The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 160

I think he’s definitely gotten better at controlling his expressions in public, but as a result, he seems more honest with his reactions in front of me than before.

Jeremy said that after talking for a bit, he realized he would soon be caught for not knowing anything about the matter. So, he told Badrissa Gastor that, ‘We can’t discuss such an important family matter so casually. Let’s schedule another appointment,’ and then left the room.

I didn’t see it myself, but I could easily imagine Jeremy’s bluff.

From Badrissa’s point of view, she might have thought that Agrice was deliberately stalling to get a better price from them.

Because what they wanted from Agrice was that crucial.

Probably, no matter what we demanded, Gastor would have a hard time refusing, unless it was too excessive.

So, I wondered how ruthless we must seem in their eyes, trying to capitalize on their desperation.

But Agrice was also in a position where it had to leverage what advantages it had.

I felt it while attending various gatherings inside Yggdrasil [a powerful organization or influential social circle] and observing the situation. Agrice’s position among the five families today, after Lant’s death, was quite precarious.

It was only natural.

It’s pointless to dwell on it now, but Agrice’s image, which wasn’t stellar to begin with, had completely plummeted since last winter. Moreover, Jeremy, who succeeded Lant as the new head, was a very young man who had just come of age.

So, other families were subtly looking down on Agrice and showing a dismissive attitude.

Of course, some, like Hyperion, expressed such intentions openly.

As you can see from the friction at the entrance I heard about last time, Agrice’s current position was such that they couldn’t confidently challenge even their blatant disregard.

But as I sensed in Vertium, other families also had small and large connections with Agrice behind the scenes, even if they acted superior in public.

Whether they liked it or not.

Perhaps the only one who could honestly say they had no connection with Agrice was Pedelian, who was in complete opposition to Lant.

Hyperion, though not as openly involved in illegal deals as Vertium, was also receiving supplies from Agrice because of the monsters.

And Gastor, who had seemed to have no connection with Agrice like Pedelian on the surface, was actually moving quietly behind the scenes, concealing their involvement.

That was why Agrice had been able to survive and thrive until now, even while engaging in all sorts of shady dealings.

According to the original plan, Agrice should have disappeared last winter.

But in the end, Agrice remained even today, and even after Lant’s death, the consequences of his actions persisted.

Agrice was not completely dismantled and the decision was made to continue its lineage.

Then, instead of maintaining the status quo, it was necessary to find a balance with the surrounding powers.

Originally, I was going to meet Badrissa Gastor in person.

“Jeremy, I’ll explain what I know.”

But I changed my mind after coming to Yggdrasil.

“And I want to discuss with you how to solve this.”

“Discuss? With me……?”

Jeremy paused as if he had heard something unexpected.

Until now, I had unilaterally given instructions, and Jeremy had followed them.

We both took it for granted. Jeremy had never questioned it once.

So, my words were bound to feel unfamiliar.

“Yeah. I want to hear your opinion.”

But Jeremy had led Agrice well on his own while I was away.

As family, I should support my younger brother’s growth from the side, and I was happy to see Jeremy’s mature demeanor.

“I’ll tell you my thoughts too…….”

I also realized something when I talked to Cassis earlier.

In my eyes, he was always just a young-looking brother, but now I had to admit that Jeremy was no longer a child who needed my constant guidance.

“Let’s decide together.”

So, when I said that, Jeremy’s face was bewildered, but soon it gradually brightened as if a light had been turned on.

He had a childish, excited expression as if he had gone back 10 years, so I smiled a little as I looked at him.

* * *

I met Pandora that evening.

“Listen, I didn’t know your taste, so I had them bring out my favorite tea.”

“Yes, the tea smells nice.”

She seemed to be unfamiliar with the situation of drinking tea alone with me like this. Well, so was I.

We could have had more casual conversations, but Pandora and I were not close in the first place, and Pandora was the one who wanted to arrange this meeting first.

Perhaps she didn’t come to chat with me either.

So, I quietly drank tea, waiting for Pandora to speak first.

Unlike me, who didn’t feel uncomfortable with the current situation, Pandora seemed to feel awkward.

Maybe it was because the place we were in now was my unfamiliar room.

I sensed a faint hesitation on Pandora’s face as she faced me.

“Thank you for taking the time so readily.”

“You’re welcome.”

Fortunately, Pandora didn’t seem to want to drag out the time and got straight to the point.

“The reason I wanted to meet with Agrice separately is…….”

But the following words were unexpected.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened before.”

I paused with the teacup in my hand.

If it was about what happened before, was she talking about what happened in Pedelian’s garden? There was nothing else that she and I were involved in.

Pandora, noticing my gaze, put down the teacup on the table. Then, she looked at me with a more serious expression.

