Roxana
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s
Older Brother
Chapter 10
Perhaps because Deon was absent today, the Grand Banquet ended earlier than usual.
It was obvious that Charlotte had come here just to speak with Father about the new toy.
She had even caused a scene in front of the dungeon earlier just to get a look at Cassis.
Never before had an access restriction lasted this long for a toy brought into Agriche, so it was only natural that Charlotte grew impatient.
“That makes no sense! I called dibs on him from the very beginning!”
Charlotte was furious upon hearing that I had been assigned to handle the toy’s discipline.
Of course, Lant Agriche had not given a definitive answer yet, but I saw no need to share that fact with Charlotte.
No wonder her eyes had gleamed the moment she first laid eyes on Cassis Pedelian.
Even to my eyes, his appearance suited Charlotte’s tastes remarkably well.
Tsk. I clicked my tongue softly, inwardly blaming Cassis for looking so needlessly appealing to Charlotte’s preferences.
“Hey, since when did we ever get toys just because we called dibs first?”
Standing beside us, Jeremy sneered coldly at Charlotte.
Just as he said, no such rule existed among us.
Yet nothing seemed to reach Charlotte’s ears in her agitated state.
“Roxana-unnie never cared about toys until now! Why are you suddenly cutting in so cheaply to steal what’s mine?”
Good grief. As Charlotte continued to throw her tantrum, I began to find her tiresome.
“Charlotte, since when did the toy in the dungeon belong to you?”
I spelled out to my childish half-sister just how foolish her delusion was.
“If you want to claim a right to something, you must possess the qualification to match. The only reason you were able to play with the toys as you pleased until now was simply because I had no interest in them. Did you truly believe that was a share inherently owed to you? I didn’t think you were that stupid.”
My tone was calm, but a clear warning lurked beneath it.
Charlotte had a fiery, reckless temper and often crossed the line, which made her troublesome.
“I won’t give him to you, unnie. That one is mine. I won’t let anyone touch him.”
Once again, she glared at me with venomous eyes and spouted such insolence.
“Charlotte.”
I felt deeply disappointed.
“You truly cannot understand when spoken to with kind words.”
As I whispered with a faint sigh, Charlotte seemed to sense something amiss and drew the whip hanging at her waist.
Wearing a gentle smile, I continued coldly.
“Very well, my sweet little sister. For a fool like you, let me teach you in a way that is much easier to understand.”
It did not take very long.
“Charlotte, you see… I despise children who do not know their place.”
Murmuring softly, I casually flicked the blood from my hand.
Following my motion, warm crimson drops splattered across the white corridor.
“Why throw yourself into a fight you can never win and make things so tedious?”
The pins adorning my hair were more than enough to handle Charlotte.
Having used all five jeweled pins, my long hair had spilled loose, cascading over my shoulders and back.
Her earlier ferocity broken, Charlotte lay collapsed before me, bleeding.
I pressed down firmly with the foot resting atop her.
“Charlotte. Do I really need to seek permission from someone like you just to take a toy I want?”
“Ugh.”
“I don’t believe so.”
Naturally, I had not wanted to go this far with Charlotte either.
Yet whenever I let her words and actions slide—thinking she was still young, that she had merely been brainwashed by this family since birth—she inevitably took me lightly and tried to climb over me.
Even now, after being humiliated and subdued, instead of cowering, wasn’t she still glaring at me with eyes full of venom?
It irritated me how Charlotte insisted on acting out despite being completely outmatched.
Stomping her down like this every single time was quite a chore.
“When I… reach your age, unnie, I’ll be far stronger.”
Listening to her bloodthirsty mutterings through a face that still held its baby fat, I let out a soft laugh.
At the sound, Charlotte flinched visibly.
Seeing that, it was clear she was not entirely fearless of me; perhaps one might call it grit, in a sense.
“Yes, perhaps you will. Though looking at you now, I have my doubts.”
Murmuring nonchalantly, I lifted my foot from Charlotte’s body.
“Noona, I’ll deal with this one, so go on ahead.”
Jeremy, who had been leaning against the wall watching the spectacle, walked over.
Looking down coldly at the bloodied, fallen Charlotte, he spoke to me.
After glancing between the two of them for a moment, I turned and walked away just as he suggested.
Once Roxana had completely left the corridor, Jeremy looked down at Charlotte with icy eyes.
She was struggling to pull herself together, staggering as she tried to stand.
Without hesitation, Jeremy’s foot shot out and slammed into her.
Thud!
“Ah!”
Kicked squarely in the shoulder, Charlotte sprawled across the floor once more.
“Seriously, Sana-noona is far too soft. Letting an insolent brat like you off this easily.”
Jeremy stepped closer to Charlotte and leaned down. Then, grabbing a fistful of her tangled hair, he yanked her head upward.
Charlotte glared at Jeremy with defiant eyes. Seeing that, Jeremy clicked his tongue.
Refraining from inflicting unnecessary wounds, striking only the vital points to subdue her opponent with absolute efficiency—it was so characteristically Roxana.
Of course, ending a fight without causing grave injuries was far more difficult unless the gap in skill was immense.
Charlotte seemed to feel her pride wounded even further every time the stark difference in their power was laid bare like this, but in Jeremy’s eyes, Roxana had been far too merciful.
“Fuck. I’m already pissed off because of some worthless bastard, and now you want to get on my nerves too?”
As Jeremy barked with a terrifying sharpness, his blue eyes flashing with a chilling light, Charlotte finally flinched and lowered her gaze.
“What did I do that was so wrong…?”
“You really have a death wish, don’t you? Picking a fight with noona isn’t wrong to you, you little piece of shit?”
“Oppa, you always take Roxana-unnie’s side! Even with this new toy! You know how much I liked him!”
Charlotte shouted indignantly, but Jeremy did not bat an eye as he shoved her head away, letting go of her hair.
It was a callous, dismissive touch, as though he were handling something worthless.
“Hey, if you want to take your anger out on someone, go do it to the bastard in the dungeon. This is all the fault of that piece of shit who didn’t know his place and dared to wander into Sana-noona’s sight.”
As he spoke, a fresh wave of irritation surged within him, and Jeremy spat out a curse.
If he hadn’t told Roxana last time that he would step back from this toy, he would have gone straight to tear that so-called Young Lord of Blue or whatever to pieces right this second.
Even though he had yielded the toy first just to win Roxana’s praise, the realization that she seemed far more interested in that bastard than expected left a foul taste in his mouth.
“Yeah, now that I think about it, it really is entirely that Blue dog’s fault.”
Grinding his teeth, Jeremy felt a sharp surge of murderous intent directed at Cassis Pedelian, who remained locked in the depths of the dungeon.
“The Blue dog?”
“Word is, that thing is Cassis Pedelian.”
At that very moment, a fierce blaze ignited in Charlotte’s eyes.
She seemed to be in considerable shock, learning only now that the true identity of the new toy was a Pedelian.
Seeing the emotions that surfaced in Charlotte’s eyes immediately afterward, Jeremy decided to make use of her.
Right, if I can’t lay a hand on him myself, I can just have someone else do it for me, can’t I?
Without Sana-noona ever finding out, of course.
“What a shame. He really would have been completely your type.”
At Jeremy’s mocking words, Charlotte bit her lip.
“But what can you do? There’s only one toy.”
Reading the intense greed, rage, and jealousy boiling across her face, he flashed a twisted smile.
“And it’s not like you can just break him simply because you can’t have him. Right?”
