Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 20

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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 20

The Emperor appeared to care not one whit about any future chaos.
‘In any case, I shall bestow the Imperial Throne as a reward upon whichever wretch pleases me most. Until then, let them grovel before me with all their might’—that was his attitude.
The Empress, unlike the Emperor’s First Consort, did not crudely lower herself now in an attempt to curry favor. Nor did she openly compete with Cleo for the Emperor’s affection.
She simply stepped back and observed the unfolding situation. Adrian’s posture was much the same.
He would not throw himself into bloody competition as the Emperor wished, rolling through the mire alongside opponents of inferior standing, begging for the Emperor’s selection.
In a sense, it was merely pride—a deliberate stooping that allowed them to preserve some measure of dignity in this moment.
However arrogant Cleo and Brian appeared now, basking in the Emperor’s favor, it mattered only if they could exploit that weakness in the final, decisive instant.
Victory belonged to the last one standing. That was their fundamental creed.
One had only to observe how Adrian still concealed his considerable intelligence and his swordsmanship—at least superior to Brian’s—to understand this much.
“How does the tea taste?”
So naturally, the sickly Second Consort’s troublesome daughter could never have caught their attention.
Not until now.
“It’s bitter.”
“Really? I had them add plenty of sugar….”
Adrian’s delicate brow furrowed slightly.
“You invited me as a guest, yet your eyes grow sharp as needles with scrutiny. The tea tastes bitter enough that I want to swallow my words.”
……
There was no need to play the fool here, of all places.
Adrian’s face, as exquisitely drawn as a painting, stiffened somewhat.
“Surely you won’t come out now with some foolish thing like, ‘I heard you were ill all this time, and I’m glad to see you’re healthier than expected. I regret the misfortunes you’ve endured. From now on, I’ll be a kind and doting brother’—will you, Your Highness Adrian?”
……
Adrian laughed bitterly—apparently, he hadn’t expected her to be quite so direct.
“I had thought you were merely a child, Titania….”
“To be precise, it was obvious you wouldn’t touch me precisely because I was a pawn in Cleo’s hands. Why court danger needlessly? Am I wrong?”
“…… Your words are really quite sharp, aren’t they?”
Adrian scratched his cheek awkwardly, his expression one of embarrassment—though I saw through it entirely.
The author had described this man as a ‘serpent’ in the original work.
A man who concealed what he possessed until the final moment, who waited for his opponent to lower their guard and make their fatal mistake, and then severed their throat and claimed victory.
“Cleo the First Consort seemed to be in quite a good mood.”
“She would be.”
“I was surprised when you suddenly announced you’d attend the Dedication Ceremony yourself. It hardly seems like an occasion you’d enjoy. …You’re not in any danger, are you? You still don’t have proper guards, and the Second Consort won’t accompany you, will she?”
“Then, Your Highness, are you offering to accompany me?”
“If you ask.”
“Do I really seem foolish enough that you think I’d openly side against Cleo and align myself with you?”
A twisted laugh—heh, heh—leaked out from somewhere inside me.
Titania, you truly have wretched fortune with people.
With that evening meal, the Empress and the Prince had reframed how they saw me.
From a ‘child too foolish to be useful for anything’ to a ‘sharp-witted girl who doesn’t blindly dangle from Cleo’s strings and has the sense to look after her own interests.’
Adrian’s words sounded at first glance like the genuine concern of a caring brother….
But if I took them at face value, I would openly make an enemy of Cleo.
And would the Empress and Adrian truly come to my aid against her?
Never. Not a chance.
I had declared before the Emperor himself that I would go alone, asking only that my presence serve everyone.
If I later grew frightened and dragged Adrian into it, he would have a chance to slip into the Dedication Ceremony—an event his mother had repeatedly barred him from attending.
At the same time, he need take no responsibility: he was merely helping a pitiful younger sister.
And above all, Titania would inherit Cleo’s hatred.
He wouldn’t even truly make me his own or protect me, yet he would stage this transparent charade—all while ‘appearing to worry’?
“I heard that during my brush with death, very few people came to call on me.”
