Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 247

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

Chapter 247

When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me.
I’m beginning to think I shouldn’t have to see that sentence again.
I blinked slowly, then tested my fingertips and toes. My body was intact.
My vision was dark. Only after blinking several times did the dimly lit space around me come into focus.
—So this time, we intend to end everything, at last.
“…….”
A hazy image flickered through my mind. Speaking words like some ultimate villain, yet those eyes were clouded as if on the verge of tears……. I knew it wasn’t the time for such thoughts, yet I couldn’t seem to utter anything else.
Dwelling on that final scene etched in my memory, I found myself awash in conflicting emotions when the sword pressed me forward.
—You’ve been kidnapped, Contractor! ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ノ
‘That’s obvious to anyone with eyes and ears.’
—Ugh, and Jemina isn’t here either! ヾ(´ﾟДﾟ｀;)ゝ
‘That’s actually a big problem.’
With a grunt, I pushed myself up. The bed I’d been lying on was quite simple in design. No injuries anywhere…….
Only my skin tingled strangely. Like someone with a pollen allergy would instinctively sense danger standing before a window while pollen drifts carelessly on the wind.
“Ahem, hem.”
I cleared my throat cautiously. There was no sign of anyone nearby.
Bit-na, I called out silently in my mind, grasping the sword beside me. A soft light filled the space. My eyes widened.
“…Where exactly is this?”
It was truly a place I’d never seen before.
Underground, perhaps? Inside a cave? As if the space had been carved entirely from stone, everything my eyes touched was rock. Clear crystals dotted the walls here and there. When I walked slowly across the floor, the sound echoed unnaturally loud. Thankfully—or unfortunately—the Bracelet that Rasper had pressed into my hand at the very end remained intact…….
In the distance, I heard the faint drip, drip of water droplets falling. I felt like the sole victim wandering lost in a maze within some horror game. Yet I couldn’t remain here trembling and waiting.
Maintaining the faint light, I walked to the end of the empty corridor, where a new passageway opened.
A single door stood on each side of the corridor.
I hesitated, then pushed at the nearest door. It swung open silently—whoosh—without resistance. I nearly stumbled in shock.
As I barely steadied myself, a rich, fresh scent of grass hit me—as if it had been crushed and trampled.
More precisely, a green smell utterly incongruous with this cold space.
The room was filled with blooming flowers.
More accurately, countless varieties of plants—whose species I couldn’t identify—were in full bloom. Faint, formless orbs of light drifted in the air, and among them, between thick tree trunks powerful as old giants…….
“Oh my. To disturb Prim’s sleep like that.”
A beauty like Snow White from a fairy tale was caressing one of the great tree trunks tenderly, and she rebuked me gently at the sight of me.
Hair black as coal. Innocent green eyes. Lips crimson red. Pale skin to match.
This stunningly beautiful woman, her appearance far too surreal for this place, gently stroked a woman who lay with eyes closed, bound as if trapped within the tree trunk. That gesture alone seemed familiar.
Before, when I’d gone south for the Dedication Ceremony. That maid-dressed girl who’d suddenly attacked us at the auction…….
She now appeared a complete adult, no longer a girl—bound within the tree trunk like a powered-down machine, eyes shut, which sent a chill down my spine.
I swallowed hard and spoke.
“……Who are you?”
“You shouldn’t wander about without the master’s permission, you know. Well, since you’re awake, why not choose a room you like?”
“…I suddenly lost consciousness, and when I came to, I found myself stranded in this isolated place. I apologize sincerely for not offering you the courtesy you deserve as the master. But who are you, and why am I here?”
“I was hoping for more, but you just give stock responses. How tedious…….”
The lovely woman clapped her hands lightly, and the vines covering the walls blazed with light within the blue ball-like fruits hanging from them. Were they some sort of giant glowing blueberries……?
“This is our home.”
Flower petals scattered and vines swayed gently. Grapes, plums, cherries—fruits whose sweetness hung in the air—hung heavy and ripe at the branch tips. I even spotted several fruits I’d come to favor during my time in the Southern Region.
