The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 59

The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother – Chapter 59

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The next evening, the grandest banquet ever was held.

Lant, Jeremy, and I headed to the central hall on the first floor, side by side.

“Where’s Deon?”

“Not here yet.”

Lant frowned at my answer.

“It’s strange for him to be this late.”

“It’s better if that kind of guy isn’t around; he’s just a nuisance.”

Jeremy scoffed, never one to hold his tongue.

Dressed in formal attire for the banquet, he showed off his handsome appearance.

His face, which had a youthful look until a few years ago, had matured considerably, and his height, nearly matching mine, had increased significantly.

He seemed uncomfortable attending such a formal event in a suit for the first time, but he seemed to have adjusted quickly.

Before long, Jeremy was pulling down his tie, looking as cocky as usual.

Lant’s eyes flashed coldly at Jeremy, displeased with his remark.

Jeremy had become more fearless with each passing day and no longer flinched, even in front of Lant.

I smiled faintly at the sight and turned to Lant.

“It seems like he’s later than expected. Could the person he’s supposed to be watching have caused another problem while Father is away?”

Lant’s face hardened subtly at my words. He seemed to be thinking about the person he had ordered Deon to watch.

I smiled at Lant.

“But don’t worry. It’s Deon, after all. He’ll be here before the banquet ends.”

Lant seemed to agree with my words and relaxed his expression. Of course, Jeremy pouted beside him, dissatisfied.

“Let’s go in then.”

Jeremy and I followed Lant into the hall.

Inside the banquet hall, a giant World Tree was painted on the walls, its branches intertwined all the way to the ceiling. Splendid chandeliers emitted dazzling light, twinkling like the Milky Way above our heads.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Except for the soft music, not even a whisper could be heard.

I had experienced this before.

Everyone in the banquet hall was staring at me with expressions of disbelief.

“Wow, look at the state of her face.”

Jeremy twisted his lips as if amused, watching the people who were spacing out.

I took a glass of wine from a servant who was standing there with a dumbfounded expression, just like the others.

As I had already expected, no one approached me to speak.

Even when I walked around the Agrigent mansion in casual clothes, people would gasp and stop in their tracks.

Now that I had dressed up for the banquet, it was only natural that they were so taken aback.

I stood still, maintaining my distance from the others.

While glancing around, a familiar person caught my eye.

Ryuzak Gastor, standing with his family not far away, was looking at me. This time, the degree of his frown was even worse than yesterday.

“Really, please come to your senses. Straighten your back, and dress neatly!”

At that moment, a man’s urgent voice echoed from the entrance of the banquet hall.

A whining voice followed.

“Ugh… I want to go home and eat the tart Nix made for me…”

“We’re going back tomorrow anyway, why are you being so fussy? That’s why Nix finds Noel annoying. Ah, seriously. Stop clinging and stand properly!”

Perhaps because the hall had become so quiet after we entered, the voices from outside echoed particularly loudly.

Two men then appeared at the entrance.

One of them was leaning almost entirely on the man next to him, like a sloth.

Then, sensing the strange atmosphere, the two men raised their heads and looked around.

The man who was acting as a support was startled by the concentrated gaze and tried to lift the man next to him.

However, he was still rolling his eyes dazedly, with a face that didn’t seem to grasp the situation.

Curly orange hair and bright green eyes like sprouts.

A face that still looked innocent and cute like a boy, even though he was an adult.

He was Noel, the head of the House of Verdiun.

It was the next moment that his eyes, which had been moving blankly as if he hadn’t fully woken up, stopped abruptly.

“Huh…?”

Noel’s eyes, which had been out of focus, fixed on me. Immediately after, his mouth gaped open.

“Huh?”

It was at that moment that his hazy green eyes regained their sparkling light, as if awakened from sleep.

His arm, which had been holding onto the man next to him, slipped down.

He leaned more deeply on the man next to him, melting like ice cream. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have lost his mind and his legs had given out.

The man who had almost ended up holding him frowned and lowered his head, then exclaimed immediately.

