Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 81

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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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#Side Story: The Crown Prince Wishes to Receive a Confession ~The Maddening Kimchi Soup Festival~

I hurled the auto-returning doll Rosalite Rocksburg Mark Two out the window.
That grotesque thing returns to me no matter how many times I discard it. I was sick to death of it. What method could possibly destroy it?
In truth, destroying Rosalite Rocksburg herself would be more urgent, but I lack the strength for that now.
Filthy Rocksburg wretches.
That woman had been a thorn in my side from our first meeting. A snot-nosed brat who followed her father in protesting against the Former Crown Princess, and when I held my first audience with her after my Crown Prince investiture ceremony, she asked me a few questions before returning home with a look of utter disdain on her face.
Not long after, all manner of medicinal herbs arrived at my doorstep, supposedly beneficial for intellectual development.
A letter accompanied them stating that it was a grave matter for a Crown Prince to possess such low intelligence as to be incapable of managing daily life, and that I should begin focusing on brain health from this moment forward. The letter was written on recycled paper as if to say even a single coin spent on me was wasteful, and I nearly stormed into the Duke’s Residence to strangle Rosalite Rocksburg to death.
After that, she disappeared from sight for a while, only to visit the Royal Palace to sing songs urging me to marry. When I told her to solve her own marriage problems before worrying about me, she actually brought a groom candidate with her.
Is that groom candidate in his right mind? What possessed him to become engaged to that woman and decide to marry her? Was he blackmailed? Yes, unless his life was threatened, there’s no way he’d consider marrying that woman. What a pitiful fool.
“Damn it.”
It returned quickly.
I watched as the Rosalite Rocksburg Mark Two I’d thrown moments ago whimpered and crawled back up through the window. I gently lifted the doll with both hands and hurled it out again, then checked my luggage list.
Now that I think about it, all this trouble stems from that woman. Because she forced that blind date upon me, I reluctantly selected a partner and ended up going to the Island. I checked off items on the list the attendants brought and turned my head toward the bookshelf.
I should bring that for my peace of mind. That vile woman and her equally vile entourage will be accompanying me to the blind date location, after all.
The item I pulled from the bookshelf was a single fairy tale book. The cover was worn from my childhood nursemaid reading it to me whenever I asked, but it was precious to me. I still vividly remember the title that had been embossed in gold leaf.
‘The Pirate of the Blue Ribbon’.
It was an adventure tale of a noble girl from a fallen house who disguised herself as a man, boarded a pirate ship, and embarked on exploits across the vast ocean.
The image of her, her silver hair bound tight with a blue ribbon, gazing up at the starlit sky while singing and drinking rum, remains etched deeply in my heart. One might say she was like my first love.
Ah, simply holding this book to my chest like this already lifts my spirits considerably. Even if it’s only for a few days, I’ll have to face that tiresome woman from morning to night—I don’t know what I would have done without this book.
I added the fairy tale to my luggage list and finished my preparations for bed.
I put on my eye mask and tucked the lamb doll I usually slept with under my arm. A memory surfaced of that woman—the one I feared might appear in my dreams—pressing her lips against my doll, but I tried to forget it.
Now that I think about it, I harbored a grudge over that lip contact and sent her bread crusts, and she sent back this cursed auto-returning doll in retaliation.
If the Rocksburg family hadn’t forcibly pushed me into becoming Crown Prince and I, having personally selected the finest ingredients and cooked the food myself, had sent it to her, she would have prostrated herself in gratitude and accepted it graciously. Yet she dared to retaliate.
In any case, nothing good comes from being entangled with Rocksburg. Why hasn’t that woman met with a violent death by tonight?
I wish she would disappear. I sincerely wish that woman would vanish. I wish the Duke’s House would be wiped out overnight and she’d end up begging in the streets.
It’s a wish that will never come true, but I earnestly prayed for it nonetheless.

