Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 80

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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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“Why would you do that with perfectly good tea? If word spreads that you’re too strict with the servants, what will people think?”
“It was too cold for my taste. I had stomach troubles after visiting the Annex Building before, so I’m being particular about it. Violet will understand.”
“It wasn’t that cold. I distinctly said it was at a pleasant temperature to drink.”
“What can I do if it tastes cold to me?”
“Your sister drinks it without complaint. I’m quite worried that someone about to be married is being so finicky—your future wife will have quite the time ahead of her.”
…Why does the atmosphere feel like this?
Glen and Leon were clearly conversing with smiles on their faces, their words flowing as gently as a spring breeze, yet I found myself profoundly uncomfortable sitting among them.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I felt stifled. I wanted to leave this place immediately. Overwhelmed by these inexplicable emotions, I shrank back and cautiously interjected into their conversation.
“Glen, it doesn’t seem that cold to my palate either….”
“Rosalite, please stay out of this.”
Yes, sorry. Don’t glare at me like that. It’s frightening.
Glen’s subtle pressure left me no choice but to hold my tongue, so I sipped my tea and nibbled on the refreshments instead.
As I stuffed an entire scone into my mouth, Leon took pity on me and came to my defense.
“You’re quite strange, sir. Why do you take out your frustrations on your sister like that?”
“Leon, you’re the one speaking oddly. This isn’t venting—it’s protecting Rosalite so she doesn’t get caught in any unnecessary crossfire.”
“My, what invisible enemy are you fighting against, sir?”
“Ha, how would I know? That’s something even I don’t understand.”
…I think I’m going to be sick.
I’d hoped the three of us could have a pleasant conversation over refreshments, but I decided to escape instead. I hadn’t gotten any sunlight the past couple of days anyway, so I’d use a walk as an excuse and slip away.
“Aster! Let’s get some fresh air!”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
“Hurry. Quickly now.”
I rushed to leave, clinging to Aster as I urged him along, ignoring Leon and Glen’s chorus of questions about where I was going, and headed toward the newly developed Walking Path.
Once the new Office is completed, I’ll apparently be working between those two…. Did I make this decision too hastily?

