Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 20
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After Cassis went into the bathroom, I gathered the tray and torn clothes from the floor.
The dishes on the tray were empty. It seemed he hadn’t forgotten to take his pain medication.
I was relieved that Cassis didn’t say something like he used to, questioning how he could trust and consume something I gave him.
It seemed Cassis had decided to stay quietly in this room for now.
Perhaps he had reflected on his physical condition and made that decision. Either way, it was a wise choice.
In his injured state, even if he managed to escape the mansion with great difficulty, he would surely be killed by monsters before crossing the border.
Suddenly, the sound of water from the bathroom broke my train of thought.
Because of the chain connected to Cassis’s neck, the door wasn’t completely closed, but slightly ajar. The sound coming through the gap made me feel a little strange again.
However, I quickly decided to ignore it and summoned a butterfly.
The crimson butterfly, imbued with my will, fluttered and seeped into the wall.
Now, if anything happened to Cassis in this room, I would receive an immediate signal.
Actually, I wanted to directly monitor Cassis, but I thought he might notice. So, I decided to take these measures in the room as a compromise.
More than that, I was concerned about the delayed news from the butterfly sent to the western border.
I was sure that Pedelian’s people looking for Cassis would be lingering near the border, but why hadn’t I heard anything yet?
Just as I was wondering if I should send another butterfly, Cassis came out of the bathroom.
Having washed and changed his clothes, Cassis certainly looked more like himself than before.
He paused when he saw me sitting on the bed. But since there was no other place to sit in this room, I couldn’t really avoid it.
“Come and sit here.”
Cassis saw the bandages and medicine next to me and seemed to guess why I had called him.
“I can do it myself.”
“Really? What about the wound on your back?”
Cassis’s face furrowed slightly.
I looked at him and tilted my head as if asking what was wrong.
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this a lot since I was young; I’m good at this kind of thing.”
In fact, I could have called a doctor, but this was an opportunity to show Cassis kindness.
It seemed okay to gradually build up a sense of indebtedness in him, even in small ways like this. Of course, it was a rather calculated and cunning thought.
“You’ve done this a lot since you were young?”
Cassis questioned me with a doubtful voice.
Judging by his reaction, he didn’t seem to know much about the customs of the Agrische family.
“Yeah, I used to treat my brother every day when he got hurt.”
This was true, but it was a slightly exaggerated truth.
Of course, Asil had been clumsy since he was young and was always getting hurt during his training.
We couldn’t call a doctor every time, so my mother and I sometimes treated him.
But how old was I back then? Surely they wouldn’t have entrusted me with treating serious injuries?
At most, I would put a band-aid on a scratch.
Still, if I said it like this, wouldn’t Cassis trust me a little more and let me treat him?
Besides, unlike when I was young, my healing abilities have improved now.
Having been pushed around and mistreated since I was young, there were often times when I had to take care of my own wounds.
Cassis was still standing there, looking down at me.
Because he was standing with his back to the candlestick, his face was obscured by the darkness. So, I couldn’t tell what kind of expression Cassis was making right now.
He didn’t move for quite a while, so I started to feel impatient.
Just as I was about to gently urge Cassis again, he finally took the step he had been hesitating to take.
Cassis glanced at me and began to unbutton his shirt. The clothes that had slipped down his shoulders finally fell completely below his waist.
“I can do the other parts myself.”
So, he meant that I should only treat his back, which he couldn’t reach himself.
I glanced at Cassis, who was sitting with his back to me.
…Is it just my imagination? For some reason, Cassis’s wariness seems to have lessened slightly.
I narrowed my eyes and looked down at his wounded back again.
Perhaps because it had been in contact with water a little while ago, blood was seeping from the wounds again. But to avoid any possible infection, it was necessary to wash the injured area once.
I wiped the blood that had seeped onto his skin with a clean towel and began to treat his wounds in earnest.
The moment my hand first touched him, Cassis’s arm twitched very slightly.
By the way, the muscles are so beautifully placed here and there, aren’t they?
Seeing that there wasn’t an ounce of fat to be found, it was clear that he usually trained very hard.
If Charlotte had gotten her hands on him, he would have suffered terribly. Wouldn’t she have started by peeling off his skin along the muscle fibers?
Not only that, but looking at him this closely, his bone structure was also straight and beautiful. In particular, his straight spine and shoulder blades caught my eye.
Among my brothers, there were some with terrible tastes who were obsessed with bones and organs and collected them.
If they saw Cassis, they would probably drool.
Why is this person not only handsome but also has beautiful bones?
I looked at Cassis with pity.
Aren’t the tastes of the Agrische people quite strange?
Perhaps Cassis in the novel suffered even more hardships than I initially expected.
I shook my head and once again pitied Cassis’s unfortunate fate in the novel.
Now, let’s stop looking elsewhere and focus on my job.
I busily moved my hands again.
Come to think of it, Cassis hadn’t said anything since a while ago. Once I realized it, the silence in the room felt unnaturally quiet.
I glanced around, but I couldn’t see Cassis’s face because he was facing away from me.
“Does it hurt when I touch you now?”
My voice echoed softly in the quiet air.
“Tell me if it hurts. I’ll be more careful.”
Cassis didn’t say a word. I took some strength out of my hand and gently stroked his wounds.
“How is it now?”
Just then, Cassis moved his body abruptly.
Soon, a firm hand gripped my wrist.
“That’s enough, stop now.”
A cold voice echoed in my ear.
Before I could react, Cassis shook off my hand and picked up the shirt he had taken off earlier and put it back on.
I had an idea what caused that reaction.
Hmm. So, he is aware of me as a woman, I see.
But I pretended not to know anything and said to him in a gentle voice.
“I’ll do the other parts for you too.”
“I don’t need it.”
Without exception, a sharp refusal returned.
Cassis still had a cold face and didn’t even look at me.
After that, I left the room, receiving Cassis’s coldness.
By the way, what on earth made Cassis lower his guard against me just now?
Standing in front of the door I had just come out of, I pondered.
Clearly, Cassis seemed to have no intention of letting me treat his wounds at first.
But I wanted to know what exactly made him make that impulsive decision.
I moved my feet, trying to guess the reason.