Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 28

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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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The next morning, I rose early as usual, attended to Sage, handed over the library keys, left Tyler to play alone, and headed to the office.
I understood Glen arriving late given what happened yesterday, but it was strange that he hadn’t shown up to the office even by lunchtime.
Surely he wasn’t absent without leave? Well, a few days of absence wouldn’t have caused any problems. Given what occurred, he might need time to collect himself.
The issue wasn’t the absence itself, but rather my concern that Glen might be burdened by guilt for not informing me before staying away from work. It was already approaching lunchtime, and before it became even harder for him to approach me, perhaps I should seek him out first.
The District Chief I’d recently suspended had sent a petition asking me to review his past accomplishments and reconsider the six-month suspension, so I was reading through the attached documents with all the enthusiasm of a corpse when a knock at the door made my ears perk up and I lifted my head.
“Young Master, Philip says he has something to convey to you in person.”
Philip? Wasn’t he someone I’d personally selected to attend to Glen’s convenience? If I’d sent someone who handled Glen’s personal service, simple document writing, and important errands—my trusted aide—then the only thing he could be delivering was a notice of absence.
Thank goodness. It seemed Glen would return to work once he’d had a little time to sort himself out.
Anyway, Glen was meticulous with his work, pleasant in manner, and simply the best. Humming cheerfully at how fortunate I was to have such a treasure, I welcomed Philip inside and accepted the envelope he offered.
I tore open the outer envelope sealed with sealing wax, and inside was Glen’s resignation letter written in his own hand.
“?”
Hmm… had I misread it?
I pressed my face close to the paper and read it character by character, confirming once more that it was indeed a resignation letter, and called for Jack.
“Jack, fire.”
“Yes, yes, right away.”
Jack brought over an oil lamp, struck it alight, took the resignation letter from my hand, set it ablaze, burned it thoroughly, then swept the remaining ashes into the waste bin.
Submitting a resignation letter over something so trivial. Why must people be so extreme?
“Where is Glen right now?”
“He’s waiting for a carriage in the Entrance Hall.”
“A carriage? What for?”
“He says he’s returning home.”
“Glen’s home is here—where does he think he’s going!”
I slammed my hand on the desk and stood up, telling Lily and Violet I’d be stepping away briefly before leaving the office. Jack, sensing what was coming, put on a gas mask and made hissing sounds as he prepared something, so I didn’t wait for him and hurried out, gathering up my skirts as I ran.

