Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 251

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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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“Wait, Eri! This isn’t what you think it is!”
What do you mean it isn’t?! You two are always clinging to each other whenever you get the chance, so of course a child would result! Is the one in my belly supposed to have been delivered by a stork?! I’m so embarrassed!
Before the gathered crowd could offer their awkward congratulations, I scooped up Eri and fled. Except for Mother, Father, and Grandfather Crowley, the entire Rocksburg household came rushing after me. I commandeered a passing royal carriage and threatened to have my head removed if they didn’t take me to the Princess Palace.

And now, I sat before a campfire, peeling bananas with Eri while Jack and Aster set up their third tent behind me.
“Please calm yourself, Rosalite. The Duke and Duchess were surely just as flustered—this wasn’t something they’d planned for.”
“Unplanned?! What do you mean unplanned?! They have money, and there are countless ways to prevent pregnancy! They could have gone to Paracelsus Street and had a surgical procedure done! They could have used a magical crystal that Ling Ling crafted after reaching the second circle! This man clearly orchestrated an early retirement!”
“Now that you mention it, the Duke recently purchased a new villa in the port city of Cerepia. He already owns a seaside estate in Bienar, so I did wonder why he’d buy property somewhere so distant.”
“See?! Even you sensed it, Luke! The fact that he bought a house in far-off Cerepia instead of somewhere closer like Aleine shows he’s planning to completely abandon his duties!”
My one and only son Luke had clearly seen through the Rocksburg Duke’s dark intentions as well, so I continued cursing at Luke and the Duke while slicing melon. I’d heard that bananas and melon tasted amazing during pregnancy, but it turned out these were Eri’s favorite foods.
“Since things have come to this, you should come to the True Magic Tower with me, Doctor. If you abandon your dukedom, I’ll even let you see Serena’s secret library.”
“A dukedom is merely a hollow vanity of the secular world. Young Duke, you understand well enough that I have aspirations in magic, but the collection of facts, observation, research, experimentation, re-experimentation, re-re-experimentation, final re-experimentation, and this time truly the final re-experimentation followed by verification—it’s absolutely fascinating.”
Well, I’ve rolled around in the Magic Tower myself, so I know how fascinating it can be. But research requires funding, doesn’t it?
I still remember my old mentor, Sage, bowing and scraping before the King with such fervor to secure the Magic Tower’s operational and research funds. Was that the seventh loop or the eighth?
If I distanced myself too far from aristocratic society, that impoverished life might begin anew. Even now, if my body were mine alone, I might have left without hesitation, but I have a husband and child to feed.
Especially Lucilucil, who’s so accustomed to imperial life that he’s essentially a money-devouring monster. How am I supposed to support him without any income? The fragrance used for just one person’s bath costs more than Leon’s monthly living expenses.
“Haha, Rosalite shouldn’t enter a place like the Magic Tower. You need to pamper me, after all.”
This shameless man. But he wasn’t wrong, so I quietly continued eating melon when a scent far richer and sweeter than the fruit wafted from Lucilucil’s direction, causing me to unconsciously scoot closer to him.
So this was it. This was the power of that bathwater that cost more than Leon’s living expenses. No wonder it always smelled so incredibly good.
“Abu, abubu.”
Yes, yes, Eri, I’ll give you something soft and fluffy—just wait a moment.
After I leaned against Lucilucil, Eri began squirming excitedly, so I handed her to the man. Lucilucil caught her naturally and cradled her in his arms, and Eri broke into the happiest smile imaginable, rubbing her little head against his chest.
“When she grows up, I wonder what she’ll become…”
“Surely not worse than Rosalite.”
“Let’s pray for that.”
Please don’t pray to that Joraab Faith or Cthulhu or whatever—don’t put strange ideas in the child’s head.
I swatted the hands of Lucilucil and Luke as they naturally began making the sign of the cross, scolding them for being naughty hands. I’d never had good fortune whenever I got tangled up with those two.
In any case, we began filling our bellies before the campfire and playing while commanding the Princess Palace attendants like servants. My mood had been completely ruined by Father, but since we’d come out to play, we might as well get our money’s worth.
I was considering whether to dance but substitute clapping for music since there was none, when Lucilucil mentioned he could play if there were an instrument similar to a wood instrument, so I had the attendants search the palace.
I ordered them to find any stringed instrument with a resonating chamber—a guitar, pseudo-guitar, anything—and they retrieved a mandolin from the storage. Lucilucil tuned it, plucked a few notes, and soon produced beautiful sounds as he began playing a melody.
“So you can play more than just the piano, Lucilucil.”
“Hahahaha, I secretly practiced the traditional instruments of Largol, hoping Mother would praise me if I performed at a banquet.”
“Stop.”
If you keep doing that, I’m going to cry—don’t mention Mother.
Because Lucilucil spoke so casually about it, I looked up at the sky, pressed my brows together, and embraced him. Following Rocksburg emergency protocols, Glen also embraced Lucilucil, as did Leon, as did Luke, and basically everyone surrounded him and held him close, sharing warmth like a huddle of emperor penguins enduring the cold, and then we played with absolutely gypsy-like abandon in front of someone else’s palace.
