The Way To Protect The Female Lead’S Older Brother [EN]: Chapter 87

Protecting the Heroine’s Older Brother – Episode 87

Was it just my imagination?

There was something strange about the way she was looking at Cassis.

She hadn’t touched her food and barely participated in the conversation, all while constantly stealing glances at Cassis…

It was clear as day that she had ulterior motives.

Did the Pandora from reality not like Ryzac?

So much had already changed from the novel, so it wouldn’t be strange if that were the case.

But why? The thought made me feel somewhat unpleasant.

Of course, I had no reason to feel that way.

It must have been because I shared my vision with the Poison Butterfly for quite a while; it was giving me a headache.

I watched the four people sitting around the large dining table for a moment before severing the connection with the Poison Butterfly.

Then, I opened the terrace door and stepped outside.

I was currently in Cassis’s room.

Since I had nothing else to do, I planned to wait here until he came.

The night garden had its own charm.

I leaned my upper body against the terrace railing, taking in the scenery.

Suddenly, the soft whispers I had heard a while ago were carried by the gentle fragrance of the garden and flowed into my ears.

“That day, when you left Agrit…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered to you if someone else had reached out instead of me.”

“But I wouldn’t have said those words to anyone but you.”

I took a slow breath.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have come after all.

Things I hadn’t really considered back then were now slowly weighing on my mind.

While staying with Cassis, it felt like footprints were being etched into my heart, one by one.

I shouldn’t have followed Cassis that day.

I rested my arms on the railing and leaned my face on them.

The hair that had been draped over my back slipped down below my shoulders.

The red ribbon that Sylvia had tied must have loosened in the meantime.

Rustle.

Suddenly, the ribbon that had come loose from my hair was blown away by the wind.

Ah. I shouldn’t lose that; Sylvia gave it to me.

Sylvia’s face, happy as she braided my hair and tied the ribbon, suddenly came to mind.

Just as I was about to straighten up from the railing, I heard a rustling sound from below.

“What’s this? Where did this string suddenly come from…”

The one who appeared from the shadows of the trees, holding the red ribbon, was a handsome man with light blue hair.

It was definitely Orka Hyperion.

Before I could even wonder why Orka was here, our eyes met.

The next moment, his eyes widened.

He froze, as if he had forgotten to breathe, and looked up at me.

His wide, frozen silver-gray eyes were filled with great bewilderment.

“…A monster?”

I frowned slightly at the quiet whisper that escaped Orka.

“A monster…? A humanoid monster, a new species of evolution?”

Orka was still muttering nonsense with a dazed look on his face.

“No, I’ve never heard of anything like that…”

“Orka Hyperion.”

At that moment, a cold voice, like a chunk of ice, fell heavily over the garden. It was Cassis who had appeared. His face was radiating a chill.

“Wandering around inside Fedelian without permission, you didn’t heed the warning.”

Judging by the situation, it seemed that Orka had cleverly slipped out of the banquet hall.

Cassis had noticed and followed him right away.

But Orka was still staring at Cassis with a blank look on his face.

“No… Blue Duke, can you see that too? No matter how I look at it, that doesn’t seem like a human…”

At his words, Cassis’s gaze lifted.

He made eye contact with me for a moment before dropping his gaze back to Orka.

“What? Is it really only visible to me? Then is that an astral body?”

“It seems you liked the place you were staying until yesterday better. I’ll grant you your wish then.”

Orka gasped and opened his mouth, unsure how to interpret Cassis’s unresponsive appearance.

“Take him away.”

Cassis ignored him and coldly ordered the subordinates who had followed him.

They grabbed Orka’s arms on either side, following Cassis’s command.

But Orka was still staring at me with a blank expression, not knowing what was going on.

In the end, he was dragged away by Cassis’s subordinates in a daze.

“Why are you outside?”

Cassis’s attitude toward me was clearly different from when he faced Orka.

The chill in the voice directed at me was noticeably softened.

The subordinates who were still behind him quietly retreated.

I noticed that fragments of cold glass were still embedded in Cassis’s eyes [metaphor for his intense gaze].

I felt like I knew what he was thinking.

It wasn’t directed at me, but I still wanted to comfort him because I thought I was the cause.

So I said,

“I was waiting for you.”

Then Cassis closed his mouth and looked up at me.

“Are you here for good now?”

“…Yes.”

“You came really early, as promised.”

I took my hands off the terrace railing and added,

“Then come up. I’ll be in your room.”

Cassis stared at me without answering, then finally moved from his spot.

I also left the terrace and entered the room.

After that, we had a late dinner together in Cassis’s room.

Cassis had already filled his stomach at the banquet, so he didn’t eat properly and mainly watched me eat.

Neither Cassis nor I said anything about Orka, whom we had seen a little while ago.

And so, another day passed.

The next day, the master and mistress of Fedelian, who had been away, returned.

* * *

It was as Cassis had said.

The owners of Fedelian were indeed away from the mansion.

They put a period on their absence, which had lasted about ten days, and returned to Fedelian.

I received a call from Lichel and set foot in the main building of Fedelian for the first time.

Contrary to what I had been thinking, he wanted to meet me as soon as he returned to the mansion.

Thus, I was led to what appeared to be Lichel’s office.

It was unexpected that he brought me into such a private space.

Perhaps it was an indication of the gravity of the story we were about to share.

Knock knock.

“It’s Roxana Agrit,” the person who guided me announced my visit after knocking on the door.

After a moment, enough time for me to take a deep breath, a response came from inside.

“Come in.”

* * *

Shortly after, I sat facing Lichel.

Lichel’s office was very neat.

There were teacups with white steam rising from them on the table between him and me.

Lichel didn’t rush to the point and told me to drink tea. I lifted the teacup as he suggested.

I thought he might not even offer me a glass of cold water and get straight to the point as if every minute and second was precious.

As the head of Fedelian with a noble character, Lichel was giving me enough courtesy.

There was no other conversation between Lichel and me while I was almost emptying my tea.

But it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Perhaps it was because Lichel had a less imposing atmosphere than I had expected.

Or maybe it was because I didn’t expect anything from him in the first place.

“I don’t think we need to have a long conversation.”

So when Lichel finally opened his mouth and started like that, I was able to calmly wait for his words to follow.

However, the words that followed and pierced my ears contained unexpected content.

“Feel free to stay as comfortably as you want.”