Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 186

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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 186

From beside me, I heard Pan and Rasper whispering in turn.
“I… I’m not okay with this…”
“I always thought I’d never set foot in a temple my whole life, but now it feels like I should go pray or something.”
“Forgive me, but… I mean, no. Ahem. Even some god wouldn’t grant blessings for that kind of prayer, I think…”
“If a guy like me got heard by a god, I should be grateful. Who’s he to complain?”
If a pious Priest had heard Pan’s grumbling—the kind of voice that would make them swear to send him straight to that great one’s side with one blow—and Rasper’s voice backing him up while almost calling me “master” before catching himself and fumbling with the honorific, I would’ve laughed in spite of myself, letting one ear hear and the other let it pass.
Had the speed been a bit much?
Raymond and I watched Rasper and Pan huddling together, while Raymond himself examined what remained of the Snow Sled (which it used to be). He looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
“In the middle of the night, something hastily thrown together with just a few layers of Magic, and you’re using something you can’t even control properly?”
-That’s right! Honestly, it was really insane, Contractor!
‘But what other choice was there!’
“…Isn’t it fine since the result turned out all right? Ah, no, I’m sorry. I’m reflecting on it.”
“I won’t do anything like this again…”
Raymond’s words, which seemed about to warn me never to do such a thing, trailed off.
If the same situation happened again and there were no other options… wouldn’t I have to do it? But answering like that would be too shameless, so a white lie should be acceptable, right?
While I was rolling my eyes around, something red suddenly rose in the distance. Then, like a large hunting dog crossing the snowy field, it drew closer to us.
“Brother!”
Not like a large hunting dog—they were actual packs of dogs.
Woof! Growl, bark! Several of the dogs that had pulled the sled earlier came running with Lisianthus.
“I’ve finished dealing with the remaining Magic Beasts… Titania? Rasper? Wait, why are you two even here? What’s with that state?! What happened to the Snow Sled?! I begged the carpenter so much to make a few, and Jack gave them to me grudgingly after so much fussing, and they’re all smashed to pieces! And what are those rags?!”
Raymond watched Lisianthus, muttering in confusion about what on earth was happening here, with a face as if he’d figured something out.
And then he looked at me.
…What was with that look, like I was his parent.
While I stood frozen in place, only shifting my gaze back and forth to avoid his eyes, Raymond clenched his teeth hard.
“…It’s your fault.”
“What? Um, why all of a sudden, brother? What’s my fault?”
“It’s your fault for teaching the Princess Titania such insane things! If you hadn’t done something so reckless, would the Princess have thought of riding a Snow Sled in the middle of the night?!”
It was a sight that would have shocked anyone who saw it. That Raymond was shouting at his younger brother, frustrated. Of course, Lisianthus wasn’t entirely appeased either—his mouth dropped open as he stammered, “Yes! I know it’s all my fault!”
“What?! No, I specifically warned you to stay inside the castle because it was dangerous. You came out because you wanted to ride the Snow Sled?! I mean, even so, you could have waited a bit… I could’ve taken you out as much as you wanted once the sun rose…”
And he looked at me, as if watching a thoughtless child who’d snuck out in the middle of the night to play, laughing with a glance.
For a moment, something surged hotly from within me.
…At least I’m better than him!
No, it is something I did, so no matter what, even for a freshly born young life, I shouldn’t run away from what I’ve done…
While I was fidgeting with just the tips of my fingers in that sort of state of mind, I saw people approaching from far away.
Yes, it was time the general situation had been conveyed.
Raymond, whose golden eyes had clouded dully as if looking at unsolvable problems, froze when he saw the approaching crowd.
Lisianthus, who was being briefed on the general situation by Rasper, also froze.
I heard the sound of horses’ hooves clattering.
Of course, the carriage we’d ridden when coming down to Castrain Territory was first-class, and the horses pulling it were obviously extraordinary creatures. Even with the help of auxiliary tools, Magic, and all sorts of potions, it would be impossible to cover such a distance in several days without changing horses.
But these horses approaching now—how should I describe them?
They had a presence as vivid as white horses bearing Death’s own riders. And the people approaching weren’t that many in number. At most, ten?
Like a dark, silent wave surging through the darkness…
The horses stopped. The riders dismounted. All of them were clad in Full Plate Armor covering their entire bodies.
Only one person, standing in the center and looking toward us, had his face exposed. Tensely frozen, Raymond murmured.
