The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 70

“Honestly… she’s definitely her granddaughter.”

Muniel let out a short, disbelieving laugh and shook her head.

“She’s unbelievably fast when it comes to acting.”

“You’re not saying that for me to hear, right?”

“No, I’m absolutely saying it for you to hear.”

“……”

“I was ambushed the same way, you know.”

“Let’s be honest—you liked it when I did it first.”

Anyway—

With things the way they were, Ardores decided he had no choice but to teach the kids what it meant to have a real relationship between boys and girls.

But before that, there was something he needed to address.

“Nivellia. Didn’t Grandpa already tell you not to kiss people without permission? I specifically told you that before you went to visit Azel.”

“Aref didn’t hate it!”

Ardores turned to Aref.

“Aref, even if you didn’t like it, it’s okay to say—”

“I-I didn’t hate it…”

“……”

“I actually… liked it.”

At a loss for words, Ardores turned back to Nivellia.

Their eyes met, and Nivellia gave him a proud, smug little grin.

See? I was right.

That look said it all.

So this is why Caleo collapsed…

For the record, Caleo had literally fainted after witnessing how fast things escalated between the kids. He was probably getting teased relentlessly by Muniel during her hospital visit.

Good thing Armiphera isn’t here, Ardores thought.

If she were, she’d be laughing her head off at her brother.

Putting those thoughts aside, Ardores said,

“You can’t just kiss someone whenever you feel like it.”

“Why not?”

“Because your lips could get sore—and even bleed later.”

That part came from Ardores’ own painful experience.

Immediately, both Nivellia and Aref covered their mouths with their hands.

Seeing that, Ardores made a suggestion.

“From now on, kisses are limited to three times a day. No more than that.”

“Only three?!” Nivellia protested, clearly upset. Aref, trying to negotiate, subtly held up five fingers.

“……”

The fact that Aref was now bold enough to make counteroffers was—technically—something to be proud of.

Just… not in this situation.

“And also, it’s not a good idea to kiss too much in front of other people.”

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Ardores tried to explain with logic, but stopped himself.

Would these two little lovebirds, who were already complaining about the “three kisses per day” rule, really listen to a reasonable explanation?

Probably not.

So instead, he leaned in and said:

“If other people see how happy you look when you kiss, they might want to try it too.”

“Huh?”

“Someone else might want to kiss Aref.”

“NOOOOO!”

Nivellia shrieked in horror.

“And someone else might want to kiss you too, Nini.”

“AAHH!”

Aref flinched, clearly disturbed.

It actually worked…

Ardores hadn’t expected the scare tactic to be effective, but seeing their reactions, he didn’t miss a beat.

“So from now on—three kisses a day. Only at home. Deal?”

“Okay!”

“Yes!”

The kids answered instantly.

Finally, Ardores smiled in relief, satisfied that the issue had been resolved—for now.

“Hey, kid. I heard you kissed Aref.”

Monitos took off his navy fedora and asked casually.

He had come to the Deiamor estate to check in on preparations for the launch of the new pharmaceutical company.

Nivellia had come out to greet him and nodded proudly.

“We kissed because we love each other.”

“Kids these days. They’re not scared of anything, huh?”

“With the power of love, even the Demon King can be defeated! I’m not scared at all!”

“Your grandma beat the Demon King with pure force, not—”

Monitos was about to scoff, but he stopped mid-sentence.

“…Or maybe that was love?”

He glanced sideways at Nivellia’s bright, innocent expression.

When that cat was killed…

He could still remember the Saintess completely losing her mind.

In truth, the real hero of the Krepata War 40 years ago was Nini—the cat.

When Muniel lost Nini and snapped, she destroyed everything.

The monsters.

And the people.

“……”

Monitos gently tapped Nivellia’s forehead with one large hand.

“Live a long life.”

His voice was soft and sincere.

“Stay healthy… and stay cheeky. For a very, very long time.”

“……”

“Understand?”

“Yup!” Nivellia answered brightly.

“Then don’t cause trouble. Be good.”

“Nini is always good.”

“……”

Monitos said nothing more. He just turned and walked toward Caleo’s office.

Left alone, Nivellia wandered around the hallways, bored.

Soles was busy with tutoring. Aref was in sword training.

“Nini?”

That’s when Muniel spotted her crouching down, apparently getting ready to somersault.

“Grandma!”

Nivellia ran to her.

“What are you doing alone? Bored?”

“Uh-huh! Wanna play with me?”

“Grandma has to talk with Ather.”

“With the dragon?”

