THTE 66

Chapter 66

The Frigus region of the Drameno Empire, notorious for being the coldest.

If you follow the towering snow-capped mountains there all the way, they stretch to the Northern Sea.

The snow goose lives along this frigid coastline.

“Someone’s been targeting the geese living there,” one said.

“Rubeo received the news too. That might make it harder to procure high-end coats made from snow goose feathers,” another replied.

The snow goose’s feathers have the most exceptional cold-resistant properties of any known material.

There’s only one way to collect them: picking them up, one by one, from their nests.

Feathers plucked from live birds—or taken from dead ones—have significantly less insulating power.

Moreover, snow geese are so rare that the Drameno Empire designated them as a protected species.

They are so valuable that national researchers even live near the Northern Sea to help with their breeding.

Seletina perched on the edge of her desk, as if leaning against it.

“Rumor has it, it’s connected to Petra Youngsik,” she said.

“Hm, the same thing is written in the letter sent by our informant here,” came the reply.

“So Rubeo’s intelligence network isn’t bad, I see?” Seletina smiled faintly—but it wasn’t exactly a situation to be happy about.

“Petra Youngsik’s apparently starting another business venture,” she continued.

“Now’s not the time for that…”

Kaleo glanced at his secretary. Their eyes met, and the secretary silently nodded.

“No. Absolutely not.”

Those who knew understood.

Petra Youngsik had invested heavily in the magical stone mining operations in the Frok Kingdom.

And it wasn’t just regular investment—they say it was leveraged.

Leveraged investment means investing not only your own money but also borrowing additional funds to amplify the investment.

It’s a double-edged sword: huge success if it works, but catastrophic failure if it doesn’t.

“The Petra family secretary I met recently was very cautious when mentioning this matter,” Kaleo continued.

The next successor of the Petra family had still not been decided.

The public was placing hopes on the Petra heiress, who had introduced a new financial product called insurance.

But nothing had been confirmed yet.

Ultimately, the decision rested with Count Petra.

“…Then.”

Seletina muttered to herself, almost as if speaking quietly.

“So, what did Petra Youngsik take a loan for?”

“Who knows,” Kaleo replied nonchalantly.

“Probably something easy, like real estate.”

“Duck?”

“Tasty!” Nibelia answered cheerfully.

Soles held back a laugh and gave the correct answer.

“Ducks go quack, you know.”

“That’s right, quack quack!”

“Right now we’re matching animal sounds, so let’s save taste testing for later.”

“Do you like duck, Oppa? Think it tastes good?”

“Yeah. I think it’s tasty.”

It was a peaceful afternoon.

A week had passed since the Pellea trading company left for Western Latro.

The sweltering heat had subsided, marking the early arrival of autumn.

The small chrysanthemums planted by the Deiamore mansion gardeners had already begun to bud.

The gardeners predicted they would bloom earlier than usual.

“Pigs go oink, wolves go woof…”

Nibelia pursed her lips, concentrating on her writing.

The pencil in her hand had already worn down blunt from pressing too hard.

Soles, watching his little sister work on her kindergarten homework, asked:

“Don’t wolves howl ‘auuu’ for a long time?”

“Nope.”

Nibelia answered firmly.

“Wolves go woof, a bit heavier than dogs! ‘Auuu’ is only when calling others. Don’t you know that, Oppa?”

“Well, maybe I didn’t.”

“I see.”

After finishing her homework, Nibelia went with Soles to the annex.

There, Aref was receiving sword training from Ardores. He practiced diligently after returning from kindergarten.

“….”

Nibelia quietly hid behind Soles.

“Are you scared of the wooden sword?” Soles asked softly.

“Just… a little,” she admitted.

Nibelia was afraid of swords. Even wooden ones seemed slightly threatening when Aref swung them seriously.

Because, once, she had died from a sword—back when she was a cat.

Soles lightly tapped the back of her hand.

“Shall we wait here a bit? Aref should be done soon.”

“Do you learn sword fighting too, Oppa? You do, right?”

“I practice at dawn. Or when Nini is at kindergarten.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“If you’re scared, you can’t do anything.”

“But I am scared…”

Just then, Aref finished training and ran over.

Ardores carried the wooden sword. He had removed it so that Nibelia, hiding behind Soles, wouldn’t be scared.

“I’m done!” Aref said, flushed from training.

Nibelia handed him a towel, which he used to wipe the sweat from his face.

