Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 90

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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 I threw my tantrum, Father had apparently already handled all the fallout, because the Security Chief came to find me not long after I arrived at the office and apologized to me.
I scolded him, saying he should be apologizing to Jack—who’d been falsely accused—not bowing and scraping before me. Then I directed him to the Brown Estate, where Jack was supposedly in confinement reflecting on his conduct, and sent the Security Chief on his way.
Honestly, what a disaster. The Security Chief brought me this mess of a situation, and now Jack and Asterion are being punished for failing to protect me, while I’m left being resented for suspecting Jack in the first place.
As I pondered how to soothe Jack’s wounded feelings, I decided to tackle what I could resolve first—I drafted an appointment letter.
I summoned Violet to modify the pre-made third-class ribbon medals from the Rocksburg Ducal House, placed a bulk order for premium hay, completed all the preparations, and bestowed a knighthood upon Elizabeth, my beloved mare.
In honor of your valor and loyalty in protecting me without hesitation, I hereby grant you the title of knight of the Ducal House.
I gathered the people of the Duke’s Household to hold the investiture ceremony, and wove the medal into Elizabeth’s braided mane.
From now on, my mare would fall asleep surrounded by only the finest hay, eat only the freshest vegetables selected from those brought into the Ducal House that day, and receive an oil massage once a week.
After that, I worked like a madwoman trying to forget the shock. I had all the furniture in Asterion’s room replaced, personally introduced him to the horse master who’d previously owned Elizabeth so he could select a horse he liked, and threw myself into overtime after overtime every single day—until one day Glen told me there was no work left for me to personally oversee.
It was shocking. Just for one day, my workload had dried up. And that wasn’t the only shocking thing that happened.
On the day I was trudging back to my room for lack of tasks, I spotted a Royal Palace carriage through the window, so Aster and I sprinted toward the entrance hall at full speed.
Having grown accustomed to running, I arrived at the entrance hall just as the carriage pulled up and was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a Royal Family party—and since it was a bride-selection ball for the Crown Prince that hadn’t been held in ages, I was delighted and danced hand in hand with Aster.
But no matter how long I waited, Father never came.
Worried he might be ill, I went to his office, but Father was working perfectly fine.
I waved the invitation at him and even showed him the map, but Father only told me to have a good time at the ball.
It was terrifying.

