Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 223

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

No! Lucilucil can’t die! He can’t! What am I supposed to do with a corpse at home!
In my urgency, I shouted, “Electromagnetic conversion, manual control, release.” I was grateful the decorative sword’s blade was made of iron. As I manipulated the sword to cut through the ropes binding Lucilucil, my clumsy control left a long gash across his body.
But that wasn’t the problem. If I’d just cut his bonds, he should’ve run over here immediately—why was he just standing there like an idiot?
“Run, Lucilucil! What are you doing!”
“Well, that is… over there…”
The man stood motionless, indifferent to whether he was a sacrifice or anything else, lost in thought. Then he opened his mouth with an expression of deep suspicion.
“Why are you here?”
“To beat up Pope Grandmother, and while I’m at it, rescue you.”
“So… why are you rescuing me?”
“What do you mean why? Should I just let you die?”
“You… you don’t have a conscience or sense of justice, do you?”
“I do have a conscience and sense of justice, but that’s not why I came here, so let’s pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“So… why do you want to rescue me?”
“To take you home with me.”
What? Why is everyone like this? Did I say something strange?
It wasn’t just Lucilucil who looked at me with that bewildered expression. Jack, Leon, Papa, Mother—even Pope Grandmother asked me what I meant.
Sigh, this is going to take forever to explain from the beginning. As I said this, Papa shouted at Pope Grandmother.
“Listen here, Grandmother! I want to hear this—can’t you wait just a moment!”
“Very well. A temporary truce then. I do enjoy hearing about other people’s love affairs.”
Ha, these people are hilarious. Everyone was so curious about my story that they lowered their weapons, and Pope Grandmother even ordered the heretical priests to wait a moment.
Wow… now that they’ve made space for me, I feel embarrassed for some reason.
“Well, you see, I’m going to become the Rocksburg Duke. I already have a husband. I can’t easily leave Aleine.”
“Right. That’s true. Our Doctor is going to become the Duke.”
“And Lucilucil was the Crown Prince, wasn’t he? He’ll become Emperor someday. He can’t easily leave Largol either.”
“Oh my, is that so? Is this some kind of love story between a Crown Prince and a young duchess that transcends borders?”
“So for various reasons, the situation wasn’t good and our circumstances didn’t match, so I was giving up. But then this opportunity came along.”
I’d explained most of the reasons for what I was doing, but people still didn’t seem to understand. Goodness, these people need everything spelled out from A to Z. They really don’t understand a woman’s heart.
“Listen carefully. If I support the Fourth Prince and put him on the throne, then naturally Lucilucil will be deposed as Crown Prince. Given Prince Nerva’s temperament, he’ll ostensibly exile him and later eliminate him as a precaution. Either way, in this state, Lucilucil would be a stateless person with no royal status whatsoever.”
“…That’s true?”
“If he’s stateless, there’s no problem bringing him home. Even if he’s listed as a stateless person of unknown identity, if I take as my consort someone who was once the Empire’s Crown Prince, it won’t tarnish my husband Glen’s honor. Rather, people will say that despite having the once-great Lucius Crown Prince, Glen maintained his position as First, and they’ll praise him for it.”
“Hmm… this isn’t the fresh, innocent romance I was hoping for.”
“Once I bring him home, I’ll go through the marriage ceremony five or six times, and if things don’t work out, I’ll divorce him. I’ll leave him on the roadside—he can fend for himself.”
“Doctor, I didn’t want to say this, but you really…”
“That’s garbage. Once you pick something up, you should take responsibility and care for it to the end.”
“Rosie, I’ve never met anyone with a worse personality than Eddie.”
“That’s fine, Sister. I love you even with your terrible personality.”
Why?! This is a deal where both sides benefit—why am I being treated like garbage!
If fortune favored me, I could keep Lucilucil in his household and see him for the rest of my life, and if my future husband proved trustworthy, I could entrust Rocksburg’s soldiers to him. Edanelli boasted many who could be called elite, and both Noctram and Bienar commanded well-organized armies—in this regard, it was undeniable that Rocksburg fell short.
Lucilucil had extensive experience commanding the Imperial forces and an impressive track record, so if I entrusted Rocksburg’s soldiers to him, he could develop them rapidly.
“Aleine permits polygamy by law! Up to three husbands is legal! Moreover, Lucilucil said he’d let me leave the Duke’s Mansion without any conditions, so why should this be dismissed as nonsense!”
‘Look here. Do I just need to fall from here?’
‘Ah, the ceremony has procedures… To offer myself to the Joraab Faith, I must first be pierced by a sacred blade.’
‘Prepare it quickly. I’ll be pierced and leap.’
“No! Lucilucil! Don’t die! Why are you jumping! I’ll take you with me!”
‘I’d rather die!’
Why, why, why!
You! You like me! Every night you’d sneak into bed and do all manner of things, so why are you backing out now! Who else would take a deposed crown prince with no redeeming qualities, two divorces under his belt, and thirty-five years of age—besides me?! As I vented my frustration, Mother suddenly bowed her waist and apologized that her daughter had a crude mouth. Papa, too, grabbed my head and forced it down.
