The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 71

This dreadful news came at the worst possible time, late in the afternoon, just as all economic activity was winding down for the day.

Everything came to a sudden halt.

Then, just as suddenly, everything erupted into chaos.

People who had accounts with Petra Bank rushed to its doors, their faces pale with fear that their savings might be gone.

But the bank was already firmly closed.

Even so, behind those locked doors, the frantic footsteps of employees echoed so clearly, it sent a chill down the spine.

“Come on, it can’t go bankrupt just like that, right?”

“Exactly. It’s the biggest bank in the Empire…”

They clung to false hope, trying to stay calm.

But that effort was in vain.

The next day came. Then another.

Petra Bank still didn’t reopen.

Eventually, the Emperor called an emergency meeting.

Because this crisis had revealed something truly shocking.

The Grand Conference Hall of the Imperial Palace.

A long, oval-shaped conference table.

And a single chair, placed higher than the others, where one could overlook the entire room.

“Viscount Petra, heir to the Count.”

Seated in that chair was the Emperor of the Deiamor Empire—Emperor Ferrator Deiamor.

His eyes, cold and dark gray, stared sharply at the man seated furthest from him—the one responsible for the entire disaster.

“…Viscount Petra.”

The Emperor called his name again.

The young viscount, trembling with fear, still failed to respond.

Finally, a nearby knight leaned in and whispered harshly into his ear.

“Do you dare ignore His Majesty’s summons?”

“U-Urgh!”

Only then did the stunned young man snap back to reality.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“Now we can begin.”

Emperor Ferrator slowly stood from his seat.

At that moment, his eyes briefly met those of Celletina, one of his ministers, a woman whose kind expression seemed completely out of place in this grim room. She gave him a polite nod.

But Ferrator knew the truth.

Among everyone present here, she was the most dangerous.

He took a few steps forward.

Then came to a stop in front of Viscount Petra.

“I won’t bother asking how you plan to fix this. I’m not expecting anything. You were so blinded by greed that you were even willing to offer up the bank as collateral…”

He abruptly stopped.

What kind of solution could anyone expect from a fool like this?

Up close, Viscount Petra looked deathly pale, like all the blood had drained from his face.

And yet, his mustache was meticulously trimmed.

The Emperor turned his eyes away in disgust.

The bank’s collapse was serious enough, but that wasn’t the only reason for Ferrator’s growing fury.

“How exactly did you offer the bank as collateral?”

There is only one way to inherit the Petra family title:

One must inherit Petra Bank.

It was a unique rule born from the family’s long history in banking.

But this fool had used the bank as collateral.

“I haven’t received a single report about this.”

“……”

“So, you’re telling me the Petra family didn’t inform the Crown at all?”

“……”

“Or is it…”

The Emperor’s voice lowered.

Viscount Petra gasped—short, choked sounds like a dying animal.

“…You sold it off on your own.”

At those quiet words, the young viscount looked like he might faint.

Truthfully, how the bank was mortgaged didn’t really matter when it came to solving the national emergency.

That detail would only determine the Petra family’s future—and whether Viscount Petra would even survive this scandal.

“Archmage.”

Turning away from the sight of the disgraced noble, Emperor Ferrator called out.

The Archmage, Magia, gave a slight bow.

“I hear the Mage Tower has not taken any position regarding the mana stone mining project in the Kingdom of Phroc.”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“Why is that?”

“Because despite all the rumors, no one has actually seen a single mana stone come out of that site.”

Her answer caused a stir among those gathered.

Several of them had invested enormous sums into that very mining operation.

Their faces turned pale as sheets.

Fools.

Magia silently cursed them and continued speaking calmly.

“Also, the Prok Kingdom never submitted a formal request to the Mage Tower.”

“There are rumors they intentionally avoided involving the Tower, since it’s known for developing artificial mana stones,” one noble interjected in a hurry.

Magia responded in a slow, deliberate tone, as if she were generously entertaining a child’s misunderstanding.

“To test artificial mana stones, you still need real ones. That’s because the devices used to develop them require genuine mana stones to operate.”

In short, the place that needed mana stones most was the Mage Tower itself.

“Anyone paying even a little attention to the situation should have realized something was off.”

She didn’t bother hiding her disappointment.

“So, does that mean the mana stone mining project was a scam?” Emperor Ferrator asked.

Magia gently shook her head.

“A mine containing mana stones was definitely discovered.”

There was silence in the room.

