The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 199

* * *

After parting ways with Pandora, Jeremy also boarded the carriage he had prepared in advance.

With things here more or less settled, he was planning to go see Roxana.

She had left Yggdrasil yesterday, a day earlier than Jeremy.

So Jeremy was now heading to the neutral zone where she would be.

However, Jeremy’s expression, as he gazed out the window with his face resting on his hand, was tinged with an inexplicable displeasure rather than the excitement of meeting Roxana soon.

“……Maybe it would have been better if they had all just died.”

Jeremy muttered, his cheek squished against his palm.

Of course, this was a thought he voiced because Roxana wasn’t there.

Even though he had been eager to help Roxana in any way he could until five days ago, he felt strangely annoyed and twisted when faced with this situation.

Of course, Roxana didn’t want him to act, so he had no intention of moving his hands that were itching to go wild…….

Still, the desire to get rid of that arrogant Deon, that pathetic fake Assil, and that annoying blue-eyed dog, leaving only Roxana and himself in the world, kept wriggling in his heart.

“Ugh, I’m too nice.”

In the end, Jeremy crushed the dark thoughts that sprouted and grew within him, flopping down on his side.

He should sleep instead of having useless thoughts. He hadn’t slept well for the past few days anyway, so he was tired.

Jeremy closed his eyes, thinking that he wanted to arrive at Roxana’s place quickly.

* * *

The city in the neutral zone was quiet.

Many things had happened to Yggdrasil and the five families, but as always, the lives of ordinary citizens rarely intersected with those of the ruling class.

So they didn’t even know that their lives had been as fragile as a lamp flickering in the wind because of the dolls that had escaped from Yggdrasil just a few days ago.

“Beth.”

And here, there were people standing on thin ice disguised as peace.

Maria, who was sitting at the table, stirring the food on her plate with a fork and quietly radiating a fierce aura, finally opened her mouth.

“Why does the food seem to be getting worse day by day?”

It sounded like a childish complaint, but Maria’s reason for scolding Beth wasn’t because of her own appetite.

“If Sierra’s health is harmed because of this, will you take responsibility?”

A cold gaze flew towards Beth, who was sitting next to the table, folding the laundry.

When she lived in Agrische, Maria’s gaze alone would make her feel a chill in her chest, but now she seemed to have grown bolder.

Beth replied in a voice that sounded quite calm even to herself.

“I plan each meal with a balance of nutrients in mind. You praised me when you first came here, Maria.”

Maria twitched her eyebrows at those words.

It had already been quite a while since she came here.

Maria kept wandering around in vain because of Deon, but eventually, with unwavering determination, she succeeded in finding Sierra.

After that, she stayed here as if it were natural, living with the other three.

Maria thought highly of Emily and Beth, who had taken special care of Sierra in her absence.

But that was only until recently.

Maria had been in a very low mood for the past few days and had become sensitive, and for that reason, she sent Beth distrustful glances again today, finding fault with other things.

“Don’t just think about nutrition, consider the taste too. Isn’t it possible that the food you make doesn’t suit Sierra’s taste? She seems to be skipping at least one meal a day these days.”

“No. You know that until recently, she ate every meal regularly. She always praised my cooking, too.”

Beth continued to speak calmly to Maria.

“She said she doesn’t have an appetite these days, so I’m preparing simple snacks for her later, so don’t worry too much. And please don’t force Sierra to eat. She’s had indigestion before when you did that.”

Beth had almost died once when she made a mistake during Maria’s tea time when she lived in Agrische [the Agrische estate, likely the family’s main residence].

She was saved by Sierra, who was next to her, but her fear of Maria was clearly imprinted in her mind.

Of course, Maria had been a scary mistress even before that.

So, in fact, when she came all the way here to find Sierra, she couldn’t help but be terrified as if she had seen a ghost.

For a while, she couldn’t sleep every night because she had to live in the same space as Maria.

But perhaps it was because she had become bolder after experiencing various things, Beth was no longer as afraid of Maria as before.

Was it because she had escaped from that terrifying Agrische?

Or was it because she was now sharing a simple daily life with them, something she could never have imagined when she was serving the mistresses in Agrische?

“And what about the toner? Did you mix the herbs I planted in the flower bed?”

Still, Maria seemed like a normal person now.

“Yes. I made it according to the method you told me.”

