The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 136

### How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – 136

* * *

“Sylvia, if you feel uncomfortable during the journey, please let me know at any time.”

As evening approached, Fedelian paused their journey, reorganizing the procession and preparing to set up camp.

During this time, Cassis approached Sylvia to check on her well-being.

“Okay, thank you.”

This was only the second time Sylvia had been outside Fedelian for such an extended period. The first was to attend the Harmony Assembly at Yggdrasil last winter.

Therefore, her family seemed worried that this trip might be too strenuous for Sylvia. However, Sylvia was more energetic than their concerns suggested.

“It would be nice if Roxana were here too.”

Cassis responded to Sylvia’s unintentional murmur.

“You’ll see her soon.”

His calm voice sounded somewhat flat.

However, Sylvia sensed a hint of emotion within it and glanced up at her brother’s face.

The setting sun cast a deep hue on Cassis’s face.

He was staring at something far off in the distance, not at Sylvia.

Roxana had said goodbye to Sylvia before leaving. She smiled kindly at Sylvia, saying she had other business and would travel separately, so they would meet again in Yggdrasil.

Sylvia’s eyes, which had been watching Cassis, turned towards the carriage where Nyx was confined.

He was being closely watched by Fedelian’s people.

“……Who are you?”

Suddenly, the memory of meeting Nyx in the underground prison flashed through her mind.

Sylvia was subtly surprised because she hadn’t expected the doll, who found her, to speak first.

Moreover, she was surprised a second time because the doll’s appearance was neater than she expected and resembled Roxana. She was surprised a third time because the voice that was conveyed to her was very gentle and soft, unlike what she had seen on the first day.

“Then who are you……”

Sylvia reflexively opened her mouth.

However, she was about to unconsciously retort, ‘Then who are you?’ but soon realized that she already knew he was a doll and simply closed her mouth.

The subordinate who had been guarding the underground prison and accompanied Sylvia was wary of the unexpected situation and tried to dissuade Sylvia.

“Lady Sylvia, let’s go back now.”

“I am Nyx.”

At that moment, a sweet, beautiful voice melted into Sylvia’s ears again. The voice that reached her ear was fluid and beautiful, as if singing.

Was he in his mid-teens or slightly older?

Perhaps because his body had stopped growing at the time of his death, he looked younger than his younger sister, Roxana.

Nyx’s beautiful face looked clear and innocent, without a single flaw.

Anyone who saw that face would naturally let go of their wariness.

“Your name is Sylvia.”

The subordinate flinched the moment Sylvia’s name came from Nyx’s mouth.

He seemed to regret his mistake, realizing that he had unknowingly spoken Sylvia’s name in front of Nyx.

Noticing this, Sylvia decided that she shouldn’t stay here any longer.

“Okay, let’s go back now.”

So, she turned her back on him again without being further captivated by Nyx.

“Wait a minute, Sylvia. Don’t go.”

Clang.

At that moment, the sound of chains shaking and a heartbreakingly plaintive voice pierced her eardrums.

Ignoring that voice and turning away made her feel as if she was doing something very bad, leaving her feeling uneasy.

“I’m sorry, I have to go now.”

“Why? Can’t you stay a little longer?”

“That’s difficult.”

“It’s too cramped and stuffy here. And I’m lonely.”

Nyx explained how unfairly and coldly people had treated him, appealing to Sylvia’s sympathy.

“You’re the only one among the people who have come here who hasn’t been hostile to me. So please talk to me a little more.”

Nyx looked truly harmless and pitiful.

However, hearing those words, Sylvia suddenly came to her senses.

She was the only one among the people who had come here who wasn’t hostile to him?

If that was true, she should rather reflect on and reproach herself for wavering for a moment and hesitating like this.

If the other people of Fedelian who had visited Nyx were consistently cold to him, there must be a reason for it.

And from Nyx’s actions now, Sylvia could guess to some extent why she should be wary of this doll.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not my role. Then I’ll be going.”

Sylvia’s face was still gentle as she said that.

However, unlike before, there was no hesitation in her actions as she turned around again.

Nyx kept whispering behind Sylvia’s back.

“Sylvia, please come see me again next time. I beg you.”

Recalling that incident, Sylvia frowned.

Somehow, the atmosphere surrounding Cassis, Roxana, and Nyx, whom she had seen for the first time, didn’t seem good.

Cassis repeatedly urged her not to easily believe the doll, no matter what he said or what attitude he showed, because he was cunning.

Sylvia nodded immediately after hearing Cassis’s words. He had come to her separately and explained in a calm voice.