“I was definitely rude at that time. I said such rude things and even threatened you, even though it was our first meeting.”

That’s right. But I can’t believe she would apologize.

It was unexpected, so I was surprised.

“Besides, I was in a position as an uninvited guest in the first place, and Agrice was Pedelian’s official guest. At that time, I was too foolish to think deeply, but it was embarrassing behavior in many ways.”

Of course, when I saw her attitude in the hallway today, I guessed that the reason she wanted to meet me separately this time was not the same as in Pedelian. Still, this…….

“I have caused great disrespect to both Pedelian and Agrice. I’m sorry for all of that.”

But when I think about it, Pandora was the only one who was working hard to clean up Orca’s misdeeds when she was in Pedelian.

I also remembered Pandora’s appearance at the banquet I saw through the Poison Butterfly [a method of spying or observing], formally apologizing for the rudeness instead of Orca, who was just spouting nonsense.

“Actually, I wanted to apologize ever since I left Pedelian, but I couldn’t because of circumstances.”

Pandora seemed to be a more responsible person than I thought.

Whether the reason she was doing this was to avoid tarnishing Hyperion’s name, or whether it was purely to reflect on her own mistakes as she said…….

I felt a little embarrassed to hear Pandora’s apology like this.

“Miss Hyperion.”

When I spoke, Pandora looked at me with a slightly nervous face.

I paused for a moment, then organized my thoughts and continued.

“I also acted impulsively at that time.”

Although Pandora was the first to bring out the monster, I was the one who acted childishly before and after that.

Besides, I knew that Pandora’s monster had no murderous intent at the time.

“I was too harsh in trying to harm your monster like that. I’m sorry.”

So, I thought it would be good to smoothly put the past behind us with Pandora for now.

Pandora’s expression softened as I offered a conciliatory response.

“No. Miss Agrice did what she was justified in doing.”

Pandora looked quite relieved, as if she thought I might treat her coldly.

Then, she hesitated once again, like a little while ago, and added.

“And, um… I’m not going to pursue the Blue-Eyed Scion [referring to a desirable or powerful individual] with the same intentions as before, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

No, I wasn’t worried about that anymore.

“I don’t know what got into me at that time, I was out of my mind for a while… Of course, it’s ridiculous to make such excuses now. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I have no intention of interfering between you two at all now.”

“Yes, don’t worry about it, Miss Hyperion.”

Pandora drank tea with a much more comfortable expression than before.

After that, the atmosphere relaxed and a few trivial conversations took place.

What I felt during this was that Pandora no longer harbored any awkwardness with me due to what happened in the past.

I thought she might still have some discomfort with me, apart from smoothly wrapping up the past, but she didn’t show any signs of it at all.

Unexpectedly, Pandora seemed to have no hard feelings.

“When I met you before, I thought Miss Hyperion looked a lot like your cousin…….”

I slowly stroked the teacup with my hand and said what I was thinking.

“Now that I see it, it doesn’t seem like it.”

Unlike Orca, Pandora seemed to be the type of person who was the same on the outside and inside.

It was easier to deal with such people, so I didn’t dislike them.

But Pandora’s reaction to my words was somewhat strange.

She was staring at me with wide eyes like someone who had heard unbelievable words.

I felt a little burdened by the gaze, so I said again.

“Of course, I don’t know much about you two, so these words might be rude.”

“No, no……!”

However, Pandora vehemently denied it with such surprise.

“Rude? Not at all. Miss Agrice has a really great eye for people. That’s right, Orca and I are really not alike at all.”

……I thought they were on good terms, but were they not?

Pandora seemed quite pleased with my words that she didn’t resemble Orca.

Her eyes, looking at me, now contained even clear favor.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

After talking more about other things, it seemed that Orca and Pandora were under some pressure from the head of Hyperion.

Of course, Pandora didn’t explicitly tell me this, but I picked up on it indirectly.

Is it because of what happened in Pedelian after all? Well, there’s nothing else to worry about.

From the beginning of illegally invading another family using monsters, to being forcibly summoned back to the family for causing disgraceful incidents, it was an embarrassing situation for Hyperion that they wouldn’t want to leak out.

So, Pandora seemed to be self-restraining since then.

On the other hand, Orca seemed to be still a free spirit as always.

Still, Orca only approached me at Yggdrasil once at the first tea party, and after that, he showed no interest in me at all.

Even so, it was strange that thinking about Orca still made one corner of my heart feel uneasy.

Well, Orca is one thing, but Pandora is…….

Maybe she likes me a little too much.

I quietly watched Pandora drinking tea in front of me.

I was going to use her a little if I needed to.

Should I just not?

It would definitely be easy to handle, but there’s no need to make things difficult for this person.

Thinking so, I smiled innocently at Pandora Hyperion, who then met my gaze.