The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 112

At that time, Agrigent was collapsing under Fedelian’s assault, and many people decided to flee in search of safety.

Nix, seeing an opportunity, grabbed one of the most vulnerable-looking men among the escaping crowd.

In other words, he kidnapped him.

Initially, he planned to ask about Roxana’s whereabouts. However, the man was so terrified of Nix that he nearly fainted.

He claimed to be one of Roxana’s half-brothers.

He said they were the same age, or perhaps he was a year younger. Nix vaguely recalled hearing his name, but it wasn’t important enough to remember.

Regardless, Nix was intrigued by the man’s reaction to recognizing who Nix was impersonating, and decided to delve deeper into his story.

Of course, Nix’s method was the quickest and most effective form of communication: torture.

However, he didn’t obtain as much useful information as he had hoped.

There was little interaction among the Agrigent family members, so he didn’t know much about his other half-siblings.

Moreover, Asil had died young, so even less information was known about him.

Still, the endeavor wasn’t a complete loss. Nix learned that Asil had been considered a very kind and gentle person.

Of course, that was the positive spin. In Nix’s opinion, Asil was weak and pathetic.

For the record, the man Nix tortured also knew nothing about Roxana’s whereabouts.

So, with regret, Nix had to hurry and find her himself.

Naturally, before leaving, he made sure to grant the man, with whom he had shared such a “delightful” time, eternal rest.

Based on the information he had gathered, Nix tried to imitate the image of Asil he had imagined in front of Roxana.

The results seemed reasonably good.

It was a minor, insignificant trick, but even serving Roxana sweet tea and cake was a deliberate act.

*Older brother and younger sister with an age gap, getting along well. The older brother is kind and caring, cherishing his younger sister.*

A child would naturally love sugary foods.

Roxana must have some memory of receiving candy from such an older brother.

As expected, when Nix offered her refreshments, Roxana’s hardened expression softened ever so slightly.

She might deny it herself, but Roxana clearly came here because she couldn’t completely let go of her lingering feelings.

Whether it was a futile hope or a flimsy attempt at self-consolation.

Her decision to abandon her initial stubborn attitude and stay here a little longer likely stemmed from the same reason.

Of course, it was a foolish and utterly pointless expectation.

“So, about the poison I prepared. I think I can add a bit more tomorrow.”

Nix smiled, wanting to see her noble face stained with disappointment and sorrow.

“It’s good to proceed with caution, but the amount I prepared today was too little. They said it would take effect immediately with just one drop, but that’s nonsense. You saw her walking out perfectly fine, didn’t you?”

“But what if we make a mistake?”

That mistake meant, firstly, Roxana realizing the poison, and secondly, side effects appearing from ingesting more than the prescribed dose.

“We don’t have that many chances anyway. We have no choice if we want to do as Noel wishes.”

Noel liked Roxana more than Nix had thought.

So, Nix intended to give Noel what he desired.

Then, when Noel was at the peak of his happiness, it would be fun to destroy what was in his hands.

Noel would probably be furious and frustrated.

*Ah, what expression would Noel make if he saw that and I laughed in his face?*

A childish, mischievous smile appeared on Nix’s face.

It was the very expression Dante loathed.

Dante didn’t know what Nix was thinking as he smiled like that, but for some reason, the back of his neck prickled.

Dante frowned and stared at Nix, unable to hold back his true feelings.

“You probably have a demon inside you.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Nix chuckled and stood up.

“But you need to watch your words, Dante.”

With a scraping sound as the chair moved, Nix’s gaze, like a viper, coiled around Dante.

“While Noel’s beautiful Luna is here, I am her kind older brother, Asil.”

Walking as if dancing, Nix approached Dante and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Then, he left the reception room.

Dante watched Nix’s retreating figure with a crumpled expression.

* * *

“Luna, I’m so sorry!”

Noel finally woke up in the evening.

As soon as he came to his senses, he rushed to find Roxana.

“I was originally going to visit you first thing in the morning! But I stayed up for days preparing to welcome you to Vertium, and I accidentally fell asleep without realizing it! And Dante didn’t wake me up until this hour!”

