Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 36

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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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Someone had to step forward. But I had my dignity to consider. Desire or dignity—I wavered, caught between the two, when Luke took a step ahead.
Too late. But I could still salvage this. I gathered my skirts hastily and bounded forward, cutting diagonally across his path to intercept him.
I would go first. And with his build, if he tried to stop me, I’d be the one getting hurt. Thinking it checkmate, I prepared to dash forward, but Luke surprised me by spreading his arms to block my way entirely.
“What are you doing, Luke? If we wait any longer, this might become irreversible.”
“A person of your station must preserve their dignity. Allow me to retrieve it.”
“No. Am I not the master of this house, the one who received these guests? Such unpleasant tasks fall to me.”
“When have you ever personally handled such matters? I am merely a servant—let me go. Please, stay here.”
“If I send you, you’ll snatch it up, hide it away, and claim you couldn’t find it. Who doesn’t know that about you?”
“How could that be? Have I truly lost your trust so completely, Rosalite?”
“Yes, you have, you liar. Remember when you filed your taxes last season? You halved your net profits on the declaration, and I pretended not to notice. Who do you think that was?”
“And what would you do if I didn’t turn a blind eye? Keep pushing, and I’ll expose every fraudulent mandatory lifetime insurance scheme you’ve been running for business operators in Rocksburg Territory—the ones where you conveniently omit inflation adjustments from the refunds.”
“So this is how you’re going to play it?”
“There are some principles I cannot compromise on.”
This fellow is remarkably clever! He’d seen through the loopholes in my “Rosalite-Endorsed Business Owner Peace of Mind Insurance Package”—a scheme so novel it hasn’t yet appeared in this region’s history, yet one that’s been generating quite tidy profits each cycle.
I was inwardly impressed, but admiration aside, what mattered now was getting Luke out of my way. I reached out to push him, but he caught my hand and began backing away step by step. Was he really planning to walk backward and arrive first? Your patience is admirable, truly!
“Why are those two suddenly acting like that, Leon?”
“They do this from time to time. Both of them are quite fond of dancing.”
“Is there a dance like that?”
“Yes. It’s popular in the Kingdom.”
Well done, Leon! You smoothly dodged the Third Prince’s question with such ease. Leon walked past Luke and me with long strides, descended the stairs, crouched in the grass, picked something up, and returned.
Splendid! I’ve raised my brother well indeed! Hurry and bring that here, Leon!
“You dropped this, Your Highness the Third Prince. While preparing new clothes would be faster, if you wish, I can sew the button back on for you.”
“You can sew, Leon?”
“Yes. Sewing is my specialty.”
You had such a skill? Your sister never knew….
Watching Leon retrieve the button and scurry over to the Third Prince with it, I felt my resolve crumble entirely. I released Luke’s hand and gazed up at the sky.
It was blue, endless, and utterly hollow.
“…From now on, make sure the ledgers are altered more discreetly.”
“Yes…. I had no intention of exposing the insurance scheme anyway.”
“I see…. Thank you.”
“No…. I’m the one who should be grateful.”
As Luke and I comforted each other, Marius smiled at Leon and removed his jacket. But that wasn’t all—Marius began unbuttoning his shirt from the top, each button undone with deliberate slowness, and my jaw dropped involuntarily.
Once he’d unfastened the final button and shrugged off both jacket and shirt, tossing them to our maid, all that remained was a sleek black bolero-style inner garment that covered only his arms—daring and striking.

I was about to make a dash for it, thinking it was checkmate, but surprisingly, Luke spread his arms and blocked my path.
“What are you doing, Luke? If we’re late, there may be no turning back.”
“A person of high status must maintain their dignity. I’ll go pick it up for you.”
“No, I’m the owner of this house who welcomed the guest, so I should be the one to do the dirty work.”
“Since when have you been doing such menial work yourself? Please, allow me, a lowly servant, to take care of it. Just rest now.”
“If I let you go, you’ll just grab it and hide it, then claim you couldn’t find it. Who do you think doesn’t know that?”
“How could that be? Do I have so little credit with you, Rosalite?”

“If you don’t close your eyes, what will happen again? If you keep doing this, I’ll expose all the fraud where service providers operating in Rocksburg Territory are cheating on the refunds of mandatory lifetime insurance policies by not factoring in inflation rates.”