Starting with Luke, we danced while switching partners, and Jack appeared from somewhere with what looked like a drum and beat away on it, while Leon took Eri from Lucilucil’s arms and learned how to pluck the mandolin.
Remarkable, really—I’m amazed at Eri’s growth, how she seems dissatisfied in many ways but compromises with Leon. And I’m equally amazed at Lucilucil, who treats Leon as usual without changing his expression even after the rock salt incident.
Whether it’s because what happened in Largol was so much worse that this is nothing but a drop in the bucket, or whether Lucilucil is simply hiding their emotions and forcing themselves to endure, I cannot tell. I just hope it’s not the latter.
There’s no one here to read Lucilucil’s mood, and no one Lucilucil needs to read either. I’ll have to give them a proper talking-to when the opportunity arises.
After dancing with Sage, I switched partners and danced with Magnus, who had put on gloves on both hands. Magnus insisted he couldn’t dance at all, but when I mentioned I could match the Aleine Polka arrangement that’s widely known in Cerepia, he reluctantly got to his feet.
Can’t dance? He dances wonderfully! Spinning around with me to Lucilucil’s accompaniment, Magnus laughed heartily with a good-natured smile and danced with genuine enthusiasm. Oh, polka is such fun! I feel just like an Alpine girl right now!
“Anyway, these mad Rocksburg people.”
Oh my, why has Four Spans arrived already?
Magnus had been teaching me a step from his homeland—the grape-treading maiden’s step—and I was happily practicing it when Four Spans, who barely reaches John’s waist, suddenly returned.
The banquet still had quite some time left, and the sun hadn’t set yet, so I’d thought we could make noise for at least three more hours. But it seems we’ve run out of time.
“What is this? You’re going to sleep with the child under a tarp like this? It’s practically homelessness!”
But that’s the charm of camping. And our Rocksburg Private Military’s exclusive tent—what’s wrong with it? We modeled it after the Largol officers’ tents so it could be set up quickly and easily. Lucilucil spent so much money having it made.
“You’ll catch a cold sleeping on bare ground!”
“Achoo!”
What was that—the cutest sneeze sound in the entire world? My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as I looked toward Leon, and there was Elpium, my own precious child, so adorable and beautiful and more fairy-like than any fairy, sneezing with delicate little “achoos.”
“See? Children catch colds immediately when exposed to cold wind!”
Oh no! Is that so?! Everyone’s been in such robust health that I hadn’t given Eri a single thought about this!
Realizing this was serious, we all took off our outer garments and wrapped Eri up tightly. Four Spans, taking pity on us for all our efforts, grandly declared she would allow Eri and one caregiver into the Princess Palace.
Well, I don’t understand why she’s being so kind, but if I must choose only one caregiver, there’s only one person I could possibly select.
“Thank you, Your Highness Grace. Then I entrust Eri and her nursemaid to your care.”
“…Aren’t you supposed to be looking after the child?”
“I’ve never been alone with Eri for more than thirty minutes.”
“What kind of mother is this?”
“I’m rather busy, you see.”
Besides, I hired a nursemaid to look after the child, so why would I need to personally care for her? I’m quite certain that when Your Highness was young, you spent far more time with your nursemaid than with the Queen. That’s how it is for all royalty and nobility.
“Then at least you come inside! What are you doing standing in front of someone else’s house like this!”
No, no, no! I don’t want to! I’m staying here. We’re going to have a barbecue later and dance more and there are still so many songs to sing. Why would I go there?
When I refused with an obviously reluctant expression, the Princess let out a loud cry, and Lucilucil and Glen subtly pushed me forward.
“Her Highness Grace is being considerate of you, Rosalite. Just go.”
“Yes. We’ll be fine, but if Rosalite catches a cold, our work will truly come to a standstill.”
Hmm…, if my husbands say so, I suppose I have no choice but to go.
I reluctantly followed Four Spans inside, shuffling along. The room we were shown to was right next to Four Spans’ bedroom, and since Eri and her nursemaid would be staying here, I would need a separate room of my own.
“We shall prepare the Young Duchess’s bedroom at once. Please forgive us and wait just a moment.”
“No, it’s fine. This area is cleaned daily anyway. I’ll just pick something and get some rest.”
And after I spend some time with Four Spans over drinks and humor her a bit, I’ll head back to the campsite. It would be even better if I could persuade Four Spans to join us. With that thought, I opened the door to the room next to Eri’s, and from a distance, John Brown came running with a scream.
Wow…, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him looking so disheveled. What on earth happened?
“….”
I felt uneasy and turned my gaze into the room. It didn’t appear to be a bedroom but rather seemed to be used as a dressing room….
For a dressing room, it’s quite sparse. It’s not just dresses either. There were several books and two pairs of ice skates, but there was something that seemed oddly familiar….
Bang!
“Did you see?”
“Well, of course I saw?”
Why is she so startled that she slammed the door shut like that? She came running so fast that she’s gasping for breath….
“….”
But that dress she’s wearing—I’ve definitely seen it before. It looks so familiar. Isn’t that the color Karl and Quill selected about four years ago? I recall commanding Violet to craft it with an abundance of ribbons and frills to suit Four Spans perfectly….
An uneasy feeling settled over me as John spotted someone and began signaling frantically. The recipient of his signals was Four Spans, now dressed in indoor clothes, and the woman—her face drained of all color—rushed toward me.

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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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