If Dante had heard that, he would have clutched his neck in frustration.

Noel apologized and made excuses to Roxana, groveling to the point of seeming pathetic.

Roxana watched Noel’s behavior with a probing gaze.

She had noticed it in their correspondence and at yesterday’s welcome banquet, but he was very conscious of her feelings.

He seemed unwilling to upset her if he could help it.

His casual attitude and the way he addressed her were very irritating, but it was useful in understanding the person ‘Noel Vertium’.

Roxana quickly decided how to treat Noel.

“Why are you apologizing? The promised day hasn’t passed yet.”

A voice as sweet as melted sugar pierced Noel’s eardrums.

He stared blankly at Roxana. And he gaped at Roxana’s smile, which he was seeing for the first time.

Contrary to Noel’s worries, Roxana didn’t seem angry or displeased.

A soft, sweet, creamy smile greeted Noel.

Noel completely forgot about Roxana’s cold and aloof demeanor at the banquet yesterday.

He didn’t even realize that Roxana had instantly closed the distance between them by using her given name, unlike before.

“You came at the right time. I was just thinking about your doll.”

A voice like a lark singing echoed in his ears.

“Oh, uh, my doll? What was that… Ah, Nix?”

Noel seemed to have a momentary lapse. He barely managed to recall Nix’s name.

“I have something I want to ask you about him.”

Roxana whispered softly to Noel, gesturing for him to come closer.

“Y-yes, ask me anything! I’ll tell you everything Luna wants to know…!”

Then, Noel rushed over with a flushed face.

He knelt before her, holding Roxana’s hand.

He looked like a dog wagging its tail and panting for its owner.

Jeremy’s face briefly flashed across Roxana’s mind.

The two seemed somewhat similar, but Roxana still couldn’t warm up to Noel. It was only natural from Roxana’s perspective.

Still, she hid her cold intentions and smiled at Noel.

As delicate hands caressed his cheek like playing an instrument, Noel swayed as if he were drunk.

“I’d like you to explain in detail how you came to create Nix.”

A sugary whisper flowed through the air like melted honey.

“Well, at the time, I was curious if I could create a doll from a real human body and control it, so I was researching that.”

Noel began to ramble on as Roxana wished, as if he were possessed.

“Ah, originally, Vertium studies the components of a real human body and creates dolls by combining them as closely as possible.”

Roxana nodded slightly, indicating that she was listening to Noel.

Encouraged by her, Noel continued to speak as if wings had been attached to his mouth.

“But no matter how much you create a body that looks real, it’s not a perfect human body, right? That’s why my dolls weren’t perfectly beautiful. I always regretted that.”

“I see.”

“Then Lant Agrigent approached me, expressing interest in Vertium’s doll art.”

At that moment, a strange light flashed in Roxana’s eyes.

“He kept bothering me to meet him, so I made time once, but, um… I don’t remember what the head of the Black [Referring to the Agrigent family, known for their dark practices] said to me when we met. He made some kind of offer that I refused. H-hey, is this an important part? I kind of glossed over what he said then… Should I ask Dante if he remembers?”

“No, there’s no need to explain that separately.”

“Ah, really? That’s a relief. Anyway, the topic of my ongoing research on doll art came up, and Lant Agrigent offered to help me with my research. I remember that clearly. So, he provided me with corpses to use for research afterwards.”

The more Roxana listened to Noel, the more a chilling wind blew through her heart.

“They called it ‘disposal’ in Agrigent terms [referring to the practice of eliminating unwanted family members]. Several such corpses were transported to Vertium.”

As she had guessed, knowing that there was a doll in Asil’s form, it was no different from what she had imagined.

Roxana acknowledged that Nix’s body was not a fake body made to resemble Asil, but that the body itself was Asil’s real one.

If his body were fake, there would have been no need to transfer the damaged parts from Asil’s original body as they were.

For example, his scarred right hand, or his left eye, which had been severely injured during the last monthly evaluation before his death.

So, in conclusion, Lant Agrigent had thrown the corpses of his children who had died from ‘disposal’ to Vertium for experimentation.