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

The pleas of the people crowded around us sounded like shrill screams.

“Calm down!”

“Please!”

“My Lord, this is the Imperial Palace!”

“Aaah, aaah, get off me, get off me, I’ll tell the Emperor, I’ll tell him to cut the throat of that insolent thing!”

“You wench, you dishonor House Castraine! I will tell the Duke!”

Okay, okay, it was a complete shitstorm.

Lysianthus continued to rant and rave, testifying that this was a fight between two crazy people, who ‘mocked each other’s situation, abilities, and status, and it escalated to catastrophe‘.

It was a bit childish that the conclusion was ‘I’ll tell my parents‘, but then again, kids’ fights often turned into adults’ fights.

Ironically, that’s why this mess today won’t be a big deal.

We were both already at the bottom of our respective reputations. No one would be surprised if we fought like this, damaging the Rose Palace and setting it on fire.

The look on the faces of the servants and maids who were ripping Lysianthus and me apart was one of ‘I knew this day would come‘.

And, well, the palace was still burning. Despite the servants’ best efforts to extinguish the flames, they could only barely manage to keep the flames from spreading outside the Rose Palace.

Both Lysianthus and I were eventually dragged away by the servants and maids, almost half-carried.

Even as we were being held by arms and legs by those who were forcibly separating us, we never forgot to curse each other with all manner of insults until the very end.

No one who saw the mess of the Rose Palace and the way Lysianthus and I behaved could have guessed that we had orchestrated it.

I doubted it would get any bigger.

The Imperial Palace knew of Titania’s intolerance for Lysianthus, and the Duke knew of Lysianthus’s fiery temper.

I could charge the Duke for the cost of restoring the ruined Rose Palace, but the Emperor, who loathed to lose to the Duke, would never allow such a petty endeavor.

If the problem was about her fiancé, Raymon, Titania would probably run to the Emperor and complain of her frustration… 

But for that, she would only be admonished for her prospective brother-in-law’s bad temper.

In short, if this escalated any further, it would be a matter between the Duke’s House and the Imperial Family, but neither Lysianthus’s nor my reputation was high enough to worry about that!

In many ways, I was pleased with how things turned out.

I washed the ashes off my messy self with great diligence, then put on a fresh pair of pajamas, crawled into bed, and slept soundly.

Then I woke up.

” Awoo, ewo, kuk. Ouch. Fire is fire, and the smoke is making my throat burn.”

I stretched, grunting and groaning. My limbs popped and cracked.

My room was a mess. The fire didn’t reach my bedroom because it was far enough from the living room, but it was still a big enough mess that someone didn’t think to stop by and clean it up.

No, the point is not the state of my bedroom.

I looked at the sword lying in the middle of my bedroom like a student looking at a pile of homework on the last day of vacation.

Not only was it in its scabbard, but the scabbard and the handle were wrapped in a fine cloth to prevent it from opening accidentally.

It was a beautiful sword, with a gnarled handle and carvings on the sheat, but…

“…”

In the end, I didn’t mention the sword to Lysianthus yesterday.

I could have just used the excuse that I wanted to see Raymon in person and give it to him as a surprise, but… 

The First Queen knew that Raymon and Titania rarely saw each other.

I’m sure she sent it to me first as a reminder not to bother her when the time came that she would volunteer me for the Consecration.

Now I was getting a headache over the handling of that sword.

A sword like this would stand out wherever it went. I couldn’t even sell it without being noticed. Maybe I should make a replica…

Though I wouldn’t mind if Raymon just pretended he got it.

But it was a bit much to ask when I was already in debt to the Duke for the work on the Rose Palace.

Actually, there was a bigger issue.

The sword was a demonic weapon, but it could be used as a living lie detector if you could call upon Beris’ power.

Who knew, maybe Duke Castraine would be able to squeeze it out of that thing and put it to good use?

“…Ah! There’s already Gloriana’s insignia!”

