Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 9

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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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Noticing how Aster seemed sluggish compared to when we’d arrived, I rose from my seat and moved deeper into the hall. She followed without question, trailing behind like a shadow.
Let me think—she’d been cooped up in the Rest Room complaining of fatigue since earlier, so she should be around here somewhere.
I stopped a passing Maidservant and asked where the Crown Prince was. The Maidservant readily guided me to his location and conveyed that the young lady of Rocksburg House, Rosalite, wished to see him.
When permission came from within to enter, I didn’t hesitate. I found the Crown Prince with a damp cloth pressed to his eyes and offered a respectful bow. He truly did look exhausted.
“Your report of departure hardly seems the courtesy of a proper farewell. Or do you have more nagging left to dispense?”
I did have more to say, but his tone was remarkably irritating. I abandoned my intention to keep this brief and straightened, unfurling my fan with practiced elegance.
“I wish not to return this evening, Your Highness.”
Would he be flustered? If so, I might have regarded him as endearingly naive, but the Crown Prince dismissed the notion entirely with a sharp retort.
“The Duke himself does the same—do you all regard the Royal Palace as some sort of free lodging?”
Such an uncharming child.
Come to think of it, had Father been using the Royal Palace as an overnight refuge even before this? I’d assumed it was only during my caterpillar-like phase, but it seemed he’d been doing so regularly. Well, who could blame him—returning home was unbearable. How could I even explain it? That reality crashes down the moment I step through the door.
“If finances are strained, I shall pay for lodging. I wish not to return this evening, Your Highness.”
“Enough with the affected coquetry. It’s revolting.”
Excuse me.
You.
How dare you.
Revolting? To a woman of eighteen springs, beautiful and pristine as the morning dew? Revolting?
“It seems Your Highness has never witnessed truly revolting behavior.”
“I’d prefer your nagging. That would be better.”
Fine, then. I’ll nag. That’s all it takes.
I instructed the Maidservant to inform my household’s coachman and servants that I would be staying the night, then began my lecture to the Crown Prince. As he made his way back to the Crown Prince’s Palace, I trailed behind him relentlessly, sharing his carriage while expounding endlessly on road construction expenses and the selection of a Crown Princess. At some point, the Crown Prince had begun covering his ears.
“How far do you intend to follow? Surely you don’t actually wish to spend the night in my bed.”
“That’s quite all right. I can even sing you a lullaby.”
“You there. Take this woman to the Guest Room at once.”
Wait, I wasn’t finished! So are you going to address the road construction funds or not?!
I tried to state this politely, but the Crown Prince shut the door in my face as though he couldn’t bear the sight of me.
Just you wait. I’ll be back.
“Young Lady of the Duke’s House. I shall guide you.”
“Never mind, let’s just go. He wasn’t listening anyway from the middle of it all.”
I raised my middle finger toward the door through which the Crown Prince had vanished, then followed the Maidservant who had been assigned to guide us.
Whether she’d received advance instructions or not, the Maidservant attempted to lead Aster and me to a location on a different floor from the Crown Prince’s chambers—somewhere that would take considerable time to reach on foot.
“…?”
But Aster stopped in her tracks. She seemed to sense something amiss, her brow furrowing as she turned to look behind us. Not long after, her hand moved to rest on her sword hilt, prompting me to turn as well and survey our surroundings.
“What is it?”
“Something is here, Miss.”
Really? I couldn’t quite discern anything with my eyes alone. On a hunch, I concentrated my mind and attempted to sense the mana around us.
Ah. There is something.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Miss.”
I’d sensed something similar before. Dark magic? Mental-type magic? In any case, it was that unpleasant kind of mana. Compared to then, it was so faint that if I let my concentration slip even slightly, I wouldn’t be able to trace its source.
Wait. Did Aster figure that out by intuition alone? What is she, a genius?
“It seems to be this way.”
Moreover, she’s finding it far better than I am. I’d heard that seasoned swordmasters who could produce sword auras with ease were sensitive to such things… but Aster hadn’t reached that level, had she? Was she truly a genius? A bundle of talent? Should I arrange for her to have proper instruction?
“Wait.”
I stopped Aster, who was about to open the door, saying the source seemed to be deeper inside the room. Something felt wrong. Dark magic was most often curse-type magic. And this location—it seemed to be directly beneath the Crown Prince’s bedchamber…
“Bring the Court Mage.”
When I gave the order to the Maidservant, who had been dutifully following behind us out of respect for our wishes, she seemed to realize we were serious. She hurried away, promising to summon him immediately.
I extended my hand near the doorknob and gathered the surrounding mana to form electromagnetic energy.
“What are you doing, Miss?”
“Don’t talk. You’re breaking my concentration.”
Drawing on surrounding mana is difficult. I’m a complete magic novice who hasn’t even gathered a first circle yet.
After taking time to turn the doorknob with my own power, I pushed the door wide open and stepped inside. When I created a small light bulb at my fingertip and illuminated the surroundings, I heard Aster’s bewildered voice.
“What are you doing, Miss?”
“You just search.”
“That’s not the issue! When did you learn magic? Does the Duke know?”
“Stop talking and search!”
I stepped hard on Aster’s foot, and she yelped, grabbing her foot. I was going mad with distraction—why did she keep talking to me? She should just do what I told her to do.
“Ugh, cough. It seems to be here.”
Pottery?
When I peered inside an enormous ceramic vessel and brightened it with my light, something like a totem sat inside. What was that? A curse doll? Whatever it was, judging by the faint aura it emitted, it didn’t seem particularly potent.
At most, it might cause shoulder stiffness or eye fatigue…
“Ah.”
Suddenly understanding, I lifted my head and looked toward where the Crown Prince would be resting. So that’s why he kept complaining about being tired after dancing just a few times.
“Right now it’s merely a cute prank, but…”
The very fact that something so grotesque had been brought into the Crown Prince’s residence was a grave matter. If someone with genuine malice had set this up, it could have been fatal.
Actually, thinking about it again, it’s probably because this petty object was so insignificant that it went undetected until now.
“You called for me, Young Lady?”
As I was turning these thoughts over, a young mage came rushing in with the Maidservant. He startled once at the sight of the light bulb glowing in my hand, then startled again after peering into the ceramic vessel at my gesture. His face had gone deathly pale.
“Young Lady, I…”
This was a crime that would be fatal no matter how it rolled. Even more so for a mage stationed at the Crown Prince’s Palace and sharing security duties. The fortunate thing for this mage was that Aster and I hadn’t let a word slip, so the Maidservant remained ignorant of the full details of what had transpired.
“Find out where it came from. If you confess the truth to me alone, I’ll take responsibility and handle this quietly.”
“…! Thank you so much. I’m in your debt, Young Lady.”
“I trust you’ll strengthen security on your own.”
I left the rest to the mage and then pressed some money into the Maidservant’s hand, telling her to forget everything she’d seen. The woman refused at first, but when I added a few more gold coins, she bowed and said she’d complete the escort.
There was hardly anything in this world that money couldn’t solve.

