Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 23

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 23

“Yes, please, don’t—sister, just stop the bleeding somehow…. Please, give up on me. I….”
Instead of answering, I held Bibi tight, pulling her close.
“What’s your name?”
“B-Bibi…. Bibi Lutein El Castrain….”
Even in my past life, this child had seen too much suffering. She’d endured terrible hardships. She’d been tortured. But now—now is different.
Though she was soaked in blood and cold sweat, looking a pitiful mess, Bibi’s clothes were light and cool, made of fine fabric.
Her hair, though disheveled now, had been carefully arranged to be both practical and pretty; a cute cat-shaped pin still clung to the strands, catching the light.
Even her shoes—soft blue leather, perfectly fitted to her feet for comfort—spoke of the same care.
I understood.
There were people who wished for our young lady to be happy today too. To walk an easy path, eat delicious food, and see beautiful things.
There were people who cared for Bibi with that kind of devotion.
Unlike me.
“You need to go back to the people who love you, Bibi.”
“…What?”
Bibi’s eyes went wide.

* * *

Word of Bibi’s disappearance spread quickly.
The moment her guards came running with ashen faces, unable to account for her whereabouts, Raymond didn’t hesitate for a second.
He headed straight for the Emperor.
“This will not do! Young Duke Raymond! Regardless of your station….”
“Move aside.”
“I cannot. This is the sacred Imperial Palace!”
The Chief Attendant raised his voice in protest.
“To dare seek a private audience with His Imperial Majesty—such arrogance! When Prince Lisianthus was not even punished for his shameful conduct in the Rose Palace…!”
“The arrogance is yours, Chief Attendant.”
Cold, emotionless killing intent rippled across Raymond’s golden eyes.
“A creature of your standing dares speak against the head of the Castrain Family seeking audience with the Emperor? You presume too much.”
The Chief Attendant trembled and collapsed. With a mere gesture, Raymond shattered the doors open.
The Emperor sat in his throne at the far end of the vast Audience Chamber, his expression thoroughly displeased.
Without waiting for permission or a word, Raymond strode forward with heavy footfalls, stopping exactly two paces before the Emperor.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is the meaning of this, Young Duke Raymond!”
“A valued member of the Castrain Family has gone missing within the Imperial Palace.”
“Even with your freedom to come and go, do you treat this palace as your own courtyard? Just like your father—truly shameless….”
“Had my shameless father been alive.”
Raymond smiled. His previously blank face bloomed with a smile as sharp and cold as a blade of steel.
“Without Your Majesty’s leave, he would have torn this palace apart to find his missing family.”
……
“I regret that my own modest abilities cannot match his, and thus I trouble Your Majesty.”
The moment the Emperor heard that the missing person was someone the Castrain Ducal House held quite dear, he’d tried every tactic to indefinitely delay Raymond’s audience.
He’d wanted to humiliate the Young Duke, who seemed tamer than his father.
Someone precious trapped somewhere in the palace—surely he wouldn’t dare show his claws.
He’d refused to issue a search order, or if forced, planned to secure the person first, keeping them within the palace’s walls for the foreseeable future.
But Raymond ignored his schemes entirely.
“It would reflect poorly on Your Majesty if word spread that his grace does not extend throughout this vast palace—that a single lost guest could not be found.”
“Now, you dare—a mere child—to—!”
“No matter what Your Majesty denies, we are Castrain.”
Raymond’s face bore what seemed like perfect courtesy as he smiled.
“Castrain never loses what belongs to Castrain.”
“…Chief Attendant! Chief Attendant, at once—!”
Leaving the furious Emperor to summon his servant, Raymond stepped out with a cold, rigid expression.
As he was about to order the knights pouring out to search the palace, Raymond’s eyes narrowed at an unexpected figure.
“…Your Highness Adrian?”
Adrian appeared oddly anxious, his composure visibly shaken.
It was no secret to the Castrain Ducal House that Adrian, the second prince, lived in hiding within the palace alongside the Empress Consort.
Adrian, above all, understood the danger of being seen making contact with a visiting member of the Castrain Family.
Yet this prince now spoke with strange, fidgeting agitation.
“Um…. I’ve had a bad feeling about this. …My sister, Princess Titania—I haven’t seen her either. Her servants in the Rose Palace don’t know where she is. Would it be possible for you to search for her as well when you search the palace, Young Duke Raymond?”
Raymond’s face hardened terrifyingly.
Thump-thump, thump-thump. His heart pounded with terrible foreboding.

