The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 226

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 226 (226/253)

Side Story 17 of Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother

* * *

Swish, swish.

Late that evening, Emily returned to her room and took out the items she had been carrying all day, organizing them.

The gleaming blade, without a speck of rust, shone sharply in the flickering flames.

Even though Agrische was peaceful now, Emily never neglected the maintenance of her weapons, not even for a single day.

Finally, as she re-concealed it within her clothes, she sensed a presence outside the door.

Knock, knock!

“Emily!”

When Emily opened the door, Gilleeta, standing before her, smiled brightly.

“I figured you’d be here since it’s dinner time. Some of us who have the morning off tomorrow were thinking of having a light drink. Want to join us, Emily?”

“I’m not sure…….”

“I know, you have to go back to Roxana later. You don’t have to drink, Emily. We’ve got food from the dining hall, so you can just eat with us. The dining hall is super crowded right now. Emily, you haven’t had dinner yet, right?”

Before Emily could answer, Gilleeta grabbed her and pulled her along.

Gilleeta’s room was close by, and soon they were peering inside through the open door.

The servants who saw Emily greeted her warmly.

Lima, whom some of their colleagues had gossiped about earlier, was also there.

“Oh, Emily’s here too?”

She seemed to have reluctantly joined, maintaining a haughty posture, but she greeted Emily with a subtle welcome.

“Come on, come on, don’t just stand at the door, Emily. Come on in!”

Emily was led into the room by Gilleeta.

“Phew! A drink after work is the best!”

After a while, Gilleeta, who had downed a glass of liquor someone had procured, said with a flushed face.

“I’d heard not to work at Agrische unless you’re desperate for money, so I was worried, but I think I made the right choice coming for the interview. Everyone’s nice, and it’s easy to work here as long as you follow a few rules. Maybe someone who used to work here spread false rumors because they didn’t want to lose their job?”

“I don’t think so. It was really crazy when the previous master was here.”

“I heard from someone in the next district’s dormitory…….”

Like at breakfast, Emily silently put the food in front of her into her mouth amidst the people who had already begun to chatter.

Some incidents that had occurred in the old Agrische became fodder for gossip, spreading like ghost stories throughout the room.

Coincidentally, everyone gathered in this room had entered Agrische after Lant’s death.

Most of the people who had been working here before were using the dormitory in the next district.

“Gosh, that’s really scary! That mistress was really something. I’m glad she’s not here now.”

“And there are those closed buildings, right? Josh, who works in the garden, secretly went there and almost died because there was a dangerous device, so you guys be careful too.”

“I heard that too. Sometimes people go missing inside. They say there are ghosts too, right?”

“Hey, do you believe in that stuff?”

“There are always kids who go on purpose when you say things like that.”

The entry of new servants was strictly forbidden in some areas, including the various educational facilities of Agrische that were now closed, the greenhouse and flower garden where poisonous plants were grown, the monster breeding ground that had not been fully repaired, and some areas including the maze garden where dangerous traps were installed.

So, there were cases where rumors amplifying fear spread like now.

“Anyway, we’re lucky that both of our current leaders are good people.”

“Even Jeremy used to make everyone tremble just by glancing at them until spring.”

“That’s right. The atmosphere changed a bit when Roxana came. The other young masters and young ladies have become less scary than before.”

“I’m actually still scared of Jeremy.”

“He’s a co-leader, but Roxana is the most powerful person in Agrische, right?”

The servants generally recognized Jeremy as a scary master and Roxana as a kind master.

And now everyone had realized that Roxana was the only person who could make Jeremy docile.

“Tch, why are they talking about such obvious things like they just realized it? That’s why they’re still doing chores. Seriously, their level is so low.”

At that moment, Lima snorted softly. Everyone was chatting among themselves, so the only person who heard her mutter was Emily, who was right next to her.

As if she had deliberately muttered for Emily to hear, Lima turned to her the next moment and asked.

“Emily, why didn’t you go to the dormitory next door that the established servants use? You’re qualified. If I were you, I would have moved to the next district right away.”

At Lima’s words, Emily looked around once.

Looking at the people chatting happily, Sierra and the other two people she had spent a short time with in the middle district came to mind.

Emily still had a blank expression on her face and answered briefly.

“I don’t dislike it. This kind of atmosphere.”

“Your taste is unique.”

