Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 198
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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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That’s right. It’s your mouth that’s the problem. Your mouth has always been the problem. And how exactly did you slip into the crowd like this? Do you really think that tall frame and handsome face will go unnoticed?
Just look at my father—he’s trembling because he lost his spot as the most handsome middle-aged man at the party. If we’re not careful, he’ll be thrown out of the venue. Let’s get out of here quickly.
I grabbed Sage’s hand and tried to drag him toward the guest lounge, but this man had so many questions on the way. Where did Grandmother’s dog come from, he’d heard it was an exhibition so why was there a party, and more importantly, what were these chains and shackles around my neck and wrists?
I kept reassuring the chattering Sage that I’d explain everything later as we walked, but somehow the number of people following us kept increasing.
Leon and Jack were the first to catch up with me. Since Jack was chasing after me, Glen also lingered and fell into line. As we all rushed forward together, Mother grew curious and followed, and when Mother moved, Father joined the procession as well.
The entire household of the party’s host family couldn’t be crammed into the guest lounge together. I stood calmly in front of the lounge and announced that I was about to discuss something important, so everyone except those directly involved should return to the dance hall. The responses from those gathered were quite a sight.
“Sister. We are already one body. We must be together wherever we go.”
“That’s right. If we separate from you, we may not be able to respond in case of emergency.”
You two are right. Leon and Jack can’t be separated from me. You pass.
“I, I am Rosalite’s husband, am I not! Husband and wife are… are one!”
Hmm, now that I think about it, that’s also true. Then Glen passes as well.
“The primary person involved in this matter is me, isn’t it, Rosie? If you need to discuss something with Sage, it’s definitely about Celin.”
That’s… certainly true. I’d need Mother’s opinion to formulate a plan. So I was about to suggest accepting only Mother and having Father continue his role as host in the dance hall, but Father’s expression didn’t change at all as he spoke firmly.
“This is my house. If you’re going to exclude only me, then I’m leaving.”
This man really loves being told to leave the house. He wrote reflection essays for twenty years over one wrong word, and here he goes again.
The moment Mother heard that, as if her trauma had been triggered, she trembled and apologized to Eddie, while Father in turn told Maria it wasn’t directed at her and embraced her, begging forgiveness.
Good grief, this household. The way things turn around here is absolute chaos.
“Hey Doctor, you said you wanted to keep the time reversal secret. Is it okay for this many people to be involved?”
“Ah, well, everything except my identity has been exposed. There was an… unfortunate incident after Sage left.”
“An unfortunate incident? Did something serious happen?”
Ah… I wasn’t sure whether to explain this or not. If the suicide incident became the topic of conversation again, the story wouldn’t progress. I tried to coax them into waiting and head into the lounge, but the ceiling tile suddenly slid open, startling me so badly that I quickly embraced Glen.
“I’ll explain that.”
Will Brown, what are you doing coming out of there! He appeared from a secret passage in the house I didn’t even know about, jumped down and landed, prompting Leon to cheer while Jack complained about the dust.
What, seriously, this guy isn’t a ninja assassin or anything. Why are you coming down from the ceiling, from the ceiling! I thought my heart was going to drop!
“Our young mistress, who couldn’t see even an inch ahead, caused quite a commotion trying to confirm whether time had reversed. The suicide attempt failed, and afterward our young mistress became a person under limited guardianship within the Duchy and can only move about with at least one guardian accompanying her. The chain around her neck is evidence of being scammed into a contract and becoming the next battery, or so I’m told. Since I’m not well-versed in dark magic, I don’t know the details.”
“What?! Doctor tried to die?!”
I knew this would happen. Upon hearing Will’s brief explanation, Papa burst into tears and patted my back repeatedly. Why would you try to die, he cried, saying he’d promised to check on your condition when he returned, couldn’t you wait, and eventually he held me and wept while the Duke’s face grew increasingly crumpled.
“Oh my, Doctor, my one and only daughter! What am I supposed to do without you! How am I supposed to live, driving a nail through my heart like this!”
Excuse me. Please calm down. Your biological father is glaring over there. If you keep calling me Doctor any more, Maria might step in.
“Until now, I’ve held back because the relationship seemed beneficial to Rosalite.”
“Oh, let’s go inside! The outside will be fine if we leave it to William and Brown anyway! No one will care that we’ve disappeared for a bit! They won’t, I’m sure! Come on, let’s go in. Father and Mother, let’s all go in!”
“You only look for Father when you need something.”
“Oh my! Rosie called me Mother, Eddie!”
Yes, I’m an ungrateful daughter who only seeks Father when I need him, so let’s just go in.