“Gleeeeeen!”
Glen was dragging his luggage toward the Entrance Hall in the distance, so I urgently kicked off my shoes and scrambled up the bannister with my bare feet, hooking my rear end over it.
I slid down along the bannister, touched the floor, surrendered to my momentum, rolled twice across the ground, and sprang to my feet in a perfect landing. For reasons I couldn’t fathom, ever since becoming Rosalite, my body seemed to have absorbed falling techniques instinctively—not a scratch on me!
“You’ll hurt yourself!”
So I didn’t get hurt, did I?
Glen cried out in alarm upon witnessing my landing, but that wasn’t the issue at hand. I dashed to his side, snatched the luggage from his grasp, hurled it far away, and turned back to face him.
“You can’t possibly leave over something so trivial! Your home is here in the first place—where exactly do you think you’re going?”
“Trivial?! I—”
“It is trivial! So what if it’s trivial—does that make it some grave matter?! What’s so momentous about seeing a bit of skin?!”
“S-seeing is one thing, but that’s not all that happened!”
“Fine, if you were so embarrassed, I’ll bare myself too! Problem solved!”
Glen’s true source of shame lay elsewhere, but for now, confusing him took priority. I could persuade him to abandon his resignation once I’d scattered his judgment and seized control of the conversation.
With that resolve, I loosened the knots fastening my upper garment from behind and began undressing.
Glen, startled beyond measure, seized both my wrists and refused to let go, but I had no intention of stopping—I exerted every ounce of strength to move my arms.
“Do you think I’d let you go? You walked into this house on your own two feet. Your contract hasn’t even expired, so where do you think you’re going? No—even after the contract ends, do you truly believe you could leave? You can’t. Without my permission, you go nowhere.”
“Why are you being so frightening!”
“If this frightens you, then you shouldn’t have done something to make me act frightening!”
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here. Did you think this was the end? Have you never seen how ruthlessly I can be when I set my mind to something?
I struggled to remove my clothes, but Glen wouldn’t budge, so I changed tactics. If pushing won’t work, then pulling will.
Instead, I grabbed Glen’s hand and pulled it toward my chest. Good—he was off-guard, so it came away easily.
“Go ahead, touch me then. Touch and be done with it, let’s settle this!”
“Why are you doing this?!”
Why am I doing this? Because you’re trying to leave the house, that’s why!
I was demanding he touch me at once while Glen, his face completely flushed, was resisting—when Father and William appeared beside us, taking their model prisoner for a walk.
Had it gotten so late already? I should hurry and have lunch, then get some fresh air myself.
“Duke! Please stop Rosalite! Something’s wrong with her today!”
“Don’t worry about us! If I can’t handle this myself, I’ll ask for help!”
Why was he asking Father for help? I’d been thinking it for a while now—weren’t those two unnecessarily close?
I pointed out this observation and grabbed Glen’s hand again, pulling it toward me, while he resisted to break free. My strength was beginning to wane—where was Jack? Why hadn’t he arrived yet?
“Play without hurting each other.”
Father, who had been watching us with a frown for some time, apparently concluded that Glen and I were simply playing around. He uttered only those words before departing for his walk. Glen seemed bewildered that Father’s response differed from his expectations, but I had anticipated it, so I felt no shock whatsoever.
“I apologize for the wait.”
“What were you doing? Why are you only now arriving!”
I heard Jack’s voice from behind, so I whipped my head around—and there stood Philip, who had retrieved the shoes I’d discarded, with Jack beside him meticulously fastening a gas mask over his face while dousing a handkerchief in his hand with some chemical solution.
Wait, are you out of your mind, boy? What is that?
“Please remain calm for a moment.”
Jack, working the chemical evenly into the handkerchief with one hand, moved behind Glen, embraced his shoulders, and pressed the cloth over his nose and mouth.
Glen thrashed about and resisted briefly, but soon his movements ceased, and his body went limp as if lifeless.
With Philip’s assistance, I retied my loosened upper garment, slipped my shoes back on, then cautiously approached Glen and brought my ear close to his nostrils. Fortunately, he was breathing steadily with a soft, rhythmic wheeze.
“It’s a safe substance, isn’t it?”
At least I’d managed to prevent Glen from returning home, though I remained anxious about his condition. Surely he would wake up eventually.
“Yes, yes, it’s a product that’s completed clinical trials.”
“How long does the effect last?”
“If we’re fortunate, he should wake within two hours.”
“And if we’re not?”
“….”
“…And if we’re not?”
“Ahem….”
Don’t tell me someone actually died from using this stuff.
After watching Philip brush away every speck of dust from my clothes before hoisting Glen onto his back, I approached Jack and kicked him in the shin. The man yelped and accepted the blow without resistance, then tore at his own hair in apparent agony.
“Jack, you’d better prepare yourself if my fiancé doesn’t wake up.”
Jack said I could exile or kill him as I pleased, but that wasn’t the sort of preparation I meant. Losing Glen would already be a tremendous loss to the Duke’s House—why would I compound that by losing Jack as well?
“Who said anything about letting you die peacefully? You’ll be sold to some wealthy noblewoman and spend the rest of your life never leaving her bed.”
“Please, just kill me instead.”
“Jack, you’re young and strong—the lady will surely take a liking to you.”
“Then please, I’m begging you, kill me.”
I ignored Jack’s pleas even as he removed his gas mask, and instructed Philip to place Glen in his own bed before moving on. Throughout our exchange, I’d considered how to console Glen, but ultimately concluded it was beyond my capabilities.
“Where are you going, sir?”
As I stepped out of the Mansion’s Entrance Hall, Jack stopped pleading and asked my destination. When I replied simply, “To see the Duke,” he accepted this and followed silently behind me.
Since ancient times, when a child gets stuck on their homework, their parents help them through it.

“Duke!”
Spotting the Duke taking a leisurely stroll in the distance with William, I dispensed with formalities and called out to Father, then provided a detailed report of what had transpired between Glen and me in the Ballroom, seeking his assistance.
Father stroked his chin thoughtfully before looking at me and confirming the matter as though it were of little consequence.
“So there’s been an awkward incident between you two—Glen submitted his resignation, and you want to keep him. Is that it?”
“Yes. For Glen’s honor, I cannot disclose what this awkward matter is, but….”
“Beloche Territory would be an appropriate place for Glen to demonstrate his capabilities.”
Exactly my thought.
I had always intended to entrust that Domain to Glen eventually, but this timing was far too premature. Now that the territorial lord had passed away, Beloche Territory stood at a crossroads—whether it would revert to the Royal Family or be absorbed into Uncle Louis’s Marquessate remained a matter of debate. My intention was to support Uncle Louis and have the absorbed territory restructured as Beloche Autonomous Territory, with Glen Hofen appointed as its lord.
With sufficient time and careful planning, this would be entirely within my authority to accomplish, but if constrained by an immediate deadline, it was currently impossible for me.
However, I needed a way to send Glen to Beloche Territory at once, giving him time to compose himself while making resignation unthinkable. Once he became occupied managing a Domain plagued by bandit problems, he’d be far too busy to dwell on his embarrassment, and the shame would gradually fade.
Father’s expression grew somewhat grave, suggesting he shared my determination not to lose Glen under any circumstances. He withdrew a pocket watch from his breast pocket and opened it.
“When does the drug’s effect wear off?”
“According to what I was told, he should wake within two hours if fortune favors us.”
“Understood.”
After checking the time, Father closed and carefully secured the watch.
“I’ll go meet with Laios. Can I trust you to handle the arrangements?”
“Of course.”
I nodded to Father’s question. His Majesty had already declared he would not meet face-to-face with the Rocksburg Duke, so only I could manage this. And I could already think of three methods to either persuade or coerce the Crown Prince into granting me an audience with the King.
“I’ll have this resolved within two hours. Go on ahead and wait.”
At Father’s leisurely mention that we’d depart after his walk, I bolted toward the Stables.
Though the Duke had graciously set aside two hours for Glen, arriving by carriage at a dignified pace would surely make us tardy.

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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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