The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 73

Armiphera’s proposal was simple.

Let mercenaries become a business.

Her idea was to establish a formal company, hire mercenaries as employees, and operate as a structured private military organization that accepted and fulfilled contracts.

It didn’t sound like a bad plan.

Because it addressed all the usual weaknesses of mercenary life.

But naturally, there were risks involved too.

“We mercenaries are like the free wind. Trying to control us like that, no one’s going to—”

“Let’s be honest.”

Armiphera cut off the complaining mercenary with a sharp laugh.

“We wander because we have nowhere to stay. Isn’t that, right?”

“…”

“Some mercenaries have families now. They’ve settled down and are living decent lives.”

In the end, what mercenaries needed was a legitimate organization that would protect their rights and recognize the value of their labor.

That had always been the core purpose of the Mercenary King.

A figure powerful enough to keep rogue mercenaries in check and stabilize their dangerous ecosystem through force if needed.

That was the role of the Mercenary King.

And now, that Mercenary King spoke.

“Of course, this is only a proposal.”

Armiphera looked around at those gathered.

“But I can promise you this: it’s the best way to elevate the value of being a mercenary. People will stop using our name like it means ‘thug’ or ‘vagrant’.”

“You really believe that?”

“Look at them now.”

She pointed to the Pelea Trading Company, who had accompanied her.

“They made it here safely thanks to their mercenary escort.”

The company had arrived at their destination without a single attack.

The mercenaries had done their job and been paid fairly.

And thanks to their performance, they had even signed a return escort contract.

If things went well, those mercenaries might enter a long-term agreement with Pelea.

“There won’t be any wars for a while.”

A world without monsters was only now reaching its 40th year.

This peace had been hard-earned, and many still remembered the horrors from before.

No one wanted conflict again.

“I love the freedom of being a mercenary too,” Armiphera said.

“But real freedom needs a home to return to. I want to give you that.”

“How did it go?”

Falcone asked as Armiphera approached.

She yawned so widely that her throat was almost visible, then shrugged her shoulders.

“From that look, I take it things didn’t go well.”

“I didn’t expect it to, honestly.”

She casually cleaned her ear with her pinky, her face calm.

“But it wasn’t a total loss.”

“You managed to form a faction?”

Falcone’s question got just one reply.

A smile.

Armiphera’s smile was a reminder that she had once been a celebrated noble lady in the capital.

But now, that smile wasn’t pure or beautiful.

It was sharp.

A storm is coming.

If she was to become the new ruler, a purge was necessary.

The former Mercenary King had been one of the worst among them.

He had dragged the already poor reputation of mercenaries down even further.

And it was Armiphera who had killed him.

She planned to erase every trace he had left behind.

That would be the foundation of the reform she was about to begin.

“What do you think?”

“You mean me?”

“And stop talking so formally. You used to speak casually just fine.”

“I can’t speak that way to the Mercenary King, excuse me, the company director now.”

Gotta stay on your good side early, right?

At Falcone’s sly answer, Armiphera let out a genuine laugh.

This time, her smile held nothing but warmth.

“You’re heading for the capital tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll split off partway.”

“You’re not coming to the capital with us?”

Our sweet and squishy little company owner will be waiting for you.

“I want to go too. What if little Nini’s crying because she misses her aunt so much…?”

But right now, Nivellia was far too busy with Aref, using up one of the three kisses they were allowed to share each day.

She had long forgotten about her aunt.

“But what can you do? Our little company owner said to go work.”

The day before they arrived in Latro…

While camping, Armiphera received a small bundle.

“Come back safely. Oh, and how do I look? Nivellia picked this out for me—no, wait, that bold little girl did.”

“You look adorable.”

“You’re supposed to say I look cool.”

After delivering the bundle, the evil dragon Ather vanished on the spot.

When she opened it, Armiphera found several portable magic heaters, a check, and a letter.

[Dear Aunt,
The capital is in chaos right now because of the Petra Bank collapse.
Nini, Aref, and I are working to solve this problem…]

The children had asked Armiphera to go to a specific location and purchase a piece of land for them.

“Haa…”

Nivellia let out a warm breath.

A puff of white vapor floated from her lips like smoke.

“Wow!”

Even while marveling at it, more pale mist spilled from her mouth. Nivellia got excited and began bouncing around.

“Young lady!”

When she heard someone calling her, Nivellia turned and beamed.

“Aref!”

