The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 171

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 171

In truth, Roxana was far from her usual self; she was deeply disturbed.

The reason, of course, was Nix.

Escaping from his room as he pleased—such a pointless act.

And to make matters worse, he even tried to take Sylvia hostage.

How could he possibly choose only the things that displeased her the most?

Moreover, Roxana had witnessed Nix escaping from his room through the butterflies.

He had unlocked his own shackles, removed the bars from the window, and slipped out. Was it merely her imagination that his methods seemed strikingly similar to those of Agriche?

As she replayed the scene in her mind, Roxana’s heart grew colder.

As soon as she entered the garden, she felt the chaotic atmosphere pressing in from all sides.

People were whispering and gossiping about Nix.

They were murmuring about his recent rampage and what the pursuers meant by ‘Vertium’s Doll.’ Some were even whispering that the stranger’s face seemed familiar.

Nix’s sudden actions had left her in low spirits, but what was done was done.

So, Roxana deliberately tousled her hair, took a deep breath, and pushed her way through the crowd, acting as if she had rushed to the garden.

Hearing that Nix had tried to take Sylvia hostage, Roxana wore a mixed expression of embarrassment, distress, and self-reproach.

It was a deliberately crafted expression, but partly genuine.

“Lady Roxana, I hesitate to say this, but…”

Seeing her, Cassis spoke again, breaking his silence.

“You don’t need to feel any responsibility for what this doll has done.”

The people around them, who had been glancing back and forth between Roxana and Nix with questioning eyes, now looked even more suspicious.

Sensing this, Cassis continued in a calm tone, as if wanting everyone to hear.

“Vertium is the one who created this… and though his body may be that of your deceased brother, he has no connection to the current Agriche. The representatives of the other families are also aware of this fact.”

Cassis’s firm words caused another stir among the surrounding people. They seemed to doubt what they had just heard.

It seemed like something significant had come from the mouth of the Azure Young Lord, but they couldn’t easily understand or accept it.

The heads of the families beside him merely cleared their throats, not stopping Cassis.

After all, Vertium’s hearing was imminent, and with Nix’s appearance revealed today, they would have to explain it to others anyway.

Amidst the chaotic uproar, Roxana’s gaze shifted to the side.

Her eyes stopped on Nix, who was still bleeding from his nose.

It was at that moment.

The woman, who already exuded an incomparably beautiful and delicate charm, now wore an expression of heartbreaking sorrow that seemed to melt the hearts of those who saw it.

Witnessing this, people felt breathless and involuntarily opened their mouths.

Nix, too, startled as his eyes met Roxana’s, stopped struggling to break free from Cassis.

With a face full of sorrow, Roxana’s red lips trembled slightly before she finally uttered a faint voice.

“…Could I wipe away the blood before they take him away?”

Cassis’s eyes momentarily hardened before he nodded slightly.

At that, Roxana stepped forward.

She approached Nix and slowly reached out her hand.

Her gesture was so delicate, as if she might break at any moment, that Nix stared blankly at her.

It was such a shocking sight that even the ruthless image she had shown him until now was instantly forgotten.

For some reason, he had a strange feeling that if he took this hand, something important about him would change.

Then, finally, he heard the name faintly escaping from Roxana’s lips, filled with sorrow.

“…Asil.”

Nix froze as if struck by lightning.

The people of Agriche, who had been strangely agitated, were no less shaken.

“Did she just say Asil?”

“He’s dead…!”

“But that face…”

“The Azure Young Lord clearly said that body is that of the deceased Asil…”

But no sound reached Nix’s ears.

The moment he felt warmth on his skin, Nix was startled and reflexively slapped away the white hand in front of him.

Thwack!

It seemed he had used more force than he intended. The sound, loud enough to rupture his eardrums, made Nix flinch again.

The hand of Cassis, which was pressing down on Nix, momentarily exerted even greater force.

But the moment he saw the wounded expression on Roxana’s face….

The shock of witnessing it was so great that Nix didn’t even feel Cassis’s hand pressing down on him.

For an inexplicable reason, his chest suddenly ached and tightened.

The people around them were watching their every move, barely able to breathe.

“Sister!”

It was Jeremy who broke the strange tension.

He was rushing towards Roxana, his black hair flying wildly.

Coincidentally, Jeremy had seen Nix roughly slap away Roxana’s hand just moments before.

“You…! How dare you do that to my sister?”

Jeremy, who had rushed to Roxana’s side, protectively shielded her and snarled at Nix, who stood there blankly.

“So what if you have Asil’s body? You’re just a fake! And yet you dare to attack my sister?”

His fury was so fierce that if left unchecked, he would have lunged at Nix and punched him in the face.

