Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 34

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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 34

—Shriek, shriek, shriek!!!!!!
The screams cut through the air again, crystalline and unmistakable.
Crack-crack-crack!
On top of it all, Miriam felt a sensation like lightning streaking across her fingertips, and she shrieked, releasing the blade. The sword, drawn completely from its scabbard, clattered to the floor.
—Contractor! Contractor, for heaven’s sake! A thief, a thief, a thief! A vile, shameless thief! ૮( ᵒ̌▱๋ᵒ̌ )ა!! You’re after me! Me, so beautiful and noble and devoted to my Contractor! You’re going to sell me off, dismantle me, turn me into a lump of worthless metal! That’s what you’re planning! Titania, where are you? Your darling is in danger!!!
Hummmmm, hummmmmm, hummmmmmm…!
If Titania had been present, she would have covered her ears and fled from the unbearable noise.
Miriam was seized by panic. The sensation of someone shrieking in her mind had vanished, but now the blade—which had been pristine moments before—was vibrating violently. Of course, Miriam couldn’t properly hear the sword’s voice.
All she knew was that the moment she’d grasped it, someone screamed in her head and electricity surged through her fingertips. And now the sword was humming like something possessed. That alone was terrifying enough.
As if announcing that someone had dared breach this palace.
As if pronouncing judgment on a thief greedy for what was not theirs.
I… surely… even if… the princess’s chamber door was open. Yet no one had noticed. There were no signs of theft…. This is….
Could this sword have consumed everyone like me? Were the rumors about it true? Am I cursed?
Miriam’s panicked thoughts spiraled in wild directions.
What Miriam had initially imagined and what actually occurred were not so different.
The palace was simply empty because everyone had abandoned the Rose Palace. The guards, whose conduct had always been abysmal, had earned the Emperor’s wrath and been thrown into prison. No replacements had been assigned.
With all the servants of the Rose Palace fleeing, who would remain in this broken, ominous mansion? The Castrain Ducal House itself was implicated in all this, so the palace servants—terrified of both the Empress Cleo and the Castrain family—never dared approach.
And so Miriam, bold and quick-witted but in all the wrong ways, became the first maid to attempt theft in the Rose Palace.
Most recklessly of all, she’d dared lay hands on the princess’s chamber with absolutely no hesitation.
Hummmmm, hummmmmm, hummmmmmm, hummm…!
The sword now thrashed about even more violently, as if furious. Miriam went rigid with terror. The blade, bared in the air, gleamed with an unnervingly pale light.
What if it moves on its own and cuts my throat?!
“P-p-please… Help me! The haunted sword, it’s trying to, trying to…! It’s trying to kill me! Aaaaaah! I’m sorry!”
Panic-stricken Miriam fled the chamber, shrieking and weeping.
This, then, became the catalyst for a rumor that, within a mere three days, had spread to everyone: “There is a cursed sword in the Rose Palace. Princess Titania’s fall was due to that very curse. Now that the palace stands empty, the Demonic Sword prowls for hapless passersby to bewitch and consume! Only by disposing of this blade can Princess Titania awaken!”
…Such was the preposterous tale that took flight.