“Lord Noel, a nosebleed…!”

“Huh? Huh?”

Indeed, as he said, blood was flowing from Noel’s nose.

However, even at the horrified shout, he still had a blank look on his face, as if he hadn’t grasped the situation.

Noel was almost dragged out of the banquet hall by the man next to him in an instant.

“What, who’s that innovative idiot?”

Jeremy muttered sullenly, watching the scene.

The only thing Noel said when he appeared at this gathering was “Huh?”

Besides, the first and last thing he showed was a nosebleed after seeing me….

I could understand why Jeremy was dumbfounded.

In any case, the atmosphere of the banquet hall became lively again because of Noel.

Of course, most of the sounds were whispers about the bizarre behavior he had shown a little while ago.

Lant also seemed to think that Noel’s appearance was quite foolish, as he only clicked his tongue and did not chase after him.

“Noona [term of endearment for an older sister or female friend], are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Should I bring it to you?”

Shortly after, Jeremy threw a three-part question.

He refused my suggestion to mingle with other people and had been guarding my side all along.

Before answering, I glanced at the entrance of the hall.

The people of Fedelian had not yet appeared at the banquet hall.

“Okay, then please.”

Jeremy grinned, as if he liked me asking him to do something, and headed to a table set up on one side of the banquet hall.

Lant had already moved to another spot and was talking with people from other families.

Somehow, time seemed to be flowing slower than usual.

In fact, I had been subtly anxious since a while ago.

No, I don’t know if I should call it anxiety. However, my heart kept turning to a place other than where I was now.

Perhaps I was waiting for something.

“Ah!”

At that moment, I heard a sound of someone taking a sharp breath from somewhere. An exclamation that was unconsciously spat out followed.

Like a fire spreading, a buzzing noise spread widely throughout the banquet hall, led by that sound.

Lant Agrigent also frowned and turned his head at the sound.

I, too, shifted my gaze in the direction where the noisy commotion was felt.

It was at that moment that a familiar name pierced my eardrums.

“It’s Cassis Fedelian!”

“What? The Azure Noble?”

“Is that really true?”

Clang!

A sharp sound of glass breaking cut through the buzzing noise.

As if it were a signal, silence fell inside the banquet hall.

A thick silence, where even the sound of breathing felt loud, filled the enclosed space. A blue wave surged over it.

Soon, the core of a huge storm revealed itself.

What appeared amidst the gazes of countless people were the three members of the Azure Fedelian family.

Richel, who arrived at Yggdrasil yesterday, and his daughter, Sylvia. And Cassis Fedelian, the Azure Noble, who had not shown himself for the past three years.

“Oh my. It’s been so many years….”

As someone murmured quietly, it had been a very long time since he had shown his face at such an official event.

Cassis, who had appeared after three years, was now exuding an overwhelming aura enough to surpass his father, Richel.

His face, which had originally been handsome, now had the presence of a complete adult man, befitting a twenty-year-old youth, and his body, which had grown more than three years ago, looked noticeably firm and solid.

It seemed that there was no longer any vulnerability in Cassis Fedelian, who had appeared at an official event after a long time.

His straight gaze, which was looking straight ahead, contained a depth and weight that could not be compared to before.

But above all, the atmosphere surrounding Cassis had changed the most. I felt like I would be crushed to death by the immense power flowing around him.

“N, Noona. Is the person I’m seeing right now really Cassis Fedelian?”

Jeremy, who had already come to my side, stuttered and asked me. He looked as if he were seeing a ghost.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but check Lant’s face.

I moved my gaze and found Lant standing not far away.

As expected, Lant was looking at Cassis with his eyes wide open, as if he had received a great shock.

A great astonishment that could not be described in words was on his frozen face.

I briefly captured that image in my eyes and then shifted my gaze again.

At that very moment, I met the gaze of golden eyes shining brilliantly in the distance.

As if he had easily found me among the many people, Cassis had been steadily looking straight at me.

At this moment, it felt as if the only people who existed here were him and me.

Tick.

I heard a small sound of clock hands moving from somewhere.