Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 123

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Since Janet had bowed her head in apology, I laughed good-naturedly and assured her it was fine, then offered her a seat.
“You’re always beautiful, but seeing you like this—in such a casual state—is something new. In just a simple gown, you possess a fatal charm, like the mastermind behind some grand conspiracy.”
“Oh my, are you teasing me about my disheveled morning appearance?”
“Not at all. I’m known for never speaking falsehoods. If you were holding a glass of wine and petting a cat, you’d be absolutely perfect.”
“Here now, receiving such praise from a beauty with such deadly curves makes me blush.”
As I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck, the woman made quite a fuss about how adorable my embarrassed expression was. I’d been sensing something odd about her since she deliberately changed into servant’s clothes and danced with me before, and it seemed she’d grown up rather peculiarly. Dorothy must have her hands full with concerns.
“Wait just a moment. Let me introduce you to my children.”
“I’m perfectly content continuing to speak with Rosalite, actually.”
“No, I insist on introducing you. Besides, let go of my gown—you’re going to tear it off.”
“Tsk.”
For some reason, I’m reminded of Leon from our household, but I decide not to dwell on it.
I squeezed my eyes shut, resolved to forget about the girl’s peculiarity, then had Violet summon the family members.
When I first introduced my husband, Glen, Janet smiled warmly, greeted him politely, and they shook hands.
Next, I introduced my son, Luke Rocksberg, and the woman made quite a fuss upon hearing about the adoption, then pulled out a glittering platinum coin from her bag. She placed the coin in a pouch woven with gold thread, saying it was a modest allowance, and Luke responded with those dead eyes he’d worn yesterday before laughing.
“Luke, when you receive a gift, you should say thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“The child is shy, so please understand.”
“It’s quite alright. It’s natural for children to feel awkward around unfamiliar adults.”
Yes, I appreciate your understanding.
Janet and I laughed together, and I took Asterion’s hand. Thinking it was time to introduce my younger sibling, I had the child sit beside me, but the two of them seemed to scrutinize each other from head to toe before both made a “tsk” sound with their tongues.
I thought they resembled each other somewhat—had some sort of tribal prejudice already sprouted between them?
“Janet Edanelli.”
“Asterion Rocksberg.”
….
That’s it? That’s all?
The two of them simply spat out their names without any greeting or handshake, then turned their heads away sharply. They’re around the same age—couldn’t they at least try to get along? It’s not as though they’ll never see each other again.
“Since Rosalite already represents Rocksburg, there’s no need for my younger sibling to attend. Please convey this message, Rosalite.”
“Since I can provide an escort, your guidance won’t be necessary. Please convey this message, Sister.”
They’re practically within arm’s reach and can clearly hear each other—why can’t they just speak directly?
I was breaking into a cold sweat trying to mediate between these children who insisted on communicating through me, when Lily urgently sought me out. She made quite a commotion, saying something serious had happened at the Mansion, but before Lily could even finish explaining, someone—either Quill or Karl, our gatekeeper—came rushing over with hurried steps.
“Young Lady, something terrible has happened!”
Good heavens, I don’t know what this terrible thing is, but this is incredibly rude in front of a guest.
I was about to scold the man in the devastatingly well-designed uniform—whether he was Quill or Karl—but he spoke his message faster than I could reprimand him.
“Your father and our Duke are fighting!”
“…Why are you telling me this?”
Shouldn’t you be informing the Duke first in such an urgent situation? Father would resolve it easily, wouldn’t he? As I voiced my confusion, the man—whether Quill or Karl—went pale and shouted.
“The Duke is the one who started the fight!”
“This is a serious matter!”
Oh no, what do I do! Father must be out of his mind! Why would he pick a fight with a 7th Circle mage!
I scrambled to my feet, declared I’d leave immediately, and had my coat brought to me. There was no time to dress properly. I’d just throw on some pants and a coat and go.
“Asterion! You’ll attend the inauguration as my proxy! Jack, you’re in charge of my escort! Glen, gather supplies and people, then follow after us!”
I issued rapid orders and everyone sprang into action. I threw on the bare minimum and ran after the child—whether it was Karl or Quill, I couldn’t tell—when Janet caught up to me and offered to take me to the Rocksburg Mansion on her horse.
“Weren’t you here to guide us to the inauguration?”
“I came to guide Rosalite, not to see my younger brother.”
Well, now that you mention it, you’re right.
Since she was offering me a ride, I thought it would be rude to refuse, so I climbed up behind Janet. Her horse was sturdy and swift as our Elizabeth, so we arrived at the Rocksburg Mansion in less than an hour.

