The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 176

Jeremy was doing very well.

However, just like in the garden, there was a somewhat confusing aspect to his anger, whether it was an act or genuine.

Still, seeing that his face wasn’t just filled with simple anger but also despair, it seemed more likely it was an act.

It seemed like his skills in this area had been improving lately. He was now showing off such outstanding talent that even I was getting confused.

In response, the murmuring behind me grew louder.

Thanks to the rumors rampant within Yggdrasil, everyone here had heard the news that Noel Vertium was trying to turn not only Ashil but also me into a doll [a person controlled like a puppet].

Some people probably believed it, and some probably didn’t.

But it seemed like no one here felt that Noel Vertium’s behavior was entirely normal.

Ryuzak Gastor, who had overheard Noel Vertium calling me ‘Luna’ in the hallway three days ago, also had a stiff expression on his face.

He seemed to have finally realized what that name meant and was in shock.

“Noel Vertium.”

Once again, the heads of the families called Noel in a stern voice.

They could have ordered their aides to drag him away and seat him, but no one did.

They were intending to treat him with the respect befitting the head of the family until the very end.

I inwardly sneered.

At that moment, Cassis, who had been quietly observing the situation, opened his mouth and let out a chilling voice.

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring Vertium’s doll here right now rather than wasting time like this?”

It seemed like Noel wouldn’t cooperate until he saw Nyx, so the heads of the families agreed. Noel also became quiet after hearing those words.

Clang.

After some time, Nyx, who had turned the garden upside down yesterday, arrived at the conference hall.

“Nyx……!”

Nyx’s wrists and ankles were now bound with restraints for magical creatures, not ordinary shackles.

It was clear that he had directly released the shackles and escaped yesterday, so they had changed the type.

As soon as Noel saw Nyx, he shot up from his seat as if to run towards him.

“No…….”

Nyx also flinched when he saw Noel and parted his lips, but soon hesitated and stepped back.

That was because Noel’s eyes, as he desperately called out for Nyx, were filled with a strange madness.

Even I unconsciously twitched my fingertips when I saw it up close, so I thought it was only natural that Nyx, who was facing Noel head-on, would step back.

Aides, sensing the danger, blocked Noel.

“Get out of the way……! Nyx!”

Noel Vertium’s eyes turned bloodshot as he reached out to Nyx.

Nyx, also feeling threatened by it, shrank back, looking at Noel with confused eyes.

“Head of the Yellow Family! Can you not calm down?”

Hiakin Hyperion, unable to bear it any longer, shouted as if it was hard to watch anymore.

Richel and Badrisa were also staring at Noel’s behavior with cold, hardened faces.

“Seriously, what a uniquely messed up idiot…….”

Next to me, Jeremy muttered in a small voice, only loud enough for me to hear, as if he was dumbfounded.

“Remove the doll.”

“That would be for the best.”

In the end, Richel and Badrisa ordered Nyx to be removed from their sight.

“Nyx! Where are you trying to hide Nyx again! Nyx is my doll, he’s mine!”

But Noel, as if he couldn’t see anything anymore, screamed and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Overwhelmed by his violent appearance, which seemed to have not even a speck of reason left, everyone was at a loss for words.

“Immediately, Nyx, give him, to me……!”

Eventually, Cassis, who had risen from his seat, struck Noel Vertium’s vital point to knock him unconscious, and only then was the commotion in the conference hall quelled.

“Take him to the infirmary.”

With that, both Nyx and Noel disappeared out the door.

“Ha. I’ve seen it all.”

Hiakin Hyperion shook his head and muttered.

Badrisa called someone to watch over Noel and Nyx, and Richel asked Cassis.

“Has the Head of the Yellow Family shown this kind of behavior before?”

“He has been somewhat unstable since arriving in Yggdrasil, but this is the first time he has completely lost his reason like this.”

Jeremy clicked his tongue softly at those words.

Then, suddenly, he seemed to realize something and turned to me, putting on an act again.

“Sis, you weren’t surprised, were you? You’re already so weak. Here, have some water.”

I don’t know when I became sickly…….

It didn’t seem like a bad setup, so I pretended to soothe my chest and obediently accepted the glass of water Jeremy gave me.

In fact, I had been feeling a little sorry ever since I heard the news of Dante’s death.

