The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 31

But soon, Cassis seemed to realize that he was holding my left arm, wrapped in bandages. His grip loosened.

I felt like I was beginning to understand Cassis Fedelian.

Even in this situation, he was being so considerate, so gentlemanly.

It was a pity I had to use him.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

I lifted my left arm, which Cassis had grabbed, and gently stroked his face.

My face probably looked pathetic, as if I were ready to give him everything, even my liver and gallbladder [a figure of speech indicating complete devotion].

Cassis didn’t shake off my hand, his eyes still hard.

“Even if you feel bad, please bear with it a little.”

I was sorry, but I couldn’t stop now.

The marks on Cassis’s neck were too faint. Not enough.

“I’ll finish as quickly as possible….”

I whispered, lowering my gaze to look as pitiful as possible, as if I couldn’t help it, as if I were sorry to do this.

“You just have to stay still.”

But Cassis grabbed my hand, the one touching his face, as if he wouldn’t tolerate it any longer.

My head fell onto his neck again.

“Wait, you….”

Cassis tried to stop me, but I didn’t.

The grip on my hand tightened.

I thought he would push me away, but he didn’t.

Perhaps my actions were unexpected. Our bodies were stiffer than before.

Thump, thump. My heart beat faster, shaking me. Again, I couldn’t tell whose heartbeat it was.

I moved boldly to leave the clearest mark.

Suddenly, Cassis’s hand touched the back of my neck. I bit his neck harder, thinking he would pull me away.

Then, the hand in my hair stopped.

I felt a low breath near my ear.

I could feel the back of my neck pulling slightly, as if Cassis’s fingers had wrapped around my hair.

It didn’t hurt, and I could focus on leaving marks, using his hand as support.

It was easier than I thought because Cassis didn’t move or push me away.

One didn’t seem enough, so I made a couple more.

After a while, I stroked the marks on Cassis’s neck with satisfaction.

Unlike his docile body, his golden eyes shone as if they would devour me.

The muscles at my fingertips repeatedly relaxed and contracted, as if he was trying to endure something.

“Thank you for your help, Cassis,” I whispered.

I felt relieved.

* * *

Hanging out with their own kind.

I stared at Lant Agriche and Deon Agriche in the distance with cold eyes. They were standing in the garden, talking.

If I planted butterflies [a metaphor for spies or informants], I could eavesdrop, but it was too risky.

I might expose my hidden cards without gaining anything if I intervened rashly.

But they do look alike.

Lant and Deon were father and son with the same hair and eye color. But their features are different.

Also, their atmospheres are different, so they only resembled each other from a distance.

Then, Lant patted Deon’s shoulder, praising him for completing his task.

The children of Agriche aren’t allowed outside the mansion until they become adults.

Currently, only a few brothers are assigned missions.

To be precise, there are only two.

I had one older sister and three older brothers, but Asil had been disposed of long ago.

One of the remaining three was seventeen and not an adult.

Therefore, the only two brothers engaged in external activities were these two, and Deon was the better performer.

For a moment, I thought I made eye contact with Deon.

I turned away coldly, as if I hadn’t seen him.

Five years ago, Asil died because he failed to eliminate the target. He was sentenced to disposal.

Deon Agriche killed him.

That was the first reason I couldn’t like him.

And the second reason….

He was the only person who saw my weak side.

* * *

“Can’t you do it?”

The man, barely an adult, spoke.

His voice was like grains of sand on a winter night, crumbling at the slightest touch.

His voice was cold and dry, without emotion.

I stopped breathing.

At that time, I was so dumbfounded that I forgot he was there.

“Then don’t do it.”

A chilling voice pierced my eardrums.

He started moving, trying to finish what I couldn’t.

If I were weaker, I might have been relieved to avoid getting my hands dirty.

Or happy to escape this situation.

But I knew this wasn’t mercy or acceptance.

If I couldn’t do this now, I would die. I had to take care of this.

Besides, it wasn’t just that….

“…I’ll do it.”

He stopped when I gritted my teeth and said those words.

It was hard to hear because my throat was hoarse, but he heard me.

I grabbed the wall with trembling hands and forced myself up.

“Get lost, Deon,” I said to the man standing close to me.

“There’s no place for you here.”

It was the day of the final monthly evaluation at fifteen.

Asil, who had died years ago, was crying in front of me.

Yes, this is a hallucination. A dead person couldn’t be standing here.

The reason I was dizzy seemed to be the hallucinogens.

No, maybe it wasn’t just the hallucinogens.

I walked towards my dead brother, who was shedding tears of blood.

Holding not a flower, but a sharp knife to cut off his breath.

“I won’t let you kill Asil twice.”

A chilling light flashed in his eyes, which had been calm and cold like a frozen sea.

I didn’t know what that gaze meant.

Such things were trivial.

So, I turned my back on the gaze following me and walked towards the person in front of me.

What did Asil, who was fifteen, see in this room?

Who appeared in Asil’s hallucination that he had to die for not handling the target?

I had always been curious, but the person who could answer was gone.