Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 143

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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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#Side Story: Even If I Were to Fill My Life with Tears

I knew I was Rosalite’s contractual husband, not her lover, and that she didn’t regard me as the opposite sex. But I never imagined I wouldn’t even be her friend.
Ah, I was a stranger. I had been pretending to be close to Rosalite while we weren’t close at all—a complete outsider. Ah… someone who didn’t know his place.
“Hic… ugh…”
No tears came, but sobs escaped from my lips. Ever since arriving in the Beloche Territory, I had been sitting at my office desk with my head buried in my hands.
I wasn’t working. But no one interfered even though I wasn’t working. Everyone was watching my mood. It was probably because word had spread about what happened at Rosalite’s birthday celebration. Kind people, thoughtful subordinates—it pained me.
“My Lord! My Lord! Glen! Something terrible has happened! Terrible!”
Something terrible? Could anything be worse than being declared a stranger by Rosalite? Had the Empire invaded perhaps… I almost wished Aleine had fallen.
“It’s terrible! The First Prince collected all the squid bread seals and exchanged them for a date coupon!”
Right, it’s obviously a date with Rosalite. What’s so terrible about that? What right do I have to make a fuss when I’m a stranger to her? Ha ha.
“I see…”
With my head still buried on the desk, I barely managed those words. Then Philip rushed over dramatically.
“I see? What do you mean ‘I see’! You must go! You absolutely must go and stop him!”
“What right do I have…”
“You’re her husband! You’re the Young Lady’s husband!”
“Ha ha…”
Husband? I’m not even her friend. Ha ha…
As I laughed without spirit, Philip shrieked. Listen, everyone’s working… you should be quiet…
“Who did this! Who treated Glen like this! You’ve become so gaunt, like a withered grain of wheat!”
“Philip, you’re being subtle with your insults while pretending to worry.”
“Prod, you keep your mouth shut! What nerve does someone who fled Rocksburg have to speak!”
“Hey, is that my fault?! You try dealing with that Bullyeossi! No matter how I think about it, that’s not even human!”
They’re fighting again, fighting again… We’ve been working together for years now, why can’t we just get along…
It was so loud that I rolled my head weakly, barely covering one ear, when someone with a louder voice silenced both of them.
“My Lord! Please kill me! Please!”
Ah… what’s wrong with Diana now?
As I rolled my head again to allow her to speak, Diana confessed some trivial transgression and begged to be killed.
“The truth is, among the seals you gave up collecting, there was a Prism Seal. A merchant from the Empire offered a high price for it. Since it’s a discontinued bread and I thought it might help the territory’s finances, I… I…”
“It’s fine… these things happen…”
What does it matter either way? Mountains are mountains, water is water.
As I laughed and forgave Diana’s transgression, the three of them shrieked and began whispering among themselves. They debated whether I seemed to have lost my mind and what would happen if I didn’t return to myself. I wished they would just work if they had time to spare. Though I was hardly in a position to say so, having withdrawn from the front lines.
“My Lord. Are you truly fine with your wife going on a date with another man?”
“What else can I be? I’m a stranger to her…”
“So you’re not fine with it. Well, that’s a small mercy.”
Yes, Diana says it’s a mercy, so I suppose I should be pleased too.
I rolled my head across the desk with laughter when I caught sight of Diana Cento bowing respectfully on her knees. Curious about what scheme occupied her mind now, I lifted my gaze, only to find her swearing with an expression as though she would not hesitate to face death itself.
“I, Diana Cento, shall not set foot upon Veloche soil until I have corrected the wrongs I have committed!”
I didn’t grasp the full meaning, but was she truly saying she would abandon the Veloche Territory? What of my duties? If the disaster recovery administrator departed from Veloche, who would oversee the reconstruction efforts?
“Wait, Diana. Where are you—”
“Then I bid you well, my lord!”
No, wait—you haven’t even told me where you’re going—
“….”
Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I have no idea. Let the Veloche Territory crumble for all I care.
I watched Diana bolt from the office, then pressed my head back against the desk and rolled it across the surface once more. Now I understood why Rosalite sometimes buried her head in her desk like this. It truly was refreshing—my mind emptied of all thought, and the coolness against my skin felt wonderfully soothing.

