Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 85

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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 85

Lisianthus was so enraged that he looked ready to charge at the girl barehanded at any moment. Unless he was a fool—and while he wasn’t foolish enough to launch such a reckless assault alone in this situation, the possibility remained troubling—he might still do something rash.
Lisianthus, at times, could be remarkably impulsive.
The number of Magic Beasts had dwindled considerably. The guests who once filled this space were either dead or had fled. The stage, the building itself—everything lay in ruins, barely recognizable.
While not quite Raymond’s equal, Lisianthus was strong in his own right. Yet this girl—whose head barely reached his shoulder—matched him blow for blow? It was deeply unsettling. There was something about her that didn’t feel human: the strange, alien atmosphere she carried, her manner of speech, and most troublingly, the fact that she followed someone’s commands as though they were her master.
“You are weak and foolish.”
The girl forced her lips into a smile. It was less the genuine mockery of one person toward another, and more like a doll that had learned human emotion from pictures or theater, imitating clumsily—a smile that sent chills down the spine precisely because of its inadequacy.
“Until next time.”
Her black skirt billowed softly through the air like a sphere. The girl spoke her brief farewell and departed faster than anyone present could react. The Magic Beasts, like rats chasing a pied piper, flowed after her in a wave.
The sight of those dark, grotesquely shaped Magic Beasts flooding away in a swarm was genuinely unsettling.
Despite all the destruction, burning, and slaughter they had inflicted, an impossible number of Magic Beasts continued to emerge from nowhere and follow the girl into the distance. Watching this unfold, Debi couldn’t help but click her tongue.
“…What in the world is that thing, really?”
“Damn it, you’re the most knowledgeable among us about this stuff, and if you don’t know, who the hell would?”
Lisianthus spat out those words with frustration, then let out a pained groan.
“Ow, ow… ah… damn it all. It hurts like hell…”
“Wow, you’re covered in blisters. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky it’s not worse…”
Debi examined Lisianthus’s arm and shook her head. Flux looked equally shocked.
“Did you… get those burns from manipulating that flame?”
“Can’t you see? Damn it. I got like this trying to show off. I don’t know what that opponent is, but they’re brutally strong. Like…”
“Like?”
Lisianthus paused, staring at Flux with a troubled expression.
“…She moves like a Magic Beast.”
“What?”
Flux, who had once trembled in fear of succumbing to Demonic Energy and becoming a monster, startled immediately. Lisianthus, clearly as unsettled as anyone, scratched his relatively unmarred left forehead roughly.
“I can’t feel any weight to her movements at all. She moves with complete freedom, wielding a spear the size of a human torso with those thin arms as though it were nothing. A human couldn’t do that! Whether it’s muscle, bone, or whatever—she ignores the structural limits and moves purely through the power of her core. Only Magic Beasts move like that, and some of them can topple entire trees despite being no larger than a rat pellet because of their bizarre strength. Most of them have power proportional to the size of their core, but…”
Lisianthus trailed off, sensing something that troubled him further.
His expression was deeply uncomfortable—as if he’d received news that cockroaches had infested his room after a long absence, yet somehow this was even worse than that.
Unlike Flux, who could only tilt his head in confusion about Magic Beasts, Debi’s face had turned ashen as the implication of Lisianthus’s words sank in.
“…Then, if a Magic Beast that size had a core and reached that level of advancement…?”
“It would be a calamity.”
Lisianthus spoke with a sigh, as though the very thought made him recoil.
“Listen… there’s never been a recorded case of a human body becoming a Magic Beast while retaining Intellect. If such a thing were to happen, it’s obvious it would become humanity’s worst enemy—that’s why we’ve fought so desperately to prevent it all along.”
Lisianthus’s eyes darkened.
“I’d rather she be some unknown genius brute or some sorcerer using forbidden magic. Anything but what I’m thinking. Magic Beasts don’t cooperate with each other, after all. They might temporarily band together when faced with common prey, but even mundane animals can do that…”
His eyes remained dark.
Yes—that’s why they’d been able to slaughter the Magic Beasts lured to the Imperial Palace as bait so easily before.
Magic Beast intelligence was bestial at best. They were all lumped under the term “Magic Beast” by humans, but in reality, they divided into dozens, perhaps hundreds of different species that couldn’t even be properly classified. Whether they could even communicate with each other was questionable. When an unusually powerful individual appeared, weaker ones might follow it, but beyond that… the idea of Magic Beasts banding together against a common enemy, let alone following a specific individual’s command, had been unthinkable until now.
“…But look at what happened today. They all withdrew at her command. That clearly means there’s a method to ‘control’ Magic Beasts.”
Flux’s face went white as a sheet as the full weight of those words hit him.
Lisianthus concluded with obvious reluctance to accept the reality before them.
“Damn it all… I don’t know who she is, but we’ve got ourselves a catastrophically powerful enemy. Right now.”

