Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 287

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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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Supplementary Story 1. Good morning, sunshine(1)

—The morning sun has riiiisen! Get up! Wake uuuup!₍₍◞( •௰• )◟₎₎
“Five more minutes……”
—You said that already! You’ll miss the sunrise! You came all the way to the end of the Empire just to see the sunrise and sunset!⊙_ʘ
“Five more minutes……”
I mumbled without opening my eyes. I’d never been one to sleep much before. Even now, this sturdy body of mine could go without sleep for a day or two and feel fine, yet the moment I thought the urgent matters were settled, relief made me drowsy. I had no desire to get up.
My body felt so warm and comfortable, as if submerged in tepid water, that the sharp voice in my head seemed easy to ignore. When I shook my head weakly to chase it away, I heard laughter near my ear.
“Then, shall we sleep like this today?”
……Laughter near my ear, you say. Wait a moment?
In an instant, my mind snapped awake as if doused with cold water. I felt my heart leap in alarm, and the laughter at my ear grew deeper still.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a man’s forearm—the one I’d been using as a pillow. I froze completely.
A soft bed. A down-filled pillow sat beside me, and I could feel the warmth of the man’s body who lay there, cradling me as if I were something precious.
As if soothing a child too frightened to turn her head, the man tilted his head against the nape of my neck and whispered.
“Hmm? Which would you prefer, Titania? I’m satisfied like this.”
“Y-y-y-you’re awake!”
The moment I felt that touch graze my ear, I flailed like a fish caught in a net and sat up, and the figure of the man who’d been lounging lazily in bed came into full view.
His eyes were half-lidded, as if satisfied or amused.
Black hair tousled from sleep. Golden eyes gleaming with their familiar subtle light. Well-sculpted chest and arm muscles on display……
……Wait. Muscles?
I blinked.
“W-why isn’t your shirt on?”
“It’s uncomfortable when I sleep.”
Raymond answered as casually as ever, while my voice came out like a broken tin doll.
“You can sleep just fine even wearing armor!”
“I wanted to feel your warmth, Titania.”
“That’s—there are two beds! You were supposed to sleep in the next room! And now this!”
As my voice rose instinctively, Raymond spoke soothingly.
“Ah, there’s no need to treat me like a scoundrel. Your time came, and you wouldn’t wake up, so I came to rouse you.”
“……”
—That’s why I told you to get up earlier! I did! I was worried something like this would happen! And you yourself asked me to wake you early yesterday!
“But you kept saying five more minutes while trembling from the cold.”
“……”
“So I warmed you up.”
Raymond smiled as he spoke, saying he was delighted that I was comfortable in his embrace. The dawn light filtering faintly through the window illuminated his sculpted torso and smiling face in soft shadows.
The sight of him slowly closing and opening his eyes while looking at me seemed like something from a painting.
—That’s some incredible maneuvering!٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
‘……It is, isn’t it.’
The problem is exactly that. I had no idea how to respond. If I pushed him away seriously, I felt like he’d actually go, but I didn’t—no, I genuinely wasn’t even opposed to it. If I said what relationship are we, well, we have a legal marriage, so we’re a married couple. So……
‘……Damn it. His maneuvering is actually working……’
I felt heat creeping into my cheeks. As his fingertips gently brushed my burning face, he gazed at me with satisfaction, saying I was warm now, and I felt his eyes on mine.
I wasn’t just warm—I was on fire! I nearly screamed inside. I felt like prey caught in a snare.
Whenever I showed hesitation, he’d pull back gracefully. Whenever our eyes met, he’d smile as if delighted. Because every time I held him in my gaze before him, he seemed to radiate joy, and without realizing it, I grew weak.
Back at the Castrain Estate, watching Bibi and Lisianthus play their games, I’d thought, ‘The Castrain Family is strong….’
But no.
The master of manipulation is Raymond.
I swallowed the words I’d been about to say.
“……P-please go get dressed and prepare.”
“Yes. I’ll have breakfast ready. Eggs soft-boiled, bacon crisp. Fresh orange juice would suit you, wouldn’t it?”
“……Yes.”
“I’ve baked one of each type of bread, so eat whichever you prefer.”
“……”
How did things come to this, I wondered, watching the man leave through the door carrying the aroma of toasted bread.
At first, I certainly didn’t think it would develop this far……

