Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 108

Sara, kneeling and prostrate on the floor, poured out her words as if she had prepared them long in advance.
“I—I did receive money from Cleo to torment Your Highness the Princess in secret! It’s true I smuggled out money, fabrics, and jewels—so very much! It’s true I reported your every movement, and I spread all manner of rumors about your relationship with Raymond! I deserve to die!”
……
The fact that the servants of Rose Palace had subtly disrespected and tormented their mistress, the Princess, and committed every petty transgression under the sun—well, it hardly seemed worth grieving over anymore.
If one worked in the Imperial Palace and forgot to watch one’s back, thought foolishly, disaster was inevitable. Especially with Sara and Mary—Cleo’s influence over them was transparent as glass, and I’d assumed they wouldn’t survive long. Yet here they were, intact, seeking me out again. I’d thought it meant Cleo was setting them on me for some purpose. But what was this?
Seeing my confusion, Sara pressed on, as though steeling herself. Her eyes trembled.
“Before Miriam died, we spoke.”
Miriam? Who was that? I tilted my head in bewilderment, and Debbie leaned close to whisper in my ear.
“The maid from Rose Palace, Your Highness. The one who spread the rumor that she’d gone to steal your sword, became possessed by a ghost, and everyone gossiped about it.”
Ah……
—How dare—how dare—how dare she touch me without leave and spread word of me as the greatest cursed blade in all the land?! Attempting to snatch me from my noble contractor’s hands! [ ᴼ ▃ ᴼ ]_/¯ Unforgivable!!
‘No, no, she’s already lost the most precious thing of all—her life. Calm yourself.’
In truth, that maid was… guiltless, in a way. Of course, sneaking into the Princess’s chambers to steal from the royal household was a capital crime. But seizing the emoticon-blade, shrieking in terror, and bolting from the room—that wasn’t truly a sin worthy of death. How many would’ve done differently in such a moment?
I remember she’d tried and failed to insult me and the Empress, and in her rage, Cleo had heaped crimes upon her instead, leaving her to face truly appalling ruin. But……
Yes. She’d have died. There was no justification to save her. It made no sense for me, awakened by the Sacred Sword’s power by fortune, to rescue a maid who’d slandered my blade as cursed.
Sara, trembling violently, lifted her head.
“She said the sword truly spoke to her. On reflection, she said it even called her a ‘thief.’ Perhaps, Your Highness, the power you displayed in the Imperial Palace was not a lie……”
“Is that so? Surely Cleo would never have granted such a criminal a visitor. Yet you two managed to speak somehow?”
Were they perhaps childhood friends from the same village, or close associates? It wasn’t as though Sara’s circumstances had ever been favorable. If they’d gone through hardship together to visit one another, it might arouse some pity……
“I—I secretly paid a guard and went to see Miriam…… When I used to smuggle pieces of Lace from Rose Palace, Miriam would sell them outside the palace for me……”
No sob story there. They’d been partners in theft and black-market trade. Seeing how she averted her eyes, clearly ashamed, I gathered it wasn’t purely sympathy. Rather, since Miriam had been imprisoned for theft, Sara feared the consequence might splash back on herself for having peddled stolen goods through Miriam. She’d sought her out in secret, trying to cover her tracks. Still, her honesty was almost endearing.
“Miriam—I know Miriam committed a capital crime! And I too have committed acts worthy of death against you, Your Highness. But—but Miriam’s family, her village people… Because they drew a Magic Beast into the Imperial Palace to plot the assassination of His Majesty, they call it Treason and slaughter them without mercy? It’s too much!”
“……Such a thing happened?”
My expression went blank. Tears rolled down Sara’s cheeks.
“When I—when I went to see Miriam. Cleo suddenly appeared…… I hid myself, but Her Highness lashed Miriam with a whip, saying that if it weren’t for Miriam, she’d never have conceived of such a plot, that Miriam’s theft at such an inopportune moment had tangled her affairs, and asking how she dared imagine her pittance from theft would keep her ailing mother and her youngest brother’s schooling safe from harm, that all her people would be stoned to death as traitors before witnesses……”
……
Only Sara’s stifled sobs filled the silence of the room.
