Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 265

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

#Side Story: Five Kilometers Per Hour

Rosalite Rocksburg, mistress of the Rocksburg Territory, found herself lost in contemplation. Though I bore the weighty responsibility of being one of the Four Great Dukes governing the realm, my concerns rarely extended beyond my husbands, children, and youngest sibling. Yet this time, my mind churned with conflicting thoughts.
Elizabeth was a horse among horses—a noble bloodline flowing with grace and loyalty that pierced the heavens themselves. Yet she had now failed to conceive for the third time, and had bitten to death the stallion I had intended to breed her with.
Elizabeth was strong, kind, obedient, beautiful, swift-footed, and possessed remarkable endurance—a mare I cherished dearly. But her temperament was something even I could not manage.
I had made numerous attempts to pass on a foal bearing Elizabeth’s noble bloodline to my eldest daughter, Elpium Rocksburg. Yet as long as Elizabeth stubbornly refused, there was nothing to do but accept defeat.
Should I simply give up then? That was impossible. No matter how modern times had become with Papa’s invention of motorized carriages racing along paved roads, Eri, the youngest master of Rocksburg, could not be allowed to neglect horsemanship—a fundamental accomplishment of nobility.
Above all, if the next Duke of Rocksburg could not ride a horse with grace, it would be utterly unbecoming. Merely thinking of that infuriating Theodore’s face made me want to flip the dinner table. If Eri fell short in even one aspect compared to his children, I might well spend a month bedridden with stress-induced illness.
It was then that welcome news reached my ears: one of the Four-span Princess’s thoroughbred collection had just given birth to a handsome foal. Bowing and scraping before the Four-span Princess was deeply irritating, yet I could not afford to miss such an opportunity.
Moreover, the Four-span Princess had a soft spot for Eri. If I brought the child to the Princess Palace and appealed to her, she might generously gift us one of her foals.
Having calculated this far, I, the Rocksburg Duke, immediately called ahead to announce our visit to the Princess Palace, then set off with Eri—the child I loved more than my own eyes—toward the Royal Palace.
Setting aside the rose-tinted glasses of motherhood, Eri was undoubtedly the most adorable six-year-old in the world. With silver hair that gleamed like mine, bright golden eyes, chubby cheeks still full of baby fat, and the most endearing mannerisms—anyone who laid eyes on Eri would fall in love.
And as a side note, the child’s slight lack of intelligence only made her even more precious.
Thus I was confident. I would bring the child, demand the foal with audacious certainty, and the Four-span Princess would pretend to be unable to refuse, offering one of her prized collection. With this scheme in mind, I suggested to Eri that we take an outing to the Royal Palace. Eri, whose schedule was packed and who barely saw her father the Duke a few times a day, was delighted at the prospect of playtime and eagerly climbed into the carriage, which clattered toward the Princess Palace.
The Four-span Princess, who greeted us in the Reception Room, appeared less intoxicated than usual. Her hair and clothing were properly arranged, after all.
“What do you need this time, coming crawling back?”
The Four-span Princess spat out her usual barbed remarks. I wanted to retort that unlike a certain someone who had never held a man’s hand, I had already produced offspring from my mare. But since the Princess had what I wanted, I held my tongue and stepped Eri forward.
Elpium Rocksburg, following the Duke’s instruction to greet the Princess properly, executed a rather convincing curtsy, grasping her skirt hem.
“I pay my respects to the Light of Aleine. I am Elpium Rocksburg… achoo.”
Elpium Rocksburg, tiny and diminutive even for a child of Rocksburg, possessed a head heavier than her body. As she bowed, she lost her balance and tumbled forward, striking her head against the carpet.
Witnessing this foolish, inadequate display, both the Four-span Princess and I desperately wanted to burst into perverse laughter. But fearing Eri’s embarrassment, we bit our tongues so hard we nearly drew blood, pinching our thighs to maintain composure.
“My apologies. Allow me to greet the Princess properly once more… achoo!”
Eri sprang up determinedly and attempted another bow, but gravity proved insurmountable. She tumbled forward again, striking her head against the carpet. The pain was excruciating, but shame overwhelmed it.