* * *

Lilac. Windflower. Camellia. Forget-me-not. Lily of the valley. And Primrose.
A Greenhouse bloomed with flowers that had no business being in season.
It wasn’t merely flowers. Low shrubs, evergreens that remained verdant year-round, carnivorous plants—all manner of flora grew freely throughout, each displaying its own fragrance and form.
Anyone with even passing knowledge of horticulture would have found this scene deeply strange. Delicate, finicky flowers that despised both excessive sunlight and deep shade grew alongside hardy cacti that thrived in deserts, all intermingled without regard for their needs.
Yet each time Primrose beheld this sight, her heart swelled with pride.
This space itself was proof that her lady was truly the ‘chosen’ master of this world.
The flowers blooming in this Greenhouse cared nothing for sunlight or moonlight. They paid no mind to water. Regardless of the soil’s nutrients, they flourished fresh and verdant in every season. Always vibrant and healthy.
Humans, by contrast, were fragile and foolish. They died of cold, of heat, of age, of disease. Many had sound bodies but minds that rotted away in sickness. Too weak, too foolish to determine their own purpose in life. They were base creatures that needed to be transplanted into palm-sized pots just to breathe. And Primrose had once been among them—the most contemptible, most foolish thing in the world.
A worthless little thing, hardly worth drawing breath. A life abandoned by all. A vermin incapable of surviving on her own, slowly dying. But her lady had chosen Primrose. She had revived her, breathed life back into her, gave her the name of a flower. She had said that the petal-colored hair and eyes were beautiful. That was when Primrose truly bloomed—entirely for one person alone.
That was when Primrose truly bloomed—entirely for one person alone.
“My lady.”
Warmth suffused Primrose’s voice, which had been so utterly devoid of emotion before.
“Prim!”
Lilium, Primrose’s beloved mistress, laughed like a flower itself. She wore a wide-brimmed Straw Hat against the sun and had braided her long Hair Strands. Her movements as she brushed soil-stained hands clean were tender and familiar.
“How did things go? Did everything go well?”
“Yes.”
Primrose set down the “gift” she had been carrying. The motion was as casual as setting down a pile of bedding.
The “gift” was a Middle-aged Man trussed head to toe with Rope. His limbs bore deep bruises where the cord had cut into his skin from his desperate thrashing. His eyes, bloodshot and frantic, darted about in panic. The Gag stuffed in his mouth allowed spittle to drool down his chin—a pathetic sight indeed. Though, truly, how many kidnapped victims ever maintained any semblance of dignity once bound and dragged to a place like this?
“This is the one you instructed me to bring, my lady.”
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“But he’s obviously vulgar and stupid, just to look at him. Do you truly need to see him in person?”
Primrose made her distaste evident. Unlike her usual demeanor of complete indifference, her concern for her lady showed plainly through.
“I’ve told you a dozen times, Prim—appearance and utility are separate things. I understand your desire to show me only beautiful, lovely things, but…”
Lilium smiled like an angel.

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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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