The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 145

Guarding the Heroine’s Brother – 145

A Family I Missed.

Is she referring to Jeremy?

Or……

Roxana chose her words carefully, quietly gazing into Cassis’s eyes across from her.

“I’ve met those I missed, and those I didn’t.”

White fingers, as if carved from pearls, slowly traced the glass.

“One of them seemed to have encountered Fedelian first by chance… I’m concerned he might have committed a discourtesy.”

She already knew Deon and Cassis had met.

Moreover, Deon hadn’t reacted well to the fact that Roxana and Cassis had been together until recently.

So, she worried he might have harmed Cassis and the people of Fedelian.

Especially considering Deon’s attitude yesterday, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had directly confronted Cassis, at the very least.

At first glance, Cassis didn’t seem to have any visible injuries… but perhaps his healing abilities had already restored him.

Of course, she didn’t think Cassis would have been easily defeated.

However, due to Agriche’s nature, Deon was skilled in ambushes.

In such a situation, especially since Cassis had people he needed to protect, it might not have been easy to send Deon away without a scratch.

Roxana looked at Cassis with such concerns.

Cassis seemed to see through her worries.

“Well……”

The next moment, Cassis wore a peculiar smile.

Soon, from Cassis’s lips, a voice that felt somewhat distant from his usual composure emerged.

“If it’s the kind of discourtesy you mean, I might have been the one who committed it.”

At the unexpected words, Roxana’s hand, which had been hovering over the glass, stopped abruptly.

Her red eyes, fixed on Cassis, widened slightly in surprise.

They held a hint of bewilderment that she couldn’t quite hide.

…What did he just say?

That he might have been the one who committed a discourtesy?

Cassis had clearly said that a moment ago.

Then, does that mean Cassis attacked Deon and harmed him?

Besides, Cassis’s reaction just now felt a bit unfamiliar.

“Is that so……?”

“Yes.”

She questioned him, feeling somewhat dazed, but Cassis answered without hesitation this time as well.

Then, he gazed intently into Roxana’s eyes and asked.

“Will you rebuke me, perhaps?”

Roxana felt momentarily speechless as she met Cassis’s gaze.

Under the chandelier’s light, his face shone more purely than usual.

Cassis, like Roxana and the others present, was dressed up, making him look even more splendid.

Amidst all that finery, he was looking at her with such an innocent expression that she couldn’t bring herself to utter even the slightest complaint.

It felt like she had glimpsed an unexpected side of Cassis.

“Of course not.”

Roxana raised her hand to cover her mouth, pretending to clear her throat, as she felt like she couldn’t control her expression.

“Even if you committed some discourtesy, I would never rebuke you.”

It was an answer suited to the situation, but it was also Roxana’s sincere feeling.

A faint smile finally appeared on Cassis’s lips upon hearing her words.

The gaze directed at Roxana had also softened.

The gentle warmth emanating from within seemed to spread to Roxana’s heart as well.

No, it feels like honey is dripping from his eyes right now…….

Of course, she didn’t dislike the ticklish feeling, but she thought he should temper his gaze a bit before anyone else noticed.

Fortunately, Cassis changed his expression again before Roxana could feel too embarrassed.

As if he had never worn such a tender expression, his face was so perfectly indifferent that Roxana almost felt a little disappointed.

But soon, at the words that flowed from Cassis’s lips again…….

“Come to think of it, one of my companions was surprised to see an unexpected uninvited guest.”

Once again, Roxana’s hand paused.

One of his companions.

If it were someone from Fedelian, Cassis wouldn’t have referred to them like that.

Then, there was only one person left.

“When you say one of your companions?”

The moment their eyes met, Cassis nodded slightly.

“You are thinking of the right person.”

A red light, carrying a warning, flashed in Roxana’s mind.

Deon and Nix met.

She hadn’t sensed anything like that from Deon yesterday.

But the fact that the two had met wasn’t as surprising as Cassis’s added words.

“They both recognized each other and were agitated, as if they had known each other in the past.”

In an instant, the surrounding noise subsided.

The soft voice she had just heard seemed fragmented and buzzed chaotically in her ears.

Perhaps that was why she couldn’t grasp its meaning properly.

After barely recognizing its meaning, a flood of questions overwhelmed Roxana.

“Agriche.”

Then, suddenly, at the firm voice heard from the front, she startled back to her senses.

When she moved her gaze, which had been averted, back to the front, she saw unwavering, straight golden eyes staring directly at her.

Cassis was carefully observing Roxana’s condition.

After Cassis came into view, Roxana’s momentarily chaotic mind gradually began to calm down.

“I see… It was such an unexpected event that I was a little surprised.”

The voice that finally escaped her lips was completely composed.

Roxana even smiled faintly at Cassis. Seeing that, Cassis was relieved.

“How interesting. That they recognized each other. If I have the chance, I would like to hear more about this later.”

“If I can be of help, anytime.”

Saying that, the two exchanged a brief glance.

The sound of soft music was heard not far away.

Before long, the murmur of voices continued around them.

With the passing of time, the banquet was gradually reaching its peak.

* * *

“……”

At that moment, Deon was looking down at the bound ‘Asil.’

The half-brother he had killed with his own hands, destroying his heart under the orders of his father, Lant.

There were multiple layers of locks on the entrance, but unlocking them was not difficult for Deon.

It would have been more challenging if it had been a device using sorcery [magic].

However, within Yggdrasil, a demilitarized zone, no one was free to use sorcery.

Below, the banquet must already be in full swing.

But Deon was not attending it and was instead standing in this room filled only with silence.

‘Asil,’ whom he had encountered once before among Fedelian’s group, was currently confined in a secluded room in Yggdrasil.

Whether he was unconscious or not, the breaths he heard were very deep and slow.

The one Deon was looking at now was a doll created by Vertium.

Certainly, this peculiar energy that couldn’t be said to belong to a living person, and Cassis Fedelian also did not deny Deon’s statement that he suspected him to be a Vertium doll.

Cassis Fedelian said that this doll was also ‘the real Asil.’

That was a statement that remained a question for Deon until this moment.

He didn’t know the details, but seeing that this doll was secretly brought and confined in Yggdrasil, avoiding the eyes of others, it was clear that the matter related to this was not a light one.

Cassis Fedelian.

A doll that reminds him of Asil.

Vertium, the connecting link.

And Roxana, who left her mark there.

Then, does she also know of the existence of this thing before Deon’s eyes?

“What were you thinking when you killed Asil?”

Suddenly, Sierra’s voice, which he had heard before, echoed like raindrops in his ears.

“What emotions did you feel when you tried to kill Lant?”

“What if Maria died before your eyes?”

Why do words that didn’t elicit even a bit of emotion at the time come to mind now?

“You are a monster created by Lant.”

In the cold red eyes, devoid of any warmth, was reflected the figure of a beautiful boy quietly asleep.