Adrian’s pale green eyes darkened. I dropped a sugar cube into my Milk Tea with a soft clink.
“No one at all, I’m told.”
……Titania.
“Isn’t it too late now to feign the concern of a worrying older brother for a foolish younger sister who goes far away?”
……
Adrian fell silent, having nothing more to say.
“Or should I be grateful, since I’m nothing but a useless youngest princess with nothing to offer and nothing I can do? Especially when the one extending a hand is the son of the Empress herself?”
“…Titania. We are still siblings….”
“Just as you don’t consider Brian a true brother, you never considered me a true sister before.”
Among the Imperial family, at least the Empress and Adrian possessed some sense of shame.
Yet that meager shame had never once been extended to the youngest princess—who was utterly worthless, utterly unremarkable, and utterly willful besides.
It was rational, after all. Cleo was so obviously manipulating things that there was no point in touching me and stirring up unnecessary conflict. I wasn’t worth the trouble.
My prospects of becoming the proper mistress of the Castrain Ducal House were unclear, and my relationship with my fiancé was poor.
The ending was predictable.
It was an irony.
Because no one had extended a hand, Titania had been shattered into this wretched state. Yet the moment she seemed even slightly useful, they rushed to offer their hands.
When Titania had been so starved for affection.
So corrupted that she clung to the stupid fantasy that her fiancé, whom she obviously hated her, actually loved her in truth.
If only they had reached out just a little earlier, things would never have come to this.
“When I was a reckless youngest princess, you paid me no mind. When I faced death, you didn’t care. Now that I seem like a useful piece, have you suddenly grown compassionate?”
“…I’m sorry, Titania.”
Adrian bowed his head. That much surprised me—the willingness to bow without hesitation to his younger sister, who was a year his junior, and apologize.
Titania, who had nearly died, had never received a sincere apology from anyone until now.
“As I said, it’s true that my interest in you only arose after seeing your recent behavior and your demeanor just now. Under the circumstances, calling myself your brother seems rather absurd.”
……
“But even if my situation—and my mother’s situation—isn’t as dire as yours, it’s not so favorable that I can claim we’re doing well either. …It’s merely an excuse from your perspective, I know.”
……
“And, I’m confident that I’m a better choice for you than someone who brazenly intended to exploit you, like Cleo or Brian.”
That much was true.
If Cleo and Brian weren’t the sort of absolute scoundrels they were, I would have had no reason to come this far, drink tea, and have this conversation.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally, after all.
“Judging from the cleverness you displayed today, I don’t think you intend to become my outright enemy either, do you?”
……
I hesitated for a moment.
The problem was that I had few options.
I couldn’t side with Cleo and her deranged son—the ones who wanted to kill me, used me, and gaslit me outright. There were limits to pretending to be foolish and acting differently. And for a princess with no faction, it was difficult to openly stand against the Emperor’s favorite concubine from within the palace.
So I had tried to gain the Castrain Ducal House’s indirect support….
But inhuman monsters versus people who at least understood human decency? The latter was overwhelmingly the only answer.
I swallowed my sigh and spoke.
“…Let’s call it a Temporary Secret Alliance. We help each other within limits that don’t cause serious harm to either side.”
Adrian smiled with confident satisfaction. Sharp-eyed and ghostly in his dealings—truly a formidable opponent.
“I knew it! You’ll never regret this decision, little sister.”
“Don’t feign familiarity, Your Highness.”
“Ah, sorry. I really am sorry. From now on, I’ll be a sincere brother. Really.”
“Don’t push flimsy kinship into a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
Despite my icy words, Adrian grinned shamelessly and began calling over his attendants, asking if I wanted to play a card game or suggesting other diversions, producing one thing after another.
He was like a golden retriever that had found a playmate….
Even if it was a forced choice, I hadn’t made the wrong pick, at least. Or so I sighed to myself in the depths of my heart.

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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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