Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 269

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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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Jack Brown was wailing like a crow—screaming and shrieking. According to Sage’s note, Jack Brown wouldn’t be of much help, but…. How had someone without darkness in his heart fallen into such panic?
“Has something happened? Perhaps you could come out and….”
“Aaahhh! Ahhh! Aaaaaaahhh!”
Jack Brown, thrashing about inside the wardrobe, eventually dissolved into wails.
“Waaahhh! I was wrong! I wasn’t supposed to work overtime! I should only kill people during regular business hours! I got a little too excited yesterday and went overboard! Waaahhh! Since I was wrong! Please, I beg you, let me find peace!”
“I’m not a ghost.”
“You’re lyyyyyying!”
Your sorrowful cries are far more terrifying. There’s no helping it. Should I break down the door again this time?
No matter how strong Jack Brown was, if I damaged the wardrobe hinges, there would be nothing he could do. I pulled out the pistol I kept on hand and fired twice—bang, bang—shattering the wardrobe door. At the gunshots and the smell of gunpowder, Jack Brown actually found his composure.
“Wh, what?”
“I told you, I’m not a ghost.”
“Glen, Glen! Waahhh! Waaahhh! Ohhhhh! Why did you take so long!”
Jack Brown grabbed my leg and wept bitterly. Apparently, someone kept knocking on the door, so he’d looked out but found no one there. When it kept happening, he grew terrified and hid inside the wardrobe—but then he heard knocking on the wardrobe door itself.
“That is…, certainly frightening.”
“A, a ghost! A ghost! In broad daylight! A ghost! Ro, Rocksburg! Has committed so many sins! A vengeful spirit!”
Rocksburg certainly has committed many sins, but if Rosalite heard this, she’d bring down thunder and lightning. Going on about how the master of the house is ridiculous or whatever.
“Don’t worry. There are no ghosts.”
I explained the situation, mentioning Sage’s invention—the “Darkness Removal Device.” Jack Brown finally let out a relieved sigh.
“So, so it’s not a ghost? A machine malfunction? Science, you say?”
“Yes. I was hoping to request your assistance in case force becomes necessary.”
“Ah, of course I should go! We don’t know what kind of monster the young master might unleash!”
Actually, I’ve already dealt with Leon’s darkness. I was about to check my notebook when Jack dusted off his rear and stood up, pointing at Philip.
“But isn’t that man the acting lord? Shouldn’t he be in Veloche Territory or Hofen Territory?”
…Huh?
Now that I think about it, that’s true. Philip was my aide and handled my personal affairs at Rocksburg Mansion, but he’s currently stationed in Hofen Territory. Had I received word that he was coming to Rocksburg? Or had I not?

Kekeke.

From somewhere came the laughter of a small child. Not just one—two? Or perhaps more. At the same time, Philip’s mouth split open. Laughter echoed from all directions, yet no sound came from him.
Philip’s mouth corners stretched all the way to his ears.

I’ve been discovered! I’ve been discovered!

Once again, the clear laughter of a child rang out. Philip’s mouth gaped wide, his entire face flushed crimson as his body crumbled like mud, collapsing into a heap.
Light footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door.
“Ahhhhh! Uhhhhh! Gasp! Ugh! Huff!”
Jack Brown, his breath ragged with shock, finally lost consciousness.
“Hmm….”
Surely there couldn’t be a ghost. This felt like another manifestation of darkness in the heart. I flipped through my notebook, searching for an entry that might relate to this phenomenon.

