Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 183

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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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#Episode 21: Twenty-Three-Year-Old Rosalite’s Indulgence

I had done it. I had actually done it. This was the triumph of meticulous preparation, the fortune of identifying the loopholes in the regression principle, and the victory of a flawless manual. The manual was useful. The manual was magnificent. Through it, we had successfully captured Celin, the root of all evil.
Though I would have gladly killed her a thousand times over without satisfaction, whether Celin’s death would truly end the regression remained uncertain, and above all, since Serena did not desire Celin’s death, I had no choice but to persuade her to seal the mana and halt the regression.
Of course, Jack’s ability was absolutely essential to this persuasion. Once one entered Jack’s workplace, any human would have no choice but to bare the truth.
Eager to finish my work quickly and gather people to examine Celin, I flipped through the anemone situation report that had come up from the Border Anemone Region, and stamped the document as proof of receipt.
I had anticipated the emergence of trolls who would cause problems by thawing the perfectly frozen anemones, but I never imagined that nearby villages would organize a Vigilante Group to guard the area on their own.
Who would have thought that in the meantime, the anemones had become a tourism revenue source for the border village? Though I suppose that region had little else to profit from. In the Noyetram Duchy, wars broke out frequently enough to keep the mercenary business thriving, but only a portion of the population could be conscripted as full-time soldiers.
For people who had been scraping by with farming, it must have felt like salvation. Next time, I should tell Duke Neitram to solidify the paved roads all the way to the villages near the anemones. Better roads meant more tourists.
“Jack! Leon! Let’s go!”
“Yes, Sister!”
“Oh my, I’m looking forward to this. They say she’s quite the formidable mage. I wonder how long she’ll last.”
Jack, I don’t like that grin of yours. Can’t you smile differently?
I stamped the final document and stood, calling the children. Since all relevant parties were planning to observe, I now needed to call William, and Serena and Papa would already be there. I just needed to gather Peter.
Sighing heavily due to my complicated feelings, I was about to leave the Office when Glen suddenly called out to me.
“Rosalite. Where are you going again?”
“I can’t say. If there’s any overtime work, handle it later. Thank you for your efforts.”
“Wait, just a moment! I wish you would at least tell me where you’re going. Lately, you’ve been taking Leon and Jack with you so often that I’ve been anxious….”
“Do I need to report to you about everywhere I go and everything I do?”
“….”
What? Is he saying I should report to him?
I already had a headache, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that Glen was holding me back. I didn’t want to inform anyone except those directly involved about what I was about to do. Jack was also unrelated to this incident, but he was accompanying me out of necessity to make Celin talk.
I didn’t want Glen to know about this incident, and he absolutely shouldn’t know. I knew what kind of harm could befall him if he became involved. Because of that, I couldn’t help but sharpen my tone when I spoke.
“You don’t need to know. You shouldn’t know.”
“…I apologize. I overstepped my bounds.”
Good. I’m relieved he understands.
I nodded in acknowledgment and left the Office. Leon continued to cling to me disgustingly, rubbing his face against me and his chest against me, doing all manner of repulsive things, and I simply surrendered one of my arms to him as if I had lost it entirely.
“Um, Young Lady. I hesitate to say this since you seem upset, but…”
What? I’m not angry. Just speak. I’m merely feeling a bit melancholic. The situation is what it is. We’ve achieved our goal of capturing Celin, but I haven’t even determined what to do next or what direction to take. This is troublesome. So very troublesome.
At my lament, Jack hesitated for a long while before finally approaching me and whispering in my ear.
“You made a mistake, Young Lady.”
“What did I do now?!”
This time I was genuinely angry and burst out loudly, and Jack covered his ears and frowned.
“You’re taking me to torture someone. You could have just said one thing, and it would have been settled. It wasn’t even that important.”
“How is this not important?! And how was I supposed to tell Glen that we’re all going to torture someone?! Are you an idiot? You absolute idiot!”
“What’s wrong with torture! Torture is a noble profession! I have professional pride in what I do!”
“Well, that’s admirable, I’ll grant you! But how on earth do you tell Glen about that!”
You’re going to work your way up from under his fingernails. It terrifies me. How do you tell Glen you’re about to start torturing him from his fingernails? If Glen throws a fit and collapses, are you taking responsibility?
As I fired back rapidly, Jack seemed to concede some points, yet refused to budge on the matter that I was in the wrong.
“Still. Cutting things off so bluntly was too much. There are prettier ways to say these things, aren’t there? Glen seemed quite hurt by it.”
“Huh? Glen was hurt?”
“Of course. Let’s just be grateful he doesn’t run away again.”
What? Which part hurt his feelings? Why does he keep getting upset without my permission?
“I don’t understand… I just don’t get Glen.”
“Men’s hearts are complicated.”
“Women’s hearts are complicated too, you idiot.”
“The Young Lady doesn’t seem complicated at all.”
This man just keeps dragging out the conversation with his quips!
I kicked Jack’s shin hard and headed toward the Rabbit Enclosure. This time, Aster and Peter had made quite the contribution. I’d circulated an order to ring the emergency bell the moment Celin was found, but I never expected them to see through her concealment magic and alert everyone to the emergency.
As a reward, I gave Aster a free pass to any restaurant in Rocksburg Territory for the day, and granted Peter a cow that had been raised eating apples from the grain-fed orchard.
Both of them were obsessed with food, so they were thrilled with their rewards, and Aster had taken the day off to devastate Rocksburg’s restaurants.
And Peter had finished butchering by now, lying down patting his belly contentedly. How nice that you’re so carefree. Animals live to eat, sleep, and play.
“Come on. You’re involved too, so you need to come see Celin.”
“Squeeeak!”
“What do you mean involved? Why is Peter involved in the first place?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“There you go again, putting up walls.”
Hey, is that how you talk to your master? I scolded Jack, but he seemed to have accumulated quite a lot, so he picked at my conduct and brought up the wounds Glen must have suffered.
We’re supposedly a married couple, yet we have too many secrets. I’m not saying we should bare everything, but shouldn’t we share what we can? If you keep putting up walls and making people anxious, even a thousand years of love will cool. At this rate, Glen will run away. Without Glen, who will marry me? And so on and so forth.
The nagging went on at length, and I wanted to cover my ears, but Leon, who had been quietly clinging to my arm, interjected.
“Marriage is fine. Sister can just keep me by her side for life.”
“That’s creepy.”
“I hear that often.”
“It’s really creepy.”
“I hear that too.”
These two get along well. While they were grappling and fighting again, I grabbed Peter’s fur and climbed up.
Oh, oh my, so this is what riding a rabbit feels like. I’d wanted to try it for ages, and the timing worked out perfectly. Since I don’t have to worry about Elizabeth’s eyes now, I should ride Peter.
“Let’s go, Peter! Jack’s torture chamber is that way!”
“Squeeeak!”
Since it’s in the basement, you won’t be able to go inside, but let’s go anyway. It’s important to participate in these things, at least for the sake of formality.
Formality, procedure, protocol. These are all precious things to Rocksburg. Now that you’re a proper retainer of Rocksburg, I hope you’ll come to understand their value.
I arrived at the gathering place and dismounted from Peter. As I headed down to the basement where the Torture Chamber was located, Serena and Sage were already there, along with Will Brown whom I’d summoned in advance, and Peter was forcing his face through a window in the semi-basement.
So now we need to have a proper conversation through violence…
With that resolve, I decided to start by removing Celin’s ridiculous mask.

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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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