Gloriana's Insignia
“Bibi! Bibi! She says she’s coming here! Does that make any sense at all?!”
I yelled at Raymon in outrage, like a meddling neighborhood elder reporting a runaway toddler to their parents. I believe in you, eldest brother who can’t live without Bibi! You safety-obsessed control freak! Hurry up and stop her!
I loved Bibi. In stark contrast to the original Titania, who had compared her own lot to Bibi’s, let inferiority gnaw at her from the inside out, and tumbled into ruin, I couldn't help it. Bibi was a child who understood how to love. She cherished the people around her and repaid every kindness in full. A second chance at life didn't automatically transform a person, yet Bibi had dragged herself up from a horrific past, pushed past the physical limitations of a tiny body, and pulled off countless miracles. That was not something just anyone could do.
She even possessed the boundless grace to plead, Don’t kill him, for the very scoundrel who had tried to poison her. Some might call it cheap hypocrisy, but not to me. When you have tasted true despair at the hands of other people's malice, it is terribly difficult to weigh their failings with mercy.
When the memories of my past life first broke through, tears had welled up of their own accord at my miserable lot. Yet beneath the sorrow, a faint sense of relief had taken root. Bibi will save this world. With Bibi here, the world won’t fall to ruin. She’ll protect the Castrein family, who gave their all to shield the Empire. With a girl like that around, couldn't I live without obsessing over the original plot? In a world where my presence wasn't even needed?
That was why I had been able to save her without hesitation. I had spoken aloud the secret of her biological mother—words the original Titania wouldn't have uttered until her dying breath. Perhaps that was why a lukewarm prickle of guilt washed over me whenever I saw Bibi doting on me, clearly weighed down by remorse. I only saved you because I knew your secret. Because I knew that even though you’re small and frail now, you’re the magnificent hero who will one day save the world. I’m not some noble soul who risks her life for just anyone. Far from the good person you imagine, I’m a pathetic coward. I just wanted an excuse to let you handle everything while I threw in the towel.
I could never bring myself to say those words aloud. So whenever Bibi worried over me, I grew helplessly weak. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the love she directed toward me was real.
Still, you have a family you’d die for! You have things to protect! Coming all the way here, putting yourself in danger just because you’re worried about me? That’s absurd!
I stared at Raymon, my eyes brimming with desperate conviction. Can you hear me? I am broadcasting directly to your soul. Protect... Bibi... at all costs...
Without asking me to release his arm, Raymon slowly glanced around the room. High Priest Ilian was leaning back comfortably in his chair like a man enjoying the sights at a street fair, softly sipping freshly poured tea. Barbara kept replenishing the table with tea and delicate pastries, radiating not the slightest intention of coming to my aid. Lisianthus was furiously gesturing toward Bibi’s projection shimmering in midair, looking like a little boy tattling on his sister. And Debbie stood a step back from it all, serenely taking in the spectacle.
It was an absolute disaster.
I had assumed Lisianthus would immediately lose his mind the moment the bombshell of Bibi's arrival dropped, latching onto her projection and shouting, What?! Kiddo, what kind of crazy talk is that?! Instead, he merely narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation with an oddly subdued air. Raymon, watching his brother, remained equally quiet.
Anxiety crept down my spine. What are you two doing? You're supposed to be hopelessly, obsessively devoted older brothers! Shouldn't your first instinct be to keep your precious little sister tucked away somewhere safe?! Where are your priorities?! People say you can never find medicine when you need it most, but why on earth are you family-crazed lunatics completely sane right now?! If you're older brothers in a childcare novel, you should be wagering the entire universe on your little sister's well-being!
“Bibi,” Raymon finally began.
The little girl hovering in the projection beamed radiantly. “Yes, Eldest Brother!”
“You claim you are coming here. Do you... truly comprehend what that entails?”
“Hehe! Well, we have a Second Brother spinning in circles like a puppy with its tail on fire, and an Eldest Brother who bolted out the door like an avalanche! And Youngest Brother is fine since he's always cooped up researching in the estate library like usual!”
Bibi’s bright tone carried an undertone that sounded remarkably sharp.
...That’s just my imagination, right? Our angelic little Bibi wouldn't be smiling while basically saying, ‘You two ran off to do whatever you wanted without listening to anyone, so don't you dare scold me,’ would she?
