Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 138

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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 138

Cleo, the Empress, had hounded Mercury relentlessly after learning that this genius designer would never accept commissions—not even for the Empress herself. Only after resorting to threats had Cleo finally coaxed a dress from him: the notorious Clock Tower Dress.
No ornamentation whatsoever. Just a drab gray fabric festooned with every conceivable variety of clock, hanging like a weight—a clock rack masquerading as a dress. In a modern age, one might have pawned it off as contemporary art; but this temperamental genius had clearly designed it as retaliation, the message unmistakable: “Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t taking commissions for a while? Don’t you understand what ‘a while’ means? Can’t you read a clock?” The entire affair screamed spite, and to make his point stick, every single one of those clocks was enormous and brutally heavy.
When Cleo actually tried it on, she leveled the Imperial Palace in her fury. People literally clung to her ankles, terrified she’d murder the designer on the spot.
“In any case! Chernobog, down in the Underground World, has even created Contractors now, and he’s been using them to breach Barriers and cause all manner of trouble. I have a duty to stop him, and I have rather a lot on my plate. I desperately need your help.”
“And?”
“‘And’ what? I’m asking for your help.”
“Bare-handed?”
I knew it. Just as I’d feared. The man hooked his pinky into his nostril and scratched lazily. That insolent attitude made me want to punch him, but I smiled instead, all grace.
“Would it help if I paid back the debt?”
“That won’t be enough.”
“Then what else do you want?”
“Look here, miss.”
Abruptly, the man’s tone shifted. The theatrical lightness—as though he were watching a clown’s act with detached amusement—gave way to something heavier. Like stacking broken clocks, second hand snapped clean off, one atop another.
“Honestly, why should I fight something like that on your behalf? What reason do I have?”
He asked the question without affect, as though testing me. My grip tightened on the sword.
Whirrrr.
Whirrrrrr.
A swarm’s drone filled the air.
From the second-floor Terrace balcony, one could catch the garden’s scent merely by leaning one’s body out—a space virtually open to the elements. And everywhere throughout the Banquet Hall, beautiful fresh flowers adorned the rooms.
Which meant, seasonally speaking, there was nothing strange about bees appearing. Nothing strange at all—unless those “bees” were gleaming, jet-black creatures sporting impossibly long stingers that shone like iron. Then again, from the moment Brian set foot in the Banquet Hall, strangeness had ceased to be a surprise.
After all my blood, sweat, and tears, I’d grown quite adept at wielding Wind Power and Light Power. And my speed in receiving approval from the voice in my head had increased dramatically as well.
-Contractor! The analysis results from earlier—when I studied Prince Brian’s blood—they match in several key aspects! These creatures…
ㅡ
“Chernobog’s fingerprints are all over this!”
Whirrrrrr…
Crack!
I sliced through the bee that lunged at me. Several of them shattered against my blade, disintegrating into powder and vanishing.
Swordplay itself wasn’t my forte. No matter what technique I employed, I could never match Lisianthus or Raymond—they could do anything with a single blade. I simply didn’t have that gift.
So I resorted to the only thing available: recklessly swinging bursts of Light Power.
The bees scattered to avoid the sword, darting in from all sides, each seeking an opening to strike me down. I paused, considering my options.
I could summon Wind Power to erect an air barrier, but I still couldn’t maintain one while moving—not yet.
The man stood with his arms folded, observing the spectacle as though I were a curiosity worth watching.
That’s when a voice came through the heavy door.
“Your Highness? Are you well? I heard strange noises…”
It was Raymond’s cautious voice. I eyed the swarm, weighing my options. Raymond could dispatch these vermin without a trace with just a few sword strokes. Yet he seemed to be enjoying the situation, smoking his pipe with unmistakable amusement.
Damn it. The man seemed intent on testing me, and if I let Raymond solve things for me now, he might take offense.
“No, really—thank you, but I’m fine!”
I need to practice maintaining multiple wind barriers! And holding them while moving, too!
I sealed the Terrace doors leading back into the Banquet Hall with a wind barrier. But stepping onto the Terrace and engaging these creatures had consumed far more time than I’d anticipated. Even if the man had slipped away unnoticed, word would surely spread if I’d spent too long out here alone. And if rumors circulated about a secret meeting between him and me—laugh as I might—people wouldn’t quite believe it, but they’d gossip delightfully about the possibility.
No other footsteps had ventured near. Just as well; if anyone had come, they’d have been attacked by these monster bees. Curse it all—these bees are strong enough that a light breeze won’t blow them away. But of course not, if they’re some kind of specialized Magic Beast.
Insects… I wish I had something like insecticide.
“Ah.”
I reached over and snatched the Pipe from the mouth of the man who’d been casually observing.
“What are you—?!”
“Just borrowing this!”
I emptied its contents and fed Wind Power into the smoke and embers, making the flame grow large and fierce. The acrid, herbal smoke mingled with the scent of burning, a smell both familiar and strange.
Then, sweeping it through the air like an electric flyswatter with my sword—!
Kyaaaaaah!
The bees attacking me suddenly flared with light, but their energy visibly drained away.
I didn’t miss the opening. Putting every ounce of strength into my blade, I struck each bee in succession before they could scatter and regroup.
Thwack, thwack-thwack, the bees that fell to the ground convulsed against one another, then in the next moment turned to ash and scattered into nothingness.
The man bent to retrieve his Pipe from the floor, visibly irritated.
“Do you have any idea what kind of object that is?!”
“You burn some kind of special herb.”
“So I’m supposed to use pipe smoke to repel Magical Beast bees? Lucky it worked this time, but do you always muddle through crises like this with improvisation? Utterly reckless…”
“The filter on that Pipe—it’s had special magical treatment applied to it, hasn’t it? Removes toxins and leaves only medicinal compounds. A terribly old-fashioned piece, too. These days, with water pipes and rolled leaf tobacco in vogue, such items are hard to come by.”
That’s right. Unless one were Valentina’s age, few would recognize exactly what it was.
Back in that era, the patterns carved into an old pipe indicated its purpose. An outdated style, but the Pipe could be used to dispense poison just as easily as medicine.
Valentina had explained her treasured possession quite thoroughly to me—the medicinal herbs she typically burned, and the similar toxic plants one might easily confuse them with. Without that knowledge, I’d never have guessed.
“…But why are you burning such a potent herb—one capable of paralysing even Magical Aura-infected bees in an instant?”
The man’s eyes clearly wavered at my question.

