The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 19

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 19

It felt like I was clearly changing the subject from our previous conversation.

I considered ignoring the shift and continuing to discuss the clothes, but I decided to answer him honestly.

“Eating well, sleeping well, and resting well to recover quickly.”

Cassis seemed surprised by my answer.

He looked at me as if he hadn’t expected such a simple response.

“Eat first. I didn’t put anything like poison in it.”

Cassis’s gaze dropped to the tray on the floor.

Thinking he might be uncomfortable eating with me present, I excused myself, saying I had other things to do, and left the room.

Noticing there wasn’t even a place to sit, I made a mental note to bring a chair later.

Once I was certain Cassis wouldn’t try to harm me, I also planned to bring him anything else he needed.

After a while, I headed back to the room with the new clothes for Cassis.

Of course, I didn’t carry the clothes myself; I had Emily, who was following behind me, carry them. It was the same when she brought the food and medicine earlier.

It might seem like a hassle, but I couldn’t give the impression that I was personally attending to Cassis.

I reached the door and sent Emily away.

“That’s enough. You can go now, Emily.”

“Yes, miss.”

After she left, I took the clothes from Emily and entered the room where Cassis was.

Having to open and close the lock every time I entered was such a nuisance. The person locked inside must feel even worse.

But there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

I frowned and pushed the doorknob.

Click.

And as soon as I stepped inside, I paused.

Unlike before, Cassis was standing. My gaze was drawn to his back as he faced away from the door.

The reason I stopped was that he had taken off his top, exposing his upper body. The dim light cast a faint outline on his form.

Bandages were wrapped around parts of Cassis’s body, and countless red scars were etched where there were no bandages.

However, the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw his bare body wasn’t, ‘That must hurt.’

The sound of the door, released from my hand, sliding shut behind me echoed in the room.

Thud.

Finally, the door closed completely.

Cassis tilted his head slightly and looked at me.

The moment my eyes met his still, golden eyes filled with shadows, I was at a loss for words.

It goes without saying, but it wasn’t the first time I had seen a man’s bare upper body, nor was it the first time the subject was Cassis.

When the doctor had inadequately treated Cassis’s wounds earlier, I had even removed his clothes myself.

At that time, I clearly didn’t feel any particular emotion towards Cassis’s bare body.

But…….

Why do I feel this subtle embarrassment now?

Is it because it’s darker than before? Or is it because Cassis, who was lying still before, is now moving so vividly and staring at me?

It felt like I was intruding on a private moment.

The red light spreading from the candlestick made Cassis stand out alone in the darkness.

Then, Cassis slowly opened his lips.

“I need to wash.”

A soft voice, close to a whisper, tickled my ear.

The tattered piece of cloth fell from his hand. The delicately woven muscles of his back pulsed with a clearer curve, following his movement.

“Oh, okay…….”

I answered unconsciously.

Immediately after, I snapped out of it.

No, why am I acting like this just because I saw him shirtless? Besides, what is this strange atmosphere?

It seemed like the problem was that the candlelight was too dim.

But now that he’s taken off his top, it would be strange to suddenly brighten the surroundings.

Of course, the fact that I’m even thinking about this is proof that I’m unnecessarily self-conscious around Cassis right now.

I frowned slightly and said in a nonchalant voice.

“The door on this side is the bathroom. I always try to be considerate, so I deliberately chose a room with a bathroom.”

This room had a small bathroom attached. Of course, I had already removed all the dangerous items inside.

It seemed that Cassis couldn’t see the other door on the wall from where he was because the room wasn’t a flat structure. He moved his gaze in the direction I pointed.

“This.”

Immediately after, Cassis slightly raised his arm and showed it to me.

“I can’t change my clothes because of the chains.”

Ah, now that he mentioned it, that was true.

The restraints were tightly attached to his wrists and ankles, so it didn’t matter much, but the chains would definitely be an obstacle to taking off and putting on clothes.

But how did he take off his top just now?

I lowered my head to examine the floor and soon found the answer.

The clothes Cassis had taken off a little while ago were completely torn to shreds.

His shirt was already torn in places like rags from being whipped in the underground prison and attacked by Charlotte.

So it seemed like he just tore off his clothes in the same way now.

Even if he could deal with it that way when taking them off…….

It was definitely impossible to put clothes on his arms and legs while he was chained.

I thought for a moment and then suggested to Cassis.

“I’ll unlock the chains on your wrists and ankles, so how about replacing them with a collar instead?”

“…….”

Cassis was silent.

Naturally, he didn’t seem to like my words very much. It seemed like his gaze towards me had become a little colder.

“It seems better than having four chains on your body.”

Of course, I’ll leave the restraints on.

The restraints were tools to restrict the power of the bound subject.

In particular, they had a function to limit movement when performing aggressive actions.

Naturally, anti-monster restraints had a stronger coercive force than general monster restraints.

But since he broke the restraints during the incident with Charlotte, I doubted whether the effect would fully work on Cassis.

That’s why I was wary of Cassis attacking me even though he was wearing restraints.

However, conversely, if even the restraints weren’t fully effective on Cassis, then the chains were meaningless from the start.

So, even if I released the chains on his arms and legs and replaced them with a collar, it would only be for show.

But no matter how much it was just for show, I couldn’t help but do it from my perspective.

Cassis didn’t say anything, but his eyes seemed to agree with my words.

It goes without saying that he didn’t seem to like the collar.

But Cassis seemed to agree that it was cumbersome to attach and detach the chains on the restraints whenever they were needed.

Soon, he lowered his arms as if to say do as you please and looked at me.

I immediately moved towards Cassis.

In fact, I had already instructed them to prepare a collar when preparing Cassis’s clothes.

I hadn’t even thought about the fact that it would interfere with changing clothes, but the chains making loud noises even with his slightest movements were already annoying me.

Of course, I won’t bother mentioning how the servant who prepared the collar at my command looked at me…….

After all, I still didn’t plan to bring anyone else into this room, so I had to put the collar on Cassis myself. To do that, I inevitably had to get close to him.

Cassis accepted my approach, knowing that fact.

“Bear with it for a little bit, even if it’s uncomfortable.”

I faced Cassis.

His gaze fell on my face for a moment. But Cassis soon averted his eyes and turned away from me.

You could have looked a little longer, but you’re so firm.

Isn’t my beauty a powerful weapon that I possess?

So, now that things have come to this, if Cassis were to fall for my beauty and become infatuated like other men, things would be much easier.

I felt a little disappointed and reached out to Cassis.

The moment my hand brushed his neck, Cassis’s head twitched slightly.

But there was no other movement, so I was able to easily put the collar on him.

“…….”

And then, looking at Cassis with the black leather around his neck…….

For some reason, the atmosphere around me seemed even stranger than before.

A beautiful boy with a scarred, bare upper body wearing a collar.

I felt like I had become a pervert, so I grimaced with a sullen expression. And I discovered that Cassis was also making a similar expression to me.

I released the chains on Cassis’s arms and legs and connected one of them to the collar.

He was still wearing the restraints, but Cassis moved his wrists and ankles as if he felt refreshed just from the chains disappearing, as if he was exercising.

“This mansion has a maze-like structure, so even some of my brothers sometimes get lost.”

I opened my mouth in case Cassis had any foolish ideas.

“People who come to Agrische for the first time are bound to wander around the mansion without finding the entrance.”

Cassis turned his head at my words, which I said in passing.

“Of course, I know the shortcut to the entrance, though.”

Following that, my eyes met his golden eyes at close range.

I smiled brightly at Cassis as if to say, what did I just say?

“Go inside and wash up.”