Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 152

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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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Episode 152

Testimony 1. A hunter claiming to be the only one who witnessed the Magic Beast in question.
“No, I’m telling you, a giant wild boar just swallowed a person whole! It’s the truth! The moment I saw it, I thought there was no way I could handle it myself, so I ran straight away!”
Testimony 2. A mother who lost her child in the mountains while picking berries and hunting rabbits.
“Our child just vanished without a trace around lunchtime the day before yesterday. There was this white light that flashed once in the mountains, and something about it felt wrong, so we went looking, but there was no sign of her anywhere. She said she’d be home before evening. She grew up in the mountains since she was little — there’s no way she could get lost in the mountains. Please, please help us…!”
Testimony 3. A man who appears to be the leader among this group of people.
“Once you go deep into the mountains, everything disappears, so I thought I’d take a look at what’s going on. What else can we do? Our livestock, our fields, our home — it’s all in that area. We can’t just abandon everything and leave to starve, can we? I’m truly sorry, but if you could just help us gather our things, I swear I will never forget this kindness……”
Well, to summarize the situation: opinions are divided among the people, and the leader seems to think those who disappeared into the mountains are already dead.
Of course, it’s not as though the Castrain Ducal House is without resources. Even though this is a remote place with few visitors, couldn’t we simply ask for help from the lord of the neighboring domain? That would have been easy to think… but the reality was different.
The lord of this region was famous for his avarice. While he viewed bandits and those traveling merchants who preyed on merchants and travelers as eyesores, he had no intention of spending his own money to eliminate them.
So even if the bandits asked for help, saying something had happened at their hideout, he would simply wash his hands of it and watch from afar.
Therefore, a bandit gang standing in the way of a great noble family like the Castrain House would be no different from accepting death… but.
“…It does not seem to be an ordinary phenomenon. We’ve never received any reports of such occurrences.”
Raymond’s aide reported to him with an irritated expression. For some reason, my carriage had become the meeting place, and I listened while chewing on the snacks that Lucy, Bibi’s maid, had handed me.
The situation is serious, but the orangettes really are delicious……
“Well, seeing how urgently Nabira sent word. Even Hecate’s Tavern has only just grasped the information. It does seem like something unusual……”
Bibi tilted her head. Lisianthus scratched the back of his neck and spoke.
“Ah, can’t I just go take a look? I’ll poke around a bit and run away if anything comes out.”
“Lisianthus, think a little more before you speak.”
Raymond cut off Lisianthus’s words decisively.
“…In any case, if a rare Magic Beast has appeared, we can’t ignore it. We just need to wrap things up without falling too far behind schedule.”
Raymond’s aide added his words with a distinctly dissatisfied tone.
“…Well, the lord of this region is Earl Carpaccio. He’s famous for his miserliness — he failed to handle the drought two years ago properly, so many of his subjects fled the domain. That’s how bandits ended up appearing even this close to the Capital. It seems merchants who know the situation have been conducting secret trades, while the bandits extort tolls from passing travelers.”
“We don’t need to punish every criminal we happen to cross.”
Raymond said flatly.
“Enough. Even if we look into it further, we can’t clarify all the circumstances just by hearing suspicious details here. In any case, we need to handle this before nightfall, so all of you follow me.”
So this is how it’s going to be. I spoke to Sword, watching Raymond prepare to leave and Lisianthus whining about going along before getting hit on the head for talking nonsense.
‘Hey, Sword, Sword… Sword-sword-sword. Do you feel anything odd?’
—Hmm… hmmmmm… You see, (⊙﹏⊙) something, um, faintly, Beloborg’s power is feeling like, maybe…?
‘Huh? But isn’t that a Magic Beast?’
—Doesn’t seem to be a Magic Beast?! Magic Beasts can’t deploy a Defensive Barrier! (｡_｡)
‘A… Defensive Barrier…?’
—Yes. There’s one in that mountain. Of course, I’d need to get closer to be certain, but I’m sure I would’ve noticed if someone was trying to kill or destroy something. And you might’ve felt it a little too, Contractor-sama? (◔▾◔)
