Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 208

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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 208

“Let go of me, Raymond.”
“……Brian pushed away with his own hands.”
Raymond resembled a sculpture carved from obsidian. His brows were sharp and dark, his nose bridge severe, his lips thin as a tempered blade’s edge. His broad shoulders and taut frame—every line of him exhaled an unmistakable masculine presence.
A self-deprecating smile surfaced, and those knife-edge lips parted slowly. He looked as though he wanted to carve me into pieces and swallow me whole.
“Why won’t you push me away?”
“…….”
“Are you afraid of me?”
Though there had always been a height difference between us, now the man had to lower his head to meet my gaze properly. His dark hair tumbled against my cheek and ear as he bent toward me. Whisper-whisper. The sound of strands brushing skin. If heat could burn, his eyes would have seared me.
“…….”
I nearly said that Brian was the sort who couldn’t be reasoned with at all.
This wasn’t the moment for lengthy explanations. Nor was he the person to give them to. Every time I tried to avert my gaze, Raymond’s followed, relentless.
“…No, it’s not fear, exactly.”
It was profoundly unfamiliar.
Was Raymond the kind of man to behave like this?
“I thought I was clear about where I stood, yet it seems you see things differently.”
“…….”
“This is too intimate a pose for a man and woman who are now strangers, don’t you think, Raymond?”
“…Is it? Since you showed no interest in me, I assumed you no longer saw me as a man at all.”
Raymond’s face was far too close.
I nearly fired back at his mocking tone. Were you really the Raymond I knew?
I’d grown considerably these past years. Taller by far. No trace of girlhood remained. Even the epithet had followed me—the empire’s most beautiful woman, as once it had followed the Second Empress Elaine. Even before the Engagement Dissolution was made official, foolish suitors had circled.
Lisianthus had grown tall and fine, and through Rasper I’d heard that the boy I’d once known had grown into a presentable young man. Naturally I’d assumed Raymond, the empire’s most eligible groom, was equally accomplished. It wasn’t as if I had no memory of Raymond as an adult…….
And yet I was startled. More than a little. He felt like something other than the Raymond I knew—another creature entirely. Once he’d been like a faithful hound, lowering his head and saying “I understand” even if I throttled myself. Now he seemed like a hound whose master has abandoned him for a distant journey, and he simply watches with those eyes—the eyes of one freed from his leash, gazing at the master who let him go.
I had been, to some small degree, careless.
The Castrain Family had come today, but since Raymond himself had avoided me until now, I’d thought he’d do the same today.
Damn it—if I’d only exchanged greetings with Lisianthus and Rasper, then slipped away to Rose Palace, things might have been fine.
Was his pride wounded? Was he angry? Raymond of all people guarded boundaries better than anyone. So why was he……?
“How presumptuous.”
I wrenched my hand free from his grasp.
Raymond released it readily enough. Then I pushed hard against his shoulder, trying to shove his head away—except I couldn’t. He was immovable, like stone.
Raymond merely stared at me, then, very slowly, he himself drew back. The moment his face—so close I could feel his breath—pulled away, I could breathe again.
But I didn’t want to gasp for air in front of him, so I steadied my breathing desperately and turned away to speak.
“……I’m tired. I think I’ll retire. I hope you enjoy good health during your time in the Capital and return safely.”
“That habit of not taking care of yourself remains unchanged.”
“…….”
Did he really intend to lecture me about a mere rose-petal wound? This man, who would leave thorns in his fingertips or iron stakes in his feet and only think “Ah, a wound” after the battle was finished, had the nerve to act as though I’d committed some grave sin. It was absurd.
But there was no point, and no need, to explain—’This trivial wound closes quickly,’ ‘I needed to do it; how often do I get the chance to test my blood on Brian alone?’—to go through all of it.
“Whether I care for myself or not is no longer any concern of yours, Raymond.”
“…….”
“Though the Engagement Dissolution has occurred, I hope you find peace and safety in the days ahead.”
“You once said you hoped I’d live an ordinary, happy life.”
“……That was a careless remark. Forget it.”
My past self shouldn’t have shackled my present. I swallowed hard.
To think that the Castrain family was doomed, that if only circumstances weren’t so extreme, the family might have lived together peacefully and happily in ordinariness—surely anyone could afford such a daydream.
Of course, the Castrain Family was no ordinary family. A situation where defying a simple order—refusing to abandon a dying father—could bring such cruel consequences.
My thoughts, in the end, had simply been meddlesome.
Even with a dog or cat, one should commit to caring for it properly for its whole life before bringing it home. I’d been foolish. Though ignorance might excuse it.
“At least until then, you worried about me in an ordinary way, didn’t you?”
“It’s just something anyone might say to anyone. There’s nothing particularly special about you, Raymond.”
“…….”
“What I said to Brian earlier was merely words traded between us. If I truly needed someone’s life, I’m prepared to take it myself. I have no intention of relying on others or clinging to them like a child if I decide I want someone dead.”
Of course, if I actually brought back Cleo dead, it would be catastrophic. Though soon enough, when war comes, she’ll be an official enemy anyway—killing her or not wouldn’t matter, and I’d have to kill her. But not now. Not at this moment.
“I found you…… bothersome, did I not tell you?”
Raymond’s eyes became utterly hollow. As though someone had reopened a wound that had barely begun to scar, drawing blood again.
“Whatever happens to me, whatever I do. It’s no longer any concern of yours, Raymond.”
“…….”
“We are nothing to each other now.”
I opened the door without waiting for an answer. The sound of it closing rang with terrible finality.

