Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 162

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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 162

“Even while we’re moving, there are fools thinking foolish thoughts.”
Lisianthus muttered his complaint as he burned an assassin alive. Killian, Bibi’s guard knight, ignored him and scanned their surroundings.
After vagrants had suddenly blocked their path, Raymond and Titania had climbed a mountain where strange phenomena were occurring, and eventually Titania had lost consciousness and returned covered in blood—though truthfully only her arm was injured—Lisianthus had remained constantly vigilant. He’d expected little trouble despite their preparations, but that single incident had shattered his complacency in one blow. It didn’t help that Raymond, who’d brought Titania back down, wore an utterly hollow expression.
Raymond was the strongest among their party, yes, but he was also their commander-in-chief. He couldn’t simply abandon his post whenever an irritating problem appeared. No matter how carefully he’d selected skilled knights to accompany them, not all of them were as formidable as Lisianthus or Raymond himself. Truly capable fighters who could act independently were rare.
So Lisianthus had grabbed Killian by the scruff of his neck—the knight was clearly displeased—and set out to deal with the vermin alongside him.
The carriage never stopped moving, and with escorts clinging to the front and rear, it was difficult for intruders to breach the cabin itself.
But that was why one prepared in advance.
Even as they traveled at a terrifying speed, Lisianthus burned to death those who’d lain in ambush behind trees or deep in forests, waiting for an opening. Killian voiced his objection, his tone thick with complaint.
“…I must remain by Miss Bibi’s side.”
“Since Raymond is keeping such careful watch, it’ll be fine for a while~.”
“Fine or not, my place is beside Miss Bibi.”
Killian was barely any older than Bibi, yet his boyish face spoke such unwavering conviction. Lisianthus found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He’d complained countless times to Bibi about how she could possibly trust such a reckless fellow so absolutely, but she’d simply smiled radiantly and said, “I just know,” utterly smitten with her guard knight.
Once Bibi decided someone was hers, she gave them absolute trust. Lucy. Killian. Titania….
Yes. Titania.
Lisianthus formed a sphere of flame in his palm, then hurled it skyward.
Whoosh—the sphere blazed bright as a sun for a moment, illuminating the darkened sky, before vanishing.
“…This is your first visit to our main house, isn’t it? We have Rasper—the youngest, and the only one who can’t wield a sword. We don’t let him leave the estate much because he was nearly kidnapped once.”
Everyone agreed that Rasper was a prodigy capable of early admission to the Academy.
In a household like Castrain, it was standard practice to hire private tutors at great expense rather than enroll children in the Academy. But Rasper had a scholarly temperament, and while he’d accumulated considerable materials over the years, everyone thought it might be beneficial for him to gain some outside experience rather than grow up entirely within the Castrain Family’s martial atmosphere—which was primarily a warrior’s house. So Academy admission was being seriously considered.
Unlike the other men of the Castrain Family, who could readily draw a sword and fend off or escape a handful of ruffians by the time they reached five or six years old, Rasper proved to be a perfectly ordinary child who couldn’t even properly grip a heavy knife. Once this became clear, kidnapping attempts became frequent, and the family had to give up on letting him venture out.
“…Even Bibi is targeted relentlessly by many. She knows this, so she brings either you or Lucy everywhere she goes. But we can’t simply stop all activities because of the danger. So she does various things while moving about….”
When Lisianthus saw such things, there was something oddly similar about Titania.
Or was that why they got along so well? Lisianthus felt strange when ‘the changed’ Titania and Bibi were together.
…Though Titania was somewhat more troublesome.
Bibi, at least, never threw herself into danger recklessly. She used her youth to ask adults for help, and that was the right way to do things.
But Titania had a habit of throwing herself into harm’s way carelessly, despite being no stronger than Lisianthus or Raymond.
It was difficult to fault her for it…. Well. Looking back at the situations that forced her hand, there really hadn’t been better alternatives. Lisianthus found his mouth turning bitter each time he thought about it.
“Bibi is obsessively afraid of losing something. …Maybe it’s because she suffered so much as a child. Or perhaps it’s because she came to our house and has continued to suffer.”
Lisianthus suddenly fell silent, struck by a strange sense of déjà vu. Come to think of it, how many people in the Castrain Family weren’t afraid of ‘losing’ things? Even that seemingly unshakeable Duke showed signs of never forgetting his wife.
—Be a good boy, my son. There’s no need for you to grieve….
The Duchess of Castrain.
The Iron Duke. That Duke, said to be without blood or tears, who vehemently refused remarriage and continued to yearn for her even now.
‘Mother’ was a faint memory.
She’d died not long after giving birth to Rasper. No matter how unusual the physical development of the Castrain brothers was, no matter that they wielded swords from five or six years old—Lisianthus had been far too young to retain memories of his mother.
Perhaps Raymond retained some recollection….
He remembered only her desiccated hands, thin as kindling, and her gentle voice. And he remembered how the Duke, after his wife’s death, had ignored even his own children for a time.
‘It was because I was a bad child that Mother left. It was because I was unworthy that Father wouldn’t look at me.’
That’s what he’d feared in his young heart.
—It wasn’t your fault. Father was simply struggling for a while, that’s all.
And then, even as a child himself, Raymond had comforted him.
—The youngest is still weak, so let’s protect him together.
That winter, the year his mother passed, was unusually cold.
After he’d learned to wield the power of ‘flame,’ a thought sometimes came to him.
Did the cold damage Mother’s health? If only I’d been able to master this power freely from an earlier age. If only I could have kept Mother warm. Would something have been different?
It was childish fancy.
Yet not every child grows into adulthood without some wavering.
Duke Orto was less a wonderful father than a magnificent superior and head of his house. It had been Raymond who’d borne the practical responsibility of protecting his younger siblings from the start.
A man who’d never whined to anyone, never shirked his duty. That’s why Lisianthus felt such pity for Raymond….
“Please don’t stray too far from the carriage, young master!”
“Haha. Cassian worries too much.”
“How could I not worry! Sir Killian! Don’t indulge the young master’s stubbornness; he influences those around him!”
“Influences? I’m not some kind of paint.”
Every so often, a thought occurred to him.
Was this man even human?
Was he alright?
Not that he didn’t know he wasn’t alright. But Raymond never let it show. It would be fine if he relied on others more, if he expressed his preferences more. If only Lisianthus could have burned away the weight pressing on his brother’s shoulders instead….
Watching Cassian, Raymond’s long-serving adjutant, bark irritably for his return, Lisianthus swallowed a strange thought.
Cassian—that is, Raymond’s veteran aide—was nearly the only person who hadn’t completely let go of his wariness toward ‘Titania.’ Raymond knew this, yet he said nothing.
It wasn’t his nature to force his opinions on others, and wariness itself caused no harm.
Had Titania herself known, she would have drawn a line with that unconcerned expression of hers and said, “Isn’t it actually suspicious that so few people are cautious?”
So if Raymond, who always restrained himself to his limits, were ever to reach a point where he was ‘not alright’….

