The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 154

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 154

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother 154

16. Betrayal, or Liberation

It had already been a week since the gathering at Yggdrasil.

Time seemed to be passing slower than expected.

The gathering was scheduled for about a month, and if we considered a month as four weeks, only about a quarter of the time had passed.

Of course, that was assuming we could stick to the initially agreed-upon schedule.

Variables could arise in the middle, and one of them was Bertium’s delayed arrival.

The representatives from the other four families had left a few days ago, so I figured they would have arrived at Bertium by now.

And…

Deon Agriche.

I hadn’t seen him again since our last meeting in the flower garden.

But his presence was still vividly clear, almost tangible, even though he was out of sight.

As always, it was an unwelcome feeling.

I took a light sip of the champagne I was holding and looked around.

Today, a garden party was being held in the courtyard.

I had attended the gatherings quite a few times over the past week.

But it wasn’t to foster shallow friendships with the other families.

After all, if I kept my distance like this, almost no one would approach me first.

In fact, Cassis, Orca, and Sylvia were the exceptions; very few people had ever approached me first.

It had always been like this, so it wasn’t unnatural.

“Sister.”

In the meantime, Jeremy approached me and called out.

“What is it?”

I smiled at him.

“Um, it’s nothing.”

Jeremy seemed to want to say something to me, but in the end, he just smiled awkwardly and closed his mouth.

He had gotten better at hiding his expressions, but I could tell what Jeremy was thinking.

He probably wanted to ask me what he should do.

I attended the gathering with Jeremy, but I always stayed a step away from the group and didn’t seem interested in socializing with others, so he seemed to be worried about it.

So, he looked like he wanted to ask me for my opinion on how he should act.

“I told you, Jeremy.”

I smiled faintly and repeated what I had told him a while ago.

“We just have to wait.”

I could have explained it in more detail, but this time I decided to put my faith in Jeremy.

“You’ll know naturally when the time comes.”

I thought that Jeremy could figure things out and act on his own without me having to tell him what to do.

“Okay, I understand, Sister.”

Jeremy still looked puzzled, but he gave a spirited answer as always.

Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he asked.

“Is there anyone bothering you?”

“Not thanks to you.”

I said, reaching out to touch Jeremy’s head.

As I stroked his neatly styled hair, the corners of Jeremy’s mouth twitched again.

I knew that he was trying to relieve me of annoyances in many ways.

In particular, Jeremy seemed to have a firm grip on the Agriche people now.

To be able to make his unruly half-siblings so docile. I felt proud of his growth and wanted to praise him again.

Then, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze and turned my head, noticing that the people around us were staring at us.

Ah, did I make a mistake? I felt like Jeremy’s dignity was being diminished because of me.

Maybe it would be better not to do this in front of other people anymore.

I glanced down at Jeremy’s head, which was lowered in front of me, and lowered my hand.

He was already leaning his head towards me as if asking me to touch him more.

Then, when I took my hand away, he looked up at me as if to say, “Why are you stopping so soon today?”

“Too many eyes.”

“Who cares who’s watching?”

Discontent appeared on Jeremy’s face.

When I just smiled, he quickly became sulky.

Right, when I see him like this, he’s still just a kid.

In the end, I raised my hand and stroked Jeremy’s head once more.

Then, he grinned cutely with a relieved expression.

At that moment, I thought I heard a few people choking.

I also knew that Jeremy maintained a considerable amount of composure in front of others.

So, I could fully understand the shock of the people who saw his gentle, lamb-like appearance in front of me.

I wondered if this kind of behavior was undermining Jeremy’s prestige, but then I thought, who cares if he wants it?

I took my eyes off Jeremy and turned my attention to the person I had been interested in lately.

I caught sight of Badrisa Gastor, standing with Jeanne in the distance.

Badrisa, the leader of the enemy, whom I had briefly greeted at the harmony meeting, was a woman who gave off a sense of integrity.

Her appearance was roughly the feminized version of Ryzak Gastor.

