The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 57

How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 57

* * *

The second day of the Harmony Conference.

My day was similar to yesterday. But since I was used to being alone in Agrische anyway, spending time quietly in my room like this didn’t feel particularly boring.

However, today I briefly came out to the terrace during the day to enjoy the breeze and have some refreshments.

Even though it was winter, this place was almost as warm as early spring compared to Agrische, where blizzards raged.

“Miss, are you going to stay in your room again today? There are many people who are eager to see you.”

As she said that, one of the servants attending to me glanced at me cautiously.

At her words, the other servants also began to look at my face one by one. They were cleaning the room while I was out on the terrace.

Feeling their gaze, I leisurely lifted my teacup.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it. Even when I went outside last year, no one approached me.”

“That’s……”

At my words, the servant trailed off as if she didn’t know what to say.

I knew what she wanted to say even without hearing it.

The reason why other people couldn’t approach me was not because they weren’t interested in me, but because they were overwhelmed by my beauty.

I leisurely tilted my teacup, leaving the hesitant servants behind.

“Gasp!”

Then, suddenly, I heard people below sharply inhaling.

I casually lowered my gaze.

A group of people who were passing under the terrace I was on came into view.

They stopped walking and stared up at me with blank expressions. It seemed they had accidentally discovered me while passing by.

Looking down, I saw Ryzack of the hostile Gastor family among them.

His red hair, slightly shorter than last year, scattered finely in the air with the wind. His eyes, with slightly sharp corners, were the color of luscious ripe grapes.

He had apparently arrived at Yggdrasil this morning, and now he seemed to be moving back to the next building after finishing lunch.

Ryzack contorted his face into a scowl again when he saw me.

Seriously, what did I ever do to him? He’s like a picky male lead [a common trope in romance novels where the male lead is initially cold or hostile].

“Hey, what’s your problem, glaring at my sister like that?”

Just then, Jeremy appeared.

He seemed to have been unable to bear the restlessness since yesterday, and now he had finally found a place to pick a fight.

Ryzack, who had been glaring at me, lowered his head at those words.

“……Are you talking to me? Who are you?”

A cold gaze flew and pierced Jeremy.

“Are you also from Agrische? Your tone is quite presumptuous.”

Indeed, Jeremy was openly picking a fight.

Of course, I didn’t think Ryzack, one of the male leads, would fall for such blatant provocation…….

“Hmph. Before you criticize my tone, you should take care of your own eyes.”

“You brat, do I have to cut out your tongue for you to shut up?”

……Or not? Are they really going to fight now? It feels like that kind of atmosphere.

“Jeremy. Stop it and come up here.”

I felt the need to control Jeremy before something troublesome happened.

When I opened my mouth, the people below looked up at me with even more foolish expressions.

Jeremy and Ryzack’s gazes also turned to me.

Fortunately, Jeremy clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed and immediately turned away. Ryzack stared at Jeremy with a dumbfounded look.

“My brother has committed a rudeness out of concern for me.”

At my words, Ryzack’s furrowed eyes quietly stared at me for a moment.

Soon, he softened his expression and said to me.

“It must be tiring to have such a troublesome brat as a younger sibling.”

This was the first time we had exchanged words like this, and his tone was surprisingly polite.

“He is only fierce to those who are rude to me first; he is originally a cute child.”

Of course, the face I faced again crumpled at my words.

Still, Ryzack didn’t refute my words, perhaps acknowledging that it was rude to frown at me as soon as he saw me.

Rather, unexpectedly, he showed some difficulty at my remark.

I smiled faintly at Ryzack.

His face hardened at my smile. The reactions of the people around him were needless to say.

Watching that scene, I quietly got up from my seat.

“I’ll excuse myself now. As it is a place for unity and harmony, I hope you have a meaningful time for the rest of the period.”

As I left the customary greetings exchanged at Yggdrasil, Ryzack closed his mouth again and stared at me.

I felt his gaze behind me as I turned away. But I didn’t look back and went straight into the room.

* * *

Before the evening banquet that day, the leader of the Yellow Bertium and people from the Blue Fedelian arrived at the castle.

Noel Bertium went straight into his room without even greeting anyone, so I couldn’t see his face.

From Fedelian, the leader, Richel, and his daughter Sylvia, who had come of age this year, attended together.

