Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 130

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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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Huh? Where is Glen going at this hour? I tilted my head in confusion, wondering if he’d left work without telling me, when Jack Brown finished his interrupted sentence.
“With the Nimerunia Duchy Princess.”
“With the Duke’s princess.”
“What?”
“He went out with Capo. Brought a whole entourage of Black-clothed Guards.”
“Why?”
“Why are you asking me that, sir?”
Well, you’re the only one here who knows where Glen is, you fool. They have no connection—they’ve only met once before. Why would they go out together?
As I muttered my suspicions aloud, Jack Brown’s eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement as he approached.
“Isn’t it obvious, sir? A foreign princess who crossed the border hoping to marry the Crown Prince falls head over heels at first sight—for a married man reeking of ascetic virtue with a child. Oh, this is pure romance novel material. This will sell like hotcakes. It’ll fly off the shelves!”
“Isn’t that it? A princess from a neighboring country who came across the sea hoping to marry the prince fell head over heels at first sight for a married man with a child who reeks of asceticism. Ooh, that’s a romance novel right there. This will sell. It’ll fly off the shelves.”
“Stop spouting nonsense. The Princess herself said she doesn’t covet what belongs to others.”
“Oh come on, sir, people can say anything with their mouths. Besides, romance is always sudden. One day, boom—that person catches your eye! You can’t stop thinking about them! Before you know it, your eyes follow only them! That’s when the game is over, sir!”
“…Is that how it works?”
“Of course! And considering the Princess’s personality—once she’s fixated, does she notice anything else? She’d charge right ahead!”
That’s… true. I don’t know Capo well, but I can sense that about her from just one meeting.
However, even if the Princess had taken a liking to Glen, a romantic connection requires both parties’ hearts to align. Even someone as ignorant about love as I am knows this much. If the Prince has no feelings for her, it’s all for nothing.
“Hmm, Glen won’t stray. I’m not worried.”
“How is that not straying, sir? You wrote a contract and married Glen. You even sang about sending him off if a good woman came along. Why are you acting like this?”
“…”
Well… that’s true, but still, not the Princess. She should end up with our Crown Prince. From what I can tell, the Princess seems quite fond of Theodore anyway.
“And think about it, sir. Our Crown Prince has such a temperament—do you think Capo could accommodate that for a lifetime?”
Why are you suddenly making nothing but valid points today?
Yes, Glen would be perfect as the Princess’s husband—he’s handsome, patient, competent, and has a good temperament. But thinking it over again, a romantic connection requires both parties to share the same feelings.
“Yes, if it’s Glen, he’s handsome, well-behaved, good at his work, and has a great personality, so he’d be perfect to make a royal consort. However, thinking about it again, a romantic connection can only happen if both people feel the same way.”
As long as Glen has no feelings for the Princess, I don’t need to worry.
“Glen won’t develop feelings for the Princess. I’m standing firm right here.”
“What did you just say, Young Lady?”
“I’m the one currently married to him, and I’m beautiful, have a good personality, plenty of money, high status, and I care for the Prince—don’t I?”
“The Princess is prettier than you, has more money, and higher status. And your personality isn’t good.”
Hmm… right. So Jack Brown, you’ve been thinking my temperament is terrible all along. Your master’s heart is wounded.
“Jack Brown, planks for one minute, rest thirty seconds, alternating twenty reps.”
“Yes, sir!”
You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?
The man lay on the ground looking like he was dying from exertion, yet he continued to speak ill of me. Watching how he treats the other staff, it seems the Princess has a more generous personality and better benefits—her subordinates seem more satisfied with their jobs—they earn more money—no overtime work—and so on.
I listened quietly to Jack’s endless chatter until he mentioned that Glen didn’t seem to dislike the Princess, at which point my anger shot straight to the top of my head and I shouted.
“Hey! If you like the Princess so much, go work for the Princess!”
“You’d have to terminate my contract first!”
“Terminate? If you quit guarding me, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”
“What am I supposed to do about this?!”
Ugh! I don’t know either, you idiot!
Anyway, if you quit being a guard, neither you nor Peter will be safe—understand?
After threatening him with that, I kicked Jack’s rear end as he lay planking and stormed out of the office.
Since I couldn’t take Glen, I’d take Leon instead and go have dinner with Luke. When I called for Asterion at the Duke’s heir’s office, the little one came charging at me like a battering ram, and I barely caught him, tucking him under one arm before heading off to find Luke.
I found the president’s office on the top floor of the Rocksburg Department Store and knocked loudly on the door. Luke, still sporting those dead eyes of his, came to greet me, and when he asked why I’d come with Leon instead of Glen, I got irritated all over again, let out a sharp cry, and demanded we go eat.

On the way back, I happened to run into the Princess and Glen at the Entrance Hall, which was under construction. I greeted Capo politely, but before Glen could say anything, I coldly ignored them and walked past. In the meantime, Leon complained that he was scared to sleep alone tonight, so I scolded him for his age and sent him off to the Annex Building.

