The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 44

At that moment, I paused.

Cassis was quietly watching me. Seeing his face, a realization dawned on me.

He knows this is a poisonous flower. But how did he know?

My mind raced, and then, wanting to gauge his reaction, I feigned ignorance and asked,

“No, I don’t know what kind of flower it is. Why?”

Cassis, in a calm voice, dropped a stone into the still water [metaphorically, meaning he introduced a significant point].

“This is a poisonous flower. I can’t identify the species, but it contains quite potent toxins.”

“How do you know that…?”

Startled, my eyes involuntarily flickered. Cassis paused, a momentarily troubled expression crossing his face at my question.

Then, he answered in a firmer tone than before.

“I’ve seen this flower before. It’s definitely a poisonous flower.”

“That can’t be.”

Ah, I denied his words without thinking.

But it really couldn’t be.

This flower was a specially cultivated poisonous flower from Agriche, and it hadn’t been released outside yet.

The next moment, I saw a slightly frustrated expression on Cassis’s face.

“If you don’t want to believe it, you don’t have to. But from now on, at least try to be cautious.”

Why that face? Does he think I don’t believe him? That’s not what I meant.

“It would be best to throw that flower away, but if you don’t want to, at least don’t keep it close.”

Then Cassis hesitated for a moment before adding.

“You may not believe it… but I’m saying this for your own good.”

Of course, I had no intention of throwing this flower away.

Naturally. It’s useful because it’s poisonous.

Besides, this flower was much more useful than the one Yoan gave me last time.

“No, I believe you.”

Of course, there was no need to voice such thoughts.

“You have no reason to lie to me about this.”

After that, Cassis’s face seemed subtly relieved, which inexplicably made me feel strange again.

I looked down at the flower in the basket, my eyes filled with a mix of bewilderment and doubt.

I was very curious about how Cassis knew the identity of this flower.

* * *

Two days later, I ran into Charlotte coming out of the punishment room.

These days, I was incredibly busy: monitoring Deon, who had gone to the Karyntulle habitat; surveying the atmosphere inside the mansion; paying attention to the Pedelian presence on the border; and striving to accelerate the growth of the poison butterflies.

Perhaps because I had overworked my mind and body with so many worries, I hadn’t been feeling well since last night.

Still, I was glad that the poison butterflies hatched when they did. It seemed my luck wasn’t entirely bad after all.

Since Deon returned, I inevitably became a little impatient. It was impossible not to be aware of his presence, even though I tried.

Still, I was glad that Cassis had been quiet lately.

Although I orchestrated this escape incident, I would be the one in the most trouble if Cassis attempted another one.

So, I told him that I had found the Pedelian contacts, explained about the secret passage, and shared some of my plans with him.

Of course, from Cassis’s point of view, all of that might seem unreliable, but he must have figured it would be too risky to attempt another escape so soon, so he was quietly biding his time.

Perhaps smoother communication with the Pedelian people would help gain Cassis’s trust.

In any case, the groundwork necessary for Cassis’s escape was roughly laid, so I was planning to move soon.

“I heard your toy tried to run away, Sister?”

So, I wasn’t thrilled to see Charlotte in the hallway.

“It’s been a while, Charlotte.”

Charlotte, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was thinner than before. Her complexion was also somewhat pale.

That was only natural, since she had been locked in the punishment room for quite some time.

I heard she came out a few days ago, but she came to find me so quickly.

“You look better than before. The punishment room must have been more comfortable than I thought?”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed at my seemingly friendly remark.

“It would have been better to rest a little longer.”

The hallway we were standing in was close to where Cassis was.

To show interest in Cassis again so soon after coming out of the punishment room, she was truly consistent.

“I heard the mansion was in an uproar because of your toy a few days ago, Sister. Isn’t that a sign of being completely unqualified as a manager? If it were me, I would have cut off his legs so he couldn’t do such a thing in the first place.”

Yes, you would.

Charlotte provoked me by mentioning the incident a few days ago, as if she still held a grudge against me.