Ever since confirming that something strange was interfering with the world, Muniel and the ancient dragon Ather had been having long, frequent conversations.

Nivellia pouted.

“But Nini’s bored…”

“Oh dear. What’s Grandma supposed to do if her little kitten’s bored?”

“Then how about this—”

Nivellia pointed outside.

“Can I go visit?”

“Where? The De Gladius estate?”

“Yeah!”

“Then send a message first.”

“Come on, I don’t need to!”

“A real lady always calls ahead.”

“Nini’s already a cool cat, so it’s fine!”

Thankfully, a reply soon came saying she was welcome.

Nivellia packed some chocolate cookies to bring as a gift and climbed into the carriage.

Later that day, Aref and Soles were also planning to join her at the De Gladius estate after their studies.

“Nini!”

As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, Rubens greeted her with open arms.

“Rubens!”

Nivellia ran up and hugged him tightly.

“Uwaaah, Nini! I missed you so much!”

Rubens, clinging to his much smaller friend, whined like a kid in distress.

Acting like the dignified leader she believed herself to be, Nivellia patted his back with pride.

“What’s wrong? Did you wet the bed again and get scolded?”

“Hey! I’m eight now—I don’t do that anymore!”

After heading to Rubens’ room and sharing the cookies she brought, the two went out into the garden with a ball.

They began kicking it back and forth, giggling.

“Rubens! Kick it harder!”

“Can you even catch it? I’m gonna kick it really hard!”

“Nini will catch it!”

“All right then—here it comes!”

Rubens took a few big steps back, sprinted forward, and launched the ball with a loud whump.

It flew far into the garden with a powerful thud.

“Woooow!”

Nivellia jumped up and down in place, forgetting to even chase after it.

“That was awesome! It flew!”

“Ahh, now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Rubens pumped his fist, then grabbed Nivellia in a tight hug and rubbed his cheek against hers.

“Hey! Don’t do that!”

“You don’t know how happy I am that you came today. This is how you’re supposed to play ball! Right?”

“Right! I love it when you kick the ball like that.”

Rubens didn’t just like kicking balls—he loved moving around. Running, jumping, play-fighting with Aref—it was all his style.

“……”

He looked at Nivellia with a gentle, thankful expression.

“Nini, I feel so much better now. Thanks for coming today.”

“You’re welcome!”

“Haha! But that ball went really far, huh?”

“Let’s race for it! First one there wins!”

Nivellia took off without waiting.

“Hey! No fair!”

Rubens hurried after her.

He caught up quickly but slowed down a little on purpose.

In the end, Nivellia got there first and picked up the ball.

“Got it!”

“That was so unfair, Nini!”

“Life is unfair!”

“Where do you even learn things like that?!”

The two of them laughed and started kicking the ball around again.

Before long, the garden was filled with the sound of their laughter.

“Hey, Nini… did you really kiss Aref?”

Rubens asked while bouncing the ball between his chest and legs.

Nivellia nodded confidently, watching him show off.

“I did. We love each other!”

“Whoa… Nini, you’re amazing.”

“Nini is kind of amazing.”

“My dad freaked out when he heard.”

“You mean Mr. Horse-Thighs?”

“Mr. what?”

“You know—thighs as big as a horse! One of our maids taught me that.”

Just then—

“Young lady!”

Deter’s voice rang out across the garden, urgent and breathless.

“Deter?”

“What’s going on?”

Rubens stopped bouncing the ball and looked over. Nivellia instinctively grabbed his hand.

Deter came running up, trying to catch her breath.

“You need to return home right away. And Master Rubens—your father has summoned you back to the estate immediately.”

“My dad?”

Trying not to worry Nivellia, Rubens smiled brightly.

“Nini, let’s hang out again soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Today was really fun. And the cookies were great.”

“Next time, you come visit me, all right?”

“Yeah, I will!”

When Nivellia got home, the atmosphere was strange—tense and unsettled.

“Mom?”

She spotted Celletina coming down the stairs.

She had just returned from work, but was already changing clothes and getting ready to leave again.

“Nini!”

Celletina knelt down, hugged her daughter tightly, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“Mom…?”

“Nini, Mommy has to go out for work again, okay?”

“Again?”

“Something urgent came up. I have to leave right away.”

“Oh…”

Before Nivellia could say anything else, Celletina climbed into her carriage and departed for Rubeo.

Left behind, Nivellia looked up at Deter beside her.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure of the details… but it sounds serious.”

“Serious? Like, dangerous?”

“They say a bank just collapsed.”

The biggest bank in the Empire—

The news had just broken: Petra Bank has gone bankrupt.