The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 222

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 222

Side Story 13

* * *

Deon finished his business and left Griselda’s house without a second glance.

He hadn’t even offered a word of thanks, despite making Griselda work without pay for so long.

But she knew Deon’s personality, and in some ways, she was grateful he disappeared from her sight so cleanly.

Earlier, when Griselda had made a mistake and drawn a stroke of the magic circle wrong, forcing them to start over, the look he gave her was so cold.

Griselda slammed the door shut after Deon, relishing her freedom after so long.

“Ha, it feels like things have been nothing but trouble since Nicks… Should I just move this time?”

But she only entertained the thought for a moment.

She had an unwelcome certainty that her location would be discovered no matter where she moved.

In the end, Griselda clicked her tongue and went to her room to catch up on sleep.

But even in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep right away.

‘…Is there anything I can do to help?’

Deon’s stepsister, whom he had gone to meet, had been on Griselda’s mind for a while now.

In fact, she had been uncharacteristically concerned since she last saw Roxana at the end of last month.

As the old saying goes, it’s hard to know someone’s true nature, no matter how long you’ve known them…

Griselda’s stepsister had a surprisingly nasty temper, despite her appearance.

She had learned this firsthand while spending a short time with them before the rag doll left this house on its own two feet—just how much of an oddball Roxana Agriche was.

‘Honestly, the most likely scenario is that he’ll find her dead… Even if she’s lucky enough to be alive, she’ll probably be in a state that can’t be called human.’

Seeing that she followed that doll even knowing that, Roxana must really have a masochistic streak.

Still, if there had been any way Griselda’s abilities could have helped, she would have considered accompanying Roxana.

But no matter how she thought about it, it was impossible in her mind.

And Griselda didn’t have a habit of wasting energy on such things.

She still felt the same way now.

But strangely enough…

She was setting aside her own reliable, objective judgment and wondering if she should go see Roxana right now, and these useless thoughts kept swirling around in her head.

Even if she couldn’t give Roxana any real help, she felt a strange urge to hover around her, and her body was itching to move.

Strangely, she was curious about what kind of face Roxana was making right now.

It wasn’t the usual feeling of anticipating something interesting from her stepsister.

‘What is it…? It’s like I’m worried about her.’

But Griselda’s face immediately turned sour at the thought that flashed through her mind.

She felt nauseous at the uncharacteristic thought.

No, that’s not it. It must be because she hasn’t been sleeping well.

Griselda pulled the blanket over herself, feeling uneasy.

Let’s just sleep. Her judgment is clouded because she hasn’t had enough rest.

She’ll be able to think rationally again after a good night’s sleep.

But Griselda tossed and turned in bed for a long time afterward, finally falling asleep after a while.

* * *

Meanwhile, Deon headed to the place where he had sensed the poison butterfly’s energy earlier.

Standing on a hill where tall grass rustled, a familiar mansion came into view.

He had already expected it, so it wasn’t hard to guess where Roxana was now.

Then, a strange feeling suddenly brushed against his skin, and Deon looked down.

But all he saw were green leaves still swaying and grayish-white dust flying between them.

Nevertheless, the inexplicable sense of unease lingered, and his red eyes circled the area for a while.

It was only after some time that Deon raised his head again and moved toward Sierra’s house at the end of his gaze.

* * *

Roxana’s gaze suddenly shifted to the side.

“…”

Her eyes rested on the green field where golden waves rippled.

The approaching person didn’t bother to hide his presence, so it wasn’t just Roxana who sensed him.

Cassis and Jeremy also stopped what they were doing for a moment and looked in the direction Roxana was looking.

Only Sierra and Bess were clueless.

Maria, who had been watching Sierra’s reaction, stepped forward somewhat hastily.

“Hey, isn’t everyone thirsty? Should I go get some water?”

“Lady Maria, if it’s something like that, I’ll go…”

“No! Bess, you just keep Sierra and Sana shaded from the sun.”

Maria left Sierra and Bess, who were looking at her strangely, and hurried away.

Soon, Maria reached the front yard with a small garden behind the mansion, and a familiar figure came into view.

