Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 35

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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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As I walked along the prescribed scenic path, I spotted the Duke seated on a bench at the midway rest area. He held a coffee cup in one hand and breadcrumbs in the other, feeding pigeons with an air so thoroughly dejected that he resembled nothing so much as a prematurely retired office worker.
But why was he here alone without William?
Ah, so that’s why he looked so forlorn—William wasn’t here!
“Your Grace.”
Having arrived at this profound realization, I made my presence known and called out to Father. As Leon and I approached, munching on sandwiches and offering our greetings, Father shifted his weight and slid over one space, then patted the remaining bench beside him.
It was a gesture for us to sit, so Leon and I promptly settled beside Father and watched him feed the pigeons.
“What brings you here?”
“Surely you don’t think I can visit you without business, Your Grace.”
“Then be off.”
“I do have business.”
He certainly was impatient.
I quickly caught Father’s arm as he rose to brush the breadcrumbs from his hands and continued speaking.
“I was thinking of inviting Prince Marius, who is visiting as a royal guest, to our Mansion.”
“Why?”
“Prince Marius has apparently proposed to Princess Grace.”
“The man has nerve, I’ll grant him that.”
“He used the matter of the Princess’s vision restoration as his bait.”
“That scheming devil!”
Father spoke irritably, as though he’d always known this man would sell off the kingdom itself, then gulped down his coffee and set the cup down sharply on the bench.
“If the Princess’s eyesight were treatable, the Royal Palace’s healing mages would have already succeeded. What method could possibly work?”
“He apparently suggested that the Pope of the Empire might make it possible.”
“If that were true, Kaina Chatel would have asked him to cure her own diabetes first.”
“People will grasp at straws when desperate enough.”
So Luke’s father suffered from diabetes—I hadn’t known that.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Duke drummed his fingers thoughtfully against the bench before speaking to me.
“I understand your concern. Rosalite and Asterion, you will invite the Third Prince and observe whether anything seems amiss. This matter requires a diversion.”
“A diversion, Your Grace?”
“While the Third Prince is in my Mansion, we thoroughly search the Royal Palace’s guest quarters.”
That’s our Father for you.
Impressed by the Duke’s boldness, I began to clap, and Leon, sandwich still in his mouth, joined in applauding as well.
Even if we failed to dissuade the Princess from marrying the Third Prince, we could seize this opportunity to find some pretext against him—any excuse would do to force the Third Prince to return hastily to the Empire. In the meantime, we could prepare our own defenses accordingly.
“Is there anything else?”
“Leon has finally learned what menstruation is.”
“Sister!”
Leon let out a sharp cry, and Father glanced at him with an amused smirk. Come to think of it, Father had heard Leon complain about menstrual cramps all day long while helping with work, yet he’d never offered a single word of explanation. In a sense, we were accomplices.
“Congratulations, Asterion. Now you needn’t worry that your sister might die from menstrual pain.”
“Even you, Your Grace….”
How strange of him to make a fuss. It’s not as though this is happening for the first time.
As the Duke rose to take his leave, I waved goodbye, and following his insistence that I eat and drink at my leisure, I drained my milk and finished my sandwich.
With the Duke’s permission secured, all that remained was to write the invitation.

