Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 139

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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 139

Bibi Lutein El Castrain’s complexion darkened.
Ordinarily, a Mana Stone drained of all its power was treated as nothing more than a common stone or jewel.
The fact that it shattered so violently the moment it touched fire was proof that some tremendous force had been exerted upon the Mana Stone itself—whatever it had been used for, it was fragile enough to crumble at the slightest touch. Had it been used for some sort of consciousness? Or was it magic?
Looking back now, the icicle fragments scattered throughout this peculiarly frigid cave seemed suspicious as well. Lisianthus caught the meaning in Bibi’s glance and, after creating some distance between them, shattered one of the icicles with his sword. Crack—crash—shatter!
The sound that filled the entire cave was more like breaking glass than melting ice.
“…Ha, it couldn’t possibly be that all of them are Mana Stones. You’re telling me this entire cave is filled with them? If there were this many, even the Castrain Family would have to drain their entire vault. The Magic Beast that Father defeated last time probably wielded the power of cold and water. Perhaps this cave was transformed by the traces it left behind? Magic Beasts do use powers like that sometimes…. Still, you don’t need to worry just yet, do you? We still have five years left.”
“Father doesn’t want to tell me anything about this. Raymond doesn’t either. He just… doesn’t want you to get involved in this, Bibi. He doesn’t want you going to any battlefields. He’s always been like that.”
“…….”
Lisianthus fell silent.
“…Bibi, it’s not that we think you’re weak or too young, or that we’re trying to dismiss you. It’s just… we’d feel better if at least you were in a safe place…….”
“That strange woman who attacked Titania and the others—Raymond said he was the only one who could have handled her, didn’t he?”
“Well, yes. But… honestly, I don’t think opponents like that are very common…… Probably?”
“Let’s take this and show it to Rasper.”
“……Can we do that? If Father finds out I brought you here, he’ll actually try to kill me.”
“Bibi prefers it when Papa gets angry. Because you’re all still young, you’re people I need to protect, and since I won’t live long anyway—I hate it when you all quietly take everything on yourselves like that!”
Ortho, the current Duke of Castrain, certainly cherished Bibi and supported her in anything she wished to do.
Bibi knew the limits of her own body well. No matter how much her thinking and actions matched those of an adult, she was still a child now. Her delicate hands couldn’t grip a sword; they’d tremble if she held a pen for too long. Walking on bare ground for even a short time made her feet ache, let alone a military march.
So, she worked efficiently. She found things she could do and did them—gathering information, meeting people, laughing like a carefree child.
“If his condition is bad, why hide it from me? It was me who found a way to ease Papa’s suffering. So if you tell me everything honestly, I can help too, can’t I? Raymond is the eldest, so he’s strong, so he’s the next heir—that’s why he seems to know at least something. But that’s exactly why he just follows whatever Papa orders him to. I hate that! This is infuriating—our family, so hopelessly rigid about these things!”
“B-Bibi, calm down. Stop kicking the ground like that! You’ll fall and get hurt!”
Bibi had suddenly grown angry and began kicking the ground with the tips of her toes. Bang, bang! The fragments made a crystalline sound as they struck each other—like breaking glass. Lisianthus fretted anxiously lest any shards fly up and wound her, and Bibi spoke to him in a complicated tone.
“…You said family. You said daughter. You said you loved me, that you’d understand anything. I like you and Papa. So why won’t you rely on me? Is it because I’m too young? …Because I’m not your real daughter?”
“No, Bibi. That’s why… Father must be terrified just imagining you in danger. We all are.”
Lisianthus gently stroked Bibi’s hair.
“…And, well. Father has connections we don’t know about…… The reason he doesn’t easily speak about how he defeated that Magic Beast might be because there’s a good reason for it. Why don’t we just do what we can for now?”
“…Okay.”
Bibi slowly nodded as she watched Lisianthus carefully gather the fragments from the floor into his pocket. Clink, clink, clink…….
Suddenly, Bibi’s body went rigid.
“…Brother.”
Bibi whispered, her gaze fixed on the deepest part of the cave, on the seemingly endless hole descending into the underground.
“Something moved.”

