Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 89

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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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His demeanor and appearance unmistakably reminded me of someone. He wielded multiple weapons, was exceptionally strong, had gleaming golden hair, rarely communicated coherently, and—most tellingly—fought people for the strangest of purposes.
“Defeat me, and I shall give you my precious creation!”
“…!”
Oh! I remember now! Bastard Number Two!
“Samuel the Incommunicable!”
It had been ages. I’d only encountered him once during my third playthrough, yet I’d ranked him among my list of bastards. Back when I’d only just begun my journey as Rosalite Rocksburg, I’d gone for a leisurely stroll hand-in-hand with Leon when we ran into this lunatic, and he’d immediately picked a fight with us.
Samuel the Incommunicable was a blacksmith by trade—skilled, it seemed—but he was infamous for testing his completed weapons by slashing people with them to verify their sharpness, seeking out worthy individuals befitting his creations before vanishing without a trace.
He was so elusive that most people never saw him once in a lifetime, yet here Leon and I were, encountering him for the second time. Our fates were truly peculiar.
Back then, Samuel the Incommunicable had apparently thought Leon worth crossing swords with, someone with potential to cultivate, and he’d spouted all manner of bizarre remarks about flowers and breaking things, and his mouth had…,
The rest is omitted.
“Do you know me?”
Puzzled that I knew his name, the man turned to ask, but I didn’t answer. There was no point conversing with him. He was Samuel the Incommunicable, after all. Why else would I have given him that nickname? I’d attempted dialogue multiple times back then, but communication had proven impossible, so I’d abandoned the effort entirely.
“Leon! Kill him! If we don’t eliminate this bastard, we’re doomed!”
“Well, doesn’t matter to me.”
Yes! Don’t hold back! Die!
Just you wait. Even if Leon can’t finish you, I’ll strike you down myself with a thunderbolt.
Perhaps I’d trained magic all this time for this very moment. How many days had I spent weeping in frustration after losing Leon so pathetically? He was the embodiment of my past failures and regrets. Die. Just die already. Let this be the end!
I channeled my mana, ready to unleash lightning even if Leon failed to defeat the man. Once I completed the conversion preparations, a single incantation would unleash my attack. If I miscalculated the coordinates, it might miss, but I could at least restrict his movements…, damn it. I should have learned guided attack techniques from Sage while I had the chance!
“A mage.”
“!”
This bastard could sense mana like Aster? Samuel the Incommunicable had detected my magical preparations and, even as Asterion pressed his assault, attempted to hurl a throwing knife at me.
Simultaneously, my shoulder erupted in pain. He hadn’t thrown his weapon yet, but the impact was unmistakable—Elizabeth had bitten me. She’d seized my shoulder in her teeth and hurled me sideways, clearly intending to take the blow herself.
“Elizabeth!”
I tumbled across the ground, and my shoulder screamed with pain—possibly dislocated—but there was no time to worry about my injuries. No, my precious steed was dying! My one and only beloved horse!
Clang!
I’d sprung to my feet, anticipating Elizabeth’s collapse, but the situation unfolded differently than expected.
Someone had shielded Elizabeth. A massive weapon swept through the air, and half a dozen throwing knives from Samuel clattered to the ground. The figure wore a gas mask tilted awkwardly on his head—the same one he habitually wore.
Yet no matter how elusive Jack Brown was, he couldn’t have appeared at this precise moment by mere coincidence.
“You bastard! You were hiding there watching all along!”
“Yes! That could very well be the case!”
Wait, who should be angry here? Why are you the one getting upset!
I clutched my aching shoulder, tears threatening to spill, ready to lash out at Jack. But thinking about it, Jack had remained silent until now, and there was only one reason he’d have to be upset.
“Um…, Jack Brown…?”
“Yes!”
“How long have you been watching…?”
“Jack Brown! I didn’t raise you to be like this!”
“I’m sorry.”
I had nothing to say in my defense, so I simply offered an apology and clamped my mouth shut.
Yes, he had every right to be angry. That was absolutely infuriating.
“I’ll settle this with you later!”
Thank goodness. Let’s kill him first.
With Jack joining us, I felt invincible. Asterion and Jack’s attacks were poorly coordinated, but with our numerical advantage, we could force our opponent into a defensive position.
As they pressed their assault relentlessly, Samuel finally revealed an opening. One more thrust, one more slash, and Asterion could end this in a single breath.
Relief flooded through me, and I was about to call out my proud brother’s name when something felt wrong about Leon’s movements.
“…!”
“Tch.”
He hesitated. At the final, crucial moment, Leon faltered. Samuel was wounded but had more than enough strength to escape. He abandoned his heavy weapons and bolted into the darkness of the alley with nothing but his body.
We’d let him slip away. All I could think to do was reproach Asterion.
“I told you to kill him!”
And all of this was for your sake! You ungrateful brat! You ungrateful brat!
I stormed toward Asterion, my missing arm swinging uselessly as I smacked his back repeatedly. The recoil sent sharp pain through my shoulder, but I was too furious to care about such trivial suffering.
“Stop it, Young Lady! How can a novice be expected to kill someone?! This is his first real combat!”
“Will you still be making excuses when you’re dead?! This spoiled child had him cornered and still let him escape! You ungrateful brat!”
“Your arm needs to be set! You’ll break the bone!”
“Aaaahhh!”
Jack grabbed my arm to stop me from beating Leon’s back, and with a sickening crack, he reset my bone. He then approached Asterion, who kept apologizing, and offered him comfort, saying this happened to everyone at first.
No one here was on my side. No one but Elizabeth!
Feeling sorry for myself, I grabbed Elizabeth’s muzzle and rubbed my face against hers. What a noble creature you are. Willing to take blows meant for your master. You’re a true example of loyalty. When we return home, I’ll grant you a medal and a knighthood.
Neigh!
There was no choice now but to return to the Duke’s Mansion and send out people. Determined to capture and kill the incommunicable Samuel no matter what, I mounted Elizabeth and seized the reins when a deafening crash echoed from the direction he’d fled.
It sounded like a building collapsing. What in the world had happened?
Curious, I urged Elizabeth toward the source of the sound. As we arrived at the spot where dust was still rising, I saw several residents of the territory peering out their windows, jolted awake by the noise. And embedded in the corner of one building’s wall was a man, drenched in blood.
From his clothing, it appeared to be Samuel, the one who’d fled. But he was so thoroughly pulverized that he was practically fused into the wall. There was no other way to describe it. Setting aside the extraordinary skill involved, the method was far too brutal.
To determine who could have done such a thing, I dismounted and surveyed the area, my body trembling as I spotted three swords planted in the ground.
What is this? It’s cold. I’m shaking. Terror washed over me at a primal level. My body remembered.
I don’t want this. I don’t want to see. But I have to look. If I don’t, I’ll die. I’ll be murdered.
Cold sweat poured down my face as I approached the three swords with numbers etched into their hilts. The stone floor around them had been carved with elegant script—it appeared the swords themselves had been used to etch the message.

