The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 125

Maria was the first person I saw when I turned toward the familiar voice.

She was dressed elegantly in a dress, complete with a parasol, just as she had been in Agrice.

Maria hurried toward Deon, as if afraid her high heels would break.

The full skirt billowed around her with her quick movements, like flower petals scattering in the wind.

“It really is you!” Maria shouted, her voice filled with excitement as she got closer to Deon.

“Where have you been all this time, and what have you been doing?”

Deon’s face, however, remained utterly expressionless.

It was a remarkably indifferent reaction for a mother and son who hadn’t been able to confirm each other’s survival.

But Maria was used to Deon being like that, so she accepted it without a word.

Her gaze swept over her son from head to toe.

Deon looked perfectly fine, as she expected.

A look that said, ‘I knew it,’ appeared on Maria’s face.

“Are you with Sana?” Maria asked, looking up at Deon again.

And before he could answer, she seemed to glean the answer from his impassive face.

“I guess not.”

The second question followed immediately.

“Then have you seen Sierra?”

The speed at which she asked the questions suggested that her happiness at seeing Deon was primarily driven by her need to ask about Sierra.

“I think Sana sent Sierra away because the mansion was in such a mess that day and she was worried Sierra would get hurt. I can’t find her anywhere.”

Maria continued to speak rapidly, as if she couldn’t waste a single moment.

“You were with Sana until the end that day, weren’t you? Did she tell you where she sent her?”

Deon looked down at Maria for a moment without a word.

He thought of Sierra, who had been with him until recently, and then opened his lips, which had been tightly closed.

“East.”

Deon uttered the single word and started walking past Maria.

“East? You mean east from here?”

Maria nodded as if she understood, then turned her back to Deon and started walking as well.

That’s how the short reunion ended in an instant.

Maria and Deon had even less conversation than they did with Jeremy.

But neither of them found it strange, nor did they even care about it in the slightest.

Deon entered the forest and walked for a while.

Then, at the edge of the forest, he stopped abruptly.

If a path in this direction leads somewhere…

“Vertium?”

A low voice cut through the light filtering through the trees.

The sky was endlessly blue, like the eyes of the person Maria was looking for a little while ago.

Deon, of course, did not know what awaited him at the end of the road he was about to take.

* * *

The carriage stopped just outside the territory of Vertium.

Isidore was Cassis’s only confidant present, but there were also two attendants who managed the carriage. They moved to take care of their duties independently during the break.

Cassis and Roxana also got out of the carriage.

*Flap.*

A hawk flew in and landed on Cassis’s arm.

He seemed to be trying to send a messenger to Pedelian.

Roxana also summoned a butterfly and sent it flying somewhere. Its destination was Griselda.

No matter how I considered it, the explosion in Vertium seemed to be Griselda’s doing.

Then how could she have helped so promptly?

Was it just a coincidence?

Explosions continued to be heard until they left Vertium, but it was probably the activation of a magic circle drawn in advance.

So it was likely that Griselda had safely escaped Vertium.

“Lady.”

While Roxana was lost in thought, Isidore approached her.

“Sir Winston.”

“That, in Vertium…”

He began, as if he had something to say to Roxana.

But Isidore suddenly stopped talking, frowned, and seemed to ponder something for a moment, then shook his head.

“No… It’s nothing. If you want to check on the condition of the doll in the luggage compartment, please come with me.”

However, it was such an obvious change of subject that Roxana almost asked why.

“I’ve finished my business, so I’ll go with you,” Cassis said, approaching them.

He seemed to have sent away the hawk that was with him.

Isidore had been about to tell Roxana about meeting Griselda in Vertium, but he stopped himself.

Of course, Cassis did not specifically order him to keep the matter a secret, but he suddenly wondered if he should reveal such a thing without permission.

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll step back. If you have any orders, please call me.”

So Isidore, feeling guilty for no reason when Cassis appeared, quickly nodded and stepped back.

It was a very natural reaction, but it wasn’t enough to escape the sharp intuition of Cassis and Roxana.

