The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 18

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 18

Could it be that I’m lying on a leg…?

Cassis debated countless times in a short period whether he should just wake up and pretend he had regained consciousness.

He might have actually opened his eyes if Roxana hadn’t gently stroked his hair.

However, the warm touch tickling his forehead left him even more speechless than before.

Cassis couldn’t shake the feeling that he had become a shameless person.

Of course, the current situation was neither what he wanted nor what he had instigated.

But in this moment, pretending to be asleep, Cassis couldn’t help but feel like he had become a very despicable person.

“I don’t want to die…”

As Cassis was secretly suffering, a murmur suddenly echoed above his head.

Roxana, who seemed lost in thought while stroking his hair, suddenly muttered.

Cassis was puzzled because he couldn’t understand what those words meant.

However, Roxana didn’t say anything more.

Cassis had to focus all his energy on managing his expression, conscious of the hand caressing him.

“That’s strange.”

Then, at some point, Roxana’s hand, which had been brushing through his hair, paused.

“Did someone wash it for him in the meantime? Why is his hair so soft?”

If Cassis’s eyes had been open, his pupils would have undoubtedly betrayed him, shaking rapidly for a moment.

“And it doesn’t smell.”

This time, he unknowingly trembled slightly.

He wanted to distance his body from Roxana, who was so close, but he couldn’t move now that he was pretending to be unconscious.

Perhaps she noticed his slight movement a moment ago, as her gaze, now even more persistent, fell upon his face.

Roxana didn’t notice, but Cassis’s ears were slightly flushed.

The part she was questioning now was related to his unique constitution.

Cassis couldn’t help but be flustered because he never expected Roxana to keenly discern and question it.

He thought the outwardly visible part was so trivial that it wouldn’t be noticeable, which made it even more embarrassing.

Moreover, the fact that the person who directly pointed it out was a girl his age made his head even more tangled.

Fortunately, Roxana didn’t bring her face closer to smell Cassis any further, nor did she caress his hair more delicately than before.

It was only natural, but at this point, Cassis really couldn’t open his eyes.

He prayed for this time of endurance to pass quickly.

“…It’s a bit funny to say this to someone who’s unconscious, but I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it earlier.”

A soft voice echoed again above his head. Cassis quietly listened to Roxana apologizing for what had happened earlier.

“But there won’t be anything like that from now on. Now that you belong to me, no one else can touch you without my permission.”

The hand stroking his hair was very gentle and kind, so much so that he momentarily forgot that she was the daughter of Lant Agriche, his enemy.

“I will definitely get you out of here.”

Again, he didn’t sense any falsehood in her voice.

That was also strange…

Cassis had been preparing to act ever since Roxana entered the room, but he was gradually relaxing his body.

…For now, it seems like there’s no need to attack her.

Cassis took a shallow breath, thinking that the air around him was strangely peaceful.

* * *

I went to see Cassis again in the late evening.

In the end, I had to leave the room earlier without finding any other evidence that Cassis was awake.

Fortunately, this time I was able to meet Cassis with his eyes open.

As soon as I opened the door, my eyes met with golden eyes that were emitting a clear radiance even in the darkness.

I paused for a moment, but without showing it, I turned and closed the door.

After that, when I touched the candlestick hanging on the wall, the view became much brighter.

I had used magic to maintain the size of the flame as desired, and I had adjusted the intensity to be weaker earlier so that Cassis could rest comfortably.

I thought about brightening the fire a little more, but I decided against it because it would be a little uncomfortable to face Cassis in a place where the view was too open.

So, the candlelight in the room was only bright enough to distinguish each other’s faces.

In the soft light, Cassis quietly looked at me.

He was leaning against the wall not far from where he had been lying down earlier.

The distance from the candlestick was quite far, so part of his face was stained with deep shadows.

Looking at him hiding half his body in the darkness and watching me silently, he felt like a wild animal wary of someone who had appeared in its territory.

“The wound isn’t small, so it would be better to lie down a little more.”

I was about to ask if he was feeling better, but I decided to skip such unnecessary words.

It had only been half a day since I had personally taken care of Cassis’s wound. So, unless he was a superhuman, there was no way his condition would have improved in the meantime.

“The doctor came and treated you earlier. Do you have any other pain or discomfort?”

At my words, Cassis frowned. His slightly narrowed eyes stared at me.

It would be nice if I had the ability to read other people’s minds.

Then I would know what Cassis is thinking in front of me now, and I would be able to confirm whether he really fainted when we met earlier or not.

But his face still didn’t reveal his inner thoughts.

After a while, Cassis opened his mouth and replied briefly.

“…Not really.”

But is it just my imagination? It felt like there was a slightly long pause before that.

“I brought some painkillers; do you want to take them?”

I moved closer to Cassis. This time, I didn’t bother waiting for an answer.

“Before that, I brought something simple to eat. Let’s fill your stomach first.”

The tray I’m holding contains not only medicine but also simple snacks.

But all there is is soft bread and soup. Cassis, who had been fasting for a while, couldn’t possibly eat greasy food right away.

Of course, I gave him pills that condensed nutrients as a substitute for a meal, but you couldn’t call that food.

I approached Cassis and placed the tray next to him.

“It’s going to be uncomfortable because there’s no table or chair. I had already removed all the dangerous items in this room a long time ago.”

In fact, I had been subtly tensing my body since earlier, thinking that Cassis might attack me.

Unlike in the underground prison, his arms and legs were connected by long chains, allowing him to move freely within a certain distance.

But Cassis just kept watching my actions and didn’t move from his seat.

“You could have ordered a servant to do this.”

He just muttered in a dry voice.

I was a little relieved by his reaction.

I had been worried about what to do if Cassis showed hostility towards me since before I entered this room.

“I ordered a servant to bring you clothes.”

I decided not to say that I came myself because I was worried that Cassis might attack the servant who entered this room.

Or that I thought he might take drastic action with the intention of escaping.

Either way, it was impossible for Cassis to escape outside Agriche in his current state, but his thoughts might be different.

So, if Cassis made a fuss, I had to resolve it before it reached Lant Agriche’s ears.

Anyway, my strength was far superior to the servants of this house, so I intended to knock Cassis unconscious again in case of an emergency.

Besides, from now on, Cassis and I would be in the same boat, wouldn’t we?

So, it would be good to build rapport and see each other’s faces often.

“The clothes you’re wearing now are too dirty. They’re also very torn. It would be good to change into new clothes when they bring them later.”

With that thought, I spoke kindly.

At that very moment, Cassis’s expression changed. But the meaning seemed to be negative.

His gaze towards me was slightly sharp, wondering what he was thinking.

But that’s strange. If I’m not mistaken, what’s mixed in Cassis’s eyes right now is a slight sense of shame.

Once again, a deep suspicion filled me.

What is it? This person, was he awake earlier?

But Cassis didn’t look at me for long and cut off eye contact first, so I didn’t get a chance to examine his eyes enough.

Soon Cassis slowly opened his mouth.

“So…”

The voice that followed was as stiff as his expression.

“Now that I’ve become a toy, what am I supposed to do?”