The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 66

In the Dramenor Empire, the region of Frigus is infamous for its bitter cold.

If you follow the towering range of snow-covered mountains standing tall there, it eventually leads to the Northern Sea.

The Perennial Snow Duck is a species that lives along the frigid coastline.

“Someone’s been targeting the ducks that live there.”

“Rubeo has also received word. It might become difficult to source luxury coats made from their feathers.”

The feathers of the Perennial Snow Duck are known for being the most effective insulating material available.

And there’s only one way to collect them:

By picking up the feathers naturally shed and left in their nests.

Feathers plucked from live birds or taken from dead ones lose their insulation quality significantly.

To make matters more difficult, the Perennial Snow Duck is incredibly rare and is officially designated as a protected species in the Dramenor Empire.

It’s so valuable that national researchers live near the Northern Sea just to help with their breeding efforts.

Celletina leaned against the edge of the desk, half-sitting on it.

“Rumor has it that Lord Petra is somehow involved.”

“Hmm, the same thing is written in the letter from our informant.”

“Seems like Rubeo’s information network is better than I thought.”

Celletina smiled slightly, but this wasn’t a situation to take lightly.

“Apparently, Lord Petra is starting another business venture.”

“Can he really afford to do that right now…?”

Caleo glanced at his secretary.

The secretary met his gaze and gave a solemn nod.

“He absolutely cannot.”

Those who are in the know are already aware.

Lord Petra invested heavily in the mana stone mining operation in the Kingdom of Prok.

And not just with his own money—word is, he leveraged the investment.

Leverage investing means borrowing money on top of your own funds to invest. It can bring massive profits if successful, but if it fails, you lose everything. It’s a high-risk, high-reward gamble.

“I met a secretary from the Petra family recently. He was very cautious when talking about it.”

The Petra family still hasn’t named a successor.

Public speculation leans toward Lady Petra, who recently introduced the concept of ‘insurance’ as a financial product.

But no official decision has been made yet.

In the end, it’s Count Petra’s choice.

“…Then…”

Celletina muttered as if speaking to herself.

“What did Lord Petra use as collateral for his loan?”

“Who knows,” Caleo replied, without much emotion.

“Real estate is usually the easiest bet, isn’t it?”

“What about ducks?”

“They taste good!” Nivellia answered cheerfully.

Soles held back a laugh and gently corrected her.

“Ducks go ‘quack quack,’ remember?”

“Oh right, quack quack!”

“We’re matching animals to their sounds right now. We can talk about how they taste later, okay?”

“Do you like duck, Oppa? Do you think it’s tasty?”

“Yeah, I do. I think it tastes good.”

It was a peaceful afternoon.

A week had passed since the Pelea Trading Company had left for western Latro.

The intense summer heat had finally faded, and early autumn had begun.

The small chrysanthemums planted by the gardeners at the Deiamor estate were already starting to bud.

The gardeners said the flowers would bloom earlier than usual this year.

“Pigs go oink, and wolves go woof…”

Nivellia pouted slightly as she focused hard on her worksheet.

The pencil in her hand had already worn down from how hard she was pressing.

Soles, watching over his younger sister as she did her kindergarten homework, asked gently,

“Don’t wolves usually howl? Like, ‘awoo’?”

“Nope,” Nivellia said firmly.

“Wolves bark like dogs, just a little deeper. ‘Awoooo’ is only when they’re calling to their pack. Don’t you even know that, Oppa?”

“I guess I didn’t.”

“Well, now you do.”

After finishing her homework, Nivellia walked with Soles to the annex.

There, Aref was receiving sword training from Ardores. He practiced regularly after coming back from kindergarten.

“……”

Nivellia quietly slipped behind Soles’s back.

“Are you scared of a wooden sword?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Just a little…” she whispered.

Nivellia was afraid of swords.

Even wooden ones frightened her, especially seeing Aref swing his so seriously.

Because she had died by a sword once.

When she was a cat.

Soles gently patted the back of her hand.

“Then let’s wait here for a bit. Aref should be done soon.”

“Do you learn swordsmanship, Oppa? You do, right?”

“I train early in the morning. Or when you’re at kindergarten and not around.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“If you’re scared, you won’t be able to do anything.”

“I’m scared though…”

Just then, Aref came running over, having just finished his training.

His wooden sword was now in Ardores’s hands. Since Nivellia was hiding behind Soles, Ardores had taken the sword away so she wouldn’t feel frightened.

“I’m done now,” Aref said, still catching his breath. His face was slightly flushed from training.

Nivellia reached out with a towel she had brought. Aref took it and wiped the sweat from his face.

“You should probably rinse off a bit,” Soles suggested.

Aref nodded and quickly went to clean himself up.

While they waited, Ardores played with the children to pass the time.

“Grandpa! Is Leti coming today?”