Aster carried me into a new walking path that, unlike before, bypassed the park built within the Duke’s Residence and instead passed through the Brown Estate’s walking path and the Rabbit Breeding Facility.
Since it was a walking path my father had pioneered purely to see rabbits, Father was there today as well, leading the way with a pig’s hind leg in hand.
“I’m relieved to see you in good spirits today, esteemed Twinkle Star of the dignified Duke’s House.”
As I descended from Aster and greeted Father, he—walking alone without William—turned his head slightly to look at me and acknowledged my greeting.
“You’re earlier than usual.”
“I’ve escaped.”
“I can imagine.”
It’s remarkable. How does Father know everything?
I mentioned that I’d avoided Asterion and Glen out of concern that Father might have misunderstood, and he nodded as if he’d expected nothing less.
It’s truly astounding. How did he know?
“The newly constructed office will have desk sets, I hear?”
“Yes.”
“Be sure to install partitions. Arrange the workflow so Leon and Glen never have to see each other’s faces.”
Father, why do you seem so familiar with this?
I was about to ask how he could possibly know so much, but Father suddenly quickened his pace and wore an unusually bright expression, so I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.
Upon arriving at the Rabbit Breeding Facility, which had been completed one step ahead of the office and printing house that required interior construction, Father pressed a switch located near the fence, rang the doorbell with a cheerful ding-dong to announce his arrival, and then
“Peter!”
called out with vibrant energy, and soon the enormous rabbit Peter emerged from his hutch and bounded toward the fence with rapid thuds.
“Peter has set feeding times, you know. If you keep giving him treats like this, he’ll become overweight.”
“What does it matter? It’s just a small pig’s hind leg.”
“A small pig’s hind leg? That’s precisely why Jack worries that Peter won’t eat his regular meals at feeding time.”
“You’re becoming more like William.”
How can you say something so harsh?
I was about to lodge a complaint, but seeing Father looking so utterly content, I could only keep my mouth shut. It’s strange how someone with such a stern appearance has such an affinity for animals and children. Animals often approach him first, too.
The Duke, who possesses the skill to distinguish the faces of twins and causes children and animals to lower their guard and approach him first… What could it be? A Disney Princess? Is our father actually like a Disney Princess?
“Rosalite! Rosalite! My daaaaaaughter!”
This is trouble.
I had intended to chat with Father while watching Peter crunch and munch on the pig’s hind leg, but the one person who absolutely should not be here has arrived.
Sage, who had been running toward me with Father completely out of sight, only realized the Duke was present when he drew near, and his expression darkened considerably.
“Why is my daughter your daughter?”
And Father’s expression was equally displeased. The two men, snorting at each other, stood a step apart with me between them and began their quarrel.
“Are you aware she is your daughter?”
“Answering my question should come first.”
“Hmph, Rosalite has read the papers I’ve written since childhood. She follows and respects me in her heart, so wouldn’t it be fair to say she regards me as her mentor? And since ancient times, a mentor has been no less than a father—indeed, often greater.”
“You’re living here rent-free and speaking of mentorship?”
“Do I owe you a debt for living in Rosalite’s house, or do you owe me?”
“This is my house.”
“When you die, it becomes Rosalite’s. You’re merely a temporary resident—don’t presume too much.”
“Do you wish to be executed for conspiracy to commit regicide?”
“Now, regicide? Rosalite said I’m at least someone you can lean on, didn’t she? Rosalite, who did I say I was related to? Those people from the Northern Region.”
“Sage is the cousin of Duke Neitram’s great-great-grandfather, isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s it!”
Father was staring at me with an intensity that felt almost menacing, though I hoped it was just my imagination.
“Rosalite, whose side are you on anyway?”
“Why, I’m on the side of the person I truly admire—myself. Have you ever heard me say I admire you?”
“….”
No, Father. Don’t just stare at me. Think carefully about it. If you trace back through the past, you’ll surely find a moment when I said I admired you.
“Moreover, I told Sage that I don’t merely admire him—I revere him. Have you ever heard me call you Papa? Not even once have you heard me say Father, have you? Well, I have. It’s because you work me to the bone day in and day out, grinding away at me until I’m so exhausted that the word Father never leaves my lips.”
“….”
That’s not quite right either, Father. If you think about it carefully, you’ve surely heard me say Father before. I call you Father so many times in my inner monologues.
“No, Duke. Surely you know without my saying it how much I respect you ordinarily.”
“So you won’t call me Father after all.”
“And look at this? Rosalite, what was the content I discussed on page forty of volume two of my Applied Brain Lightning Magic?”
“You were discussing the possibility of nuclear fusion using ultra-high-temperature plasma, my dear. If the safety mechanisms were sufficiently robust, it could become a next-generation energy source, but with current technology it’s utterly impossible, and there’s the danger that someone could misuse it and obliterate an entire village, so I believe it would be best to recover all copies immediately and destroy them.”
“See? You remember every word I said without a single mistake!”
Oh no—after half a century of using it as reference material for papers, I responded reflexively without thinking!
What I truly wanted to emphasize was that the book should be erased from the world entirely, but Father seemed too preoccupied to grasp that deeper meaning.
Watching Father deliberate at length, unwilling to lose to Sage, as he struggled to form his words, I closed my eyes tightly and spoke up, hoping to spare him further heartache.
“I apologize, Duke. The revised legal code you compiled has characters that are far too small and the volume is far too thick.”
Father’s face crumbled as though the world had ended. Sage looked triumphant, his expression radiating victory.
But what could be done? The characters in that book were smaller than in a Bible, the paper was flimsy, and the thickness was such that if you swung it, you could crack someone’s skull.
Though I’ve been confined to the Duke’s Residence for decades, I never dared attempt to memorize it all. At best, I could only guess that this content was somewhere around here….
Honestly, I suspect Father is the only person in the entire nation who has memorized that entire book.
“…We’ll see about this.”
No, Duke—you just had your cheek struck by Sage, and now you’re directing that at me?
After seeing Father off as he turned on his heel, glaring at me intensely, I gently stroked Peter, who was still gnawing on a ham hock, and sighed deeply. Where in this vast Duke’s Mansion could I possibly find a place to rest in peace?
“Why is he picking a fight with an innocent child?”
“It’s because of Sage.”
“What did I do?”
It’s better if you don’t know. What good would it do for me to complain to Sage?
Now that I thought about it, if Sage had leaped up from the Magic Research Institute upon discovering me, he must have had business with me. When I brought it up, Sage let out a small “oh” and mentioned the errand he’d forgotten about.
“I still haven’t given you your wedding gift.”
“That’s true.”
“That four-wheel-drive vehicle I mentioned before. While I was making that, I created a toy as well.”
Oh. Now that’s an intriguing prospect. Anything Sage calls a toy never remains a mere toy.
Excited at the mention of a gift, I pulled Sage toward the newly expanded Garage. There, copper wires, mana crystals, iron plates, and bolts and nuts lay scattered about like refuse, and in one corner where Sage pointed, a familiar object sat waiting.
That is…!
“A… Segway!”
“What’s that? It’s an automatic whizzer-thing.”
What a terrible name for it.
I couldn’t help but express my astonishment at Sage’s rather questionable naming sense, but I quickly composed myself and climbed onto the Segway.
The moment my hand grasped the handle, a tingling sensation emanated from the Magic Stone, signaling me to channel energy into it. I converted mana into power and fed it through, causing the wheels to gradually spin faster until the contraption reached a speed comparable to a human sprint. After taking it for a quick lap around the front of the Garage, I applied the brakes and came to a stop before Papa.
“There’s truly no one but you for me, Papa!”
“I’m glad you like it, but you only call me Papa when it’s convenient for you.”
“It’s because I find it difficult to presume to call the Sage I so deeply respect by such a familiar name under normal circumstances!”
“Then there’s nothing to be done about it. Call me Papa as much as you like when it suits you.”
Yes, yes, thank you. Papa, the genius Aleine’s brilliant intellect!
Papa, delighted even by my half-hearted flattery, dismissed me with instructions to get to work and returned to the Magic Research Institute. Aster doesn’t seem particularly interested, but Jack would certainly be envious—so I’ll save this for when Aster comes to work.
After that, I stopped by the Dining Hall to grab a cup of coffee, which I gulped down eagerly as I made my way back to the Office.
I sincerely hope Sage’s memory never returns for the rest of his life. If I can just keep him confined and exploit his labor for another fifty years, I’ll easily catch up to twenty-first century civilization.

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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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