Chapter 36
“Could it be that? The succession dispute mentioned in the newspaper?”
Rubens recalled an article from a few days ago. Al smiled, confirming that was exactly it.
“Count Petra is bedridden due to illness right now, so the competition for the next successor has gotten even more intense. The bank is the biggest point of contention.”
After hearing Al’s explanation, Nivellia and Aref nodded.
“Hmm, so…”
Aref checked if he understood correctly.
“There’s someone called Count Petra, and his children are fighting over who gets the bank?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You understood well.”
“Why are they fighting?”
“Why do you think?”
At Al’s question, Aref thought for a moment.
“…Because a bank manages money, so they’re greedy for it?”
“That’s not wrong. A bank is basically money.”
“If you get Petra Bank, you can become… the successor?”
“Exactly.”
Al answered and stared at Aref.
He might be smarter than I thought.
Even without proper education at the orphanage, he had deduced that much from just a short explanation.
“Me too! Me too!”
Nivellia raised her hand high.
“If you get the bank, you become the boss! That’s why they fight!”
“Haha! Nini’s explanation is the most accurate!”
At Al’s praise, Nivellia puffed up her shoulders proudly.
The Petra family had run banking for generations. Their wealth, honor, and title all came from that bank.
In other words, Petra Bank wasn’t just a business.
Whoever inherited the bank would become Count Petra.
But just one day before deciding the successor, Count Petra suddenly became bedridden.
Rumor said it was due to old age, but no one knew the details.
“The Petra family has a daughter and a son. Both are grown and have their own families,” Rubens explained further.
“So they’re trying to gain support from various nobles to secure the bank.”
“That’s… an alliance?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“They shouldn’t fight…”
Nivellia sighed deeply.
She had learned in kindergarten:
If you fight, you can’t properly express what you want, and in the end, you might not even know what you wanted—you just get hurt.
And if someone gets injured, it could lead to legal disputes.
If things go wrong, it could ruin an entire family.
“Aren’t they afraid of the law?”
“Nini, you’ve gotten really smart.”
Al was genuinely impressed.
“I go to kindergarten. Kids should learn, right?”
“Hahaha! Nini is such an admirable child.”
“Praise me more.”
“Hahaha!”
Al burst out laughing and rolled on the floor.
And just like that, the topic of Petra Bank ended.
As they were about to switch to another toy, Dether came in with chocolate cookies and milk.
“Dether, is the milk cold?”
“It’s lukewarm.”
“Aww…”
Since it was hot outside, Nivellia had been hoping for something cold.
“Well… actually, milk that’s not too cold is better when eating cookies. It makes them softer.”
Nivellia broke a cookie in half and handed the bigger piece to Aref.
“Here!”
Aref also split his cookie and gave the bigger piece to Nivellia.
Watching them, Rubens asked:
“What was that just now?”
“We’re sharing! Isn’t it nice?”
“You two have gotten really close. Soles hyung would be jealous.”
“Hyung can share too.”
As Nivellia dipped her cookie into milk, she suddenly thought of something.
“That one… uh… what was it…”
The boys tilted their heads as she struggled with the name.
“That… Nino… Nima… Imma…?”
“Imma?”
Rubens repeated.
“Do you mean Rima?”
“Yes! That one!”
Nivellia nodded vigorously.
“Why isn’t she here? Did she die?”
“She’s not dead. Rima is being punished right now, so she can’t leave her room.”
“Did she hit someone?”
Aref asked, catching a piece of Nivellia’s soggy cookie before it fell.
Rubens shook his head.
“No. She went out on an errand and wandered off on her own, then lied and blamed a maid—but got caught.”
“But Aref,” Al asked,
“Why did you think Rima hit someone?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Aref took a big bite of his cookie.
Al didn’t press further.
Nivellia, chewing her soaked cookie, stared at Aref quietly.
* * *
“……”
Rima sighed deeply as she looked at the firmly closed door.
She was currently under punishment—confined indoors.
Finding the information broker had been good.
Though she had no money, she managed to take on the request by offering information: that the egg of the evil dragon Ater was in the hands of the Mercenary King.
The problem came afterward.
When she left, servants of the Daygladis family were already searching for her.
After returning, she was severely scolded by the head maid.
“How many times have I told you to stay close to an adult and not wander off!”
“Th-that’s…”
Since the usually kind head maid was shouting for the first time, Rima, feeling wronged, shifted the blame to the maid who had accompanied her.
“I stayed still, but the maid suddenly…”
“I-I got scared…”
But her lie was quickly exposed.
Servants searching the square had heard accounts from multiple witnesses.
Especially the shopkeeper and customers at a general store all testified that Rima had caused trouble and left angrily.
Her claim of staying still was proven false.
In the end, Duke Kalarof Daygladis punished her with confinement and a ban on going out.
Rima belatedly begged for forgiveness, but Kalarof replied sternly:
“The first person you should apologize to is not me. It’s Komen, who worried about you the most.”
“K-Komen…?”
“You’ve spent time with the maids, yet you don’t even remember the name of the one who went out with you?”
“B-But I’m only seven…!”
“……”
Rima could never forget his expression then.
Eyes filled with disappointment.
Lips pressed tight with displeasure.
“…This is unfair.”
She bit her nails.
“In other novels, when a child goes missing, everyone just says it’s okay, that it’s not your fault. So why am I the only one being scolded? Getting lost in the square is supposed to be a standard event!”
Her frustration poured out endlessly.
“That maid is selfish too. She could’ve just taken the blame. It’s not a big deal…”
The image of the maid silently crying irritated her.
“She just didn’t want to get scolded more. Using a child as a shield—how cheap.”
That’s why she’s just a maid.
Rima concluded smugly.
“When they find out I’m actually the daughter of this house, I’ll have her kicked out.”
At that moment—
“Kyaa!”
A bright child’s laughter rang out.
Rima quietly opened her door.
Though confined, it wasn’t locked. She could move freely.
Peeking out, her eyes widened.
At the end of the hallway stood several people.
Black hair caught her eye first—Al and Rubens.
And between them—
that shining blond hair.
Le■ came to see me!
Rima smiled brightly.
Since Le■ had gone to the Dei Amor estate, she hadn’t heard any news.
Al and Rubens always just said she was doing fine.
Did she grow taller? Looks a bit healthier too… Her eyes still look like a killer’s, but that childish charm…
But as she watched through the crack in the door, her smile slowly froze.
“……”
Her gaze shifted—
to flowing silver hair.
Soft, fluffy like cotton candy, swaying with laughter.
It was the same laugh she had heard earlier.
“Try it again!”
“Okay! This time I’ll bounce the ball with my knee, then hit it with my forehead!”
Rubens bounced the ball and flicked it up, hitting it with his head.
The children clapped and cheered.
“Nini wants to try!”
The girl reached out eagerly.
After getting the ball, she suddenly pointed outside.
“Let’s play outside!”
“Okay! Let’s have a match—see who can kick the ball the farthest!”
“Then Nini will team up with Aref!”
“Miss, hold my hand. When going down the stairs—”
“Careful! One step at a time!”
“Haha! What kind of song is that?”
“I learned it in kindergarten. Didn’t Al go to kindergarten?”
Soon, the children disappeared.
The hallway fell silent.
“……”
“Miss Rima.”
Startled, Rima turned around.
“Shh.”
A servant she didn’t recognize held a finger to his lips.
“This is a letter from Delac.”
He handed her a black envelope.
It was the result of the request she had commissioned.
