Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 211

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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 211

Whatever interpretation he drew from my trembling shoulders, he spoke in a soothing tone.
“There’s no need to be so shy, my little bird.”
A little bird over 160 centimeters tall? Have you ever seen such a thing?
And what about you—are you a big bird? The moment you take off those shoes stuffed with lifts, you won’t look much taller than me at all.
I had to restrain myself with desperate effort.
Hold it together. Hold it together. This fool is my temporary lover for tonight……. There’s no time.
I stole a glance at the crowded hall. Fewer guests than I’d expected.
Cleo had held night balls at the Imperial Palace many times before, but never as Empress.
Night balls with overnight stays meant assigning rooms to every guest without exception, naturally filling the entire Imperial Palace with bustling excitement and disorder, and creating far too many incidents along the way.
So when the Empress suddenly announced a ball with thunderbolt speed, the nobility had no choice but to flock toward her instead, desperate to read her mood.
That meant everyone here was either a steadfast supporter of Cleo—too confident to care about the Empress’s opinion—or someone living recklessly, indifferent to idle gossip.
My temporary lover for tonight fell into both categories. He was Cleo’s close associate and lived carelessly, yet carried a complex about his bastard birth, desperate to marry a respectable noblewoman from an excellent family.
“Even behind a mask, such beauty cannot be hidden. It’s nothing short of miraculous.”
His name was…. What was it again? I’d been thinking of him as “Trash #1” anyway. I gently pulled my hand away from the man who had been inching closer to my waist. Then I answered in an deliberately delicate voice.
“How playful of you, sir.”
And I drifted toward a corner where fewer eyes could see. The man’s gaze followed me.
More precisely, it followed the fabrics and jewels that looked too expensive for a single night’s wear, the flowers and ornaments heaped upon my (relatively poor) wig.
And the vivid green eyes that could only be seen clearly up close.
I watched desire kindle in the man’s eyes, even as I thought, *surely not, surely not*.
This fool had attached himself to Cleo because of Valentina’s existence.
Being the sole heir meant nothing when he’d have to acknowledge a woman of lowly status—essentially Cleo’s mistress—as his mother-in-law. Respectable noble families refused to marry their daughters to him.
So here, his interests and Cleo’s were beginning to diverge.
Cleo wanted to kill me in some shameful and certain way, but this man was willing to defy her orders if it meant making me his wife.
“Would you like me to bring you a drink?”
“Well…”
I deliberately put distance between us and answered vaguely. That’s when a servant approached and whispered something to him. He turned to me with a pitiful voice.
“Alas, I must step away for a moment. If you take pity on a wretch like me, if you would show even a shred of mercy to this poor man enchanted by your radiance—might you grant me the chance for another meeting? Before the moonlight fades tonight?”
“…Then I shall go to see the evening primrose before the dew falls tonight. Please do not forget.”
“I absolutely will not forget.”
I watched hastily as the man disappeared, and caught the Countess of Sheringam watching the space between us. So the Countess of Sheringam was present.
Right, then I’d better draw up a plan quickly. I already knew most of it anyway.
I avoided the crowd’s gaze and moved to the room assigned to me, just as indicated in my invitation. I unlocked the door with the key enclosed in the invitation, and inside I found Sara waiting for me.
“I thought I’d die from nerves, really.”
“Did you confirm Mary’s departure properly?”
“Yes…”
I’d already left the Rose Palace before today arrived, making an excuse that I would remain by the Empress’s side in preparation for the event. I left Mary behind.
Sara, through Mary, had passed along the news that I was taking Sara to the night ball at a precarious moment. That meant Cleo would have learned of it through Mary and contacted that garbage and the Countess of Sheringam.
The other rooms near mine were completely empty. They were locked, but I was the owner of this house.
I unlocked the adjacent room with a key I’d kept. Then I methodically retrieved items I’d hidden in the space behind the dresser, in the wardrobe, and such places.
Good—everything was there.
“The third floor is empty except for us. But the second and fourth floors are packed. There will be several rooms filled with enemies sent to kill me.”
Just then, a crackle sounded. I took out the vibrating device and fitted it to my ear, pressing the button. It was the eavesdropping device I’d installed beforehand.
In the secret chamber favored by the Countess of Sheringam, I heard her conversation with the garbage.
-Crackle… crackle… So you’re defying the Empress’s orders?
-No, but if this turns out to be Princess Titania—what difference would a princess with her reputation ruined so publicly here make to Prince Brian’s future?
-But even so… the Empress ordered that she be killed no matter what…
-That was just something I said because I didn’t know this woman would fascinate me like this!
I should stop overthinking and live a healthier life…. If I were in his place, the moment a spectacularly handsome prince suddenly started flirting with me, I’d think, *what’s this bastard up to?* right away.
-Think about it carefully—the Empress would prefer to see that eyesore of a princess humiliated and semi-forced to marry into our family rather than dead! If you really want her dead, we could take her back to our estate and slowly let her waste away.
-…….
-Fine, I’ll give you money, jewels, silk, whatever you want. Will this sum suffice?
-Well…. Hmm, hmm. I can’t directly defy the Empress’s orders, but let’s say…. I simply delivered the order to raid the Princess’s chambers a bit late, since I didn’t know the whereabouts of the two young lovers.
-You’re a lifesaver!
So the attack will be on my room after all.
-…But the assassins the Empress positioned in advance—I can’t control them. They won’t listen to me either. I’m only meant to relay signals, and if by bad luck things go wrong…
-Ha! As a man, you should be willing to take on that much risk!
As the conversation continued to match my expectations, I looked at Sara.
“You remember what we planned for tonight?”
“…Yes.”
“You need to time your exit perfectly too. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, but as of tonight, you’re a dead person. Are you ready for that?”
“Yes.”
Sara nodded, her voice trembling.
Sara had been doing the nerve-wracking work of a double agent for this day. Despite shaking like a leaf, she’d gambled her life to deceive Cleo, and I planned to give her a retirement through tonight’s events. She could never escape Cleo’s gaze while alive, just as I couldn’t. Like me, I would arrange for her to play dead and give her a new identity.
I glanced at my watch.
……In about two hours, after the Countess of Sheringam had cleared everyone from the rear garden, I’d lure that garbage there, draw him to my room, set everything in motion, and escape.
There was really not much time left.

