Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 14

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

The first choice presented to her was to take her own life and bring Luke into the Chatel House as a legitimate son,
and the second choice was to kill Luke and enter as the Chatel House Lord’s concubine.
The woman chose the second option, and Luke’s biological father struck down the woman who attempted to strangle him to death.
The boy was formally admitted into the Chatel House and lived without worrying about food, but he had to endure constant ridicule from his father about his foolish mother, and grew up receiving cold treatment not only from the Chatel House members but even from their servants. There were no detailed descriptions of his life afterward, but it was certain he had shed tears of blood more than once or twice.
“You know that much? It’s rewarding to have such an interesting mother—she’s managed to capture Rosalite’s interest.”
Perhaps he became this way because of the life he lived. Unlike Theodore with his smiling face, I watched Luke genuinely laughing with a full smile and a hearty “wa-ha-ha,” and tears welled up in my eyes so I couldn’t lift my head.
I felt so sorry for him I could die.
I’m so pitiful for him, what do I do.
But I had to steel my resolve. I absolutely had to drive Luke out of here. I’m worried about the man taking a liking to Leon, but if by some misfortune he and Glen make eye contact, I’m truly finished—I’ll be completely ruined. Father and I have become people who can’t live without Glen now, and I won’t let anyone take him from us.
“It seems his mother only taught him entertainment and failed to teach him manners. Contact the Duke’s Mansion and arrange a formal appointment.”
“Why must you bring up work so disappointingly? I merely wished to foster friendship with Rosalite.”
“You sought me out just to foster friendship? Even our Crown Prince wouldn’t laugh at such a thing.”
Actually, that’s a lie. The Crown Prince would smile brightly even in this situation. But Luke, unaware of the truth, looked troubled—until a knock sounded and his expression brightened.
The man opened the door and ushered in his people, placing jewels and luxury goods on the table.
“These were hastily prepared out of joy at meeting Rosalite. Please accept them as a courtesy greeting without hesitation.”
“From the look of it, you did prepare this in a rush.”
I caught a glimpse—they were the ornaments I’d seen in the jewelry shop window we passed earlier. Did he order his men to grab everything expensive from nearby shops? It was certainly generous of the Chatel House Lord to spend money in our Territory, but my mood wasn’t particularly pleased.
I pulled my feet out of the warm water with a swoosh, and pushed the table with a thud. The table, which had been tilting gradually, finally toppled over, and the jewels and ornaments scattered across the floor.
“Do I look like a fool to you?”
“That couldn’t be. Your intelligence is renowned throughout the Empire, Rosalite.”
“Then why don’t you take these same items and visit the Duke of Rocksburg?”
The man fell silent. There it is—with nothing to say, he’s completely shut his mouth.
“You were so eloquent before. Why have you no answer now? If the Duke seemed difficult and I seemed easy, you should persist to the end.”
I crossed my legs and wiggled my foot. The man seemed to be gradually giving up, so I chose words to drive the wedge deeper.
“Your struggling was amusing, but it’s become quite unpleasant.”
“…I have committed a grave discourtesy. If you will forgive me, I shall arrange a time for a formal visit.”
Yes! Finally leaving!
Inwardly delighted, I barely restrained myself from doing a little shoulder dance and maintained an angry demeanor. When I’d overturned the table earlier, Aster had quickly snatched up her own plate, and I’d thought everything would break, but fortunately it seemed to have gone over well.
Now I’d send Luke off properly and return to the four of us lounging around before heading home…
Crash!
Just as I was thinking of leaving, something shattered loudly from behind, and an iron gate screeched open with a clang. And a voice that shouldn’t have been heard for a while rang out.
“Are you alright, Sister! Aster, why are you standing there idly when you’re supposed to protect Sister!”
“Rosalite, please calm yourself! There are some things in this world that must be endured!”
I’d had a premonition that something like this might happen, but I never imagined they’d make such a grand mess of things. Because of this, I had no choice but to impose a certain punishment on Leon and Glen, who had come to my side and were making a fuss.
“Aster, give Leon and Glen twenty chestnuts each.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Oh, what a headache.
My vision swam with dizziness as I entrusted the punishment of those two to Aster, then padded barefoot toward Luke. I grasped his limp hand firmly and pleaded with desperation.
“I’m sorry. Because you mentioned you only like men, I couldn’t see them and tried to chase them out quickly. I’ll review the lease matter positively, so please—won’t you refrain from laying hands on our children?”
I’m truly begging you. Especially if you become fixated on Leon, there’s no path left but to kill you. Please, let’s each go our separate ways.
Luke had already dated Leon in the previous cycle, so my words should have fallen on deaf ears, but I poured every ounce of sincerity into my plea, hoping against hope. Perhaps my desperation reached the heavens, for Luke answered me with an awkward expression.
“Rosalite, if I may be so bold… I too have my preferences.”
“Preferences, you say?”
“I wouldn’t take a child reeking of milk, nor a man who seems unable to exert himself at night, no matter how freely offered.”
He had a point, but why did this leave such a bitter taste?
No. Think positively. This was actually an opportunity to make Luke raise an eyebrow. He seemed momentarily flustered, so if I pressed now, I might witness his composure crumble.
“The one reeking of milk is my younger brother, and the man who can’t exert himself at night is my fiancé.”
“Your brother has large hands and feet, so he’ll grow quickly. As for your fiancé, there’s a mysterious allure in the way he conceals his appearance.”
“Are you saying my brother is a dog or cat? Having large hands and feet doesn’t make someone grow bigger.”
