Chapter 41
Of course, Rima was tempted too.
If she went to the Daygladis estate, there was a letter hidden by the deceased duchess.
For a moment, she considered finding it and quickly gaining favor—but in the end, she decided against it.
Now wasn’t the time.
Going to the estate could wait until after everything she needed to accomplish was safely done.
‘…This is the world inside the novel I wrote.’
Rima repeated those words over and over.
A world created from the novel she wrote.
A world where only she knew the future.
A world where she was the protagonist.
“…So I have to set it right.”
Rima had confirmed that there were “errors” in this world—things she had not allowed.
And as the author, she had a duty to eliminate those errors.
Sitting at her desk, Rima began writing a letter to an information broker.
The owner of the intelligence network, Delac, had placed one of his employees as a maid in the ducal residence, knowing Rima couldn’t easily go out.
“Rima, it’s time for lunch.”
Right then, that maid opened the door and came in.
The maid who used to take care of Rima had been transferred elsewhere after the incident where Rima went out.
Even though Rima was just a child, the maid had been deeply hurt when Rima shifted the blame onto her.
After finishing the letter, Rima handed it to the new maid.
The maid tucked it away and smiled as if nothing had happened, extending her hand.
“Shall we go to the dining room?”
“Yes!”
Rima smiled brightly and took her hand.
The news that Count Petra’s condition had worsened appeared in the papers.
At the same time, articles about the Petra siblings competing over Petra Bank were published as well.
“Hmm…”
Nivellia nodded as she read the newspaper.
“The world’s pretty harsh.”
“Is the world difficult?”
Arep, sitting beside her, asked with a serious expression.
Nivellia crumpled the newspaper messily as she replied.
It looked more like she was crushing it than folding it.
“Kind of, yeah.”
“You little—”
“Waaah!”
Nivellia suddenly floated into the air.
Startled, she turned around with wide eyes.
Kaleo, who had stepped away for a moment, was grinning.
Nivellia waved her arms at him while still holding the crumpled newspaper.
“Dad! Nini read the newspaper!”
“Really? Judging by how it’s crumpled, it looks like you were just playing with it.”
“Nooo! I really read it! Right, Arep?”
“We practiced reading the letters in the newspaper.”
Arep quickly defended her.
They were telling the truth.
After mastering the alphabet at kindergarten, Nivellia and Arep had become obsessed with a game—competing to see who could read faster.
In truth, Arep, being four years older, was faster.
But he deliberately slowed down so Nivellia could win.
He liked seeing her grin proudly when she claimed victory.
“Nini’s winning!”
So for now, it was Nivellia’s overwhelming victory.
“Oh, that’s impressive.”
Kaleo, who had more or less figured out what was going on, praised Nivellia while gently patting Arep’s head.
Arep pressed his head down with both hands and smiled shyly.
Now, smiling came naturally to him.
“But where did you go, Dad?”
Nivellia asked as she sat on Kaleo’s lap.
Kaleo unfolded the crumpled newspaper and replied,
“I went to write a letter to your mom.”
“Mom? Why?”
“Hmm, about a bank issue.”
“This one?”
Arep pointed at the newspaper.
There was an article about the Petra succession conflict.
Though the vocabulary was difficult, he could roughly understand it thanks to what Al and Rubens had told them earlier at the Daygladis estate.
“That man from the bank… the Petra heir…”
“The mustache guy! The one fighting over the bank!”
Nivellia recalled it too.
“You kids know about that?”
After a brief moment of surprise, Kaleo nodded.
“That’s right. As Count Petra’s condition worsens, the succession battle is expected to intensify.”
“But why did you write to Mom?”
“Because her name appeared in this article.”
Kaleo handed them the newspaper, telling them to find it.
Nivellia and Arep bent over it, slowly reading through the text.
“Mom’s name is Seletina, right?”
“That’s right. Seletina Dayamor.”
As Nivellia struggled to find it, Arep quietly pointed to a spot.
“Found it!”
Nivellia exclaimed.
Arep slowly read the section where Seletina’s name appeared.