Noel Vertium was clearly relying on his aide Dante more than I had imagined.

So, if I could have used the Illusion Butterfly inside Yggdrasil, I could have shown Noel the illusion of the dead Dante to make him even more unstable.

But now that I see it’s not necessary, I feel less regret.

And I felt cynical towards myself for even thinking this way.

Looking at Cassis, he had a blank expression on his face, as if I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and was returning to his seat.

From the beginning, I didn’t want to hide my true nature from Cassis and just pretend to be nice…….

Still, at times like this, I was glad that he didn’t have the ability to read people’s minds.

“Even though the person involved isn’t here, we can’t help but hear about the details of what happened.”

The heads of the families regained control of the chaotic atmosphere and began to speak.

They couldn’t adjourn the meeting now that Noel was absent, and the atmosphere inside the conference hall had become more serious than before, so they decided to at least listen to the statements of those involved in the incident.

“Let’s hear from the successor of Fedelian first.”

Cassis was given the floor first.

He was the first to inform the heads of the families about Vertium’s doll, and he was also the only one who witnessed what happened inside Vertium, so it was only natural.

“You will remember that Vertium often did not attend meetings in Yggdrasil.”

Cassis opened his mouth in a calm tone.

The heads of the families nodded in agreement.

“Yes. So, a messenger would visit Yggdrasil instead to receive the meeting results.”

Others sitting in the back stopped whispering among themselves and began to focus on Cassis’s words.

“It was the same at the meeting held this spring. However, the messenger from Vertium collapsed in front of the hallway, seemingly exhausted from the long journey.”

Cassis was surprisingly good at lying naturally.

I had heard from Isidore that Cassis didn’t find the messenger from Vertium collapsed, but rather deliberately knocked him unconscious.

“So, I thought it would be best for him to rest, so I entrusted him to the servants and headed to Vertium with my aide to deliver the letter containing the meeting results instead.”

“I see.”

Cassis paused for a moment before opening his mouth again.

“But as soon as I arrived, I witnessed Vertium’s doll attacking Roxana Agriche.”

A similar murmur rippled through the audience again.

It was a story that had already been passed from mouth to mouth last night, but hearing it directly from Cassis’s mouth seemed to have a different impact on their minds.

“So, I restrained the doll and have been protecting Agriche since then. That is the general course of events.”

Cassis added that the aide who accompanied him at the time had also witnessed the same scene, so he could prove it if necessary.

“Why was Vertium’s doll attacking Agriche?”

“I heard it was to keep Agriche in Vertium…… I think it would be better to hear the detailed circumstances of this part directly from Agriche.”

The fact that the person speaking was Cassis, the Blue Noble [a high-ranking noble], added credibility, but the fact that he was a Fedelian and I was an Agriche seemed to add even more weight.

As everyone knew, Fedelian and Agriche had been on bad terms with each other.

Last winter, it exploded and led to the downfall of Agriche, and it was Cassis himself who made it happen.

So, it was not unreasonable to think that he had no reason to make up false words to make the situation favorable to Agriche.

Of course, Cassis and I had been showing a very close relationship in Yggdrasil these days.

But rather, it could be said that the Vertium incident was the catalyst, and even if he and I were close, it seemed that no one here thought that the Blue Noble would make a false statement for that reason.

That was proof of how upright and proper Cassis had been as the Blue Fedelian.

“Roxana Agriche, please explain if you don’t mind.”

People, including the heads of the families, looked at me.

Next to me, Jeremy looked at me with pitiful eyes and patted my hand as if to encourage me.

It seemed like he was having fun, so I swallowed a hollow laugh.

“I was formally invited to Vertium by the Head of the Yellow Family at that time.”

With that, I had the servants deliver the letter I had received from Noel.

The heads of the families frowned and read the invitation.

In fact, if Noel wanted to deny it, he could have claimed that he had never sent such an invitation.

If that happened, I could have requested a handwriting analysis later, but the letter, which had a strong threatening intent, seemed to have been ghostwritten by Noel Vertium.

So, such a thing wouldn’t be very effective as evidence anyway.

“As written in the letter, I went there after hearing the news that Vertium had my blood relative.”

But I didn’t think this piece of paper was very important in this case, so it didn’t really matter.