To the eye, it was merely a somewhat peculiar greenhouse scene from a fairy tale.
But only for a moment.
At first, I’d simply gazed at the dark green plants without particular thought, but it wasn’t long before I noticed something wrong.
Some of the sweet-scented fruits had begun to rot and decay on the ground. That much was tolerable.
But then there were the corpses of insects that had eaten the fruit, and the corpses of birds that had eaten those insects, and a large flower that had consumed the bird…….
—…Be careful, Contractor. ( ･﹏･)
‘I know.’
Were these all Magic Beasts? Or not? Life-force and death-force alike permeated the air, making it thick and murky. At first I’d thought it was merely the green smell, but I was wrong. It wasn’t mere plant scent…….
“Would you prefer a clearer explanation……? I’m very interested in you, after all.”
“…….”
“I am Lilium. Proud gardener of Chernobog’s divine bloodline. Does that suffice as an explanation? My beloved Prim has even said her farewells to you a few times.”
“Farewells? Not assassination?”
“My apologies.”
Smooth, slightly cold fingers brushed across my throat. Should I swing my sword? Push her away? No—it was better to grit my teeth and endure this situation.
Lilium. Lilium. Lilium……. Where have I heard that before?
Ah, that’s right. Something surfaced from the murky depths of memory.
War.
Before, that is……. Habiliose and Brian seemed to have joined hands.
And Brian’s betrothed—yes, was it Lilium? The daughter of House Habiliose.
Then why hadn’t I thought to be wary until now?
“If she would die from so little, our ‘Master’ wouldn’t have deemed it worth waiting for this moment.”
“……What moment.”
“The moment to contend for dominion over this land……. But you see, Father and I both petitioned Him. If the specimen is truly sound, wouldn’t it be worth preserving the seed? No matter how infinitely worthless, clumsy, and weak the species may appear in His eyes, with proper cultivation, who knows…….”
The cheerful voice rattled on with content I struggled to comprehend. Yet I listened desperately.
“Humans are weak. Weak, and weak again, and hollow.”
“…….”
“Our Master could make all of us perfect…….”
Lilium stared at me intently.
“But there are always some specimens incapable of understanding that glorious purpose.”
“…….”
“Will you be one of them……?”
“…….”
“…You’re rather quiet, aren’t you?”
How strange, no fun in this, she tilted her head, her lovely appearance betraying no malice, yet I swallowed dryly in desperation.
Wait, so you’re saying that humanity should undergo some kind of selective breeding to become Magic Beasts instead, so everyone becomes stronger and lives forever as some new divine species and everything is solved? Forgive me, but are you insane?
“Raymond made you a condition of the Contract.”
“……What?”
“So our Master promised to protect you safely and completely.”
“I’m the God of Light’s Contractor—what insanity is this?”
“Right, Chort even tried to speak to you, but got quite upset when you rejected him.”
Clear laughter rang out. Who was Chort, anyway?
“But then, you see……. Whether the God of Light’s Contractor makes the Barrier eternal through their own existence as a medium, or pursues some other opportunity……. It’s all so trivial that once our God is complete, everything ends. When the world of Eternal Night comes, we might even allow fireflies to flutter about and brighten the view for a moment. Our Master is merciful enough for that much.”
“……Our God becomes complete?”
“The great Chernobog shall be resurrected upon this land.”
“……And that, that, is now.”
Suddenly the world before my eyes turned black. As I stood there like a bird trapped in a cage, regarded pitifully, Lilium whispered sweetly:
“Yes. At last, the sole bloodline of Castrain willing to cooperate with our cause. He shall descend—incarnate within the body of Raymond Oberon El Castrain.”
“…….”
“Not dispersed power like that fool Beloborg, but the real thing. Complete unification with himself.”
“…….”
“Then whether the Barrier in the Northern Region is maintained or not……. It becomes truly meaningless, doesn’t it? Well, I suppose it’s fine to keep that pathetic Barrier standing, too. The humans who’d enter it are but a handful compared to this vast continent……. But a Contract is a Contract, after all.”
You can never leave this place again, the beauty whispered, delighted as if holding a new plaything.

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