“Seletina Dayamor, head of Lubeo Company, in the Petra succession conflict…”
“I honestly can’t believe this!”
Seletina, who had returned from work, was unusually irritated.
Of course, she maintained her usual gentle and warm demeanor in front of the children—but the moment they went to bed, she finally let out her frustration.
“What on earth made him think he could mention my name like that?”
“The Petra heir got greedy.”
Kaleo also couldn’t hide his displeasure.
“Seli, I’m sorry. I wondered if it was because of me…”
“How could that possibly be your fault?”
Seletina ran her hands through her hair repeatedly, trying to calm herself.
“It’s not your fault. You know that, right?”
“I know, but I still feel sorry.”
It seemed the problem had started from their chance encounter at Petra Bank when they visited with the children.
Back then, Kaleo and the Petra heir had only exchanged a few brief words—hardly worth calling a greeting.
But the Petra heir had exaggerated that encounter and spread it around to his advantage.
[Yes, I greeted Marquis Dayamor at the bank. I personally opened an account for his lovely daughter.]
That much could be overlooked.
But—
[Recently, I also met with the head of Lubeo. We share promising investment opportunities—a mutually beneficial relationship…]
When those statements were published in the newspaper, it created the impression that Dayamor and Lubeo were supporting the Petra heir in the succession battle.
“Mutually beneficial, my foot!”
Seletina flared up again.
“It’s obvious he’s just trying to latch on like a parasite and lick up free benefits.”
“By the way, what does he mean by ‘sharing investment opportunities’? Is that what you mentioned before? The Frock Kingdom?”
“Yes, that’s it. The magic stone mining project in the Frock Kingdom.”
Seletina slumped onto the sofa.
Recently, rumors had been circulating about a mining project in the Frock Kingdom.
Apparently, a herb gatherer had discovered blue stones—suspected to be magic stones—in a mountain.
However, the kingdom was in poor financial condition, so they were seeking funding from wealthy investors abroad.
In return, investors would receive a share of the mined magic stones.
“…If it really is magic stones, it’s worth investing in.”
Kaleo massaged Seletina’s hand.
“They haven’t appeared in over ten years.”
“But we don’t know how much is buried, or the quality.”
“What about the Magic Tower? I’d expect the Tower Master to show interest.”
“That’s what’s strange.”
Anyone would be tempted by such an opportunity.
Especially the Magic Tower—magic stones were essential for research.
But their reaction had been odd.
“They showed slight interest, then backed off. They only said they’d appraise the stones if they were mined.”
“Maybe it’s because of artificial magic stone development?”
“Even so, it’s still strange.”
“So what about you?”
Kaleo interlaced his fingers with hers.
“Will you invest?”
“I can’t.”
Seletina replied, her shoulders trembling slightly.
“Lubeo is busy right now. There’s the pharmaceutical company, and more importantly, the bank we’re preparing with Baron Preto…”
“Haha, if the Petra heir knew, he’d faint.”
Still holding her hand, Kaleo whispered near her ear,
“If he keeps being a nuisance, tell me.”
“You’re going to kill him?”
“If you want.”
“No. It’d be a problem if you got covered in that disgusting smell of blood. The kids would be scared.”
“That would be a problem.”
Kaleo sounded disappointed.
He wanted to be a proud and respectable father to his children—just like Ardores had been to him.
“Oh, right. Nini found your name in the newspaper today.”
“Really?”
Seletina’s face brightened instantly.
Kaleo smiled warmly as he watched her.
Once, just making eye contact would spark tension between them—but now they drew strength from talking about their children.
“Arep found it for her, but they’re both getting good at reading. Ask them tomorrow.”
“That’s too bad I missed it. How was Soles today?”
“He was so diligent I’m grateful he’s my son. And thanks to Arep, he seems more active than before.”
“I’m glad Arep is adjusting well to our family.”
Seletina’s gaze softened as she thought of Arep.
“…That child.”
A shadow of sadness crossed her light green eyes.
“Will he never realize how much he has done for us?”
“Seli.”
“I just… every time I see him, I feel both sorry and grateful…”
