Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 285

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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 285

In any case, with the family head and heir both dead, and the Lesen Family having openly sided with Imperial Consort Cleo, the house collapsed in spite of its long history.
Not that the Lesen Family was alone in ruin—plenty of rotten noble houses had fallen. Adrian was grinding his teeth at them, and had boldly announced his intention to hire Hecate’s Tavern officially, transforming it from an underground organization into a proper state apparatus.
He remembered every last family that had joined only at the very end, with great reluctance. Whenever that bizarre laughter spilled from him—*hehehehe, I’ll work you to death, hehehehe*—a strangely fresh thought would cross my mind: *So he really did accumulate a lot of grievance.* Along with an iron-clad resolve never, and I mean never, to throw myself into such a hellish affair again.
With two young ladies—Joon and Meribel—taking the lead, the noble girls contributed to establishing shelters, rescuing the weak and elderly, and constructing defensive barriers against Magic Beasts during the crisis. I was a bit surprised to hear it, but it was welcome news.
In truth, I was flabbergasted when I learned that the Empress had actually turned around a maidservant whom Imperial Consort Cleo had sent to kill her, and used the girl to hire other servants instead. Her Majesty the Empress laughed brightly at my stunned expression.
‘I knew you’d make that face.’
‘But Your Majesty, that’s so bold—you can’t even use Swordsmanship.’
‘Perhaps not. But those girls have tremendous ability. Even now, they’re serving admirably.’
‘Is that so?’
‘It’s thanks to you.’
‘How on earth?!’
‘It’s thanks to you.’
Even when I pressed for a reason, she gave no answer—only held my hand tighter and smiled.
In any case, everyone did their very best in the place where they stood.
And so they won a precious victory.
As I was lost in thought, turning over all these recent happenings, a weighty question fell upon me.
“Have you seen that child, Elaine?”
“…….”
I laughed lightly.
I had heard that Imperial Consort Elaine had taken the lead in securing the Emperor, and that she had wished for it to remain a secret from me.
“Yes, I have. Her condition had been improving, but it seems to have gotten worse.”
“……I see.”
Imperial Consort Elaine had wagered her remaining lifespan on that deed.
A body as fragile as porcelain already broken once before.
To use Immortality in such a way, to reach out to the Emperor and hold onto him—
I couldn’t quite decide what she had been thinking. I understood it, yet I didn’t.
When I visited Imperial Consort Elaine after she had regained consciousness from a high fever that had nearly taken her, the first thing I heard was vivid and clear.
‘I do not regret it.’
Her smile was as faint as baby’s breath flowers.
‘This is not something I did because you are my daughter. I was like a caged bird, not knowing where to properly direct my resentment, pecking at the wrong places until my beak bled. I did this because I wanted to—to repay the one who finally set me free.’
‘……I understand.’
‘Now I truly feel as though I can go anywhere I wish, freely.’
A smile that seemed to have shed every lingering attachment.
‘I spent my whole life hating what I called fate, denying it, refusing to believe in it. Yet now, I think I can finally tell my beloved in the next world: you were right about one thing.’
‘…….’
‘There’s no need for that face. Even if my life was merely a means someone used to bring you into being, well… Looking at you, I can say my life was not so worthless after all. That is what I wanted to tell you.’
‘……Yes.’
‘I will find happiness too, so you must do the same. And that, for us, is all that is needed.’
Watching that face and hearing her calm voice, I could only nod repeatedly.
Imperial Consort Elaine would not live long.
Yet her bright face showed as though it mattered not whether her remaining life was a single day or a year—genuinely relieved.
I could feel it.
That my bond with Imperial Consort Elaine was truly ending here.
Not a bitter ending. We wished each other happiness with open hearts, parting without regret—as we had earned the right to do.
“She will need more convalescence. I’ll help as much as I can, but….”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You have no intention of recovering your status?”
“Adrian seems to have been rather insistent about it. That hastily drawn-up Marriage Registration Document—he apparently cannot abide it. Tear it up, he said. No ceremony was held anyway, so consider it a divorce. Since I currently have no status, and officially speaking Princess Titania is dead, let’s destroy that paper before my status is restored.”
That scene was rather amusing.
Adrian realized the means I had used to save Raymond was a hastily drawn Marriage Registration Document, and he grabbed at his own collar. Her Majesty the Empress’s eyes went wide.
‘I can’t let you leave like this! How did I raise you?!’
‘Oh, how did you raise me?’
