Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 163

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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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“Ah, Rocksburg Duke’s Daughter.”
Prince Marius approached me warmly as I was playing with the last remaining firework, lighting it up before me with a cheerful laugh.
How should I describe this? He’s been smiling wonderfully all evening, which is delightful, but it lacks his usual allure. Of course, his chest, hips, and thighs remain as firm and magnificent as ever, but normally there’s that… a certain fragile, precarious quality that seems as though it might shatter at the slightest touch, from which emanates a poignant melancholy. That was always there.
But now he’s simply a spirited Prince Marius.
“I wanted to express my gratitude to you, Duke’s Daughter.”
“Gratitude? For what?”
“Yes, because this is the first time I’ve been able to play so freely with my older brother.”
Wait, so over thirty years old, and he’s never played casually with his older brother despite only a two-year age difference? That’s quite the curious tale… Huh! Prince Marius blushed and scratched his cheek! Amazing! Absolutely adorable! Did Luke not see this?! Did only I witness it?!
Wow, even without his usual seductive charm, his destructive power remains undiminished—my heart is racing, this different allure is simply, oh my, if only there were no one else here, oh!
“I will remember this day forever. It may well be the happiest day of my life.”
Sacred. Prince Marius smiled like sunlight itself, and it felt utterly sacred—I could have sworn the sun had already risen. What is this? The sun? A human sun? Could a living being, a primate person, a human of the human species, truly be this pure? An angel? Could he be an angel? Perhaps he’s actually an angel wearing human skin?
I was so moved that I simply stared at Prince Marius intently, wanting to etch this moment into my eyes forever. And I thought: could I request just one fan service? A handshake, perhaps, or an embrace—something that takes more time. I’d like at least ten seconds of an embrace. Fine. Let me ask for a hug. Just ten seconds of a hug!
“Please give me the shirt you’re wearing.”
“…Pardon?”
Oh no, that’s not what I meant!
I tried to recover from the words that had tumbled out unbidden, but Prince Marius simply said it was no problem and readily removed his shirt.
“Oh, oh…”
“Is something this simple acceptable?”
“Oh, oh! Oh! Oh!”
As I made orangutan-like vocalizations and nodded repeatedly, he smiled brightly once more and turned back to Lucilucil. Lucilucil complained that a grown man wandering around half-naked was disgusting, but Prince Marius simply laughed happily and continued fawning over Lucilucil.
I pondered how to preserve this sacred treasure in my hands. First, since it’s salty, I should wash it—no, but if I launder it, Prince Marius’s scent will disappear. Wait, that just sounded very much like something Asterion would say. Ugh, that gives me chills. Why am I like this?
“…”
After much deliberation, I decided it was best to keep it close to my body. I carefully folded the shirt and tucked it inside my short-sleeved t-shirt, then enjoyed the last of the fireworks.
After our group finished playing in the sea, we drank more and rode the carriage back to our lodging, where I drank myself into oblivion in the room assigned to me and collapsed into sleep.
Jack and Aster regretted not being able to join the drinking gathering, but I persuaded them that since there was no spare escort personnel, they had to take responsibility. They accepted this readily and retired early.
After coming out of the sea, I rinsed myself with fresh water, but salt residue still clung to my body—when I lay on the bed, I could feel the gritty sensation of salt crystals. It was quite irritating, but I was too drunk to muster the energy to get up. I fell asleep with a pearl-colored and cottony beige item cradled in both arms.

***

“Achoo!”
I sneezed myself awake. Ugh… What time is it? My body felt warm—I’d caught a proper cold. Well, I’d certainly earned it: freezing, thawing, freezing again, diving into the sea. I’d done everything possible to invite illness.
As I fumbled about searching for a handkerchief, my nose threatening to run, Glen beside me rubbed his eyes groggily and reached toward the nightstand. He seemed to be trying to open a drawer, but the handkerchief I needed was suddenly thrust at me from the opposite direction.
“Here.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
After blowing my nose, I felt some relief. My throat was a bit sore, but medicine and a wash should fix that.
“But… why is Lucilucil sleeping in my bed?”
“You dragged me here by the head and made me sleep, didn’t you?”
“Ah…”
That’s right…
I glanced at Glen beside me, still half-asleep, then carefully extracted myself from the bed and slipped out.
“I’m leaving the rest to you.”
“You want me to explain this mess alone?”
“What else can we do? I’m an attendant to Crown Prince Theodore, so I need to go prepare.”
“I’m my brother’s attendant too.”
“Then you’d better escape before it’s too late.”
As I hurriedly gathered my clothes from the floor and fled to bathe, Glen’s surprisingly loud scream echoed through the halls shortly after, and I quickened my pace toward the bath.

