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Chapter 64
It was only for a moment that they marveled at the rapidly growing knowledge of the young niece, before Armiphera gave the answer.
“You need horses and a carriage. Because you have to load goods and transport them.”
“Oh-ho!”
“And what else might be needed?”
“More things are needed?”
Thinking hard, Nibellia finally answered.
“Hay? The horse can’t go hungry.”
“That’s important too, but the real answer is someone who can drive the horses and carriage to go buy the goods.”
“Ni-ni will do it!”
“Well, there’s no one more eager than our Ni-ni.”
But Latro was too far and too rough a place for Nibellia to go.
More than that, the elders of the household would never allow Nibellia to head west, especially to a mercenary’s land.
So they had to find someone else to go in her place.
“Let’s hire an employee.”
Thus began Nibellia’s very first hiring process.
Armiphera handled staff recruitment, management, and delivery checks.
And as the rightful owner of the merchant group, Nibellia carefully read through the reports Armiphera submitted to stay on top of the situation.
“Auntie, what’s this?”
“These are the applications people submitted. See? There are twenty here. You get to pick who will work with us.”
“How do I pick?”
Nibellia didn’t know nearly enough to run a merchant company.
Even when Armiphera explained what was going on, most of it went over her head.
Still, Nibellia tried her best with whatever parts she could understand.
And that effort wasn’t in vain.
“Mercenaries are… really strong people, right?”
While they were discussing how much to price stone mushrooms, Nibellia suddenly asked.
“They’re strong.”
Armiphera answered without hesitation.
“Then let’s hire a mercenary as an employee too!”
“…Why?”
“Because stone mushrooms are so tasty, someone might try to steal them. Ni-ni sometimes stares really hard at Brother Arep’s and Onii-chan’s cookies to try to steal them, you know?”
Nibellia imitated a cat stalking prey, her eyes sparkling.
She peeked her eyes over the edge of the desk and mimed snatching a cookie with quick, sharp hands.
“But stealing is bad! So we need someone to guard them!”
“……”
“…Is that wrong?”
“Huh? N-no, no. Ah—yes! Ni-ni’s right.”
Armiphera, who had blanked out for a second, quickly answered.
Her face soon lit up with the joy of someone who had finally found an exit after wandering a long maze.
She stood up, lifted Nibellia high in her arms, and kissed her cheek with a loud smooch.
“Ni-ni really is a genius!”
“Mm! A genius!”
“Oh, you pretty thing!”
“Kyaaa!”
Nibellia burst into peals of laughter.
“Could it be… is it connected?”
“Is that why my wife and daughter ended up like that…!”
The very first thing Kallarov did after returning from the Deiamor estate was order the removal of the family portrait.
The very portrait that included his wife and daughter—his most treasured painting, dearer to him than his own life.
The servants were shocked at the order.
“Y-your Grace…!”
Especially his faithful butler was the most shaken.
The old man who had guarded the estate for decades could not easily comply.
So he asked why.
To that, Kallarov replied:
“If it’s to protect them—would you believe me?”
“Master…?”
“Don’t ask me anything more. Do you think I….”
As if to say—do you think I ordered this gladly?
The butler felt as though he had heard the words Kallarov couldn’t bring himself to voice.
It was Kallarov who gave the order, yet his face looked as if his heart had been cut open with a blade.
“…I understand.”
In the end, the butler obeyed.
Not long after, Al and Rubens, having heard the news, rushed to Kallarov.
“Father!”
The always-calm Al, for once, flushed red with anger. His body shook as if he were about to shout.
“Why in the world did you remove the portrait?”
Al glared at his father with wounded eyes, demanding an answer.
Rubens was on the verge of tears.
“T-that portrait has Mother and our sister in it. It’s the only one with all five of us together…!”
Seeing his children so heartbroken made Kallarov’s own heart ache.
“Al, Rubens.”
He called out to his two sons, who were more precious to him than his own life.
“There’s a reason.”
“I can’t understand any reason.”
Al pulled his hand back and shook his head.
Rubens had been tearing up, but now even Al’s tears were falling freely.