◇ ◆ ◇

Days passed, and another piece of news arrived from the Rocksburg Territory. Philip and Prod seemed to be keeping it from me, but through the servants’ whispered gossip, I learned the truth.
Lucius and Rosalite had gone to the Gold-Leaf Hotel together, hand in hand. Apparently, they had fled due to an enemy attack along the way, though no one could confirm whether it actually happened or not. Will Brown even seemed to be rooting for the two of them.
Tears streamed down my face. I had been married for over a year before managing even a single date, and we had never gone to a hotel alone together. A hotel—we hadn’t even slept in the same bed together, just the two of us holding hands.
From that point onward, I stopped attending the office. I simply lay in bed, soaking my pillowcase with tears. Prod and Philip said nothing to me, merely ensuring I ate before leaving the room.
Then one day, I heard the excited voice of a young girl echoing from down the corridor. She came running toward my room with enthusiasm, and without even knocking, she burst through the door and cried out.
“My lord! I’ve done it! Do you know what this is, my lord!”
It was Diana. The girl was covered in grime, and though I couldn’t discern the details of her journey, it was clear she had completed some arduous task and returned.
“What is the matter? Why all this commotion—”
“A cohabitation agreement!”
“….”
Pardon?
Had I heard her correctly? A cohabitation what?
“A cohabitation agreement! It means combining our chambers! And here—the lady herself has signed it in her own hand!”
“Give it to me at once!”
I sprang from the bed and rushed toward Diana. In my haste to leap barefoot from the mattress and snatch the document from her hands, the girl broke into a broad grin.
“This is—!”
It was genuine. Rosalite’s signature was unmistakably real. Moreover, the document stipulated that upon my return to the Rocksburg Mansion, cohabitation would be permitted, and that I would fulfill this obligation every single night without fail.
“You traveled all that distance to obtain this promise!”
“Yes! Did I not swear to correct my own mistakes! My lord!”
“Thank you!”
How could I ever repay such kindness? This agreement meant everything to me. Even if we never… even if we didn’t… do such things, the mere permission to share a bed represented tremendous progress.
F-Friends don’t do cohabitation anyway!
“I must return home. No, first I need to prepare myself. I certainly don’t look presentable at the moment.”
“Compose yourself, my lord. I shall summon a beautician at once.”
“Yes!”
I took a deep breath and began preparing for my departure. I needed to have my hair trimmed neatly, my nails groomed, and my body… well, I needed to pay attention to my appearance. After all, I would be… cohabiting!
For the first time in ages, I felt a surge of vitality. I told Diana to rest well and asked her to consider what reward she would like to receive.
Now that I was up and moving, I should attend to the Territory as well. Surely managing it myself would be faster and more efficient than relying on a proxy. As I helped maintain the Rocksburg Territory, I thought it would be beneficial to apply some of the administrative facilities I had in mind to the Veloche Territory too.
I carefully placed the cohabitation agreement that Diana had gone to the trouble of obtaining into a document envelope, secured it in my bag, and headed to the office to share this joyful news with Philip and Prod before throwing myself into work.
By the time I verified the trial operation of the facilities I had proposed, far more time had elapsed than anticipated. As a result, the beautician, Philip, Prod, and Diana all pestered me relentlessly.
After receiving styling, skincare treatments, and vitality-enhancing tonics—attending to everything they insisted upon—I concluded my work and returned to Rocksburg Mansion. Of course, the cohabitation agreement traveled with me in my luggage.

◇ ◆ ◇

“….”
Why did this place transform every single time I stepped away and returned?
Rocksburg Mansion’s very gate had become strange. Why were those people who looked like tourists standing there? Why was a guide accompanying them? What was the donation box, and what did that placard reading “Luke Rocksberg’s In-Laws from ‘In Search of Mother: Thirty Thousand Leagues'” possibly mean?
I had thought nothing could shock me more than when that enormous rabbit was bounding across the front courtyard, yet the moment I stepped into Rosalite’s office, I was engulfed by an even greater shock.
The desks had multiplied. Luke was sitting in my seat. The woman who had introduced herself as Janet Edanelli glanced at me briefly, offered a perfunctory greeting, and hurried out of the office, appearing genuinely pressed for time.
“Oh, Glen, you’ve arrived.”
Rosalite didn’t even look at me, offering only a cursory greeting. She still appeared busy. Moreover, something was decidedly strange.
“Leon! Leon, come here! Search for last year’s records!”
“Yes, Sister!”
Asterion had become five times more efficient than the last time I’d seen him. No—how was he finding things so quickly? Furthermore, my old drafting table and office supplies had been transferred to Leon’s desk.
With a slightly wounded heart, I examined Leon’s desk and noticed some graphs drawn there—wait, that’s the format I used to employ, but if they change it like that….
“….”
Hmm…, the circular graph is easier to read at a glance?
Perhaps because of how the pie chart captured everything at once, my heart began to race. It pounded so intensely that it seemed to ring in my ears.
Leon and Rosalite were now huddled together, conversing intimately. Since Rosalite had called Leon repulsive, I had never seen her treat him with such warmth.
Janet, who had stepped out earlier, hurried back into the office and offered me the sofa, saying my legs must be tired. Luke was furiously tapping away at a calculator, working through calculations.
As I sat on the sofa, mechanically breathing in and out, Violet brought tea and a cup meant for guests. I felt my breathing quicken slightly as I took a sip.
A thought occurred to me. Perhaps…, or rather, what if….
“….”
Was I no longer needed in this place?

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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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