Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 155

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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 quickly added a comment, afraid that Glen might sulk again. When I explained that Luke had gone in holding Prince Marius’s hand and needed to be called back, the man’s face finally softened, and he pointed with his finger.
“If it’s Luke, he should be in the Largol delegation’s seat over there.”
“If it’s Luke, then over there in the chair on the Largol side.”
“Luke Rocksberg!”
At my command, Luke jumped up from his seat in surprise. How could this fool forget his nationality, no matter how distracted he was by Prince Marius? Did he think I smuggled him out of Chatel and gave him six months of training for nothing?
“My dear boy, it seems you’re not an Alein citizen anymore? Should I carve out the area around the Department Store and make it an independent nation for you? Don’t you know very well how much tax is extracted from foreigners wanting to do business in Rocksburg?”
“I apologize. I was enchanted by Prince Marius and lost my senses.”
Well, that… honestly, I understand. When Prince Marius holds my hand and walks, wherever he goes becomes my path. Besides, considering that man’s usual conduct, he probably forgot to escort Luke to the Alein seat and just sat him next to himself instead.
“Even so, you need to keep your wits about you.”
“I apologize. I have no excuse.”
“Please stop now, Rosalite. Luke seems to be reflecting on his mistake.”
“Glen, you were saying ‘madam’ this and ‘madam’ that earlier, so why are you suddenly calling me Rosalite?”
“That’s because…”
Hahahaha, his face turned red again. He’s quite fun to tease. When I laughed heartily, Glen finally realized I was deliberately teasing him, and he scratched my ribs, saying I was too much. Because I happened to be attacked at my ribs, I twisted my whole body and retaliated, and it seemed our flirtation was quite inconvenient for Theodore, as he cleared his throat with a few “ahem”s.
“This isn’t even a private setting. Please stop.”
“If you’re unhappy, why don’t you just get married, Your Highness?”
“Must everything you say inevitably lead to marriage?”
“Yes.”
Oh my, the chairman is coming in. Please be seated.
Seeing that the Crown Prince was about to stand up for a confrontation with me, I grabbed his shoulders, sat him in the front seat, and calmed him down with a “there, there.” This troublesome royal seemed displeased with my method of persuasion, and he pinched the back of my hand so painfully that I had to stifle a cry.
“Before we begin the First Tripartite Sea Anemone Conference,”
The woman presiding as chairman introduced herself as the Queen of Rohil and declared that the following conference would be conducted in Alein. Prince Marius and Lucius were fluent in all three nations’ languages, so it didn’t matter which language was used, and the Federation Vice-Minister had experience living in Alein during childhood, so he insisted that Alein was more comfortable than the Imperial language. That’s how the conference language was decided to be Alein…
To be frank, we were being accommodated. Our Crown Prince could manage the Imperial language well enough, but he was clumsy with Cerepia. No matter how neutral Rohil was or how it used all three nations’ languages as official languages, as a Federation member, it would have been proper protocol for the conference to proceed in Cerepia.
How embarrassing. If Grace had remained the Crown Princess, I wouldn’t have had to face such humiliation.
When I clicked my tongue loudly as if to say “listen up, Your Highness,” this brat’s ears seemed to work just fine—he clenched his fists and trembled. You should study harder normally. Why do you deliberately do things that irritate me?
Anyway, whether His Highness and I were embarrassed or not, the chairman proceeded with the pre-conference procedures, introducing in order the representatives of Largol as the suspected perpetrator, Alein as the primary victim and secondary suspected perpetrator, Cerepia Federation as the country expecting damages, and finally Serena from the Magic Tower, which has extraterritorial status.
Even though time was tight, they prepared seats for those from extraterritorial organizations. Rohil really did an excellent job this time. They accommodated the distinguished guests comfortably even on the way to the conference hall. Protocol is truly important, you know—protocol. I love Rohil, absolutely love it.
“I hereby declare the First Tripartite Sea Anemone Conference open.”
When the chairman struck the gavel, the attendants standing beside her outlined the case and gave each nation a chance to speak. Since this was still a time for feeling things out, nothing particularly important was discussed, but watching the conference proceed smoothly in order, a wave of satisfaction surged up from deep within my chest.
Smooth proceedings are magnificent. Protocol is the best. I want to take home the manual from here. How can even the direction of placing the gavel be so beautiful? My heart is racing so much I could go mad.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking this way, as Glen, sitting beside me, leaned his face close and whispered with warm breath.
“Rosalite, is there any way we could obtain the protocol manual from here?”
Ah, my sentiments exactly.
When I agreed and said we should definitely try to get the manual, Glen nodded with an excited expression. The order in which each nation’s flags were hung in front of the conference hall, and how the carriages had been modified so their decorations could be replaced with each nation’s or family crests—it was all quite remarkable. Once the conference ends, I should go butter up the Queen of Rohil.
The sea anemone is a great threat, but the conference hall is peaceful, so peaceful. The protocol is beautiful, the representatives from each nation are dressed in lovely clothes, they’ve all studied their domestic affairs diligently and are elegantly taking subtle jabs at each other, and there’s no warmer gathering than this.
Of the conferences I’ve attended over the past decade, this is the most beautiful. My mind became peaceful, and I dipped a silver teaspoon into the tea water that had been brought for refreshment, confirmed there was no discoloration, and sipped the tea. If we drag this out for another thirty minutes or so, we’ll seal the conference contents, strike the gavel a couple of times, and then head off to enjoy the banquet.
