Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 69

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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 69

-Oh, should I calculate exactly how much time has passed?(￣▽￣)ノ
‘No, never mind. Stay quiet.’
Cold sweat trickled down the nape of my neck from the tension. Honestly, what I was doing now was utterly shameless.
How long ago was it? I received the Card from Lisianthus as the price of our deal, and fell into a coma after meeting Bibi before a week had even passed.
When I finally came to, I was in the Empress’s Palace, and I’d had to control who saw me out of concern for the Empress and Emperor’s foolish scheming.
On top of that, I was under the protection of the Castrain Family, which made it difficult for anyone at Hecate’s Tavern to approach me carelessly.
The situation of a (potential) customer who had seemed so peaceful had become the talk of the town, and no one with any sense would approach without good reason.
But!
It was they who said they’d find me within a week, and it was they who broke the conditions of our deal. I need to use this as leverage to squeeze out a bit more.
Even after I’d made up my mind, my petty conscience pricked me. Conscience, stay quiet for a moment.
I’m a curmudgeon right now! My soul is an old grump activating Boss Mode Activation!
“I mean, if the customer can’t leave the Imperial Palace and is stuck like some caged bird, naturally you’d look for an opening? Right? You’d arrange a secret meeting. Force the customer to seek out this distant branch instead!”
The mouth of the veiled woman twitched slightly. The attendant watching beside her looked utterly astounded.
“Look at this! Look at this! This is a commission voucher from Hecate’s Tavern, and—look!—it’s a VIP Commission! I tried to make a VIP Commission at the main branch from the capital, and it still hasn’t been resolved!”
I pointed my finger around the room accusingly. Debi’s eyes widened as she watched me act like a drunk causing trouble.
“I’m supposedly royalty, and—what?—what? Do you think I’m easy to push around because I’m young? If I hadn’t come all this way, you would’ve pocketed the advance payment and kept your mouth shut! That’s just eating and running! Is that how you do business?”
“…So the customer who was trapped like a caged bird in the Imperial Palace came all the way here… to commission us?”
I ignored the bewilderment in my counterpart’s voice and answered shamelessly.
“Ahem. That’s right!”
Trying to suppress someone at Hecate’s Tavern by throwing around rank would be foolish. Hecate’s Tavern was a place even high nobles didn’t dare to mess with lightly.
So really, no matter how many vouchers I had, loudly demanding things here would be stupid. The voucher allows one VIP Commission, but….
‘The limits were clearly defined.’
Being a place where information was bought and sold, the main purpose of commissions was literally to find or verify something.
Originally, I had intended to just gather a bit of information and be done with it.
But who could have known a bomb would suddenly go off at what should have been a peaceful Dedication Ceremony?
The woman muttered in disbelief.
“The little customer asked us so earnestly to make a field visit… I wondered what was going on….”
‘Little customer?’
I felt my ears perk up. Little customer… that could only be….
‘…Don’t tell me it’s Bibi?’
I swallowed hard. Did—did our Bibi already have her fingers in Hecate’s Tavern?
“So what commission are you trying to make, throwing a fit this grandly? Let’s hear it, Your Highness.”
“Um, um, umm.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly. Then I unfastened the Emoticon Sword hanging at my waist. As I unwound the cloth wrapped around the blade, the dazzling steel and hilt were revealed.
-Huh? Master?( ˈ ∘ ˈ )? Why are you showing my pure and beautiful and noble form to a stranger?
“This district is incredibly abundant, and, yes, the market is quite prosperous too. With so many things being bought and sold, there’s no one person who could keep track of it all, right?”
“You come to place a commission and then test the ability of the commission house?”
Her veil covered most of her face, showing only her jawline, but the woman who was clearly beautiful spoke in an apparently displeased tone. Yet she didn’t actually sound displeased.
If I were in her position and some brainless, ignorant princess with no real power came in and spouted nonsense….
I’d want to poke around and figure out what she really wanted.
Brief as the exchange was, one thing was certain.
Hecate’s Tavern had the ability to know all transactions happening in this city in real time.
Even if they were black market trades.
“My commission is… this. I need information about customers who would buy this sword without anyone knowing, without caring about any price.”
The woman’s eyes changed. That was when the sword began to vibrate in protest.
Whine, whine-whine, whine-whine-whine! Whine-whine-whine-whine!
-M-m-master! Me! The sword made only for you! You’re trying to sell me off to someone else again! Why! Why-y-y-y-y-y! 〣( ºΔº )〣?!?!?
‘No no no, it’s bait to catch the enemy! I’m not really selling you!’