Even if Nyx’s impression in the underground prison was good, it wasn’t enough to ignore the words of the reliable people beside her.

Moreover, there were clearly several other things that had happened between them since Vertium that Sylvia didn’t know about, and there was no way Cassis and Roxana would treat Nyx coldly without a reason.

She wanted to add that there was no need to worry too much because she wasn’t a child, but she didn’t say it because it didn’t seem to work with her brother.

Sylvia had just become an adult. Moreover, she had never left Fedelian until now, so she didn’t know much about the world yet.

Sylvia herself knew that she was still under the protection of others. So it was natural for them to worry about her.

Just as Sylvia was looking at the place where Nyx was and then averted her gaze, Cassis was staring at the point where the red sun was setting with his eyes lowered.

Soon night would come.

The remaining time until they fully entered Yggdrasil was two days.

The visitor Cassis was expecting within that time was not only Vertium.

That was also one of the reasons why Cassis had sent Roxana away from Fedelian first, leaving behind a hint of hesitation.

“Brother, it looks like we’re going to have dinner now. They’re calling us over there?”

“Let’s go too, Sylvia.”

“Okay.”

Cassis and Sylvia walked side by side to the place where the people waiting for them were.

A deep navy blue was slowly spreading across the wide sky behind them.

* * *

“How have you been?”

She didn’t know how long it had been since she had faced her daughter and had a conversation like this.

Sierra’s blue eyes searched the face in front of her, as if groping. Immediately after, her expression softened slightly.

“You look better.”

She was relieved that Roxana’s face looked better than before, contrary to what she had worried about.

“You look more comfortable than before, Mother.”

Like Sierra, Roxana was also examining her mother’s face.

“Have you been uncomfortable at all?”

“No. Thanks to your meticulous preparations in advance, I’ve been comfortable.”

Ordinary greetings, asking about each other’s well-being, were exchanged several times.

“And you?”

“I’ve been doing well too.”

Neither of them brought up the last day in Agrische or the story of Lant.

Even though they were mother and daughter, there seemed to be a lack of intimacy in their conversation.

However, anyone who knew Sierra and Roxana well would know that both of them were clearly exuding a relaxed atmosphere at this moment. Emily and Beth, who were beside them, did.

So they quietly left to avoid disturbing Sierra and Roxana’s time.

Sierra stared at Roxana’s face for a moment without saying a word.

She had never stopped thinking about Roxana for a single day since she had left Agrische that way last winter.

However, the reason she didn’t go to find her was also because she thought it would be a hindrance to her daughter.

After a while, a small whisper escaped Sierra’s slightly opened lips again.

“I thought, Sana, that you……”

*I thought you would never come to find me. So maybe, I thought we might never see each other again like this.*

However, Sierra swallowed the words that were about to follow.

She was already a mother who was not helpful to her daughter. To pour out the words in her heart without adding or subtracting anything was nothing more than an unqualified complaint.

She couldn’t act like a spoiled child when she was a mother who couldn’t embrace her daughter.

Besides… Roxana had eventually come to see her like this, hadn’t she?

“I don’t care about anything else as long as you’re safe, Sana.”

In the end, what flowed from Sierra’s lips was the truth that she had been holding onto since she was in Agrische.

At Sierra’s words, Roxana quietly stared at her mother’s face without saying anything.

Somehow, this moment felt unfamiliar.

That was because of the situation they were in now, and also because the person they were facing now was somehow different from before.

Roxana felt that Sierra’s eyes had become more firm than before.

If she had seemed as if she would falter easily even in a thin breeze in the past, now she felt as if she would not be easily broken no matter how strong a wind blew.

“I too……”

Soon Roxana also opened her mouth and whispered.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Mother.”

Like Sierra, this was also a feeling that Roxana had been holding in her heart for a very long time.

Then, suddenly, she realized that the truths that the two of them had each uttered were very similar.

Sierra urged her not to die like her son and to become a person suitable for Agrische, and Roxana kept her distance with harsh words because she didn’t want to hurt her mother.

However, in some ways, both of them felt selfish in that they insisted on their own desired methods, regardless of the other person’s intentions.

Knock knock.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

At that time, Beth opened the door and entered the room. She was carrying a tray with refreshments on it.

Beth, who had approached, began to put down what she had brought on the small table.

Naturally, Roxana and Sierra’s conversation was also cut off.

“By the way, Mother.”

In the meantime, Roxana’s lowered gaze slowly swept around the surroundings.

Soon she asked Sierra for an answer to the question that had been bothering her.

“Before I came, did anyone stay here?”

Clatter…….

At that moment, Beth’s hand, which was putting down the teacup, stopped abruptly.