The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 210

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Extra Story 1

Extra 1. The Children of Agritche

July 16th.

I’m starting a diary today.

Mom told me that picture diaries are good for children’s emotional development, considering my age.

But she probably knows the real reason.

Since I was born, Ashil has been secretly studying childcare books that he somehow gets his hands on. He thinks he’s hiding it well, but Mom and I have known for a long time.

Ashil is my eleven-year-old brother.

My name is Roxana Agritche. It feels like I’ve lived a long time, but I’m only seven years old.

Mom, Sierra Colonis, is the most beautiful woman in the world.

I don’t see Dad very often, so his presence is weak. I’ll skip the explanation.

Actually, there’s a chance Mom or Ashil will check this diary.

Of course, they said they would never look at it without me knowing, but is that really true?

Even if it’s not Mom or Ashil, if someone reads this diary, don’t think I won’t know. I’m watching you all.

July 20th.

Our chef is suspicious.

My stomach has been hurting lately. I think I ate something spoiled.

I suspect food poisoning, but could it be the snacks? Somehow, the cake tasted a bit strange today too.

If it happens again tomorrow, I’ll have to tell Mom.

July 21st.

Deon Agritche, you dung beetle!

Deon threw away the candy Ashil gave me again. This is the second time I’ve seen it.

Last time, I thought there was a possibility he dropped it by accident, but I was wrong.

I got a little annoyed and asked him why he keeps throwing away the candy my brother gave me. He gave me the most absurd answer: did he need a reason to throw away trash?

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t say anything, and Deon ignored me and just walked away.

You shouldn’t get genuinely angry at a child, but I’m so mad!

I’m also mad at myself for not saying anything to Deon properly back then. He really needs to be retaught manners.

July 22nd.

Ashil is such a kind pushover.

When I woke up this morning, there was a large candy basket decorated with flowers and ribbons next to my head.

I wondered if Santa had come in the middle of summer, but it was Ashil.

It was because of what I said yesterday when I was upset about Deon.

I got a little angry and told him to bring me all the candy he was going to give to Deon. He must have thought I was sulking because I wanted to eat candy.

I was so dumbfounded by the ridiculous misunderstanding that I lost all my energy.

In the end, I just shared the candy with Ashil and pretended to feel better.

July 25th.

I met Aunt Maria today.

Aunt Maria is one of the wives in this house, and she’s Deon’s mom.

Aunt Maria is a wife who is especially close to Mom, but Mom seems a little uncomfortable around her. It’s not really strange since my mom is introverted.

Aunt Maria is a kind and friendly aunt to the children.

She always tells Ashil and me how pretty we are and dotes on us so much that it’s a little overwhelming.

Is that why Deon was raised so indulgently and has such a personality?

She asked me to play dolls with her these days, and I said I’d think about it.

July 29th.

The Agritche mansion is very large.

The wives and children all live in the East Wing, but the East Wing is divided into sections, so we hardly ever see each other.

Mom, Ashil, and I live in Section 3 of the East Wing.

Unbelievably, I haven’t been able to explore the entire mansion yet, even at the age of seven.

The biggest reason is that Mom won’t let me wander around alone because she says there are many dangerous things in the mansion.

So, my new hobby these days is secretly exploring the mansion when I don’t have classes.

There are still sections in the East Wing that I haven’t been to, so I went to Section 1, where Aunt Maria lives, a while ago.

Aunt Maria’s door was slightly open. I heard a slightly excited voice coming from inside, so I got curious and went closer.

But I shouldn’t have.

Through that open doorway, I saw something I shouldn’t have seen.

* * *

This is a story from Roxana’s childhood.

A story from when she didn’t know this place was a world inside a novel.

* * *

“I don’t want to eat this.”

I frowned at the snack on the table.

The cake on the round plate looked ordinary, but its contents were not.

My stomach has been hurting whenever I eat snacks lately, so at first, I thought they were giving me something spoiled.

But it turns out that it contains medicinal herbs that are good for children.

Then why don’t they just give me the medicine separately? Why put it in the snacks?

People who play with food will be punished!

“Can’t I just skip the snack today?”

