Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 6

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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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For Lily’s sake, it was better that the third waste’s betrothal be decided quickly. What kind of madness was it to bring a man into the position of Crown Princess? Didn’t they care about the succession? Would they take responsibility if the Royal Family line was cut off? And what was the age difference between the two of them? One, two, three, six, seven…
“We’ve arrived, Miss. I’ll be on my way now.”
In any case, Aster was remarkably competent at her work.
The moment Uncle’s Mansion’s entrance came into view, she leaped down and rushed ahead faster than anyone to announce my arrival. Since Aster would handle the preliminary explanations, I wouldn’t have to exhaust myself talking.
Once the carriage came to a complete stop, I took the attending servant’s hand and descended, then asked where Uncle Louis was. As I’d expected, the servant said he was in his Office with the lights on despite the dinner hour.
Sigh. I felt sorry for everyone in the Rocksburg Ducal House.
This satellite city happened to be only thirty minutes away from the Capital, so the Ducal House had been burdened with an enormous amount of work. I myself had dumped quite a bit on them before.
But our duchy was stuck in the Capital! The entire vast Capital was precisely divided into four sections ruled by four ducal houses! And the Royal Family kept dumping work on us! Let our house breathe a little!
Governing the marquisate, handling the work dumped by the Ducal House, hearing news of my second brother’s impending death—I felt sorry for Uncle Louis, who was struggling in so many ways, so I took a moment of silent apology before walking forward with renewed cheer.
Honestly, it wasn’t my problem anyway, so why worry? Ha ha.

“Good evening. I am honored to meet you, Miss of Rocksburg.”
As I was walking briskly toward Uncle’s Office, someone greeted me. It was rare for anyone in this house to speak to me first—was this the eldest son? I turned my head to respond, but standing there was not someone with “silver hair and golden eyes,” but rather a person leaning on a cane.
Was there such a person in this house?
As I thought carefully, a certain name suddenly came to mind, and I answered with a smile.
“Well, well, well, well. Aren’t you the nonexistent son of this house?”
The other person gritted his teeth. But his expression didn’t crumple. Well done holding back, Glen. You’ll have plenty more to endure, so consider this practice, Glen.
“I’ve brought good news for you and your mother. Would you care to dance a waltz with me?”
The form was a waltz. As I made humming sounds—”boom-cha-cha, boom-cha-cha”—and grasped my skirt hem while bowing at the waist, Glen seemed unable to hold back any longer and spoke with a voice full of anger.
“Are you mocking me right now?”
No, no, even with one leg lame, one can still dance. Why are you making me out to be a bad person?
Since it seemed he wouldn’t take my hand at all, I straightened my posture, and Glen continued to feign an expressionless face.
Good, Glen. Well done, Glen. I’ll reward you with good news.
“Dylan, who has been tormenting you, is scheduled to die around tomorrow. I hope you enjoy a peaceful life ahead.”
The moment my words ended, Glen’s face went deathly pale.
It made sense. The family tree here was a complete mess—Uncle Louis’s eldest son was from his first marriage, and Dylan, the younger son, was born to the woman who was now acting as the Marchioness. That woman had remarried, bringing Glen, her child from her previous husband, and though her relationship with Uncle Louis was very good, she not only bore Dylan but even had another late child after that.
No matter how much he had bullied Glen, Dylan was a candidate for the succession here, and he had been protecting his mother, his younger brother, and Glen. If Dylan disappeared, Uncle Louis’s successor would either become the eldest son or that infant—one of the two. If I were in the eldest son’s position, I would dispose of the infant, the stepmother, and Glen, and become the sole candidate to inherit the house.
“That cannot be! Please reconsider!”
“It’s already done. Once I get Uncle’s consent, my father’s permission will follow, and Dylan is gone. He touched someone he shouldn’t have touched.”
Why don’t you think about your own crimes before killing the boy? Do you have any idea how terrified Lily must have been when he died? If you haven’t thought about it, don’t even speak, because I’m getting furious.
“Miss, I beg you. If Dylan’s feelings were hurt, I will apologize in his stead. Please reconsider…!”
With nothing more to say, I strode toward Uncle’s Office, and I heard Glen chasing after me from behind. Despite his lame leg, he limped along quite well in pursuit. Now that I thought about it, I’d heard that he wasn’t born lame—Dylan had done something to make him that way.
In any case, the boy was quite pitiful.
“If you’re that desperate, get on your knees and start with your head. Who knows—I might open a path to your survival on a whim.”
As I tossed out those words, the sound of the pursuing cane stopped.
That’s right. No matter how much of a nonexistent son you are in this house, you were born a nobleman—you couldn’t do such a thing, could you?
Anyway, the problem with nobles is always their pride. Uncle Louis, whom I was about to face, would likely cut down Dylan without hesitation because of that very pride.

I confirmed that Glen was no longer following me, then made my way to see Uncle Louis.
Uncle Louis read through the report, watched my convincing live-action performance, and then furrowed his brow at the part mentioning that several other noble scions had witnessed Dylan’s shameful behavior. When I reenacted Dylan’s words and actions from when he’d mocked Leon with vivid realism once more, he finally relented and handed me the consent document, pleading with me to stop.
Leon should have seen this. Leon, your sister is living her life without hesitation, even playing the fool for your sake.
I collected Uncle Louis’s consent document, picked up the messenger pigeon for recycling, and hummed my way home. Father was working late again, so he immediately approved the document to erase Dylan from existence and set the execution procedure in motion the moment dawn broke.
I wandered around from evening until the dead of night, unable to eat, clutching my hungry stomach as I finally went to bed. With today’s work piling up, I had to wake at dawn tomorrow and lock myself in the Office.
I wanted to cry.