◇ ◆ ◇

“What on earth has happened!”
I burst through the door to Father’s office in the Duke’s Mansion, crying out. The path from the front gate to Father’s office was an absolute disaster.
The ornamental trees were snapped in half, benches were charred black, and the entrance hall and staircase railings—already damaged from Mother—were reduced to powder.
No matter how I looked at it, the signs of a battle between William and Sage were unmistakable, and I couldn’t fathom Father’s state of mind.
I leaped over William lying collapsed in front of the office and rushed inside, only to let out a scream at the sight of Father and Papa lying side by side on the floor, never mind the chaos of the interior.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
What is happening! No, what is happening! Father, wake up! Who will handle the work if you’re gone!
I hurried to Father’s side, cradled his head, and tapped his cheeks gently. He didn’t wake. Just to be sure, I placed my hand near his nose—he wasn’t breathing. I felt like I was losing my mind, so I pressed my ear hard against Father’s chest. His heart wasn’t beating.
“Father! Father, come back! No! Not now!”
There was a smell of electricity and scorching! I quickly clasped my hands together, raised my arms, and brought them down hard against Father’s chest. Whether his ribs broke or not didn’t matter—Father had to come back. If Father left me, I would die. Whether crushed under work or by Mother’s hand, I would die!
“Cough!”
Thank goodness! He hadn’t been gone to the underworld for long!
Once I confirmed Father was breathing again, I immediately called for Macaon. I shouted for anyone to go to the Royal Palace and bring Macaon back quickly, and Janet offered to fetch him herself since her credentials were practically a royal passport.
Until Macaon arrives, we should leave Father to the Doctor. Servants! I need to call the servants!
I instructed the child—whether it was Karl or Quill, I couldn’t tell—to move the Duke safely to bed, and pulled out the conspicuously placed ‘Emergency Box—Open in Crisis’ that Glen and I had set between the Duke’s bookshelves, then hurled it to the floor.
The box, designed to break easily, shattered into pieces, revealing stacks of emergency manuals that Glen and I had jointly revised, along with a hand bell to signal the emergency.
“Emergency! This is an emergency! The Duke is incapacitated! The Rocksburg Duke is incapacitated!”
As I rang the hand bell loudly while running through the corridors, the maids came rushing with screams. I took one copy of the emergency manual and distributed the rest to the women, then handed over the bell as well, declaring that the entire Duke’s Mansion was now in emergency status.
“Karl or Quill, you may return to your post. The gatekeeper is to maintain normal operations. Secretaries! Where are the secretaries!”
I know they ran off when the fight broke out, but where exactly are they hiding?
As I sent Karl or Quill away and searched for Father’s secretaries, I noticed Sage lying still on the floor.
“….”
Well, Father lost to Sage, but why is he lying unconscious?
The thought barely reached me before I approached Sage to check his condition. There was no need to look closely—Sage’s body was
shimmering with a frenzied pale blue light
so I called out the culprit’s name.
“Ram Baaaaaart!”
“Kyaaah! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! But the situation was urgent!”
So that’s where this girl was hiding!
Lam must have believed she wouldn’t be discovered, for she was crouched beneath the Duke’s desk when my call startled her so badly she bumped her head before crawling out. When I pressed Sage about what she’d done, the woman stammered out excuses—she’d had no choice but to protect the Duke. It was unavoidable.
“That person was trying to hurt you first, sir. I was trying to stop them before you could be harmed, but I was too late…”
Wait, you’re calling my father “sir”?
That particular detail flustered me greatly, but it wasn’t the priority right now. If I left things as they were, Sage would succumb to the poison and die. Sage had done so much for me—I couldn’t simply let him perish.
“Hurry up and do that thing—the sucking thing. You can pull back what you’ve put into someone’s body, can’t you?”
“But what if that person tries to hurt you again…”
“I’ll take responsibility! Just do it, you stubborn girl!”
Exasperated, I grabbed the woman’s cheek and stretched it while scolding her, and Lam’s eyes glistened with tears before she whimpered and grasped Sage’s hand.
A sickly pale blue light
flowed back into Lam Bart’s body in a grotesque, writhing stream.
Sage, who had been breathing only in shallow gasps until moments ago, finally returned to normal respiration. He would need to go to the infirmary too. And now that I thought about it, William was also collapsed outside. He was sturdy enough that I wasn’t too worried, but the infirmary was certainly in his future.
“Isolate the Duke, Sage, and William respectively, and assign guards to each.”
I issued the order to one of the secretaries gathered there and instructed them to begin cleaning. It would be best to start by organizing the work materials and tasks back in their proper places.
In the meantime, I needed to fetch the legendary secretary. With the shortage of hands we were experiencing now, her presence was desperately needed. It was even written in the emergency manual: should the Duke be unexpectedly absent, fetch Brown.
I had heard rumors about Brown myself. In the days when the Duke was still inexperienced, she had guided my father—who couldn’t tell left from right—and grasped the full scope of all operations. A super-secretary who could instantly produce solutions to any problem. The Wikipedia of the secretarial world, the AlphaGo of secretaries.
When she announced her retirement, my father had wept and clutched at her pant leg, begging her not to leave. The legendary secretary who had single-handedly managed everything I now handled.
To retrieve her—this woman who had chosen to return to being an ordinary mother—I pounded on the gates of the Brown Estate and rushed inside to find her.
“Brown! This is an emergency!”
Though it was rude, the situation was dire, so I burst through the door and shouted. Brown was sitting on the living room sofa, knitting.
Looking closer, what she was knitting was an incredibly gaudy sweater. The same kind that Jack and Aster occasionally wore—so it was Brown’s handiwork.
“My goodness, Young Lady, what brings you here? Weren’t you supposed to be at Duke Edanelli’s inauguration ceremony?”
“The Rocksburg Duke has collapsed!”
“Oh my…”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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