The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 78

However, the Emperor quickly regained his composure.

Aref began to wonder if he had just imagined what he saw.

“I heard that Marquis Deiamor took on a new disciple, but I didn’t expect him to be such a handsome young boy.”

“Uh…”

Still dazed, Aref quickly nodded when he realized he was being complimented.

“Th-thank you!”

“It is an honor for me as well to meet a future knight. Now, please have a seat. I cannot let such special guests keep standing.”

After guiding the guests to the sofa, the Emperor was the first to speak again.

“I apologize for calling you here without notice.”

“You should always ask before visiting someone. Like, is it okay if I come?”

Nivellia pointed out something even a child would know.

“Nini!”

Startled, Soles quickly tried to stop his little sister, but it was already too late.

“Hahaha! She’s absolutely right!”

Rather than getting angry, the Emperor laughed heartily, clearly enjoying the moment.

“Lady Deiamor speaks the truth a thousand times over. This time, I was clearly in the wrong. I failed to show proper respect to a young lady.”

“You must not do that again.”

“I will be more careful in the future.”

“Good!”

Nivellia grinned proudly and looked at Soles.

Her expression seemed to ask, “Didn’t I do well?”

Soles, whose heart had nearly stopped, considered whether he should scold her.

But he thought, “At least she kept her promises.”

Say “Hello.”

End sentences with “yo.”

So Soles simply nodded. Nivellia giggled, pleased with herself.

Magia had a look on his face like he knew this would happen, but he didn’t say anything.

“Now then…”

The Emperor went straight to the point.

“The reason I called you here is to talk about the mana crystal mine.”

They had learned the mine’s location from the evil dragon Ather. Then Armiphera went there herself and bought the land. It was a remote mountain.

Publicly, it was described as a spontaneous gift from a mercenary queen to her youngest nephew.

But in reality, it was a mine filled with an incredible amount of mana crystals.

“The Tower Master visited recently and confirmed the mana crystal deposits. He kept complaining about almost freezing to death…”

“He could’ve waited until the snow melted…”

Still, despite the freezing weather, Magia discovered crystals of extremely high purity.

He was so impressed that he kissed one, only to have his lips stick to the frozen crystal.

“But we couldn’t afford to wait. And as you can see, Young Lord Petra was caught trying to flee the country.”

Rumor had it that the Kingdom of Prok would begin mining mana crystals next spring.

But even before a single crystal entered the market, Young Lord Petra tried to run away.

“He probably did something shady again.”

Magia answered as if he had no interest at all.

“The investigation will reveal everything.”

The Emperor nodded. He wasn’t very interested either.

Petra was already facing a heavy sentence. Even if more crimes were added, nothing would change.

It was just a matter of whether he would be executed with his socks on or off.

“Anyway.”

The Emperor looked directly at the children, especially Nivellia.

“Would it be alright if I borrowed the mana crystal mine?”

“Huh…?”

Nivellia frowned and looked troubled.

“Th-thief…”

She glared at him, clearly upset.

“Why are you doing this behind my back?”

Magia looked surprised as Nivellia suddenly hid behind him.

Still, he gently shifted to give her more cover.

“Aref! Brother! That man is so awful…”

“No, no, no!”

The Emperor hurriedly cut in.

“I just didn’t explain myself properly.”

“He’s not wrong though. A tax-wasting thief, right?”

“Tower Master, now is not the time for jokes like that.”

She’s already misunderstanding enough.

By now, Nivellia looked like she might actually jump at the Emperor. Her lips were tightly pressed together, and a strange humming sound came from her mouth.

Aref moved slightly closer to Nivellia, as if ready to block her if anything happened.

Soles, on the other hand, just smiled with quiet resignation.

He thought to himself, “Once we’re home, I really need to suggest proper etiquette lessons for Nini.”

“I’m not trying to steal it. Ahem.”

The Emperor let out an awkward cough and then began to explain clearly.

This was a secret not known to the public, and perhaps never would be. It was a national matter.

“You know that Young Lord Petra borrowed money using the bank as collateral, right?”

“That mustache man!”

Nivellia responded without lowering her guard.

“Yes. He borrowed a huge amount of money.”

The Emperor revealed the first secret: the size of the loan.

“What…”

Soles quickly covered his mouth, nearly screaming. The amount was far beyond what he had imagined.

“B-brother…”

Aref was just as shocked.