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I woke early in the morning, was bathed and dressed with the help of Lily and Violet, worked through the backlog, ate a snack on the way to Dylan’s Execution Ground, confirmed his death, returned, and pulled out the letter I’d drafted yesterday in rough form.
The moment the 9 o’clock bell rang, my loyal knight Aster appeared with breakfast and, saying we should eat, scooped me up and sat me on the sofa in the Office reserved for guests. I kept my eyes fixed on the letter while chewing the bread Aster placed in my mouth.
“How is it that you do the same things as the Duke?”
“Does Father also carry William around like that?”
“Not anymore—it’s become too heavy.”
Wait, so he used to carry him when it was lighter?
I wanted to hear more details, but Aster shoved salmon roe into my mouth before I could say anything more than a mumble.
“Young Master, Asterion has arrived.”
It seems I won’t have a chance to ask about this.
I gave Lily permission to let him in, and I saw Asterion approaching with an incredibly stiff gait. Leon greeted me with equally rigid movements, his voice thick with tension.
“Young Master, I, I offer my respects, with utmost devotion, eternal loyalty…!”
“Who talks like that these days? A simple good morning is enough. And it’s Sister.”
“G, good morning…! Sister!”
“You should have eaten first before coming here.”
Leon, still unable to relax, said that upon hearing my news, he’d rushed over without even having breakfast, asking how he could possibly eat leisurely when I was working.
It’s admirable, but you’re going to collapse at this rate.
Since I was planning to work him hard regardless of it being his first day, I snapped off a banana from the bunch in front of Aster as a gesture of encouragement, and Aster immediately gripped my wrist firmly.
“That’s my portion, Miss.”
“I know, so let go. You’re frightening.”
Aster must have grown up in a household with many servants, given his particular appetite.
I had Violet bring more snacks and took my breakfast time.
Leon seems to be swallowing without even chewing—I hope he doesn’t get indigestion. I should prepare some digestive medicine for him later.

By afternoon, it was clear that Leon was exhausted. I’d made him tour the Mansion from front gate to back entrance, meeting with every department head to announce the arrival of a new family member, and even had him relay the trivial chitchat between Father and me—acting as a messenger in between. At this point, he likely didn’t have the strength left to walk.
“Do you handle all of this alone every day, Miss?”
“Me? Why would I?”
“Then, I….”
“You’re being broken in. Think of it as an initiation.”
Leon’s shock was written all over his face. It was amusing. So I laughed.
Leon, you’ve always been easy to tease since way back, and I’ve enjoyed it.
“If it gets too hard, just sit there and pick out some well-behaved young ladies.”
I pointed to the portraits and attached documents stacked like a tower on the sofa table. Leon obediently followed my instruction and, while examining the portraits and papers with the young ladies’ profiles, asked me a question.
“What is all this?”
“Crown Prince candidates we’re pushing forward.”
It was our job to filter through candidates nominated by the collateral branches and pitch them to His Highness the Crown Prince. When I explained this, Leon made a bewildered expression. He must think we do all sorts of strange things. Yes, the Duke’s House truly does handle all manner of peculiar affairs, Leon.
“Young Master, Glen, son of the Marquess and Marchioness, requests an audience.”
Just as I was about to tell him what other strange business we had, Violet opened the side door, entered, and made her report.
Glen? Ah, that cane from yesterday? I recalled the magnificent cane with the silver seal and said he could be brought in. At that, Aster, who had been loitering in the corner, quickly came to my side.
“Could he be here because of Dylan?”
“Who knows….”
I spoke vaguely with a suspicious tone, and Aster adjusted the sword hilt to make drawing easier. There was likely nothing serious, but there was no harm in being cautious.
“Leon, bring a chair and work beside me.”
It would be more troublesome if he pestered Leon than if he tried something against me, so I had him move his seat. Leon, confused but obedient, answered that he understood and relocated his work to borrow the corner beside my desk.
Just as Leon settled into his new spot, the door opened, and Glen limped into the room and greeted me.
“If it’s about Dylan, it’s already too late.”
I spoke with a smile, resting my chin on my hand. Glen flinched at my blunt words but quickly composed himself as if he’d already anticipated this.
“I’ve come to beg, as you suggested.”
Hmm…. I didn’t expect this.
I raised the corners of my mouth and watched what Glen would do. The man knelt down and opened his mouth with a solemn expression.
“I want to live.”
So he came with real resolve.
I found Glen’s effort admirable and let out a scoff before returning to my work. I think I told him yesterday to bash his head in too, but it seems he didn’t hear that.

“…Is this really alright, Miss?”
As I was checking the gift list to hand over along with marriage talks to Idiot Number Three, Aster spoke with a worried tone. Leon also offered to step outside if there was something important to discuss, but there was no important matter to discuss with Glen.
“Don’t worry about that and just examine the portraits.”

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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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