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The day before the ball, I packed, received beauty treatments, and rested thoroughly. On the day itself, I was dolled up and headed to the stables. I had a promise to keep today.
“Elizabeth! Is there a knight named Elizabeth who received a third-class medal?”
I brought servants along to search for Elizabeth, and from the stables emerged Elizabeth with a lustrous coat gleaming brilliantly, walking out with great confidence. I had brought people along because of a promise made beforehand, but since I was asking her to do something she had never attempted, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“Can you really pull a carriage? To meet His Highness, you’ll have to pull that carriage while carrying me, Aster, and the coachman as well?”
I was already pointing to a carriage with a sturdy Shire horse hitched to it. Since I disliked complications, I planned to use two carriages anyway, and pulling a carriage required not just strength but also synchronizing with the horse beside her.
When I asked if she, who had spent her entire life only for riding, could do this, Elizabeth snorted dismissively as if it were laughable and headed toward the carriage.
Watching the servants’ eyes, it seemed they were urging me to hurry up and connect her to the carriage already.
“Well, if you really insist, then so be it…”
I decided to respect Elizabeth’s will and climbed into the carriage. I had to meet the Crown Prince no matter what, so I couldn’t refuse. It didn’t seem like I’d have another chance to gallop to the Crown Prince’s Palace alone like last time.
Once we were ready, the carriage rolled along more smoothly than expected. I had eased one worry, but another concern still lingered. It was about Father.
Father declining to dance—wasn’t that a sign the world was ending? Had Father experienced something as shocking as I had? Otherwise, how could he not covet the party invitation in my hands? That Duke who goes absolutely wild over dancing and parties? Oh dear, the end times are upon us.
“Young Lady.”
Lost in thought for quite some time, I glanced outside the carriage when Aster, who was serving as my escort today, took my hand. Our house and the Royal Palace were indeed quite close. Had we already arrived?
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Wait.”
I promised to bring His Highness out later and have him meet Elizabeth, then left the rest to the coachman. I told him I would send word through an attendant if I needed anything later, and together with Aster, I headed toward the ballroom.
I’d quickly take Aster to where the food was and then grab some random man to dance with.
It would have been nice if Luke were here, but he’s so busy that I shouldn’t expect it. If there’s no one to partner with, I could call John Brown from the Princess Palace, who’s been attending to the Four-span Princess’s hangover, to dance with me, or I could take the male part myself, or if all else fails, I’d just have to drag Aster away from his meal.
I felt sorry for Aster, but I absolutely had to dance. I’d been through so much emotional hardship lately. I needed to play all day and then go to His Highness’s lodgings to be attended to by maidservants and sleep soundly.
As soon as I entered the ballroom where the party was in full swing, I grabbed Aster and headed toward where the food was. Other noble young ladies from distinguished houses who had graced the Crown Prince’s bride-finding party approached me with greetings, but I could only give them a cursory nod and pass by.
I was going to feed Aster quickly and then rush off to dance.
“What if he comes now!”
Oh my goodness, what a fright!
Someone shouted as if scolding, startling me, and I looked around to find the source of the voice. I was already showing signs of slight nervousness, and now someone was scaring me like this. My heart was about to leap out of my chest.
“Follow me.”
The one who shouted and approached was the Crown Prince, the protagonist of this year’s bride-finding ball. Unlike Theodore, who usually wore a smiling face, the man had a strange expression—whether smiling or not, it was hard to tell—and he demanded my company without hesitation, leaving me to simply stare at him blankly.
Apparently assuming I would follow, Theodore walked ahead with heavy steps, but when he glanced back and found me absent, he returned before me with a laugh full of irritation.
“I clearly told you to follow me. Is your hearing not very good?”
“I’m not in the mood to attend to you today, Your Highness.”
“The Rocksburg Young Lady commands the dignified Crown Prince to come and go whenever she pleases, yet she won’t obey my words. How disrespectful.”
“If you’re upset, you could just say Rocksburg instead.”
“You’re quite excellent at saying things that don’t make sense.”
“Anyone who understands nonsensical words must surely be someone who isn’t quite human.”
“When I say come, you should come. Why do you talk so much?”
“This talkativeness of mine isn’t something new, so I’m disappointed you’ve gotten along with it until now.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the man moved to take my hand, so I quickly pulled my arm away.
And since His Highness tried to grab again in the direction my arm had moved, I swiftly lowered it as well.
The Crown Prince seemed to be angry.
“I’ll call the royal guards.”
“You’re calling the royal guards just to seize one frail woman?”
“Yes.”
He seemed quite angry.
At this rate, he might collapse from sheer fury, so I decided to stop teasing him. I offered my hand to Theodore and allowed myself to be dragged along obediently as he led me away.
For some reason, the man walked briskly across the ballroom where everyone was dancing, through the corridor, and into a room designated as the VIP Lounge, where he shut the door with a bang.
After checking to ensure no one else was present, he stood before me and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, the reason I asked to see you like this is…”
The Crown Prince looked me up and down, his eyebrows twitching slightly before he took a step back. Then he opened his mouth carefully.
“It seems you have something to confess to me. Speak.”
Pardon?
Unable to discern his intent, I tilted my head in confusion.
If I were Rosalite Rocksburg with little experience, I might have stumbled into his trap just now. After all, my house had planted informants throughout the Alein Kingdom, including within the Royal Palace itself, and we monitored the movements of potential threats to protect the royal family’s peaceful daily lives.
But I am not one to make such careless mistakes. My plans were always flawless, and there was no risk of information leaking.
I only employed those whose discretion had been proven through multiple cycles, and I ensured those whose usefulness had ended remained silent. The dead tell no tales.
So I was extremely confident right now! There wasn’t a single thing I could be caught on!
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“I already know everything. You don’t need to be embarrassed.”
“Know what, exactly?”
The Crown Prince enjoyed playing with the Second Prince, but had he caught some lung disease? He coughed for a long while before finally speaking. This was bad. I’d need to call a doctor. No matter how temperamental he was, the kingdom couldn’t afford to lose the man who would become its pillar to consumption.
“That you have feelings for me.”
“I already told you that before.”
“What…!”
When I delivered the doll, I had certainly confessed, overcoming all manner of shame, that I was quite fond of our Crown Prince. So why was he bringing this up again now?
“When I gave you the Rosalite Rocksburg doll Mark Two before, didn’t I tell you that I was quite fond of you, Your Highness?”
“You call that a confession?”
“What do you mean ‘that’? That’s harsh.”
I had been so embarrassed back then. Just packaging those words nicely and handing them over made me feel as though insects and worms were crawling all over my body. And he calls it ‘that’? This boy was being far too dismissive of my sincerity.
“…I see. I was too harsh.”
“Now you understand.”
“But still, if that’s the case…”
Now what?
As I urged him to hurry so I could return to dancing, the man asked with a bewildered expression. In all my years, I had never seen the Crown Prince in such a state. Had his lung disease become that severe?
“Why did you marry that man?”
“That man? Are you referring to Glen Hofen Rocksburg?”
“Yes. Glen.”
“…Because he’s good at his work?”
“You decided to marry based solely on the fact that he’s good at his work?”
“Yes.”
Ha, this was amusing. Upon hearing my answer, the Crown Prince made an extremely strange expression. But he didn’t stop at just contorting his face—he spun around in place like a bee in a figure-eight pattern before returning to stand before me. Then he shouted as if angry.
“You can’t make such a pragmatic decision about marriage! Isn’t that disrespectful to the other person!”
The man spoke firmly, then grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth vigorously. As a result, my vision spun and I couldn’t maintain my balance. He needed to stop. My head was being rattled apart.
“It’s just a contract anyway, so what does it matter! The contract automatically renews every two years, and if Glen finds someone he actually wants to marry, I’ll send him right over!”
“How can you even speak of marriage as though it were a mere contract! And you call yourself someone with a heart?!”
“These things happen when you live long enough!”

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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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