. Somewhere between a diamond and something stronger.

“There are side effects, though.”

That caught Armiphera’s attention. Her eyes narrowed.

“Side effects? You didn’t mention anything about that earlier.”

This wasn’t something she had heard in their previous conversation.

Ather, however, answered casually, like it was no big deal. She simply snuggled her head more comfortably into Armiphera’s arm.

“You might get a little depressed for a few days. You could also lose your temper more easily. Evil tends to amplify negative emotions in humans.”

“What about just carrying it?”

“That’s better. When it’s worn or carried, my body helps purify the evil aura to some extent.”

“Hmm…”

Armiphera turned to look at Muniel.

Muniel shrugged and held out her hand.

Armiphera placed the scale in her palm.

“We’ll show it to the Grand Witch first.”

“If anyone can handle my scale properly, it’s her. Especially now that the Great Spirit of the Forest is back…”

“Grandma.”

Nivellia, who had walked up without anyone noticing, pointed firmly at the scale.

Then she held out both hands, palms up.

“Give it to me.”

“Why? Curious?”

“Yeah.”

Muniel, half amused and half concerned, offered the scale gently.

The black scale, about the size of a coin, rested in the small hands of the child.

It gleamed with a polished luster, like a carefully carved piece of obsidian. The dried blood from where it had been ripped out had already darkened and flaked like dust.

Slurp—

“Ah—!”

Muniel let out a startled gasp.

Nivellia had licked the scale. Like it was a lollipop.

It happened so fast that no one could stop her. Everyone just stood there, stunned.

Even the great Ather’s jaw dropped like it was about to hit the floor.

“……”

Nivellia’s chubby cheeks kept moving for a moment… but gradually slowed.

Her blue eyes met Muniel’s, who asked in disbelief:

“…Is it tasty?”

“……”

Nivellia lowered her head.

“Blegh.”

And then she threw up.

“There are countless fragments of eternity and memory in my mind from generations past, but I’ve never seen anyone like her.”

Even Ather had to admit that Nivellia was one of a kind.

After that day, Nivellia never again said she wanted to eat a lizard.

“It’s awful! So awful!”

The bitter, slimy, metallic taste was nothing like she remembered, and she burst into tears.

“Stupid dragon! Liar! Waaah!”

“My lady, it’s okay…”

“It’s not okay! I feel like I’m gonna throw up again!”

“Would you like some water? Here, come here…”

Aref handled her with practiced care.

He gave her water, rubbed her back so she could burp, and brought her candy and chocolate from the Tower Master to clear the taste.

Watching all this, Armiphera murmured:

“Nini really picked a good one.”

“Aref is—sniff—he’s my mate…”

Even while sniffling with a piece of candy in her mouth, Nivellia firmly declared that Aref was hers.

Aref’s heart swelled with pride.

Still, seeing how badly Nivellia reacted to the taste, it was clear that grinding the scale into powder wasn’t going to be an option.

So for now, they’d give the scale to the Grand Witch for analysis.

“She might come up with a way I haven’t thought of,” Ather said, stretching out like a cat.

“You’re the Archdragon. Don’t you know how your own body works?”

Armiphera gave her a skeptical look.

Ather let out a huff through her nose.

“To think I’d get questioned like this by a short-sighted human… Even the mighty Archdragon has truly fallen.”

A few days later—

Exactly one week had passed since Nivellia had stopped insisting that lizards were delicious.

That day, the Grand Witch sent a small box to the Deiamor estate.

Inside were several dark, sticky clumps.

They were purified honey clusters—made by refining the Archdragon’s scale.

“Hmm…”

After reading the enclosed letter, Muniel held the paper over a pre-lit candle. The paper instantly crumbled into black ash and settled in a soft pile around the candlestick.

“As expected of the Grand Witch.”

Ather, dressed in a white ribbon-tied dress of her own choosing, sat across from her on a chair.

“Or did the Great Spirit of the Forest help too?”

Muniel gave a knowing smile.

“So now all that’s left is for me to bless them?”

“There shouldn’t be any side effects now.”

With the protection of the Great Spirit and the Saintess’s blessing added in, the refined product might turn out to be even more potent than Ather had originally imagined.

“Saintess,” Ather asked quietly, “do you know what that really is?”