* * *

The hall was filled with such brilliant lights as to illuminate the dark night.
“It’s been a while, Prince Adrian.”
“You’ve grown dazzlingly beautiful in the time we haven’t met, Lady Bibi.”
“Oh my, how can you say such things to someone whose sister is Princess Titania?”
Prince Adrian smiled as usual, looking at Bibi, who was a head shorter than him. Bibi laughed charmingly as she always did, so anyone watching might have called them a rather well-matched pair despite the age difference—if only they hadn’t noticed the needles sewn into every word they exchanged.
“Would you dance with me?”
“…The youngest daughter, cherished above all others by the Castrain Family—and the steadfast elder brothers who follow that youngest daughter everywhere, at all times—what of them?”
“Will you really refuse a request I’m making with such sincerity…?”
Even when Bibi’s rabbit-like blue eyes shone with what seemed like sadness, Adrian was not fooled.
This was no tame pet rabbit nibbling on carrots obediently. This was a monster rabbit grinding its teeth in irritation.
But when Bibi played the part of a shy young girl requesting a dance from a handsome prince, every eye in the room turned slightly toward Adrian.
At that, Adrian, as if he’d planned it all along, casually extended his hand to Bibi.
“Ha. It can’t be good for your health to go without sleep. Why have you come?”
“To see my sister.”
You already know each other’s true nature, is that it? No more pleasantries? Adrian simply laughed at Bibi, who threw such a direct fastball.
Titania treated Bibi as if she were a precious jewel that wouldn’t hurt even placed in her own eye, but the more time passed, the less Adrian understood why.
Isn’t she blatantly fake—yet somehow charming? Is she really? At that young age, acting like some second-rate politician who’d boiled and consumed a dozen cunning eels in a past life?
…Ironically, that was also how Titania assessed Adrian—though it’s always hard to see oneself objectively, and Adrian was no exception to that rule.
“Since the Empress is here and Prince Adrian is here, I naturally thought Princess Titania would be too.”
“Titania is resting with a touch of illness.”
“Is that so?”
Bibi’s eyes sharpened, as if probing Adrian’s words.

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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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