The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 213

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 213

Side Story 4

* * *

Flap!

A bird flew up in the distance.

“…….”

Deon’s red eyes, lifted upwards, captured the scene for a moment.

Soon, he lowered his gaze and scanned his surroundings.

Deon was currently in the mansion’s maze garden.

Today’s training involved navigating the maze, avoiding obstacles to find and retrieve a specific item designated by the instructor.

The instructor announced that the stepbrothers’ performance would be ranked, with a reward for first place and a punishment for last.

Consequently, the other brothers were diligently striving to complete the task quickly.

Except for Deon.

In truth, Deon had no interest in the rankings.

He simply did what the instructor told him to do, and as it happened, he possessed a natural talent, consistently achieving remarkable results.

Deon had never shown genuine enthusiasm for anything.

Fontaine, the eldest son, was particularly jealous and often displayed animosity towards him.

However, Deon didn’t care.

It was as meaningless to him as Asil, one of his stepbrothers, constantly approaching and lingering around him.

Of course, the emotions they held for Deon were polar opposites: animosity and goodwill.

Tap!

Deon climbed a tree to survey the terrain.

Rustle.

Suddenly, he glanced down, alerted by a faint sound from his pocket.

Inside the paw-shaped pouch were a bunch of candies.

Asil, whom he had met before entering the maze, had given them to him.

“This outfit Lady Maria gifted me has such conveniently large pockets! Look, it can hold so many candies.”

As usual, Asil approached Deon with a bright smile and put both hands into the pockets of his top.

Sure enough, Asil’s hands emerged with a handful of candies.

The outfits Asil and Deon were wearing were both Maria’s creations, featuring dog ears attached to the lace collars around the neck – a rather meaningless addition.

The pockets were shaped like pink and black dog paws, which were equally meaningless to Deon.

Still, having ample storage space in the outfit, as Asil mentioned, seemed useful.

But to fill it with mere candies…

Instead of carrying such trash, it would have been better to choose something useful for outdoor training like today.

Just as he thought that, Asil, grinning, shoved the trash he was holding into Deon’s pocket.

“…….”

“Since you’re going into the maze today, take them out and eat them when you’re bored. You might take a long time to get out if you get lost.”

Deon couldn’t figure out who was treating whom like a clueless simpleton who couldn’t find their way out of the maze.

If it had been Fontaine, he would have suspected some trickery with the candies.

But Asil wasn’t someone who would harbor such sinister intentions.

Deon stopped himself from emptying the unnecessarily heavy pocket when he heard the instructor’s starting signal.

“Ah, it looks like we’re starting. Then let’s do our best. See you later!”

Asil smiled brightly again and gave a carefree greeting.

Leaving him behind, Deon stepped into the maze first.

Recalling what had just happened, Deon tilted his head slightly as he climbed the tree.

Asil usually acted friendly and clung to all his stepbrothers, but he seemed particularly affectionate towards Deon.

Deon found it difficult to understand the psychology behind it.

Could it be because their mothers were close?

Or was he feeling some unnecessary sense of camaraderie just because they were wearing similar ridiculous outfits?

Either way, it was absurd from Deon’s perspective.

He nimbly stepped onto the branches without much effort and stood at the top of the tree.

The walls of the maze were made of tall, solid stones and bushes.

However, the tree Deon had climbed was quite tall, allowing him to see some of the scenery inside the maze.

Suddenly, Deon’s eyes narrowed at a small figure at the edge of his vision.

The area of the maze garden open for today’s class was only a small part.

The non-open areas were not yet at a difficulty level suitable for them, and they would be allowed to enter after they were older.

But now, he could vaguely see a child smaller than Deon entering there.

The child’s golden hair flickered and swayed briefly beyond the green wall before disappearing.

There were only three people in the Agriche [family name] with such brilliant blonde hair, and among them, the one with the smallest height was…….

‘I don’t know why she went in there alone, but she’ll probably die soon.’

In any case, it wasn’t Deon’s concern.

With an expressionless face, Deon looked at the place where Roxana had disappeared and soon jumped down from the tree.

* * *

‘Is it just a feeling? It feels like something is chasing me.’

I was seized by a strange compulsion and diligently moved to find the entrance.

But no matter how much I walked, new paths appeared, and I couldn’t see the passage leading out of the garden.

I had been moving non-stop, and my stamina was running out, so I was gradually panting for breath.

I guess I can’t do it, I need to rest a little.

Eventually, I went under the shade of a bush and decided to take a short break.

As time passed, the strange ominousness and unease I had felt earlier faded, allowing me to think about resting.

Rustle.

I felt like I needed sugar, so I rummaged through my pocket and took out the last remaining candy and ate it.

Rolling the concentrated sweetness in my mouth made me feel a little more energetic.

“Sigh.”

While cooling off in the shade, I let out a small sigh.

