Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 161
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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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Now you finally understand how much that hurts. You were always grabbing people’s ears and kneading them when bored—serves you right.
『I’m sorry, Older Brother. It’s my fault again….』
Just when I thought he’d finally returned to his usual self, Lucilucil’s expression crumpled the moment Prince Marius apologized. I’d wondered why he disliked Prince Marius so intensely, but witnessing what had just transpired, I finally grasped a sliver of Lucilucil’s feelings.
Right—if I’d spent over thirty years managing a troublesome younger brother like that, I’d be furious too. Especially when his opponents were the Largol imperial family and nobility. The fact that he’d survived this long was remarkable, and having built his foundation here while fighting the Fourth Prince was genuinely impressive.
Unlike Lucilucil’s mother, who was offered as a concubine from a colony, the Fourth Prince’s late mother, Empress Nerva, was of pure Largol aristocratic lineage. That’s why the Zoraab Orthodox Church openly supports the Fourth Prince.
『Come now, Rosalite. Haven’t you enjoyed the banquet sufficiently?』
Huh? No? I still have so much time before I’m done admiring Prince Marius? Actually, it’s not that I have time left—I just want to see Prince Marius all night long? I’m going to be with him until morning?
Startled by Lucilucil’s casual attempt to take my hand, I yelped in surprise, dodged, and hid behind Prince Marius. Standing behind him—tall enough and broad-shouldered enough to completely conceal me—I grasped his waist and poked my face out, then spoke to Lucilucil.
『My night is more beautiful and longer than your day, and to cut to the chase, “good night” starts now, doesn’t it?』
『A married woman should conduct herself with propriety. Watch your behavior. Especially in a distant foreign land.』
『No, my own husband isn’t saying anything, so why is Lucilucil lecturing me about propriety?』
『You blockhead! Say something already!』
Ugh, Lucilucil is acting so familiar with my husband despite meeting him for the first time. The man pushed Glen’s back and advised him to scold me. Glen, gauging both Lucilucil’s and my reactions, eventually made a suggestion.
『Since it’s unfamiliar territory and dangerous, it might be better if we all stayed together rather than splitting up.』
『You blockhead, you really are from Rocksburg. How did your thoughts jump there?』
『Are you saying I have a Rocksburg accent?』
At the man’s compliment, Glen laughed happily, but Lucilucil’s chest seemed to burn as he pounded it and let out strange wailing sounds. Why do those two get along so perfectly? It’s making me jealous.
“Young Lady! The White Sand Beach would be perfect for playing!”
“?”
Wait, how did you understand our conversation? When I pressed Aster about it, the child said that after listening vaguely, it sounded like we were talking about going out to play, so he mentioned a place he wanted to go.
What? Does this kid have detachable intelligence? Is he actually a genius? Should I try teaching him now?
“Give up. Do you really think that child could focus on a book for more than ten minutes?”
Well…. That’s true. So far, the only successful ways to teach Aster have been through physical activity or short-term lectures. When I make him sit at a desk to study, he endures it reluctantly at first, but after a week passes, he always runs away saying he’d rather die than study.
Come to think of it, Brown is truly remarkable. Getting Aster to read and write in Aleine would have been impossible even if Teacher Sullivan had come back to life.
“The White Sand Beach…. The White Sand Beach is nice. You can see the sea. The children can run around and play.”
“It’s getting late. Wouldn’t going outside be dangerous?”
Oh, Prince Marius speaking in Aleine is still so refreshing and wonderful. He must have noticed that my guards don’t speak Imperial and is being considerate. This kind of thoughtfulness shows how brilliantly he uses his mind. Perhaps it’s from frequenting the Salon so often.
“As for safety, unless someone of Serena’s caliber launches an attack….”
I understand his concern—having lived in the Imperial Palace, he’s faced countless death threats—but with Jack and Aster accompanying us, I had no worries about safety. Experts of Serena’s or Sage’s level aren’t common anyway. And unlike before, Lucilucil didn’t come prepared with assassins this time.
I pointed to Aster, who was wearing a white guard uniform, to reassure Prince Marius.
“Despite appearances, that one defeated a giant squid in a single strike and punctured breathing holes in a massive sea anemone.”
After introducing Aster, I pointed to Jack, who was wearing a black guard uniform.
“The one who inflicted compound fractures across that child’s entire body is this suspicious gas mask-wearing fellow.”
“It’s not suspicious. It’s a cool gas mask. It even has a telescope function.”
“I agree with that. I thought this gas mask was incredibly cool from the first time I saw it. Plus, the eye parts stretch out so smoothly.”
So why do you get along so perfectly with our children, Lucilucil?
Anyway, once the safety issue was resolved, Prince Marius and Lucilucil hit it off with our children, and they immediately started pestering me to go to the sea.
I understand why everyone’s so excited—traveling from the Imperial Palace requires considerable sacrifice, and even when we do go, it hardly feels like we’ve actually enjoyed ourselves. But still….
Heh, when everyone’s this enthusiastic, I have no choice but to let it happen.
“That sounds like an excellent idea, Rosalite. After all, we rarely get opportunities to venture outside.”
When even Glen says that, I have no recourse but to give in.