“Doctor, you apologize too. If this were truly to be your husband, kind words and declarations of love should suffice. What is this behavior?”
“But wouldn’t it be more disrespectful to say things I don’t mean!”
“Oh my, young man! I apologize on her behalf! My child doesn’t understand the ways of the world! Oh dear!”
Wait, is he really going to jump? Lucilucil keeps his word—I need to move fast!
Struggling to escape Papa’s grip, someone passed by my side. The man with his resolute stride took a deep breath, then addressed me. Jack Brown, who hadn’t spoken a word since being beaten by Aster, opened his mouth at this very moment.
“May I ask first, Young Lady. Since this isn’t the Imperial Palace, my freedom of speech has been restored, correct?”
“Huh? Well, logically speaking, yes?”
“Good. Young Master, give me a beat.”
What? What is this? Jack asking for a beat seemed bizarre, but Leon actually doing it was even stranger. Leon drew his sword from its sheath and sheathed it repeatedly, creating a steady rhythm with sharp metallic sounds.
“First, I say this. The Young Lady was wrong. Anyone who objects, hands up.”
Me! Me! Me, me, me!
I raised my hand indignantly, but Mother gently grasped it and pulled it down with tremendous force.
“My name is Jack Brown, the fourth son of Anna Brown and William Brown, and I’ve spent seven years listening to Glen’s grievances. If I’m to spend the rest of my life with that Young Lady, you should remember me well, Lucilucil of Largol.”
‘I’ll have no use for this. I’m jumping from here.’
“First question. Do you love Lucilucil?”
“Well, love is… perhaps too strong a word…”
“Next question. Do you like Lucilucil?”
“Of course. How much I like Lucilucil.”
“Do you like him very much?”
“I like him very much!”
“How far would you go if Lucilucil asked?”
“Well, as long as we both survive, I’d do my best.”
“That means you’d give everything except your life, doesn’t it?”
“If he’s to be my husband, it’s only right that I do that much.”
“You mean only as a husband?”
“Of course. Why would I care for someone with whom I have no relationship?”
Leon’s beat stopped. Jack took another deep breath. Then, as if his heart would burst, he shouted at Lucilucil.
“See! This is the maximum affection this woman can express! This Young Lady is the type who raises Glen’s salary and grants him territory just to ensure he won’t leave!”
‘…’
“I’ve confirmed it thoroughly, so I’ve done my part! Just run away! I don’t want to say anything worse. Don’t let her catch you by the ankle—it might be better to just die!”
How can you say such things? You’re already talking about dying, and now you’re pushing them toward death?
『Wait. Let me think about this.』
Why did he suddenly get persuaded? No, Jack said far harsher things than that. So why didn’t he listen to me, but he’s listening to him?
『I was still the Crown Prince of Largol. I should be the legitimate husband. I don’t mind this Glen fellow either, so I’ll permit you to keep him as a lover.』
“Acting so high and mighty when you have nowhere else to go. Divorced twice, and you’re thirty-five.”
『Say, is Karl ready yet?』
Why is he talking about dying again! Why again!
I shouted in exasperation, and sure enough, a priest from the Heretical Sect brought a new sword. I hurriedly called for Papa and Mother, and they both loosened up their bodies with reluctant expressions.
“When you bring him, you stay quiet, Rosie. Don’t talk about dying either.”
“Please speak more gently, Doctor. Otherwise, the husband you have will run away too. I need to see my grandchild.”
I understand, so just do it already—electrocute them or whatever!
At my urging, Papa chanted a brief spell and struck the Heretical Sect’s priests with lightning. And Mother grabbed a sword and ran toward the Red Water’s edge….
“?”
She’s running on water? Mother, do you have water-walking abilities? How are you doing that? Are you even human?
In any case, Mother bounced across the water’s surface, planted her sword in the cliff, and leaped up. Drawing close to Lucilucil, Mother delivered a side kick to Pope Grandmother and scooped Lucilucil into her arms.
“Mother! How did you run on the water!”
“You just step with your right foot before your left foot sinks! I’ll teach you later!”
Can that actually be taught and learned? Of course not, right? Generally speaking, humans can’t run on water, can they?
Anyway, now that I’d secured Lucilucil as well, if I could capture the leader of the Heretical Sect and present them to the Fourth Prince, everything would be resolved cleanly.
“Huh?”
『Huh?』
Huh?
Pope Grandmother, struck by Mother’s kick, was pushed back and impaled upon the new sword the priest had brought. Blood streamed from her side. She staggered, her foot slipped on the cliff’s edge, and she fell. A splash echoed from below, and the Red Water at the bottom began to boil with tremendous foam.
Many lives…, or perhaps symbolism…, ideally a priest with high divine power or a mage with high mana circles…. Recalling the system of summoning lower deities, I gazed up at the monster taking increasingly solid form.
It was darkness. Primordial darkness itself, bearing hundreds of eyes and razor-sharp fangs. The black mist settled low, drawing everyone into profound terror. Death approached easily.
“Retreat, retreat, retreeeeat!”
I must be insane. How am I supposed to defeat that! I should just go back to Aleine and deal with the remnants of Largol! This place is doomed anyway. As long as something like that is roaming around, Largol will fall, so I’ll just recover Lucilucil and go home!

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