What are the signature dishes of Rohil? Now that I think about it, I did give notice that Aster eats an enormous amount, but will there be enough provisions? I shouldn’t judge Aster’s appetite by human standards. I should have written down his exact meal quantity instead of just saying he eats a lot. I was too busy to think that far ahead.
If there’s a shortage, I can always take the boy around to tourist restaurants. While I was thinking that, the conference hall seemed to have grown cold. Even though I’m wearing short sleeves, there’s no way I should suddenly feel chills…
“You wretched fools!”
It wasn’t my imagination.
At Serena’s outburst, the Conference Hall froze—and I mean that literally, not figuratively. The doors were frozen solid, the flags crystallized, the chairman’s seat encased in ice, and even my black tea had developed a thin film of frost.
The woman who had lavishly spent her mana to freeze the entire hall rose from her seat, brought her hand down on the table with a thunderous crack that shattered it to pieces, and let out a roar.
“The ancient creature that Joraab has awakened—that’s what matters! Not your pathetic family squabbles! In ten days, that thing will move! It will rise again! And you don’t care one whit about your own nations and peoples?! Good grief! And here I am, trying to save the lot of you! Running here, running there, for the past few centuries, and—ugh! Aaaagh!”
“Are you alright! Serena!”
“It’s just because she’s old and shouting! Serena!”
“Please, consider your age! Serena!”
“All of you, shut your mouths!”
I was already freezing to death, and now she was summoning gales on top of it all. Why did Sage’s disciples insist on opening their mouths and making things worse? Were they doing it on purpose?
“Who is that woman! Who summoned her!”
“According to the records, she’s the representative of the Magic Tower Masters!”
“What is such a Grand Mage doing here!”
“She’s apparently the one who froze the sea anemone!”
And so the elegant conference descended into chaos. No matter how distinguished the representatives of each nation were, none dared to stand against Serena, the supreme leader among those exempt from jurisdiction. Some frantically tried to open the frozen doors to escape, but even striking them with chairs proved futile—they wouldn’t budge an inch.
I sighed deeply. The fact that I was in immediate danger of freezing to death was troubling enough, but watching that beautiful conference crumble to pieces with a single spell from Serena was truly heartbreaking. Yet I couldn’t simply stand by in sorrow. I had to take action. Above all, Prince Marius was trembling from the cold.
I couldn’t bear to watch Prince Marius, who possessed the most lethal body in the world, shaking so pathetically… well, actually, I could. His trembling was rather endearing. Still, before he caught a cold from this sudden temperature drop, I needed to step in.
“Great Serena! Might I be so bold as to offer a word!”
“What!”
“All these representatives here—they’re all my age!”
“…What?”
The wind stopped abruptly. I had considered the situation from multiple angles, trying to find a way to quell Serena’s fury, and this seemed like the best approach.
“What did you just say, you foolish child? They’re all your age?”
“Yes! As I mentioned, I’m twenty-three! Our Crown Prince is thirty-one! Prince Marius is thirty-three! And the Federation Vice-Minister is…!”
“Forty-one! I am the Federation Vice-Minister of Cerepia! Forty-one years old!”
“I am the Queen of Rohil, the chairwoman! I am forty-four!”
“…None of you have even reached fifty?”
With Serena’s voice carrying a note of shock, warm air began to flow through the Conference Hall. The temperature rose steadily. Not only did Serena cease her freezing magic, but she seemed to be gently releasing heat magic as well.
“That’s practically newborns. No wonder you can’t reach a conclusion when infants are putting their heads together.”
Right? When your opponent is a child, there’s nothing to be done, is there?
Serena, now perceiving those she had been angry with as infants born yesterday, seemed to find her own rage foolish and laughed hollowly.
“I mean, what were those kings and emperors thinking, entrusting work to these little brats… No, never mind, forget it. I’m the idiot for meddling.”
The woman waved her hand dismissively, telling them to go ahead and continue their little game, but a conference once shattered couldn’t be so easily resumed. The chairwoman, understanding this, hastily moved to conclude the proceedings and had the secretary seal the minutes.
The chill didn’t fade so quickly, so the chairwoman, her lips still trembling, methodically went through every scheduled item on the agenda and raised her gavel.
A professional. That woman was a professional. If one were to personify protocol itself, surely it would look like her. The Queen of Rohil and chairwoman of this conference was truly the sovereign of ceremony and decorum.
A master of protocol. There was a master of protocol in this place.
“Then, the First Tripartite Sea Anemone Conference, Part One minutes are hereby sealed, and we adjourn temporarily.”
Bang, bang—the sound of the gavel echoed through the Conference Hall. I was genuinely moved. To think such talent existed in this small island nation. My eyes grew misty, and I rose from my seat to applaud.
As I began clapping, Glen soon stood and joined in the applause. Luke, too, was equally moved. We of Rocksburg all offered our heartfelt praise for the Queen of Rohil’s diligent efforts.
Magnificent. The most magnificent thing in the world. Father should have been here. He would have awarded the Queen of Rohil the Rocksburg Medal of Honor with his ducal authority.
“That was magnificent, Queen. Of all the conferences I’ve attended, it was the most beautifully orchestrated, and you were the finest chairperson I’ve ever witnessed.”
With the Queen having declared the conference adjourned, I approached the chairman’s podium with the intention of exchanging pleasantries and lingering a moment. Glen, who had been scheming to obtain the manual, also slipped to my side and lavished praise upon the Queen.

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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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