I had tried so hard, attempted to show proper respect, yet my head kept tilting forward. Dressed in her pretty little outfit, Eri grasped her skirt hem once more to try again. She struggled valiantly, but once more her head tilted, and she tumbled with another “achoo.”
“…Sniff, hiccup!”
Elpium Rocksburg’s eyes, round as marbles, glistened with tears. I wanted to greet the Princess, but my body wouldn’t obey. Shame, humiliation, and self-reproach for bringing dishonor to the Rocksburg name overwhelmed me. Finally, Eri burst into tears and ran to Rosalite.
“Waaah, Duke, I’m sorry, I was trying to greet her.”
“It’s alright, Eri. Everyone makes mistakes. You did your very best, didn’t you?”
Eri, leaving tear marks on the Duke’s garment, sobbed and explained what had happened in detail.
“Actually, someone kept pushing me from behind. I didn’t want to fall. Someone kept pushing me.”
“Pfft!”
“Hehehehe!”
At Eri’s adorably simple-minded remark, both Rosalite and the Four-span Princess clutched their hearts. What in the world was this precious creature? Did this really come from within me? Why was she so impossibly cute? Did Glen’s genes work that hard? I was losing my mind—I wanted to throw propriety to the wind, scoop Eri up immediately, and pepper her cheeks with kisses.
While Rosalite exercised restraint, the one commonly called the Four-span Princess, also known as Grace, felt inexplicably wronged and indignant. She turned her anger toward the Rocksburg Duke.
“Hey, be honest! Where did you pick this child up? There’s no way something like this came from inside you!”
“What are you saying! Eri is my child, born from my own body! Ling Ling delivered her with her own hands!”
“Have you no shame?! If you’re upset, keep your mouth shut!”
“You asked me first, Four Spans! You did!”
While the Rocksburg Duke and Four Spans bickered, Eri cried even louder, frightened by their raised voices and quarreling.
Rosalite held the child and rocked her gently to soothe her tears, and watching this scene, Grace’s eyes gleamed with longing as she blurted out her true feelings.
“Hey, give her to me! Let me hold her too!”
“How on earth would you hold Eri with that height of yours? Your legs would drag on the ground.”
“My height is over 150 centimeters!”
“When rounded up?”
“Do you want to die?!”
“I apologize on her behalf. Please don’t kill the Duke, Your Highness.”
At the mention of killing, Eri grew so frightened that she pleaded desperately with Four Spans, and Grace forced a laugh while softening her voice.
“Hey, Eri. I’m not really going to kill her. I’m just joking because we’re close. The closer you are, the more you bicker, right?”
“Why would you be close to me? Are you insane?”
“Shut up, you brat!”
“Whimper, whimper.”
With Eri now hiccupping and wailing, Rosalite, following Rocksburg protocol, held Eri tightly and quickly called for Four Spans as well.
“Please, hold her quickly and pat her gently.”
“Really? Can I hold her too?”
“I’ll hold her with you, so it’s fine.”
At Rosalite’s suggestion, Four Spans sprang from her chair and embraced both Eri and Rosalite. The child in her arms was warm and soft, with a delicate, fluffy scent like powder—like a tiny doll. Though Four Spans had never found her younger brother’s children particularly cute when seeing them, for some reason, Elpium seemed adorable to her.
“Hey. Can’t you give her to me?”
“Are you insane?”
“What about the godmother? Even if Theodore bothers the child, I’ll protect her.”
“I’m more than capable of protecting her myself.”
“I hate you.”
“If you want a child so badly, have your own. Why are you obsessing over someone else’s?”
Through the learned association that patting leads to comfort, Eri quickly settled down, and Rosalite called for Aster, instructing him to take Eri for a stroll in the Garden since she had matters to discuss with Four Spans. If she kept the child here any longer, Four Spans’ shrieking would negatively affect the child’s emotional state.
“Hey! Since you brought her, let me play with her the whole time!”
“The noise is upsetting the child. I’ll entertain you with a reading discussion or a chess wager instead. Let’s spend our time separately.”
“Well… I suppose there’s no helping it then.”
Rosalite linked her arm through Four Spans’ and urged her toward the Rest Room, and Four Spans reluctantly complied with Rosalite’s wishes.
Aster Brown, who had watched his mistress and the Princess’s quarrel without uttering a word, silently led the young lady toward the Royal Palace Garden.