* * *

Rasper broke into cold sweat.
Lisianthus wore an uncomfortable expression.
Their visit to Titania today had a purpose, of course.
The Engagement Dissolution itself was something Titania had requested long ago, and the Castrain Ducal House had agreed to it readily enough—there was no backing out. As a last resort, Bibi had tried coaxing her affectionately, but Titania had blocked her with a smile.
An Engagement Dissolution was hardly a joyous occasion. The banquet had been held at the Imperial Palace, and since Titania, being of the royal blood, was in attendance, Raymond’s non-appearance would hardly have mattered.
Indeed, had the Engagement Dissolution been born of scandal, it would have been proper etiquette for both parties to offer some excuse and abstain, rather than suffer mutual embarrassment.
But Raymond, who hadn’t even caught sight of Titania all this time, had obtained absolution today—as a party to the proceedings, he was permitted to attend the palace with the rest. Yet he could neither request a dance nor address her directly in the banquet hall.
Titania would never have accepted anyway, and he disliked the thought of third parties who understood nothing of her circumstances talking about her behind their hands.
In any case, that was why Rasper had seized the chance to meet Titania, taken his measure of the situation, and tried to arrange an encounter between her and Raymond as well. That had been his aim.
When things took an odd turn, Lisianthus couldn’t help but intrude…….
Rasper and Lisianthus exchanged glances at the sight of Raymond, who looked thoroughly grim.
“…Young Duke, you look like you’d kill anyone who came near you.”
“My brother isn’t the type to kill innocent civilians…… or…… anyway, he won’t easily kill someone without cause.”
“You don’t sound very certain.”
“Look, honestly, on a day like today I’m afraid he’ll break my bones if I step out of line.”
“That’s what happens when you tell jokes like that to Her Highness!”
“It wasn’t entirely a joke, was it?”
Rasper turned to Lisianthus in surprise. The once-childish boy had grown considerably over these few years, burning like a flame when someone had poured fresh oil into the wick—fierce and bright.
He was obsessed with training to catch and slay Magic Beasts, to grow stronger, with a persistence like a lingering grievance. Not quite to the level of Raymond, who seemed bound by some resentment, but still—Lisianthus pursued his practice with an unnatural intensity. Something about melting a castle made of ice with his own flame as a goal, some unrealistic notion he’d picked up. Rasper clicked his tongue, remembering the past.
Lisianthus met Rasper’s gaze with eyes bright as flame.
“If my brother can’t be the one, maybe I could be. Sure, he’s got that oddly fastidious side, so…… I don’t think he’d say it’s simply fine.”
“…….”
“You’re not happy about this, not like your usual reaction.”
Something’s wrong with these brothers, they’re insane……. It’s a different direction from Rasper…… Whether Rasper gave up or not, Lisianthus kept speaking to his silent older brother, scattering sparks of provocation.
“So what are you thinking?”
“…….”
“Is this the end?”
Raymond regarded Lisianthus for a moment, then looked down at his own hands. His hands in black gloves. The trace of wrapping himself from crown to toe, fearful that bare skin might offend her. He stared at those hands, which had just moments ago gripped her small hand as though to bind it—and his gaze was as bleak as corroded metal.

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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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