“Is it more than… a billion?”

The biggest number Aref knew was one hundred billion.

Soles nodded slowly. Aref’s eyes widened as if they might pop out of his head.

“So… that much?”

Nivellia was just as shocked. But she didn’t fully grasp how large that amount really was.

“Young Lord Petra doesn’t have the means to repay it. Not now, and not in the future.”

“But, Your Majesty,”

Soles asked.

“Hasn’t the Kingdom of Prok’s mining not even begun yet?”

“Even if the mining starts and goes well, it won’t change anything. He still wouldn’t be able to fix it.”

The Emperor explained the reason.

That was the second secret.

“He was scammed.”

“A scam…?”

“It seems he invested through a broker. But that broker took the investment money and redirected it somewhere else.”

After Young Lord Petra was caught trying to escape, they searched his vault.

The securities they found were fake.

“Though Petra himself didn’t seem to realize it.”

“Then why did he try to run away?”

“As I said earlier, that’s still under investigation.”

Soles felt even more uneasy.

He thought, maybe Petra had committed more serious crimes besides collapsing the bank.

While still deep in thought, Soles suddenly spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“Which bank loaned him the money…”

“That’s a real state secret. I can’t tell you.”

Emperor Ferrator smiled kindly, but his voice was firm.

The children suddenly felt a chill run through them.

It felt like they had just seen a glimpse of the real Emperor Ferrator, hidden behind the gentle smile.

“Your Majesty.”

Ignoring the warning look from Magia, Emperor Ferrator turned back to Nivellia and spoke again.

“The situation is very serious.”

Nivellia didn’t say anything.

“So, Lady Deiamor. I heard that you are the owner of the mana crystal mine. I am asking for your permission to use it.”

“But… but I gave it to my mom and dad…”

She had received the mine by giving all her clothes and jewelry to the evil dragon Ather.

She and the other children had found it to help their parents, who were struggling because of the bank’s collapse.

Nivellia had never planned to use it for herself.

“I spoke with your parents too.”

The Marquis and Marchioness of Deiamor gave a clear answer.

“It belongs to our daughter. Please get her permission.”

“If the children agree, we will gladly support the decision.”

It was a gift made with the true hearts of the children. The parents didn’t want to use it without their consent.

They could have ignored the children’s opinions, but they didn’t.

And Emperor Ferrator didn’t either.

Instead, he called them in person and respectfully asked for their approval.

Nivellia looked straight into Emperor Ferrator’s gray eyes and asked in a small voice.

“If I let you borrow it, what are you going to do with it?”

She was so nervous that she forgot to speak politely.

But the Emperor didn’t point that out. Instead, he gently explained the situation in words a four-year-old could understand.

“We’re going to tell people that our empire has a mana crystal mine.”

“I know that! Nini knows! It means telling people to buy something!”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

Emperor Ferrator smiled and praised her.

Nivellia’s shoulders lifted with pride.

The real cause of all this trouble was the investment in the Kingdom of Prok’s mana crystal mining.

It wasn’t just Young Lord Petra. Many others had put money into that project.

So now, it was time for their side to receive investment.

“If we announce that we have a mana crystal mine, people will want to invest and bring their money. We’ll use that money to mine the crystals, and we’ll use the profits to repay the debt caused by that bad man.”

“You’re going to do that with our family’s mine?”

Soles couldn’t hide how upset he was. Even though he knew it was rude, he couldn’t hold it in.

To get that mine, Nivellia had given away all her favorite clothes and jewelry to the evil dragon Ather.

To others, it might not have looked like much. But for a four-year-old, giving up everything she had was a big sacrifice.

And now they were going to use it for the sake of the empire?

No. That was the wrong way to think.

Soles forced himself to calm down.

Even when they had no wealth or power, the Deiamor family had survived because they never chased greed.

That was the kind of family they were.

Nobles must act with honor and responsibility.

And their parents had already given permission.

That was why they had searched for the mine in the first place.

With those thoughts, Soles managed to settle his emotions.

“…I’m sorry.”

Then he bowed his head and apologized.

“House Deiamor has raised their children well.”

“They’ve clearly been taught right at home.”

Emperor Ferrator and Magia looked at Soles with pride instead of disappointment.

Magia even gave him a gentle pat on the back.

“Don’t worry. Your parents are not the kind to be taken lightly. If anything, they’ll make sure to gain from this.”

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