Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 74

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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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After everyone warmed themselves, we gathered for dinner, and once the meal concluded, we each had free time. Unlike the initial awkwardness when we first met, Theodore and the Imperial Princess had developed quite a pleasant rapport. I offered her words of encouragement and excused myself, deciding to play card games in the room with Aster and Jack.
As we prepared our gaming setup—fetching blankets to spread on the floor and gathering snacks for later—the First Prince noticed our bustling preparations and arrived with an expensive bottle of liquor, requesting to join us.
Had he come empty-handed, I would have turned him away, but since he brought fine spirits, he qualified as an excellent guest.
I warned him beforehand that Aster and Jack were my trusted aides and guards, and if he expected royal treatment at our gaming table, he should withdraw. Lucius accepted those terms and took the bottle from Jack.
Watching us play cards with genuine honesty and integrity, the Crown Prince initially seemed exasperated, but as time passed, he eventually joined our circle for a game of Snap, only to end up rolling across the floor clutching the Joker.
“…?”
“What’s wrong?”
Aster, who had been shuffling cards enthusiastically, suddenly frowned and bolted upright.
The woman, sniffing with her eyes closed, paid no mind to the ongoing game and walked briskly toward the door, only informing me of the situation once she grasped the handle.
“I smell something burning.”
“Something burning?”
“Meat burning.”
This girl—truly, her sensitivity to food scents was remarkable.
Since burning meat was genuinely unfortunate, I decided to investigate. I excused myself to Jack and the Crown Prince, then followed Aster out of the room.
As I trailed her into the corridor, she didn’t head toward the Dining Hall as I expected. Instead, she entered the Guest Room, which wasn’t far from where we were.
The moment the door opened, a pungent burning smell rushed out.
Was it a fire? Yet the furniture inside remained intact, and flames were visible only in the roaring fireplace.
Still, it was odd to have a fireplace lit in a room no one was using.
“This is….”
Aster approached the fireplace without hesitation and poked at something with a poker. That something was massive and charred—a large, lumpy form.
To be precise, it was human-sized, and its shape resembled a piece of meat shriveled and blackened by fire—the form of a human corpse.
“Is it a person?”
“Yes.”
A burned body.
“Aster.”
“Yes.”
“Theodore’s safety is our absolute priority. Go inform his guard immediately.”
I instructed Aster to alert Theodore’s security chief and calculated that we’d need to set sail at dawn once the storm subsided. Yet the girl didn’t move an inch.
When I pressed her to hurry, Aster insisted that my premise was flawed.
“Your safety comes first. I cannot leave you.”
Good grief, how stubborn this knight could be.
Since I couldn’t break Aster’s resolve when it came to food and my safety, I decided to find Jack first. I hastily extinguished the fireplace and returned to our room.
Jack seemed to be swaying—apparently the First Prince had forced him to drink—and seeing him incapacitated when the situation was urgent made me want to pummel his back.
“Jack. Can you run?”
“I’m fine. Only… two cups so far.”
“A body has been discovered. Theodore’s safety is our top priority. We leave this place as soon as the storm clears.”
Jack squeezed his eyes shut at my words, slapped his own cheeks to regain focus, then reported to the Royal Family’s representative before promising to return once preparations were complete.
“Lucius, please look after the Imperial Princess and the others. I’ll return to where the body was found and search for clues to identify the culprit.”
“Wait.”
I was swamped, so why was this Crown Prince stopping me in my tracks?
I stumbled as Lucius grabbed my skirt hem and pulled me upright, barely steadying myself by grasping Aster’s hand.
This man was over thirty years old, yet he kept acting like a child. What was his problem?
“So the Crown Prince’s safety comes first. Does that mean my safety is considered second priority?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“I’m Lucius Aidemorck, am I not?”
“You came here as a porter named Lucius Aidemorck.”
“Still, my primary position is as a prince, is it not?”
This man was unreasonable. And what was wrong with being second priority anyway? At least I was saying I’d prioritize saving him over myself.
“As you well know, human lives have different weights to them.”
“Am I worth less than Theodore of the Alein Kingdom?”
“I didn’t phrase it that way. You’re making a logical leap.”
“Isn’t that what you meant?”
“In an urgent situation, one’s arm might bend inward a little.”
Stop bothering people and go protect the Imperial Princess yourself!
I softened the words I’d screamed internally and spat them out as politely as I could manage, then hurried back toward the room with the fireplace.