“You still have to eat it, Sana.”

Mom looked embarrassed when I refused the snack. Ashil, who was next to her, also tried to soothe me.

“Mother is right, Sana. If you skip it today, it might be harder to eat tomorrow.”

“Should we put more honey or jam on top, which Sana likes?”

No, that’s not why I don’t want to eat it.

I got even more upset seeing them trying to feed me the snack no matter what.

But I am an intelligent adult.

I had no intention of acting like a spoiled child who is picky about food.

“My stomach feels bloated and hurts whenever I eat snacks these days. That’s why I couldn’t sleep well last night.”

It was a bit of a sly method, but I put on a pitiful face and pretended to be sad.

From years of experience, stimulating sympathy is more effective than sulking in these situations.

As expected, Mom and Ashil, who are both kind-hearted, looked at me with worried expressions.

“What should we do…? Does your stomach hurt a lot?”

“Yes!”

I nodded my head vigorously.

I thought I was almost there, but surprisingly, Mom never said I didn’t have to eat the snack.

“Then, should Mom and I eat half each just for today?”

“Mother?”

Ashil flinched at Mom’s words.

I was about to wonder why he was reacting like that, but Mom smiled as if to tell him not to worry and stroked Ashil’s and my heads.

“It’s okay for just one day. Here, Mom will take half. And Ashil’s too.”

“I’m okay.”

“No, you had a slight fever this morning too. Give it here.”

Mom took half of not only mine but also Ashil’s cake.

For some reason, Ashil was restless as he watched Mom.

Before Mom could stop him, he quickly took his share of the cake back.

And he started eating it quickly, getting whipped cream on his face, so Mom wouldn’t take it again.

“Me too! I want to eat Mom’s too.”

I wasn’t usually oblivious either.

So, following Ashil, I quickly grabbed the plate in front of Mom and almost swept my cake into my mouth.

Ashil seemed relieved only after everything on Mom’s plate disappeared.

On the other hand, Mom looked flustered by our sudden actions.

“Mom said she would eat it for you today.”

“Umm, it looked delicious when Mom and Brother were eating it.”

“Me too! I’m going to eat all of my cake because it’s mine.”

Ashil and I gave childish reasons for our whims and ate the awful cake that was still half left in front of us.

* * *

“Sana. About the snacks, we shouldn’t let Mother eat them.”

Ashil whispered in my ear after snack time was over.

“The medicine in the snacks is good for children, but it’s not good for adults. So, even if Mother says she’ll eat it again like today, you shouldn’t let her.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Ashil.

“Instead… if there’s a day when you really don’t want to eat it, Brother will eat it for you instead. Not often, but sometimes.”

“How often is sometimes?”

“Um, about once or twice a month? But you can’t tell anyone else. It’s a secret from Mother too.”

There were times in my life when I felt like this.

When something is clearly wrong, but I don’t know what it is, so I feel strangely uneasy and itchy.

“Does Brother know what kind of medicine is in the snacks and still eat them?”

Ashil looked like he was struggling to answer my question.

“Tell me too.”

I begged him. But Ashil just stroked my head soothingly and didn’t answer.

“You’ll know when you grow up a little more.”

Ugh, he’s treating me like a child again.

I clenched my fist and punched Ashil in the stomach.

“Ouch, that hurts! Brother hurts, Sana. Ugh…”

My seven-year-old fist was small and weak, and I punched him without much strength, so he probably didn’t feel much impact, but Ashil pretended to be in pain, twisting his body.

But the face he made while clutching his stomach and looking like he was about to cry looked pretty real, so I hesitated for a moment.

Did I accidentally use a little too much force?

Maybe Ashil is weak and it really hurts.

I stammered and asked.

“Does it really hurt?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll feel better if Sana blows on it.”

But the next moment, Ashil raised his head and smiled at me, so I knew he was joking.

I showed him the taste of my fiery fist one more time.

“Ouch, this time it really…”

“Do you want to get hit again? I’m going to hit you really hard this time.”

“Hehe. Okay, let’s review together today!”

When I threatened him, Ashil smiled brightly as if he had never pretended to be in pain and lifted me up.