Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 16

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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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Ugh, the stench.
With each step down the staircase, the reek of rotting meat grew more suffocating. I pressed my handkerchief firmly against my nose and mouth, making my way toward the Basement. I understood why such a gruesome place couldn’t remain on the upper floors, but keeping it underground meant no proper ventilation—the stench pooled and festered, making it utterly uninhabitable.
I’d heard he resided here permanently, but how on earth did he manage to survive in such conditions? Did he suffer from severe rhinitis?
After entertaining various theories, I called out for Jack Brown and descended further. By now I should have grown accustomed to it, but even the slightest lapse in concentration sent waves of nausea through me.
“Hm? Miss Rosalite?”
So he calls me “miss” too. What exactly does the Brown Family think the Duke’s House is? Where did this peculiar custom originate? As these questions swirled through my mind, Jack Brown fully emerged from the shadows—and utterly shattered my theory about severe rhinitis. He appeared wearing a gas mask.
Well, I suppose you are human after all.
“What brings you here? Oh, surely not—”
The man alternated his gaze between me and Aster, then removed his mask with a delighted expression.
“Are we executing Aster?”
“No.”
As if that were possible. The boy’s words and actions deviated far too drastically from those of ordinary people.
I flatly denied it and pulled Aster behind me. If Jack somehow managed to take Aster from me, I felt I’d immediately retrieve an execution device and sever the boy’s head myself.
He’d been so thrilled when we executed Dylan back then.
“Ah… then…”
Realizing this wasn’t about executing Aster, Jack’s face fell momentarily before brightening again with renewed hope.
“Have you decided to execute someone else?”
“No.”
The memory of when I’d executed Dylan on a scheduled date surfaced, and Jack eagerly asked when the execution would take place—only to slump in disappointment when I denied it again. As my refusals continued, Jack pouted petulantly, his dissatisfaction evident.
“Then why have you come here, miss?”
Why indeed had I come?
I found myself thinking it might be better to leave immediately.
“Shall we just head back, miss?”
But seeing Aster looking so smug, I couldn’t simply turn around. If I was only planning to use Aster temporarily with regression in mind, this would suffice—but if by any chance I failed to escape the regression, the waste would be unbearable. Besides, I now had the clue that Leon was a siscon, and I couldn’t afford to let such a promising child rot away.
“Aster will be occupied with other matters for a while, so I’d like you to serve as my temporary bodyguard, Jack Brown.”
“I refuse.”
“If you don’t want to be fired, listen to what I have to say.”
Jack, who hadn’t even pretended to consider my proposal and was already turning to leave, began his rebuttal upon hearing the threat of dismissal, fidgeting with his fingers.
“I’m part of the Brown Family in name, so only the Duke has the authority to fire me… right?”
“I’ve been the successor for quite some time now, so perhaps being confined to the Basement has left you out of the loop. One recommendation from me is all it takes for you to be cast out—and generally speaking, if you go above ground and kill people, you become a wanted criminal and fade away like morning dew on the scaffold.”
Jack asked how a person could become dew, so I stepped on Aster’s foot to silence him, then snatched the gas mask from Jack and placed it over my own face while awaiting his response.
With the scented candles inside, breathing became considerably easier.
“When you say temporary… how long must I serve as your bodyguard?”
“Until Aster can wield a sword again.”
“That’s practically impossible for life!”
Don’t be ridiculous—why are you the one deciding that?
I drew Aster’s sword from its sheath and beat Jack with it like a club, striking him repeatedly. As Jack yelped in pain, he voiced his grievances with wounded indignation.
“I can’t do it, Will can’t do it, and Jack hasn’t managed it yet—how is he supposed to pull it off?!”
“Have you even tried asking him?! He does whatever you tell him to do! Aster is the kind of child who accomplishes things when given a task!”
“That’s not the point—I’m saying we should think about this rationally!”
“Jack, don’t talk to me about common sense. You’re making me sound like the unreasonable one!”
Exhausted from swatting at Jack, I returned the sword to Aster and tore up the schedule I’d prepared for him earlier. It was time to change the arrangements.
“Aster! I’m assigning you an additional instructor, so you’re excused from escort duties for now! Don’t even think about returning until you’ve mastered aura control!”
“What?! I don’t want to!”
“It doesn’t matter what you want—you’ll do as I say!”
I needed to revise Aster’s entire schedule immediately and draft a report assigning Jack to temporary escort duty.
I ordered them both to follow me, returned the gas mask to Jack, and turned to leave. As I quickened my pace to escape this foul-smelling place, the sound of their bickering erupted behind me.
“Look what you’ve done—now I can’t even eat properly! You serial killer!”
“Why am I a serial killer?! I’ve never killed anyone except on assignment! You’re the one who should stop eating and lose some weight, you glutton!”
“The lady said I don’t have anything to lose!”
“You actually believe that?! You pig! You bloated mess! You’re so hideous! Look at those rolls of belly fat!”
“Do you want to die?!”
“Try me! Even if I’ve killed people, I’ve killed several times more than you!”
Why do these pint-sized fools keep fighting?!
I grabbed both Aster and Jack by the hair as they scuffled, kicked them in the shins, and ordered them to stop fighting and follow me.
They trailed behind me all the way back to my office, still gripping each other’s hair and huffing indignantly.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Young Master. Will Brown stopped by earlier.”
“Will?”
I took the report from Lily, who was guarding my office, and settled into my chair. Will managed the Duke’s House network of informants scattered across the realm. He spent most of his time away on business and occasionally ran errands for Father or me.
If he’d come by now, it could only be about that matter.
“Hmm….”
Reading the contents, my suspicions were confirmed. The person who’d tampered with dark magic in the Crown Prince’s Palace belonged to the First Princess’s faction. Along with his report on the assignment, Will had included his own assessment: it would be prudent to silence the mage by charging them with spreading rumors and compromising the Crown Prince’s Palace security. That presented no issue—I’d promised to handle the matter smoothly, not to spare their life.
“Jack, looks like you’ve already got work. First, both of you let go of each other’s hair. There—shake hands and make up. Good work.”
I forcibly separated the two and summoned Jack closer, handing him the supplementary documents Will had provided. They contained the mage’s physical description and the days and times they left the palace.
“Make it look like natural causes. The Crown Prince is sensitive—we wouldn’t want to alarm him. And if Will, Kal, or Quill bring in more cases, you’ll have plenty of work to do. If you want to do more of what you enjoy, you can either provoke those three or support them.”
Jack whistled, apparently pleased, grinning as he seemed to contemplate his approach. I turned away from him and called Aster over to relay my instructions.
“A mage will be missing from the Crown Prince’s Palace, so tell the Duke we should fill the position with one of our people. This can’t be documented, so you’ll need to memorize it carefully.”
I watched Aster nod with confident assurance, then turned my attention to Violet, uneasy despite his certainty. Even if it was only temporary, we had work to do.
“Violet! Take Jack Brown’s measurements for new clothes!”
The Brown Family all had excellent taste in fashion, and they were always in better spirits when dressed in fine attire.