“Now that you mention it, despite still being in his growth phase, I sense the majesty of a tiger. Truly, Rosalite—even in a single metaphor, grace and refinement overflow from you.”
“You certainly have a way with words.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Damn, that won’t work.
Having given up on teasing Luke, I righted the table with the staff and began gathering the jewels. The jewels bore no fault. I’d planned to collect them immediately after he left anyway.
“Please rest. I shall handle this.”
“No, I need to sort through them anyway—some might be cursed or problematic.”
“You leave no room for oversight.”
“Don’t act like it’s someone else’s business.”
Everyone who grinds in this world ends up living the same way.
When I said as much, he laughed and agreed. So I was telling him not to act like it’s someone else’s business, and he understood.
“Whether it’s me or the Duke, we won’t even glance at anything below four figures in imperial currency for rent, so bring it on your own terms. If you bring it in gold bars, I’ll give you a slight discount.”
“Have you perhaps planted someone in our group’s finance department?”
He kept looking down on people since earlier. I didn’t even bother responding with words—I answered with a gesture instead.
You.
Me.
In this world.
And so on.
“I’ve been grinding in this world for nearly ten years, but you only became the official successor recently, haven’t you?”
Ah, so that’s what you were curious about.
Regarding that, I had no choice but to recount the horrific history and deep darkness of the Rocksburg Ducal House. Because of this, in the first cycle, Father nearly fell backward, and I had to do nothing but study at my desk until Leon died.
“The Rocksburg Ducal House begins successor education when the heir turns ten, and crams all necessary education and domestic and foreign affairs into five years. Then at sixteen, they’re sent out into the world.”
I thought I would die back then. I’d simply fallen into the novel and become Rosalite, but the moment I opened my eyes, I had to handle duties as the successor. When I said I didn’t understand anything, Father flipped out, saying his daughter had become an idiot.
At the time, I had no interest in Leon either, but even if I had, I wouldn’t have had the capacity to care for him. Due to Father’s assertion that if I forgot what I’d learned, I just needed to drill it in once more, I underwent successor education from the basics again.
I memorized administrative affairs and the history of our country and neighboring nations from their founding. I learned the language of the Largol Empire across the sea and the tongue of the Cerepia Federation to our north as minimum foreign language proficiency.
Our country is ruled by the four great ducal houses who hold the most power, so aristocratic governance is the mainstream, with a noble existing above the law in each territory—though law itself does exist. Father wanted to take time to introduce constitutional monarchy, strengthen the cabinet, ultimately reduce the Royal Family to a symbolic role, and create a system where the nation moves through aristocrats and law. Because of this, the Duke served as a mentor to the Royal Family’s legal and administrative departments even while busy, and I had to inherit that role, so I had to study domestic law, foreign law, and international law—the agreements between nations.
Philosophy is culture, politics is essential, management is survival.
I learned all of that in such a short time that I vomited from it, and I literally vomited every single day. Living with my face in the toilet due to stress-induced gastritis, Leon somehow ended up dead, and I returned as the fresh sixteen-year-old Rosalite. If I’d known I’d keep returning to sixteen, I would have taken it easier back then.
Since I wasn’t fulfilling my duties as a person, I could only see Father gradually wasting away from overwork day after day, which made me feel nothing but the urgency to hurry and change things.
“Did you know? If you keep vomiting without having eaten anything, stomach acid comes up—it starts yellowish at first, but later turns pink. A doctor told me the pink is the stomach lining.”
“…I know.”
Ah yes… you know that too…
I looked at Luke with sympathy, then swept all the jewels into the box and sat down. Since there was nothing wrong with the jewels, they were all mine now.
“While you’re here, why not get a massage? The fresh chocolate here is quite delicious too.”
“No, thank you. I was on my way to attend to other matters when I ran into Rosalite and came in urgently.”
Well, he was indeed heading somewhere earlier.
I allowed him to leave, and on impulse, stuffed a few chocolates into his mouth—a gesture to encourage him with some sugar—and patted his shoulder. Luke gave me a puzzled look. And when Glen, who had just taken twenty direct hits from Aster, started spouting excuses left and right, I couldn’t help but wear a puzzled expression myself.
“Ugh, Rosalite, I…!”
Glen approached, holding his forehead and stumbling—the hits from Aster had clearly hurt quite badly—and stood between Luke and me, opening his mouth with an expression of utter grievance.
“I’m not bad at night work!”
Wow. Young Master Glen, no one even asked you.
Had this boy truly lost his mind after taking twenty hits to the head from Aster? But setting aside what he’d said, I found myself deeply intrigued by this topic.
“Is that so… Young Master Glen is not bad at night work, you say… Does that mean you have experience…?”
“Huh? Yes? No? That’s…”
Glen, still holding his forehead and unable to gather his wits, seemed to register my words, and he shook his head in surprise. As a blush crept up from his neck, Luke—who had just said he had business to attend to—pulled up a chair and sat down with utmost seriousness.
“I’m becoming curious too. How exactly are you good at night work…?”
“No! I misspoke! I’ve never done it before! Please believe me!”
Just moments ago he’d been boasting about being good at night work, but now he was flailing his arms, insisting he had no experience. And so I had no choice but to ask Glen.
“Is that so… Then Young Master Glen, how did you think you’d be good at night work without any experience…?”
“Does Rosalite’s fiancé perhaps have some body part he’s confident about…?”
“Hmm, and exactly which body part might that be…?”
“If you don’t tell me, a dull fellow like myself has no way of knowing.”
“A dull and lacking fellow like me has no way of knowing either.”

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