But Lima soon smiled at Emily as if doing her a favor.

“I don’t plan to make friends here, but I wouldn’t mind being friends with you, Emily. We serve the same master.”

Emily didn’t answer and picked up the cup in front of her and drank water.

“By the way, Emily, is there a special reason why you came to serve Roxana? It doesn’t seem like you’re just following her because you were hired. Well, you don’t seem to have any ambition either.”

And at Lima’s question that followed, Emily paused as she put down her water cup.

A scene from the distant past suddenly flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern [a type of early image projector].

The moist air unique to autumn, mixed with the scent of dry grass.

The red fallen leaves that were spread like a carpet on the ground.

The memory of her ankle being crushed by a thick lump of iron, as if it would break.

And…….

“No.”

But soon, what flowed from Emily’s mouth was a firm denial.

She didn’t want to share even a speck of dust with anyone about the memory of the day she first met Roxana.

Because that was only Emily’s.

Even if Roxana had already forgotten that long ago, the memory of that day was kept intact in Emily’s heart without fading at all.

“Is that so……?”

Lima turned her head as if disappointed by Emily’s answer, which was different from what she had expected.

After that, she turned her attention away from Emily and had a few words with the other servants.

“Oh my? Lima, why is your face so red? Didn’t you just have one drink?”

“Uh, yeah. But it’s strange. I didn’t drink much, but why is it like this…….”

Thud!

And when the atmosphere had matured to some extent, Lima, who had a red face and a bewildered expression, fell first.

“Lima, I guess you’re weaker to alcohol than I thought.”

“Ugh, I should stop drinking before I pass out too.”

But before 10 minutes had passed, they all became the same as Lima.

Only Emily was sitting upright, drinking tea as she had been from the beginning.

Clatter.

Soon, Emily, who had put down her teacup, got up from her seat.

She checked that everyone in the room had lost consciousness and picked up Lima.

Then, she quietly slipped out through the window, avoiding any possible witnesses.

While Emily carried Lima on her back and jumped out of the window, not even a small footstep was heard.

After putting Lima down at her destination, she sneaked into the men’s dormitory this time to pick up another target.

But the person Emily was looking for was not in the room.

However, recalling her actions so far, it was not difficult to guess where the target was currently.

Emily quietly left the dormitory again like a shadow.

* * *

The Agrische at night had a different atmosphere from the daytime.

A gloomy darkness coiled around, casting eerie shadows everywhere.

Most of the servants had already finished their day, so only the sounds of nocturnal animals crying could be heard outside.

The place Emily headed to was a restricted area.

As she stepped inside, crossing the rope that had been temporarily tied instead of an iron fence, the air, which felt much cooler, wrapped around her body.

How long had she walked after that?

Whoosh!

At some point, two presences suddenly rushed at Emily.

Clang!

Emily quickly drew her dagger and deflected the flying whip.

The specially processed whip with glass embedded in it was not cut by the blade and bounced off as it was.

“Huh? What is it? It’s Emily.”

The person who had approached right in front of her lowered her hand, which had been aiming for Emily’s vitals.

“What’s going on here?”

“Did you come to play with us?”

Emily was not surprised to see Roxana’s half-siblings who appeared before her.

One of them was Charlotte. She frowned at Emily, who was Roxana’s subordinate.

“I came because there is someone I need to take away by order of Roxana.”

“Ah, you mean that guy who pretended to be lost and wandered in earlier.”

“We’ve been letting him peek around the entrance twice already this month, but it’s not even funny.”

They guided Emily as if they knew.

Some of the closed places were being used as playgrounds for Agrische’s half-siblings.

And incidentally, they were also in charge of dealing with the rats who entered the restricted area with impure purposes.

Even now, faint presences and gazes were felt in the darkness.

Finally, Emily arrived at a place where Agrische’s half-siblings and the person she was looking for were gathered together.

“Anyway, there are always kids like this. I don’t know what there is to see that they keep crawling in here one by one. Do they think we’re hiding treasure or something?”

“It’s nice because it’s not boring, but it’s a shame that there aren’t any persistent kids these days. The kid we played with last month was a bit interesting.”

“I think I’ll just ask them to take me outside next month.”

“More than that, who’s going to go get judged as a toy this time?”

The people who had been talking in whispers stopped talking all at once the next moment.

