The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 82

Each time, the adults nodded quietly in response.

Then Aref would turn back around, his small nose a little red as he sniffled and eagerly unwrapped another gift.

For Aref, this became one more day he would never forget.

“I’ve never received this many presents before…”

“You’re going to get even more from now on.”

Soles understood how he felt and answered with playful confidence.

“You’re our grandfather’s student now. Being personally trained by Holy Knight Ardores is a big deal.”

“Is it really that amazing?”

“He’s a war hero. One of the heroes who helped end the Krepata War forty years ago.”

Aref quickly turned his head to look behind him.

As if expecting it, Ardores was already wearing a proud, smug expression.

The rest of the family immediately booed him for showing off.

Aref, who had been looking at him with admiration, turned his eyes back to the gifts.

So things like this really happen…

Still, if someone gives me something just because I’m Ardores’s student, it doesn’t feel like a gift for me.

But these gifts in front of me now were given by people who truly care about me.

They carry love and kindness.

I like these much more.

Even though he still wasn’t sure about what Soles said, Aref felt certain that if someone gave him a gift with selfish intentions, he wouldn’t feel happy at all.

He wasn’t even happy imagining it.

“I like these presents a lot more.”

“Right? Me too.”

While her brothers were chatting…

“Wow!”

Nivellia was too busy opening gifts to pay attention.

There were big hair ribbons, running shoes, trendy storybooks, a dollhouse as tall as she was, and a springy blue ball.

Among them, one thing stood out the most to Nivellia.

“It’s so cool!”

It was a silver knuckle guard reinforced with black leather.

Nivellia slid her fingers into the rings as if she had done it many times before.

Her chubby fingers filled the silver holes, and she clenched her fist tight.

Her already round little fist suddenly looked fiercer.

“Mom! Dad!”

She proudly held up her knuckle-clad hand for the adults to see.

“That looks awesome!”

Armiphera praised her right away.

“Looks like there’s another mercenary in this family besides me. What do you think, Nini? Want to follow in your aunt’s footsteps and live the wild life?”

“No. I don’t want to.”

I like a comfortable and easy life.

Nivellia replied without hesitation and continued admiring the knuckle guard on her hand.

“What is that, miss?”

Aref walked over and asked.

He had never seen anything like it, but it still felt strangely familiar.

And it looked like it really suited her.

“A knuckle!”

“A knuckle?”

“It’s a weapon! You can use it to break people’s bones!”

Nivellia stretched out her fist like she was demonstrating. The motion was completely harmless and even less threatening than before.

“Grandma fought with this?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!”

Soles suddenly remembered something from a history lesson.

“Grandma used to fight with knuckles. Right, Grandma?”

“That’s right.”

Muniel was the one who had given Nivellia the gift.

Caleo looked at his mother with a mix of frustration and disbelief.

Muniel shrugged and casually explained why she gave it.

“Nini’s turning five in a few months. I thought it was about time she started learning some basic self-defense. She should be able to protect herself at least.”

“You really gave her a weapon?”

“You can’t kill anyone with that.”

Muniel scoffed at her husband’s scolding.

The knuckle was a training version.

The leather covering the back of the hand was enchanted with shock absorption magic.

It was made to keep Nivellia from hurting herself while practicing, since her hands were still soft and growing.

“Big brother, can I hit you with it?”

“No. You can’t just punch people.”

“But Grandma used it to hit everyone.”

“That was during a war. She only hit bad people.”

“Then I’ll hit bad people too.”

With every punch she threw into the air, Nivellia made dramatic whooshing sounds with her mouth.

She pranced around, striking poses to show off her impressive new look.

And then…

Thud!

She swung her hand wildly and smacked it right into the wall.

The warm, cheerful mood in the room instantly froze.

Even the adults who had been clapping and cheering for her stopped.

Soles, who had been laughing so hard he was holding his stomach, went silent.

Aref, who had been watching her with wide, enchanted eyes, stopped breathing for a moment.

Everyone turned to look at Nivellia, who had suddenly gone completely still.

“…Huh?”

Nivellia stared blankly at both of her hands, one of which had slammed hard into the wall. Her chin began to tremble.

The hand wearing the knuckle was perfectly fine.

But the other hand had started to swell, turning red.

“Waaah!”

At last, the tears burst out.

“Nini!”

Caleo and Celletina rushed over to her.

“This is exactly why I put magic on it,” Muniel said quietly. She knew her granddaughter all too well.

