The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 76

“Rima!”

The door flew open as Al and Rubens stormed in, calling out for Rima.

They quickly spotted her, dressed in a thick bathrobe and being treated by the maids.

Rubens, furious, shouted.

“How could you let her hands get this bad? Did no one notice?”

Rubens, who was usually full of smiles, had lost his temper.

Startled, the maids quickly stood and bowed, not knowing what to do.

“Forget it. Just leave us for now,” Al said firmly.

“But…”

“We’ll take care of Rima’s treatment.”

At Al’s cold command, the maids had no choice but to step back.

Al and Rubens sat down beside Rima.

As soon as they looked at each other, they started to argue.

“What are you doing, Hyung?”

“I’m trying to treat Rima’s hand.”

Al gently pulled Rima’s right hand toward him, his face full of concern.

“Rima…”

Rima slowly raised her head.

The moment Al saw the hopelessness in her eyes, he bit his lip and lowered his gaze.

Then he asked in a trembling voice,

“Why did this happen?”

“Did something happen? Tell us. We want to help you.”

“It’s nothing, really…”

Rima slowly shook her head.

She tried to pull her hand away, but Al and Rubens held on tight, unwilling to let go.

“Let’s treat this first. If you’re not comfortable talking, that’s okay. What matters most is you.”

“Right. It’s going to hurt a little, but hang in there.”

Rima stared at both of them.

Lately, Al and Rubens had been fighting over who was closer to her.

Sometimes they argued about who she would spend time with, only to waste so much time that they ended up missing their chance altogether.

At first, Rima had been happy about how much they cared.

But right now, it was just annoying.

“Hey, did you hear about that?” Rubens asked, handing Al a cotton pad soaked in antiseptic.

“That down coat turned out to be fake. The Economic Bureau filed charges against the store owner. I heard they got arrested earlier.”

“I knew it. Honestly, the people who bought it are part of the problem too.”

“But it was cheap. People without much money care more about the price.”

“Of course price matters. That’s why Rubeo had a big winter sale before the cold hit.”

Rubeo had earned the trust of customers because of their strict quality checks, which made it rare for faulty products to slip through.

To get into their department store, sellers had to go through an approval process as strict as the palace’s.

“Why do you think Rubeo’s chairman never approved that store? People should have been suspicious from the start.”

“That’s true, but still…”

“Anyone involved with that store is probably going to face serious charges. They tricked people with lies. The false advertising was very clever, apparently.”

[A coat made with feathers from Eternal Snow Ducks]

If you looked closely at the promotional flyer, you could see tiny hidden letters between the lines:

[A coat made with feathers (replicated from Eternal Snow Ducks)]

Replicated feathers.

You needed a strong magnifying glass just to read the strange, hidden wording.

“That’s seriously disgusting…”

Al stopped mid-sentence and let out a deep sigh.

His warm breath accidentally touched Rima’s injured skin.

“Ah!”

Rima tried to pull her hand back as her eyes teared up from the pain.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Al quickly apologized but still didn’t let go.

“Be careful, Hyung! Rima’s in pain,” Rubens snapped and grabbed Rima’s hand himself.

“I’ll do it. Move aside.”

“Rima prefers when I treat her. She always loves the peppermint candy I give her.”

“What are you talking about? Every time we go out, she says I’m the best. Have you ever heard that?”

“Rima, is that true? Did you really say Rubens is the best? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that from you.”

“And if she did, so what? Right, Rima?”

Their bickering took over, completely forgetting the treatment.

“Rima likes me more.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

They glared at each other, both insisting they were Rima’s favorite.

“…”

Rima stared at the two of them, completely annoyed. Then, without a word, she stormed into the bathroom.

She made sure to slam the door loud enough for them to hear.

But Al and Rubens were so busy arguing, they didn’t even notice she was gone.

“So loud…”

Useless idiots.

Rima covered her ears with both hands and shut her eyes tightly.

Her ears rang, pounding in rhythm with her heartbeat.

“What should I do?”

What even is the Economic Bureau?

They pressed charges against the store?

Something was really wrong with the down coat?

Fear crept back in, and Rima began nervously biting her fingernail.

The leftover antiseptic on her fingers touched her tongue, leaving a bitter taste.

But compared to the situation she was in, that bitter taste felt almost sweet.

“It’s fine. No one knows it was me. I was just… in the background…”

Lost in her thoughts and denial, she didn’t even realize that the noise outside had stopped.