“I also have issues that I cannot compromise on.”
This guy’s pretty sharp! He saw right through the loophole in the ‘Rosalite Highly Recommended Business Owner Peace of Mind Insurance Package’—a scam method that hasn’t appeared in this neighborhood’s history yet, so it’s been raking in a decent amount each round, you know?
I was inwardly impressed, but admiration was one thing—what mattered now was getting Luke out of the way. As I reached out to push him aside, Luke caught my hand and blocked me, slowly backing up step by step. Was this guy seriously trying to arrive first by walking backward little by little? Your patience is impressive, I’ll give you that!
“Why are those people suddenly acting like that, Leon?”
“Sometimes they do that. Both of you like to dance, don’t you?”
“Was there a dance like that?”
“Yes. It’s trending in the Kingdom.”
That’s right. You dodged it well, Leon! Leon smoothly evaded the Third Prince’s question, walked past Luke and me with long strides, went down the stairs, crouched in the grass, picked something up, and came back.
Excellent! I really did raise my younger brother well! Hand that over here quickly, Leon!
“You’ve dropped it, Your Highness the Third Prince. It would be faster to prepare new clothes, but if you wish, I can sew the button back on for you.”
“Are you saying Leon can sew?”
“Yes. Sewing is my specialty.”
So you had that kind of talent… I didn’t know that, big sis.
Witnessing Leon pick up the button and hurry over to give it to the Third Prince, I released the hand I had been holding with Luke and looked up at the sky.
It was blue, endless, and futile.
“…From now on, make sure to manipulate the ledgers without leaving a trace.”
“Yes… I didn’t intend to trigger the insurance claim either.”
“Yeah… thank you.”
“No… I’m the one who should be grateful.”
Luke and I were comforting each other when Marius smiled meaningfully at Leon and took off his jacket. Just when I thought he’d stop there, Marius began slowly undoing his shirt buttons one by one from the top in a deliberately tantalizing way, so my jaw dropped without thinking.
He unfastened every last button, took off his jacket and shirt, and tossed them to our maid, leaving him in nothing but a black, revealing bolero-style inner garment that covered only his arms.
Since we were thinking of a doubles match, we handed out rackets to the three people and divided them into a guest team and a guest team. As I took a seat in the corner of the court and bounced the ball on the floor, Marius jokingly laughed and said that our team was at a huge disadvantage. I asked him to calm down and look at Leon and me and let the game proceed.
Luke seemed a little reassured by my attitude, so he smiled as he swung his racket, thinking he would take it easy, and we started the game amicably.
Who on earth comes up with such an inner garment? Is he a genius? Watching Marius with only his long arms covered while his chest and abdomen were left bare, I found myself swallowing hard, the sound echoing loudly through the room.
“Then let us observe Leon’s handiwork.”
This is madness—this is art. There was no other way to describe it. I’d only seen his face five times, and yet I should have been sharing a bed with him, conducting a proper rendezvous. The thought of that missed opportunity made me feel so wronged and pitiful that tears threatened to spill over, and before I knew it, my vision began to blur.
No, I can’t cry. If I cry, my vision will cloud over and I won’t be able to see the Third Prince’s physique.
“Thank you. Asterion, thank you.”

Had I possessed faith, I would have offered prayers of thanks to the heavens as well. Feeling the same sense of longing, I clasped my hands together like Luke and offered my gratitude to the Duke’s House parents and my Korean parents who gave me life, then quickly called for Violet. I desperately needed a sewing kit.

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Luke, who still had good strength but lacked stamina, sat down in the shade of a tree after the game and took a deep breath, and for the first time, Marius showed affection towards me and extended his hand.
After moving to the Reception Room, we marveled at Leon’s exceptional sewing skills. Watching him stitch swiftly, finish the seams, bite the thread cleanly with his teeth to cut it—the entire process took exactly thirty seconds—it resembled the work of my professional seamstress Violet, and she herself nodded with a satisfied expression as she observed him.
I couldn’t understand why Violet regarded Leon with such a warm, approving gaze, as if he were a prized student she’d trained for ten years, but since doing something well was always better than not doing it at all, I praised him enthusiastically and then led them through the Central Corridor toward the Grand Dining Hall to share lunch.
“Young Lady of Rocksburg, there’s something peculiar about this painting. Could you explain it?”
Ah, to notice that—you certainly have a keen eye.
Having flattered the Third Prince, I stopped in the corridor where portraits of successive Dukes hung at intervals, and retrieved a guidebook. Leon then followed suit, pulling out his own copy, while Luke and Marius also produced their booklets from their pockets, flipping through them in unison with mine.
“Please open to page eight of the guidebook.”
The person Marius found puzzling was the 12th Duke of Rocksburg, my father’s great-grandmother, and she was the first and only Duke in history to ascend to the throne of the Kingdom. The Third Prince had likely noticed her because she was the only figure in the portrait wearing a crown.
“It was approximately one hundred and fifty years ago. The King of that time, five generations before the current sovereign, had brought about remarkable national development and possessed formidable military strength, so he summoned the four great Dukes of the Kingdom to discuss the matter of imperial proclamation.”

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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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