Clean it up.

“H-hic. Hic. H-hic.”
I began hiccupping. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t breathe.
Jack and Asterion, who’d caught up, grabbed me and asked if I was alright, but the shock I’d already received was beyond my capacity to endure.
“M-mother.”
I barely managed to speak those words before losing consciousness.
Later, Jack told me that I’d collapsed with my eyes rolled back and foam at my mouth—apparently it was quite a gruesome sight.

◇ ◆ ◇

When I woke, birds were chirping beyond the window, and bandages wrapped around my shoulder. My heart had been racing uncontrollably last night, but now it had settled considerably.
Aster, sitting beside my bed peeling peaches and popping them into his mouth one after another—sucking out all the juice like a leech before spitting the pit into the wastebasket—told me that the three swords Jack had retrieved yesterday were taken by the Duke himself with great care, and that Jack and Asterion would be confined to quarters for four days as punishment for failing to protect me.
I bore some responsibility for venturing out with only Leon in tow and minimal precautions, but it seemed they were letting it slide since I still had work to do. Besides, did Aster bring all those peaches intending to peel and eat them entirely by himself?
“Young Lady. Have a piece.”
“All right.”
Finally, one made it into my mouth.
I chewed the peach thoughtfully, lost in contemplation. Was motherhood truly such a terrifying thing?
Before becoming Rosalite, I had no mother from a very young age and knew little of her; even after becoming Rosalite, I had never met my mother directly, so my understanding of what a mother meant remained uncertain.
Neither Father nor anyone in the Duke’s House spoke much of her, and the only things I had managed to hear were that “Rosalite Rocksburg lived with her mother until she turned ten” and “Mother is currently indulging in leisure at the Maternal Grandmother’s House.” Now that I think of it, when William said she was our mother, he shuddered and swore he would kill her again. What grudge could possibly exist?
In all my years, I had never visited the Maternal Grandmother’s House where Mother was supposedly indulging in leisure. Where even was it? If marriage negotiations had been exchanged with Rocksburg, it must be quite an illustrious family. Come to think of it, at my wedding, only paternal relatives came in droves, and not a single maternal relative showed their face. I had left the selection of which relatives to invite to Father, so I hadn’t paid it any mind, but….
“…Huh?”
Isn’t my mother far too mysterious? Why did I tremble seeing her handwriting? Well, whenever I murmur the word “mother,” for some reason….
“…It tastes like iron.”
It feels like blood pooling in my mouth. For some reason, I also taste soil. Something like gastric acid, something sour, seems to be rising up….
“Young Lady. Are you all right?”
“Yes…, I’m fine. I’m fine….”
I shouldn’t think about it. The sensation of rolling left and right in muddy water on a day of torrential downpour seems to linger across my skin, so it’s best I stop thinking.
Ugh, my entire body is trembling.
“Young Lady, are you cold?”
Yes, it seems so. Sudden chills struck me just like yesterday, and I wrapped myself in the blanket Aster brought, accepting the peach. My condition wasn’t good, but I couldn’t afford to rest.
With Aster’s help, I changed into fresh clothes, wrapped myself in the blanket, and sought out the Duke’s personal Doctor. Suspecting it might be a cold, I received medicine and had my shoulder examined once more, then reported to work as usual, receiving Glen’s full measure of concern.

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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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