After that, I cleared my head and proceeded to the assigned room as if nothing had happened. I shared a late-night meal with Aster, bathed, changed into a nightgown, played for a while, and then slept soundly in bed.
The next morning when I woke, I saw Aster sleeping peacefully beside me in bed, and a Maidservant screamed—but the moment I tossed her a handful of gold coins, she fell silent.
The child is sleeping soundly; don’t wake her.
I finished my preparations to leave before Aster woke and summoned a carriage. It was time to face reality once more.

◇ ◆ ◇

The distance from the Royal Palace to our home was remarkably short. Perhaps that was precisely why I dreaded leaving.
As the gates opened and the carriage entered the Garden, I resigned myself to the fact that I would have no days of rest for some time—when I spotted a familiar silhouette in the distance.
Pacing back and forth at the Entrance Hall, braving the cold wind, was unmistakably Leon. He must have noticed the carriage, for his face brightened and he came running toward me.
“Welcome home, Sister!”
I opened the carriage door and took the extended hand, only to find the child’s palm ice-cold. Moreover, upon closer inspection, dark circles shadowed the area beneath his eyes. Had he not slept at all?
“Why are you out here? The weather is still cold.”
I grasped both of Leon’s hands and breathed warmth onto them with a soft exhale. As my body heat began to transfer and his hands gradually warmed, Leon laughed sheepishly.
“Last night, Father said that if you were out here, you would surely arrive this morning.”
Father certainly knows me well. But wait—he was out here yesterday too?
“Why do you look so exhausted?”
“Oh, it’s nothing at all.”
Don’t lie to me.
I shifted my hands to rub his ears, which were frozen solid. Perhaps my touch was too vigorous, for Leon squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered as if enduring pain.
What is this adorable creature? Does he do this intentionally? Does he study every day how to appear even more endearing?
In any case, I needed to get him inside quickly. This wouldn’t do out here in the cold.
“Let’s go to the Annex Building. Rest for a while. I’ll keep your lessons on schedule.”
“…Yes.”
No amount of drooping like a wilted foal would change anything. You must learn quickly and grow strong, become someone capable of protecting yourself, and then become a valuable asset to our household.
I took Leon’s hand and swung it cheerfully as we walked. Along the way, I asked what he had been learning, and from his precise answers, it seemed he was studying diligently.
Now that I thought about it, given Father’s nature, he would have registered even an illegitimate child and kept him as a laborer—so why was he treating Leon as a servant? The boy’s learning progress was excellent each session, so his intelligence should have been noticeable from childhood. And if Mother was upset enough to demand a written apology, Father could have simply adopted Leon out to another household or appeased her somehow, couldn’t he?
Was it insurance? Or a strategy to catch two rabbits with one stone?
“Hmm?”
As I walked eagerly toward the Annex Building entrance, a sense of dissonance made me pause. Something felt off. It was as though I had forgotten something important…
“Sister? What’s wrong?”
Moreover, it seemed to be related to Leon.
What was it?
…
What on earth was it…?

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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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