Yeah, whatever. For now, the weapon contained some power of light. Now that I already had it, I might as well try to use it to my advantage.

So… 

With a sigh, I unwrapped the cloth and gently squeezed the hilt of the sword.

It wasn’t for everyone. I should gauge for myself just how dangerous this gift was!

What if he misunderstood and thought I was giving it to fuck with the Duke!

In the original story, Brian flaunted the sword early on and didn’t even realize what was wrong with it until the very end. And that was despite being a low-level imperial like me, unaware of the power of light, so it shouldn’t be a big deal if I hold it for a moment to test it.

If I felt nothing, I’d leave it there and wrap it back up in the cloth! As if to mock me, as soon as I squeezed the hilt of the sword, I heard a strange voice.

-Welcome, contractor! (=’▼’=)

…What, what is this cheerful, mechanical voice? Was that B*xby? Or S*ri? And more importantly, what is up with that emoticon?!

-This Sword welcomes Б☀□□‘s rightful Contractor!

What was that?!

-My Creator, the great God of Light and Creation, known as Belobog in the human language, created me with the help of Beris to guide the Contractor’s path! 50% of my abilities are locked by default, but they will be unlocked once you complete the ownership ritual of Gloriana’s Insignia! ✧ฺ･｡(▽*)･｡✧

Then, with a bang, tiny sparks of light fluttered around the sword, as if mimicking pollen.

“…”

…What the hell, this is terrifying.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a demonic sword? Where’s the Beris-Paccio I knew?! The sword spoke cheerfully to my frozen form.

-Do you want to perform the ownership ritual right now?

I exclaimed in horror.

I don’t know what it was, but my instincts were screaming at me that I should never say YES here.

“No, I won’t, I’m done, I don’t want to!”

-Without the ritual of ownership, my contractor will only be able to use 25% of my full power! ༼இɷஇ༽ ‘Beris/Paccio’ is simply the form I take whenever anyone uses this sword for more than six months without proper credentials!

“No, why am I your contractor? And what’s with that weird time limit? I could just stop using the sword before then!”

-Because you are already an officially registered contractor of Belobog, you are my eternal master once we’ve made contact! All users other than you will automatically trigger my ‘Beris/Paccio’ form!◝(⁰▿⁰)◜

“…”

Oh… I shouldn’t have done that… I shouldn’t have put so much faith in the original…! I soundlessly screamed.

If even the Princess, who was just a supporting villainous character, suddenly realized her past life, I shouldn’t have ignored the possibility that the sword known as ‘just a demonic sword‘ was actually something else!

-However, ‘Belobog’ has acknowledged the herding tendencies of humans, so he will allow me to share my power with only one person legally married to the contractor, or recognized as a companion or equivalent! ♡~(>᎑<`๑)♡

“…”

What, did you want me to tell Raymon that this sword, which people knew as a master sword, was actually demonic, but if he legally married me, it wouldn’t be a demonic sword anymore, so why not just give it to him as a wedding gift?

How could a mere sword so delicately and casually ruin my future?

It made me sad to think that the Titania of old would have done exactly that.

Queen Cleo…! You’re a tough cookie, I didn’t expect this, and I hate it!

-The end goal for me and my contractor is the sealing and annihilation of Ч✦■■, Б☀□□’s enemy and the creator of all demons, who wishes to destroy this world from the underworld beneath the sealed northern boundary!

“Translation.”

-Contractor, the realm that Belobog protected by bestowing his grace and power upon the humans is in danger! Please use me to protect this world before Chernobog is resurrected! ( ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )

“No. Why would I.”

-Because you’re the contractor!

“No, I never agreed to any contract!”

I didn’t know what the hell was up with belobogs and chernobogs and stuff! Vivi and everyone around her didn’t encounter any of that in the novel!

I pulled at my hair, feeling as confused as when I’d just woken up from my coma.