Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 73

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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 73

If it were the Kronen he knew, the man would have orchestrated this more carefully.
Yet Kronen was unquestionably the master of this Temple. If he wished it, there was little he couldn’t do.
The princess had brought only a handful of servants, and Lisianthus—her only real guard—was nowhere near. When such an opportunity presented itself, there was nothing strange about seizing it on impulse. The timing was too perfect to pass up.
‘Still, he should have given me some warning….’
Should he seek out the princess? Or let it be?
Gregory deliberated seriously.
If the princess died, he would face punishment anyway. The Empress would protect his life—he wouldn’t be executed—but he’d suffer for a year or two. Once Brian became Emperor, though, he’d rise swiftly. That part didn’t concern him.
Standing vigil at the princess’s side was acceptable either way.
But he couldn’t fathom how Kronen had executed his plan. What if Gregory simply found the princess and pretended to guard her, and the whole scheme collapsed?
‘…Well, if worse comes to worst, I can always kill her myself.’
So he decided to find the princess. Ready to end her life with his own hands if necessary.
He hadn’t originally intended to separate the princess’s guards this way, but reconsidering now, it seemed foolish to waste such an opportunity.
‘Your Highness, Your Highness, where are you?’
But something was odd. According to the reports he’d received that morning, the princess should have been submerged in the Purification Water.
Yet the area was utterly quiet. As if no one were there at all.
Even in an emergency, it would be improper for a man to enter the princess’s private bathing chamber—for that was what the Purification Water truly was—uninvited.
But the Empress would be delighted. And with the building on fire, even if he were spotted, it would be easy enough to make excuses. With that in mind, Gregory reached for the door handle.
In that same instant, a voice whispered in his ear.
‘Wow, does the princess have nothing but garbage around her?’
Then his throat was seized.
Choke! Gag! His vision went black. His mind went white. Gregory lost consciousness.
…And when he opened his eyes, he was lying in the middle of the fire, covered in soot and ash.
Priests were sprinkling water on him, rousing him. They sympathized, saying he must have fainted from inhaling too much smoke.
The moment he regained his senses, without fully grasping the situation, he’d instinctively rushed toward where the princess and the gathered crowd were, and had echoed Kronen’s words.
So naturally, when interrogated about where he’d been at the most critical moment, he had nothing to say.
That someone had ambushed and knocked him out? That story was worthless. Trembling, Gregory made his claim.
“The moment I detected the fire, I searched diligently for Your Highness, but the thick smoke left me gasping for breath until I collapsed!”
He couldn’t shoulder all the blame. Gregory was desperate.
If the princess had died, he would have meekly accepted his guilt.
But she hadn’t died! The princess had emerged from those flames without a scratch.
Wait—
Gregory sensed something wrong.
How had the princess come through unscathed? Had this been her orchestration?
But how? The Temple wasn’t Kronen’s backyard, after all!
Caught in confusion, Gregory came under assault from Flux.
“The personal guard who has consistently stood by the princess’s side is Captain Lisianthus, isn’t it? And wasn’t it Captain Gregory who forcibly sent Lisianthus away with the guard detail?”
Gregory swallowed hard. At this point, he had to deflect toward Lisianthus. He had to insist that ‘all’ the guards bore responsibility, so the princess—indebted to the Castrain family—would back down for Lisianthus’s sake.
“…I’ve said it several times now! We spotted suspicious traces of Magic Beasts and a flock of flying creatures, so I sent a detachment to handle them! Besides, I am the chief officer of the princess’s guard detail. I received my orders directly from His Majesty himself, so if you intend to interrogate me here…!”
“Interrogate you? What then?”
The voice was icy and sharp.
Everyone present froze, seized by a sudden pressure.
Even Titania, who had withdrawn from the center of attention and was covering her face with her hands, pretending to weep while watching them tear each other apart, felt the same chill.
Flux, who had been focused on savaging Gregory, took an involuntary step back.
The day was warm, but a bitter winter wind seemed to have blown in.
More precisely, a winter night sky had opened before them. Beneath hair like a merciless night sky burned a gaze like a meteor. No one had anticipated this person’s arrival.
“Do you expect the Emperor himself to come and pronounce judgment upon you?”
Thud, thud. Thud….
It was less like a man moving and more like a beast stalking.
A hand clad in Black leather gloves seized Gregory’s jaw and lifted it. With one hand alone, the bulky knight was hoisted into the air.
Fingers hooked like claws squeezed the vulnerable throat, trembling as if eager to end the man’s life then and there. His face flushed crimson, then turned blue, before the grip released him onto the ground.
No one dared to check on the figure crumpled like refuse.
No one dared to ask why he was here. Only Lisianthus, whimpering like a chained dog and hovering beside Titania, bore a complicated expression.
Raymond Oberon El Castrain.
The furious beast of a man extended his hand toward the princess, who sat crumpled on the ground, filthy and huddled.
The contrast between Titania and Raymond was striking.
Raymond, armed as if about to hunt—ready to tear into his prey.
Titania, who had deliberately chosen plain, ragged clothes to earn the townspeople’s sympathy, determined to dirty herself with dust, ash, and smoke.
Like a knight and a scullery maid from a fairy tale. Though Titania was far too beautiful to truly pass for a maid.
So the princess almost reached for his hand without thinking, then caught sight of her own—filthy with dust and ash—and withdrew it.
Yet Raymond stood motionless, as if he hadn’t even noticed her refusal. Like a statue frozen in that exact posture.
As if to say: if you won’t take my hand, I won’t move. Refusal is not an option.
That was what he seemed to be silently insisting.
When her trembling fingers finally touched the gloved palm with careful hesitation, the beast whose patience had run out seized its prey as a hawk snatches a chick—Raymond pulled Titania against him and wrapped her in his embrace.
A soft gasp escaped the startled princess’s lips.
“Ah—ah?!”
“From this moment on, I shall protect you.”
“N-now, this is….”
“Your appearance is disheveled. You wouldn’t want others to see you like this.”
…….
Titania and Raymond’s eyes met. Each glance sent sparks dancing between them.

* * *

Honestly, she’d thought she was dreaming. A person who shouldn’t be here had appeared.
She’d been giggling as events unfolded according to her expectations, masking her expression, when suddenly she’d frozen solid. Only when she saw the hand offered to her did reason return.
It was only a hand. Not the first time.
Still, she needed to maintain the facade of a ‘convincing engagement’ in front of others. Hadn’t they agreed to call it off later?
And yet….
She glanced down at her own hand as they touched.
Her hands were pale and slender, unused to rough work, but today they were particularly filthy. Dirt caked beneath her nails, reeking of smoke. The only mercy was that no blood had dried on them—otherwise, even fine cloth would have to be discarded. By contrast, Raymond’s gloves gleamed. Noble, lustrous. The disparity was painfully evident, so without thinking, she pulled her hand back.
The moment she did, their eyes met.
‘Why are you looking at me like that? What gives you the right?’
His eyes were desperate.
Eyes that would never give up.
Eyes that only the ‘Titania’ of long ago would have shown….
Raymond didn’t look away from her for a moment.
In front of everyone, if Titania rejected his hand, his dignity would be compromised. He’d be embarrassed. Yet he seemed indifferent to such things—her breath caught at the strangeness of it.
Without knowing why, with the sole intention of breaking this unbearable moment, her fingertips trembled forward to touch him.
It was barely a contact.
But as if he’d been waiting for exactly that, Raymond seized the moment swiftly and decisively—like a hawk snatching a chick—and lifted Titania into his arms.
“You wouldn’t want others to see you like this.”
Suddenly her throat tightened.

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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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