“No, if you made it the way I told you, Sierra’s skin wouldn’t be so rough these days. Didn’t you mix it wrong, not 2.5 : 7.5, but 2 : 8, or maybe 3 : 7?”

Above all, she had a small commonality with Beth.

That was that she was crazy about Sierra.

Beth paused what she was doing at Maria’s sharp criticism and said this time in a truly firm tone.

“No. I mixed it exactly in a 2.5 : 7.5 ratio. I also got Perona honey, which is especially good for Sierra’s skin, and added five drops. The Nuaba honey you told me about at first didn’t have any effect on Sierra.”

It was a statement full of pride, befitting a maid who had been serving Sierra most closely since Agrische.

At that, Maria’s eyebrows twitched even more violently than before.

“Then why is Sierra’s fair skin so damaged!”

She revealed her displeasure and questioned Beth.

And she became even more depressed at Beth’s answer.

“It’s because she’s been suffering from insomnia lately. You always fall asleep as soon as you lie down, so you wouldn’t know.”

Beth spoke as gently and politely as ever, but for some reason, Maria felt bad looking at her.

Sak, sak.

Emily, who was sitting in front of the wall, watched the two people confronting each other over trivial matters with a dry expression, sharpening the blade of the dagger she always carried with her.

“Sierra has insomnia? No wonder she looked uncomfortable while sleeping.”

Maria finally found something to attack Beth with again.

“I told you not to spare any money on anything Sierra uses, right? I told you I have plenty of money. Change Sierra’s bedding and furniture right away. No…… should I just build a new house altogether?”

Beth ignored Maria’s words as she had been doing for some time.

Of course, Maria was capable of putting her thoughts into action right away.

But what Maria was saying now was something that Sierra had already rejected, leaving only Maria with lingering feelings.

Now, Sierra had become quite firm with Maria, and she no longer just followed her around as she used to.

And Maria surprisingly had a soft spot for Sierra.

So she didn’t do things that Sierra firmly refused.

Beth knew why Maria had been making irrelevant remarks since earlier.

So she couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

“You already know why Sierra isn’t feeling well, Maria.”

The moment Beth muttered as if passing by, Maria’s mouth snapped shut in a straight line.

After a while, Maria looked at Beth with eyes twice as cold as before and put the fork she was holding on the table.

“You’ve made me lose my appetite.”

Of course, she didn’t get up from her seat nicely.

Clang!

The plate that was swept away by Maria’s arm soon fell to the floor and broke.

She had fully expected Maria to throw a tantrum to some extent, but it was still a little scary to face her eyes, which were still filled with coldness.

“I’m sorry, Maria.”

Beth realized that she had been too presumptuous and quickly apologized, feeling a little scared.

She wondered if Maria would stab her in the neck with a fork if she was in a bad mood, but Maria didn’t.

She just glared at Beth once, then fluttered her clothes and left the spot.

* * *

Maria headed to the most secluded room in the house.

She barged in without knocking.

And she glared at the person lying on the bed with fierce eyes.

But he didn’t move from his spot, as if he couldn’t feel Maria’s gaze.

It was only natural since he was unconscious.

Eventually, Maria frowned, averted her gaze, and moved forward with somewhat nervous steps.

“Seriously, why is this happening all of a sudden.”

The person lying on the bed was her son, Deon.

When Roxana brought Deon, covered in blood, a few days ago, everyone in the house couldn’t help but be surprised.

Roxana simply threw Deon down without any detailed explanation and disappeared again.

Seeing Deon’s left arm, which was still empty, wondering where he had left one of his arms again, she felt a little troubled, even though he was her son.

Of course, the emotion that was much greater than that was displeasure.

“You’re making Sierra uncomfortable.”

I can’t just kick him out like this.

Of course, Deon was Maria’s son, but she didn’t have much of what could be called maternal love for him.

So even now, she was tempted to throw Deon away where he wouldn’t be seen by Sierra.

Besides, she felt resentful when she thought about how she had searched for Sierra in vain for a long time because of her son’s sudden nasty temper.

But as a minimum duty as a mother, she was going to put up with it until Deon woke up.

‘To do that, this guy needs to open his eyes quickly.’

Suddenly, she reached out, wondering if Deon was pretending not to be conscious even though he had already regained his senses.

She even put murderous intent in her touch for a definite effect.

But even while her hand was choking his neck, Deon didn’t move.

It was the first time she had seen her son so defenseless, so Maria felt strangely unfamiliar.