The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 142

Jeremy blocked anyone from trying to come between us with a chilling aura.

“Noona [older sister or close female friend], are you bothered by the kids glancing over here? Should I tell them to avert their eyes?”

But when he treated me, he was as gentle as a lamb in sheep’s clothing, so affectionate.

The people from Agrische at our table looked like they were about to choke.

Yet, none of them expressed any dissatisfaction to Jeremy.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, observing this interesting dynamic.

Then, my hand holding the silverware twitched slightly.

The poison butterflies I had released upon arriving at Yggdrasil sensed something and alerted me.

“Noona, what’s wrong?”

Jeremy, keenly aware of even that small reaction, began to carefully examine my face.

Without a word, I fixed my gaze on the entrance of the banquet hall. Jeremy followed my gaze.

After a short time, a figure darker than darkness came into view.

Clang.

Jeremy, who was next to me, seemed to have noticed the same thing.

Suddenly, the sound of silverware and plates clashing in his hand pierced my eardrums.

“Ah, Deon?”

A shrill voice came from my half-sibling next to me, who had also turned his head.

It seemed to be pouring rain outside.

The person in my sight was soaked, as if he had been directly exposed to the downpour.

The water dripping from his clothes stained the dazzling marble floor.

The man who suddenly appeared at the entrance of the banquet hall was adorned with attire and an atmosphere that did not suit this glittering space at all.

In this place of fragrant flowers and sweet music, he felt like a solitary black stain.

Now, everyone sitting at the Agrische table was staring at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Silence fell instantly around us.

Buzz.

On the other hand, the tables of other families were filled with a noise that was distinctly different from before, assaulting my ears.

Noticing the agitation of the Agrisches, people at other tables began to move their questioning gazes.

They recognized the foreign presence standing at the entrance of the banquet hall and mouthed words.

Clearly, the distance between where Deon was and where I was sitting was not that great.

But I definitely felt that our eyes met. As always.

I stared at him from afar with cold eyes.

Yes…

I knew you would come.

Ever since I heard that name from my mother’s mouth, a name that was so familiar that it was engraved in my ears like a brand.

No, in fact, I had never stopped anticipating this moment since I left Agrische.

Deon Agrische also seemed to whisper to me from the end of his gaze.

‘I knew you would be waiting for me.’

A dry and chilling voice crept like a snake and wrapped around my ear.

Really… it was still tiresome and boring.

The story surrounding Deon Agrische and me.

Creak.

I slowly got up from my seat.

“Noona.”

Jeremy grabbed me from the side.

He was looking at Deon with sharply narrowed eyes before turning his gaze to me.

The look in his eyes as he looked up at me seemed to be telling me not to go.

Jeremy had always disliked Deon. But now, he seemed to feel an especially strong aversion to him.

It was understandable. Deon, standing at the entrance of the banquet hall, was exuding an ominous aura at a glance.

But the person he was waiting for now was me. Deon was waiting for me to move my own two feet and approach him.

If I didn’t move from this spot now, Deon would come inside himself.

That would be quite troublesome for me.

But even if it wasn’t for that reason, I had to meet Deon.

“It’s okay. I’ll be back.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“No.”

I left Jeremy, who was asking to come with me, and left my seat alone.

“I’m going alone this time.”

Perhaps sensing that it was not a situation they should interfere in, even though they didn’t know the details, the people of Agrische closed their mouths and stared at me and Jeremy.

I whispered a greeting to them in a gentle voice.

“Then, everyone, I hope you have a pleasant dinner.”

The person standing at the entrance had already disappeared from sight.

I stepped onto the long red carpet laid out on the floor and walked toward the shadow that was melting long in his empty space.

Swish…

The closer I got to the entrance of the banquet hall, the faint sound of rain echoed softly in my ears instead of music.

I moved my steps, drawn by that distant sound.

* * *

Drip.