* * *

“Bibi, you came to a dangerous place like this without telling even Raymond. Do you think that was reckless?”
“Don’t you think I was reckless, too?”
Bibi looked down at the doll cradled in her arms as she asked Lisianthus. After studying her for a moment, Lisianthus slowly shook his head.
“No. You must have your reasons. But…”
“I’m sorry for asking you to bring me somewhere like this. Little brother.”
They stood within an immense Cave. Even in daylight, a bitter chill permeated everything. Icicles hung from the ceiling; more grew upward from the floor, jagged as reversed spears. With each step, fragments of ice crackled and crunch beneath their feet. Bibi, who ordinarily surrounded herself with attendants, had insisted on entering the Cave alone with Lisianthus. Her devoted guards and ladies-in-waiting had been deeply concerned, but Bibi had remained adamant.
“Raymond would never allow me to come to a place like this. Neither would Father. I thought this was my only chance—while Raymond is preoccupied with Titania and unable to attend to other matters.”
As they penetrated deeper into the Cave, an enormous chasm yawned before them. Pitch-black, plunging so deep that the bottom vanished from sight.
“This is the right place, isn’t it? The place where…”
“Yes. Where Father defeated the Magic Beast five years ago.”
And in the years since that battle, Orto’s condition had deteriorated rapidly. Most information about that confrontation had been classified. Though Bibi had managed, through considerable effort, to procure a medicine that kept him stable on the surface, the analgesic was no cure—there were limits to what it could accomplish.
“Brother, could you try melting some of that ice at the bottom?”
“Hm? Sure.”
Lisianthus complied without much thought, summoning Flame—and then froze in shock. The fragments that had appeared to be mere ice didn’t melt and vaporize; instead, they warped and buckled, then shattered with a sharp crack. Kyaaaang! Lisianthus instinctively stepped backward.

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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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