-Sob, so-o-obbing, so-o-obbing! 。：゜(；´∩｀；)゜：。You’re lying! How could you abandon me, who am as cute as a winter rabbit and as cheerful as summer sunlight?! You keep saying I’m useless, and then you forgot about me last time! You let me pass through the hands of strange women and strange men! And now you want to sell me off completely! Woe is me-e-e-e!
The panicked sword went into a fit. The woman watching this scene narrowed her eyes.
“Seems the sword wasn’t consulted about this plan. More importantly, isn’t that supposedly the magnificent sword that saved the Imperial Palace from crisis? You’re going to sell it off?”
“I said I needed information about customers willing to buy it, didn’t I?”
My voice was rather shameless. Even I could hear it.
Even if Hecate’s Tavern was as capable as they claimed, there’s no way they’d have advance customer information about people willing to buy something as conspicuous and unique as the Emoticon Sword ‘secretly’ without it actually being listed in the Black Market.
Right, unless the actual item was really put up for Black Market Trading.
The information Cortez had whispered to me was useful.
‘That Black Market information I learned about, Hecate’s Tavern must be keeping tabs on it. Though they haven’t taken any commissions from our family.’
Hecate’s Tavern was an Information Network, but they chose their clients and commissions carefully. It was a basic self-preservation policy. Since most of their regular clients were wealthy merchants or nobles, they’d been careful not to incur their grudges as a group.
If they got caught up in a feud between enemies and those enemies said, ‘That organization gave our information to our rivals and that’s why we’re in this mess!’ they’d face unfair backlash.
So what I was doing now was, in essence, demanding something unreasonable and forcing it anyway.
“What did you discuss with Cortez that makes you act so foolishly here? Your Highness?”
“Hecate’s Tavern is a renowned Information Network. But have you never thought about it? Even if they control all the information, what good is mere survival by refusing commissions from targets who seem dangerous? What if someone decided to swallow Hecate’s Tavern whole? It wouldn’t matter at all, would it? Someone would definitely see the Castrain Family also using Hecate’s Tavern effectively. So who knows how much backing they have behind them. They might even be secretly running an assassination organization. If you spread rumors like this and then attack? It would be an immediate threat. That’s why I turned down Cortez’s commission. Among those whose commissions were rejected, wouldn’t there be people who see Hecate’s Tavern as an eyesore? Can such a passive defense strategy really keep you alive indefinitely?”
“…What?”
A stunned voice came back at me. Everything went quiet.
“Someone would inevitably see the Castrain Family using Hecate’s Tavern effectively too. So I can’t imagine how much backing you really have. You might be secretly running an assassination organization. If rumors spread like that and someone attacks? It would become dangerous right away. That’s exactly why I rejected Cortez’s commission. And among those whose commissions got rejected, wouldn’t there definitely be people who see Hecate’s Tavern as a thorn in their side? How long do you think you can survive with such a passive defensive strategy?”
In the original work, Hecate’s Tavern suddenly became the protagonist’s enemy at some point.
Overnight, the evaluation of a dignified, secretive Information Network had flipped entirely on its head.
They accepted every low-grade commission they’d normally ignored.
Information that seemed likely to disrupt the market and bring chaos to the nation, they released without restraint.
When civil war broke out and prices skyrocketed and people suffered, in the midst of that chaos, they took a commission from a merchant organization to help them sell food at tens of times markup.
If a proper king took the throne after the war ended, there was no way he’d forgive Hecate’s Tavern or the merchants who’d had a hand in such things. He’d make examples of them with executions.
Knowing that, yet they still transformed this way…….
It must mean they didn’t change willingly.
Perhaps the entire organization fell into the hands of enemies. Or the leadership changed.
“If you think that being secretly allied with the Castrain Family means you don’t have to worry about most people, that’s a mistake.”
I smiled softly and whispered to myself.
‘Does it shine now?’
-Sniff, sniff-sniff, M-master, I’m a sword that would only follow master’s commands no matter what… would only… follow…. I’m such a pure and devoted sword, you understand that…. right?! This is too much, really?!(┳◇┳) Sob-sob, since I’m disconnected from Gloriana’s Curtain, I probably won’t shine very brightly….
‘It’s fine as long as it shines! In this world, presentation is everything. Right? Yeah?’
The sword gleamed brilliantly.
When it had shone while sweeping away Magic Beasts in the Imperial Palace, it had been like the sun itself, but now it was only a firefly’s glow. Still, in the dark space, it was bright enough. I put on a confident smile.
“The real problem is when they’re not just ‘most people,’ isn’t it?”

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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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