Though he had always acted mature for the sake of being the eldest, Al was still only twelve—a child who still desperately needed his parents’ love.
“……”
Realizing this again, Kallarov squeezed his eyes shut.
“My wife and daughter ended up like that because…!”
“Now we have to find out for certain.”
“……”
“But don’t be too sure. Still, you must always doubt. Do you have the strength to endure that? It will be far more painful and grueling than you imagine.”
Muniel had deliberately spoken as if to steel his resolve, but Kallarov didn’t care.
What did it matter?
He had finally found a clue about what happened to his wife and daughter.
No pain could compare to what those two suffered.
So Kallarov would seize this chance no matter what.
But it must not come at the cost of wounding Al and Rubens.
He needed their understanding and their help.
Because they, too, truly loved those two just as much as he did.
“My children.”
Kallarov spoke.
“In the past, now, and in the future, I love only you. Of course, that includes Sana and Nia. My family is my only treasure, the reason for my life.”
Rubens sniffled.
“Then why remove it?”
“You may not believe me, but it doesn’t matter. From now on, I will only tell you the truth.”
I need your help.
At their father’s earnest expression, Al and Rubens exchanged glances.
Then they turned back to him.
The hurt in their eyes was gone.
What replaced it was an almost solemn determination, born of infinite trust in their father.
“The reason I removed it is…”
“…Huh?”
Lima, carrying a thick book borrowed from the library, stopped short in the corridor.
There used to be a huge family portrait there.
Now, it was gone.
Only the darker shade where it had hung remained, though in time even that would fade like the rest of the wallpaper.
“……”
Lima’s lips curved into a faint smile.
Her steps grew lighter as she walked on.
“Mmm, mmm-hmm.”
Her bright humming filled the empty corridor.
The book she carried in her arms had its title peeking through the gap of her elbow.
The title read: [The Ecosystem of the Northern Mountains].
Nibellia now faced a major problem.
After coming home from kindergarten, she was told by Caleo that they could no longer use the name “Meow Merchant Group.”
“The Meow Merchant Group….”
Nibellia’s gentle eyes drooped sadly.
“Really can’t use it? But Meow Merchant Group belongs to Ni-ni…?”
“Daddy’s just as surprised as you.”
Caleo rubbed the back of his neck, looking troubled.
The existing “Meow Shop” had no issues since its trademark was already registered, but just recently, word came that “Meow Merchant Group” had already been registered by someone else.
Even the word “Meow” itself was trademarked.
“Meow….”
Nibellia grew sad at losing the right to use her chosen name.
But she couldn’t stay downcast forever.
“Maybe this is a chance.”
Caleo gently stroked his daughter’s drooping cheeks.
“When business is about to do well, you often hit walls like this. Maybe an even better name is waiting for Ni-ni.”
“A better name?”
“It’s hard now, but you’ll surely find something cooler.”
“Mm.”
Feeling a little cheered, Nibellia began thinking of new names.
Arep and Soles, hearing the news, also joined in brainstorming.
“So, what do you want your merchant group to be, Ni-ni?”
Soles asked.
To choose a name, they first needed to know the ideals and goals of Nibellia’s company.
“A merchant group that makes lots of money!”
Nibellia declared brightly.
“And cats!”
Ever since she was little, the store she dreamed of had a sign with a white cat on it.
Because Nibellia herself was a white cat.
Of course, Arep and Soles, unaware of this fact, just nodded along.
“Ni-ni wants to open a cat shop.”
“You want a cat in the name?”
“Mm-hm.”
Nibellia propped her chin on the table and pouted.
Watching her lips move like a little fish, Arep suddenly asked, almost entranced:
“But… isn’t the young lady’s name also ‘cat’?”
He recalled when they had been coming up with names before.
“Ni-ni’s real name is Nibellia, and it means ‘white cat.’”
Soles had explained it back then.
Nibellia’s name came from combining Nix (snow) and Pelea (cat).
It was named after “Ni-ni,” the white cat Saint Muniel had raised.
“Then why not just make the merchant group’s name your own name?”
At those words, Nibellia’s eyes went round.
“But that won’t do.”
Soles immediately opposed.
