The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 163

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 163

* * *

“You’re late, Noel Vertium.”

“Where’s Nix?”

Noel Vertium asked about the doll’s whereabouts as soon as he arrived at Yggdrasil.

“Where is Nix?”

Cassis narrowed his eyes at him.

Noel Vertium looked quite different from when he had last seen him inside Vertium.

His body was noticeably thinner than before, and above all, his complexion was terrible.

His face even seemed sickly, but it didn’t seem like he was pretending to be that way on purpose…

“The hearing is in three days. You’ll be able to see the doll then too.”

“Nix is inside Yggdrasil, right?”

No matter what he said, Noel kept calling for Nix, so the conversation felt superficial.

Of course, he had never thought of him as a particularly communicative person, but this definitely felt strange.

There was another sense of unease.

Dante, who was always by Noel Vertium’s side, was nowhere to be seen.

“Have you arrived, Head of Yellow?”

At that moment, the heads of the other families heard the news of Noel Vertium’s arrival and came down to greet him.

They too frowned at Noel’s complexion.

“You should go inside and rest for now.”

While the other leaders were talking, Jeremy stared at Noel with a furrowed brow and a cold gaze.

He had roughly heard about what happened in Vertium from Roxana last time, so he was very displeased with the Head of Yellow in front of him.

Noel looked at the people with somewhat dazed eyes, and then, guided by a servant of Yggdrasil, he staggered towards his quarters.

“That’s strange.”

“Why does he look like that?”

“He looks like someone with a terrible disease.”

“Still, the hearing must proceed as scheduled.”

Cassis keenly watched Noel’s receding figure.

It seemed that something had happened to Noel Vertium after they left Vertium.

Immediately after Cassis and Roxana took Nix out, Dante had significantly strengthened Vertium’s defenses. So, they couldn’t peek inside Vertium after that.

However…

The last thing Cassis was able to confirm from his confidant in Vertium was the whereabouts of Deon Agriche.

Cassis’s eyes sank coldly.

“Cassis.”

“Yes.”

Richel turned towards the building, following the other leaders, and called Cassis.

Cassis took his rooted feet off the ground and followed her.

But in his mind, the image of a man like a winter shadow silently permeating somewhere here was still deeply etched.

* * *

Even while being led by the servant, Noel Vertium was in a daze.

His mind was filled with only one thought.

That was until he saw someone in the hallway on the way to his quarters.

Tap.

What appeared from the opposite side with small footsteps was a woman Noel knew.

She appeared in the pure white hallway, bathed in dazzling sunlight, and was still as beautiful as she had been when he saw her in Vertium.

“Luna…”

A small call escaped from Noel’s mouth as he stopped walking.

Roxana also stopped and stared at Noel.

“I told you not to call me by that name.”

However, the essence of Roxana, who seemed like the goddess of flowers incarnate, was closer to the goddess of winter.

Noel flinched at the frosty voice and opened his mouth.

But no words flowed from within.

“Luna?”

At that moment, a third person’s questioning voice from somewhere cut between the two.

It was Ryuzak Gastor who revealed himself.

He seemed to have heard the name Noel had called Roxana a little while ago as he happened to be passing by and expressed his doubts.

But Noel didn’t seem to feel Ryuzak’s presence at all and didn’t even glance at him.

Noel, with a haggard face, moved his lips. Then, as if resigned to something, he followed the servant again with a listless gesture and left the place.

Roxana’s cold gaze brushed past Noel’s retreating figure.

Ryuzak Gastor, who also watched Noel leave for a moment, approached Roxana.

“Now that the Head of Yellow has arrived, the hearing will be held soon.”

He too seemed to have heard about the Vertium doll from his mother, Badrisa.

“I suppose so.”

Ryuzak stopped about five steps away and fixed his gaze on Roxana.

Ryuzak always stiffened his face reflexively when he saw her, but he didn’t do so today.

“I heard that there will be a meeting between Red and Black soon.”

It meant that Badrisa, the head of Red, and Jeremy, the head of Black, had quietly agreed to meet to discuss the previous topic in more depth.

“Will the heir of Gastor also be present?”

Roxana had already heard about Gastor’s decision, but she asked as if she didn’t know.

“No. It has been decided that only the heads of the families will attend the meeting.”

“Is that so? I thought it would be good for you to attend.”

At that moment, Ryuzak paused.

It was a casual recommendation, but the words that brushed past his ears clearly felt like they had a different meaning.

Meeting Ryuzak’s gaze, Roxana slowly closed and opened her eyes.

“That day, stories that you, as the heir of Gastor, should know may be exchanged at the table.”

In fact, from Agriche’s point of view, it didn’t matter whether Ryuzak was there or not.

Therefore, this was purely Roxana’s favor. Of course, it was up to the person in front of her to decide whether to accept it or not.

“Then, I hope you will reconsider. Agriche doesn’t mind if the number of Gastor’s attendees changes.”

Roxana left the place, leaving Ryuzak, who was looking at her, behind.

The sunlight shining down on the pure white floor was dazzling.

* * *

After Noel Vertium arrived at Yggdrasil, Jeremy seemed to be paying more attention to Roxana.

Roxana also looked at Nix more often than before.

Meanwhile, Cassis watched Noel.

Noel Vertium had been holed up in his room ever since he came to Yggdrasil.

Although a hearing on the doll was scheduled, there was still no coercion in his treatment.

But Noel had become so dejected since meeting Roxana that he didn’t even step out of his room.

He also refused the food that the servant brought for lunch.

It didn’t matter until then, but when Noel didn’t eat a bite of dinner either, Cassis couldn’t just leave him alone.

“Noel Vertium.”

When he went to his room, Noel was sitting on the bed, staring blankly into the air as he had seen earlier.

“Why are you skipping meals? I heard you didn’t eat anything this morning either.”

That’s what the messenger who had been sent to Vertium reported about what happened while accompanying Noel.

It wasn’t just today, but except for eating one pill of condensed nutrients before moving to Yggdrasil, he hadn’t even touched a drop of water after its effects wore off.

Even when Cassis asked, Noel only blinked his eyes stupidly and didn’t answer.

Cassis frowned.

Of course, he wouldn’t die from starving for a day or two, but it was a problem for Noel Vertium to continue showing this behavior in Yggdrasil.

Could it be that the close aide who was always with Noel whispered to him to use mental weakness as an excuse?

“Didn’t the close aide you always keep by your side come with you?”

It was also strange that the nanny-like man who was always with Noel was nowhere to be seen.

He hadn’t received any significant news from the confidant he had sent to investigate, but he suspected that he might be doing something suspicious elsewhere.

But at that moment, Noel showed a strange reaction.

“Dante…”

Noel’s eyes, which had been blurry and out of focus, slowly began to ripple.

Then, Cassis hardened his face as he saw the movement of his pupils shaking uncontrollably as if hit by a rapid current.

“He’s gone. Dante is… now…”

The meaning was quite ambiguous.

But at that moment, a strange intuition coldly swept past the back of Cassis’s neck.

“Nix, I have to see Nix.”

Noel got up from his seat again, looking for Nix in a flustered manner.

Cassis stared at Noel’s appearance, filled with incomprehensible anxiety and confusion, with a coldly hardened face.

If Cassis’s intuition was correct…

Deon Agriche.