◇ ◆ ◇

Aster draped his coat over a spot for Eri to sit, then settled beside the young lady to admire the flowers as if they were on a spring outing. Eri plucked the royal family’s expensive and beautiful flowers head by head and fiddled with them, while Aster plucked the royal family’s expensive and beautiful flowers head by head and chewed them with his teeth. He’d seen Jack Brown eating flower wraps or something delicious the other day and tried to copy him, but they didn’t taste particularly good. They just tasted like grass, and the rose fragrance lingered in his mouth.
“…?”
While Eri was busy connecting flower stems to petals, a strange sight entered the eyes of the Crown Prince, who was traveling to the Main Palace with his retinue.
Rosalite, who seemed to have aged backwards, was plucking flower heads in the royal family’s expensive flower garden. At first he thought he was seeing things, but upon reflection, he remembered that cursed woman had a daughter, and curiosity drew him closer.
“….”
“….”
“…?”
“Hey.”
These Rocksburg and Brown bastards had no respect for royalty. Though one might grow accustomed to such insolence, the Crown Prince of Aleine found himself growing angrier with each passing day rather than accepting it. And why? Because his opponents were Rocksburg and Brown.
“Shouldn’t you greet me?”
“Hello, Your Highness.”
“….”
This lanky woman with nothing but height was still the same. If she didn’t have the backing of Rocksburg, he would have executed her when they first met.
Theodore ground his teeth inwardly, yet curiosity also arose. The small Rocksburg had remained silent. A Rocksburg should always say things that grated on royal sensibilities. Had her instincts not yet awakened due to her youth, or could it be—no, it couldn’t be—that the great Rocksburg was actually shy?
Overcome by curiosity, the man crouched beside Eri and met her at eye level.
“I am Theodore Alein. You are Elpium Rocksburg, yes?”
“….”
Eri stared at the Crown Prince, then with a fresh expression, she wriggled and crawled behind Aster.
Was she actually shy? So astonished, the Crown Prince drew a sharp breath. He’d never seen a Rocksburg like this. Was she a new species? A mutant? Had a miracle occurred from mixing in that worthless bloodline? The Crown Prince, feeling both amazed and delighted, smiled genuinely and spoke to Eri.
“You don’t need to be afraid. I’m someone who can’t move an inch against your mother.”
Normally, he would never say such a thing even with a knife at his throat. But wanting to gain favor with this fascinating creature, Theodore played the fool.
Whether his self-abasement bore fruit, Elpium Rocksburg wriggled out from behind Aster’s back, drew close to the Crown Prince, and whispered in his ear.
“Um, excuse me, but…”
“Yes, speak.”
Eri hesitated for a moment, then shyly delivered her message to Theodore.
“The Duke said if I play with Your Highness, my brain will get worse, so I shouldn’t talk to you.”
Having shyly said her piece, Eri wriggled back and hid behind Aster again.
Theodore, absolutely furious, vowed that during his reign he would surely annihilate the Rocksburg clan.
One who came to bite a colt, one who resolved on annihilation, one who rolled about in the flower garden making pretty handcuffs from flower petals for the Duke—each of their springs was passing at a rapid pace.

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