Since these weren’t people who would leave when told to, I brought everyone into the lounge, seated Father in the place of honor to lift his spirits, and asked Sage about the recent circumstances of the great mages.
The people in this room know about my regression, but they don’t know that I’m Rosalite’s successor from another world, so when I asked Sage to somehow leave that part out, he readily agreed.
Phew, I’m glad this man is so simple and kind. Most people could use this as leverage for blackmail or to secure their own interests. Since my position would become difficult, he simply nodded, saying he naturally wouldn’t speak of it.
“Well, to put it simply in terms of results.”
“In terms of?”
“Celin escaped.”
Well… that much seemed inevitable. Otherwise, how could two of the world’s greatest mages have shown up at our doorstep looking like beggars? The important part wasn’t the result but the process. Father seemed to share my sentiment, asking how exactly that woman Celin had managed to escape.
“Hey Duke, why do you always speak informally to me? I’m considerably older than you, and even though I renounced my title long ago, I was once a high noble.”
“Now you’re nothing but a commoner dabbling in crude magic.”
“It’s magic, not mere tricks! And what do you mean ‘commoner dabbling’?! You think commoners are beneath you?! Without commoners like me, this nation wouldn’t function!”
“I’m well aware. I merely use such language to belittle and mock you. It’s telling that you can’t even grasp that much—it speaks volumes about the standards of the Magic Tower.”
“Hey! Get outside! Let’s fight!”
Oh, would you two please stop fighting already, you old fools! Because they couldn’t settle things during the “First Tripartite Confrontation,” they keep looking for excuses to brawl. And while back then Sage was looking out for Father, now that Mother has returned to his side, if they fight, one of them will definitely die.
“If you keep fighting, I won’t hesitate to have all my assets transferred to the Alein Royal Family.”
At my words, Father clamped his mouth shut. Sage, who didn’t understand what I meant, received an explanation from Leon and immediately pressed his own lips together, his expression turning alarmed.
Good, finally some peace. Now we could finally have a civilized discussion.
“Then I’ll ask the first question from my side. How did Celin manage to escape?”
“Well, you see…”
Sage ruffled and destroyed the aristocratic hairstyle the maids had painstakingly arranged, continuing his explanation.
“Serena said she wouldn’t burden anyone and left. So we thought we’d show her to the Largol Priest before departing, and we boarded a ship.”
“Yes. I anticipated that much.”
Celin clearly needed immediate treatment, and no one was better suited to healing wounds than the Largol Priest. Serena Kim’s judgment was sound. We departed immediately and Largol soon declared war, but… the temple wouldn’t turn away a patient who came seeking aid, and I’d given Sage more than enough travel funds, so there should have been plenty to donate.
“That woman Celin recovered from treatment and suddenly sprang up, spouting nonsense about being a prophet of the Zoroab Religion.”
“What?”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
“What did you say?”
“This insane woman?”
“What do you mean?”
A prophet? In religious terms, a prophet means someone who makes prophecies or conveys the word of God, doesn’t it? That woman is connected to the Zoroab Religion? Wait, hold on. Now that I think about it, didn’t Father say that the manifestation structure of dark magic has the same form as how the Largol Priests use holy power? Could it be related to that?
“So after she nearly died and came back spouting nonsense, the Zoroab priests wept and revered her, saying their prophet had returned.”
“…Why?”
“Because Celin is the one who invented that religion.”
“…”
Unbelievable… what kind of ridiculous situation is this? A foreign nation’s religion that’s been going on for centuries was created by just one person?
“Based on what Tick-Tock observed, she imitated it and it actually worked, so she was laughing about it. Anyway, she barely escaped with her life while fleeing from that den of priests.”
Well… that’s understandable. I can’t exactly blame the great mages for this. Who could have predicted that the place she went for treatment would be a den filled with her own followers? Besides, those priests had such fervent faith and self-conviction that just a few signs shown by Celin were enough for them to make a fuss about their prophet’s return and even bring her to the Pope.
Sigh… that woman really is something. When Serena said she wouldn’t burden anyone and was taking Largol with her, she must have been holding back her laughter the whole time. It was practically the same as saying she was setting her free—she must have been furious.
“Still! That woman won’t be able to use any more magic! I put my heart and soul into this restraint! Only I can undo it!”
That’s something we’ll only know when the time comes. That woman might very well devise some other method.
In any case, it was only natural that Papa and Serena ended up looking like beggars afterward. They were chased by the priests within Largol, and ship passage was cut off because of the sudden war with Alein. Serena used her power to freeze the sea surface for several days to reach Alein, so it’s no wonder they looked like beggars.
After Sage finished his additional explanation, silence filled the rest room.
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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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