Even though the matter was concluded as being Jeremy’s fault, she came to me and said this, so it seemed she just wanted to get under my skin somehow.

“And Father only allowed you to own the toy after I was locked in the punishment room. You deliberately manipulated things behind the scenes to make me invade the underground prison and get punished, didn’t you? You dirty liar!”

I smiled kindly at Charlotte, who was seething.

“Well, I think you’re just stupid for falling for such an obvious trick?”

Then Charlotte’s cute face became even more ferocious.

“The incident a few days ago was also caused by you not managing your toy properly, but you must have used a mean trick to evade responsibility. You should have been locked in the punishment room this time! It’s also a lie that you hatched the poison butterflies, isn’t it? You must have used some trick to look good to Father. Everyone was fooled because they don’t know your true colors, but I’m not. I’ll get back the toy you stole from me no matter what. Just you wait!”

Looking at Charlotte’s venomous eyes, it seemed that bothering me wouldn’t end with just this one encounter.

“I guess you can’t help being stupid. To still be this foolish even after being locked in the punishment room.”

I tilted my head with a feigned regrettable feeling. Then, I stared at Charlotte and pondered for a moment.

“Okay, Charlotte. I’ll show you directly. Guess whether this is real or fake.”

After finally deciding, I summoned the poison butterflies.

One by one, butterflies with a deeper red tint than before appeared around me.

Creatures with poison are usually beautiful. But they also harbor an ominous energy.

The number of butterflies, which had been increasing one by one, quickly swelled to about a hundred. Even in the midst of that, the butterflies, gradually increasing in size, flapped their wings in the air.

Charlotte’s face gradually turned white as she watched the scene.

“What…”

At that moment, the butterflies rushed at Charlotte all at once. A high-pitched scream pierced my eardrums.

Charlotte must have heard the news that I had declared I would raise the hatched poison butterflies into murderous butterflies. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown such great fear.

The red butterflies engulfed Charlotte.

A crunching sound rang in my ears. It sounded like something was being torn apart.

Whether it was just my imagination or not, a foul smell of blood seemed to permeate the air.

No, it wasn’t just my imagination. Soon, a thick pool of blood began to form around Charlotte.

It was a terrible sight. On the surface, it looked like the butterflies were attacking Charlotte mercilessly.

But after a while, when the butterflies, having received my command, flew back into the air, Charlotte’s figure, unharmed, came into view.

“I told you, Charlotte. I hate stupid children.”

However, whether it was enough fear or not, Charlotte was completely stunned. Seeing her trembling with fear, it seemed she would be quiet for a while.

“I hope you won’t disappoint me next time.”

I stared blankly at Charlotte, who was sitting on the floor, before passing by her.

Cassis’s room was not far away.

Clang.

As soon as I opened the door and went inside, I collapsed, vomiting blood.

“Ugh… Ugh, huh…”

Something that had been burning hotly inside my stomach gushed out.

The bitter smell of blood filled the room in an instant.

The clanging of chains and a voice shouting something mixed together in front of me in a dizzying manner. But none of it reached my ears clearly.

It was the first time I had used the poison butterflies like this.

So, I didn’t realize that it would put so much strain on my body.

Still, it was inevitable, as this process of confirmation was necessary at least once.

My arms, which were supporting myself on the floor, also lost strength. Perhaps because my whole body was hot, physiological tears welled up in my eyes.

My already bad condition deteriorated rapidly.

In the end, I vomited blood once more and collapsed with my head on the floor.

At that moment, I heard something breaking in front of me.

In my flickering vision, I saw Cassis approaching me.

Amazing, to break the chains with his bare hands.

Even in the midst of that, I admired him slightly.

Is he trying to run away again? That won’t do. It might be really dangerous if he gets caught doing something like that again this time.

But Cassis didn’t pass by me to go to the door, but bent down in front of me as if I had been his purpose from the beginning.

His hastily extended hand reached me. Feeling a warm warmth spreading from where we touched, I closed my eyes.

“Roxana…!”

The voice calling my name faded away.