* * *

The day after I sent Bibi and Raymond away with a “Do stop interfering.” The day when not a single member of the Castrain family entered the palace. The fourth day of me feigning still being asleep.
Adrian arrived early that morning with a look he couldn’t quite put into words.
“Is it true there’s a ghost haunting the Rose Palace?”
I stiffened mid-chew on a soft-boiled egg that had been served with breakfast. The yolk dribbled down my chin.
“…I’m sorry?”
“Yesterday a maid went into the Rose Palace, came out screaming and crying about a haunted sword trying to kill her, and everyone watched as the guards arrested and dragged her away.”
“Dragged her away?”
“Empress Cleo took the maid under her wing and declared this matter serious enough to warrant a formal investigation of the Rose Palace.”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Oh, right. The emoticon sword….
I’d forgotten about it!
But I’d been reluctant to mention the sword’s existence to the Castrain family or ask them to move it, so even if I’d remembered, I would’ve just kept pretending I hadn’t. And now—of all people—Empress Cleo, the very one who’d given me the sword as a gift, was insisting on investigating?
It reeked of a setup. Backwards or forwards, it all stank. I swallowed the fallen egg and spoke.
“…So what?”
“His Majesty formally approved the investigation yesterday, and…”
“…And?”
“He’s publicly vowed to uncover the beast responsible for cursing Princess Titania privately and precipitating this incident within a matter of days, and to execute it.”
“…But you said the investigation only started yesterday? The curse is already being treated as fact?”
“The external wounds from the Magic Beast encounter have already healed under the High Priest’s care, and the Castrain Ducal House’s adopted daughter, who was attacked alongside you, doesn’t have a scratch on her.”
Adrian dabbed the corner of my mouth with a handkerchief as he spoke.
“But there’s also the earlier incident where Princess Titania fell in the Rose Palace and fell into a coma. And given the succession of misfortunes in the palace, it’s almost certain she’s cursed… perhaps there’s something more to it.”
“This is a complete mess!”
An absolute disaster! I’m going mad!
I laughed hollowly and tore at my hair. Adrian folded the handkerchief and gave me a wry smile as he watched.
Obviously the Empress is orchestrating all this.
I thought I’d landed a blow by having the Rose Palace maids undergo penance and prayer under the priests’ guidance, but instead she’s stabbing me in the back like this?
“So do you have any idea what might be going on?”
“…Well, that sword, you see. It’s actually a sword Her Majesty the Empress Cleo gave me. A Demonic Sword, or perhaps a legendary blade, she said…?”
“Empress Cleo gave you a sword?”
“She asked me to pass it to Raymond and to attend the Dedication Ceremony instead, as compensation.”
“So that’s why you suddenly volunteered to go to the Dedication Ceremony.”
Adrian clicked his tongue as if things were finally making sense. I felt my vision darken.
I’d been staying in the Lilac Palace for quite some time now. At first I’d kept my distance from Adrian, but since I was unwell and figured it would be awkward to be difficult with the head of the household, I’d relaxed my guard and made myself comfortable.
Adrian himself didn’t seem to mind whatever attitude I took—he treated me like a genuine sister, which made things easier.
Honestly, it didn’t matter anymore. Just by staying in the Empress Palace before the Empress’s eyes, I’d already been marked in her mind as “useless, eliminate.” I had no choice but to make him an ally.
So I explained things to Adrian with a careful mixture of truth and fabrication, leaving out only the sword’s ability to speak to me and the nature of our contract.
“I hadn’t given it to him because the sword seemed to have some issues. Then I had the accident and ended up bedridden. The sword was just sitting quietly in my chamber—it didn’t grow legs and walk away on its own, so why suddenly…?”
“You’d be surprised how many servants try to steal from an empty palace. Seems one maid got bold enough to rifle through your room.”
“…Though Natalie still sides with Empress Cleo, so fabricating evidence of a curse might work. But why would the Empress bother pinning a curse on the Rose Palace at this particular moment…?”
Oh.
Adrian’s eyes met mine.
“…The Empress wouldn’t accuse the Castrain Ducal House of being the culprit unless she’d lost her mind, would she?”
“The Castrain family, already at odds with us, could be falsely charged with attempting to murder an unconscious Titania and failing… but that would mean open war, so they’d never do it that way.”
“Then? Could it be… Her Majesty the Empress?”
Adrian spoke thoughtfully.
“The culprit might never be identified. After all, you’re the one who nearly died, and if you deny everything outright, the story falls apart.”
“The Empress will never admit she gave you the sword, will she?”
“Of course not.”
“Even if it came out, she’d just say something like, ‘My? But surely you’ve never even held a Paper Knife properly—you have such delicate hands. What would I give a sword to you for? Now our dear Brian is another matter.’ She’d deny it all.”
“My word, Titania. You really do mimic Empress Cleo’s manner perfectly!”
I grew even more despondent at Adrian’s sincere admiration and drained my orange juice in one go.
“Ah, but that sword… I need to have it. If it ends up with someone else, that’s a problem…”
“Why?”
Because it becomes a Cursed Sword! Genuinely! Someone could die if I’m not careful! I couldn’t bring myself to say this aloud, so I just pressed my lips together.
Adrian shrugged and spoke.
“Anyway, that sword does seem to be unusual. Apparently no one can touch it without getting shocked, so they couldn’t move it. In the end, a Sword Expert-class knight had to be brought in just to handle it.”
The original sword hadn’t had that function, but now that I’ve acknowledged it as mine….
Does it react that way to everyone except me as the Contractor?
Somehow, quite unintentionally, I’d given the sword a rock-solid reputation as a Demonic Sword. The more I heard, the worse my headache became.

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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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