Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 255

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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 255

Now that the Barrier had deteriorated to its limit, Chernobog had only just succeeded in creating something resembling a hybrid offspring of Magic Beast and human—and his wife was already dead—but if Chernobog came to possess this earth completely, there would be no need to fret over time.
No longer would he need to cower within the bounds of a fixed lifespan, no longer fear the future. He would simply wait for his wife’s eventual resurrection and spend each day savoring the company of his beloved daughter.
That was why Chernobog had originally expected the man to propose changing the Contract terms. Raymond’s own self and soul would be consumed by the god and vanish, leaving only a shell containing Chernobog. Would not the existence of the woman to whom Raymond clung so desperately become utterly meaningless in that state? The human was more tenacious than expected, and the girl was arrogant enough to reject Chernobog’s temptation outright. Yet still.
Now that he thought of it—even Beloborg, for all his power, had rewound the world’s time itself. Could such a thing be accomplished with merely a Contractor’s strength? Had he burned everything in a final desperate gambit before dissolution?
Before Chernobog could reach a conclusion about the doubt that had just crossed his mind, Raymond spoke in a flat, measured voice. Perhaps they had become close enough that they could sense each other’s inner states to some degree.
“There’s no need to come confirm my condition. I’ll carry out what you command without obstruction, and I won’t shrink from what must be done.”
…….
“Are you uncertain? Well. The Contract has already been conducted, and you’re watching the process of my heart transforming into a Demonic Stone. There’s no need to pry into my true feelings. After all, this world would have perished entirely if not for her.”
Enduring a pain like rotting flesh festering while still alive, Raymond laughed.
“Time and again, without a shred of doubt, I’ve continued—truly continued—to save the world.
…….
Wouldn’t it be permissible for me to act on my own whim at least once?”
So Chernobog decided to overlook the very faint doubt he had harbored.
He possessed a great many things, and though his plans had come undone more than once at the hands of his opponent’s stratagems just before success. But this time, even his opponent could not undo the board.

