Roxana
Chapter 100
Chapter 100
The Way to Protect the
Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 100
A pear-blossom smile bloomed across the fair face of the young man before me.
Yet in stark contrast, a chilling, dangerous glint flickered within Orca’s eyes.
In a sense, it bordered on madness. Ollin must have caught sight of it too, as she flinched for an instant.
But when Ollin stepped forward toward me, radiating sharp vigilance, the sinister light on Orca’s face vanished without a trace.
“Lady Roxana, just in case there is any misunderstanding, I assure you that what Pandora did this time had nothing to do with me.”
Having slipped back into an airy, frivolous smile before I knew it, Orca spoke with a buoyant ease.
“Had I known my cousin would commit such an immense discourtesy toward Lady Roxana, I would have taken the lead and sent her back to our family long ago. Ah, you don’t believe me? Dear me, I am quite sincere.”
When I slightly narrowed my eyes at him, Orca bantered playfully.
In the end, Pandora was forced to return to Hyperion.
Officially, Pandora was known as the culprit who had breached the castle gates using a demonic beast, so she was immediately summoned by the Head of White.
However, Orca did not accompany Pandora back to Hyperion; instead, he chose to remain in Pedelian, even under close surveillance.
He had even voluntarily surrendered all the demonic beasts in his possession.
As a result, unlike when we had met in the garden, Orca was not wearing a single accessory.
While not all beast tamers did so, the Hyperion family engraved secret incantations passed down through their bloodline onto gemstones, using them as mediums for imprinting.
It was to minimize the physical strain when imprinting upon demonic beasts.
Yet he had stripped all of them from his body just to stay in Pedelian.
“Allow me to apologize on Pandora’s behalf for the mistake she made against Lady Roxana. That is why I remained in Pedelian, after all.”
You might as well moisten your lips before lying so brazenly.
In all likelihood, the real reason he lingered in Pedelian to this day was that he could not let go of his lingering obsession with the Poison Butterfly.
“Though, of course, I do have a personal interest in Lady Roxana as well.”
Orca paused there and gazed intently at me.
The smile that curled on his lips next was undeniably covert and alluring, an overt attempt at seduction.
It was so blatant that Isidore and Ollin, who were well aware of my relationship with Cassis, subtly grimaced.
“So please, do not be so wary of me. Unlike Pandora, I am a gentleman.”
Orca vigorously pleaded his harmlessness before me.
He looked just like a wolf concealing its sharp fangs and claws to lure in a lamb.
“It seems there is a misunderstanding.”
Looking at Orca, I spoke up.
“Setting aside everything that has happened so far, I have no desire to cultivate an acquaintance with you, White Beast Tamer.”
At the flat, monotonous voice falling from my lips, Orca flinched.
My eyes gazing at him were undoubtedly just as emotionless and parched as my voice.
“Why? Have I done something particularly offensive to Lady Roxana? Ah, if you are still brooding over the nonsense I spouted back then about you being a demonic beast or what have you—”
“I told you I paid it no mind.”
“Then why?”
Staring steadily at the questioning Orca, I tilted my head slightly.
“The reason is simple.”
Then, lifting the corners of my lips into a faint smile:
“Because I find no interest in you as a person whatsoever.”
In that instant, Orca’s expression stiffened.
A faint twitch around his eyes caught my sight.
“Regrettably, our meetings stir not the slightest sentiment in me. And simply because you express interest, I see no obligation to respond against my will, do I?”
Isidore and Ollin seemed slightly taken aback as well.
This had to be the first time they had seen me speak with a tone bordering on haughtiness, or wear a mocking smile utterly devoid of humble grace.
“So I would appreciate it if you, too, would withdraw any unnecessary interest. Let us not waste each other’s time, White Beast Tamer.”
Orca appeared inwardly flustered. His face betrayed sheer disbelief that he could ever hear such words from a woman.
“Well… I thought Lady Roxana and I would understand each other quite well.”
Struggling to find his words, Orca stammered slightly.
Judging by his reaction, this seemed to be the first time someone he had shown interest in had rejected him so bluntly.
The smug, vindicated looks on Isidore’s and Ollin’s faces standing beside me… were certainly not my imagination.
Orca looked at me with a peculiar gaze.
It was a tangled blend of faint displeasure, bewilderment, confusion, and that strange fervor I had briefly glimpsed in the garden before.
After a moment, Orca broke the silence, parting his tightly set lips.
“Come to think of it, there was something I needed to return to Lady Roxana.”
