Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 53

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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 53

“Your Majesty, I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“When a Guard Knight serves the imperial family, does one simply need to be a noble? What if they’re the heir to a noble house, or hold important positions in a knight order they command? Wouldn’t that create a conflict?”
Guard Knights were rarely appointed purely for protection. Most of the time, the purpose was political.
“Normally, that’s true, but it’s rare for them to stand watch all twenty-four hours. Besides, the Palace itself has guards and knight orders that rotate their own shifts. There’s virtually no restriction, really. Why do you ask?”
“…I had a bad feeling about it, so I thought I’d ask.”
And that bad feeling soon became reality.
Not long after, I watched someone stride toward me with complete confidence, and my face twisted.
“Hey! I asked Father, and I’m going to be your Guard Knight!”
“…”
Merciful heavens.
I stared at the man waving his perfectly healthy hand at me in bewilderment.
His cotton trousers were creased and caked with dirt as if he’d just come from somewhere doing gods-knew-what. His loose white shirt had three buttons undone, leaving his collarbone and chest bare, and he wore a vest that wasn’t buttoned at all—merely draped over his shoulders.
It was hardly the attire of someone entering the Imperial Palace. It was even less the appearance of someone fit to serve as a Guard Knight.
Even a mercenary wouldn’t show up to a noble protection contract dressed like this.
Interpreting my rigid expression somehow, the man winked and grinned.
“Ha! Were you worried I’d gone all the way south? Don’t you worry now!”
“…”
I wanted to tell him that the real problem wasn’t the distant south—it was him, standing right here.
“And here’s the maid to look after you!”
“It is an honor to serve you, Your Highness. I am Debi, and I shall attend to you from now on.”
I stared with clouded eyes at the maid greeting me cheerfully and at Lisianthus, shoulders squared and flashing a brilliant smile.
Barbara, the maid who had served me during my stay at the Empress’s Palace, had just arrived with a new basket of refreshments when she witnessed this absurd scene and froze in place.
“…Who exactly is my Guard Knight?”
“Me! Father was planning to send some weak thing like William, so I volunteered instead.”
His sparkling eyes made him look like an excited dog begging for praise.
Ah. In so many ways, he really was like a dog. I took a deep breath.
“…Prince Lisianthus, don’t you belong to one of the knight orders operated within the Castrain Ducal House?”
“Huh? Oh! Both of them are technically under Father’s command, but I actually serve as the captain of one of them!”
Lisianthus rubbed beneath his nose with an enormously proud expression, as if embarrassed by the compliment.
I’m not complimenting you, you lunatic.
“…And yet, as a knight order captain, you want to serve as someone’s Guard Knight?”
“Oh, the important stuff is handled by my vice-captain, Ref! A guy like me just loves causing trouble anyway, so it’s better if I disappear where no one can see me and give them one less headache!”
“I clearly wanted to find someone who could handle my safety twenty-four hours a day. Someone I could… use appropriately. That kind of person.”
“Aren’t you always talking back to me and ordering me around anyway?”
Lisianthus tilted his head as if wondering what the problem was.
“Have you lost your mind?! Do you have a single thought in that head of yours?!”
Seeing that expression, I finally lost control and let out a strangled cry.
“Seriously, are you insane?! The second prince of the Castrain house, no less! Someone who actually serves as captain of a knight order within your own family’s operations! Who do you think you’re going to guard?! Huh?!”
“What’s the problem?”
“I wanted someone I could comfortably order around, not someone I have to read the mood of just to ask for a glass of water!”
“I can fetch water whenever you want, though?”
I grabbed the back of my neck as my blood pressure spiked.
I had no confidence I could win this argument.
The maid named Debi, who had come with Lisianthus and greeted me, opened her mouth with bright, shining eyes.
“I can fetch water whenever you need it, Your Highness! You don’t have to bother the Second Young Master!”
Barbara, who had been watching this infuriating situation unfold, set down the plate of scones she’d brought, poured cold water from a pitcher beside her, and handed it to me. I downed the glass in one gulp.
Seeing this, Debi jabbed Lisianthus in the ribs repeatedly. It made a very audible thudding sound.
At first glance, she was just a cute maid with distinctive orange eyes and short brown hair, but every time she moved her fingers, she made that raw, unfiltered sound. Was she someone who’d actually wielded a sword?
“Oh, it seems the Second Young Master simply lacked tact! Her Highness was indeed parched, you see!”
“Really?”
Did he burn out his brain cells along with wielding fire?
It seemed the Castrain Ducal House had cheated me.
Duke, please send a different person. If you have a complaint about me, tell me directly.
“…Barbara, would you be my personal maid?”
“My goal was to exist at the Empress’s Palace as if neither present nor absent, like water diluted in water…”
Barbara trailed off as she watched the two idiots arguing in front of her about who had the right to fetch water first when a perfectly full pitcher sat right there—with both the Guard Knight and the maid nearby.
Right. I’d never intended to bring anyone with me for this long, difficult journey in the first place.
“…If Her Majesty would provide generous travel expenses, then I would consider it.”
“I’ll add more on top of what she gives you.”
I made my appeal with sincere desperation.

