Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 48

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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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Episode 48

“Do not lay a hand on Her Highness Titania.”
……
“I have, as yet, formed no opinion regarding His Highness Brian.”
“B-Brian is, right now….”
“I am not attempting to convince Her Majesty the Empress. Castrain has no need for such things.”
Thud, thud. Raymond approached and ground the remains of the Magic Beast beneath his heel. Crunch, crunch. Dark matter and beast blood smeared across the floor.
“So I can only offer a warning.”
He spoke as though stating the most obvious truth.
“…Is it merely for such a flimsy reason—a fiancée, a benefactor of the House?”
The Empress struggled to maintain her composure. No, it was not merely that.
The Castrain Family was far too considerable a force to relinquish over a single Titania.
“You pretended to have no interest in the Succession Dispute, showed no concern all this time. I confess I find it difficult to understand why you should act thus now. Is this the will of the Castrain Ducal House?”
“I have already made clear there is no need for you to understand. I am simply pronouncing sentence.”
The man, who had spent more days among the corpses of Magic Beasts than in restful sleep his entire life, spoke with utter calm.
“Do not touch her. You will surely come to regret it.”
……
Today’s affair was, by any measure, the Empress’s defeat.
The one who had struck her so elegantly was none other than Titania herself!
Yet here came Raymond, rushing in to warn him: do not touch Titania, or he would not overlook retaliation born of today’s grievance.
It was maddening.
Had the Castrain Family not always been known for their lofty aloofness, their reluctance to stir?
Even if they had now sold their souls to this adopted daughter they’d only recently taken in, the rumor had circulated that they cared far more for Magic Beasts than for people.
A family that, even during the social season, rarely entered the Imperial Palace save at the Emperor’s express command…!
“A benefactor of the House… the pretext of a fiancée… If you desire some other reason, I confess I have no answer. But.”
Raymond Castrain delivered his warning with an expressionless face, driving the point home like a wedge.
“When Her Majesty comes to see with her own eyes the truth of this matter, she will regret it.”
His voice was as flat and matter-of-fact as one listing the trail of quarry to be slaughtered.

