Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 72

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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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I had been looking forward to meeting someone who admired the Crown Prince so much, wondering just how eccentric and delightful they might be. With a bright smile plastered across my face, I descended from the carriage—only to spot a man who had just disembarked and was carrying the Eighth Princess’s luggage in her stead. My expression crumpled involuntarily.
“Ugh!”
The person volunteering as a porter was, astonishingly, Lucius.
“That’s quite a greeting for a person’s face.”
“I hadn’t heard that you would be accompanying us, sir.”
“Well, I didn’t come officially. Today I’m here as the Eighth Princess’s porter.”
“That’s absurd. The First Prince of the Largol Empire setting foot in Alein Kingdom without prior written notification—this is an international incident.”
“How strange. I could have sworn ‘Lucius Aidemocrat’ was clearly written on the porter list.”
Who in their right mind scrutinizes porter names that carefully?
Furious, I wanted nothing more than to verify the entry manifest immediately, but those documents were likely nestled safely in my luggage back at the Royal Villa by now.
I desperately wished to prevent him from entering the villa, but I had no legitimate grounds to do so.
He had already submitted his name to the porter list in advance from the Empire, filed the necessary paperwork, and cleared immigration inspection. What possible means did I have to send him back?
Those incompetent fools at the Royal Diplomatic Administration—wait until I return. You’re all in for a thorough dressing down.
“Rosalite! You’re Rosalite of Rocksburg, aren’t you?!”
While I was grinding my teeth with thoughts of future revenge, a cheerful voice rang out from behind Lucius.
A young woman, said to be eighteen years old and possessing a voice befitting her age, let her wavy blonde hair flutter in the breeze as she approached and greeted me.
Oh my, how embarrassing—I’ve been greeted first. I must quickly compose myself and return the courtesy properly.
“I seem to have been so captivated by the Eighth Princess’s beauty that I lost myself. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“Oh no, not at all! Someone like me, who exists as though I don’t in the Imperial Palace, might easily be overlooked! But I’m so delighted to meet you! I’ve heard the news that you turned the entire Largol Empire upside down before departing!”
Hmm…
This girl is remarkably spirited.
I exchanged pleasantries with the woman, who shook my hand with such warmth, complimenting her on her excellent command of the Kingdom’s language. Then I quietly approached the First Prince and remarked that the Eighth Princess had grown up without any awkwardness.
“To follow along as a porter like this, you must hold her in quite high regard?”
I had never heard her name before, but if she had caught the First Prince’s eye, there was no harm in cultivating a connection. With that thought, I probed gently, and the man tilted his head before unceremoniously foisting a piece of luggage upon me.
“Hmm? I’m meeting her for the first time today.”
“…Pardon?”
“Haha, if I’d known she was this amusing, I should have met her long ago.”
What? Is this how Imperial Court sibling relationships work? Even if they share different mothers, you haven’t met your younger sister once in eighteen years?
I was genuinely shocked by this revelation, and apparently my astonished expression amused them greatly. The brother and sister, who hadn’t seen each other once in eighteen years, linked arms with each other more affectionately than anyone and explained the reality to me.
“My mother, well, truly has neither money nor power nor anything else—she lives as though dead! In fact, people don’t even recognize me when I walk through the Imperial Palace!”
“Haha, that’s right. I didn’t even know the Empire had eight princesses!”
“Your Majesty, the Empire has not eight but thirteen princesses. I am not the last.”
“I see. But enough with the formalities. Call me Older Brother. If this matter goes well, you’ll become Queen yourself, so let’s build some connections while we have the chance.”
“Goodness, Older Brother really doesn’t discriminate—you’ll befriend anyone useful, be it dog or cattle.”
“You’re really quite amusing. How have I not known about you until now?”
Well, I’m glad that at least the sibling bond has deepened through this opportunity.
I turned my head to pass the luggage I’d been handed by Lucius over to Aster, but something about Aster’s demeanor seemed off.
She stared at Irene with piercing intensity, then let out a voice dripping with hostility as she began to assume a drawing stance.
She’s going to cause real trouble at this rate.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, fortunately Jack moved.
Before Aster could act on her impulse, Jack struck the back of her head hard, spewed out a stream of curses, pulled piano strings from his watch, and wound them tightly around Aster’s sword and scabbard so they couldn’t be separated.
“Aster, why would you do that? I told you to exercise restraint….”
“But the smell….”
The smell?
I didn’t smell anything at all.
Puzzled by what scent she’d detected, I pressed Aster for details, and she said something like a chemical smell was coming from the princess’s direction.
“…Isn’t it just perfume?”
“By common sense, it would be perfume.”
“That’s not it!”
Living this long, I’ve seen Aster throw tantrums at me for every reason imaginable.
Having witnessed such curious spectacles, I chuckled and decided to confiscate Aster’s sword, entrusting it to Jack.
“Last time she even tried to bite the Duke when she saw him. These days she growls at anyone, so Jack, keep a close eye on her.”
“Did you really summon me just for this?”
“That’s right.”
“Then there’s no helping it.”
With the gas mask on, I couldn’t see his expression, but I could tell Jack was delighted.
Thinking he’d been granted permission to hold Aster’s leash, Jack kicked Aster’s rear end repeatedly with his foot, took the luggage from me, and headed toward the carriage.
“Then shall we move to our quarters? You must be tired from the long voyage. I’ll show you to your resting place first.”
After guiding the First Prince and Irene to the guest carriage, I quietly took a seat beside the First Prince, turned my head, and whispered. So I politely asked what scheme he was up to under the pretense of being a porter, and the man continued laughing carelessly with his usual nonchalance.
“Vacation.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Your manners have gotten much worse since we last met.”
“This is our land and we have more people. What reason would I have to back down?”
“Vacation combined with headhunting.”
…You still haven’t given up on that?
I couldn’t even laugh when he said that betraying the kingdom now would get me a free countess title in the Empire, so I said I’d consider it if it were a grand duke’s position instead, then moved to sit beside Irene.
“You must have a difficult time having such a person as your older brother.”
“Oh no, I’ve never even met him before.”
That’s true enough.
While it was a fair point, only the parties involved could laugh at that joke, so I kept my mouth shut and suppressed my laughter.
“….”
As I sat right beside Irene, I caught a faint whiff of something like disinfectant?
Could it be that she also has a habit of disinfecting everything she wears due to obsessive cleanliness? If so, they certainly would be a match made in heaven….
Now that I’d actually met her, Irene seemed to have a good personality, and my resolve was weakening bit by bit.
If they truly went through a formal meeting and two young people in the flower of their youth turned out to be well-matched and genuinely fond of each other…, hmm…, it would be wrong to interfere.
A powerless princess of the Empire wouldn’t dare object even if we pushed a member of our family into a concubine position.
I should observe Theodore’s reaction later and reconsider this matter then.
With that resolve, I made small talk with the people of the Imperial Court as we headed toward the Royal Villa.