She ran straight into Aref’s arms and hugged him tightly.

“Look, I’m making smoke! White smoke is coming out of my mouth.”

“That’s because it’s cold. It’s winter now.”

Aref held her hand gently, as if to warm it.

“…”

But her small hand was already warm.

My hand’s colder than hers.

Worried he might be making her feel colder, Aref started to pull his hand away.

“Aref, your hand’s cold.”

But Nivellia quickly grabbed it again.

“See? I’m warm, right?”

“But your hand will get cold too…”

“Nini’s already warm, so it’s fine! Let’s hurry inside and dip some chocolate cookies into hot milk!”

Grinning, Nivellia stepped forward and pulled Aref along by the hand.

“Okay!”

The two of them ran full speed toward the estate, still holding hands.

“Hey now, you’ll hurt yourselves if you run like that.”

One of the staff passing by called out a warning.

“Got it!”

“Sorry! We’ll be careful!”

Nivellia responded in a slightly annoyed tone, while Aref apologized politely and promised to be more careful.

The clear difference in the two children’s personalities made the staff member smile quietly to themselves.

Then they went back to their work.

The chaos of autumn now felt like a distant memory.

A calm winter had quietly settled over the capital, as if everything had finally paused to rest.

The collapse of Petra Bank was still unfolding, and the magic stone mining project in the Kingdom of Phroc had yet to make any real progress.

But the people who were most desperate about their frozen funds weren’t nobles or the wealthy.

They were ordinary people just regular folks doing their best to get by each day.

All they could do was wait.

Wait and hope that the mining project Petra’s heir had invested in would somehow hit the jackpot.

But the seasons didn’t wait for anyone.

And this winter’s cold was unlike any other.

The biting wind, the never-ending snowfall, and the relentless drop in temperature…

Just as warned in autumn, this winter brought a deadly chill that could actually take lives.

People scraped together what little money they had to buy winter supplies.

Rubeo Department Store and its partner shops began selling winter gear at lower prices than the year before. The same went for winter clothes.

In times like these, charging full price was out of the question.

Even so, Rubeo’s performance fell short of expectations even after accounting for the discounts and planned losses.

“One per person only!”

“We’ve got all sizes and styles, so don’t worry!”

“Genuine down coats made with Eternal Snow Duck feathers! Just 50,000 Uba! Authentic warmth, unmatched even by the ducks themselves!”

Not far from Rubeo Department Store, a small shop was swarmed with people.

Employees were out front organizing the endless line of customers.

Everyone leaving the shop was wearing the same coat.

It was thick but lightweight, made with Eternal Snow Duck feathers, and designed to trap warmth without feeling heavy.

“How can it be this cheap?”

A man stared at his friend, who had just bought one of the coats, and murmured in disbelief.

“But didn’t you think what the shop owner said earlier was kind of weird…?”

Feathers from an Eternal Snow Duck, yet it’s warmer than the duck itself?

That didn’t make any sense.

Still, most people didn’t bother to question it.

Almost as if someone was deliberately stirring up excitement, praise for the coats echoed through the crowd.

“I heard those go for hundreds of thousands of Uba at Rubeo…”

“Maybe Rubeo was just overcharging all this time.”

Soon, rumors began to spread—claims that Rubeo had been inflating prices to make a profit off these coats.

But Rubeo Department Store didn’t respond.

Celletina simply let it be.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“I’m fine.”

Even when her worried secretary asked, Celletina only smiled.

As if she already knew exactly how this would all play out.

“They say this winter’s going to last longer than usual, right?”

“Yes. Everyone’s really anxious. The year is ending in chaos.”

“The Saint once said this—”

Celletina spoke lightly, as if amused.

“This is all just a bit of misfortune before the good.”

“Misfortune?”

“It’s something people go through before something good happens. Like a vaccine—it hurts a bit, but it protects you in the long run.”

“I didn’t know that was a real saying.”

“It is. Which means, right now, we’re getting all the bad stuff out of the way.”

Celletina glanced through the approval documents her secretary had brought.

“Send a message to every shop in the department store. The winter sale ends this week.”

“Wow… it’s so warm.”

Leticia, who had come to the Deiamor estate with her father, Viscount Pretto, gave a small shiver.

“You should’ve just stayed home…”

Viscount Pretto brushed the snow off the top of his youngest daughter’s head.

Then, gently, he helped her take off her scarf and outer coat.

“But Nini said she was going to introduce me to a friend today.”

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