“But even with all the years I’ve lived, I believe only time and luck can provide any real solution to this crisis.”

She could only hope that fool’s investment in the mining project would somehow succeed.

And that the people, fearful of losing their life savings, would have the patience to endure until then.

“I believe that’s the only option we have right now.”

“Then what we must do next,” Duke Kallaroff de Gladius said, his eyes flashing sharply, “is find out exactly how much that idiot took for himself, using the people’s hard-earned money as collateral.”

Eventually, the Petra Bank scandal was taken to court.

There was no stopping it.

Viscount Petra had borrowed an astronomical amount using the bank as collateral.

Worse still, he had also dipped into the bank’s own assets.

“If it were up to me…” Emperor Ferrator muttered.

He wanted nothing more than to execute the man right then and there.

But he held back.

If the viscount were killed immediately, there would be no one left to take responsibility once the crisis was over.

If he was to die, it had to be after everything was resolved.

On top of that, letters of petition had begun arriving from other fools who had invested in the mana stone venture alongside him.

In the end, Petra Bank was allowed to continue operating, but barely.

A grace period was granted.

Viscount Petra was ordered to repay all his debts and restore the misused bank assets by the summer of the following year.

“So that means Petra Bank still exists, technically?” Soles asked during breakfast with his family, reading from the newspaper.

His parents looked up from the table.

Celletina, clearly exhausted, gave him a gentle smile and nodded.

She hadn’t had a proper rest in weeks.

Last night, she had only slept three hours, and that was more than she’d managed in a long time.

Caleo, sitting beside her, looked just as tired.

Muniel and Ardores as well.

Even the household staff.

The collapse of Petra Bank meant something close to disaster for everyone in the empire—it was as if the entire population might lose their wealth overnight.

Of course, nobles usually managed their personal assets privately. But not everything could be kept that way. Most used the bank like a vault, trusting it to hold what they couldn’t manage alone.

“Are we going to go totally broke too?” Nivellia asked, her face tight with worry.

She jabbed helplessly at the neatly sliced apples on her plate with her fork.

“Do I have to go out and support the family? Is that what it’s come to?”

“It’s not that bad. And it’s not going to get that bad either,” Caleo said, trying to reassure her.

But even the children could see it.

Things were worse than anyone wanted to admit.

“I heard Count Petra is bedridden. Would he really have been in any condition to hand over the bank?”

“People are talking,” someone replied quietly. “Now they’re saying Viscount Petra might have been the reason his father collapsed in the first place.”

“What about Lady Petra? Has she said anything yet?”

“I heard she’s on her way back from the north. Things are bad up there too. Some group of raiders attacked the Frigus estate…”

After breakfast, the children quietly stepped outside without needing to be told.

Once they brushed their teeth under Soles’s supervision, they gathered in the study to talk about what to do next.

Thankfully, it was the weekend. The Mage Tower preschool was closed, there were no academy classes, and even Soles’s tutoring sessions were on hold.

“Do you think the Pelea Trading Company is going to be okay?” Aref asked, gently placing his hand over Nivellia’s, who looked completely defeated.

“I think it’ll be fine,” Soles answered, sounding confident.

“We invested our money to help them get started. The stone mushrooms they’re planning to sell will definitely do well. Remember how good they tasted?”

Of course, if the current situation dragged on much longer, even that might not be guaranteed.

Still, Celletina had told them not to worry about the mushrooms and that was enough to give them peace of mind for now.

So, they chose to believe in that.

Nivellia and Aref both looked a little more relaxed.

“What can we do to help?” Aref asked. In such a hard time, he wanted to do something—anything—that would make a difference.

“If we’re being realistic, not much,” Soles said gently.

“The best way to help is to stay calm and behave ourselves, so the adults don’t have to worry about us too.”

“Then why are you staring at me, big brother?” Nivellia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m just looking.”

“Well, I don’t like the way you’re looking.”

Soles smiled a little. “Have you thought about it, Nini? What we could do that would actually help the grown-ups?”

Nivellia tilted her head from side to side, eyes closed in thought.

Then suddenly, her eyes flew open, sparkling with excitement like she had just come up with the most brilliant idea in the world.

“Let’s find a mana stone!”

Without waiting, she bolted off toward another room.

“Ather!”

She flung open the door.

Inside, Ather, the demon dragon was standing in front of a mirror, admiring herself in a red dress.

“Mmm. I knew it. Red really is my color.”

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