* * *

Pan gazed at the girl before him with an odd feeling as she pointed out facts so carelessly.
The former Tower Master, he had walked away from the Magic Tower of his own accord. The reason was…….
Pan shrugged once, then undid the bracelet around his wrist. It appeared at first glance to be nothing but an ordinary accessory, but the moment he removed it, a blackened hand came into view.
It wasn’t withered to the point of showing bone, nor were the veins grotesquely swollen. It was simply discolored—as if it had been dipped in ink. Titania’s eyes widened, as if she had seen something similar before.
“Well, I suppose I’ve seen someone like me before? A contract-bearer of the God of Light might be able to drive back the darkness to some degree, but this is different. It’s closer to Curse-type Magic—the state of itself fixed in place…. Especially since it’s my hand, and I can’t exactly avoid using it. Any movement feels like my entire nervous system is burning. So I use these herbs instead. I can’t just avoid all outside activity, after all.”
“……If you’ll permit me, I could attempt treatment.”
“And the reason I injured this hand was because I tried to eliminate a traitor to the Magic Tower with my own hands—and failed.”
Pan shrugged.
“More precisely, I tried to kill my teacher…… at the time. Haha! Hahaha!”
“…….”
He thought it was something to laugh about, but the princess before him did not laugh. Pan felt awkward.
The world of mages was terribly insular. Anyone with the talent—the cleverness, the calculating mind, and the affinity for mana—to handle the mana contained in Mana Stones well enough could become a mage. But not everyone could flourish as one.
If one could develop special items using Mana Stones, one might become wealthy. But there were plenty of mages who refused to mingle with others and devoted themselves entirely to research. Yet mages remained steadfastly loyal to one another. They preserved truth, recorded reality, and walked toward the future—and no one could deny that premise.
“For mages, actually, the God of Light and the God of Darkness are concepts far more familiar than you might think. Using White Magic—magic that relies purely on the clean mana or power contained in Mana Stones—and then, on the other hand, there is Black Magic. Black Magic defies the natural order of the world, uses different sacrifices, and tries to overturn predetermined outcomes. Black Magic is easy to use if you have tremendous talent and are willing to swear an oath to become a servant of Chernobog. That’s why the mage closest to you usually bears the duty of executing a fallen Black Mage. Because if you release such a dangerous user of power into society, it becomes a catastrophe.”
Very many mages were misfits in society. The majority were the type who would isolate themselves from the world, study magic alone, and grow old and die. And because of that, their relationships with others were very deep and narrow. Master and disciple—if it wasn’t these two, there were countless mages who wouldn’t care whether their colleagues lived or died. That was why…….
“My teacher feared death. He was very old, and there was so much left to research, and this world was so terribly shallow. He genuinely didn’t want to die like this. Well, he recognized something in me even when he took me as his disciple. Great prodigy mages always seem to have that corner of their heads spinning a bit wildly, you know? So he became a Lich and a servant of Chernobog. I don’t want to spend eternity as a skeleton that can’t eat or sleep—I’d rather live short, intense, and fun. But different people have different values, don’t they?”
“…….”
Titania did not speak hastily. She simply listened with quiet eyes.
“So here’s the thing—I acknowledged my lack of strength. If I revealed that I had failed to kill my teacher, what would happen…? My teacher was a much stronger Tower Master than me, and on top of that, he had dabbled in Black Magic. Just thinking of the danger, ‘all’ of the mages belonging to the Magic Tower would have to go after him. And he would collect them one by one like snacks and use them as offerings, growing even stronger in the process.”
Pan laughed with a twisted smile. It was a laugh tinged with madness.
“So I buried my teacher’s secret and decided to handle it this way: the previous Tower Master and the current one both went senile and fled the Tower. That’s how I processed it. Since I never came back, they went ahead and raised a new Tower Master. The whole thing about making clothes and such—well, that’s just my little hobby? I never thought it would blow back on me in front of the princess, though.”
“……Does Young Duke Rasper know this fact?”
“No. He doesn’t know. And I have no intention of telling him.”
Pan thrust his transparent violet eyes close to Titania’s face.
“So, now that the princess has spilled all my secrets that I’ve kept hidden up to this point—what exactly do you intend to do? Hmm? Let a mad archmage slip away and keep it secret from everyone—will you drag me before the upright Young Duke Raymond to face judgment for that?”
His voice dripped with contempt.
“Ah.”
Titania blinked slightly.
“What I’m about to do? If you’re not too busy, would you like to get hit with a sword a bit? This blackness is incredibly effective to remove, apparently.”
“……It doesn’t work, I’m telling you—did you not hear me? It hurts! I need medicine! It’s a curse, it doesn’t work!”

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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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