13. Marie and Lily’s greatest fear is the end of childhood.

Ah. So that’s why the voices overlapped? Thinking it through calmly, the laughter unmistakably belonged to Marie and Lily. The light footsteps made sense too—they were children, after all.
“Hmm….”
But why are Marie and Lily so afraid of becoming adults? It’s not as though they have any real responsibilities. The Rocksburg dukedom will pass to Eri. They’ll receive modest territories and can establish themselves independently, or they could cling to the Duke’s Household like Asterion does, occasionally visiting the palace to tease Prince Alain and the Princess—they’d never have a dull moment.
…Is Lucilucil scheming something? Surely he hasn’t retained lingering attachments to the throne of Largol? There’s nothing uglier than parents seeking self-realization through their children.
“Lately, their pranks have certainly grown more severe….”
Even Miriam Amber was begging to resign. I should step in and give them a stern lecture. Lucilucil has a peculiar way with children—even Eri follows him more than she follows me.
“I do it all for Eri’s sake….”
I can’t afford to teach her wrongly and bring shame upon the Duke’s House. Later, when Eri becomes the Duke, it would be difficult if she spent her entire life being compared to her predecessor, Rosalite. I’m deliberately strict so she’ll at least reach Rocksburg’s average standard, but Eri doesn’t understand my heart. She only favors Lucilucil, who indulges her every whim.
Well…, since Rosalite acknowledges my efforts, it doesn’t matter.
Besides, there’s undoubtedly maternal influence at play, so it’s natural she’d prefer the generous Lucilucil. It’s better not to dwell deeply on such matters. Using Sage’s expression, it would be ‘expanding the darkness of the heart.’
“Jack Brown, wake up! Jack Brown!”
I tapped Jack Brown’s cheeks trying to rouse him, but the man didn’t budge. I couldn’t tell if he’d truly lost consciousness or was feigning it to escape this pseudo-ghost experience. Perhaps I should splash some water on him.
The moment I stepped out of the room to find a water source, an extraordinary space stretched infinitely before me.
This was absolutely not the Brown Estate. To the left, Largol carpets; to the right, Largol carpets. White marble columns, beautifully carved and evenly spaced, surrounded me, and from somewhere came the sound of weeping.
『Hello.』
『Nice to meet you.』
『Sob, I am not the Imperial Consort.』
『I am Aster. I live in the Rocksburg Mansion.』
『Aleine, Aleine, I want to go. My master is Rosalite Rocksburg.』
“….”
…This is Largol, after all. And since she calls herself Aster, this darkness undoubtedly belongs to Aster. The heart’s darkness removal device hadn’t worked for only two people—myself and Jack Brown. Aster has carried that pain for so long.
Creak, click.
But I couldn’t blindly explore this infinite space. I returned to Jack Brown’s room, closed the door, waited a few seconds, then opened it again. If it was still the Largol Imperial Palace, my only escape would be through the window.

“Glen…?”

Outside was emptiness. No—it was full. No—it was eternally deep. Nothing existed, yet it was densely packed with suffocating mass, and I was drowning.

“Ugh! Ugh!”
“Glen? Are you alright?”

The world was awash in color. Then darkness swallowed everything. I became one with the liquid, crawling toward some unknown place. My body drifted upward. I was a drowning corpse. Something kept gurgling into my lungs. I could not breathe. One day, two days, right now.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Gasp! Gasp!”
I jolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. Then I reached for the notebook at my bedside and looked at the last entry. I wrote down what came next.

44. When killed by the darkness of one’s heart, one returns to the beginning while retaining memory.

I understood. It was a restart. So this is what “returning” meant. I felt ink seeping from my throat, from the depths of my eyes, and hurried to wash my face. This time, Philip did not knock. Philip was not in Rocksburg Territory.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Following the Rocksburg code of conduct, I crossed my arms as if embracing myself and patted my shoulders, gradually calming down. So this is what dying feels like. I was shocked. I was terrified. Yet I could not give up.
I read Sage’s note carefully, took my notebook, and left the room. This time, while addressing the darkness in Leon’s heart, I also took one of the many belongings of Rosalite that were there.
When I brought something saturated with Rosalite’s scent, Aster—who had been writhing with a contorted face as if caught in a nightmare—found peace.
“Mm, mmnya, nom…”
More than peaceful, she was munching on Rosalite’s handkerchief. The infinite Largol Imperial Palace corridor should not appear now. Since I’ve resolved the Largol-related issues, should I visit Lucilucil’s Palace to warn Marie and Lily? But he also carries some darkness, so it’s a bit frightening to visit unprepared.
“Let me see, regarding Lucilucil…”
I flipped through my notebook. Ah, it was written plainly there?

8. To protect Lucilucil’s privacy, before entering Lucilucil Palace, shout that you know he’s embarrassed.

Besides his heterochromia, did Lucilucil harbor another embarrassing darkness of the heart? When Marie and Lily came into the world, Lucilucil had tried to end it all. Simply because the children’s eyes were different colors from each other, he made such a terrifying decision. Even I, who had only recently become Rocksburg, knew that was nothing to worry about.
Why was he so gripped by fear, when he could have simply insisted that a mutation appeared in Marie and Lily’s generation without even falsifying the genealogy of the Previous Duchess?

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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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