THTE 41

Chapter 41

Of course, Lima was slightly tempted as well.

If she went to the Daygladis estate, there was a letter hidden by the late Duchess.

She thought about finding it quickly to gain favor, but in the end, she decided against it.

Now was not the time for that.

Visiting the estate could wait until after her current tasks were safely completed.

“…This is the world from the novel I wrote.”

Lima repeated those words to herself several times.

A world created from her own novel.

A world where only she knew the future.

A world where she was the protagonist.

“…So, I have to fix it.”

Lima confirmed that this world contained “errors” that she had not authorized.

Therefore, as the author, she had the duty to eliminate these errors.

Sitting at her desk, Lima wrote a letter to the intelligence agency.

The agency’s master, Delak, had taken Lima’s difficulty in going out into account and assigned one of his staff as a maid to the Duke’s residence.

“Lima, it’s time for lunch.”

Just then, the maid opened the door and came in.

The previous maid who had taken care of Lima had been transferred after the outing incident.

No matter how young, she had been deeply hurt by Lima’s tendency to shift blame onto others.

Once Lima finished writing the letter, she handed it to the new maid.

The maid tucked the letter under her arm, smiled as if nothing had happened, and held out her hand.

“Shall we go to the dining room?”

“Yes!”

Lima also smiled brightly and took the offered hand.

News that Count Petra’s health had worsened was published in the newspaper.

At the same time, an article about the sibling rivalry over the Petra Bank was also included.

“Hmm…”

Nibellia nodded as she read the newspaper.

“The world is tough.”

“Is it a tough world?”

Areph, sitting next to her, asked with a serious expression.

Nibellia crumpled the newspaper messily.

“Crushed” would be a more accurate word than “folded.”

“It’s kind of like that.”

“Those guys…”

“Wow!”

Nibellia’s body floated slightly.

Startled, she turned her wide eyes around.

Caleo, who had been away briefly, was smiling slyly.

Nibellia waved at Caleo, who had lifted her effortlessly. The newspaper in her hand rustled as she shook it.

“Daddy! Nini read the newspaper!”

“Really? It looks like you were just messing with it, judging by the crumpled state.”

“No! I really read it! Right, Areph?”

“I studied how to read the words in the newspaper.”

Areph defended her earnestly.

The children’s words were true.

After learning letters perfectly in kindergarten, Nibellia and Areph got hooked on games to see who could read letters faster.

Actually, Areph, being four years older, was slightly faster.

But he intentionally answered slowly so Nibellia could win.

He liked seeing her smile proudly, claiming she had answered first.

“Nini is winning!”

So far, Nibellia had a clear lead.

“Oh, that’s amazing!”

Caleo, having roughly realized the situation, praised Nibellia while gently patting Areph’s head.

Areph pressed his hands on his patted head and smiled shyly.

Now, smiling came naturally.

“By the way, Daddy, where were you?”

Nibellia asked, sitting on Caleo’s lap.

Caleo, unfolding the crumpled newspaper, answered,

“I went to write a letter to Mom for a bit.”

“Mom? Why?”

“Um, about the bank issue.”

“This?”

Areph pointed to the newspaper.

It contained an article about the Petra succession conflict.

Although it had many difficult words, thanks to the story Al and Rubens had told at the Daygladis estate recently, they could guess the content.

“The Mr. Petra we saw at the bank…”

“The mustached man! Fighting over the bank!”

Nibellia recalled what she had heard then.

“You guys know about that too?”

For a moment surprised, Caleo nodded.

“That’s right. The article says that as Count Petra’s condition worsens, the succession fight will become even more serious.”

“Then why did you write a letter to Mom?”

“That’s because her name was mentioned in this article.”

Caleo held out the newspaper to the kids, inviting them to find it.

Nibellia and Areph bent over the paper, tracing the letters as they read.

“Mom’s name is Celetina, right?”

“Yes. Celetina DeiAmor.”

Watching Nibellia struggle to find the word, Areph quietly pointed with his finger.

“Found it!”

Nibellia exclaimed.

Areph slowly read the article mentioning Celetina’s name.