“Yes, I heard she is.”

Baron Pretto was finally coming up to the capital.

That afternoon, he was expected to visit the Deiamor estate with his daughter.

The children were excited, they had been looking forward to playing with Leticia again.

“I even got a gift for Leti! Aren’t you curious what it is?”

Nivellia clung to Ardores’s arm and looked up at him eagerly.

“Say you’re curious!”

Worried she might slip, Ardores gently supported her with his foot and nodded.

“I’m curious. What did you prepare for her?”

“Hehe, it’s a secret!”

“Saying that just makes me more curious.”

“Ahh! No tickling! Oppa, help me!”

“Nini, quick—hide behind me!”

Not long after, Aref returned, freshly washed, and jumped into the tickling game too.

In the end, Ardores was surrounded and defeated by the children’s giggles and energy.

“Grandpa, don’t you get ticklish?”

Nivellia focused her tickling on his side, but Ardores didn’t react at all.

“I’ve never really been ticklish. Not even when I was young.”

“But Grandma’s super ticklish! Just a tiny poke and she starts laughing.”

“That’s what makes it fun to tease her.”

“If you tease her too much, she might get annoyed.”

Nivellia spoke like she was revealing something very important.

“…She actually seems to like it.”

Ardores smiled softly, thinking of a small, quiet secret only he knew.

“Baron Pretto’s daughter has arrived,” Deter announced, delivering the news they’d all been waiting for.

The children rushed to the drawing room.

“Leti!”

Nivellia was the first one in, running with arms wide open.

“Nini!”

A girl with long, navy-blue hair lit up with a bright smile.

Nivellia jumped into Leticia’s arms.

“You’re here, Leti! I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, Nini. Have you been doing well?”

Leticia Pretto.

The third daughter of Baron Pretto, she came from a noble family known for their deep loyalty—one that had stood by the Deiamor household through both its highs and lows.

With a yellow headband holding back her navy-blue hair, Leticia looked calm and mature, far beyond her six years.

‘Her eyes…’

Aref stared at her in surprise.

They were red. Just like his.

‘Ah… So that’s why.’

That’s why no one in this house ever looked at his eyes strangely.

While Aref was lost in thought, Leticia met his gaze.

Their red eyes, similar yet slightly different, locked for a moment.

“…You must be Aref, right?”

Leticia was the first to speak.

“Do you know me?”

“I do. Soles Oppa mentioned you in his letters. He said he had a little brother now—so that must be you! It’s really nice to meet you.”

Leticia smiled warmly and held out her hand.

Aref reached out and shook it.

“My name is Aref. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“You have red eyes, just like me.”

“H-have you ever been teased because of them?”

“Of course I have.”

Red eyes weren’t common. In the past, people used to treat them like something to fear—some even believed they were cursed, reminding them of blood. It was a shameful part of history.

These days, it was different. Red eyes had become more accepted, even admired—especially among noble families.

Take the De Gladius family, for example. Both the duke and his eldest son had red eyes.

“Sometimes boys try to tease me,” Leticia said with a calm, almost sweet smile. “But when they do, I just grab whatever’s nearby and smack them on the head with it.”

That usually shuts them up real fast.

“……”

Aref silently made a note to himself: Don’t ever get on Leticia’s bad side.

“Has Soles Oppa been doing well?”

“He missed you while you were gone. What about you? Were you okay? Not hurt or sick? I heard you had a fight with your second sister… I was a little worried.”

“We made up pretty quickly. But it was still her fault, right? She ate all of my favorite strawberry jam pie and didn’t leave me even one bite…”

“Sounds like she was definitely in the wrong.”

Leticia and Soles continued their warm, back-and-forth reunion.

“……”

“……”

Meanwhile, Nivellia and Aref watched the two of them with curious expressions.

Especially Nivellia.

‘Oppa’s acting strange.’

Soles had always been sweet and gentle. He wasn’t doing anything that different now, and yet… something felt off.

His voice was a little softer than usual. His movements were more careful. Even the way he smiled seemed different.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

Nivellia squinted, trying to figure it out.

Then she reached a conclusion.

‘I want chocolate cookies!’

Her thoughts changed direction just like that. She turned to Leticia.

“Want some cookies? Chocolate ones?”

“Yes! Can we dip them in milk?”

“Knew it! Leti, you really get me!”

The children headed into Nivellia’s room.

They sat around a small, round table, happily snacking on chocolate cookies and milk.

“How much did you miss me, Nini?” Leticia asked with a grin.

“A lot.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Nivellia answered while dunking her cookie, not sounding particularly passionate.

Leticia looked a little disappointed, but Soles stepped in with a gentle smile.

“She really did miss you. When she heard your name, she remembered you right away. Al and Rubens forgot each other after just a few months, but not Leti.”

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