◇ ◆ ◇
I was so happy that I sprinkled flower petals every step of the way from Dad’s room to the office, cried, handed over the hand over, and then quickly ran to the princess.
Ten days of acting as Duke! Father’s return! Freedom!
I was so delighted that I scattered flower petals with every step as Father walked from his chambers to the office, tearfully handed over my duties, and then bolted straight to the Princess.
I’d made extensive preparations for this day. I’d conspired with the Queen to rush through the Crown Prince’s matchmaking interview, secured a date, and obtained permission to enter the Royal Palace. I’d also set today as Father’s scheduled return date and entrusted Asterion with my duties until then.
In other words, I had a whole day free. Hehe, a day to play! I’d escort the Princess right to the Crown Prince’s presence, then spend one glorious night vacationing at the Princess Palace!
Since this plan would be ruined if Asterion or Glen found out, I met up with Aster midway, dressed in the black suit that the Princess’s guards wore, and entered her chambers.
After knocking and being guided by men in black suits, I was finally able to meet the Princess, who had just finished getting ready.
“Pfahahaha!”
“My, does your laughter mean it doesn’t suit me?”
“No, no! It suits you perfectly! Sister, you’re absolutely beautiful!”
Before my eyes stood the Princess. And I mean that in a figurative sense, not literally by title. A tiara adorned with diamonds, a dress hem studded with pearls. Moreover, she wore a gown that was strikingly beautiful in its asymmetry—one shoulder completely bare, the other covered. There was something like a sash draped across her, giving her the appearance of this year’s Nimerunia Duchy’s most elegant young lady.
“Especially the dress design is quite unique and lovely. I haven’t seen much like it in Aleine, but it must be fashionable in Nimerunia, yes?”
As I sketched out with my hands how the sash draped across the Princess’s shoulder, she laughed and corrected me.
“It’s just covering a gunshot wound here.”
“…Oh…”
“There’s a knife wound under the flowers on my side, and a cigarette burn under this glove.”
“…Oh, o-oh…”
Sister must be joking, but how was I supposed to respond? As I laughed awkwardly, the Princess seemed embarrassed that her joke hadn’t landed and approached me. She opened her arms for one of her usual warm embraces, but suddenly her foot slipped and she nearly fell.
“Are you alright?!”
“I’m fine. This isn’t something I usually do.”
As I steadied her, the Princess kept flexing her ankles—those high heels were clearly uncomfortable. She could have worn more comfortable shoes, but for Theodore’s sake, she’d chosen heels cut as sharply as a cliff.
Moreover, being in close proximity to the Princess, I noticed something: there was no smell of cigarettes on her. That scent couldn’t be masked by perfume, so this woman had truly made an effort.
“You’re truly beautiful today, Sister. The Crown Prince will surely be enchanted.”
“Haha, if you say so, even if it’s flattery, it sounds nice.”
Look at Sister’s trembling hands. Whether from nervousness or withdrawal, I could tell the Princess’s heart was in turmoil.
Well then, let me bring out my secret weapon to cheer up my Princess. Since the Crown Prince will be busy today, I’ll stay one night at the Princess Palace—I’ve already made arrangements with the Queen, so I need to show off to that child too. I sent the Princess ahead in the carriage and headed to the Private Stables.
As I entered the finest stable where my proud Elizabeth, recipient of a third-class medal, was resting, the horse caught the scent of the Royal Palace from somewhere and was already prepared to depart, snorting eagerly.
Ready to carry me anywhere, especially to the Crown Prince’s side—willing to wade through water or fire—Elizabeth’s eyes shone with such determination that I felt a pang of conscience. But I deliberately ignored it and grabbed the reins.
“Neigh?”
“Sorry. You won’t meet him anyway even if you go today!”
“Neigh, neigh!”
Stop prancing about, you beast! Glen and Leon will notice!
With my eyes squeezed shut, I apologized to Elizabeth and urged the Segway forward with a whine, rushing toward my sister.
Capo seemed delighted by everything she witnessed, remarking how expanding this vehicle’s size would prove invaluable for wartime supply transport, and she waxed eloquent on the subject.
Since the topic of war had arisen, we discussed flintlock muskets—the primary firepower in modern warfare—and Capo broached the subject by suggesting that if percussion rifles were ever mass-produced, wouldn’t they fundamentally reshape the nature of conflict? She subtly probed my willingness to invest.
Our nation boasted the world’s largest concentration of mages, and deploying a single Low Circle elemental mage proved far more efficient than stationing an entire squad of musketeers, so there had been no pressing concerns until now.
But if percussion rifles became widespread, everything would change. An era would dawn where bullets flew without the delays of ignition and reloading. The merit of conscripting even a single civilian illiterate in combat was immense.
It aligned with my earlier attempt—inspired by Sage—to create auxiliary weapons exclusive to mages, allowing even incompetent mages with slow casting times and poor magical aptitude to contribute firepower.
“The fact that talk of mass production has begun suggests the prototypes are already complete. In any case, Nimerunia Duchy is a nation one cannot afford to underestimate. It’s a frightening place.”
“My younger sibling claimed never to have seen anything as terrifying as a flintlock musket, yet you understand its intricacies far better than I do. You’re quite the fox. This is precisely why His Majesty repeatedly warned me to be cautious of Rocksburg.”

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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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