‘Oh, now that you mention it, it does feel like I’ve gotten a bit stronger than I was before.’
Anyway, Sword said he felt something, so the conclusion was simple. I brushed off the crumbs of pastry from my hands and straightened my skirt. And I spoke boldly to Raymond, who was just about to leave.
“I’d like to go too.”
Bibi and Lisianthus opened their eyes wide.
“…Huh? Titania? What are you talking about?”
“Sister?!”
I felt a little concerned at the way Bibi’s voice pitch rose strangely at the end……
Raymond stopped in place and looked at me with an odd expression. He looked like he wanted to talk me out of it right then and there, but there was something in my unabashed smile as I gripped Sword that made him feel… something.
But Raymond only hesitated briefly before, as expected, opposing my going along.
“Even with a guide, we cannot guarantee the safety of the Princess on a treacherous mountain path we’ve never been on before, with Magic Beasts appearing who knows where.”
“I will do my best to make sure I can protect myself.”
“I don’t mean that the Princess isn’t capable, but if enemies were to attack suddenly, it would be difficult to protect you.”
To the man who answered like a wooden puppet, I deliberately grinned and shot back.
“In the Southern Region, I almost died, and you saved me — I’m truly grateful for that. But an entire city was destroyed, wasn’t it? I don’t know if such an attack will repeat itself without much reason anytime soon. Besides, we’re close to the Capital now. If our enemies have any sense, would they risk harming me while they’re putting in all this effort to restore Brian’s honor?”
“There’s no clear evidence to confidently predict how enemies will judge and act……”
“I think everything only became dangerous because Raymond was away for a moment back then. You’re the legendary Raymond, after all.”
I smiled broadly and poked Raymond’s elbow lightly, twice. His arm flinched and withdrew slightly. His golden eyes, which seemed so unlikely to ever soften, trembled full of inexpressible emotion.
The man is like a blunt stone — it seemed that his emotions would never break or shatter unless what lay within him was heightened to the very end.
So this much is good.
I am no longer angry with you, and you gradually accept me as something of a protégé, an ally, a colleague. If this were before, I would have built walls that anyone could see — my speech would be respectful, but my expression would bear no smile, signaling: do not touch me.
I would have bristled like a hedgehog with the thorns of my heart, knowing I could never be the “truly precious thing” to you.
But now, I deliberately drew near Raymond and smiled like a naive child.
“With you by my side, Raymond, you think a trap of that degree could put you and me in danger?”
“……”
When I was not in my right mind due to the matter with the Second Consort Elaine — the emotion of that man who pleaded with an almost tearful face was not something I could brush aside by turning away. But there lingered doubt: was that emotion truly love? A person with too rigid a world sometimes mistakes the stirring of their heart toward a particular object for love. He is that much more rigidly virtuous, that much more kind.
The man’s lips moved as if to speak, then closed. When our eyes met, the man exhaled a deep breath like a sigh and spoke.
“…If any dangerous signs appear, I will send you back at once.”
“Yes!”
“No, that’s not the response you should be making right now, is it?!”
“Big brother? Big brother?! Our safety-obsessed big brother is going with Sister Titania?!”
Bibi and Lisianthus, who resembled each other perfectly, bounced up from where they stood.
“Then I’m going too, me too! No matter how well Titania swings that fancy sword of hers, she can’t be better than me! If anything goes wrong, I could…!”
“Y-yes, if we leave the escort troops behind, it’s dangerous! Why don’t we all go together!”
“Bibi, you’re not going!”
“Brother Lisianthus, why are you discriminating against your sister in a situation like this?!”
The Lisianthus-and-Bibi duo, who should have united to either stop me or stop Raymond, quickly fell apart due to unexpected internal conflict.
After the three Castrain siblings engaged in quite blunt arguments and raised chaos in the carriage, Bibi and Lisianthus ended up waiting obediently at the place where the carriage had stopped.
As I set out, Bibi’s voice grew sullen.
“…Sister.”
“Yes, Bibi?”
“If you come back even slightly hurt, then Bibi will……”
“Uh, yes, Bibi, thank you always for worrying about your sister, and I love you! I’ll be back!”
“……”
Bibi’s face, which had looked like a pet fox seeing off its master, instantly crumpled like compressed bread.

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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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