Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 62

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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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A sickening crunch erupted from Jack’s skull—a sound that should never emanate from a human head.
Jack Brown lay motionless on the floor, his jaw dislocated and drool streaming from his mouth. Though I dreaded confirming his condition, I gently pressed my fingers to his neck and felt his pulse thrumming steadily, his breathing shallow but present.
“Fetch the Doctor! Aster, go now!”
“Not the undertaker, my lady?”
“The Doctor!”
“Tch.”
How does this wretch possess such boundless energy when he’d only just risen to his feet moments ago?
Aster trudged toward the Duke’s Household physician with deliberate sluggishness, forcing me to hound him with demands for haste. Only after my relentless nagging did he break into a hurried sprint.
As I calmly closed Jack’s eyes—which had rolled back to show only the whites—I noticed Father approaching from the direction of the open field, apparently returning from his walk. Given the circumstances, William spoke to me before Father could.
“Why is my son lying dead here?”
“He isn’t dead.”
And if he were, your daughter would be responsible.
At my response, William examined Jack’s face and genuinely marveled at how perfectly the right hook had landed, noting that the jaw was completely dislocated.
I’ve learned something today. With you as his father, no wonder your children turned out this way.
“Rosalite. About what we discussed yesterday.”
Yesterday’s matter?
Father’s approach wasn’t solely driven by concern for Jack’s survival; once he confirmed Jack still drew breath, he seemed reassured and reopened a conversation he’d apparently thought concluded.
“It seems your mother has urgent business she must discuss with you directly. Visit her tonight if you can.”
“So you’re pawning off the difficult task of persuasion onto me.”
“How do you always manage to read the room so well?”
What’s wrong with my perception?
I bristled in protest, but I had no allies in this gathering. Even William nodded in agreement with Father’s words—and I found him most infuriating in such moments.
“In any case, I’ll have someone show you to her chambers. Visit when you have a moment. If you don’t meet with her, this matter will only become more troublesome.”
“Understood.”
Since I had no pressing duties for the remainder of the day, I could spare some leisure time to visit her.
Father resumed his walk, and I waved him off before turning my attention to await the Doctor whom Aster had summoned.
According to the Doctor’s diagnosis upon arrival, Jack Brown had sustained a fracture to his jaw and would be best served consuming only liquid foods for the foreseeable future.
…If Macaon asks me to summon him again, I truly will lose my temper this time.

◇ ◆ ◇

After finishing my day’s work, I had dinner and was lounging leisurely in my room when Father’s words about visiting Diamante came to mind, so I made my way to the Guest Room.
Aster had already left for the day, and to prepare for any contingency, I brought Lily along and stood before the door of the room where Diamante was staying, knocked once, and waited for a response.
The Glen incident had taught me something valuable—no matter how much you knock, you cannot simply burst through the door without permission.
“….”
Yet for some reason, there was no answer from within.
Only after I had Lily knock again did I hear voices from inside, though they didn’t seem to be responding to my visit.
“Lock it! Lock it now! We can’t open this door!”
“M-Madam! The lock mechanism here is different from the one at our house!”
“Then use your body to block it!”
What? It sounded like there was someone else in there besides Diamante. A maid she brought from home, perhaps?
Now that I thought about it, I recalled hearing another voice making a fuss yesterday when Jack was carrying Diamante out. Of course, the Countess would have brought an attendant when leaving the house.
“Lily. Open it.”
Whatever she was thinking, if she locked the door, it would take forever to find the master key from the butler.
As I had Lily open the door, the Guest Room door swung open easily, and someone behind it tumbled forward with a loud crash.
As I stepped into the Guest Room, I saw Diamante adjusting her clothes.
She had been resting in comfortable attire when she heard of my visit and hurriedly began preparing to receive me—her upper body was exposed, and she was struggling to put on the legendary corset rumored to gather even one’s very soul.
Sigh… this pattern again.
“Get out!”
Having anticipated this, I had already covered my ears beforehand, so I took each object she threw at me and exited the room.
I closed the door politely and waited for her to call, but I could hear something like crying coming from inside.
I wondered where Glen learned such strange behavior, but it seems he inherited it from his mother.