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Would this meeting truly proceed successfully?
Less than two hours after deciding it wouldn’t be bad to offer blessings for the two of them, my resolve was already shaking from its roots.
This was a disaster. I glanced over and noticed that our neighborhood’s Crown Prince seemed somewhat frightened.

This had occurred exactly five minutes ago. Theodore, who had finally awakened from his nap with that smiling face, finished grooming himself and we all decided to have tea time together. Due to the unexpected meeting with the First Prince, he headed toward the Reception Room, displaying considerable tension and displeasure.
I assured him that Lucius was simply on vacation and likely had no ulterior motives, coaxing him to relax and spend time alone with the princess. When I opened the Reception Room door, there was Lucius lying on the sofa in an incredibly relaxed posture, eating grapes, and the Eighth Princess with a frozen expression on her face.
I could overlook Lucius being his usual self, but the princess’s behavior seemed strange. As if she’d witnessed something untrustworthy, she looked at Theodore, then rose from her chair and approached with heavy steps before dropping to one knee at the Crown Prince’s feet.
And she wept.
“Waaahhhhh! You’re so handsome!”
…I, I had never dared do such a thing even to Marius, and yet she had done it…?!
The princess was truly sobbing. I could tell she was sobbing because tears were dripping onto the carpet from her eyes.
Her behavior seemed to fluster even Lucius, as the man lost his words while grapes remained in his mouth. The Crown Prince, who had been paralyzed with fear until now, finally began backing away.
“What are you doing, Crown Prince? Help her up. She has traveled this far from the Empire for your sake.”
“…B, but.”
“But what? Extend your hand.”
Besides, it was you who insisted on arranging this meeting in the first place.
When I pushed the Crown Prince forward, he reluctantly extended his hand to the princess. Though his entire body expressed horror, his face remained fixed in that smile. I had never felt so uneasy about his perpetual grin.
Well done, Your Highness. Splendid, Theodore with your smiling face. You are truly a model for the royal family.
‘I, I am pleased to meet you. My name is Theodore Alein.’
I’m fine, thank you, and you?
Somehow, that awkward dialogue seemed like an example sentence from a basic Largol Empire language conversation textbook.
The Crown Prince, stammering as he hesitantly extended his hand, cut quite a pitiful figure, yet no one in this room laughed.
Rather, I wanted to applaud him. He had done his best. No matter how strange the other person was, the fact that he didn’t flee this moment and extended his hand made him already beautiful in the highest sense.
“Ugh!”
When the princess let out some sort of exclamation—whether of emotion or something else—the Crown Prince’s hand, which had barely begun to steady, trembled again.
You cannot flee, Your Highness. Do you understand? You cannot flee.
‘A, are you alright? Your hand….’
Hang in there! Theodore, hang in there!
Before I knew it, my fists clenched as I found myself cheering for the Crown Prince. You’re doing well. That’s right. On one knee. Yes. Take it! Grasp her hand!
“Nngh…!”
The princess, hesitating as she tried to clasp his hand in response to his tenderness, suddenly covered her mouth and trembled violently. And in an instant, her face turned deathly pale.

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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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