I should have known better and prepared everyone for overtime, bringing Leon and Janet along too. The casino outing last time was our first and last group excursion. I hope Asterion isn’t alone in his room crying right now.
Feeling guilty, I clicked my tongue and sought out the Queen of Rohil. I asked her to reserve a beautiful white sand beach for our outing, and she readily agreed, making a circle with her fingers. As someone of her diplomatic stature, I knew she’d respond exactly this way.
“Rocksburg Beauty Collaboration.”
“Event Hall. Rohil Tourism Special Exhibition.”
“Underground Food Court. Premium Booth Gourmet Special.”
“Excellent. I’ll provide tourism guides for installation.”
“And throw in a diplomatic manual as well.”
“You’re quite persistent, aren’t you?”
There, Glen—did you see that? I actually pulled it off.
I secured a written agreement for the diplomatic manual and obtained usage rights to the Queen’s exclusive private beach with its wine bar, then returned to my family. Since the Queen said she’d have her people prepare everything, we just had to go, play, eat, and drink. When I presented this proposal, Luke, Violet, and Lily—who had been summoned in the meantime—cheered with delight, and the original members were equally thrilled at the prospect of fun.
Heh, that fool Jack Brown has no idea I just sold him out, yet he’s so happy about it.
“You wretched child. What’s all this commotion about?”
It seems I’ve earned Serena’s lasting displeasure this round. Now whenever she calls me, “wretched child” and “spoiled brat” have become her default greetings. Before heading to the anemone conference, she learned of my status and was deeply troubled.
At twenty-three with Third Circle magic, I’m a mage with growth speed that cannot be ignored, so ideally I should be confined to the Magic Tower for character education. However, since I must inherit the Duke’s title, she cannot simply take me away.
For now, since I’m still in the Low Circle, management is relatively easy. But if by some chance I continue growing and reach Sixth Circle, earning the title of Archmage, then problems will truly begin.
According to Magic Tower regulations, anyone reaching Sixth Circle must undergo a character assessment. Humanity has suffered greatly over the ages from powerful mages with vile temperaments, so the Magic Tower manages those deemed morally unfit by preventing them from leaving the Tower.
Some people flee knowing they’ll fail the test, and mages who refuse to take it and desert are all executed. This is why most mages we encounter are foolishly virtuous—they’ve undergone brainwashing education in righteous living at the Magic Tower.
This is also why Sage and Serena are so obsessive about whether someone is a bad child or a good child, whether they’re helpful to the world or not.
“We’re going to the white sand beach for fun! Will you join us, Serena?”
“Ahem, hmm.”
But I can’t fathom why both of them are so weak to praise.
She cleared her throat repeatedly, barely concealing her delight, then lectured me about how, given the current situation, the Largol representative and the Aleine representative’s aide shouldn’t be going on vacation together. All I could say in response was this.
“Thirty-three, thirty-five, twenty-three.”
Pointing to the Third Prince, Lucilucil, and myself in turn as I stated our ages, Serena’s eyes grew misty as she furrowed her brow and spoke.
“Fine. What can I possibly say to children who barely have blood on their hands? Go have fun.”
“Are you really not coming? I hear there’s even a wine bar at the white sand beach.”
“Going back and forth is exhausting. I’ll just get a nice massage and take care of myself.”
“When you get old, traveling becomes unbearably tiring. Have fun swimming, my daughter.”
Sage added his comment before getting hit on the back of the head by Serena. Hmm…, watching Papa, I now understand perfectly who his disciples took after.
In any case, since the Magic Tower group is staying behind, our travel party is settled. The Federation Vice-Director is already away resting and nowhere to be seen, and I’m leaving the Crown Prince and Capo to enjoy themselves together, so I just need to gather everyone here and we can go.
With that thought, I called for just two carriages and prepared for our outing. I emerged in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals after opening my luggage, but my family members are all dressed for vacation, which is quite…. Honestly, I’m not even surprised anymore.
Luke, Glen, Jack, Aster, Lily, and Violet said they brought swimming clothes and toys just in case we’d play in the water. They lamented that since the sun was setting, they couldn’t use fishing rods or shovels for digging clams…. Ah, right. So that’s why Aster kept insisting on going to the white sand beach—she wanted to dig for clams.
But to catch enough clams to fill Aster’s stomach, we’d need tidal flats, wouldn’t we? Since this is a volcanic island, most of it is basalt and the sand is probably coral sand…. No. Since we won’t be able to catch any anyway, let’s preserve her innocence.
In any case, we lined up in perfect vacation group formation, dragging sandals and flip-flops. Prince Marius was still in his diplomatic formal wear, and Lucilucil—who apparently didn’t bring vacation clothes and was dressed uncomfortably—cursed at us for coming to play, but since I actually came to have fun, I boldly declared that I came to play, and Lucilucil wrapped his face in his hands, refusing to speak with me.
No, if that’s the case, why did he ask in the first place? Why is he being so dramatic about it?
Anyway, I shouldn’t be caught off guard like before. I steeled myself and was about to move ahead of Prince Marius before the carriage arrived, but surprisingly, someone was faster than me.
“Prince Marius. Please board.”
That scoundrel Luke recommended I take the first carriage, then brazenly sat down right beside me! This won’t do. This absolutely won’t do. At the very least, he should be sitting across from me!
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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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