* * *

This girl is clever.
Clever enough to know Titania’s current situation and circumstances.
My head spun. Strength drained from my entire body, my limbs trembling violently.
Is this what excessive bleeding feels like, then.
I pulled Bibi close again as she resisted, our hands intertwining.
The Magic Beast had stopped its relentless attacks when I refused to release Bibi, but now it watched us from a distance, observing.
Right. I need to convince her, convince her so this good child doesn’t succumb to guilt and slip away from my arms. I’m really fine, I told her.
Because….
Even if I die….
There’s no one in this world who would mourn me.
But Bibi has so many.
“…If I’m really alright, I’d like you to tell Mother she can rest now.”
Because my mother said the same to me in my past life.
When I reported the boss who always cheated his part-time workers, and he refused to pay back what he’d stolen, just shutting down and running away. Mother said it was my fault for losing the job, that everything would have been fine if I’d just kept quiet. When everyone mocked me publicly.
When I felt wronged, angry, and half-wondering if maybe I really was in the wrong. That’s what Mother said.
「My daughter. Our pride. No matter where you are or what you do in this world, your father and I are on your side.」
Holding me tight. That they loved me more than anyone in the world.
「Don’t regret it. Walk the path you believe is right. Even if those less than human try to sway you, even if all that remains of life is despair. You know, don’t you, my daughter….」
So I’m fine.
The Empress Consort Elaine and the Emperor don’t need to love me.
In my past life, there were people who loved me unconditionally, and I was their pride. That’s enough.
I just need to walk the path I believe is right, as I was taught.
I lived happily enough in my past life, but Bibi suffered so much, and now she’s finally about to walk a path of flowers.
And the Castrain Ducal House—they’re idiots who wouldn’t even know what happiness is without Bibi.
That story had a happy ending.
「Still, people must live like people.」
Yes. If my death saves Bibi and saves the world’s future, it’s a good trade.
Titania was supposed to meet such a miserable end anyway.
Maybe suddenly remembering my past life here—maybe that was God’s way of telling me to save Bibi.
“Mother doesn’t actually have a chronic illness. She’s been secretly poisoning herself. She thinks I don’t know, but because of me…. She’s endured all this time in the Imperial Palace. I think she was trying to protect me until I came of age. Out of responsibility, perhaps….”
So I don’t resent the Empress Consort Elaine.
Her life in the palace was nothing but suffering.
She married the Emperor for the sake of a man she loved, but her house killed the man she loved.
The Emperor knew and said nothing.
She had to bear the child of the Emperor she despised and live her whole life trapped in this palace….
She simply endured, protecting me from falling entirely into the hands of the Empress or Empress Consort. Until I came of age.
She watched over me.
That was her final effort. That was her best.
Living a life worse than death in the midst of pain.
Titania was simply unlucky.
Not every parent and child in this world can love each other. Not every child is born into blessing.
That Elaine couldn’t love Titania—that’s not Elaine’s sin.
Even if ‘Titania’ raised within the palace didn’t know it, now that I remember my past life, I understand.
“……So I want to tell Mother she can rest now. That’s all I ask.”
Bibi’s face froze.
“It will be alright.”
My face—pale, ready to collapse at any moment—was reflected in Bibi’s eyes. I was forcing a smile.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————