“I have a rough idea.”

“…Do you know how to destroy it too?”

“I do. But I don’t have a justification for that yet.”

So for now, she would simply watch.

As she spoke, Muniel raised her hand and traced a sign of blessing into the air.

With a quiet prayer to a nameless, unknowable god, radiant light fell gently like snow onto the honey clusters.

“I have a question too.”

As she counted the completed honey drops, Muniel asked the Archdragon:

“Isn’t a Saintess supposed to be the natural enemy of an Archdragon?”

“That’s what the memories I inherited tell me.”

And yet, Ather sat calmly across the table from the Saintess.

Not only that—ever since she hatched, she had remained within the sacred Deiamor estate, filled with divine energy.

By all accounts, the Deiamors, beloved by the divine itself, should be toxic to a being like her.

Armiphera had read the same in old history texts back in the mercenary lands.

“But my instincts feel at peace here.”

Ather’s tail wagged slowly, content.

“So then… what’s wrong?”

Her deep, dark eyes focused steadily on the Saintess.

Muniel’s eyes, lined with age, crinkled gently as she smiled.

“You already know the answer.”

“I think we’re thinking the same thing.”

“I think so too.”

The strange force had even warped the truth itself.

“…Maybe I’m not an ‘Archdragon’ at all.”

“Then the curse on the Tower Master—?”

“If my memories were tampered with by that strange force, then the one who cursed her may not have been me, but…”

“The strange thing?”

“A twisted presence—murky and chilling, like blood diluted in water. Something that freely distorts what already exists.”

“An invader…”

Not a wrong word.

In fact, probably the most accurate one.

There were quite a few honey drops in the box.

At a glance, more than twenty. The powdered scale had been mixed into honey and rolled with red berries to form round clumps.

The Saintess picked one up and popped it in her mouth, savoring it.

“…Maybe a bit bitter for kids?”

“Well, medicine usually is.”

“Give the boldest one the biggest one,” Ather said, letting out a sly squee.

“Ughhh…”

Nivellia scrunched her entire face after putting the biggest honey drop in her mouth.

Her squished-up features made her look truly awful.

Soles and Aref weren’t doing much better.

“It’s bitter…”

“That’s what you get for being greedy.”

“Mom, can I spit it out?”

“No, it’s medicine. You need to finish it.”

“Ughhh…”

As Nivellia whined, Celletina took one too and popped it into her own mouth.

Her face immediately twisted.

“…Yup. Definitely bitter.”

But after rolling the candy around in their mouths several times, the bitterness mellowed into sweetness from the honey. Then, the tart flavor of the red berries at the center refreshed their palates and cleared the lingering taste.

The kids, having adjusted to the flavor, soon returned to their usual selves—munching and playing with wooden blocks.

Thus, the Deiamor family began taking the Archdragon’s scale-infused honey drops as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, Nivellia grew curious.

“Did Deter eat one too?”

“No.”

Deter, who was helping her get ready for preschool, answered with a smile.

“Aw…”

Nivellia looked genuinely disappointed.

“But Deter is one of my subordinates too. And family.”

“My goodness…”

Deter smiled warmly.

“Just hearing you say that is enough.”

“It’s really bitter, but it’s good for you.”

“Then our young lady and young gentlemen had better eat plenty.”

I’m an adult and perfectly healthy, so I’ll be fine.

He finished tying the ribbon on Nivellia’s hair and wrapped up her morning prep.

As they headed for the front entrance to board the carriage, Soles came into view.

“Nini, heading to preschool?”

“Yup.”

“Have a great day.”

“You too! Study hard, okay?”

“Haha, I will.”

After a quick hug to show their sibling affection—

A very familiar cat’s meow echoed through the hall.

Nivellia’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“That sounded like a sneaky meow!”

At the source of the sound stood Armiphera—holding a small metal cage in one hand.

Inside was a kitten.

“That sneaky little—!”

“Ahh, Nini!”

Soles hurriedly grabbed his sister as she lunged toward the cat again.

“What’s gotten into her?”

Armiphera, clearly caught off guard, quickly tried to hide the cage behind her.

“……”

Inside the cage, the kitten—Ather in disguise—heaved a long sigh as if to say, I knew this would happen.

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