“…Father.”
The Iron-Blooded Duke.
Current head of the Castrain Family.
The strongest man in the Empire.
The man I once fearlessly proposed a Contract with… The sound of footsteps crushing snow and earth was clear.
A man who looked more like a giant than a person approached and looked down at me.
A massive man, like a boulder. His eyes looking down at me were sharp. My body froze like a victim laid before a serial killer in a horror film.
If this were an uninformed child, they would have collapsed to the ground in terror just standing before him like this. Crying for their parents, crawling on the ground.
Raymond’s face hardened rigidly. Lisianthus was the same. As if wanting to protest, to ask why he was doing this, to tell him to stop, yet unable to say anything at all. Rasper and Pan could do nothing either.
-…Contractor.
‘It’s all right.’
Raymond didn’t hesitate to put a sword to my throat when we first met after he regained memories of his past life, did he? As a trial, to see my true heart. To gauge my resolve.
Goosebumps rose on my delicate skin and my breath caught. They say the strong bind their opponents with mere presence and instill fear.
Laughter bubbled up.
What should I call him? I’m supposed to break the engagement in the future, but what, a future father-in-law?
Father? Master of the house? Well…
‘It’s too late to be frightened by something like this now, especially when my luck’s been rough lately.’
Chirp.
The small body of a small chick, hidden in the hood, trembled violently. Its not-yet-fledged beak clicked repeatedly against itself.
I blinked.
I’m fine. I’ve steeled myself for anything.
But still, I can’t subject Jemina to the killing intent of such a strong man, not when the thrill-filled, out-of-control Snow Sled experience already felt like a pseudo-amusement-park ride.
I abandon the resolve to endure further. I straighten my back, put tension in my shoulders. I roughly brush off the ice-crusted edges of my clothes and smooth out the wrinkles.
“To the head of the Castrain Family, I offer my belated greetings as a guest.”
My hair, ravaged by snow and wind, is a mess, and the clothes I’m wearing are comfortable and informal, like a hunter’s. The tips of my fingers and ears are frozen blue, and my lips can’t be a good color either. Forget the bearing of a Princess—I look half-frozen to death.
But still… even if I were standing in the most brilliant hall adorned from head to toe in flowers, jewels, and silk, dancing like a butterfly, it would have held no value for that man.
“I’m grateful for the honor of being invited to this distant place, and as a member of the Imperial Family, I shall faithfully assist in the Dedication Ceremony…”
The Duke of the Castrain Family standing like a boulder, with his knights standing guard behind him.
“…and return having enjoyed the Castrain Family’s hospitality. To the extent I’m able.”
It was perhaps somewhat irreverent language to speak before a man whom even the Emperor dare not address in diminished terms, for the knight standing closest beside the Duke let out a low growl of disapproval.
The Duke raised one hand lightly to stop him. And he stepped closer to me, who was smiling like a blade.
Thud, thud.
“Is there some aspect of our Family’s hospitality that displeases you, young Princess?”
“It seems the one displeased is you, my lord.”
“And why is that?”
“To receive a greeting from outside amid snow and ice—if this is how the Castrain Family treats its guests, I must go back to the Capital and boast of it to my great-aunt. I’ve received an honor not everyone gets, after all.”
“So now you’re saying it’s a fault that I accommodated your preference for open air without the draft of a room?”
Raymond had also looked at me earlier with an expression like “What are you doing here?”—but the Duke of Orto seemed to see through everything without explanation: why I was here, what I’d come out to do, who I’d brought and why. His expression was sharp and piercing.
I never expected that Bibi and Raymond and Lisianthus being favorably disposed to me would mean that even the great Castrain Duke would be favorable to me.
Rather, it would be more natural for him to suspect: “Who exactly is this person that my children have suddenly become like that?”
They died and came back as different people—a common story. I’ve survived this far on that story. But with a person like that, even a common lie might be worse than saying nothing.
A thin, high-pitched sound emerged.
Yes, yes. It’s all right.
“You should value me, my lord.”
“Should I?”
“The precious Northern Barrier, which you’ve protected with blood and corpses and death and screams and every ounce of your sight until now.”
A sharp gaze that seemed to dissect my opponent.
I laughed like a witch with her lips cut by a blade, rouge of flowing blood smeared on them.
“If I came with a foolish, dull, and malicious heart to destroy the Barrier and took my own life, what would you do?”
I heard everyone draw in a sharp breath.

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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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