“….”
“….”
A silence as profound as death itself stretched between us.
Diamante had belatedly dressed herself in full regalia to receive me, but now that I’d seen through her magical illusion, I couldn’t help but think it was all for nothing.
Still, I kept such thoughts to myself. William had always told me that staying silent could at least get me halfway through difficult situations.
So!
I!
Would not mention the corset!
“It’s quite late—you needn’t dress so formally on my account.”
“Are you mocking me right now?”
Diamante’s voice turned sharp as a blade.
What? She’s upset anyway without me saying anything! William, you liar!
I’d meant my comment as a kindness, but if she insisted on maintaining such appearances, there was no reason for me to indulge her further. I needed to hear her business and return to my room to rest.
“I understand you’ve been telling the Duke repeatedly that I must see you. Had there been a matter of importance, you could have mentioned it in your letter, and I would have arranged a proper appointment.”
“So you’re saying I can’t visit this house without a reason?”
“Precisely.”
I nodded emphatically at her words. Even members of the Royal Family would schedule appointments before visiting our residence—there was no exception to be made simply because she was family.
Though admittedly, the Royal Family rarely expressed any desire to visit us at all.
“Do you understand your own position?”
“My position, you say…?”
Genuinely bewildered by her cryptic phrasing, I asked carefully for clarification, and Diamante responded with an exasperated expression.
I wished she would simply state what she meant instead of speaking in circles. Time was precious.
“If you marry Glen, what does Glen become to you?”
“…A conditionally auto-renewing contractual advisor?”
“Your husband! Your husband!”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Right—now that we’d held the wedding ceremony, I could certainly refer to Glen as my husband. It was a fact I’d simply overlooked, having never given it much conscious thought until now.
“Good. So Glen is your husband. Then what am I to you?”
“His mother, madam.”
“As Glen’s mother, what does that make me to you?”
“Correct! The Marquess Diamante!”
“Your mother-in-law! Mother-in-law! Why doesn’t this simple fact come to you immediately?! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?!”
Hmm…. An identity I had never anticipated.
To be honest, since the Hofen Barony no longer existed in this world, I had completely disregarded Glen’s relatives.
Should any ambitious relatives appear seeking to use even the slightest connection to Glen as leverage to gain my favor, I had intended to support them.
I was quite fond of ambitious and spirited young people—provided they possessed proper decorum.
But what was her point about being my mother-in-law anyway?
“I see.”
“I see? Is that all you have to say?”
What? Was there something else I was supposed to say?
What on earth was I supposed to say to Glen’s mother? Was that it?
“You’ve raised your son so well and properly?”
“That’s not it! No, that’s not it! What kind of nonsense is this?!”
I could tell she was angry just by looking at her, but her words were rather harsh.
The Duchess naturally held a position worthy of my respect, but I too held a position worthy of receiving respect from her.
It wasn’t just I who felt offended by the lady’s attitude—Lily, standing beside me, cracked her knuckles with deliberate loudness. Thanks to Lily’s obvious fury, I managed to rein in my own heated emotions. If I made one wrong move now, Lily might cause a serious incident, and I’d have to fight Uncle Louis to protect her.
“At this rate, we’ll never reach a conclusion. Since I’m slow to understand, why don’t you simply state your business clearly?”
“Listen well. I’ve lost two precious sons because of you.”
“I’m hearing this for the first time.”
“…!”
This woman was truly furious.
The moment my words ended, the lady sprang from her seat and lunged at me, but Lily, who had been ready to use force at any moment, caught and restrained her.
I crossed my legs and sat back, pondering briefly before pointing out the crucial matter to Lily.
“Don’t strike first. It becomes troublesome later.”
“Yes, Young Master. I shall focus solely on defense.”
For someone so emotionally volatile, Lily certainly followed instructions well. I appreciated that about her.
When I complimented her on this, Lily demurred modestly and twisted her body awkwardly.
“Hearing this for the first time? Because of you, Dylan died and Glen was married off like he was being sold to the Duke’s House! And you say you’re hearing this for the first time?!”
…Now that I’d heard the full story, I was hearing it even less for the first time.
The Duchess was clearly laboring under a serious misunderstanding, so I deliberated on how to explain before deciding to unravel the matter starting with Dylan.
“Dylan subjected my sibling to sexual harassment and molestation, so he received punishment commensurate with his actions. We could have simply expelled him from the family, but there was concern that Dylan would continue to tarnish the names of Diamante and Rocksburg afterward, so I proposed eliminating him. Uncle Louis, after considering his own reputation, agreed as a matter of courtesy to the Rocksburg Ducal House. Isn’t this something you already knew?”
“So you’re saying you killed him!”
“No. Dylan would not have died if he hadn’t laid hands on Asterion. It’s more accurate to say he chose to do something that would get him killed.”
“You…!”
“And you called him a precious son.”
There was nothing the lady could claim as legitimate business, and her anger was of a petty sort.
Judging there was nothing more to discuss, I rose from my seat and prepared to leave.
“Then why did you allow your precious son’s legs to end up in such a state?”
I had little interest in Uncle Louis’s household, but incidents and accidents related to collateral succession inevitably reached my ears whether I wanted them to or not.
So it was certainly…—wasn’t it said that Dylan hadn’t yet reached adulthood at that time?

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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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