Following the wet footprints left on the floor, Deon soon revealed himself before my eyes.

He was standing in a deserted corridor some distance from the banquet hall.

The rain falling like bars created a white noise.

I stopped for a moment and looked at Deon, who was standing against the backdrop of a night scene that had melted like a watercolor painting.

In the boundary of the night where light and darkness were half-filled, his red eyes, staring intensely at me, were clearly visible.

Drip.

I took the steps I had stopped again.

Deon was watching me approach him with a cold gaze.

“What’s with this appearance?”

But the moment the distance between him and me narrowed, and my hand, which suddenly reached out, touched his cheek.

“Getting soaked like this.”

Even on Deon’s surface, an agitation that he couldn’t hide was revealed.

It had been as long since I had seen Deon as it had been since I had seen Jeremy, but he was the same as he had been last winter.

Maybe it was just me feeling that way…

Anyway, it felt as if there was no gap between him and me during the cycle of a season.

Rainwater slid down Deon’s straight jawline.

I looked him straight in the eye.

“Poor Deon.”

As I gently stroked his face, I added in a whisper.

“Who would welcome you when you rushed here so urgently? How can a person still be so foolish and stupid?”

When I smiled coldly with thorns coated in poison, Deon’s eyes flickered greatly for a moment. A huge flame seemed to engulf me.

Deon reacted as if he knew I would react like this.

Soon, his hand gripped my wrist so tightly that it felt like it would break.

“You.”

Soon after, a voice that seemed to be spat out leaked from his clenched lips.

“You’ve been with Cassis Pedelian, haven’t you?”

“So?”

I asked calmly.

Then Deon twisted his lips and sneered.

“You don’t even deny it.”

“Why should I hide it from you?”

The fire transmitted from the person in contact grew even fiercer.

Yes, Deon and I were more familiar with this.

Somehow, even in his and my actions and conversations, it didn’t seem like there was any temporal gap.

When I think about it, it was always like that.

When we were together, Deon and I seemed to become stagnant water that was destined to rot someday, emitting a foul odor.

So no matter how much time passed, his and my relationship could not change.

Rather, as time went on, the parts that touched each other would rot and disappear, just like now.

“Oh, Deon.”

I tilted my head and smiled coldly at him.

“Who are you blaming for being late?”

Besides, it wasn’t just Deon who was angry now.

“You didn’t think I would welcome you, did you? And I heard that someone else killed Lant Agrische that day.”

In the end, it’s like this.

I will continue to hurt this person as if it were the purpose of my life, and I will laugh as I watch the scars caused by me being engraved on him.

“You’re really useless, you.”

Cassis told me.

That day, everything in Agrische went as I wanted.

As a result, Deon Agrische is now standing in front of me, looking me in the eye.

If I really wanted this person to live, it must be for that reason.

After hearing Deon’s name from my mother’s mouth, an uncontrollable heat boiled up inside me.

I heard the story that he inflicted a fatal wound on Lant Agrische and was also seriously injured, hovering between life and death for a while.

I also know that Deon did not kill my mother, even though he could have.

But so what?

Should I be grateful to him? Or should I feel sorry for him?

What a joke.

Above all, that doll with Asil’s body.

The moment I thought that the man in front of me was the one who helped create that terrible thing, I wanted to tear out his heart right away.

“So, is that why you chose Cassis Pedelian?”

But surprisingly…

The moment that name permeated my ears, the murderous intent that had been raging wildly inside me slowly subsided.

I took a slow, deep breath.

“No.”

Only then did my heart, which had been boiling hotly, seem to cool down.

“What are you misunderstanding? Cassis can’t be a substitute for someone like you.”

The force gripping my wrist became indescribably strong.

I was about to get rid of Deon from my sight and moved my arm.

But just before I could shake off his hand, Deon murmured with a cold smile on his lips.

“Do you know? That guy’s unpleasant smell that I met a while ago is vibrating from your body.”