No, there’s a limit to how big a house can be. Who would have thought I’d get lost in the garden like this?

The feeling of being a lost child, but not really, in my own home was quite new and fresh. Of course, I didn’t need this kind of novelty.

Crunch, crunch.

As more time passed, I bit and ate the candy, which had shrunk to the size of a sugar star, and got up from my seat.

I felt like I wanted to be lazy forever, but I couldn’t just stay here forever.

But when I tried to move, I felt a little lost.

Could it be that I really won’t be able to get out of here until sunset?

I want to go back before Mom notices, if possible.

Should I just shout and call someone? If I’m lucky, I might get help from a gardener.

I thought that might be better, but strangely, I felt a sense of rejection towards that method.

The strange feeling I had felt while wandering around the garden still made me hesitate.

I had an inexplicable feeling that something scary would happen if I made a loud noise here now.

I hesitated for a while and decided to try to find my way alone a little more.

But after walking a little further, there was a fork in the road.

I stopped a little away from it.

I looked at both roads alternately, but I couldn’t easily decide which way to go.

In times like this, is this it?

I hesitated and raised my hand.

Which one shall I choose, guess!

The place my finger pointed to was the right.

Okay, I choose you!

It was at that moment when I was walking on the green grass and approaching the fork in the road.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, I felt something thin catch on my ankle and snap, and I felt something flying from the side.

“……!”

Instinctively, I covered my head and ducked down.

Chirp, chirp!

But all I could hear was the sound of birds chirping in the distance.

I slowly turned my head, but there was nothing around me.

There was no sign of anything flying.

What is it……? Was this just my imagination?

But it wasn’t…….

I frowned and briefly surveyed the surrounding atmosphere.

Again, something was strange, but I didn’t know what it was, and I felt uneasy.

Thud!

At that moment, a small sound of something falling suddenly came from the front.

When I raised my head, I saw an unripe fruit falling in front of the left road and rolling on the floor.

It must have fallen from the tree next to it.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

Then, I saw something small sparkling in the sunlight behind it.

I couldn’t see it until just now?

But wait a minute. Isn’t that the same candy I ate?

I changed my destination and ran to the left.

Ah, it’s the candy I know.

Could it be Asil’s?

I felt half suspicious and half happy, wondering if he had passed this way.

Looking around, I saw something sparkling in the distance again.

I felt like my suspicion was gradually becoming a certainty.

Isn’t Asil the only one who would spill things like this?

Besides, he went with a lot of candy in both pockets today, so he might not have noticed that he dropped one or two like this.

Or maybe there was a small hole in his pocket and he spilled it…….

Anyway, I felt energized after finding the candy, which was presumed to be Asil’s. If I followed this, I might meet Asil.

From then on, I began to follow the traces of the candy that had fallen on the lawn.

* * *

‘She has a good sense.’

Deon silently broke the three poisoned arrows he was holding.

Judging from the position and intensity of the arrows, they didn’t seem to be installed for lethal purposes.

They were at a height that would pierce an adult’s leg, so I thought they were meant to slowly paralyze the body.

But the story was a little different for a child like Roxana.

If Roxana had been hit by this arrow, it could have pierced her chest and killed her instantly.

Of course, Deon caught the arrow right away, so she wouldn’t have been hit.

Still, seeing her notice the change as soon as the device was activated and immediately take a defensive posture and lower her body, Roxana had a very good sense of not only intuition but also hearing and reflexes.

Deon evaluated it in such a dry manner and threw one of the broken arrows forward.

Swoosh!

Among the forks in the road in front of Roxana, one of the tree fruits in the left path was cut off by the arrowhead and fell.

At the same time, he threw a candy that fell nearby.

Roxana, who was crouching like a hermit crab hiding its body in its shell, heard the sound and peeked her head up.

Then, when she finally found the familiar candy, her face, which had been wary, brightened.

Deon didn’t throw away the remaining arrowheads and took them, then silently left the spot.

Rustle. The tree that Deon left shook very slightly.

Since this area was of medium to high difficulty even in the maze garden and was close to the outskirts, there were no particularly dangerous devices for Deon, but still, you never knew.

Deon, who was a little ahead of Roxana, threw candy on the lawn, feeling like a hunter luring wild animals with sweet bait.

While Roxana was picking up the candy, Deon threw a poisoned arrowhead at a dog that was silently approaching them.

Thud!

Grrr!

Whether it was a dog whose vocal cords had been surgically removed to quietly bite its prey without making a sound, the scream was not very loud.

“Huh?”

But Roxana managed to hear the faint sound and tilted her head in doubt.

Still, it seemed like she didn’t hear it clearly, so she soon tilted her head and started walking forward again.

The dog, which was hit in the front leg by the poisoned arrowhead, gradually slowed down and soon collapsed to the ground.

Judging from the slow rise and fall of its chest, it was not dead. As expected, the type of poison was paralysis.