Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 127

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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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“I apologize, but…”
When I opened the gift box and showed her its contents, the woman whistled and drew out a gold-plated musket. She examined it this way and that with playful amusement, then shouldered it and aimed the barrel at me.
“!”
William looked ready to strike the woman’s neck on the spot, so I raised my hand to stop him and made a show of cowering. This man had insisted everything was fine, yet his heart was clearly wounded.
“My goodness, you startled me. I nearly had a heart attack.”
“It’s not even loaded.”
“Had I not intended to give it as a gift, I would never have laid eyes on such a dreadful object. I simply thought, ‘So this is what happens when you pull the trigger—bullets fly.’ I am quite lacking in knowledge.”
“I never knew my sister was so timid. Be careful in front of me.”
Yes, now that you’ve had your fun threatening me and lifted your mood, shall we move on to the real matter and part ways?
First, I needed to fabricate a plausible pretext—regarding her stay duration and entry purpose—since I couldn’t publicly announce her true intention to seduce and entrap the Crown Prince. Only then could Theodore, our world’s sensitive and meticulous gentleman, approach the Princess without suspicion.
I had prepared several cover purposes and was about to ask which she preferred, but the Princess had her attendants open a cigar case instead.
The attendant who snipped the cigar end and lit it wore a black suit top and bottom, and the Princess herself was dressed in a black suit, black long coat, and black bowler hat—the picture was, well… that was…
This is Rocksburg, not Sicily.
“Cough.”
A white-haired woman with a short bob cut smoking a cigar made quite the striking image, and Glen sitting beside me coughed repeatedly.
Cigar smoke is certainly pungent. And I’d been bothered ever since I embraced the Princess earlier and caught that strong tobacco smell. This was a good opportunity to probe the woman about it.
“If I may be so bold, our Crown Prince is a man of considerable appearance. He is quite fastidious and sensitive, is he not?”
“I understand. When I first received his portrait, I thought he seemed like a very delicate beauty. My imagination was accurate.”
“Being such a person, he would find tobacco smoke quite disagreeable.”
“…”
If you want to win over our Crown Prince, show some sincerity by restraining your smoking habit.
No matter how much we share a common goal of proceeding with a political marriage based on mutual interest, I cannot present a woman like her to Theodore. Only if His Highness can settle down and live contentedly will royal heirs come forth smoothly.
The Princess stared at the cigar on her finger for a long while, then closed her eyes tightly and held it out. Her attendant snipped off the cigar end.
“Once the marriage is settled, I won’t even look at this thing again for the rest of my life. You all, dispose of the rest.”
“Yes, Capo.”
Hmm, yes. I quite approve of her resolve. Though how long that promise to quit smoking will last remains to be seen.
I was thoroughly delighted that the Princess at least spoke beautifully, and I quickly handled the matter of her cover story.
Capo of the Nimerunia Duchy had come to Rocksburg, a sister city, to expand the distribution network for the duchy’s prized dairy products, and had come to study abroad so she could reference our laid streetcars and the east-west elevated railway under construction to ensure swift supply.
With additional modest pretexts of fostering goodwill with the Royal Family and learning Aleine’s culture, Royal Palace entry permits would be granted swiftly.
If I play this well, I might even obtain an honorary Capo position even if the marriage doesn’t succeed. If she knew how profitable our territory is, what kingdom wouldn’t covet it?
“My sister is quite efficient. You were born for business.”
“It is only proper to make such preparations when attending to my sister.”
“If you weren’t going to be a Duke, I would have claimed you myself.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I am equally regretful.”
As I rattled on cheerfully, the woman laughed heartily and rose from her seat. She asked that I assign a servant to guide her to her room, saying she would behave impeccably until she could meet His Highness. The Princess then embraced me tightly just as she had at our first greeting and kissed each of my cheeks in turn.
“Oof.”
This sister of mine truly is too strong. I wondered if I would experience this rib-crushing sensation every time I met the Princess from now on.
The Princess embraced me with satisfaction, and then tried to turn toward Glen, but the moment she spread her arms wide, she hesitated and simply shook his hand before returning to me.
Then she leaned her face close to my ear and whispered softly.
“Even if I lack manners, I don’t covet my brother’s things. Stop glaring at me like that.”
“….”
No, no, no—when did I ever glare at anyone?
Flustered, I patted the Princess’s arm repeatedly, and she laughed heartily before saying she’d take her leave.
As she turned, her long coat fluttered dramatically. Hmm… it was impressive, but I still couldn’t tell if this was Rocksburg or somewhere else entirely.
“What were you two discussing?”
Goodness, you startled me. Why do you always burst in like that?
Glen seemed bothered by whatever the Princess had whispered, so he asked me directly, but I could only say it was nothing.
“Is this something I shouldn’t know?”
With that dejected expression, even if he pouted adorably, I wasn’t about to tell him. Why would I embarrass myself by saying it out loud?
To change the subject, I loudly announced it was time to work, clapped my hands together, and ushered everyone toward the Office.
Administrative duties were important, but handling urgent national matters took priority.
Our thirty-year-old Crown Prince needed to get married as soon as possible.

