Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 78

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 78

And yet, here was one of the Temple’s highest-ranking officials—the High Priest himself—saying it aloud.
To me, still caught in shock and confusion, Illian spoke in that same measured tone.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in the divine. The divine certainly exists in this world and protects humanity. But the power to heal people—I believe it was given to us not because we’re ‘chosen’ through special devotion, but so we might serve others with that gift. Whether we’re cutting down Magic Beasts or healing wounds, the principle is the same. It’s all meant to protect one another.”
Illian chuckled warmly.
“So priests within the Temple who covet power and mistake themselves for the chosen ones—I can’t bring myself to see them as colleagues. How could I call someone a true servant of the divine if they wield the power to save lives like a weapon?”
“I… I see.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
The Temple had planned to arrest me anyway. To accidentally gain this information this way—was that luck? Or something else? My mind had become hopelessly tangled.
“Well, I’ve said a lot. In any case, that’s why I don’t think Cronen takes the Dedication Ceremony all that seriously. There’s been no trouble so far, so I expect there won’t be any going forward.”
I’d heard similar words countless times before. This much should be fine, that much should be fine, people would say, breaking established protocols—only to watch disaster strike without fail.
Facing the wreckage, they’d regret it: I should never have done that.
It was always the case that those who made the mistake and those who had to bear its consequences were different people. All the more so when power struggles over a nation’s fate were at stake.
No, when the Barrier falls, we all die together. The Castrain Family thinks they’re safe because they’ve been killing Magic Beasts so well, but the land you live on! The nation! The very houses!—all will crumble! I’d wanted to shout it so badly that my lips itched many a day. But the same Castrain Family that drew my father’s—the Emperor’s—ire made it impossible for me to speak.
“The Castrain Family has been far too sturdy a breakwater. Since the splashes they’ve deflected are so trivial and shallow, others underestimate the weight of the waves they hold back. They may not understand the weight of the Dedication Ceremony. Though that doesn’t excuse it.”
“Still, we can’t just watch others throw stones at the breakwater.”
“Ha, Your Highness has quite deep intentions.”
“I simply want to repay those who touched me first. Since the matter involving Flux was ultimately a source of harm to me through the Temple.”
“Is that so?”
Illian looked at me as though I’d done something remarkable, his smile warm. That smile—the Empress had worn something similar the other day, with that same peculiar expression.
“So then.”
I took a measured breath.
“A single priest in charge of the southern Temple—one who’s sunk into this notion of chosen-ness and whom you don’t even consider a true colleague—if he’s destroyed by the consequences of what I’ve done, that’s acceptable to you, yes?”
“Of course!”
“You’ll help me?”
“Ha, my bonus will triple! Finally, I can buy some proper meat for my children.”
…….
A notification chimed as though announcing: “You have acquired a capable party member (with some capitalist sensibilities).”

* * *

Bibi’s face, reflected in the circular screen hanging in the air, looked oddly complicated.
Raymond, who would normally manage something close to a smile even with Bibi, wore an equally ambiguous expression today.

“…Bibi.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand.”
Bibi puffed out her cheeks. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with something like a pout.

“That’s not possible. It’s far too dangerous.”
The Temple had become a complete wreck.
Conducting the Dedication Ceremony on its appointed date was nearly impossible. Cronen, his face flushed and darkening in turns, had tried desperately to set the Temple in order, but there were limits.
Most critically, the warehouse where supplies had been stored had burned, and the very chamber housing the most important Sacred Artifact was damaged—repairs were essential.
Naturally, imposing schedules on the Princess regarding Purification Water baths and other preparations was out of the question.
The Princess’s fiancé had personally escorted her away—she who had nearly died when her room and bathing chamber were consumed by fire—and how could anyone fault him for it?
Even public sentiment wasn’t as favorable as it might have been.
Of course, most people suspected there was a true culprit behind it all. Someone had dared to set fire to the Temple, stolen the Princess’s famous sword, and sabotaged the entire Dedication Ceremony—whoever it was, they deserved to be apprehended by any means necessary.
Yet regardless of whether there was a mastermind, everyone felt that Priest Cronen and Commander Gregory bore responsibility as well.
Cronen had managed everything while appearing relaxed, outwardly rejecting indulgence—but the flaws in such image-crafting always showed most clearly in how one treated others.
Since Princess Titania’s past reputation was so poor, people suspected that the rigid Priest Cronen had deliberately kept her confined in the Temple to suppress her, isolating the people around her who might have spoken against him. That was the whispered theory.
When a charming fiancé personally rescued his imperiled bride—a situation almost romantic in its sweep—rumors became impossible to contain.
When even Count Cortez, Flux, who had kept to himself until recently, began defending Titania and criticizing the Temple, suspicion hardened into certainty: “Even if she is royalty, what on earth did they do to her?”
Cronen, for his part, wasn’t foolish enough to simply accept the blow. The culprit, it seemed, had targeted not merely the Temple but the ‘sword’ capable of slaying Magic Beasts—and thus might be aiming at the entire region. He spread this more credible narrative as widely as possible.
But here lay the problem: that famous Young Duke of the Castrain Family was present in the city.
Citizens thought, “Well, if that Raymond is around, surely nothing catastrophic will happen.” Cronen felt his carefully maintained composure beginning to fray.
As for Gregory, he’d worked himself into a fury demanding a duel with the arrogant Lisianthus in his absence, only to be calmed by subordinates.
And Titania, safe at the Castrain Family Villa, would surely be fine—so Gregory used catching the culprit as an excuse to remain in the Temple district and assist with reconstruction.
To all appearances, they harbored hidden agendas, but Raymond had no intention of stopping them. Titania was bent on dealing with them herself.
Bibi spoke in an unusually quiet voice for a girl her age.

…….
Raymond’s eyes darkened.
The Castrain Family had always had many enemies. But beyond those who merely coveted their power, strength, or wealth, there existed a different breed—something genuinely unsettling.
There were suspicious individuals specifically targeting Castrain bloodline members. Those willing to engage in human trafficking, forbidden throughout the empire. What was more, watching them pursue blood while evading Castrain detection revealed considerable intelligence networks and backing.
And judging by the methods used against Count Cortez—Flux—and the clean execution afterward, they appeared to be of a similar kind to the Castrain Family’s other nemeses.
Originally, they’d sought to capture whoever had supplied the Empress with those items. But even that trail had ended too abruptly.
What could their purpose possibly be?
A desire to usurp the Castrain Family’s position? The greatest danger lay in not knowing the enemy’s true nature.
Duke Orto had once been the strongest man in this empire, but he grew weaker with each passing day—a burden borne by every head of the Castrain Family throughout its history.
“In other words, if things go wrong, Her Highness the Princess could end up in genuine danger.”
Raymond’s voice dropped low.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————