Then I heard an additional set of footsteps joining Aster, who was quietly following behind me.
“I told you to go protect the Imperial Princess.”
“I have neither reason nor justification to protect that woman.”
“If you follow me, it will be dangerous.”
“The area around you seems to be the safest place in this building.”
“That is…”
I couldn’t deny it.
It was speculation, but Aster was likely the strongest person on this island, and Jack, who could strike down any opponent as long as they used aura, was scheduled to return to my side once his task was complete.
Though not publicly known, I could also use magic to protect myself, and… combined, there were no gaps in our defenses.
“I understand. Then if the Imperial Princess comes to harm, you won’t hold me responsible?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
I couldn’t actually hit him. Because Lucius had spoken so infuriatingly, I wanted to beat him to death, so I clenched my fists and suppressed my anger.
If I hit him, it would become an international incident. If I hit him, it would become an international incident.
“This island is Alein’s territory. It’s your homeland, so your country should take responsibility.”
“Then Rocksburg will take responsibility instead. Let’s not drag the entire nation into this.”
“Just thinking about the Rocksburg father and daughter working overtime at my place already excites me.”
What, you said you’d grant a title?!
If I’m taking away the real power broker of another nation, shouldn’t I naturally provide a lucrative domain with plenty of people and money flowing through it, plus a grand mansion in the capital?
When I pressed him on what he’d said, the man grinned and said that of course the treatment should be different between someone who comes of their own accord and someone who’s taken by force.
“So why not defect while you’re at it? Right now, I’d provide a profitable earldom on your terms and a grand mansion within a hundred meters of the Imperial Palace’s main gate.”
“That’s enough. I’ll take responsibility and commit suicide instead.”
“Don’t say such things. The person next to me looks like they might kill me.”
Startled by Lucius’s observation, I turned around to find Aster glaring at the First Prince as though ready to strangle him on the spot. Aster, calm down. I’m not dead, so please calm down.
Since her hostility was plain for anyone to see, I struck her back with all my might and bowed repeatedly in apology before dragging her by the ear toward the room with the fireplace.
I lectured her the entire way there and told her to stand facing the wall in reflection until I finished my business. Aster trudged dejectedly to the far corner of the room and pressed her forehead against the wall.
“What a foul stench.”
“I told you not to follow me and to stay with the Imperial Princess.”
“Being around a girl I don’t know feels awkward, so I came along.”
“I find it equally awkward being around a man I don’t know.”
“How can we not know each other?”
“Exactly—it would be better if we truly didn’t know each other.”
I turned on the lights and crouched beside Lucius, examining the charred corpse from every angle, when the Crown Prince—who had been spouting nonsense until now—finally said something useful.
“Judging by the physique, this is a woman.”
“Is that so?”
“Look here. The pelvis is quite wide, isn’t it?”
“You certainly speak like someone with considerable experience observing women.”
“Well, naturally. I’ve been married twice, after all.”
Oh my, how impressive. Well done indeed.
I offered perfunctory acknowledgments while finishing my examination of the corpse with the kindling stick, then rose to my feet. As I began searching the surrounding area meticulously for any traces, a question was posed.
“It appears she was struck on the head and died. I’m checking to see if the blow occurred here.”
“The head?”
“The skull is severely caved in. Try poking it with the kindling stick.”
“How revolting. I’d rather not.”
Yet you examined that revolting pelvis with such meticulous attention.
The night had already fallen, making it impossible to detect bloodstains, but I confirmed that part of the carpet was damp before approaching the window and opening it to look below.
It was too dark to see anything clearly, but I could make an educated guess. The wind and rain seemed to be intensifying—could a typhoon be approaching?
“What are you doing over there?”
“Nothing at all. Shall we return now?”
“Already?”
Yes. I’ve learned everything I needed to know, so I’m done playing detective.
This guest room lacked the vase that every other guest room possessed. The Crown Prince had undergone a complete renovation for his marriage interview, filling vases with flowers throughout, so there’s no reason this room would be an exception.
Therefore, it was reasonable to conclude that the culprit had struck the victim’s head with the vase and disposed of the broken pieces and flowers outside the window. The evidence supported this—the window hadn’t been opened, yet the floor nearby was wet.
Had the intent been merely to kill, leaving the body after striking the head would have sufficed. But the deliberate incineration suggests an attempt to obscure the victim’s identity. Such thoroughness indicates this was no impulsive crime, but a premeditated one from the start.

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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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