The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 239

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 30

* * *

Deon topped the monthly evaluation rankings again.

Jeremy wasn’t permitted to attend the grand banquet.

Aside from the consistently top-ranked Deon, fluctuations in the other rankings were inevitable, as they had been established since childhood. It was unavoidable.

But Jeremy seemed quite upset.

After the monthly evaluation results were announced, he stalked around, radiating a ferocious aura like a dangerous predator ready to pounce.

Consequently, everyone steered clear of Jeremy.

“Lady Roxana, congratulations on your successful completion of the monthly evaluation!”

“Thank you.”

Someone congratulated Roxana as she walked through the hallway.

It was just the monthly evaluation, so there was nothing particularly new about it. And since she hadn’t achieved outstanding results, being congratulated felt somewhat absurd. However, this was a common occurrence for Roxana.

If her other half-siblings witnessed this, they would undoubtedly sneer, suggesting she had acquired another pet.

“This is a small token, but it’s a gift.”

The man, his face flushed, presented Roxana with a unique light blue flower.

“Oh my… I’ve never seen this flower before. It’s fascinating.”

However, there was no reason to reject someone willingly offering themselves as her worker bee, so Roxana accepted the bouquet with a gracious demeanor.

“I’ve never seen this species before. Did you bring it from outside?”

“Yes, yes! I had the opportunity to accompany Master Fontaine on a brief business trip today and ventured outside of Agrice for a short while. I spotted this lovely flower and… thought of Lady Roxana and picked it.”

Roxana tilted her head as if to inhale the flower’s fragrance.

Her exquisite face, combined with the blossoming flower, created an almost breathtakingly perfect harmony.

Fontaine’s servant was utterly mesmerized.

The footsteps of passing servants either halted abruptly or gradually slowed down.

“Thank you for bringing it to me. I like it.”

Roxana, bestowing a captivating smile, embraced the bouquet and returned to her room.

“Cassis, here’s a flower that reminds me of you.”

Unlike moments ago, a genuine smile was directed at her toy.

This seemingly insignificant flower was the reason Roxana liked it.

“They say it’s from outside. Have you ever seen this flower before?”

She approached the toy sitting in the sunlight and placed the bouquet in his arms. She even tucked one into his hair.

Then, she smiled, her expression sweeter than the flower’s fragrance.

“It suits you so well.”

A radiant smile spread across his already beautiful face, like a doll crafted from sugar, making it seem as if the surroundings instantly brightened.

Roxana appeared to be in a better mood than usual.

Perhaps it was because this month’s evaluation had concluded without incident.

“Do you like flowers? I don’t particularly. But strangely, everyone keeps giving me these tacky floral gifts.”

Roxana also placed a flower in her ear, mirroring what she had done to the boy earlier.

“But I like this one because it looks like you.”

A clear voice, like a bird’s chirp, echoed in the sunlit room.

“The symbol of Fedelian is blue.”

It was at that moment.

Her toy, sitting motionless like a wind-up doll with its spring unwound, staring blankly at the bouquet in its arms, raised its head and made eye contact.

His eyes were still unfocused, but it was the first time he had reacted so immediately.

Roxana noticed this and watched the boy sitting across from her, holding her breath.

“Did you react to the word Fedelian?”

But after testing it several times, the same noticeable reaction didn’t recur.

Eventually, Roxana stopped repeating the same word like a parrot, concluding it must have been a coincidence.

Afterward, she stared intently at the boy in front of her.

Then, she raised her hand and swept back his hair, which had grown longer than it had been a month ago when she first met him.

The golden eyes facing Roxana were more clearly visible.

“I don’t mind you looking at me.”

A delicate curve formed on the beautiful girl’s face.

Most people in the mansion, with a few rare exceptions, looked at her with either admiration or contempt.

One of the exceptions, her father Lant, looked at her as if he were assessing an object, and her mother, Sierra, always looked as if she were regarding something pitiful and pathetic…

Roxana disliked all of them.

Knock knock.

“Sana.”

Then someone knocked on the door. The voice from outside was Sierra’s.

Roxana briefly considered pretending she wasn’t in the room, but she slowly rose from her seat.

When she opened the door and stepped outside, Sierra’s face, which had been clouded, brightened slightly.

“Mother, what brings you here so suddenly?”

A gentle touch lightly caressed Roxana’s face.