◇ ◆ ◇

I sent letters to the Crown Prince, the Queen, and the King, each inquiring whether it would be appropriate to invite the Third Prince to our home. Remarkably, replies arrived within a single day. The Crown Prince expressed his refusal, while the Queen responded that if the Rocksburg Duke permitted it, I should by all means enjoy a pleasant time.
The King’s response was that whether he approved or disapproved mattered little—that we stubborn old and young alike would do as we pleased anyway, so why waste time asking?
The letter was written on the cheapest recycled paper available in the Kingdom, the handwriting was nearly illegible, and it arrived with a tissue the King himself had used to blow his nose. Recognizing this as a form of sincerity in its own way, I picked up every scrap with tongs, discarded it into the waste bin, and then burned the entire bin.
Thanks to His Majesty’s grace, I found myself replacing the office furnishings with new ones. I resolved to purchase the most expensive waste bin available in our Duchy and bill the Alein Kingdom’s Royal Family for it. I had the servants fetch the Rocksburg shopping catalog, sent them to procure a luxury waste bin equipped with an automatic sorting system and shredder—the latest product from the magical workshop—and drafted an invoice to send to the Alein Kingdom’s Royal Palace.
Along with sending the invoice, I also dispatched invitations to the Third Prince and Luke. Disturbingly, responses came back with remarkable speed. Both expressed their firm intention to attend no matter what, and knowing their true motivations, I nearly wept.
The Third Prince had been caught by Leon’s hook, and Luke had been caught by the Third Prince’s hook. Witnessing this chain of entanglement felt like observing the great laws of nature itself, and I was moved to tears by the elegance of it all.
They seemed eager to come the very next day, but as the one extending the invitation, I could hardly permit that. Preparations for hospitality were necessary.
Moreover, I had no wish to show them the shadowed quarters of the Duke’s House or Sage and his disciples, so I had to carefully plan the routes they would take.
After much trial and error, I had printed two copies of the Duke’s Mansion guidebook (for guests), two copies of the Duke’s Mansion guidebook (for residents), and three hundred copies of behavioral guidelines for the Duke’s Mansion staff to receive the Third Prince. I gave the guest copies to Luke and Prince Marius, divided the resident copies with Leon, distributed the staff guidelines from the head butler down to the stable hand in charge of feed, and completed all preparations.
The schedule for entertaining the Prince amounted to little more than lunch, recreational tennis, dinner, recreational billiards, listening to music while drinking, sleeping one night, and departing—yet to prevent them from taking interest in inappropriate areas or wandering down side passages, the cooperation of everyone in the Mansion was essential.
And today, several days after sending the invitations, Prince Marius and Luke appeared side by side in the royal carriage, having apparently joined the procession on the way. They wore pleased expressions as I came out to greet them with Leon and a crowd of household servants.
“I must apologize for my rudeness on our previous meeting. I had been most eager to see you again, Prince Marius, as it seemed there was a small misunderstanding between us, and after consulting with the Duke, I am delighted to welcome you to our home. Please, rest comfortably during your stay.”
The servants standing behind me echoed my words, saying I hoped they would rest comfortably, and Prince Marius nodded with satisfaction, thanking me for the invitation.
Today, the Third Prince wore casual attire, as this was not an official occasion—merely simple trousers and a shirt with a jacket draped over them—yet his bearing was so fine that I could only marvel.
I found it difficult to believe that a dress shirt could stretch so tautly, as though about to burst. What did one eat to develop such physique? Alternating my gaze between Luke and the Third Prince, whose heights were similar yet whose builds differed dramatically, Luke stepped forward with a gentle smile.
The man presented me with a small gold bar gleaming in golden hue, wrapped prettily with a ribbon, as thanks for the invitation. “Only among people we already know,” I thought—Luke, you certainly are bold.
“You’re practically advertising that you smuggled imperial gold bars.”
“But there’s no evidence. Once the news breaks, the Chatel Corporation’s name will be known, so we save money and gain reputation.”
“The boy has grown up quite spirited.”
“Since you are so forthright, Rosalite, I find myself naturally filled with respect.”
Yes, I am honest, that’s true.
I accepted the golden gift from Luke and handed it to Lily, instructing her to keep it safely in my personal vault. Then Prince Marius wore an apologetic expression. The Third Prince apologizing—now that was a rare sight indeed.
“Oh my. I’m afraid I failed to think ahead and have arrived empty-handed.”
“Not at all. Your presence alone, Prince Marius, is a great gift to me.”
I spoke sincerely while appraising Prince Marius, and Luke nodded in agreement. Leon’s expression had been displeased since earlier for reasons unclear, but when I gestured, he handed the guidebooks to the two men as instructed.
“Please, take these.”
“It’s good to see you’re doing well, Leon. What is this?”
“A guidebook.”
You’ll see when you look at it. I laughed and spoke, and the Third Prince smiled faintly before opening the booklet. As the man flipped through the rustling pages, his expression grew peculiar, and he posed a question to me.
“How curious. Does the Rocksburg Duke’s Mansion have guidebooks for navigation?”
“Not ordinarily. I had these made specifically for the two of you on this occasion.”
“…Made them?”
“Yes. Leon and I put our heads together and created them. The illustrated sections were drawn by Leon himself. My brother is quite skilled at drawing, isn’t he?”
I patted Leon’s shoulder proudly, and he demurred modestly. Observing this, Prince Marius laughed heartily, expressing his relief that we seemed to have such a good relationship.
And in that moment, the most wondrous and astonishing spectacle I had ever witnessed in my entire life unfolded before me.
Pop.
Something burst forth with a sound. What burst forth, you ask? A button. To elaborate on the situation: the button positioned on the Third Prince’s chest had surrendered to the pressure of his inflated thorax as he laughed with pride in his lung capacity, launching itself free with a sharp snap.
The button, tracing a parabolic arc through the air, struck my cheek—which happened to be directly in front of the Third Prince’s chest—before ricocheting away at a new angle, bouncing once against the stone floor, then rolling along the tiles toward the entrance hall stairs.
If left unchecked, it would tumble down those stairs. Once it fell, momentum would carry it faster still, and beyond the stairs lay the Garden with its grass. Should it disappear into that verdant expanse, I feared that button would never return.
I felt a profound sense of loss. That button, which had once graced the Third Prince’s chest, might now embark on a journey from which it could never return. In some desolate place where no one walked, where no soul ventured, it would exist in solitary silence—persisting through the ages until time itself reduced it to dust and earth.
I was sorrowful. Anyone would grieve at such a fate. And I was among those who did. For a fleeting moment, I hesitated. In that instant, I glanced first at Luke, and Luke’s eyes met mine. We were thinking the same thought. Could we truly stand idle and do nothing?

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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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