I had already heard that Sylvia would be attending this gathering, so I wasn’t too surprised.

So, the heroine has finally appeared.

I went with Lant to see Richel, the leader of Fedelian.

Just as I arrived on the first floor, I caught sight of someone disappearing up the opposite stairs. The long hair that remained in my vision like an afterimage was definitely silver, resembling that of someone I knew.

“You’ve come, Richel Fedelian.”

At Lant’s voice ringing in my ear, I lowered my head.

Lant’s greeting was closer to sarcasm than a greeting.

Last year, he approached Richel first and spoke to him in this way. The reason, of course, was not because he was happy to see the person in front of him.

“Lant Agrische.”

A middle-aged man exuding a solid and heavy feeling like a rock turned to us.

As expected, blood is thicker than water; his face resembled Cassis Fedelian’s.

However, if Cassis felt like he was delicately drawn with a thin brush, Richel felt like he was boldly drawn with a thicker brush.

Cold, icy blue eyes, different in color from Cassis, first reached Lant Agrische.

“I greet the leader of the Blue.”

After that, Richel’s gaze briefly swept over me as I greeted him, then fixed back on Lant.

Since Sylvia was not visible, it seemed that the person who had disappeared up the stairs a little while ago was indeed her.

As he did last year, Richel stared at Lant with eyes so chilling that they made my hair stand on end.

People who had come to greet Richel felt the atmosphere flowing between the two and hesitated.

Among them, some had expressions that said, ‘Here we go again.’

As he did last year, Lant twisted his lips and first taunted Richel.

“You still have a face I want to punch.”

“If we’re talking about faces I want to punch, you’re the only one who can compare. I want to tell you to look in the mirror.”

Surprisingly, Richel was also attacking Lant with a cold voice.

If Lant was fire, Richel was water; if Lant was boiling lava, Richel was closer to a frozen deep sea.

Lant, who had frowned at Richel’s words, raised the corners of his lips again and continued.

“Come to think of it, I heard your daughter came with you this time? You’ve been protecting her so much inside Fedelian all this time, what made you bring her out this time?”

Such bad taste.

The meaning contained in Lant’s words was very clear.

He was mocking Richel, who had been particularly protective of his daughter Sylvia inside Fedelian since Cassis’s incident.

Last year, he did the petty thing of asking Richel about Cassis’s well-being.

Probably, not only at the Harmony Conference but also at meetings where the leaders met separately, he must have always brought up Cassis’s story in this way to enrage Richel.

Lant was the one who had kidnapped Cassis, and he also knew that Cassis had died at my hands. Yet, it was truly distasteful for him to say such things to Richel.

Of course, unlike Lant’s thoughts, Cassis was alive and well, but that wouldn’t lessen Richel’s anger.

It was true that Lant had tried to kill his son, and Richel would never forget that for the rest of his life.

I felt the air sharpen and freeze so much that my skin tingled, and I stepped forward.

“Come to think of it, the young master of the Blue didn’t come with you this year either.”

As I said with a bright smile, clear and cold blue eyes like glass slid over me. At the same time, I felt a vile joy from Lant next to me.

“……He said he would be late due to other official duties.”

Richel, who had been silently looking down at me with inscrutable eyes, finally broke the short silence and answered.

At that, Lant chuckled and sneered.

“Didn’t you say that last year too? Come to think of it, it’s already been three years since I saw your son’s handsome face. I wonder what kind of great official duty it is that he hasn’t shown his face for so many years.”

However, instead of reacting to Lant’s sneer, Richel simply looked down at me without moving.

I smiled and looked up at Richel, taking a step back.

“Really? Since he’s just late, then I’ll have to wait with anticipation for the rest of the period.”

“Yes, I also hope that I can meet your precious son again at this Harmony Conference.”

Lant smiled bitterly and agreed with my words.

He and I left the place first, leaving Richel Fedelian behind.

“You pathetic bastard. How can he still put on such a ridiculous pretense, saying he’ll bring back a guy who’s dead and doesn’t even have a piece of flesh left?”

“But isn’t it fun to see him struggling?”

“That’s true.”

As if recalling the events of a little while ago, Lant suddenly widened his eyes and smiled.

I also smiled cheerfully next to Lant, as if I was enjoying it too.