The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 61

“That’s quite the introduction, Nini,” Armiphera said with a laugh.

Then she gave her proper self-introduction.

“I’m Armiphera Deiamor. I left home to become a mercenary, and I returned as the Mercenary Queen.”

“I see,” Al replied politely. “I’m Al from the De Gladius family. You might already know of me, Lady Armiphera. If so, that would be a real honor.”

“Listen to him talk. Your parents weren’t this smooth when they were your age.”

At the mention of his parents, a faint flicker passed through Al’s calm expression.

Armiphera caught it immediately and gave his shoulder a gentle pat, her gaze full of quiet understanding.

But instead of pressing further, she shifted the topic with ease.

“Anyway, you’ve grown so much. How could I not know who you are? Honestly, I’m the one who feels a little hurt.”

Don’t remember me at all, huh?

She pouted, pretending to be dramatically wounded.

Al, always poised and composed, suddenly looked flustered.

Nivellia watched it all unfold with fascination.

“I’m joking, just joking,” Armiphera chuckled.

“You were really little back then. Let’s see—it was six years ago. How old are you now?”

“Twelve.”

“Then it makes sense you don’t remember. You were just a baby.”

“Haha! He was a baby!” Nivellia teased, purely amused.

Back then, Armiphera had been deep in preparations for leaving home—intensifying her sword training under her father and working under Celletina to save up money.

She didn’t have the time—or emotional space—to worry about the neighbor’s kid.

“Still, seeing you like this now… it’s a strange feeling. Makes me realize I’ve gotten older too. I guess my youth disappeared while you all grew up.”

“You’re still really pretty, Lady Armiphera! And your muscles are awesome!” Rubens declared with wide-eyed sincerity.

Before anyone noticed, Nivellia and Rubens had each claimed one side of her wide back.

“Wait, are you really the Mercenary Queen? Like, the queen of mercenaries?”

“Of course! See this scar above my eye? I got that in the semifinals of the tournament to choose the Mercenary Queen.”

“Whoa…!”

Just as the kids became completely hooked on her gritty, exciting stories, Deter walked in with snacks.

He brought the jam cookies that Al and Rubens had gifted, along with a glass pitcher of milk and…

Two dark-colored honey candies.

“Young Masters of the De Gladius family, please try these first.”

“What are they?” Rubens asked, popping one into his mouth.

The moment it hit his tongue, his face twisted in protest.

“Ugh! It’s bitter!”

Al, watching his younger brother, put his candy in cautiously. His expression didn’t contort quite as much—but his brow did furrow.

“This is…”

“Honey lump!” Nivellia called out, dipping a cookie into her milk.

“But it has Evil Dragon scales in it, so it tastes kinda bad.”

“Evil Dragon?!”

“It’s medicine,” Soles quickly clarified.

“It’s made using an herb that looks like Evil Dragon scales. That’s why it’s bitter at first. But once that fades, the honey flavor kicks in and it gets sweet.”

During the explanation, Aref leaned toward Nivellia and whispered quietly:

“The Evil Dragon part is a secret.”

“Oh, right!”

Nivellia immediately mimed zipping her lips shut.

A solemn vow not to mention the dragon again.

Thankfully, just as Soles said, the bitterness faded fairly quickly.

“But we’re not sick,” Al said, confused. “Why do we need to take this?”

He looked to Deter for an answer.

“This was prepared by the Saintess herself,” Deter explained. “She said it’s good for your health and insisted you eat it.”

“Oh…”

At that, Al nodded with understanding.

If Muniel said it, he could trust it.

Rubens also nodded seriously. “If Grandma Muniel says so, then I’ll eat it.”

“…Still bitter,” he muttered.

The moment he put the dark honey lump into his mouth, Duke Kallaroff De Gladius grimaced like a child forced to take bitter medicine.

“Ugh, it’s so bitter… Do you want a piece of chocolate?”

“Lady Muniel…”

Kallaroff cast a side glance at Muniel, who was clearly teasing him like a child—but it was hard to be annoyed. Especially when she handed him a piece of chocolate.

He didn’t turn that down.

While he slowly rolled the candy around in his mouth, waiting for the bitterness to fade, Muniel asked him a question.

“How are the boys doing?”

“They’re well, thanks to you. I sent letters for them to pass along to you both. And this is a gift—from them to you.”