“Celetina DeiAmor, head of the Rubeo Corporation, in this Petra succession conflict…”

“I really can’t believe this…!”

After work, Celetina was unusually upset.

Of course, she maintained her usual kind and gentle demeanor in front of the children, but the moment they went to bed, her restrained anger burst out.

“What on earth made them think they could mention my name there?”

“Mr. Petra overreached,”

Caleo could not hide his own displeasure.

“Celetina, I’m sorry. I thought it might be my fault…”

“How could it be your fault?”

To suppress her lingering anger, Celetina exhaled deeply several times, running both hands through her hair.

“It’s not your fault. Right?”

“Even if I know, sorry is still sorry.”

It seemed that the incident at the bank, when they had coincidentally met Petra, had caused this trouble.

The conversation between Caleo and Mr. Petra had been so trivial it was embarrassing to call it a greeting.

Yet Petra had exaggerated it in his favor and spread it around.

[“I greeted Marchioness DeiAmor at the bank. I personally created an account for her lovely daughter.”]

That alone could have been overlooked.

[“I recently also met with the head of Rubeo Corporation. We share promising investment opportunities, which are mutually beneficial…”]

These statements were published in the newspaper, creating the misunderstanding that DeiAmor and Rubeo supported Petra in the succession conflict.

“Mutually beneficial?!”

Celetina was furious again.

“It’s obvious they just want to leech off, hoping to get free sugar like parasites.”

“By the way, what do they mean by sharing investment opportunities? Is it the one you mentioned before? The Frok Kingdom?”

“That’s right. The magical stone mining project in the Frok Kingdom.”

Celetina slumped onto the sofa.

Recently, news of the Frok Kingdom’s mining project had been circulating secretly.

A miner had discovered blue stones presumed to be magical stones in a secluded valley.

However, the Frok Kingdom’s finances were poor, so they were seeking funds from wealthy foreigners for the mining project.

In return, investors would get a portion of the mined magical stones later.

“…If it’s magical stone, it might be worth investing.”

Caleo rubbed Celetina’s hands as if massaging them.

“They haven’t come out in over ten years.”

“But the quantity and quality of the magical stones are not verified.”

“Hasn’t the Magic Tower reacted? The Tower would normally show interest.”

“That’s why it’s strange.”

The Frok Kingdom’s mining project would tempt anyone.

Especially with magical stones—the Tower should have reacted most strongly, as magical stones are essential for research.

Yet, the Tower’s response was odd.

“They only showed slight interest. They said they’d appraise it once the stones were mined, and that’s all.”

“Could it be because of sensitivity due to artificial magical stones?”

“Even so, it’s peculiar.”

“And you?”

Caleo stopped massaging and slowly slipped his fingers between Celetina’s.

“Will you invest?”

“I can’t.”

Celetina shivered in her shoulders as she replied.

It was a thrilling sensation, as if a warm snake was brushing against her.

“Rubeo is busy right now. There’s the pharmaceutical company issue, and above all, the bank project prepared with Marquis Preto is coming soon…”

“Haha, Petra would freak out if he knew.”

Caleo, gently caressing Celetina’s entwined hands, whispered into her ear.

“Tell me if you want me to deal with him.”

“Kill Petra?”

“If you want.”

“No. If your disgusting blood scent lingers, it’ll be bad. The kids would be scared.”

“That’s a problem.”

Caleo felt disappointed.

He wanted to be a proud and upright father to his children, just as Ardores had been to him.

“By the way, Nini found your name in the newspaper and read it today.”

“Really?”

Celetina’s face instantly brightened.

A smile bloomed on Caleo’s face too.

Once sparks flew between them at just a glance, now they drew strength from their children’s stories.

“Areph helped find it, but now they can both read pretty well. Ask them tomorrow.”

“It’s a shame I missed that. How was Soles today?”

“He behaved diligently, enough to make me grateful he’s my son. And with Areph around, he’s become more active than before.”

“It’s good that Areph adapted well to our home.”

Celetina’s eyes wavered slightly as she thought of Areph.

“…That child.”

Her lowered green eyes were filled with sadness.

“Will he never know just how much he has done for us?”

“Honey.”

“Every time I see him, I feel both sorry and grateful…”