Nivellia sniffled.

“It hurt…”

“Of course it did. You hit the wall so hard,” said Deter as he carefully removed her pajamas and helped her into warm winter clothes.

Even while changing, Nivellia refused to take the knuckle off her hand.

“It’s enchanted, so even if you get hit, it won’t hurt.”

“That’s good. I don’t like things that hurt.”

“Want to try it?”

“Um…”

Deter examined the knuckle for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

“Alright. But you have to hit my palm, not anywhere else. And you shouldn’t go around hitting people. Understand?”

“Got it.”

Nivellia shouted with confidence and punched.

“Yap!”

Her tiny fist landed squarely in Deter’s callused palm.

Deter was surprised.

Her form is actually really solid.

He had expected her to fool around like usual, but Nivellia’s posture was remarkably clean.

Her legs were firmly grounded, her punching arm straight and steady, and she even raised her other arm to guard her face.

It was like she had learned from someone who actually knew how to fight.

“Well? Did it hurt? Did it? Tell me!”

“…”

“Deter?”

“I’m just surprised. Your stance was really good, young lady.”

“Heehee! I used to watch Grandma a lot when she did it!”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

So the great madam had taught her after all. That explained the impressive technique.

“And no, your punch didn’t hurt.”

There was impact, but almost no pain.

If anything, it felt like accidentally bumping a soft toy with your foot.

“But still, you can’t just go around punching people.”

“I know! I knoooow!”

Nivellia was going to start learning self-defense soon.

For now, since she was still young, her training would begin with physical conditioning and the mindset of a martial artist.

She carefully took off the knuckle and placed it gently on the nightstand beside the bed.

“Do you really like it that much?”

“Yeah!”

Lying on her stomach on the bed, she rested her chin in both hands and stared at the knuckle with excitement.

“I’m just like Grandma now!”

“Do you think the great madam’s knuckles looked the same?”

“Hers were, um, pointy here. Like fire pokers. She used those to beat everyone.”

Nivellia sat up and drew little sharp lines across the back of her hand with her finger.

“I saw it back when I was a cat.”

“Oh, I see,” Deter said with a soft laugh, not questioning it too deeply.

“It’s true…”

After a late breakfast, Nivellia quietly snuck into the room where the dragon was sleeping.

Of course, the sleeping dragon did not reply.

The dragon was sleeping beneath a blanket made of soft wool. The slow rise and fall of the fabric was the only sign that he was still alive.

Around the cradle were beautiful jewels, pretty clothes, delicate accessories, and even a few doll-like toys scattered here and there.

“Deter doesn’t believe me. That I was a cat.”

Even though there was no reply, Nivellia continued speaking.

She knew most people didn’t believe her story about her previous life, no matter how many times she told it.

“But I know you remember that I was a cat.”

“You believe me?”

“I do.”

That was what the dragon had told her before falling asleep.

So Nivellia often came to this room while the dragon slept, just like now, to tell him about her past life.

“I know nobody else believes me. Even when I tell the truth, Mom and Dad don’t believe me. My brother doesn’t either…”

Aref doesn’t believe me either.

Nivellia paused for a moment and sniffled without crying.

“But Grandma and Grandpa do. The Tower Master knows. Della knows. Monitos knows too. Even the Grand Witch remembers me.”

And there was one more person.

“Antel knows too, but I haven’t seen Antel in a long time. Maybe… he’s dead?”

Underneath Nivellia was an incredibly soft cushion.

Muniel had prepared it in advance for the little girl who visited this room often.

Nivellia reached into her pocket and pulled out a small hair accessory.

“This is for you, Ather. It’s a gift.”

It was a hair tie with a rounded amethyst bead that had been carefully carved with sharp edges. A ribbon was tied around it, loosely and imperfectly.

It was the gift Nivellia had prepared for Ather as part of the Red Saint Festival.

“Ather is a precious friend too. It would be sad if you didn’t get anything.”

No matter how much she talked, the dragon gave no reply.

At some point, his sleeping periods had grown longer. And once the end of the year came, he had fallen into a deep slumber.

Even the few remaining black scales had now turned completely white.

Most likely, the eyes behind those closed lids were golden now, not black.

Even the last time he opened them, the once dark eyes had gleamed so brightly, it no longer felt right to call them black.

“You know, actually…”

This is a real secret, okay?

Even though it was just the two of them in the room, Nivellia lowered her voice.

“I didn’t want to be born.”

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