Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 65

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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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We don’t sing wedding songs for him simply because we hope he’ll find a virtuous bride. The real issue is the royal heir. If he were to produce one heir from somewhere, honestly, marriage would be optional—he could take it or leave it.
“But he has four daughters. There are sufficient heirs to the succession.”
“They’re all adopted daughters, though.”
Oh, my dear Crown Prince. You know one thing and miss two others entirely.
I glanced around, dismissed Aster and the Crown Prince’s maidservants with a gesture, then leaned in close toward him.
When I made as if to whisper, he obliged by leaning in and offering his ear, and I murmured the secret of the Edanelli Family’s adopted daughters—a secret everyone who mattered already knew.
“The youngest of those four is Dorothy’s biological child. Don’t mention this to anyone else.”
“Truly? I detected no such indication whatsoever…”
“She does tend to be rather elusive, doesn’t she?”
“No, that’s not the issue. Her physique is entirely…”
Well, well. Some people simply don’t show it.
Charmed by his genuine astonishment, I reached out playfully and pinched his cheek.
His Highness recoiled instantly, glared at me with eyes that suggested I was filth, and produced a handkerchief with a flourish to wipe his cheek clean.
Not a shred of cuteness about him, I tell you.
“Since I won’t spread rumors, be honest with me. Your Highness doesn’t actually have germaphobia, does he?”
“No. It’s simply that I find you truly detestable.”
Not even remotely cute.
His manner of speaking displeased me, but I had work to accomplish.
As I flipped through the portraits one by one, I retrieved the daughter of the Rocksburg Branch Family—the one who had previously been matched with the Crown Prince in a previous iteration—and recommended her first to His Highness.
I praised her extensively: she was beautiful, intelligent, and her hobbies centered on indoor sports, so her temperament would surely align with his gloomy nature. Yet the man remained steadfast that he had no thoughts of marriage.
“Your Highness, you know this isn’t a matter that can be dismissed with ‘I have no thoughts of marriage right now.’ The First Prince of the neighboring Empire has already married twice by your age.”
“That hardly seems like something to boast about.”
“I don’t care who it is—bring a woman or produce an heir! I won’t discriminate against illegitimate children; I’ll raise them as royal heirs!”
“Are you aspiring to become my mother?”
Stop quibbling and go see a matchmaker already!
As I slammed the portraits down in frustration, the Crown Prince—who seemed oddly pleased—began suggesting it was time to leave.
“I have no thoughts of marriage for now, so give up. If you were to kidnap me, I’d have no choice but to appear at a matchmaking meeting, but it wouldn’t produce the result you desire.”
This boy is remarkably stubborn.
Perhaps I have no choice but to resort to such measures. Why do people never listen to reason?
Theodore, who had again told me to give up and leave, kindly explained the path leading outside the Royal Palace, then drained his cup of hot tea from the cheap teacup in one long gulp.
As the weather had grown chilly, I wrapped another shawl around myself and retrieved the gift box I’d prepared before he could escape.
“Wait. I have something prepared for Your Highness.”
I mentioned that since he had sent such a magnificent wedding gift previously, I’d prepared a reciprocal gift. The Crown Prince’s smile became peculiar.
Suspicious of what lay inside the box, the man donned an additional white glove before accepting the gift. He opened the lid, examined the contents, and smiled with bureaucratic politeness.
“Ha ha ha. What is this hideous thing?”
“It’s a doll. You can see that for yourself.”
“Did you truly believe I would take this with me?”
“Yes.”
“As if that were possible.”
Theodore flashed me a brilliant smile before hurling the doll’s head with all his might.
A distant thud echoed from somewhere beyond the grass, and though the startled maidservants moved to retrieve it, he commanded them not to search and turned to leave.
“Don’t waste time. Hurry back. You’re a busy man, after all.”
The man laughed triumphantly, convinced he’d won this round, and hastened on his way.
Heh heh, how foolish of the Crown Prince to think I’d surrender so easily.
Watching his retreating figure, I sipped my tea with elegant composure, granted Aster permission to finish the remaining pastries, then summoned the maidservants to escort me to the Guest Room.
Father had said it was perfectly fine for me to stay one night and return. Which meant the game wouldn’t end until dawn broke tomorrow morning.