Two days later

The heavy snowstorm had finally died down. The thick clouds started to clear in the early morning, and for the first time in a long while, the sky was blue.

At the Deiamor estate, the windows were thrown open to let in the fresh air.

“Ugh…”

Nivellia had no intention of getting out from under her blankets.

“It’s too cold…”

“Hurry and get dressed. Then you won’t be cold anymore.”

“I don’t want to! Pajamas are warmer!”

“That’s only because your body warmed up while you were sleeping, miss. If you keep them on, you’ll feel even colder soon.”

“No! No way!”

Even under the blanket, Nivellia skillfully dodged Deter’s hand as she tried to catch her.

Then, all of a sudden, Nivellia slipped out from under the covers and dashed down the hallway.

She planned to hide in Aref’s room.

“Eh?”

But suddenly, her body floated into the air.

Startled, Nivellia flailed her arms and legs in panic, but no matter how much she struggled, she didn’t come back down.

“Oh my goodness!”

She grabbed her cheeks with both hands in shock.

“Nini is flying!”

“How does it feel to fly?”

When she turned around, Magia was standing there.

“It’s the Tower Master!”

“Correct.”

He slowly lowered the finger he had raised.

Nivellia’s floating body gently came back down to the floor.

Once she landed safely, she stomped her feet in surprise.

“What was that? What happened?”

“Magic. Pretty cool, right?”

“Do it again! One more time!”

“Get dressed first.”

Why is she still in pajamas?

Just then, Deter appeared with winter clothes in her hands and helped Nivellia change into warm, thick clothes.

After a winter of snacking and lounging, Nivellia’s cheeks had become soft and round, like a fluffy puppy.

“You little rascal, you’re actually kind of cute today.”

“Nini is always cute.”

Nivellia looked up at Magia with suspicion.

“Why are you complimenting me?”

“You just look a bit prettier than usual today.”

“…”

“Sorry, but the chances of me dating you are lower than the odds of an eyelash falling into tea, getting tossed into the ocean, and still floating three days later when we go looking for it.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were going to kiss a wolf.”

“Yup! I’m dating him!”

“Good. Hope you and the wolf have a long, happy life together.”

Magia muttered under his breath and waited patiently while Nivellia finished her breakfast.

Meanwhile, Aref and Soles also came downstairs.

As soon as they saw Magia sitting there, sipping tea like he owned the place, they froze in surprise.

“Oh, you’re both up.”

“Come, sit down and eat.”

Magia even helped serve the kids’ breakfast himself.

Though still a bit stunned, both boys politely greeted him and sat at the table.

Feeling cheerful, Magia asked a servant to bring him a light breakfast too.

“By the way, where are the adults in this house? Caleo and Celletina probably went to the palace…”

“Our grandparents went out yesterday. They said they were visiting a friend’s house.”

“Hmm…”

It’s either Della or the Grand Witch.

“One of those two…”

No, wait.

There’s one more.

“But that one stays indoors more than I do.”

Could they have died?

As Magia thought about his old comrades, he suddenly felt a gentle tap on his arm and turned.

It was Nivellia.

She had a bit of jam stuck at the corner of her mouth.

“Tower Master, why are you here? Did you come to play with Nini?”

“Something like that.”

Magia wiped the jam off her mouth with a napkin as he answered.

“Kitten.”

“Huh?”

“Want to visit the palace?”

The emperor sent an invitation.

“For all three of you.”

“Wow!”

From inside the carriage, Nivellia couldn’t take her eyes off the snowy landscape outside.

“Everything is covered in snow!”

“Look over there! It’s Rubeo!”

Aref and Soles were also glued to the windows, completely taken by the view.

Magia looked at the three children pressed up against the glass and gave a warm smile, looking every bit like a guardian.

“Sit properly. You’ll get hurt if you’re not careful.”

He even sounded like one too.

The kids quickly sat back in their seats.

“Tower Master,” Soles said, finally asking what he had been holding in.

“Did His Majesty really invite us?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why he invited us?”

“My guess is… you probably know better than I do.”

“…”

Soles’ eyes widened.

Magia let out a small chuckle and started to cross his legs, but Nivellia smacked his knee and scolded him.

“Don’t cross your legs. That’s bad for your back!”

He uncrossed them right away.

“Hey, your grandmother used to nag me about that during the war.”

Magia, scolded by a child, lost a little of his Tower Master dignity.

But no one was bothered. Everyone was used to Nivellia’s boldness by now.

“Is it because of the magic stone?”

Aref, who had been quietly thinking about the reason for the invitation, finally asked.

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