“Oh my!”

Muniel gasped when she saw the gift. She quickly showed it to Ardores as well.

“Look, Ardores! I think they drew us.”

“They did a fine job. Better than Nini, at least.”

“I hate to admit it, but it’s true. Nini still draws eyes and noses outside the face. At least everything here is in the right place.”

Their warm praise brought a gentle smile to Kallaroff’s face.

Muniel called for a maid and told her to find a nice frame for the picture.

“That reminds me—Ferra came home, didn’t she?”

Kallaroff recalled having briefly spotted Armiphera.

“I’m glad she returned safely.”

“Right? Honestly, I was fully expecting her to come back missing an arm.”

“Muniel,” Ardores said in warning.

“Oh, come on. You were thinking the same thing.”

“I was thinking a finger at most. I trained her myself. She’s not the kind of kid to go down easily.”

Kallaroff gave a faint smile.

Parents, still half-worried their daughter would come home in pieces after years as a mercenary. The truth was, their parenting never really ended.

And strangely, he could relate.

‘I’m no different.’

Even when Al and Rubens grew up, he would probably still see them as children needing his protection.

“She really became the Mercenary Queen, didn’t she?”

“She did. She actually pulled it off.”

“That’s something to be proud of.”

“If you see her, congratulate her. She’s practically bursting, waiting for someone to ask.”

Ardores gave a teasing smile, and Kallaroff chuckled, nodding.

Meanwhile, Muniel had risen and pulled a thick brown envelope from the bookshelf.

“Here, take this.”

She handed it to Kallaroff.

The moment he read the first page, his crimson eyes twitched.

Then, without a word, his eyes scanned the contents rapidly.

Muniel and Ardores waited quietly.

A few minutes passed.

“…Is this real?”

Kallaroff’s expression now carried a tangled mix of shock and unease.

“All of this… she did all this…?”

The documents detailed everything Rima had done in secret while he was away—using the intelligence network to manipulate financial deals.

She had arranged for Lord Petra to meet a financial broker and invest in the Prok Kingdom’s mana stone mining project.

Then she rerouted the investment to her own hidden account—planning to purchase a small merchant guild with the stolen funds.

This wasn’t something a seven-year-old child should have been capable of even imagining.

Sure, his sons—especially the mature and clever Al—might have been able to pull something like this off.

But there was a critical difference.

Rima’s actions had clear intent.

She’s trying to get rid of Rubeo.

Kallaroff skimmed the documents again, praying his suspicion was wrong.

But the more he read, the more it seemed likely.

Anger began to rise in his chest.

“How could she…!”

How could a child even think of doing such a thing?

Before leaving on vacation—and even during it—Kallaroff had thought of Rima constantly.

He’d promised to take responsibility for her, to personally support and protect her.

He worried about her being alone at the estate.

He repeatedly reminded Al and Rubens to be kind to her.

Even her slow speech patterns—he had already decided to bring in a specialist to help her once he returned.

“She speaks quite clearly, by the way.”

Muniel, as if reading his thoughts, casually added that detail.

“…Why are you allowing this?” he asked quietly.

Muniel had already instructed Della to fulfill any request Rima made, as long as it wasn’t outrageous.

Muniel was also personally covering the costs from her own funds.

And Kallaroff couldn’t understand why.

It feels like… you’re asking me to leave her alone.

And that was exactly the case.

“I’m curious where she’s going,” Muniel said, crossing her legs slowly.

Ardores nudged the table with his foot, moving it just enough so her heel wouldn’t bump into the leg.

She flashed him a quiet smile of thanks, then continued:

“To see whether or not I should kill her.”

“……”

“That’s what I’m watching for.”

“Would you… actually do it?”

“I don’t want to,” Muniel said with a sigh.

Her shoulders dropped slightly.

“Killing isn’t easy, not even for me. I’m serious. The Krepata War ended 40 years ago.”

And Rima was seven years old.

Too young. Too small. Still in the age where redemption should be offered.

“Even if her soul isn’t truly seven… I want to give her a chance.”

But—

“If she crosses the line…”

Muniel didn’t finish the sentence.

She didn’t have to.

Kallaroff understood everything she was trying to say.

Just then, the honey lump in his mouth finally dissolved, leaving not a trace behind.

The confusion clouding his red eyes began to clear.

He gathered his thoughts—and asked.

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