Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 166

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

A chill crept down my spine. What in the world is that man doing? Honestly frightened, I made a deliberate effort to avoid approaching him, circling the bed instead as I moved toward Rosalite.
The woman lay there drenched in sweat, her face contorted in discomfort. If only she would stop being so stubborn and call a priest—the whole thing could be resolved in an instant.
“Please don’t call a priest.”
“You’re scared, so keep your mouth shut.”
How can I think straight when I’m terrified? I tried my best to empty my mind as I picked up the towel beside the bed. No matter how many times I wiped her forehead, beads of sweat continued to form. Her fever seemed quite high.
I wanted to do something to help, but there was nothing I could do in the moment—it was maddening.
“You should just leave.”
Keep quiet. How many times must I say I’m frightened?
There’s no reasoning with this guard. Where is that man who wore the gas mask? Has he disappeared?
I glanced around the room and confirmed that only this white-clad guard remained. I abandoned all hope. Regrettably, this was where I had to part ways with Rosalite. I would have to look forward to our next meeting.
Annoyed that Rosalite showed no signs of waking, I pinched her cheek and left the room. Shortly after, the useless fellow who had gone to fetch the spare cane returned.
In one of the man’s hands was a worn, well-used old cane, and in the other, a gleaming, pristine new one. There was only one obvious choice for me.
“Much obliged. I’ll enjoy playing with this.”
“Wait, just a moment. Weren’t you supposed to take the spare?”
“No. I prefer this one.”
“Actually, if I use the new cane, I’ll have blisters for quite some time.”
“So what?”
“Ah… never mind.”
How endearing.
Charmed by the useless fellow’s pitiful expression, I patted his head affectionately and encouraged him to stay strong. Rosalite’s younger brother must be quite the cunning fox, but hold on just until you come to our estate. I promise to improve your circumstances considerably.
I twirled the cane he had given me as I headed toward the ship. Things would be busy for a while. Until we meet again, I pray that everyone in Rocksburg remains in good health.
This is important enough that I should even offer a prayer to the Joraab Faith.

◇ ◆ ◇

On the ship returning to Largol, I felt a profound emptiness settle over me. Perhaps it was the hollowness of solitude after playing so freely among Rosalite’s bustling family.
It seemed Marius felt the same way. When I suggested we share a conversation, he readily agreed and sent word that he would bring wine from Rohil. I twirled the cane gifted to me by that fool, waiting for Marius to arrive.
On the journey to Rohil, I had suffered such terrible seasickness that sleep eluded me entirely. Yet today, strangely, my body felt remarkably well. Perhaps it was because my heart was at ease.
“Older Brother, I shall enter.”
This damned fool enters without even being invited, as if he owns the place.
Marius wore an unfamiliar smile as he sat before me and uncorked the wine he’d brought. Since he’d promised to bring alcohol, I had prepared glasses and ice beforehand. He laughed heartily as he poured wine into my glass.
“I’m so glad I came to Rohil. I never imagined I could spend my entire life with you like this, so freely and without pretense.”
“We had no contact with each other before. Because of Mother.”
“I feel only gratitude toward the Rocksburg Young Lady. Besides, since Mother disappeared, my heart has been troubled…”
This fool still believes Empress Aidemoc simply vanished? Well, the Emperor did announce only that the Empress had disappeared. But news of Mother’s death would have reached not only those in high positions, but certainly the ears of the Fourth Prince, Nerva.
I had always thought him foolish, but I never imagined it was to this degree. What exactly did Mother intend to do after placing this idiot on the throne? No matter how much power she wielded from behind the scenes, no matter how much of a puppet emperor he became, there had to be limits.
With such stupidity, he couldn’t even perform the role of a puppet satisfactorily.
“Haha.”
“Is something amusing, Older Brother?”
No. I’m just laughing at myself. Laughing at how you’ve hurt me, how I’ve struggled and agonized with Mother, making me feel like an idiot and a fool.
“Ah, while you were visiting the sick, I purchased something…”
He innocently smiled as he produced a glass bottle. Inside it was coral sand, with text in Cerepian script claiming it was sand that grants wishes.
“It’s a souvenir from a gift shop. I thought it would be nice to share it with you as a memento of visiting Rohil.”
Now I understood perfectly why this fool was so beloved. His stupidity had transcended all bounds and become endearing.
Mother has vanished, contact with the Heresy Leader has been severed, my standing in the Imperial Court has crumbled, and yet this fool boards my ship alone, boards my very cabin without the slightest sense of danger, and presents me with a gift.
“Haha, hahaha.”
Laughter was all that escaped me. If I’d known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have wasted money on paralytic drugs that leave no trace after death. This bastard—even if I stabbed him right now, he’d probably die without understanding why.
It was unpleasant, yet laughter came. To laugh even in such a foul mood—this Rohil excursion has proven quite the educational experience. Truly a trip with excellent value.
“…Older Brother?”
Remembering something, I drew the sword from the cane that fool had given me. I pressed the blade against Marius’s chest and pushed hard. He fumbled, grasping the blade with his bare hands. Blood streamed from his palms, pooling on the floor. Truly, is he not a complete fool?
“Older Brother, wait, it hurts. Older Brother…”
Of course it hurts. I rose from my seat and drove the blade deeper. The sensation of piercing flesh and fracturing bone transmitted vividly through my hands.
“I don’t understand. I truly don’t understand why you’re doing this, Older Brother.”
That has always been your problem. Why, every time, constantly, again and again—do you only ever claim ignorance? Ignorance solves nothing. There is far too much in this world that must be understood.
“Please… Older Brother, save me. Save me, please, save me…”
Marius did not resist. Whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t, he only begged for his life, blood welling up and spilling from his mouth.
I have reasons to kill you, but there’s no need for you to know them. I had justification—concern that my mother, the woman who murdered my own father, might have revealed all her secrets to you. But you have lived your entire life knowing nothing, so it was fitting that you go to your grave knowing nothing as well. I had no desire to tell you.
Because I despised you. From the very first moment we met.
When Mother, who had never once smiled at me, held you in her arms and smiled as if she possessed the entire world—from that moment, I loathed you with unbearable intensity.
The love I yearned for and strived for my entire life, the love I could never obtain—you accepted it as though it were your birthright, as though it were naturally yours.
“Marius, I… you…”
I envied you.
Mother worried about you until the very end. Even as she died by my hand, she begged only for your life to be spared.
I know everything, but I will tell you nothing. I know well that a human body cannot survive such profuse bleeding, yet I had no intention of releasing this blade.
My younger brother, so remarkably similar to me, finally fell silent. The strength drained from the hand gripping the blade. With a dull thud, Marius’s head drooped, and his body, unable to support itself, collapsed to the floor in a sprawl.
I didn’t need to check—I already knew he was dead. How many had I killed with these hands? I wasn’t about to fail recognizing one.
I withdrew the blade from its sheath and returned it to my cane, then tossed it aside carelessly. Since I wouldn’t be able to rest here, I turned to leave the guest room when something caught beneath my foot. I glanced down at the glimmering object—coral sand that Marius had brought back as a souvenir.
『….』
I crushed the glass vial beneath my heel. The fragile glass shattered into countless fragments, and sand scattered across the floor.
That he would bring back such a thing and insist on sharing it—I could never comprehend such a man.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————