* * *

“I’m going to die.”
“Yeah, looks like it……”
“Want to be emperor?”
“No.”
“You saved the world, and I get to be emperor? Doesn’t that seem a bit unfair?”
“My poor brother, you’ve truly gone mad.”
“Then you become the Crown Princess instead. And take this mad burden off my hands. I’ll just play the figurehead emperor.”
“Who are you? I have no family.”
“Ughhhgh……”
Adrian, hollow-eyed, let out a groan and collapsed onto the desk. I clicked my tongue as I watched him.
It was a sight that would seem undignified to onlookers, but right now only the two of us occupied this space. I reached out gently and patted Adrian’s head with sympathy.
The Coronation Ceremony, the reconstruction of the collapsed Imperial Palace, the rebuilding of the Empire, and the diplomatic and political games with neighboring countries trying to capitalize on the situation.
Adrian’s eyes, which had gone nearly a month without proper sleep from handling all of this, burned with madness and despair.
“When the war ends, those guilty wretches go on living and everyone says thank goodness, you absolute maniacs! I can’t miss the seat beside me at the Coronation, they said! They threw every blood relative at me regardless of age, just as long as they could wear a dress! I made threats saying I’d kill anyone who dared present a young girl, so what do they do—they find out I prefer older women and divorce their wives to bring them instead! Ahhh! Aaaahhh!”
“Oh dear……”
Being emperor truly seemed to be exhausting work. An empty seat beside a young, capable, and handsome emperor was bait no one could resist.
Because of the various misdeeds perpetrated in high society by Cleo and her followers, the imperial court was practically in collapse. Besides, with all the buildings destroyed and still under reconstruction, there was neither the energy nor the venue to conduct any social functions.
Apart from all that, once all the crimes were exposed and Adrian held his Coronation Ceremony, the nobles began to observe cautiously.
“Those wretches think because they’re trash, I must be trash too! I just want to be a tyrant and kill them all!”
Most of those who explicitly sided with Cleo were already dead. Those who hedged their bets, quietly withdrew, or hadn’t committed defining crimes remained in a state of suspension.
The Empire’s situation was so dire that executing all of them immediately would create a catastrophic labor shortage. Those bringing forth their own wealth while groveling were placed under observation for now, with long-term plans for them to face their dues slowly.
Naturally, in the process, the nobles seemed desperate to seize the seat beside Adrian, all while gauging the winds and plotting for the future.
As I sat there, seeming unperturbed while casually enjoying someone else’s misfortune, Adrian frowned and spoke.
“You think you’re different?”
“……Excuse me?”
Adrian rummaged through a drawer and, before I could tilt my head, tossed a thick bundle of papers in front of me.
“Know what all these are? Marriage proposals. Proposals that came for you.”
“But I’m a married woman!”
“Who’s going to believe that the iconic Crown Princess who died publicly, then miraculously revived from the Imperial Palace during the war to fight our enemies—who’s going to believe she’s married to that Raymond fellow who dissolved his engagement with such fanfare? There was no proper wedding ceremony. And we can’t officially announce that you merely affixed your seal to documents during wartime for practical reasons.”
“Besides, I wouldn’t mind if people still thought of me as dead……”
“Do you think the people are fools? You know as well as I do that we can’t hide everything. But we can’t let them keep thinking you and that wretch died together.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I do! Everyone else does too! …Anyway. So, the nobles who realized you’re alive and well and on good terms with me and the Empress Dowager are now poking at you like you’re a consolation prize. You’re the Empire’s prime matrimonial prospect right now, absolutely prime. And the thing is, we can’t just ignore these proposals!”
“What? But you’re the emperor and the Castrain Family would be watching intently—why couldn’t you ignore them?”
I mean, there’s an aristocratic custom that if you don’t hold a proper wedding ceremony with invited guests, a marriage isn’t properly registered. Right now proposals can come to me, but if the Castrain Family gave the slightest signal, everyone would shut their mouths.
As I voiced this confusion with wide eyes, Adrian clicked his tongue.
“Remember that fat king from Grove Kingdom who lusted after you? He died by his own son’s hand. And that prince, having killed his father and taken the throne, apparently desperately wants to forge a National Marriage Alliance with us. Since our country’s situation is dire and the Imperial Palace is in this state, he keeps pushing, saying it doesn’t matter—he simply wants to deepen ties with a fellow newly crowned ruler, and he’ll even bring a carriage and sleep in it if necessary!”
“Wow……”
My mouth fell open.

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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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