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The night was dark. The night was quiet.
Perhaps for that reason, the man’s scream tore through the palace with such anguished clarity.
“Aaaaaahhhhh!”
Hehehehe, the Crown Prince must have discovered some enormous rat and startled himself.
Draped in a gown over my nightclothes, I instructed the maidservant attending the Guest Room to prepare to receive the Crown Prince, then settled into a seat at the Reception Table and popped an exquisite pastry into my mouth.
Unlike what I’d been served earlier today, the butter’s flavor was rich and intense, melting away the moment it touched my tongue before gliding down my throat.
Delicious. I should tell Aster to have some too.
Just as I was about to summon Aster from the adjacent room to offer him a pastry, word arrived that Theodore had already reached the door. Moments after the maidservant’s report, the Guest Room door burst open, and he entered clutching the doll, breathing heavily with ragged gasps.
He certainly moves quickly when it suits him.
I watched the Crown Prince, still wearing white gloves and gripping the doll’s head, and took another bite of my pastry.
“What is this! What on earth did you give me!”
“The Auto-Return System Rosalite Rocksburg Doll Mark Two, perhaps?”
“Who asked for this hideous thing’s name!”
Really, calling it hideous was too much.
I laughed and responded to the Crown Prince’s protests, gesturing to the seat across from me.
The man was dressed similarly to me now, having apparently just changed, and a sheep-patterned blindfold I’d seen before was wrapped around his neck.
The Crown Prince seemed thoroughly flustered, rambling incoherently about the doll walking and making strange laughing sounds, voicing his complaints. But seeing the doll that resembled me dangling by its head in Theodore’s grip certainly didn’t improve my mood.
“Handle it with care. You’ll be cursed.”
“!”
Good. He should cherish it like that.
No matter how much it’s just an object, mistreating it carelessly invites punishment.
The man flinched visibly at my warning, then carefully cradled the doll and even smoothed down its hair before sitting across from me.
Apparently terrified of actual curses, his hands trembled slightly as he asked what grievance could possibly drive me to such actions. But I had only one answer for him.
“The problem was that the bread crusts were devastatingly delicious.”
“You’re telling me you nearly murdered me just because I didn’t prepare a wedding gift?”
“Murder? There’s no one in Rocksburg who cares more for the Crown Prince’s wellbeing than we do.”
“My heart nearly stopped because of this hideous thing!”
“That’s your own cowardice to blame. The Auto-Return System Rosalite Rocksburg Doll Mark Two is merely an adorable doll, after all.”
“Take this back with you at once.”
“Given that it’s called an ‘automatic return system,’ doesn’t that tell you something? Even if you brought it to my house, it would return to me on its own.”
The man shuddered at my explanation, his body trembling. As if struck by sudden inspiration, he seized the doll by both sides and hurled it against the table with all his might.
He then retrieved a knife and attempted to stab the doll through, but true to Sage’s description, the doll was extraordinarily durable—the blade merely clattered against it harmlessly.
From that moment, Theodore descended into panic.
His eyes lost focus as hysteria seized him. He made frantic gestures as if shaking something off, then suddenly bolted from the room, releasing an anguished wail.
After venting his stress in this manner for some time, Theodore returned looking considerably haggard. He sank into a chair and spoke to me in a subdued tone.
“What would you have me do?”
“What do you mean? Your Highness need only grow up strong and healthy—I, Rosalite Rocksburg, could ask for nothing more.”
“Tell me plainly. Must I attend these meetings? Is it enough to meet all these women?”
“Meeting them hardly ends the matter. How many years have I been telling you to marry?”
Though he clearly despised the prospect of living with the doll going forward, the Crown Prince seemed to despise the idea of marriage even more.
There was his prior intention to marry Leon, and this man… clearly preferred men.
“I… dislike all of you.”
What on earth is he saying now?
If he truly preferred men, I was about to suggest persuading the four Dukes to consider adopting a capable young man from among the royal relatives. But His Highness spoke first.
Moreover, burdened by accumulated grievances, he did not permit me to interject.
“I truly despise all of you. Do you understand? Born into the royal family, I have never done a single thing of my own volition. When I was young, you all said I must not threaten the Crown Princess’s claim to the throne—that I must suppress my desires to learn and do as I wished. Then one day you suddenly reversed course and handed me the Crown Prince’s position, only to burden me with countless tasks I’d never even witnessed, claiming they were necessary to ascend the throne. Just when I thought I might finally breathe, you speak of marriage? Marriage to someone clearly planted by one of the ducal houses?”
“If you dislike someone from a ducal house, you could bring someone else you favor…”
“It’s all the same! You’ll just adopt them into a ducal house, wash away their background and origins entirely, and forge connections with the Four Great Dukes anyway! Who do you take me for a fool?”
Well… that’s true enough.
To be honest, if I were in his position and he brought some woman he genuinely favored, I would have already planned to incorporate her into our household, cleanse her origins, and present her as Crown Princess.
That was… understandable, given that he is the Crown Prince. To become Crown Princess, one must receive appropriate education and, even if it’s merely for appearances, must be given a status befitting the Crown Prince.
“However, you are the Crown Prince of this nation. You must fulfill your given responsibilities.”
“Do you think I chose to be born in this place?”
“Then why not surrender the Crown Prince’s position to your younger brother and leave the Royal Palace?”
“And thrust this terrible burden upon that child while I flee?”
What does he expect of me?
Has this man only now entered his rebellious phase? Why such baseless defiance? Is twenty-seven even considered adolescence?
My chest felt constricted, so I drained the lemon tea my maidservant had prepared and pondered carefully. He dislikes anyone connected to the ducal houses… but that means he does intend to marry, doesn’t it?
“I ask merely to be thorough, but Your Highness doesn’t harbor some sexual preference—disliking women, or romantically favoring men—do you?”
“…What nonsense is this?”
Well, I had reason to ask, given his history.

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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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