“After—after Her Highness left, Miriam, her face soaked in blood, called out to me—me desperately. Save your youngest brother, she begged. She said she’d give me everything she’d quietly saved, if only I could use it to help her youngest brother, who dreamed of coming to the Capital and studying properly. He’s only ten this year, she said…… But—but what power did I have?”
She was right.
Even attempting to help those caught in Treason meant death. All the more when a true calamity had befallen the palace, and Cleo gnashed her teeth over it……
It was natural that a mere commoner like Sara could do nothing. Miriam knew that and could only beg anyway. Sara knew it and carried the guilt of it.
“I merely lived in terror that my secret visits would be discovered. Then Cleo suddenly summoned me, saying she’d send me back to Rose Palace, and ordered me to keep you, Titania, sweet and close, to report everything without fail. At that moment, I—I gathered my courage and asked what would happen to Miriam…… And Her Highness laughed, saying that if I merely obeyed her words, Miriam wouldn’t meet such a fate. The next day, Miriam vanished.”
Sara’s entire body shook. She looked ready to collapse at any moment.
“I—I secretly spent what little I had trying to learn her fate. And—the village…… Miriam’s whole village was executed for Treason. Miriam’s family suffered especially horrible, cruel deaths. I—I—I don’t want to die like that! Even if I must die, I don’t want my family to meet that fate because of my crimes!”
……
Sara crawled toward me on her knees and seized my skirt.
“I—I have wronged you, Your Highness, in so many ways! Truly! Please forgive me just this once and help me!”
Sara gripped the fabric of my skirt with all the desperation of a drowning sailor clinging to a rope.
“I—I have a younger sister, Your Highness. Our home is poor, so she was sold as a handmaid to a bastard of a Viscount’s house…… Her master has a foul temperament and beats her unjustly every time! I wanted to buy her freedom, and that’s why I was saving up—to scrape together enough to open a proper beauty salon for us both!”
I answered in a quiet voice.
“But now you understand, don’t you? That Cleo is not the sort to let you leave the palace unscathed with a fortune in your hands, free to live in peace.”
……
Sara’s breath caught in small, choked gasps.
“Then you should have chosen your master more carefully. True, there’s nowhere in this palace to hide from Cleo’s eye. But if you hadn’t worked so hard to flaunt your cosmetic skills and earn money by any means necessary, you’d never have been sent here in the first place.”
“Actually—I wanted to serve Cleo, but my skills weren’t adequate enough……”
“At least you’re honest.”
Whether Sara and Mary lived or died, whether my back broke in the struggle with the Empress—I’d resolved not to care. They were adults; they weren’t ignorant of how power worked in the palace. They’d taken Cleo’s money and participated in tormenting a young princess out of greed. Whatever consequence fell upon them was their own doing.
So I’d expected them to try deceiving me again, motivated by Cleo’s threats and coin. Instead, it seemed tragedy visiting someone close had opened their eyes.
Mary and Sara were living proof that Cleo had been scheming to keep Titania within her grasp. If my relationship with Cleo had been sound, it might be different—but now that it was broken, they wouldn’t leave the palace alive. The Empress would never abandon her leverage.
“Seeing how much Your Highness has changed from before, I understand. So please, couldn’t you show me mercy?”
Sara begged earnestly. In her eyes, my green gaze was reflected—utterly, coldly unmoved.
“When I lay ill, what did you and Mary whisper to each other?”
……
“That pretty doll looked most valuable when her mouth was shut and her eyes were closed, didn’t you say? That if she’d only die already, where would you find another coin to squeeze from her? And when I went to meet my fiancé in shabby clothes, you laughed, wondering aloud if my pretty little head really was empty after all. You two spoke quietly to one another, tittering behind your hands—you thought I couldn’t hear. But I did hear. And I pretended not to, because anyone who keeps such speech habits and such clumsy hands in the Imperial Palace won’t live long anyway.”
“Your—Your Highness……”
Sara’s body trembled uncontrollably.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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