I soaked in hot water and took fever-reducing painkillers that Lily provided, but the cold wouldn’t lift. My body ached with chills, so I wrapped myself in a coat, but the hangover made my head pound, sweat pour, and I felt absolutely wretched.
Yet I couldn’t leave. I had a duty to see the conference through to the end, and with the chairperson already seated, I couldn’t send a proxy and slip away. Glen, who had taken his seat beside me, demanded an explanation for what happened that morning, but the moment I sneezed—”Achoo!”—his expression changed and he placed a hand on my forehead.
“Are you unwell? You have a fever.”
A fever even after taking fever-reducing medicine? This was serious.
Glen suggested I skip the conference and rest, but I made a shushing sound and quietly observed the opening.
If Serena went on another rampage, only I could stop her. Besides, Lucilucil over at the Largol delegation was suffering with a hangover headache, so our forces were equally depleted.
Neither side was in any condition to intervene significantly, so the Crown Prince, Marius, and the Federation’s deputy director would have to fight it out and reach a decision themselves.
Following the procedures established by the Protocol King, the conference began, and the moment the gavel struck the table to open the first session’s minutes, the fighting started. It was barely distinguishable from an actual brawl—the only thing preventing them from tearing at each other’s throats was restraint.
Usually they’d argue verbally until emotions escalated and they’d actually climb over the table to grapple, but this was relatively civil. Everyone was young enough to make an effort at maintaining decorum.
If it had been the Northern murderer or Duke Bienar, they’d have thrown a punch already and been debating war.
Only after they’d resorted to personal attacks, insulted each other’s families, questioned the Crown Prince’s legitimacy, and brought up Lucilucil’s two divorces did the conference finally return to the main topic: how to handle the sea anemone. And then the Cerepia Federation came up with a brilliant proposal.
“We propose that Cerepia shelve this matter and continue it at the next conference.”
It was a masterful solution—or rather, a solution that solved nothing. In essence, Cerepia was suggesting they keep the sea anemone frozen indefinitely, since it couldn’t move while frozen, until they developed a reliable method to eliminate it.
Even without Grand Mage Serena, maintaining the status quo only required multiple ice mages from Aleine to periodically refreeze the anemone. Aleine would handle the personnel, while Largol and the Cerepia Federation would cover costs and other responsibilities—it was a perfectly balanced arrangement.
It was a groundbreaking proposal where all three nations shared the burden equally, and the representatives sent from each country wouldn’t have to shoulder personal responsibility. As a result, the conference quickly converged on maintaining the status quo.
Before long, each nation’s representatives reached a conclusion to maintain the status quo and postpone further discussion. Once decided, the Queen went through the procedures meticulously, signed the agreed-upon conclusion, and presented the documents to the three nations. Finally, the gavel struck twice, and everyone rose from their seats to applaud.
I watched carefully, wondering if Serena might cause a scene given how frustrating this conclusion must be for her, but fortunately she seemed to have abandoned all expectations before even entering the conference hall. She simply let out a hollow laugh and buried her head in the desk.
“Phew…”
Relief washed over me. I exhaled a long, deep breath.
Hot breath escaped my lips in wisps. My fever must be quite high. But as a participant, I had to rise and applaud as well. That was protocol. That was mere formality.
“…!”
But as I tried to stand, my vision tilted. The lights hadn’t dimmed, yet my sight flickered. I nearly collapsed, barely catching myself on the table, when I felt hands supporting me.
“Rosalite, are you alright!”
I’m clearly not alright, so stop making a fuss. My head is spinning.
Because the man had raised his voice, I felt the attention of everyone in the conference hall turn toward me. Seeing that my condition was visibly poor, the Crown Prince showed signs of concern, and Lucilucil came rushing over from the Largol delegation section.
Good grief, I could just quietly leave and rest. Why does he have to make such a scene out of this?
“Glen, as you can see, I’m not feeling well at the moment.”
“That’s exactly why I suggested you skip the conference and rest. Are you certain you’re alright?”
“I’ll delegate my full authority to you. I’m going to rest now. If I don’t wake up by today, leave only Aster behind and return to the Mainland. There must be work piling up at the Mansion.”
“How could I possibly leave you behind and depart first!”
Just go. Working is what helps me. It’s probably just a cold. A day or two of proper rest and I’ll be fine. Besides, I could use the break.
“And, Lucilucil.”
“What is it? Do you have a request?”
“If you call a priest because I’m sick, I’ll die.”
Medicine and rest are better. If they call a priest for a cold, the virus will rage and I’ll suffer even more.
My mind was growing hazy from the fever, and I was beginning to want nothing more than to rest and let everything go. I caught a glimpse of Luke looking worried about me. I mustered my last bit of strength to speak.
“And… Luke.”
“Yes, yes, Rosalite! Do you have orders for me?”
“You…”
I slowly settled into my chair and prepared to close my eyes. Once I finish saying this, I can sleep. I’ll just collapse and rest.
“Luke, you…”
“Yes.”
“Listen well to Father.”
Somehow Luke seemed to have that dead look in his eyes again. But that was no longer my concern, and I kept my eyes firmly shut, waiting only to be moved to bed.

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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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