◇ ◆ ◇

A few days passed, and Jack and Aster were each languishing in their respective places. Aster had been unable to eat proper snacks since beginning his training, so he was in low spirits, while Jack, having spent the morning in bright daylight, found himself unable to settle and was sharpening his blade beside me.
The phrase “sharpening his blade” was no metaphor—Jack was quite literally grinding his sword with a whetstone beside me. And it wasn’t just the sword; he sharpened sickles, saw blades, and even my paper knife.
He despised bright light so intensely that he’d fitted colored glass into a gas mask and wore it, producing rhythmic hissing sounds beside me—which did nothing for my mood. Yet I couldn’t very well dismiss Jack simply because I was displeased. After all, I had no one else.
In that sense, I’d been carving out time for meditation lately. My surroundings were gradually being organized, allowing me moments to myself, and the best way to free Jack from his servitude was to build mana circles. Even a single circle would grant him the chance to escape from most assassins.
“Jack.”
“Yes?”
“Would you be interested in wearing something nice and attending the Queen’s birthday ball?”
“I have no interest, ma’am.”
He didn’t even pretend to consider it. If Jack had agreed, I’d planned to coordinate steampunk accessories for all of us.
Compared to other noble houses, Duke’s House was remarkably unremarkable, so I harbored a desire to stand out through our attire at least. At a birthday celebration for the Queen, surely people from other noble houses would attend. The Northern Region, being the front lines, might have legitimate reasons for absence if they were occupied.
“Jack. The task I assigned you?”
“The mage who left with a pass permit was found intoxicated, wandering the village. He mistepped near a bridge and fell below. The following day, he was discovered as a drowned corpse.”
“Well done. I’m pleased.”
He executed his orders precisely and efficiently. Satisfied with Jack’s competence, I hummed contentedly, checked the time, and rose from my seat. I needed to visit the Annex Building to inspect something.
“I need to meet with Leon. Lily, Violet—if urgent matters arise, send someone to the Annex Building. Glen, take your rest time. Jack, come with me.”
I led Jack, still wearing his gas mask and producing those rhythmic hissing sounds, toward the Annex Building. Leon should be taking dance lessons at this hour.

Upon arriving at the Annex Building, I sent a maid ahead to inform Leon of my wish to meet, then proceeded to where the dance instruction was taking place. Entering a large room with one wall entirely mirrored, the instructor greeted me respectfully and said he would step away while we spoke.
Once I dismissed him, Leon, who had been dancing in rhythm, came scurrying toward me.
“What brings you here, Sister!”
Leon smiled warmly upon seeing me, but the moment his eyes fell upon Jack beside me, his body stiffened. He didn’t even ask who this person was before taking three steps backward—clearly quite startled. Indeed, encountering someone in broad daylight wearing a pitch-black gas mask, carrying a saw blade that gleamed blue from being sharpened so excessively, would naturally provoke alarm.
“You two are meeting for the first time. This is Asterion, who recently became my brother. And this is Jack Brown, the Duke’s House executioner and my temporary bodyguard.”
Now then, let’s have you both introduce yourselves.

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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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