Bibi enunciated each word with crisp clarity. “Bibi isn't stupid. The Southern Barrier might be outside the Castrein family’s direct territory, but Papa told me something important. He said, ‘House Castrein is a family founded on the pledge to shield the barriers and protect the people of the Empire from demonic beasts, and since you have become a member of this house, you must carry on that will.’ I am a daughter of this family.”
Her sapphire eyes flared with sharp resolve.
“If Eldest Brother had stayed safely in the capital, Bibi wouldn't have considered it. But you ran off, Eldest Brother. Second Brother ran off too. And then there was an attack by demonic beasts, wasn't there? High Priest Ilian may have saved her, but Sister Titania nearly died. I can't just sit far away and watch all of that happen from the sidelines.”
“Vivi Lutein el Castlein. You possess no means to defend yourself.” Raymon’s voice rang out with chilling stiffness. Unable to cut into the conversation, I found my grip on his sleeve tightening instinctively. “Even if it had been Lasper claiming he was coming to study the beasts, I would have forbidden it. Marching onto a battlefield without the power to counter the enemy serves only to place an unnecessary burden on your allies. You must understand that depending on the circumstances, such recklessness forces sacrifice and harm onto everyone around you—”
“I know.” Bibi offered a bright, sunny smile. “I learned that lesson all too well when Sister Titania nearly died because of me, you know?”
My entire body froze.
“What could I possibly accomplish with these tiny hands? Well, of course, Bibi is cute. Utterly adorable. If conquering the world took sweet charms, I’d practice being darling all day long. But demonic beasts aren't going to turn one bite into ten just because Bibi is precious, are they?”
Bibi, that joke is terrifying! It doesn’t sound like a joke coming from you! Shivers crawled up my back.
“Still, if I shut myself away out of fear, I’ll never accomplish anything. And I’m not coming reckless and empty-handed. Bibi has a magnificent knight dedicated solely to her!”
Bibi planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her little chest with immense pride. Lisianthus, who had been listening in silence, underwent an immediate, violent change in expression.
“Y-Y-You... Bibi, don't tell me you actually went and made that runt you dragged from the slave market your personal escort?!”
Popcorn.
I need popcorn right now.
My eyes sparkled in an instant. I know this plot point!
As befitting the heroine of a splendid child-rearing novel, Bibi kept an impressive retinue of remarkable figures by her side. Among them was the fallen royal slave who became her personal guard—a prime frontrunner for the male lead! Bibi had rescued the boy after he was sold into foreign slavery and had lost all will to live, nursing him with utmost devotion. In the future, that very boy would grow into a peerless swordmaster capable of slicing through demonic beasts like fish heads on a chopping board.
Of course, a prince from a ruined nation sold into bondage was practically walking drama. It sounded tragic on paper, but anyone in his position was a powder keg—ripe with bitterness, harboring hidden motives, or liable to lash out at the world. Because of that, though the Castrein family had agreed to teach him swordplay to humor Bibi’s stubborn insistence, they had adamantly refused to let him serve as her guard. But in the end, he would claim that very post anyway... or so the story went.
Do I actually get to watch the overprotective brothers lose their minds over the stray cat hovering around their darling Bibi with my own two eyes?!
My heart raced with unadulterated anticipation. Lisianthus let out an enraged roar, looking ready to spit actual flames.
“Bibi, didn't I tell you that just knowing how to wave a blade around doesn't make someone useful?! How could you take some mongrel who isn't worth a gnawed bone and make him your knight?!”
...Coming from Lisianthus of all people, the sheer lack of self-awareness was staggering. Bibi looked at him with half-lidded, utterly unamused eyes.
“Right... Our Second Brother really has a gift for describing himself under the guise of an insult...”
“Bibi,” Raymon interjected calmly. “Lisianthus can wield fire in addition to his sword.”
“Eldest Brother, you really don't need to go out of your way to remind me that he's completely useless at everything except swinging a sword and making fire...”
Muttering that she was bringing an undeniably skilled knight so there was nothing to worry about, Bibi looked back and forth between Raymon and Lisianthus. Then, her gaze landed on me. Her sapphire eyes softened into an intensely wistful, tender look.
“I’m sorry, Sister.”
“...Huh?”
“Just... I’m unconditionally sorry for everything...”
“Wh-What?”
As I tilted my head in utter bewilderment at the sudden apology, Bibi let out a heavy sigh. When she spoke again, her eyes burned with steady, unwavering resolve.
“I spoke with Papa this time, and I received permission to bring out Gloriana’s Insignia.”
At those entirely unexpected words, my eyes went wide with shock.