Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 127

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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 127

Slipping away from the Banquet Hall was easy enough. To be precise, she’d simply followed the servants who were rushing about in the confusion, calling for physicians and priests, and ducked out in their wake. It was only possible because every eye in the hall was fixed on the center of the room.
If this had been a normal situation—if someone inside the Banquet Hall had orchestrated a conspiracy—then someone like Sara would normally have prevented people from wandering freely. But there was no one capable of taking control and issuing proper orders. The Empress seemed utterly convinced that today’s prey would be someone else entirely, not herself. And as for the Dowager Empress, who might have corrected that belief, she was already collapsed with her eyes closed.
In any case, Sara had successfully extracted herself exactly as Titania had anticipated. The noise still echoing from the main palace where the banquet was being held suggested that what Titania had set in motion was far from finished.
‘If Mary spots me, it’ll get annoying. Better to slip in quietly.’
Sara crept toward the back of the Rose Palace.
Titania had finished her preparations quickly enough, then left the Rose Palace with a cheerful smile. Unlike Sara, who had her duties to attend to and had quietly excused herself, the other maids were now sprawled about in leisurely abandon, treating themselves as if they’d been freed. After all, Titania wouldn’t be returning to the Rose Palace until at least the banquet was over, so there was no harm in enjoying themselves now.
Though Sara had made an arrangement with Titania, she didn’t want to risk being openly marked as a traitor to Empress Cleo. So she needed to be careful not to arouse Mary’s suspicion.
“This stuff really does work, doesn’t it?”
Sara’s feet stopped of their own accord. The voice came from the side entrance of the Rose Palace, the one the maids usually used—a dim, shadowy spot hidden from outside view by overgrown shrubbery. It was Mary.
“Where did you say it was from? The Southern Region?”
“Yes. People in the Capital don’t know much about it. It’s a flower that only grows in the South due to the climate, I think that’s why….”
“Wait, you worked for a noble house before, didn’t you? Why didn’t you bring this wonderful thing to the lady you served?”
“In the Capital, I simply didn’t know anyone who could provide it. I was worried about causing a misunderstanding. But since the Imperial Palace receives tribute from every corner of the Empire, I thought something like this wouldn’t seem unusual.”
“Well, there is something unusual about it. Look here. In less than a month, the wrinkles have practically vanished. See my hands? Completely soft and smooth. But it’s a shame there’s so little of it….”
It was just trivial conversation between Mary and Bonita. Yet Sara’s feet had stopped not because of the words themselves, but because of how they spoke—quietly, avoiding others’ eyes, as if sharing some secret. Why were they being so guarded about cosmetics that supposedly worked well?
“Really, you’re sure you don’t mind giving it all to me?”
“Well, for the imperial family, we can only present things whose ingredients are verified. Since I used it back home, I know it’s safe. You’ve helped me so much—I wanted to repay some of that kindness.”
“I see. It really does work well, though. One person has to use it consistently to see results. If you just hand it out here and there, nobody will even appreciate it.”
Sara understood immediately what Mary wanted: to keep the information from spreading to the other maids. If she brought cosmetics with such demonstrable effects to Empress Cleo, who prized beauty highly, she would surely receive a generous reward.
Given the limited supply and uncertain sources right now, Mary would placate Bonita with kind words and promise to keep it secret from the others.
But once she’d secured a steady supply of the cosmetics, she’d present them to Empress Cleo as if they were her own discovery, never mentioning Bonita’s name at all.
Sara silently cursed Mary.
Though she had to admit, if she herself had coveted Empress Cleo’s favor as desperately and had come across something so valuable, she probably would have felt the same hunger….
“Still, it feels wrong somehow. You have to mix in blood, and with all the curses and unrest in the palace lately, if I got suspected of anything, I’d be terrified….”
Sara froze. Wait—mix in blood?
“Ha. Where I come from, if it’s good for beauty, blood is just blood. There are plenty of people who’d eat the living if given the chance. Even the priests cut open skin to heal scars. What’s so terrible about it? You’re a bit of a coward, you know!”
“Ha ha….”
“You’re such an innocent thing. Lucky for you I’m the one who knows about this. If someone like Sara had found out, you’d end up just like Miriam.”
“What? Miriam…?”
As Sara listened to Bonita’s confused response, anger surged inside her. What on earth was she talking about?!
Without meaning to, her feet clenched, and she stepped on the grass hard enough to crush the stems. The stalks were mashed, making a soft crackling sound.
Sara froze at her own noise. If she was discovered here, what would happen? The situation looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it!
It was at that very moment.
Squeeak! Squeak!
A rat suddenly burst out from Sara’s direction toward Mary and Bonita. Mary, who had briefly turned her attention that way, genuinely shrieked in shock.
“Ugh, what is that? A rat!”
“I’ve hardly ever seen rats in the Rose Palace. That’s strange….”
“Strange, nothing! The servants inside must have smelled some cheap wine party and followed the scent out here. Ugh, disgusting. Let’s go back inside.”
“Yes.”
Only after the sounds of Mary and Bonita’s footsteps faded did Sara finally manage to breathe. A deep sigh escaped her lungs—whoooosh—and then someone whispered right beside her ear.
“Good timing, wasn’t it?”
“Eeeek! Mmph!”
Sara genuinely shrieked at the voice so close to her ear, but her mouth was covered before she could make more noise. Debbie looked at her with a reproachful expression, then slowly withdrew her hand.
“Good grief, why did you have to be so loud? If a rat just happened to appear at the perfect moment like that, it’s obvious someone helped you out!”
“That’s—you—not a ghost or anything, suddenly appearing like that….”
“Ah, you got a fright because I made no sound? You handled everything fine at the banquet, so why are you suddenly such a nervous wreck?”
“That’s—because I did all those things! I thought several times that I might die!”
Sara spoke without thinking, driven by indignation. Look at this one’s nerve, describing what Sara had to do as if it were nothing more than eating a pastry! But Debbie, looking at her with a serene expression, didn’t seem particularly concerned with whatever Sara was saying or doing.
“Anyway, if Bonita or Mary try to give you anything related to cosmetics, just ignore it. You already caught something suspicious from what you heard, right?”
“Yes….”
“It’s just that when the Debutante Titania notices something odd and decides to look into it, her hit rate is remarkably high. Otherwise, there’s always the possibility that evil people are constantly scheming in the background, so if you dig into anything, you’re likely to find filth….”
Debbie clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“What is she really up to? Bonita seems… well, she’s naive, but I didn’t think she was a bad person…?”
At Sara’s slightly dazed comment, Debbie answered in a light tone.
“Do you really think a maid who is genuinely naive, sincere, and good at her job would be assigned to the Rose Palace? To the Rose Palace, where Natalie is in overall command—someone who’s at odds with our Debutante?”
Sara found herself trembling involuntarily.
“Still, Empress Cleo didn’t tell me or Mary about anyone else she was sending….”
“That’s exactly why we think it’s suspicious too. Why would she recruit only Mary with such effective cosmetics, rather than offering them to Empress Cleo or the Debutante Titania? Ugh, there’s never a peaceful day. Anyway, be careful! If you complete your assignment only to fall into their hands and vanish without a trace, it’ll be such a waste!”
“Are you joking about this?”
“No, I’m serious… Well… the Debutante will likely help you out anyway. She’s thorough about paying her debts, almost to a fault. She’s so strict with herself that the young lord and lady of the Castrain Family are reduced to pacing nervously, wanting to give her more than she asks for.”
Debbie dangled a doll she was holding, muttering to herself. The doll’s two eyes glinted red.
“Anyway, I don’t think you should back out now, Sara! Come on, let’s both keep working hard. If something like today happens again, I’ll do my best to help! If someone tries to kill you, I’ll just kill them instead—simple as that!”
“….”
Listening to Debbie’s bubbly voice, Sara found herself wishing she’d never set foot in the Rose Palace from the very beginning.
It was far too late for regrets.

