The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 32

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 32

* * *

“Lady Roxana, an invitation from Lady Maria.”

Receiving the invitation from Emily, I frowned slightly.

The thought that it was finally here crossed my mind, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

Not long ago, Jeremy came to me and confessed cautiously.

He had accidentally met Maria and, while chatting, mistakenly brought up Cassis Pedelian.

He had assumed that the news had already reached Maria, but she was surprised, as she didn’t know I had acquired a new toy.

Undoubtedly, Jeremy had provoked Maria first and inadvertently mentioned Cassis.

Jeremy was generally quick-witted and cunning, but sometimes he acted foolishly.

Well, that’s probably why he blurted out everything about Cassis, who died at the hands of the heroine Sylvia in the novel.

Still, seeing him come to me and confess like this, unlike with Charlotte, it didn’t seem like he had deliberately leaked the information to Maria with ulterior motives this time.

Jeremy was uneasy, saying that Maria had shown interest after hearing about my toy.

Although he disliked Cassis Pedelian, he seemed worried that Maria’s involvement might cause harm to me.

I praised Jeremy for coming to me and confessing the truth right away.

He seemed worried that my reaction might be cold, but soon his face brightened, and he wagged his tail [showed happiness].

It wasn’t the first time Jeremy had done something foolish like this, and it was commendable that he recognized his mistake and came to me immediately.

If I had received Maria’s invitation without knowing anything, I would have been very puzzled. Maria usually wasn’t this persistent.

After considering a few things, I sent a reply accepting Maria’s invitation.

Maria suggested bringing Cassis to the tea party, but I decided not to take him.

After the last incident, a different atmosphere flowed between him and me.

It was only natural. After such an event, he couldn’t possibly feel comfortable facing me.

From the start, Cassis had condoned my actions because he already knew what role he was supposed to play and that he belonged to me.

Since then, he would sometimes stare at me silently, and his gaze wasn’t exactly gentle.

I fed the poisonous butterfly and bandaged my arm, which hadn’t completely healed.

The number of times I gave blood to the eggs in the hatchery had also increased significantly since Deon’s return.

I looked out the window as the sun began to set.

The day of Maria’s tea party is tomorrow.

This will be my second time attending.

* * *

Maria’s tea party was held in the glass greenhouse located in the center of the mansion.

Unlike the greenhouse where poisonous plants were grown, this place was solely for relaxation.

So, gatherings like tea parties for socializing were occasionally held here.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, the people of Agrische were extremely individualistic. So much so that they even ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner separately.

The only time the people of Agrische officially ate together was once a month, during the Grand Feast.

Even then, only Lant Agrische and three other children were allowed to attend.

For this reason, Maria was the only one in the house who gathered everyone together for socializing.

Of course, not all invitees accepted the invitation, and they only made time when they felt like it.

“Welcome, Sana.”

Bright sunlight streamed down from the arched glass ceiling.

As soon as I entered the greenhouse, Maria stood up to greet me.

Seeing her so welcoming, I sometimes felt like I was her real child instead of Deon.

“I seem to be the last one. Thank you for inviting me.”

I greeted her with a calm demeanor.

About ten people seemed to have attended Maria’s tea party today. There was only one empty chair, so I knew it was the seat prepared for me.

Annoyingly, my seat was right next to Maria.

The right side of the seat where Maria had been sitting was empty, and my mother, Sierra, was sitting on the left.

“Sana…”

She looked surprised to see me, as if she didn’t know I would be attending today.

Others looked at me with interest or whispered among themselves.

Apparently, Maria hadn’t given the other attendees any prior notice about me.

“Mother is here too.”

I followed Maria’s guidance to the empty seat.

Then, I acknowledged my mother, who was sitting nearby, and her hand, which was resting on her lap, twitched.

Unlike my mother, who was flustered by my appearance, I wasn’t surprised to see her here.

In fact, it wasn’t unexpected for my mother to attend Maria’s tea party. She couldn’t refuse Maria’s invitations and had been called out to such events from time to time.

I knew it, but she was such a weak-hearted person.

It was obvious that she felt intimidated whenever she saw Maria, yet she couldn’t say a single word of refusal.

In my eyes, the relationship between Maria and my mother was like a snake and a mouse.

If Maria was the predator, my mother was the prey, and moreover, the lowest on the food chain.

Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the person who directly killed Asil was Maria’s son, Deon.

I heard that Deon, who had stood out at every monthly evaluation despite his young age under the supervision of the executioner, had executed Asil.

Lant Agrische, who ordered his young son to kill his brother, and Deon Agrische, who actually killed his half-brother according to that order, were equally abnormal.

Of course, Deon may have had no choice but to obey his father’s orders, but even so, they were not in a relationship where they could comfortably face each other.

Of course, Maria didn’t seem to care about that at all…

No, perhaps Maria’s personality had already forgotten about it a long time ago.

In any case, even if Maria didn’t, my mother was the type of person who could never escape from that day.

Even now, my mother’s complexion, sitting in front of the tea table, wasn’t very good.

“Sana, I didn’t know you were coming… You should have told me beforehand.”

Her face darkened even more as soon as she saw me. No matter how I looked at it, she didn’t seem to welcome my visit.

It was understandable. This tea time wasn’t an ordinary tea time.

That’s why I only attended Maria’s tea party once a few years ago and never came near this place again.

But from my point of view, I couldn’t understand who was worrying about whom.

“I deliberately kept it a secret, Sierra. That’s how it becomes a surprise gift.”

Maria looked back and forth between my mother and me with a satisfied expression, as if we were flowers in her hands.

In contrast, my mother’s face, with an awkward smile, was turning paler and paler.

The tea party hasn’t even officially started yet, and she’s already like this.

I wondered if my mother would faint when the atmosphere was in full swing.

From what I’ve heard, the atmosphere hasn’t changed much since I attended here a long time ago.

“I’m happy to see Sana at the tea party after a long time. Come more often in the future. Sierra likes it too, doesn’t she?”

Well, she doesn’t seem to like it at all.

“If I have time.”

I answered briefly and lifted the teacup in front of me.

The taste was clean and the flavor was deep, so it was definitely top-quality tea. But it didn’t suit my taste.

Most of the women of Lant Agrische were gathered here, and some of their children were also present.

“It would have been more fun if Sana’s toy was here too. Don’t you all think so?”

Others agreed with Maria’s words.

“That’s right. I was really surprised when I first heard that Sana had acquired a toy.”

“I saw it briefly last time, and it’s the most beautiful toy I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, that’s why Sana took an interest.”

“I’ve never seen it before, so I was expecting to see it today. Why didn’t you bring it?”

Eyes filled with regret and curiosity focused on me. Maria also smiled at me and added.

“That’s right. I even prepared a special cage just for Sana’s toy today.”

As she said, several large birdcage-shaped enclosures were placed in the middle of the glass greenhouse.

The toys of the people who attended today’s tea party were displayed inside, becoming a spectacle.

The most splendid cage in the center was empty, and that was probably the seat prepared for Cassis.

If I had brought Cassis here, he would have been in that state as well. If that had happened, would Cassis have stayed still?

Since I had already marked him for show, it wouldn’t have been bad to show off Cassis at this gathering, but…

There was no other way, and I didn’t need to deliberately bring Cassis here and incur his antipathy.

“My toy is very shy. It might bite anyone who isn’t me.”

Then, the curiosity in people’s faces deepened even more.