“Calm down, Head of the Black [referring to Jeremy’s position within Agriche].”

Hiakin Hyperion stopped Jeremy.

Even so, Jeremy was still sending fierce glares at Nix, unable to quell his anger.

“Why is Vertium’s Doll here?”

“You should ask the guard who was on duty. This isn’t the place to discuss the details.”

This time, Richel said.

“I think that would be best. Your sister seems quite shaken, so it would be good to calm her down for now.”

Badrisa, who had been observing the situation, added.

The heads of the other families had also heard in advance that Nix’s body originally belonged to a member of Agriche.

They had already thought that the doll’s appearance resembled Roxana, the most… no, not just in Agriche, but more uniquely beautiful than anyone in Yggdrasil, but seeing her attitude today, it seemed that they were indeed siblings, as they had suspected.

In the end, Jeremy reluctantly nodded and turned to Roxana.

“Are you okay, Sister?”

“I’m fine.”

His expression was full of concern for Roxana. Roxana gripped Jeremy’s hand a little tighter as she replied.

However, unlike her calmly spoken words, her downcast eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the shadows beneath her eyes were filled with a fragile light, suggesting that she had indeed suffered a considerable emotional blow from her encounter with Nix.

“Sister, let’s go inside. You look pale.”

Jeremy tactfully comforted Roxana from the side.

“No. I’m more worried about Lady Sylvia, who almost went through something terrible.”

Sylvia quickly shook her head as Roxana’s worried gaze turned to her again.

“No, I’m more concerned about Roxana…”

Jeremy also asked her a question, seemingly quite worried.

“Now that I think about it, you almost went through something terrible because of that Vertium’s Doll, didn’t you? Are you alright, Lady Fedelian?”

“Yes, I’m really fine. Thank you for your concern.”

Cassis added to wrap up the situation.

“It would be best for both Roxana and Sylvia to go back to their rooms and rest.”

Cassis and Roxana’s eyes met for a moment.

After exchanging a silent glance, Roxana lowered her gaze first.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

In this situation, no one would stop her.

Those who didn’t know the exact details pieced together what they had heard and whispered their own speculations.

Nix was already being led away by other confidants. For some reason, he had been acting dazed since he saw Roxana, as if he had completely lost his will to fight.

As Roxana and Jeremy turned away first, the people of Agriche followed them in droves.

The heads of each family also led their own people away.

Sylvia watched Nix’s retreating figure. The spot where he had been was slightly stained with blood.

‘Just stay still until we get out of here, and I won’t hurt you….’

The voice that had whispered in her ear earlier suddenly came to mind, making her feel strange.

Although his actions were somewhat rough, it seemed that Nix wasn’t really trying to threaten Sylvia.

Of course, she had reflexively attacked Nix, and she thought it couldn’t be helped….

Still, her heart felt a little heavy and complicated.

“Sylvia.”

It was then that Cassis approached Sylvia.

Sylvia flinched at Cassis’s call.

Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, whenever her brother called her seriously like this, she always wondered if she had unknowingly made a mistake.

Moreover, she happened to be thinking about Nix at the moment, so she was even more startled, feeling like a thief caught red-handed.

“You must have been very surprised by Vertium’s Doll. Are you alright? Are you really not hurt anywhere?”

But Cassis, as the caring brother he was, was only concerned about Sylvia’s condition.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He gazed at Sylvia’s face for a moment, as if examining her.

“And just now…”

Then, after confirming that she was really alright, Cassis placed his hand on Sylvia’s shoulder and said.

“You did really well to stay so calm even in that sudden situation.”

Sylvia paused at the unexpected praise. Cassis patted her reassuringly, as if proud of her, and continued.

“You were separated from the others and must have been scared and surprised, but you didn’t panic and acted very bravely. Moreover, it’s the first time you’ve used what you’ve learned in a real situation, and yet you attacked the vital points so accurately. What you did today is not something anyone could have done.”

In fact, unlike Sylvia, who had been feeling a sense of doubt as she looked back on her life alone in Yggdrasil, she had not simply been protected like a hothouse flower in Fedelian.

From the beginning, the reason her family had been somewhat overprotective of her was that she could confidently say that she had learned quite a variety of martial arts, including self-defense, in preparation for any eventuality.

Of course, until now, there had been no need to use those skills in a real situation.

That’s why it was the first time she had been suddenly attacked and had to deal with it.

So, she had been feeling a little dejected because she had been standing there blankly and had not been able to properly retaliate against Nix.

But Cassis was actually praising her.

Sylvia knew that her brother never made empty compliments. That meant that what he was saying now was Cassis’s true feelings.

A bright vitality began to bloom on Sylvia’s face.