Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 205

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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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Wow, how many years has it been since I last visited this place?
I hummed a cheerful tune as I gazed upon the Imperial Palace, unchanged as ever. The last time I’d been here was at eighteen—had five years truly passed already?
In that time, our Royal Palace in Aleine had been outfitted with brilliant streetlamps throughout every corner and even equipped communal washing machines for the servants in every building. Seeing the Largol Imperial Palace with not a shred of progress made the song flow naturally from my lips.
Leon and Jack seemed less overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the palace than astonished by how it preserved ancient relics in their original state. They looked like tourists visiting a historical site.
Aleine, with its limited habitable territory, tended to tear things down and redevelop whenever boredom struck. Unless one ventured all the way down to the Demon Crystal Mine District, finding anything from the old days was nearly impossible. Still, for children, such antiquity might prove fascinating.
“Sister! Sister, look at that! A manual pump! There’s an actual manual pump still in use here!”
“Young master, didn’t you do household chores with that when you were younger?”
“Why are you bringing up ancient history!”
“Ah, well. Isn’t preserving such things all about maintaining old charm? It’s a matter of cultural difference. Cultural difference, you see.”
“No matter how you spin it, a manual pump is still unacceptable! That thing is humanity’s enemy!”
Leon, you certainly are sensitive about manual pumps. Come to think of it, there was that one time—I can’t recall which loop it was—when you cried about how difficult hand-washing laundry was in winter.
That had been long before my regression point at sixteen, so it must still be etched in your childhood memories. I could sympathize with the sentiment.
“Still, when I visited before, the imperial family was using all the latest conveniences. We shouldn’t lack for comfort during our stay.”
“But why do only they get to use them? And they don’t have rebellions?”
“Largol’s imperial authority is supposedly incredibly strong. We can hardly imagine it, but I’ve heard that one misspoken word to the Emperor means losing your head.”
“Even so, that’s just wrong. Servants aren’t even considered people.”
“From what I learned in my neighboring nations history class, they apparently weren’t classified as people.”
“My goodness. I didn’t know—Lucilucil must be quite an accomplished person.”
So you’ve been thinking of Largol’s First Prince as incompetent this whole time?
Hmm… now that I thought about it, Jack was making me anxious. Even with grievances, he’d have to swallow them. One careless word in the Imperial Palace could literally cost him his head. Leon would surely conduct himself properly, but Jack… I couldn’t trust him without precautions.
“Jack Brown, I’m afraid I must temporarily revoke your freedom of speech within the Imperial Palace.”
“Why?!”
“So you don’t end up dead.”
“Is this place really swarming with people like Sage?”
That wasn’t quite it… I needed to stay quiet until we could rendezvous with the Celine Subjugation Team.
As I patiently explained my reasoning and urged him to behave, Jack nodded despite his pouting expression.
“But once Maria and the mages arrive, I’m doing whatever I want. I’ll have plenty stored up by then.”
“Fine, fine. I won’t stop you until then.”
Just what was this fool planning to accumulate?
As we exchanged idle chatter, we entered the First Prince’s Palace where Lucilucil had stayed in times past, and I noticed several changes from those days.
First, there was an enormous pile of gift boxes stacked before the entrance, and the garden ornamental trees had been completely replaced with far more expensive varieties. It seemed his circumstances had improved since becoming Crown Prince. Those gift boxes were undoubtedly bribes.
Now that Lucilucil had become Crown Prince and his only rival, the Fourth Prince, had vanished, his authority must be reaching the heavens. Nobles would be scrambling to curry favor, as would members of both the Zoraab Orthodox Church and the Heretical Sect, and those who’d previously supported the Fourth Prince would be switching allegiances en masse.
He’d invaded another nation and now this place was entirely his domain. Entirely.
I clicked my tongue in disapproval as I descended from the carriage, only to have the First Prince’s Palace staff separate Leon and Jack from me.
“We shall conduct a background investigation and confiscate their weapons before allowing them entry. Please go ahead and rest, Young Lady.”
Well… from the palace’s perspective, Leon and Jack might seem suspicious, so the procedure seemed justified. But why were they calling me “Young Lady”? Lucilucil must have given them orders to attend to me, yet they didn’t even know my name or family?
I was deeply displeased, but since I’d committed to behaving properly in the Imperial Palace, I decided to let it slide. However, there was one thing I absolutely had to clarify.
“I’m not a young lady. I’m a married woman.”
“…..”
“My name is Glen Hofen Rocksburg, and I have a very devoted husband.”
“By His Majesty’s orders, we’ve prepared the bathwater for you.”
Why are you pretending not to hear me? Honestly, that priest earlier and this maidservant now—why do people in this Empire have such terrible manners?
But! I! Won’t get angry! Because I promised Papa that I’d hold myself together until we meet again!
Swallowing my rising temper with great effort, I waved goodbye to Leon and Jack, then followed the maidservants’ guidance. The clothing styles here were still a bewildering blend of Byzantine and Southeast Asian aesthetics.
“Here we are.”
Ah, now that I think about it, Largol truly had excellent water. Lucilucil used to boast that water was free everywhere in Largol, and indeed, the groundwater quality on this continent was exceptional. Unlike Aleine, where most water was limestone-heavy and required purification before drinking, Largol’s clean water flowed abundantly without any treatment—bathing here left the skin remarkably smooth.