“You should wash lightly first,” Soles advised, and Aref hurried to clean up.

While waiting, Ardores played with his grandchildren.

“Grandpa! Is Leti coming today?”

“Yes, I heard.”

Viscount Preto was finally coming to the capital.

He planned to visit the Deiamore mansion with his daughter this afternoon.

The children were excited to play with Leticia, whom they hadn’t seen in a while.

“I have a gift for Leti too. Curious?” Nibelia asked, clinging to Ardores’ arm.

“Tell me you’re curious.” Ardores propped her feet carefully so she wouldn’t fall and nodded.

“I’m curious. What gift did you prepare?”

“Heehee! It’s a secret!”

“Now you’ve made me even more curious!”

“Eeee! No tickling! Oppa, help!”

“Nini, hide behind me quickly!”

Aref, freshly washed, joined in on the tickling game.

Eventually, Ardores was caught and defeated by the children.

“Grandpa, don’t you get ticklish?”

Nibelia focused on scratching Ardores’ side, but he didn’t react.

“I’ve never been very ticklish,” he said.

“My grandma is super ticklish. Even a little poke makes her laugh.”

“That’s the fun of teasing her.”

“But if you tease her, she’ll get mad, right?”

“…She likes it,” Ardores said quietly, recalling a private memory, and smiled gently.

“Miss Preto has arrived,” Deter announced.

The children hurried to the reception room.

“Leti!”

Nibelia, the first to enter, spread her arms wide.

“Nini!”

The girl with navy-blue hair smiled brightly.

Nibelia jumped into Leticia’s arms.

“Leti’s here! I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Nini. How have you been?”

Leticia Preto.

From a loyal family that had witnessed the rise and fall of the Deiamore house, she was the Viscount Preto’s third daughter.

Her navy-blue hair was held with a yellow headband, and despite being six, she carried a calm, composed expression.

‘Her eyes…’

Aref was startled by Leticia’s eyes—they were the same red color as his.

‘Ah, that’s why.’

That explained why the household didn’t find his eyes strange.

As Aref thought this, Leticia also met his gaze.

Their slightly different shades of red met.

“…You’re Aref, right?” Leticia said, recognizing him first.

“You know me?”

“Yes. Soles wrote in a letter. He said he had a younger brother, and that’s you. Nice to meet you.”

She reached out her hand in greeting.

“Let’s get along from now on.”

Aref shook her hand.

“I’m Aref. I’m glad to meet you too.”

“You have red eyes too? I have red eyes.”

“No… haven’t you been teased?”

“Of course I have.”

Red eyes were rare. Not now, but in the past, people had been ostracized for it.

Now, it’s considered a common trait among noble families.

Even the Deigladis family had both the duke and his eldest son with red eyes.

“Sometimes boys tease me, but then I grab whatever’s nearby and smack them on the head. They shut up right away.”

Leticia answered with a gentle smile.

“….”

Aref silently vowed not to make her dislike him.

“How have you been, Soles?”

“I was a little lonely without you. Have you been alright? No injuries? I heard you fought with your older sister a bit and was worried…”

“We reconciled immediately. But my older sister was at fault, right? She ate all my favorite strawberry jam pie without leaving any…”

“She really should not have done that.”

Soles and Leticia’s reunion conversation lasted a while.

“….”

“….”

Nibelia and Aref watched them with curious expressions.

Especially Nibelia.

‘Oppa’s acting strange.’

Her instincts were on alert.

Soles is normally kind and gentle.

He seemed fine as usual, but Nibelia noticed a subtle difference.

His voice was slightly lower, and his actions more cautious. Even his expression and aura felt different.

‘Why?’ Nibelia wondered, frowning.

Then she came to a conclusion.

‘I want chocolate cookies!’

Her attention shifted immediately, and she asked Leticia:

“Do you want cookies? Chocolate cookies?”

“Yes! Should we dip them in milk?”

“You really know me, Leti!”

The children moved to Nibelia’s room.

They sat around a round table, enjoying chocolate cookies and milk.

“How much did you miss me, Nini?” Leticia asked.

“I missed you a lot.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Nibelia replied distractedly, dipping a cookie in milk.

Seeing Nibelia’s slightly indifferent expression, Leticia looked a little disappointed, but Soles smiled reassuringly.

“Al and Rubens may have forgotten after not seeing you for months, but Leti? She remembered your name immediately.”