The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 97

“……”

Nivellia stared quietly at the painting of the young girl with pink hair.

Today marked Nivellia’s fifth birthday. She was still a very young child.

However, she remembered her past life as a cat, which gave her a particularly unusual way of thinking.

Even with that perspective, Nivellia could tell that Rima’s painting was far too strange to be considered a birthday present.

“Everyone else said they liked my paintings…”

Rima explained her gift. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, making her look shy and adorable.

But the atmosphere in the banquet hall felt cold and still, as if someone had poured ice water over it.

Nivellia looked back at the girl with pink hair in the painting.

A poisonous mushroom?

The bright red hair looked exactly like one of those toxic mushrooms found deep in the forest.

Since Nivellia didn’t respond, Rima added another comment with a nervous tone.

“Sir Al and Lord Rubens and Her Ladyship all liked my paintings…”

“It’s nicely done, right?”

At that moment, Al quietly joined the conversation.

Leticia glared at him with disbelief. Her eyes seemed to ask, “Are you, serious right now?” Her expression was full of frustration.

“What do you mean by that…?”

Leticia tried to speak up, but Soles gently stopped her.

He raised a finger to his lips and slowly shook his head as if to say, “Don’t say anything.”

Al continued talking about Rima’s painting.

“Rima has been learning how to draw recently. Every time she finishes a new one, we keep it. It feels too special to show anyone else.”

“Exactly. Who else would we even show it to?”

Rubens quickly chimed in.

“Nini, why don’t you give it to me instead? I’ll get you something better. Maybe some jewelry? Or a horse?”

“Still, Rima has really improved.”

“You two are unbelievable…”

Rima looked embarrassed and tried to stop them, but her expression gave away how pleased she really was.

“Don’t say stuff like that. It’s really embarrassing…”

“What’s so embarrassing about it?”

“Right. You should be proud.”

Al and Rubens went on happily, now bragging to everyone about how amazing Rima was.

“Rima works really hard,” Rubens said, sounding proud.

“She even speaks clearly now. When we first met, she had trouble with her speech. She couldn’t even pronounce ‘Duke’ properly and used to say ‘Gonja-nim’ instead.”

“But she’s still just seven. She was so weak before, she couldn’t even walk up the stairs by herself…”

Al glanced at Rima’s thin legs and muttered quietly.

“If only we could keep her somewhere safe, we wouldn’t have to worry so much.”

His words were quiet, but there was something unsettling about them.

They kept praising her after that.

They talked about how smart she was, how she could join in on adult conversations, how she could read books by herself, and even create secret codes.

But the people around them just listened with blank expressions, as if thinking, “So what?”

Is this even a compliment?

The more Nivellia listened, the more it sounded like there was another reason behind their praise.

Meanwhile, Rima, though pretending to be embarrassed, clearly looked pleased.

“……”

Nivellia wore the same puzzled look as the others.

She glanced at the older boys from next door, then turned her attention back to Rima’s gift.

Even though she was young, Nivellia had already started studying with the goal of earning money one day. She had experienced debt and repayment and knew how life could be unfair.

She had learned how to judge the value of things.

This has no value.

Rima’s present held no meaning. It didn’t touch Nivellia’s heart either.

Even to a five-year-old, it felt completely thoughtless.

“……”

Still,

“…Thank you.”

Nivellia forced herself to lie. She said what she didn’t mean, just to end the uncomfortable situation.

That small white lie quietly chipped away at her joy.

Although Rima’s gift made the atmosphere a bit awkward, things brightened again thanks to the unopened gifts from the adults.

“Um, the presents from me and the other witches. Please take a look.”

Azelle’s gift was a bottle of perfume that repelled insects.

Its fresh lemon scent was perfect for the coming spring and summer.

There were also colorful honey balls made by the Grand Witch and chocolate cookies baked by the other witches. The cookies had a slightly green hue from the medicinal herbs mixed into the dough.

Caleo and Celletina gave her a coloring book and new art supplies.

Muniel and Ardores brought her a riding outfit and a safety helmet.

At the Tower of Magic, they sent a cape that lets you float for about one second. Della gifted a one-year subscription to a children’s newspaper. Monitos sent a full set of encyclopedias.

Only one gift remained.

This final one came from Armiphera, who managed to send it on time.

Nivellia opened the envelope, which was so light it felt almost empty. Inside, there was a small name card and a short-handwritten letter.

“Um…”

Nivellia slowly tried to read the words.

“M…ercenary… King…”

Armiphera’s gift was surprising. It was a voucher that allowed the holder to use the Mercenary King’s services completely free of charge.

With love to Lady Pelea

The short message was filled with warmth and appreciation toward Nivellia.

“Heehee!”

Nivellia felt like she could fly from happiness.