◇ ◆ ◇

I couldn’t sleep.
Every last bit of it was Rosalite Rocksburg’s fault.
Thinking about that woman kept me awake and irritable—who would have guessed? I’d often drunk myself to sleep out of frustration caused by her, but I never imagined I’d lie awake until dawn wishing for her misfortune.
Today’s meeting must have weighed on me more than I realized. I’d hastily chosen this woman to avoid the candidates the Four Great Dukes had selected, but something about her felt off.
The handwriting in her letter requesting a meeting had changed midway as if written by different people, and there were droplets of what didn’t seem to be ink scattered throughout.
Despite my unease, meeting her was better than facing one of the Four Great Dukes’ choices. Especially better than meeting a woman pushed forward by Rocksburg—a million times better.
I already suffered from stress-induced stomach ailments because of that woman. If I married someone influenced by her, I’d be ruined. I’d die young from rage. And my own descendants would dance to her tune as well.
I’d rather die than see that happen.
With only that resolve, I made my way to the harbor for the meeting. There I spotted Rosalite Rocksburg bouncing around cheerfully, claiming she’d finally seen sunlight after days, and my mood soured so thoroughly that I had no choice but to greet her. I needed to stop her shameless behavior immediately.
“My, if it isn’t the young lady of Rocksburg. I mistook you for a village girl passing by, given your appearance.”
“Your Highness managed to arrive here bundled up so tightly on such a fine day. I’m sure the parts we can’t see are already drenched in sweat, aren’t they? Why don’t you try loosening up a bit?”
“Unlike the young lady, my sweat glands are organs that perceive atmosphere, so I refrain from such careless behavior. If you went around undressing yourself like that simply because it’s hot, your fiancé would have had something to say about it.”
“My fiancé, unlike Your Highness, is a kind person who only speaks sweetly to me.”
“Already under his thumb, I see. How pitiful.”
“If these meetings go well, that could become Your Highness’s future as well.”
“Hmph, that will never happen to me.”
I’d made the effort to speak to her, and she’d picked another fight. How was it that I could never have a pleasant conversation with that woman?
Having done my utmost to show her courtesy, I turned my head sharply and boarded the sailing ship prepared by the Royal Family.
Once aboard, I noticed a luxurious sailing ship flying the Rocksburg Family colors, ferrying tourists. It was larger than the Royal Family’s vessel, more ornate in its exterior, and most notably, its design was state-of-the-art, equipped with emergency power mechanisms—a magnificent craft.
Was she trying to flaunt the Rocksburg Family’s financial superiority over the Royal Family? And why did she have to arrive before my departure?
The money spent building that one ship could have funded three renovations of the shabby Second Prince’s Palace with money to spare. Yet when I needed funds for the Second Prince’s Palace renovation, they’d refused adamantly, claiming no resources were available. After I’d barely managed to make that ruin livable, they’d dug up construction fraud allegations and manipulated me relentlessly.
“….”
Don’t think about it. Thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.
Besides, it’s all my own doing—who else can I blame? The place now called the Second Prince’s Palace, where my younger brother lives, was originally where I resided.
I’d been pushed aside by the Former Crown Princess, received no proper support, and lived as though dead until the day before the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony.
I thought I’d spend my entire life in that ruin where sunlight never reached and mold bloomed whenever I was bored. But one day, the Former Crown Princess suddenly decided she wasn’t fit to inherit the throne, dumped all responsibility on me, moved me to a new building, and had tutors coming in day and night.
If I’d asserted my rights even slightly during that time and renovated the building, the Second Prince wouldn’t be suffering from asthma now, trapped in that place.
“….”
Wait. No matter how I think about it, this really does seem like Rocksburg’s fault.
I’ll have my revenge, Rocksburg. You see the royal family as nothing but cogs turning the nation’s machinery. If we don’t fit your standards, you discard us easily. If replacements exist, you swap us out just as easily. If we don’t meet specifications, you smash us and reshape us. You’ve even forced us to breed endlessly under the guise of duty.
What do I look like in their eyes? Do they even see me as human? At the very least, I know well that Rosalite Rocksburg treats me like a stud horse. She visits whenever she’s bored, saying I don’t have to marry, just go cause trouble somewhere and bring back children.
Does she think children are born alone, that damned woman!
…Phew, calm down. I came here to meet Irene today, so I need to conserve my energy for her.
Upon arriving at the Island, I watched Rosalite Rocksburg work enthusiastically alongside my attendant before preparing for an afternoon nap.
Whether because of that woman or not, unpacking took half the time it had when I’d packed at the Royal Palace. She’s obsessed with efficiency, that woman. It’s infuriating. She’s checking off lists of people and luggage entering the Island while scratching her head. So shameless. And what’s with that strange masked figure attached to her side? Anyway, there’s not a single decent person around that woman.

◇ ◆ ◇

After sleeping at the appointed hour and waking, Irene had already arrived with her entourage.
I was about to go greet her when word came that the First Imperial Prince of Largol was accompanying her. And here Rosalite Rocksburg was making such a fuss—how on earth was she managing her affairs?
My stomach churned. Of all people, I had to face the Empire’s first in line for the throne at my own arranged meeting. He said to treat him comfortably since he’d come in a relaxed frame of mind, but could I really take that at face value?
More than anything, if I believed his words and let my guard down, Rosalite Rocksburg would mock me again. This time, she might even bring some renowned Doctor to examine my intellect.
Lost in such thoughts, Irene suddenly knelt before me and wept.
Then, seeing my face, she rushed to the bathroom to be sick.
I was terrified.
Rosalite Rocksburg was the only person I could rely on.

◇ ◆ ◇

When I came to my senses, I found myself lying in my Bedroom, clutching a fairy tale book I’d brought with me.
I had no idea how the day had passed. I remember begging that woman to do whatever she could, and then I think I walked through the Garden with Irene, but…
“….”
No, I can’t recall what happened after that.
For the sake of my peace of mind, I opened the book and gazed at the illustrations. The pirate with the blue ribbon was as magnificent and beautiful as ever, accomplishing everything alone.
“Your Highness. Someone from Rocksburg has come to visit.”
“Who?”
“Rosalite Rocksburg’s guard.”
Probably one of those men dressed entirely in black or white. The fact that she’d send someone at this hour meant she had grounds to pick a fight—and I granted permission to see them with genuine delight.

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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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