The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 41

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – 41

I raised my hand and gently stroked my mother’s disheveled hair, as if tidying it up.

“You were almost helplessly attacked by a monster earlier and could have been hurt. It’s a miracle that your body doesn’t have a single scratch right now.”

Unlike the gentle touch, the words pouring out were as sharp as thorns.

“You said you came outside because you were worried about me, Mother… Well, I don’t know.”

Even knowing it would hurt my precious mother, I didn’t stop.

“Look at you now. You’re lying here, exhausted, just from encountering a monster. As I said, I’m perfectly fine, without a single scratch from the commotion today.”

“Sanaya…”

“I don’t know who should be worrying about whom in this situation.”

I smiled again, meeting my mother’s eyes. She fluttered her trembling lips as if unsure what to say.

“Even if you had found me among the monsters today, would you have been able to approach me with your frail body? If I had been in danger, would you have been able to save me?”

My mother’s eyes were like a flooding river. Her aimlessly shaking pupils were telling me, *Why are you saying such cruel things?*

“That’s not all. What if someone had tried to escape alone among the monsters and used you as bait instead? Besides, today wasn’t just about the monster pen being opened. What if my toys [magical creatures or constructs] had taken you hostage or tried to harm you in order to escape from the mansion? Did you consider such possibilities before acting, Mother?”

At this moment, I gave up on being a kind and loving daughter to her forever.

“Mother.”

A low voice echoed like a heavy silence in the room.

I smiled sweetly at my mother and whispered the last words that would hurt her, ever so gently.

“If you really care about me, don’t create situations where you become a burden instead of helping me. So that I don’t think of you as a nuisance.”

* * *

“Lady Roxana.”

As soon as I opened the door to my mother’s room and stepped outside, Emily, standing in front of it, came into view.

She was holding up her hand as if she was about to knock.

I had a guess as to why Emily was about to knock. It was because I had given her instructions before coming to my mother’s room.

“Their location?”

“They have just passed the main gate.”

At the news that Lant Agriche had returned to the mansion, I immediately turned around. It was better for me to meet him first before he heard about the day’s events from someone else.

Things had escalated more than initially planned, but the situation was better than expected.

In fact, it was I who told them to bring Casis out by using Deon’s name.

That’s why I reacted so dramatically in the greenhouse – so that no one would suspect me.

Thinking about the men trembling in front of me without knowing anything, I felt a little sorry for them. If they found out, they would surely writhe in injustice.

Some parts of this incident went as I expected, and some didn’t.

My mother coming out to find me was the latter.

From my perspective, who had deliberately sent her back to a safe room in preparation for any possible event, it was truly disheartening.

I never imagined that Jeremy would chase Casis and even open the monster pen, so if I had been unlucky, my mother could have really died.

I briefly recalled the last expression I saw on my mother’s face before leaving the room.

Then, I quickly erased the lingering image from my mind as if with an eraser.

For me, it didn’t matter whether Casis willingly attended Maria’s tea party or seized the opportunity to escape. Either way, it wouldn’t be bad.

Of course, I judged that the latter was much more likely, and Casis did not disappoint me.

Jeremy, who had been loitering around Casis for some time, was the same.

Since I used Deon’s name to get him out of the room, my responsibility would be lighter even if problems arose.

Even if Deon denied that he had ever done such a thing, all that was needed was to eliminate those who could prove the truth.

Coincidentally, those who had impersonated Deon’s name in the middle to deliver the message had already died before I could deal with them.

Emily said that they seemed to have died from the monsters, so in a way, I solved the problem without lifting a finger.

Moreover, the blueprint I had shown Casis before was only half real.

So even if Jeremy hadn’t released the monsters, Casis wouldn’t have been able to escape the maze around the mansion.

I didn’t feel particularly guilty about deceiving Casis.

From the beginning, it was impossible for him to escape Agriche on his own.

If that were possible, Casis would not have died so tragically in the novel.

So I was going to give Casis the experience of failing to escape.

So I wanted to clearly engrave on his mind that he could not escape from this place alone without my help.

But… unexpectedly, Casis was caught trying to save my mother.

That was a conclusion I had never imagined until now.

Perhaps that’s why I had been feeling a strange and heavy feeling that I couldn’t quite describe since earlier.

“Welcome back, Master.”

But now is not the time to think about such things.

I prepared to take the stage to resolve the last remaining task.

“Father, you’re back?”

Because I hurried my steps, I was able to get the chance to greet Lant Agriche first.

His gaze flew to my smiling face.

My smile right now must be flawless and beautiful, as if I had practiced it countless times in my life.

The other family members who heard the news of Lant Agriche’s return also began to gather one by one.

Due to Agriche’s family tradition, it was rare to move as a group like this, but it seemed they had come to assess the situation because of what happened today.

Just in time, Deon was also coming down the stairs. His gaze was fixed directly on me without a single error.

Even though I hit him quite hard on the arm, there wasn’t even any swelling left on his face already.

From the beginning, he could have avoided or blocked my hand easily enough, but he didn’t. That was unpleasant.

“Well, nothing much happened while I was away, right?”

Looking at his face, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. He clearly didn’t know about the incident that happened today yet.

“Father, I have news that you’ll be pleased to hear.”

As I opened my mouth, the people around me gave me puzzled looks.

Well, what happened today was by no means something to be pleased about, so it was understandable that they were making such faces.

Lant Agriche was also looking at me as if asking what it was.

I smiled even more brightly at the audience waiting next to me and recited the prepared lines.

“I just succeeded in hatching a Poison Butterfly.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than a buzzing noise swept around in an instant.

Lant Agriche also hurriedly asked back in the most excited tone he had used in recent times.

“Is that really true?”

Instead of answering, I directly summoned the Poison Butterflies next to me.

Each time a translucent, crimson butterfly, absorbing the light of the chandelier and creating a mysterious cluster of light, floated into the air, people couldn’t help but admire them.

As I said before, imprinting and hatching a Poison Butterfly was an extremely difficult task.

So even among the excellent mana beastmasters [individuals skilled in taming and controlling magical creatures], those who could control Poison Butterflies were few and far between.

It’s no wonder they’re surprised that I’ve accomplished such a great feat. Perhaps there were only a few people among them who seriously thought I would be able to hatch Poison Butterflies.

“Well, what kind of butterfly are you planning to raise it as?”

Lant Agriche seemed to know that the nature of the Poison Butterfly changes greatly depending on the type of poison injected and the way it is raised.

He was fiercely staring at the Poison Butterflies flying around me with eyes mixed with longing and greed.

From the beginning, Lant Agriche would have been able to take the Poison Butterfly eggs from me, but he didn’t. The reason was obvious.

How ugly, full of greed, yet without the courage to become a host.

“Of course, I have to raise it as a Carnage Butterfly.”

I bent my eyes and smiled sweetly.

Then, I put one hand on my chest and gently lifted the hem of my skirt with the other, bowing obediently.

“To be able to raise one of Agriche’s powerful weapons with my own hands, I don’t think there could be a greater honor than this.”

Seeing how much satisfaction and joy was rising on Lant Agriche’s face after hearing the answer he wanted, it seemed like he would give me his liver and gallbladder right away if I asked for them now.

Of course, that’s just a figure of speech, and there’s no way this selfish human being would actually do that.

“Roxana, I always have high expectations for you.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Now, the preparations for finally sending Casis out of Agriche were nearing completion.