The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 106

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 106

11. Nicks, a Distorted Night Painting

Instead of returning directly to Hyperion, Orca was hiding near the border of Fedelian.

“I wonder if they’ve left yet.”

He was waiting for Richel and Cassis to depart from Fedelian.

Orca had also learned that important figures from the five families would soon gather at Yggdrasil.

Hyperion’s contact had informed him of this news, intending to summon him back to the family.

However, Orca had no intention of attending the Yggdrasil meeting, nor did he want to return to Hyperion willingly.

So, he pretended to leave Fedelian, hid in the surrounding area, and was biding his time.

However, after days of inactivity, he was starting to grow restless.

But compared to his time spent stationed exploring monster habitats, this didn’t require as much patience.

Besides, a tempting reward usually awaited him after a period of waiting.

Of course, no matter how meticulously he planned, crossing Fedelian’s gates undetected was nearly impossible.

However, with Richel and Cassis away, it was worth a try.

The reason Orca was taking such a dangerous risk was, of course, Roxana.

The owner of the poison butterfly he had been searching for so desperately.

Until now, Orca had unhesitatingly killed the owners of the monsters he wanted to acquire.

But this time, even if he could kill her and take the butterfly, he didn’t want to.

Yes, Orca was feeling a tremendous interest in and attraction towards Roxana, the owner of the poison butterfly—something he had never felt towards a person before.

Whenever he thought of Roxana controlling the poison butterfly in Fedelian’s garden, his spine tingled.

These were the emotions Orca usually felt only from monsters.

Unbelievably, he wanted to possess not only the poison butterfly but also its owner.

But to make the woman of the Azure Noble his own, the challenge was significant.

‘I even used my charm to seduce her openly, but she didn’t even bat an eye,’ he thought.

Recalling the conversation he had with Roxana before leaving Fedelian, wrinkles formed on his forehead.

Her blunt rejection of his advances was unpleasant even to think about.

But Orca was a man who needed to get what he wanted to be satisfied.

To do that, he had to lure Roxana out of Fedelian first.

‘To match the meeting schedule, they’ll probably leave for Yggdrasil by sunset at the latest. Then I should move around evening time.’

Orca chewed on a piece of dried jerky, recalling his pre-arranged plan.

Then, after a while, he frowned and spat out what he was chewing on the ground.

“Ugh, this just ruins the taste in my mouth. Maybe it’s because I tasted delicacies in Fedelian, but I can’t eat this at all.”

Orca smacked his lips, thinking about the dishes he had enjoyed in Fedelian.

Then suddenly, a strange sensation brushed against the back of his neck.

It was as if… something was standing very close behind him.

In an instant, the fine hairs on his body stood on end, and goosebumps spread across his arms.

But that couldn’t be. He clearly didn’t sense any presence…

Whoosh!

Just as he was about to turn his head to check, a blunt force mercilessly struck the back of his neck.

Orca lost consciousness without making a sound.

* * *

Thud!

Orca, struck unexpectedly in a vital spot, collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Cassis looked down at him with cold eyes.

He kicked Orca’s body, and his closed-eyed face came into view. He was completely unconscious.

Cassis’s eyes briefly scanned the surroundings.

Gems with simple spells etched on them formed a circle around Orca.

“A spell formation to erase presence.”

It would have been more useful in the current situation to use a spell that detects creatures approaching beyond a certain distance.

Crack.

Cassis crushed the gem at his feet.

Cassis’s gaze towards Orca remained consistently cold.

Orca had been doing things that constantly bothered Cassis inside Fedelian.

And now, he had been discovered secretly hiding near the border, which was enough to sour Cassis’s mood.

In fact, Cassis didn’t believe Orca when he said he would willingly return to Hyperion.

From the beginning, Orca had been trying desperately to approach the annex where Roxana was staying.

Moreover, Isidore had informed him that Orca had openly flirted with Roxana while Cassis was away for a moment.

So, it was clear that Orca’s reason for pretending to return to Hyperion and hiding near Fedelian’s border was for a sinister purpose.

It was obvious that he was taking advantage of Cassis’s absence.

“I kindly extended my generosity and sent him away, but he’s fearlessly acting up.”

Cassis looked down at Orca with cold eyes before bending down.

Then he moved his hand without hesitation.

Crack!

The gems from the accessories torn from Orca’s body shattered miserably in Cassis’s hand.

Shining gem fragments and powder fell onto the grass.

The connection between Orca and the monsters was severed at once.

It was something that any Beastmaster [a person who can control monsters] would have lamented, shed tears of blood, and wailed over.

The medium for imprinting with a spell reduced the Beastmaster’s physical burden, but it also carried other risks.

The problem was that if the medium used was damaged, it would cause problems with the connection to the monster.

Of course, as such, it is basic to choose an item that will not be easily damaged as a medium for engraving the spell.

The gem used in Hyperion was also specially made.

Therefore, there was generally no risk of damage due to external reasons.

Internal factors that could damage the gem typically included the destruction of the spell engraved on the gem due to the extinction of the imprinted monster.

But Cassis broke all the gems Orca had with his bare hands. It wasn’t difficult to do with a little force in his hand.

The precious monsters that Orca had struggled to imprint were regaining their freedom one by one in Cassis’s hands.

If Orca had been conscious, he would have foamed at the mouth and fainted at Cassis’s ruthless actions.

Shatter!

Finally, even the gems attached to Orca’s last accessory became fine powder and scattered into the air.

Cassis shook off his hands and stood up.

Even after committing such an atrocious act that anyone in Hyperion would shudder and curse him as a rogue, there was not a shadow on his face.

Cassis was also restricted in his actions within Fedelian.

Of course, Orca seemed to think otherwise, but if Cassis had put everything else aside and acted as he pleased, Orca would not have left Fedelian smiling like that.

Orca was the one who brought this upon himself.

If Orca had willingly returned to Hyperion, he would not have encountered Cassis here.

Still, he hadn’t crossed a dangerous line yet, so he decided to end it here.

But if he continued to bother him beyond this, Cassis couldn’t guarantee what would happen next.

Cassis felt the urge to leave Orca in the monster habitat as he stared down at him under his feet.

Then he finally reached out his hand again.

* * *

Shortly after, Cassis came out of the forest.

“Isn’t that the White Beastmaster?” Isidore, who had been waiting outside the forest on Cassis’s orders, asked in surprise.

Isidore’s face was a mixture of embarrassment and bewilderment.

Orca was tied up tightly, slumped like luggage over Cassis’s shoulder.

“He was hiding in the forest.”

Richel had already left for Yggdrasil.

When Cassis said he would patrol the border once before leaving, Isidore didn’t pay much attention to it.

Patrolling the border was something he did periodically anyway.

But he never expected the White Beastmaster to pop out there.

Cassis threw Orca to his subordinates and ordered them to transport him to Hyperion.

“Tell them we accidentally found him collapsed while heading to Yggdrasil and protected him on the Fedelian side.”

“Yes, I understand.”

It was clear that Cassis was the one who had put the White Beastmaster in that state, but the subordinates pretended not to know and followed his orders.

“Shall we depart now?”

At Isidore’s words, Cassis briefly moved his gaze to look somewhere.

His gaze was directed towards the direction of Fedelian’s mansion.