The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 101

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 101

* * *

When I arrived at the detached palace, Cassis had not yet returned.

Come to think of it, Orca said he was going to see the leader of the Azure family, didn’t he?

Perhaps his meeting was delayed because Cassis met with Richel first.

“Lady, excuse me.”

“Come in.”

Lost in thought, I heard a servant knock. When I responded, a woman entered, holding a tray with a deep red envelope on it.

“A letter has arrived for you, Lady. The sender is Noel Vertium of the Yellow family.”

At the unexpected name, I frowned slightly.

Vertium sent me a letter? How did they know I was here?

Of course, my location wasn’t a secret I was desperately trying to hide.

But even so, Vertium had no reason to contact me.

“Did Fedelian check the contents?”

“Yes, Lady. They completed the basic inspection.”

Basic inspection meant checking for dangerous items or curses with dark magic.

I picked up the red envelope from the tray.

If Fedelian had inspected it, there shouldn’t be any immediate danger.

I dismissed the servant and sat on the sofa to open the letter.

Inside were only four or five short lines.

It was a simple, concise letter, omitting the lengthy pleasantries usually included at the beginning.

[To Roxana Agriche. With a sincere heart, wishing to see you again, I am sending you something you might miss.]

I wondered what that meant.

Feeling doubtful, I turned the envelope over, and something fell out.

It was a small ornament: a red jewel atop a tassel made of golden threads.

I frowned slightly. Then I continued reading the letter.

[The traces of blood relatives seen in a distant land melt the frozen heart and immerse you in deep nostalgia. If you like my gift, I hope you will accept my invitation.]

The more I read, the colder I felt.

[Then I will be waiting with your precious person. -Noel Vertium.]

What a ridiculous trick.

I finished reading the letter and smiled crookedly.

The gold thread in the ornament was someone’s hair.

Traces of blood relatives. And my precious person.

Noel Vertium was threatening me, implying he had my mother.

“This is quite unpleasant.”

But I didn’t believe it was my mother’s hair.

I also doubted she was in Noel Vertium’s hands.

On my last day in Agriche, I sent Emily to help my mother move as she wished.

If she chose to stay, I would hide her in a safe place within the mansion.

And if she chose to leave, I had prepared everything for her to do so.

The place I prepared was not in Vertium’s territory.

Moreover, there had been no signal indicating anything had happened to them.

Even without that, my intuition told me this wasn’t my mother’s hair.

It was likely someone else’s hair of a similar color.

I thought he was naive when I saw him clumsily spilling blood at the Harmony Assembly [a formal gathering or event] last time.

But he’s resorting to such a petty trick.

Well, Noel Vertium, as described in the novel, was someone who hid a shrewd side behind a childlike, innocent face, wasn’t he?

I placed the letter and ornament on the table.

Noel pulled this trick hoping I’d be surprised and rush to him, but I felt nothing special.

“…….”

I looked down at the envelope and tapped the armrest.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check.

The poison butterflies had a limited communication range, so I couldn’t send them directly to other families’ lands.

Instead, I contacted Griselda.

When I last saw her in Agriche, she said she’d be staying near the neutral zone for a while.

I could send butterflies that far.

This was the first time I had left Agriche and contacted someone else.

She would surely answer before long.

* * *

“I have to leave for a while.”

“Really?”

That evening, Cassis, who had returned to the detached palace, told me.

I was lying on the bed, thinking about Noel Vertium’s letter.

Cassis came over and sat beside me.

I moved closer to him and rested my head on his leg. Cassis gently stroked my hair.

Cassis said he had to attend the meeting of the Five Families soon.

As he was the key figure in what happened in Agriche, he needed to make an appearance.

No wonder the conversation with Richel was getting longer; I figured they were discussing something important.

I stared at Cassis’s face.

In fact, I was involved in most of what happened in Agriche.

But only a few people knew, and they had no intention of revealing my involvement.

I considered the destruction of Agriche my final task.

I hadn’t planned anything beyond that.

I assumed my life would end that day with Agriche, regardless of how much time I had left.

But now the situation was different.

No one was pressuring me, but…

I couldn’t stay here alone forever.

Thinking this, I looked at Cassis and smiled faintly.

Cassis returned my smile.

Vertium openly sent a letter to me in Fedelian.

So the news must have reached Cassis. But he didn’t show it.

Like when I went to Richel’s office, he didn’t ask if I had heard about Agriche.

So I didn’t bother explaining.

It was a relief.

If Cassis had asked, I wasn’t sure if I would have answered honestly.

“Your mother, she was a good person.”

Cassis’s eyes changed slightly at my words.

He looked down at me silently for a moment.

As if trying to understand my conversation with his mother through my expression.

“Sylvia seems to resemble your mother a lot.”

“In appearance. Her personality is not very similar.”

Fortunately, Cassis’s expression softened, as if he found nothing to worry about.

“Yes, your personality seemed more like my mother’s than Sylvia’s.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Cassis’s hand moved from my hair to my face.

He stroked my forehead, then slid down to my temple, gently lifting my chin.

Cassis lowered his head and kissed me gently.

Not a rough, hasty kiss, but a languid, drowsy kiss, like tickling with feathers.

And just as tantalizing.

Soon, Cassis raised his head and looked down at me from close range.

His hand, moved from my chin, slowly caressed my wet lips.

I opened my lips and gently bit his finger. Then I stuck out my tongue and licked it.

Like this morning, Cassis’s eyes darkened as if submerged.

Without hesitation, his lips met mine again.

The deeply penetrating tongue roughly stirred inside my mouth.

When I came to my senses, I was pinned down by Cassis, completely buried in the bed.