How to Protect the Heroine’s Older Brother – Chapter 58
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That night, I couldn’t fall asleep until late.
Tonight’s banquet seemed even more bustling than yesterday.
It was only natural, now that all five families had gathered in one place. Of course, there were some who didn’t attend the banquet, like me.
Still, I thought everyone would show up tomorrow, the last day of the Harmony Assembly.
According to the butterflies I had planted in the banquet hall, Sylvia was definitely the star of the show tonight.
The lovely girl with mysterious silver hair like moonlight and sparkling golden eyes like stardust was enough to captivate the eyes of the young people gathered in the banquet hall.
But I couldn’t help but laugh while watching the video shown by the poison butterfly.
It seemed Jeremy had also gone down to the banquet hall for the evening banquet, probably because he was curious about Sylvia, Cassis’s younger sister.
But Jeremy’s reaction to seeing Sylvia was…
〈Damn, she looks just like that Azure bastard. It’s disgusting.〉
It was a very harsh assessment, unlike in the novel.
Jeremy’s face was crumpled like a piece of paper as he muttered to himself, which was quite funny.
It seemed that the real Jeremy wouldn’t fall for Sylvia and kidnap her.
Ryuzak Gastor also frowned slightly when he saw Sylvia, but the degree of displeasure wasn’t as strong as when he looked at me.
Noel Vertium didn’t attend the banquet and stayed in his room without moving. Lant seemed to try to make contact in the middle, but he didn’t accept the visit.
“Thank you. That’s enough.”
I finished checking earlier than usual and sent the poison butterfly back to where it was. It was still too much of a strain on my body to keep the poison butterfly here for too long.
It was late at night.
The castle was so quiet, without even a small sound, as if no one was awake.
Even after a long time passed, I couldn’t fall asleep.
The image of Richel, whom I had met earlier, and Sylvia, whom I had seen through the poison butterfly’s video, came to mind. Then, naturally, the face of another person who resembled them came to mind as well.
After a while, I, who had been tossing and turning on the bed, finally got up and left the room.
It had been so warm during the day, but winter was still winter, and the night air was cold.
I wondered if I should have put on a thick coat, but it wasn’t bad as it was to get some fresh air for a while.
Looking outside, there were two or three rooms with lights on even at this hour. One of them was Richel Fedelian’s room, judging by the location.
It was already past 4 a.m. Were they planning to stay up all night?
Of course, it wasn’t my place to say that, since I was the one who came out at this hour.
I stared blankly at the lit room for a moment before finally lowering my head again. Then, I took the foot that had stopped.
Wigdrasil [the World Tree in Norse mythology, often used in fantasy settings] was more peaceful than ever in the middle of the night.
Perhaps because of the dense silence, I felt a more solemn and heavy grandeur than during the day.
“You’re still alive.”
I pushed through the bushes by the side of the road, leaned against a tree trunk, and squatted down.
There was grass with red berries growing there. There was a time last year when I felt stuffy indoors and came out alone like this, and I remembered accidentally discovering this poisonous plant at that time.
I remember feeling quite happy about the unexpected plant I found in an unexpected place.
Of course, even if it’s a poisonous plant, it only causes a stomachache at best.
Anyway, I felt a little calmer now that I had a familiar poisonous plant in front of me.
When I took a deep breath, white frost flowers bloomed in the air.
As had been the case lately, my heart was restless today. I knew very well why.
Originally, this year, when the heroine Sylvia turned eighteen, was when the novel would begin.
But the story in reality was bound to take a different turn from the novel.
First of all, Sylvia’s older brother, Cassis, was alive.
He had safely escaped Agrit and had not appeared in any official events until today.
So Lant was firmly convinced that Cassis was dead.
Thinking that, a burst of laughter suddenly escaped.
I was already looking forward to the expression Lant Agrit would make when he saw Cassis alive. How fun would it be to see that surprised face?
In the meantime, suddenly, the sound of small hooves echoed inside Wigdrasil.
A person dressed in all black from head to toe got out of the stopped carriage.
Because he was wearing a hood over his coat, only his chin could be seen, so I couldn’t see his face.
But even from a distance, judging by his well-trained body and very tall height, it was clear that the person who got out of the carriage was a man.
The white jawline revealed under the moonlight was as sharp as a blade.
Deon, is it?
I frowned.
I had never seen anyone with such a tall height and a sturdy, well-balanced body other than Deon.
More than anything, the atmosphere flowing around this person.
That oppressive atmosphere, as if the very existence of the person was heavily weighing down the stagnant air around him, was not something that could be felt from just anyone.
Come to think of it, I was thinking that Deon might be coming soon.
I had given him a difficult task to make him arrive at the Harmony Assembly as late as possible, but he had already finished it. At this point, it was really disgusting.
I stared at the man who was starting to walk in my direction with a chilling feeling before turning my head.
I shouldn’t acknowledge him. I didn’t want to ruin my mood by talking to him.
But Deon, as always, easily shattered my expectations.
The footsteps that had been following the road suddenly stopped right behind me.
A small sound of fabric brushing against each other was heard. Judging by the feeling of being watched, he must have turned his head.
I knew it; he had very good night vision. He could accurately find me in the dark like this and send his gaze straight at me.
With a thud, he took a step towards me.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
“I’m so sick of this……”
The approaching footsteps stopped the moment I opened my mouth.
What a ghost. He had killed all his presence, so how did he know I was here?
But since Deon had been relentlessly chasing after me since a long time ago, I wasn’t surprised by his persistence.
“How much more do you have to make me sick of you to be satisfied? I told you I didn’t want to see you. You really can’t understand no matter how much I tell you.”
I was really fed up. It was clear that this feeling was completely melted into my voice.
I didn’t want to see even Deon’s shadow, so I didn’t give him a single glance.
“Don’t say anything and just go, Deon. Today is a rare night when I’m not in a bad mood.”
At other times, I would have attacked him with more cruel words. But I didn’t want to do that today.
It would be a waste to ruin a peaceful night that I had after a long time because of Deon.
There was no sound from behind for a while. The air around me was so quiet that I couldn’t even tell if he had just left.
Thud.
Then, suddenly, the footsteps that had stopped a moment ago continued again. It was coming towards me.
I was furious and opened my mouth again.
“Don’t come close……”
Whoosh.
At that very moment, I was enveloped in a warm warmth from the top of my head.
The warmth spread to my cold body. I stopped breathing and froze.
What was covering my body was the coat that the man had been wearing until just now.
A heavy weight pressed down on my shoulders. There was an unfamiliar scent in it.
For some reason, I couldn’t move my body.
So I couldn’t move a single finger and just held my breath as if time had stopped.
Then, the moment I heard the sound of a small insect, I suddenly came to my senses.
Then, I flinched and jumped up from my seat. And I quickly turned around.
But there was no one in the place where someone had been standing just a moment ago. Only a cold chill lingered in the empty space.
……It’s not Deon.
However, only that clear realization pointed to the undeniable truth without even a hint of doubt.