* * *

‘Never go to dangerous places.’
Frederick, now eight years old this year, was a good boy who listened well to his mother’s words. He never went to the places where poor people crowded together, nor to the places where dangerous people conducted their transactions.
‘But this is where His Majesty the Emperor resides, so things will work out somehow. I’m living in the Capital where the Emperor stays, after all. My mother’s cousin said his village can’t handle even a single stray low-rank Magic Beast, so they have to spend a fortune hiring mercenaries.’
So we’re better off. We’re blessed.
Listen to what the adults say—the knights will handle dangerous matters for us. Don’t talk back…….
Frederick had heard those words.
Years ago, there had been talk of Magic Beasts appearing in the Imperial Palace. He’d heard stories of creatures attacking the Southern Region and causing great chaos. But based on what his mother had told him, that’s all he thought it was. Yes, we who live here are fortunate.
“K-k-knight, sir.”
Men in those kinds of clothes are stationed here to protect the Capital.
“Knights, where are you……?”
So call out if danger comes, he’d been told.
The lower classes, worn down by life, understand reality. Respectable knights never involve themselves in the petty squabbles of commoners, and when a lost child approaches them, instead of comforting the child, they often strike them across the face, demanding how they dare presume to bother their betters.
But Frederick’s mother was someone who lived in the Capital where the Emperor dwelt, and she desperately wanted to fulfill her sense of superiority as a citizen receiving the Emperor’s benevolence.
When others said, “Why would the upper classes care about commoners?”, she would retort, “You must have shown them disrespect somehow.”
When people said, “It’s funny how a single mother raising a child defends the upper classes so much,” she would snap back, “In the Northern Region’s far end, people don’t sleep at night from fear of Magic Beast attacks—that’s their daily reality. And here you are, comfortable and full-bellied, complaining about the upper classes! That’s why your lives turn out the way they do!”
Under normal circumstances, when everything flowed according to reason as it should. That way of thinking wouldn’t have been entirely wrong.
The Capital was the Capital, after all, and even if some drunk fool caused a disturbance in the Plaza in broad daylight, the knights would grudgingly come out and haul the offender away. There weren’t only cruel thugs who would mistreat a small child like Frederick.
But now, the Plaza had collapsed.
Jo, Sally, and Maximus, whom he knew, were all weeping and searching for their parents.
Strange monsters had appeared. Then why, not a single knight was to be seen? Frederick was seized by terror. With a Magic Beast before him trying to devour him, he simply shut his eyes tight.
“You all right?”
A shriek, a flutter, a wet thud. A snap.
And then the sensation of something lukewarm soaking him.
Only then did Frederick open his eyes.
A man with kind green eyes and platinum-blonde hair was looking down at him. His appearance was a mess, covered in blood and filth, but his face was quite handsome.
Even in this Capital, such green eyes and vivid platinum hair were uncommon. No—uncommon didn’t begin to describe it…….
“Y-you’re Adrian, Your Highness?!”
“Caught red-handed.”
Frederick blinked. The man hoisted the boy up lightly and tucked him under his arm.
“B-but if I’m connected to treason with a royal prince, I can’t—my mother said—if I report to the Capital Guard…….”
“Ah, yes. Then you could receive a reward or whatever else you wanted. You know how the world works, don’t you, little one?”
“B-but still…….”
“Right, right. There’s no one left to report to. They’ve all run away.”
The man wiped the tears from the confused and weeping boy’s eyes and moved on. The moment the boy opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by men he’d never seen before. Dark, bear-like men were laughing with their gazes fixed on the man holding the small child like a piece of baggage.
“Where’d the boss disappear to? So you’ve picked up a little runt in the meantime, I see.”
“Planning to raise him?”
“A true mercenary worth his salt ought to take in a stray or two who attach themselves to his coat-tails, you know. That’s how you reach that level.”
“This kid clearly has parents. Where’s the nearest refuge from here?”
“Back that way, past Loden. Count Kenneth’s estate. That’s the closest protective Barrier. But we don’t have time for that.”
The man glanced down at the boy lightly. Then he patted those pale cheeks gently, as if to bring him to his senses.
The man’s hands were covered in blood and filth, so the act of wiping the boy’s tears and patting his cheeks only succeeded in smearing those pure white cheeks black with grime. But instead of apologizing, the man simply laughed like the boy had, grinning.
“Little one.”
“Y-yes?”
“Where’s your home?”
“I—that is…….”
The boy wanted to turn toward his house and weep. The entire area where his home had been was now dust. Upon confirming this, the prince gathered himself and pointed toward another direction.
“…Right. See that main road over there, still intact? You know the way?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Keep going straight along that main road and you’ll see a birch tree that’s turned unusually dark. Count Kenneth’s estate is beyond that. Keep going behind that birch, and you’ll find people there who’ll protect you.”
“A-are you really Prince Adrian, Your Highness?”
“Yes. Why? Planning to report me later and claim the reward?”
“My mother cursed Prince Adrian. She called you an ungrateful wretch. She said you had no shame, being born as the Emperor’s son and yet bringing such disgrace to that name…….”
The prince, hearing himself cursed to his face, laughed softly instead—not offended at all.
“Ah well. I’m sorry that word of my ingratitude and unfilial impiety has spread so widely. I’d been worried no one would find out, so I’m grateful for that concern.”
“My lord, now even snot-nosed children know what a scoundrel you are.”
After raising a finger to quiet his chattering companions, the prince tilted his head slightly toward the boy, as if eager to hear the rest of the child’s words. So Frederick swallowed hard, gathered his trembling heart, and spoke.
“B-but, because you saved me, I’ll tell my mother not to curse you anymore.”
“That’s kind of you to say.”
“S-so, my mother too. Don’t hate her.”
…….
“Won’t you save her too?”
Frederick witnessed several emotions and colors swirling and fading in the prince’s eyes—a sight too complex for a child so young to fully comprehend.
That there exist those who wield hammers to shatter the world’s levees meant to protect the young and weak, and beside them stand those who gather stones and apply mud to build the levees higher.
That while the world contains no perfect good or evil, some still choose to act within that gray space, and here stand those who extend their hands asking: shouldn’t we at least prevent innocent children from dying needlessly?
He would only learn this much later.
“My m-mother, during the day she goes out to do sewing work, so she’s not at home. S-so, please…….”
“……Yes.”
Prince Adrian smiled and stroked Frederick’s head.

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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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