Eyes that gave off a chilling glint even in the darkness were simultaneously turned towards Emily.

“Ah, I thought another rat had been caught, but it wasn’t.”

“Isn’t that Emily?”

“Hey, aren’t we not allowed to play with that one?”

The other people expressed disappointment at the words of the half-brother who had come with Emily.

Emily left them behind, slung the person who was passed out on the floor over her shoulder, and moved the place.

* * *

The place Emily headed to was the underground prison.

After a while, Roxana, who had finished her day’s schedule, also arrived there.

She glanced down at the people who were tied up and collapsed on the floor.

“It seems they’re still unconscious.”

“I’ll wake them up now.”

Smack!

While Emily was waking up the two people, Roxana sat down on a pre-prepared chair with her legs crossed.

“Ugh, what…….”

After a while, Lima opened her eyes first.

“Hello. It’s a good night.”

She had an expression that momentarily confused reality with the soft voice flowing into her ears.

“Roxana…… Leader Roxana?”

But Roxana didn’t wait for such Lima.

“It’s late, so shall we not waste our time?”

At the quiet voice that followed, the drunken spirit was instantly dispelled from the blank face that had been looking at Roxana.

“I already know that you are a mole from Hyperion.”

At that moment, Lima gasped and wriggled her body.

She seemed to have realized that her body was tied up now.

Her eyes, which were looking around anxiously, reached Roxana in front of her, Emily standing against the wall, and the man sprawled next to her in turn.

Emily saw the cold sweat running down Lima’s face as she turned her gaze back to Roxana.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Me, a mole……? Who, who told Leader Roxana such ridiculous things? I’m wronged……!”

She shouted as if she really didn’t know what was going on.

Roxana had an insensitive face that didn’t reveal her inner thoughts. Lima claimed her innocence more actively.

“It, it’s definitely a false accusation. I don’t know why you misunderstood, but I have never betrayed Agrische……!”

But she couldn’t continue speaking any further.

Because Roxana’s hand, which had been stretched forward the next moment, grabbed her chin.

“I clearly said not to waste time.”

Roxana’s upper body leaned forward, and her luscious hair flowed down like a wave. It shone in the flames of the candlestick hanging on the wall as if it would melt and flow down.

“In the first place, why do you think I kept you by my side, who hasn’t even been in Agrische for very long?”

And the moment her eyes met the red eyes that shone even more clearly than that head-on, the mouth of the woman who had been fearlessly chattering hardened like a stone.

“I admired your efforts to crawl all the way here, so at first, I was willing to wait until you moved first. But I’m getting bored.”

Roxana continued to speak in a soft, whispering tone, whether she did or not.

“There are only two things I’m curious about. Whether it was Hiakin or Orca who sent you. And whether your purpose is simply espionage or not. Your treatment will be determined accordingly.”

Lima seemed to realize then that she had never succeeded in deceiving Roxana for even a moment since she came to Agrische. And that Roxana’s personality was not as soft as it seemed.

“That’s why I brought you here to find out myself from now on.”

Emily could understand the confusion that arose on her pale face. Lima had never done anything that would get her caught since she came to Agrische.

But it was impossible to completely avoid the eyes of Roxana and other Agrische people, who had inhumanly developed senses.

Roxana, who read the trembling transmitted from the touching body, stroked the face in front of her more gently.

“It’s okay……. Don’t worry too much. I hate seeing unnecessary blood.”

Flutter.

Red butterflies, as if containing blood, appeared one by one and fluttered their wings.

“So I won’t use the torture tools over there. Instead, I’ll make you a little painful in other ways…….”

The sound of butterflies flapping their wings spread chaotically inside the sealed underground prison.

The softly melting voice in between was like the sweet nectar of flowers that flowed down with a thick concentration.

“You’re not my person, so I don’t really care whether you’re in pain or not.”

Red eyes, as cold as ice crystals, pierced the person kneeling in front of her without mercy.

“Still, be glad that I’m in front of you now, not my dear brothers and sisters.”

The shadow of the woman, who had fallen into a hallucination and began to twist her body, dyed the wall where Emily was standing black.

However, as Roxana had promised, the bloody smell that Agrische people were supposed to be familiar with did not come out at all while she was in the underground prison.

Emily’s beautiful master was so kind and affectionate again today.

Emily’s day, Roxana’s most loyal servant, was coming to an end like that again today.