“Well… just don’t betray Bibi. You can crush anyone suspicious on sight, and since Bibi would be sad, don’t be reckless with your body or get hurt.”
Lisianthus forcibly swallowed an ominous premonition and patted Killian’s shoulder twice.

The Princess’s Debutante held at the Orland Count’s Estate had ended in disaster.
Even if former Princess Valentina and the Castrain Family said nothing, offering only words that “the Orland Count’s Estate did its best”—
June remembered the quarrel her close friend Merribel had picked with Princess Titania.
Separate from whether Merribel’s behavior had been excessively reckless, June had gained a clear realization the moment she heard her friend speak.
She’d been skillfully hiding it from herself. But yes, that was the truth. If she’d had no ulterior motive, that would be a lie. Now that Titania was showing herself so changed, if June could simply accept it as “good for everyone” without hesitation, that would be a lie.
The fact that she’d underestimated Princess Titania was real. She’d pretended to be mature, pretended not to be childish, deceiving even herself. At the foundation, it was base.
When she’d realized this about herself, she couldn’t even manage her expression properly, and she’d desperately tried to stop Merribel. Yet in that moment, Princess Titania had simply smiled calmly.
Even Raymond had grown angry, yet the person at the center of the event itself remained the most composed. Hair gleaming platinum. Eyes serene. The white cloth draped about her body was like broken sunlight wound around a cloud.
She was beautiful as a goddess, yet people had criticized even her dress, and though it should have been the most celebrated event, her half-brother’s intrusion had stolen all attention.
Could June herself, if faced with such a situation, have responded this way even when a lowborn minor aristocrat’s daughter lodged a grievance?
‘It’s not mockery. I’ve heard that you’re a wise person, Miss June. Even if your manner of speech is somewhat careless, if you cherish a friend like that beside you…. That mutual affection must be genuine, right? Ah, but I have no female friends my age at all, thanks to my own unfortunate circumstances that everyone knows about. I think that’s a good thing.’
June could perceive it. The other party had been sincere. Rather than mocking the level of her protection of her friend or laughing at her or savoring victory, that face had simply understood: you cared too much and made a mistake.
Not blaming the other for past actions, saying I know my own reputation better than anyone, urging her to look and judge for herself going forward….
Such a smile.
…How could a person possibly be like that?

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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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