◇ ◆ ◇

It was the fourth morning of my duties as Acting Duke.
Ugh… I really don’t want to inherit the Duke’s position. Won’t I die doing this? Wouldn’t most people? Is there any way to push Leon into the role and escape?
But it didn’t seem like Leon would graciously accept the burden if I tried to pass it to him—apparently, the boy currently being ground down in the Acting Duke’s office was trying to jump out the window once an hour from stress, only to be caught by Jack and Aster, who kept forcing him back into his chair.
Well, normally the three of us—me, Glen, and Leon—share the workload, so it makes sense that handling it all alone would occasionally trigger bouts of madness.
Thoroughly reluctant to get out of bed, I simply pulled the blanket over myself and didn’t move, watching the morning tea Lily had prepared grow cold.
Normally I’d already be up, downing a shot of mint tea and preparing to leave, but not today. I just wished I’d die right here. And in the twenty-third cycle, I’d leave the house without thinking about Leon or anything else. I’d go out to the countryside and tackle one of those dungeons everyone talks about.
Hehe, I’d form a party with a warrior and a rogue, dodge traps, defeat rural monsters, and build friendship. Hehe, it sounds so fun.
“Hee, hehehehe.”
I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling and giggling to myself when someone knocked loudly and asked for entry. Recognizing William’s voice, I told him to come in, and he immediately noticed I was still in bed and approached.
Then he did what Jack often does—he shoved his hand under my armpit and hauled me upright, dragging me toward the tea table.
“The Duke has regained consciousness.”
Ah… well, that’s welcome news, I suppose.
But it’ll still take a while before he can return to duty. Though it was brief, he crossed the river of death, so I need to make sure he recovers properly without lingering aftereffects.
“How long do you think his full recovery will take?”
“Won’t you go see him?”
“Well… not necessarily…?”
I don’t think there’s much I can actually do there anyway. There are things I should discuss, but I can’t interrogate someone who’s ill. As for why William and Sage fought—that’s a matter we’d need to settle later when both of them were in perfect condition.
As I sipped the already-cold mint tea and said this, someone came rushing into my room and burst through the door.
I was about to scold whoever this rude person was for barging into a grown lady’s chamber like that, but I recognized it was Sage’s Disciple and held back my complaints.
“Patron! Our Master has awakened!”
“What! Sage has?!”
Oh no, I really do need to go see him!
I hurried to throw on my outer coat and was about to dash toward Sage’s Magic Research Institute when my body suddenly lifted off the ground. The culprit was William. He hoisted me onto his shoulder and took off running.
“What on earth are you doing?! William!”
“Surely you should greet the Duke first! Young Master, you’re being stubborn again!”
“Pfft!”
This wouldn’t do. I could tolerate it when Brown called me “Young Master,” but hearing it from William’s lips was absolutely unbearable.
I was carried to Father’s room while laughing uncontrollably, and even as I watched him barely manage to sit up in bed, I couldn’t stop giggling.
“…Has my daughter gone mad from stress while serving as acting Duke?”
“My apologies. It seems I misspoke in my haste, calling you ‘Young Master.'”
The Duke’s House’s dignified and elderly patriarch furrowed his brow deeply. Apparently displeased at being called “Young Master” in front of his daughter, he glared at both William and me intensely.
“Stop laughing.”
“Haha! Hahaha! Haaah! Hahaha!”
“At this rate, you’ll end up bedridden for a week.”
“Is there anywhere you’re uncomfortable? Please recover quickly and take better care of yourself going forward.”
Yes, please, take care of yourself. The Duke isn’t just anyone—you’re the Duke of everyone. Without you, the nation falls. And since things have come to this, let’s just make Asterion the successor. I’ve thought about it these past few days, and whether I consider job aptitude or my own capabilities, being the Rocksburg Duke doesn’t seem like my path.
“Why did you quarrel with Sage?”
Since Father seemed more energetic than expected, I decided to press him on what I’d been meaning to ask. No matter how I thought about it, Father’s decision to send us on vacation seemed calculated. He must have intended to bundle up everyone who would side with Sage and send them away, leaving the old man to be oppressed. He probably believed that since mages typically need time to activate their spells, William would be able to handle it.
But the problem was that Sage was a 7-Circle Grand Mage of the Lightning attribute. Though he’d earned a reputation in our household as an eccentric inventor who tinkered with machines and occasionally destroyed household items out of boredom, he was fundamentally a combat-specialized mage.
Particularly, Sage’s magical casting method was renowned for its extraordinarily short activation time. Mana attribute conversion, range designation, and release—these three stages resolved almost everything, achieving a revolutionary shortcut.
Since Sage was 7-Circle, he had an enormous mana pool. No matter how superior William’s physical abilities were, if Sage conserved his mana and used it sparingly, he could fight indefinitely. The fact that he didn’t kill William with the first strike was already showing considerable restraint.
Since William was family, he couldn’t kill him. He didn’t understand why William was attacking in the first place, so he must have struggled greatly trying to use his magic gently.

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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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