“Deon! Why do you have to come at a time like this?”

She quickly blocked Deon’s path.

Over time, Maria had learned to be mindful of Sierra’s feelings on certain issues.

Asil was one of them.

The reason she rushed over as soon as she noticed Deon’s presence was also part of that.

But Deon ignored Maria, who was blocking his way, and immediately tried to move to the back of the mansion where Roxana was.

“Hey! Can’t you stop there? Listen to me for a second!”

Maria ran up and grabbed his arm, and only then did a cold gaze fall on her.

Maria was also surprised when she grabbed Deon’s arm without thinking.

“What is this? You grew an arm in the meantime? Where did you make it? It’s pretty well made, like a real one… Ah, no! That’s not the point!”

Maria grabbed Deon and told him about why Roxana had come to see Sierra today and what was happening behind the mansion.

Deon had a blank face, not knowing whether he was listening or not, and was silent for a moment.

After being stuck in place for a while, Deon’s steps soon led elsewhere.

“Wait, Deon! Where are you going again? Hey…!”

Maria shouted from behind, but this time he didn’t stop.

Soon, Maria realized where Deon was going. She hesitated for a moment whether to stop her son, but then let out a deep sigh and followed him.

* * *

The house was empty because everyone was outside.

Deon entered the mansion and stopped in front of the table.

There was a neatly folded white cloth.

It was clearly Asil’s remains that Roxana had brought, as Maria had said earlier.

“…”

Maria, who had been following Deon, had disappeared somewhere along the way.

So where Deon was now was so quiet that even the sound of a needle rolling could be heard.

Deon was immersed in the silence, staring at what was in front of him for a long time.

Then, finally, his arm, which had been hanging down, slowly moved.

His hand, made of real bone and flesh, not the prosthetic Griselda had made, lightly touched the edge of the cloth.

It goes without saying, but no warmth was felt.

But Deon put more strength into his fingertips, as if trying to find something there.

But again, nothing was felt.

From Asil, who had become a handful of powder, not even a small sense of volume was conveyed, let alone the warmth he had when he was human.

Step.

Then Sierra came in through the open door.

She wasn’t surprised to see Deon standing in front of the table.

Judging by her expression, it seemed that someone had already told her.

Deon thought that Sierra might shout at him to get away from Asil or even run up and knock his hand off the cloth.

“Deon.”

But Sierra didn’t take any of the actions Deon had predicted.

“You’ve come at a good time.”

“…”

“We’re just about to send him off with the people gathered outside.”

Blue eyes, as calm as a lake without a ripple, met Deon’s. The voice that flowed into his ears was no different.

“I wanted to hold a simple ceremony with the family gathered here.”

“…”

“So, if you don’t mind, pick up what’s in front of you and follow me. Of course, you can refuse if you don’t want to.”

Then Sierra stood quietly, looking at him as if waiting for Deon’s answer.

As she said, there was no sign of coercion in her at all.

Of course, no matter what the other person’s intentions were, there was only one person in the world who could force Deon to do something he didn’t want to do.

Deon stared silently at Sierra, who was standing by the door, and turned his head.

And after a while, his hand picked up the white cloth in front of him, as Sierra had said.

Sierra walked ahead of Deon.

They headed to the back of the mansion where the others were gathered.

Sierra, who had received the cloth from Deon when they reached their destination, put it in a small box.

A small hole had already been dug in the ground.

The place to bury what Sierra was holding was prepared by Cassis a little while ago, and the tombstone to be erected on it was made by Jeremy.

Sierra and Roxana put Nicks’ worn-out clothes that he wore for the last time in the small box, as if it were a coffin, and placed the flowers that Asil liked on top of it.

Deon just watched the scene of Asil’s tomb being made from behind.

Until the hole where the box was buried was filled with dirt, and until the tombstone was erected in front of the mound that had been compacted afterward.

And even when the people of Agriche, who knew Asil, said their last goodbyes in front of him, he stood motionless like a shadow.

But even after everyone had left, Deon stared at the tomb in front of him alone for the longest time.

When Deon turned away, the people were still gathered in front of the mansion gate.