* * *

“Are you all right?”
I was still deliberating how to proceed from this moment forward, how best to conclude matters, when the Emperor and Empress departed.
Someone came rushing over urgently and suddenly seized my shoulder.
I flinched, fearing I might stab them with the Emoticon Sword, but they paid no mind and shook my shoulder vigorously. I found myself staring at the trembling crimson eyes before me with a vaguely odd sensation.
“Hey, you—you! Why did you have to cause such a disaster while I was away?! And in a single day, no less?!”
“There are still people present here, Lord Lisianthus.”
“That hardly matters now!”
Lisianthus, whose face I hadn’t seen in what felt like ages, thumped his own chest as though his insides were burning. I glanced furtively around at the situation.
The Magic Beasts that had infiltrated the Imperial Palace were almost entirely eliminated at the moment the Emperor ordered Raymond to investigate them, and nearly everyone maintaining this post bore the influence of the Castrain Family.
Still, even so, to display such an attitude—how could one know where gossip might leak? Ah, wait. I see. He was upset because it seemed I had made a show of myself using the Castrain Family name. Then again, Raymond’s own manner had been rather strange.
I’d stated to him, quite boldly, that I would break the engagement, cause no trouble, and that he should find the woman he loved and marry her. But still, something stuck with me.
The Ducal House had managed to maintain its footing through all the mire and chaos between the Imperial factions. It was true—I had pulled them in under the pretense of debt.
“It’s a big deal because we settled the debt!”
So what of it!
I decided to be bold about it.
As long as the result was good. The Castrain Family probably didn’t want to remain in this vague state indefinitely, endlessly being asked what else they owed. The current Duke of Castrain himself possessed extraordinarily keen judgment.
Lisianthus regarded my boldness with a look suggesting something had gone awry. His gaze fell upon me like a lit firework, as though wondering what was displeasing him.
“What are you swinging around with those useless sticks you call hands?! Have you lost your mind?!”
“Ah…”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
—Master! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧ Weight adjustment function is currently active. Shall I reduce it further if this is difficult?
This tactless sword, really…
I glanced at Lisianthus cautiously and gently swung the wrist that held the sword. His gaze followed my wrist as it fluttered back and forth with the blade.
…I’ve seen this somewhere before. In my past life, when my friend had a fishing rod and swung it around, their cat would stare at the tip exactly like this.
Of course, Titania’s body was nothing but paper-thin.
She ate little and exercise was something from a foreign land.
Moreover, having died and revived twice recently, even though she’d convalesced at the Empress’s Palace, she still felt painfully wasted compared to healthy people.
For someone who could barely stand upright while holding a sword to suddenly brandish it in a Magic Beast-slaying performance—one could certainly suspect the truth…
“B-besides, you don’t understand Magic Beasts, which is why you’re doing something this reckless!”
As though having reached some decision, Lisianthus yanked the sword from my hands, which had been regarding the blade with a troubled gaze. Caught off guard, I opened my mouth blankly.
“Wh-what?!”
Crackle crackle!
Static and vibration erupted like touching an electric fence. Bzzt, bzzt bzzt bzzt! Holding the protesting sword with some difficulty, Lisianthus spoke to me.
“You killed the Magic Beast with the sword’s power? While shaving years off your own lifespan? Have you sold your wits because everyone keeps calling you crazy?! Do you want to die?”
……
…How could I tell him what I’d said to the Emperor was just a lie?
The sword spirit trembled in his arms like a cat being held by a stranger, furious and indignant. Its violent vibrations were so clearly enraged that I felt genuine dread.
“Y-you’re bleeding?!”
In the chaos of having the sword snatched away, I hadn’t noticed I’d gripped the blade with bare hands. Blood streamed down in crimson rivulets, yet without a single sound of pain, Lisianthus said flatly:
“Spit on it. It’ll heal.”
“Stop this madness and let go of the sword, you lunatic! Don’t you know how to handle a blade?!”
“The real madness is watching a weakling like you use this sword without even knowing what it is!”
“Just let go! I said let go!”
Then it happened. A voice resonated in my mind—the same voice that had spoken before the Emperor about opening Horus’s Power.
[Gloriana’s Veil—direct contact confirmed.
Owner consciousness not authorized.
Contact with third party other than Contractor Titania confirmed.
Summon Nigredo to the Contractor’s side?]
“…What?”
What is that?
[Authorized]
Whoooosh!
Thud.
The next moment, the Emoticon Sword, stained crimson with Lisianthus’s blood, dropped into my arms.
……
……
……
“…What is this?”
Lisianthus’s voice was unexpectedly calm. That terrified me more. Like an angry dog who had been growling and snarling, now suddenly fell silent, composing itself just before the bite, watching its prey intently.
He gazed at his palm, still streaming with blood, with those calm crimson eyes fixed on the sword now resting peacefully in my arms.
I could only roll my eyes around nervously, seized by an uncanny pressure.
—C-Contractor! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧ That fierce and violent brute—that ruffian—dare lay hands on me?! Waaaahhh! ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽!! Oh, the world is so cruel and unfair!
‘Be quiet for a moment.’
—Contractor… you’re being too harsh…
“What exactly does this sword do? You found it, didn’t you? You’re lying.”
“It’s a fine blade, if not quite up to Flamberge’s Wrath!”
Lisianthus froze. It was as though someone had dashed cold water on the raging inferno of his anger. I smiled broadly.
“…You.”
“Where did you hear that name? I obtained Gloriana’s Veil—well, rather, I’m borrowing it now. And here I am, wielding Fire Power like this! Using such a magnificent blade! Because of that sword, my previous self threw such a tantrum when your fiancée danced the debutante’s first waltz with another woman! Isn’t that perfect?”
“You…”
Lisianthus’s eyes wavered.

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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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