Both of them felt suspicious of Isidore’s behavior.

Besides, Isidore’s gaze had briefly lingered on Roxana at the end…

Roxana narrowed her eyes, a subtle feeling creeping over her.

Come to think of it, Isidore had sometimes looked at her with the same expression.

How should I describe that look?

If I had to, it would be like looking at someone who had been scammed and had their life mortgaged… [referring to a situation where someone has been tricked and lost everything].

Well, of course, it wasn’t exactly the same feeling, and this description seemed exaggerated, but there was still something similar about the eerie feeling.

Even now, Isidore seemed to be hiding something from her.

“What’s wrong? Do you have something to say to Isidore?” Cassis asked, noticing that Roxana’s gaze was fixed on Isidore.

His gaze followed Roxana’s to Isidore.

Somehow, Isidore seemed to be avoiding Cassis’s gaze.

“I’m just grateful for his careful attention,” Roxana said with a slight smile, as if it were nothing.

After that, she nonchalantly led Cassis to where Nix was.

But she had not forgotten the unnaturalness that Isidore had shown a little while ago.

She would have to ask Isidore separately later what he had been about to say.

* * *

Inside the Agrice mansion, where the chaos had subsided, a heavy silence filled the air.

Blood was splattered on the floor. Red bloodstains marked the walls here and there.

It was the aftermath of the fierce battle that had taken place a short while ago.

“You morons,” a thin voice echoed in the quiet lobby, where the tense atmosphere had settled like debris.

A girl with rose-red hair looked down at her groaning half-brothers with a look of disdain and moved forward.

Following the bloody footprints on the floor, a familiar figure soon came into view.

Jeremy, sensing her presence, turned around.

“What, did you come chasing after me because you wanted to end up like those guys?”

The blue light in his eyes shone clearly even in the dimness.

“Then come on.”

He exuded a fierce energy, as if he would rush in and tear her throat out if she took even one more step forward.

Jeremy had also suffered minor injuries from the one-to-many fight. But he still seemed full of competitiveness and vigor.

“No. I don’t want to get bitten for no reason,” Charlotte said, frowning at Jeremy, who was radiating a fierce energy.

“Then why did you crawl out and bother me? You should have washed your feet and gone to sleep as you always do.”

Jeremy still reacted sharply to Charlotte’s words.

Charlotte wasn’t offended because she understood Jeremy’s low mood, partly due to what had happened with the other brothers a little while ago.

However, seeing him so on edge, she thought it was a good thing she had hidden herself until the commotion subsided.

If she had been among the other brothers, she would have barely avoided getting into a messy situation.

“Where is Roxana?”

The moment Charlotte’s question reached his ears, Jeremy’s fingertips twitched.

“You know, right?”

Charlotte’s face showed that she didn’t doubt that Jeremy knew where Roxana was.

That wasn’t entirely true, but there was no need to tell her.

Jeremy reacted calmly, giving nothing away.

“What if I do?”

“I’m just curious.”

Charlotte gave an ‘as expected’ expression when she saw Jeremy’s reaction.

“Making Agrice like this, what is she doing now?”

“Why do you assume Sana is the one who made Agrice like this?”

Jeremy’s face contorted.

He denied Charlotte’s words.

Of course, it was a lie, but at this point, there was no need to reveal the truth and direct suspicion toward Roxana.

But how did Charlotte, that clever little girl, know that?

When Lant was removed from the head position before the Pedelians invaded, it was Deon who was officially named, and Roxana never came to the forefront.

But Charlotte seemed to be already convinced that Roxana was behind it all.

Charlotte asked back in a subtle tone.

“Isn’t she?”

“Of course not.”

Jeremy replied as if she was talking nonsense.

“Really? Then never mind.”

I thought she would press the issue a little longer, but it was an unexpectedly simple reaction.

Charlotte simply nodded as if she understood Jeremy’s words.

“I was just curious and wanted to ask. It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

After saying that, Charlotte turned around.