Having taken the hint at least, Orca stopped hitting on me and fumbled in his pocket to draw something out.
It was Sylvia’s ribbon, which had fluttered away from the terrace that other day.
I raised my hand and accepted what Orca offered.
I examined it briefly, but there seemed to be no foul play done to it.
“Given the circumstances, imposing upon Pedelian any longer would be impolite, so I must return to Hyperion as well.”
Orca said, curving his lips into a subtle, crooked smile.
“I see. Brief though it was, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
I offered him a clean farewell.
Having expected him to be more persistent, Orca backed down surprisingly cleanly.
“I hope we meet outside of Pedelian next time, Lady Roxana.”
Orca smiled again, his face returning to its earlier radiant expression.
Yet his casual parting words carried an ominous, meaningful undertone—or perhaps it was merely my imagination.
“Oh my, hello to you both!”
Just then, Sylvia appeared.
Whether she had rushed over after hearing news of Orca and me, or had simply crossed paths with us while walking by, I could not tell for certain.
However, judging by the distinctly combative aura subtly radiating from her slender frame, it was likely the former.
“Good afternoon, Roxana. And Sir White Beast Tamer.”
“Good day, Lady Pedelian. You are as lovely as ever today.”
Orca greeted her with a frivolous chuckle, slipping into his usual easygoing demeanor.
Yet rather than wagging his glib tongue to flirt as he usually did, he announced his departure from the scene.
“I would love nothing more than to converse further with Lady Pedelian, but I must prepare for my return to Hyperion now.”
“Ah, are you returning to the White family now?”
“Yes, that is how it has turned out. I must stop by to see the Head of Blue, so please excuse me. Have a wonderful time, both of you.”
Leaving that farewell behind, Orca truly took his leave.
Isidore also offered a small nod of greeting to Sylvia and me before following behind Orca.
“What brought that on?”
A look of bewilderment surfaced on Sylvia’s face as she watched Orca’s retreating back.
She seemed somewhat deflated. Having arrived fully prepared for battle, she appeared a bit empty-handed now that her opponent had vanished so quickly.
“It seems he suffered quite a psychological shock from having his advances rejected by Lady Roxana just moments ago.”
Ollin, who had remained quiet by my side until now, spoke up.
Somehow, her voice carried the refreshing relief of having swatted away a bothersome insect.
“His advances were rejected?”
Sylvia’s eyes widened round.
Looking at her, I merely offered a casual smile as if it were nothing.
Sylvia looked intensely curious, yet she chose to ask about something else first.
“By the way, Roxana, have you fully recovered now? Your face looks half its usual size.”
I gazed for a moment at Sylvia’s face as she looked up at me with worry in her eyes.
Raising my hand to stroke her hair afterward was almost entirely an impulse.
Sylvia’s cheeks flushed crimson in an instant.
“Sylvia, may I keep the ribbon you gave me back then?”
There were no suspicious traces left on the ribbon Orca had returned.
But feeling an uneasy prickle of distrust, I had no desire to return it to Sylvia.
I intended to keep the ribbon myself and dispose of it just in case.
“Of course! As much as you like.”
Sylvia beamed with a pure, radiant smile.
Not because she was the novel’s female lead, nor because she was Cassis’s younger sister—she was simply lovely and beautiful in her own right.
And strangely enough, whenever I looked at Sylvia, Jeremy came to mind.
Even though the two shared not a single resemblance.
Ever since visiting Richel’s office last time, thoughts of Jeremy crossed my mind far more frequently.
What I heard back then resurfaced in my memory. They said Jeremy had remained behind in Agriche.
Rather than letting Agriche vanish into oblivion, he had stepped up as the family’s representative, moving to restore Agriche to power.
“If I… if I make Agriche a place where noona can smile, will you come back?”
Were those words he spoke back then truly sincere?
I had certainly offered no answer to him as he looked at me with those desperate eyes.
And yet Jeremy had stayed behind in the ruins I destroyed, striving toward something all on his own.
I thought I had cast away everything I possessed that day. Yet there remained something still bound to me.
In the past, it had felt like one of the countless shackles tightening around my ankles, but…
It did not feel entirely that way anymore.
If so, perhaps things could turn out just as Jeremy said. Even if not right now, someday.
Though I could not yet fathom when exactly that day would come.
Still, perhaps, in a time not so far away.
Thinking thus, I smiled faintly.
For some reason, in this very moment, it felt as though I were stroking Jeremy’s hair, not Sylvia’s.