The moment she met the blue eyes filled with affectionate concern, she felt nauseous.

It was as if the embers that had been quietly sinking to the bottom of her chest were rekindling, scattering sparks and floating.

“I’m fine, Mother. There wasn’t a practical exam this time that could cause injuries.”

Roxana didn’t want to have this conversation with Sierra. So, Roxana smiled and changed the subject.

“By the way, this is a gift I received from a servant today. They say it’s a flower brought from outside Agrice.”

“Is that so? It’s a pretty flower.”

“I’ll give this to you. It’s been a while since you’ve been able to go out. Put it in a vase in your room.”

With those words, Roxana removed the flower she had been wearing in her ear and handed it to Sierra.

The mother and daughter carefully inquired about each other’s well-being and then parted with smiles.

But the smile on Roxana’s face, after closing the door and re-entering the room, had unnaturally vanished.

Roxana listened to the footsteps receding from the door, then approached the boy who still had the flower she had given him on his lap.

“…Since when?”

The hand slowly extended forward took the flower from the boy’s head and crushed it.

“I feel guilty when I get angry at Mother, and I feel suffocated after being kind to her.”

The crushed petals fell from her tightly clenched fist.

Roxana stood there for a moment, then took the bouquet from the boy’s arms with a bright smile again.

“Let’s put the remaining flowers in a vase, so we can enjoy them for a long time.”

* * *

A few days later, the day of the grand banquet arrived.

“You’re home, Father.”

Lant returned home earlier than usual.

Roxana was afraid of Lant, but she greeted him with a forced smile.

For some time now, she had made it a point to greet Lant whenever he returned home in this manner.

It was as if she were trying to ingratiate herself with the person who held her lifeline.

But there was no way Lant wouldn’t notice her intimidated demeanor.

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly and passed by Roxana without even acknowledging her.

Deon, who accompanied Lant, glanced at Roxana and passed by indifferently.

They were distant from each other, as were most Agrice siblings.

As soon as Lant and Deon disappeared, Roxana quickly left the area.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the dark hallway.

“Hey, Roxana.”

Just as she arrived at her room and opened the door, a low male voice sounded from behind.

“How is it that you’re still alive and haven’t been disposed of this time?”

It was Fontaine, the eldest son.

Like Roxana, Fontaine hadn’t achieved enough to attend the grand banquet. In particular, as the second son, he had felt extreme inferiority to Deon, who was far more talented than him, since childhood.

Was that why?

“You still seem to be flattering Father. Do you want to live like that?”

He seemed to have come to find someone to vent his anger on.

‘Here we go again.’

Roxana stared at Fontaine approaching with cold eyes, then forced a beautiful smile onto her face.

“Fontaine, *oppa* [older brother]… It’s been a while. You seem busy with official duties these days.”

“I’m busy, unlike you or the other brats who have nothing to do.”

Since he would be satisfied and leave after hearing a few insincere words anyway, there was no need to waste energy arguing to avoid the situation.

“As expected of the eldest son, Father trusts Fontaine *oppa* more than the other siblings…”

“Does that mean that if I wasn’t the eldest son, I wouldn’t have gained this much trust from Father?”

“…That’s not it. I meant that *oppa* is already someone with a special meaning to Father simply by existing.”

Roxana, standing with her back to the door, grasped the doorknob and closed the slightly ajar door.

Perhaps he heard the sound, Fontaine’s gaze shifted.

“Oh, by the way, I heard that Fedelian toy is in your possession now? Let me see it.”

“Ah… !”

Roxana tried to stop him, but Fontaine was insistent.

Eventually, Fontaine barged through the now wide-open door.

“Fontaine, *oppa*, please don’t do that. Come outside and talk…”

“Hey, that bastard is completely half-dead? Why do you keep something like that around?”

Fontaine, seeing the boy in the corner of the room, let out a sound laced with ridicule.

Roxana desperately tried to prevent Fontaine from approaching the boy.

“No, don’t touch him.”

“Get out of the way. Let me see him up close.”

Fontaine pushed Roxana aside and took a step. But Roxana persistently blocked him again, unlike usual.

“Why are you being so annoying? Won’t you move?”

“…Get lost.”

“What?”

Before she realized it, Roxana was glaring coldly at Fontaine with a smileless face.

“Get out of my room right now!”