“This is kind of grown-up and really cool!”

She carefully placed the Mercenary King voucher into the wallet that Aref had given her.

“All the presents were really amazing.”

When Soles said this, Nivellia nodded quickly.

“Yes! I’m so happy I got presents!”

The gifts were impressive, but what made them even more special was that each one had come from someone powerful and important.

Other gifts that had been sent freely by nobles or acquaintances without prior arrangement would be sorted later and given to Nivellia at a more appropriate time.

“Alright then, how about we all head to the garden now?”

Caleo called the children outside.

“We’re going to start a treasure hunt.”

The rules were simple.

Blue slips of paper were hidden all around the garden. Whoever found the most would be the winner.

The prize for first place was a magic stone.

Although it was smaller than the tip of Nivellia’s pinky finger, the glow it gave off showed that it was top quality.

Its value would easily be estimated in the millions of Ubas.

On top of that, magic stones hadn’t even been released to the public yet.

“I’d rather have a fairy tale book with love stories in it”

“I like chocolate cookies more”

Unfortunately, some of the children didn’t seem too interested in the prize.

Caleo, already expecting that reaction, quickly brought up the other rewards.

“There are more prizes besides the magic stone. Everyone will get something for joining. So don’t get too carried away and hurt yourselves, okay?”

He looked directly at Nivellia as he said that.

“Okay”

Nivellia responded brightly when their eyes met.

“We’ve drawn a boundary around the garden. You’re not allowed to go past it. Understand?”

“Then let’s begin”

With Celletina’s shout, the children rushed into the garden like arrows.

“I found one”

“Me too It was hiding between the rocks”

“There’s another one here”

Soon the air filled with excited voices.

The blue papers they found were placed into small baskets that had been handed out earlier.

“One two…”

Nivellia counted the ones she had found.

“Five”

She had already collected five slips.

Feeling proud, she wanted to show someone her collection. But when she looked around, the other children were too far away.

Nivellia started running toward them.

Suddenly, she stopped and turned around. She began heading toward the house.

“Nini”

Caleo spotted her and asked,

“Where are you going?”

“The bathroom I have to pee”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Going to the bathroom is something you do secretly alone”

“But yelling it out loud doesn’t sound very secret…”

Nivellia ran off quickly to take care of her urgent business.

“Whew…”

Feeling much better now, she washed her hands just like she was taught in kindergarten, then used her handkerchief to dry them.

“Wash your hands clean”

She hummed the tune softly.

“Germs say ouch ouch”

Singing the little hygiene song she learned at school, Nivellia stepped out of the bathroom. Then she came face to face with someone unexpected.

“……”

“……”

Rima was standing silently next to the bathroom door.

“Did she come here to pee?”

With that thought, Nivellia tried to walk past quietly.

“You really fooled me.”

Suddenly, Rima stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

Startled, Nivellia flinched and stepped back.

She stared at Rima cautiously, confused as to why she was picking a fight out of nowhere. But Rima misread the look and scoffed.

“So you really are a ‘possessor,’ huh?”

“…?”

Nivellia blinked, wide-eyed, unsure of what she had just heard.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Rima twisted her lips into a sneer, her voice filled with disgust.

“You stole someone else’s story and made yourself the main character. Do you feel good about that? Taking all the men and all the wealth like it’s yours?”

“…?”

Possessor?

What does that mean?

Nivellia grew more and more confused.

But what unsettled her even more was Rima’s unexplained hostility. It came at her like a wave, full of anger she didn’t understand.

“I knew it the moment I saw you. With the way you’ve been showing off, how could I not?”

“……”

“You think I don’t know about the magic stone mine? About you helping the witches? Even now, with your true identity exposed, you’re still pretending to be a baby?”

“……”

“Disgusting.”

Nivellia couldn’t say a word.

She was scared.

Why does she hate me?

The fear tightened around her chest, making it hard to breathe.

“Do you even know how pathetic you look right now? You’re just a man-crazy brat, clinging to guys while pretending to be innocent.”

“……”

“You kissed Re■ right in front of me on purpose, didn’t you? Do you really think he likes you? He only keeps you around because you’re a noble. Because you’re a noble girl.”

“……”

“Listen carefully. This world belongs to me.”

I’m the one who wrote it.

Rima’s voice was cold and sharp, like metal scraping against stone.

It was disturbing. It was terrifying.

“You stole what was mine. So you will be punished.”

“……”

“Just wait and see.”

With that, Rima shoved past Nivellia, brushing her shoulder forcefully as she walked away.

“Ah!”

But then Rima fell backward and hit the ground hard.

Nivellia had grabbed her hair and yanked it without hesitation.

A small but strong fist followed and landed squarely on Rima’s jaw.

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