The bait had already been thrown, and I had confirmed that it had been taken, so it was clear that Gastor would contact me soon.

The enemy leader was known to be cautious, but as the matter was so important, she probably wasn’t as relaxed as she appeared to be.

If so, it would be better to try to make contact quickly.

Since Bertium’s procession was delayed, I wanted to handle this matter first.

Should I give another signal?

“Roxana.”

While I was thinking to myself, someone called me.

When I turned my head, a woman with brown hair and red eyes came into view.

“Grizelda.”

“It’s been a while, Jeremy, too.”

She was smiling with the same expression as always.

Her appearance and tone were as casual as if they had just met yesterday.

Jeremy, who had been greeted by Grizelda, did not answer immediately but instead looked down at me.

His gaze on my face seemed to be asking, ‘Should I get rid of her?’

But the moment he met my eyes, Jeremy quickly understood my intention and left.

“When did you arrive?”

Then I asked Grizelda.

“About four days ago.”

I wasn’t surprised because I had expected her to be in Yggdrasil already, even though I hadn’t seen her directly.

I tilted my head slightly and slowly raised the corners of my lips.

“So, you’re only pretending to know me now? I’m disappointed.”

Of course, I didn’t mean it, and Grizelda knew that.

“There were so many interesting things to see that I didn’t even notice how boring it was.”

She also smiled, narrowing her eyes.

“Especially watching you, Roxana, was the most fun.”

Grizelda reached out to me, still smiling.

“We’ve never had the chance to come to Yggdrasil together, have we? But if I had known it would be this fun, I would have gotten rid of Fontaine or Deon and attended the harmony meeting myself.”

A subtle touch brushed through my hair.

As Grizelda said, I had never had the opportunity to accompany her to the Yggdrasil harmony meeting. I had attended with Lant and Fontaine, and Deon or Jeremy for the past two years.

“Indeed, you are worthy of being the one who easily put leashes on the two most violent beasts in Agriche.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly at the taunting words.

“Well, you’ve tamed Cassis Pedelian, so there’s nothing more to say.”

I wanted to hear from Grizelda about him anyway.

What happened in Bertium, and what Isidore was trying to tell me on the way back to Pedelian, were also piquing my intuition.

“By the way, what happened to that doll? Is it here?”

I grabbed Grizelda’s hand, which was still playing with my hair.

Then, I smiled more deeply than before and whispered.

“Grizelda, don’t you have something to explain to me before that?”

* * *

Various small gatherings were held inside the Yggdrasil building.

Usually, people with similar hobbies or personalities would gather to play small games or have conversations.

However, some of them had quite constructive conversations befitting the position of the five families.

Of course, Orca, being a free spirit, hated such serious stories.

Orca’s tales as a beastmaster who had traveled through various regions were quite popular in Yggdrasil.

Today, he boasted his eloquent speech in the center of the people like a fish in water and left the hall.

“I’m getting tired of this.”

A faint annoyance was on Orca’s face as he walked down the hallway.

I wish I could go out and hunt magical beasts instead of doing this clowning around inside.

Come to think of it, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who was getting restless with boredom. I wondered if I should suggest going to subjugate the magical beast habitat closest to Yggdrasil.

Ah, but all the accessories were confiscated.

Suddenly, he felt a little annoyed. He felt very annoyed by the unknown ancestor who had released the magical beasts in Yggdrasil and rampaged.

If that hadn’t happened, this annoying magic circle wouldn’t have been drawn in Yggdrasil.

In fact, the magic circle was a spell that strongly controlled the Hyperion people more than anyone else.

Of course, from the past when that damned ancestor was around until now, their descendants hadn’t just been sitting idly by…

Thud.

Then, Orca spotted a person appearing in the opposite hallway.

“Oh, who is this? My dear friend, the Blue Noble!”

He exclaimed as if he was glad to see him and approached Cassis.

“White Beastmaster.”

Cassis also acknowledged Orca.