* * *

“Ha ha, Your Highness. How kind of you to come all this way—I could have visited you at the Saffron Palace instead.”
The Emperor offered a respectful smile. Of course, his words and true thoughts were entirely different.
It had been a week since Lady Armesin, the Dowager Titania, had taken up residence in the Imperial Palace.
And the events at the palace banquet had spread far and wide through the mouths of nobles. Prince Brian, expelled from the palace, had been sent for by the Lande Marquis House and retrieved. Empress Cleo had taken to her bed under the pretense of illness.
The Dowager Empress, who had collapsed and recovered in public view, and Empress Elaine likewise seemed conscious of public attention and rarely ventured outside the palace.
The Emperor had sent Valentina various gifts to prove that Brian’s outburst had nothing to do with him.
Valentina had gracefully declined items that were overly expensive or ostentatious, while accepting appropriately those of modest value or mere courtesy gifts.
As a result, the Emperor found himself thinking that his great-aunt, whom he’d barely spoken to, perhaps had some sense of propriety after all. As long as she didn’t stay too long….
He couldn’t simply throw her out in front of everyone. But if he kept her too short a time, people might say she’d left because the palace hadn’t treated her to her satisfaction. So perhaps a month was the right duration….
As if aware of the jumble of such thoughts clouding the Emperor’s mind, Valentina smiled brightly and broached her main topic.
“I’m aware that Your Majesty is occupied with weighty matters of state. I wouldn’t dream of burdening you unnecessarily. But I’ve come today because there is, unfortunately, a matter I cannot put off.”
“A matter, you say…?”
Does she wish to discipline Brian directly, whom I’ve already sent away from the palace? But I’ve already handled it myself—what more could there be now?
The Emperor’s thoughts churned complexly.
To this troubled Emperor, Valentina smiled with evident ease.
“Well, my dear little great-niece… I’ve only just learned that during her mother’s illness, she was never properly provided with a chaperon who could assist her in making her proper debut as a debutante.”
“Ah… yes…? A debut? Titania’s…?”
At this entirely unexpected remark, the Emperor stammered.

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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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