The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 158

Hyperion’s people appeared in the doorway.

“What is this? Is this whole room taken by Agrische?”

“Who’s making such a racket? Oh, it’s you guys.”

They entered the room without asking, swaggering and making rude comments.

The Agrische people, who had been enjoying themselves, narrowed their eyes.

“We’re going to use this room from now on, so you’ll have to leave.”

“Why should we? Agrische was using the lounge first.”

“Hyperion had this place first, before Agrische even arrived.”

“The room was empty when we got here.”

“We just stepped out for a moment. You’re mistaken.”

Agrische and Hyperion had been clashing over minor issues all week at Yggdrasil [a neutral meeting place or academy].

Duran Hyperion was often at the center of these conflicts.

He’d argued with Agrische about entry order on the first day of the social gathering and had a run-in with Deon in the flower garden.

However, the second incident was brushed aside, leaving him with lingering resentment towards Agrische.

But Agrische was equally annoyed by Hyperion.

To them, Hyperion was just an irritating gnat, constantly starting fights over nothing.

The only reason they hadn’t beaten them to a pulp was Jeremy’s order.

The Agrische siblings exchanged glances and moved subtly.

Their hands moved quickly, avoiding Hyperion’s eyes.

They gathered the coins used as stakes, hiding them in their skirts, and neatly placed the forks back on the plates.

Then, they slid their hands from the back of their half-sibling’s neck, where they had been pressing, pretending to massage them. The temporary gambling den vanished.

After that, they put on innocent expressions, as if the roughhousing had never happened.

“Wait, isn’t that our card deck?”

Only then did the Hyperion people notice the cards on the table.

The Agrische people exchanged glances again.

There were only three Hyperion underlings present.

Because of Jeremy’s orders, they couldn’t start a fight here.

In that case…

“We could let you join the game, if you want.”

*We’ll just play with them a little, like we were doing just now.*

After a quick look at each other, the decision was unanimous.

“There’s plenty of room, and we all have time. Why don’t you join us for a game of cards?”

The Agrische people, wearing knowing smiles, invited the Hyperion group.

“Why would we?”

Naturally, they frowned, showing their dislike.

But they paused when they saw the sneers on the Agrische faces.

“Well, if you’re not confident, I guess you can’t.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, Hyperion is the type to avoid any match they might lose.”

“I think this is fairer than just arguing, but I guess Hyperion doesn’t agree.”

“Well, no one can beat us at these games anyway, right? It would be embarrassing for Hyperion to lose, so they have to refuse.”

“Hmm. I was expecting more, but this is boring.”

It was a childish taunt, but sometimes that’s what works.

Hearing themselves being called cowards, the Hyperion people twitched.

“Who says we’re going to lose?”

“Fine. We’ll play.”

“We’ll wipe the floor with you.”

Finally, they sat at the round table as the Agrische people wanted.

“You can decide the rules, but we don’t play boring games without stakes.”

Duran, the Hyperion representative, sneered at Agrische’s words.

“Same here. If we win, all of you will kneel and apologize for being so rude.”

“Okay.”

He deliberately used provocative words and made an unreasonable demand, but the quick agreement made the Hyperion people uneasy.

Meanwhile, the Agrische people were smirking inwardly.

*Are they really this stupid?*

*What’s the value of kneeling that they’re betting it here?*

“What we want is…”

The Agrische people hid their dark intentions and smiled faintly.

“We’ll say it after we win. Surely the esteemed descendants of Hyperion won’t go back on their word, right?”

“Ha. Agrische, make sure you don’t change your mind later.”

And so, the friendly card game between Agrische and Hyperion began.

It was time for Agrische’s fraudulent gambling ring to launch.

* * *

“No way…!”

An hour later, Duran shouted in disbelief.

But no matter how hard he looked, the situation didn’t change.

“What do you mean, ‘no way’?”

The Agrische people smiled mockingly at Duran, looking annoyingly relaxed.

“I know, right? You guys set the rules, the seating arrangement was decided by lottery, and it was fair the whole time. Right?”

“Hyperion seems to lack the humility to accept defeat.”

“Seriously, there’s no one as honest as Agrische.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s about to lose all five rounds, so he’s bound to be in denial.”

“But I didn’t expect Hyperion to be this bad. Is that a cursed hand or something?”

The Hyperion people gritted their teeth at the brazen words.

This was a scam. These Agrische bastards were cheating.

They were sure of it, but they couldn’t figure out how.

The Agrische people smirked as they looked at the Hyperion group.

They couldn’t possibly know how many times the cards had moved at an invisible speed on the table.

Even someone with exceptional eyesight would only see a momentary blur.

“Well, it’s my last turn, right?”

The card game was ending, but the outcome was clear.

“Too bad. Hyperion lost.”

“We have 5 wins and 0 losses.”

“Well, it’s predictable, so I’m not surprised.”

The winner was Agrische.

The Hyperion people’s faces twisted with resentment.

“You said you’d say what you wanted after you won.”

“Should we ask for the same thing as Hyperion?”

The Agrische people began to discuss their demands, grinning as if they wanted them to hear.

*Thump!*

Hearing that, Duran slammed the table and stood up.

“Don’t be ridiculous! No one recognizes a match with the vile Agrische!”

*Swish!*

Something flew from across the table and grazed his neck.

Duran reflexively touched his neck at the stinging sensation.

“Duran!”

The red mark on his palm came into view. His colleagues were also surprised and called his name.

The wound wasn’t deep, but the shock was significant.

Dazed, he turned and saw a card stuck in the wall, piercing his eyes.

*No… Cards are paper, how could they stick in the wall…?*

Moreover, the one who threw the card was a slender woman sitting across from him. She apologized innocently.

“Oh my, my mistake. My hand slipped.”

But looking at her smiling face, it was clear it wasn’t a mistake.

Instead of Duran, the other Hyperion colleagues expressed their anger.

“What is going on…!”

*Whoosh!*

“What is this…!”

*Swoosh!*

“Wh…”

*Swish!*

Each time they spoke, cards flew at the speed of light, cutting through their clothes.

They were embedded in the wall behind them like sharp blades. Cards flew so close to their skin that they grazed their fingers as they gripped the table.

Because of Jeremy’s request, they didn’t inflict any serious wounds, except for the slight bleeding the first time. But it was enough of a warning.

The Hyperion people were speechless.

The Agrische people smiled brightly as they watched them turn pale.

“There are still 41 cards left.”

*Thud!*

Hearing that, the Hyperion people forgot their dignity and hurriedly kicked back their chairs and rushed out of the room.

“Oh, are you leaving already?”

“Play with us a little more.”

The Agrische people looked at the open door with feigned regret.

“But this is more fun than I thought.”

“Yeah, this is fun.”

“Jeremy won’t say anything if it’s just this, right?”

“I think so. What should we get from Hyperion as the price for winning? Should we ask Jeremy?”

“Won’t we be praised for getting the white crows [a derogatory term for the Hyperion family] into debt instead?”

“Looking at them, I don’t think they’ll pay what we demand.”

“Well, we can make them pay. It’s our specialty.”

“But did you see their faces when they ran away?”

They looked at each other and smiled meaningfully.

It was the smile Agrische usually wore when they got a new toy.

It seemed like their time at Yggdrasil wouldn’t be boring.