This was the one thing I’d been anticipating since arriving. I’d hoped to experience a bath comparable to Spaland in Rocksburg Territory. Besides, when I’d visited before, I’d only used the guest room and never had the chance to see the grand bathhouse. This time, I intended to soak thoroughly.
I hadn’t bathed properly in days, just as Lucilucil had pointed out, and eager to wash, I stretched my arms wide with the shackles jingling, prompting stifled giggles among the maidservants.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you undressing me?”
“My apologies. We’ve never encountered Aleine clothing before…..”
“Are you actually bragging about your ignorance to me?”
I’d never seen such poorly trained women. The maidservants I’d met when I was eighteen were incredibly efficient. Why had the quality of servants declined so much? Did this man recruit hastily after becoming Crown Prince?
When I asked genuinely curious, one of the silent maidservants stepped forward and undressed me. Well, at least they’d assigned one competent attendant. With my hands restrained, I nearly tore my clothes and jumped straight into the water.
With the maidservant’s help, I removed the front panel, then the back panel, carefully cut away the parts that couldn’t be removed otherwise, stripped off my undergarments, and entered the grand bathhouse. After having the maidservants wash me thoroughly and sinking into the tub with my shackles jingling, I found paradise itself.
“Ahhhhh, this is heavenly!”
Oh my, I thought I’d die from running around the water channel since dawn. The exhaustion melted away so easily.
By the way, what are these flowers scattered in the bath? They ignored my request for a flower carriage, yet they’ve gone absolutely wild with flowers in the water.
Floating leisurely in water filled with chrysanthemums, roses, and every fragrant flower imaginable, I heard the door open and pushed myself toward the bathing steps. Resting my arms on the railing and poking my head above the water, I saw Lucilucil approaching—the one who’d left in such a hurry earlier.
“Oh, Lucilucil! It seems your urgent business is finished!”
So he’d come to watch me bathe, I thought, waving my hands playfully. The man crouched right in front of me and made another strange expression.
“I’ve been wondering for a while now—does Rosalite have no sense of shame?”
“Is this a situation where I should feel shame?”
“…Generally speaking? A grown woman? Naked? Wouldn’t she naturally?”
“If that’s the concern, I’m a married woman, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I see…..”
What’s with that world-weary expression again? Lucilucil sighed heavily watching me kick my feet against the railing, then continued with that same bitter expression as before.
“The thing is… there’s no one here but you and me, right?”
“That’s right. I dismissed all the maidservants.”
“A sense of danger, or something like that…..”
“…..”
…Ah! Now I finally understand what he means!
Oh yes, oh yes, okay, I got it, that’s right. You mean that, right?
An adult man and woman alone in a closed room, the woman naked, the bathwater steaming hot and humid, the tension between them rising and falling, creating that rosy romantic atmosphere—that’s what you mean!
I got it! I understand perfectly! I can read the room!
I grabbed Lucilucil by the collar—who seemed oddly resigned—and with a loud cry, dragged him into the bathwater. The unsuspecting man splashed into the water with a loud plunge, and after gulping down some of the rose-scented water with gurgling sounds, he angrily demanded what I was doing.
What am I doing? I’m reading the room, obviously.
I quickly repositioned myself and climbed over the man who was now leaning against the bathhouse wall, settling onto his lap. As I sat on Lucilucil’s knees, the soaking wet man made yet another bewildered expression.
“You said you’d make me Empress. How is this a crisis?”
What a ridiculous fellow. He proposes making me Empress, yet fails to anticipate a situation like this? No wonder he’s been married twice and still has no proper heir to show for it.
I laughed, pressing my forehead against Lucilucil’s wet hair, when suddenly he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. His tongue pushed past my parted lips, probing sensitive places with deliberate pressure. As I accepted his caress, mingling our tongues, the man stiffened momentarily before swallowing hard and seeking deeper.
After some time of wet, squelching sounds, his hands and lips began trailing downward, but for some reason, he simply pressed his teeth firmly against my collarbone once, made a soft sucking sound, and pulled away.
“What are you scheming?”
“Have you ever seen someone with schemes loudly proclaim they have schemes?”
“How irritating, Rosalite.”
“Your praise is sweet, Lucilucil.”
Ow! That hurts! Why do you keep biting me!
Lucilucil, displeased about something, bit my neck hard enough to leave marks, then lifted me up while still embracing me and carried me outside.
“What is this? If you’re leaving, go alone. I’m staying in the water longer.”
“I don’t like feeling wronged.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Is that how you speak to the Crown Prince of the Great Largol Empire?”
“Ha ha.”
Fine. That settles the debt from earlier. I let out a scoff that mingled exasperation and mockery, and the man, apparently quite displeased, had an attendant toss me aside before leaving to meet with all the Rocksburg people at dinner time.
Well, well… it seems my business here isn’t finished yet. Still, even if both capitals are at peace, we’re in wartime now, so he must have much to attend to. The fact that he’s making time for me in the evening is something.
His proposal to headhunt me as Empress was genuine, after all. Otherwise, why would he carve out work hours to spend with me? I’ll have to tell Jack for certain when I see him later—Lucilucil’s proposal to make me Empress was sincere.

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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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