* * *

“Did you volunteer, or were you ordered to come?”
When the princess called her into the room alone and asked this, Debi found it somewhat unexpected.
“Her Highness asked potential candidates if they were suited to serve at her side. So I accepted!”
“Why?”
“You’re offering quite a lot of money. And I really, truly love beautiful things. Serving Miss Bibi is nice, but there are just so many other candidates competing for that position!”
“I see.”
The Princess Titania she’d only heard of was indeed beautiful.
Her skin, still somewhat pallid, looked as if her eyes were fixed in place, and her flickering green eyes, her hair like silken threads—a picture straight out of a fairy tale.
But if that were all, she would have thought nothing more of it.
“Can you handle poison, medicine, or a blade?”
“I can handle all three to a basic degree or higher, but what I handle best is medicine. I can even counter most poisons. However, with a blade, I cannot fight against three knights or more simultaneously.”
“If I commanded you to kill someone, could you do it?”
Her voice was remarkably calm. Debi answered.
“Yes.”
“Even if the target was an innocent child?”
“Yes.”
“…But you’d report it to the Castrain Ducal House and wait for their judgment afterward, correct?”
“Yes.”
Debi was the blade, the poison, and the medicine that the Castrain Ducal House had officially sent to Princess Titania.
Debi understood her position better than anyone.
Debi would execute whatever order the princess gave, without hesitation. Even if it meant sacrificing an innocent child.
Only that she would report everything, without fail, to the Castrain Ducal House.
How the Castrain Ducal House would judge all these actions, whether they would judge the princess, whether they would recall Debi, leave her as is, or use her to eliminate the princess—this was unknown.
This was also a test the Castrain Ducal House was giving to the princess.
Lisianthus had volunteered to be her Guard Knight, but there was no way he could actually stand watch at the princess’s side for all twenty-four hours. He would likely remain at her side only until the Dedication Ceremony ended.
The princess had drawn far too much attention from many people with this incident at the Palace.
Whether because of the Castrain house or the princess herself, no one knew what might happen during this Dedication Ceremony. So they hadn’t dissuaded Lisianthus’s insistence.
Did the princess suspect this? The girl who had been childishly angry at Lisianthus just moments ago and nearly at her wit’s end now had eyes that were frighteningly composed.
“Were you given orders to eliminate me if the situation called for it?”
“No.”
Debi smiled faintly.
“Because you are Miss Bibi’s benefactor, Your Highness. That makes you important.”
“But what if all of it was a misunderstanding? What if I wasn’t trying to save Bibi but to kill her, and everyone simply misunderstood?”
“I cannot judge that fact myself.”
“I see.”
Ironically, Debi saw in the princess the shapes of both the Duke of Castrain and Miss Bibi.
‘People do not change easily, but if a person is capable of changing themselves, then nothing about them can be judged in fragments.’
The Duke of Castrain had told her to watch carefully this princess who shook his children.
‘One cannot place the hand of the Castrain Ducal House into hands that do not understand the weight of what they hold.’
It was a fair statement.
In other words, if Princess Titania truly, fully would not use the Castrain Ducal House’s power recklessly or only for herself… could it then be placed in her hands?
‘Titania won’t trust me.’
Their dear youngest mistress had said something slightly perplexing to Debi.
Debi had expected Bibi to ask her to take good care of Titania. Indeed, when Princess Titania had been lying in the Palace, how much had Bibi complained.
‘So just… watch over her for me, Debi. Without prejudice.’
The Duke of Castrain had also told her to watch the other person carefully. Weren’t those the same words? Debi felt slightly confused.

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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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