‘I gave you snacks I didn’t eat myself, worried about what might happen, thinking of ways for us to make a fool of Imperial Consort Cleo together! I always thought of you as my one and only precious younger sister, no matter when or where!’
‘But I can’t tear this up.’
‘Why not?!’
Adrian looked genuinely aggrieved. Ever since becoming a leading candidate for the next Emperor, he’d been maintaining a dignified appearance under the pressure and scrutiny of others—but now he looked ready to throw all dignity and nobility to the wind and sprawl before me in protest. I sighed helplessly and explained.
‘I gave half my heart to save him. The sword was the medium. If we divorce… then if Raymond makes a mistake, or even though Chernobog is already dead, becomes a complete being of darkness, or just turns into an ordinary corpse, or at worst, I die too.’
‘Is that bastard really using his life as an excuse to marry you?’
‘Well, I did stamp my seal on it unwillingly in the first place.’
‘No way! I can’t acknowledge this marriage! Not until I’m six feet under—wait, what are you doing?!’
‘If you’re six feet under, won’t you acknowledge it then?’
‘You shameless brat, what are you doing now?!’
……It was funny how Raymond, who’d been too busy to show his face, somehow had perfect timing to jump into that conversation and throw dirt in Adrian’s eyes, starting a whole fight. Truly. When he was in front of me, he acted like a guilty man, digging a grave—but in front of others, he carried himself so brazenly.
Adrian finally flew into a rage and drew his sword.
‘If you can’t beat me, I can’t give you my sister—wait, is this killing intent?! Are you insane?!’
He didn’t even finish his sentence before he clashed with Raymond. The outcome was predictable, but somehow funnier than expected.
-It’s not funny at all! The Outskirts of Imperial Palace, which we thought we’d finally stabilized, completely collapsed from the aftermath of that fight!(;´・`)>
‘Shoddy construction, I guess.’
-Since we’ve come this far, Mr. Pan and Rasper joined forces to design a blueprints for a final battle weapon for posterity, and you put it up there!ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ
‘Ahahaha, Raymond really has powered up quite a bit, ahahaha.’
-This is not funny, I’m telling you!˛૧(˵¯͒▱¯͒˵)
That was when a knock sounded at the rough wooden board that served as a temporary door rather than a proper one.
“Yes, come in.”
As the door opened, a familiar face appeared. It was a face I hadn’t seen in some time. Valentina blinked a few times slowly, then opened her mouth.
“…It’s good to meet you like this, Sir Raymond.”
“Your Highness the Former Queen. I apologize for the intrusion, but Titania—”
“Yes?”
“I have completed the task you requested. I believe you should verify it.”
Noticing I was about to leave, Valentina clucked her tongue.
“Busy, aren’t you. Always busy.”
“Only for now. I really do need to handle only urgent matters.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern. The Empress, even without my saying it, is deeply grateful to you.”
“……Well, never mind then.”
“Even if it’s an Interim Coronation rather than a proper one, form still matters, so thank you for coming personally.”
In this ruined mess, Adrian would hold a Coronation.
Not a proper one.
Now there was no Imperial Palace inheritance to pass down, no Scepter. Only a Crown.
Just to place a circlet upon that golden head.
The scene would be much like before, but the outcome would be different.
“I’m truly grateful. Please take care of my hopeless brother as well.”
“……Understood.”
“Until next time.”
I left with only a light greeting.
Following Raymond’s signal with my eyes, I ran. With just the slightest push against the ground, my body soared high into the air. It wasn’t long before I reached my destination. A place that looked like mere ruins to outsiders’ eyes. The enemy’s main base. Where Raymond had conducted the Ritual.
“All have been captured and bound.”
There, gagged figures were bound.
“Ugh, ughhh, nngh…….”
Familiar faces.
Lilium, her face twisted with malice. And someone she clung to like her very life—Primrose, who once seemed strong enough to tear apart anyone with her bare hands. Now her limbs were skeletal, her body swaying as if she couldn’t support herself. Her eyes wouldn’t open. She was like a plant that had been uprooted.
And beside her, a plain middle-aged man with a furrowed brow, bearing a slight resemblance to Lilium.
I flicked my hand, removing the gag from Lilium’s mouth. She glared at me with eyes that wanted to tear me apart, yet said nothing for a long while.
“……What do you intend to do with us?”
I looked at Primrose, whom Lilium was clinging to.
Primrose was originally, so I had heard, a child fated to die. Yet Lilium had deliberately chosen her, making her one of her closest subordinates.
Now, with all Magic Beast power vanished from the earth, Primrose had apparently reverted to her original fragile self.
“You owe me a debt. The debt of saving my life.”
“……It was a Contract. So now, will you humiliate us by sparing our lives?”
At the word ‘humiliate,’ I found myself struck by a strange feeling, looking into Lilium’s bitter, poisoned eyes.

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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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