Roxana
Chapter 49
Chapter 49
How to Protect the
Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 49
* * *
Wrrring—!
Late at night, a clamorous din echoed through the quiet mansion of Agriche.
It was an alarm heralding an intruder.
Because it had been a long time since any uninvited guest had dared infiltrate Agriche, nearly ten years had passed since this alarm last sounded.
Naturally, a massive uproar swept through Agriche.
“Everyone, wake up and assemble outside! It’s an intruder!”
“Search every single corner without exception!”
The subordinates, awakened from sleep, moved in flawless unison.
Among them were Roxana’s half-siblings, stepping forward to hunt the intruder as if thrilled to find an excuse for entertainment when they were bored.
“Is it the hounds of Pedelian?”
Lant Agriche also emerged from his chamber, striding down the corridor where the blaring alarm echoed.
In truth, an intruder breaching the mansion was something Lant had anticipated for some time.
For there was no way Richel Pedelian would sit idle after losing his successor.
Even when they had met previously, he had seemed all but certain that Lant Agriche was connected to Cassis’s disappearance.
Because he had dispatched search parties to the borders surrounding Agriche territory with relentless persistence, capturing and slaughtering them had proven quite troublesome.
Thus, it was highly likely that Pedelian was behind this matter as well.
Vermin. They dared crawl inside.
“Father, what is all this commotion?”
Just then, Roxana, having emerged from her room as if awakened by the noise, caught his eye.
“Roxana, just in case, go check right now to make sure that mutt you keep is still in its place.”
With those words alone, Roxana seemed quick to grasp the situation.
“Is it an intruder from Pedelian?”
“Most likely.”
Roxana replied that she understood and promptly turned away.
He liked that she took after him in being sharp-witted and quick to act.
Lant resumed his halted steps. It was time to hunt down and kill the rats that had brazenly infiltrated his domain.
* * *
Roxana headed straight to Cassis’s room.
“Let’s go.”
Without a word, Cassis rose from his seat.
The two stepped out of the room together. Along the corridor, the blaring alarm surged like rolling waves.
“Ah, Lady Roxana!”
After walking a little further, the sight of armed subordinates running came into view.
They flinched upon spotting Roxana. Moreover, she was not alone, but had Cassis alongside her.
Yet, as if confirming the rumors that he had become docile after being locked in the Hallucination Room, Roxana’s toy stood quietly behind her, fitted with restraints and a leash.
However, they had just been warned by Lant Agriche not to let down their guard, as this intruder might have been sent by Pedelian.
“Milady, why have you come out? Just to be safe, wouldn’t it be better to take your toy back to your quarters?”
“Indeed. Have you not heard the news yet? The intruder right now is—”
However, their words could go no further.
“I know.”
For in the next moment, Roxana raised a finger to her lips, requesting silence.
“That’s why I’m thinking of something amusing. It’s still a secret from anyone else, so could you please keep quiet for now?”
Judging by the way she subtly glanced to the side as she spoke, the ‘anyone else’ Roxana referred to seemed to mean the toy beside her.
Evidently, she did not wish to let her toy know that the person who had infiltrated the mansion might belong to Pedelian.
“I would truly appreciate it.”
A smile so breathtakingly beautiful that it made one’s vision spin spread across her face.
The moment that cloyingly sweet voice coiled around their ears, their minds turned numb.
With dazed expressions, they nodded blankly.
“Thank you. By any chance, did Father say where to bring the intruder once captured?”
“To the first-floor lobby where the statue is.”
“All right. Keep up the good work, everyone.”
As if merely out for a leisurely stroll, Roxana tugged her toy’s leash and brushed past the subordinates.
The subordinates, who had been momentarily entranced, snapped back to their senses at the sound of the alarm ringing in their ears and dashed off in a flurry.
“They completely lose their senses in front of you.”
“You’re the strange one; that’s actually the normal reaction.”
Cassis looked at Roxana with an enigmatic gaze, having watched her sway people with just a few words.
Yet he soon averted his gaze without saying anything more.
Even Cassis did not find their reaction entirely incomprehensible.
The frantic footsteps of people rushing through the hallways gradually subsided.
The direction they were walking was, in fact, deeper into the mansion. At last, Roxana halted her steps.
“Here.”
The place where she stopped was a secluded corridor enveloped in a desolate aura, as though it had gone unused for a very long time.
The lights of sconces embedded here and there along the wall carved distinct boundaries between light and shadow.
Looking closer, the flame of the sconce nearest to them wavered faintly, as if stirred by a feeble draft.
Roxana reached out toward the golden sconce before her.
“Wait…”
Cassis spoke up with a start, but Roxana’s hand did not halt.
As she pressed down on the top of the sconce where the flame danced and twisted it, a mechanical clack sounded, and the wall parted.
Whooosh.
Cold air leaked through the narrow crevice.
“It’s enchanted with a spell, so if you extinguish the fire before moving it, it won’t activate.”
Roxana remarked nonchalantly as she pulled the sconce free.
The face she turned toward Cassis was utterly calm and composed.
“We have to use the same method to close the door anyway, so treating it now would be pointless. Just leave it be.”
Looking at that face alone, one could never imagine she was someone who had just gripped a flaming sconce with her bare hand and suffered a burn.
Cassis’s brows furrowed.
“You really…”
Yet he said no more, pressing his lips tightly together.
Cassis looked at Roxana with eyes that seemed to suppress a swell of emotion, then slowly closed them.
Wrrring.
As if urging him on, the murmuring howl of the wind echoed from beyond the wall.
There was not much time. When Cassis opened his eyes once more, a much firmer light dwelled within them.
Cassis stepped into the shadowy expanse.
Clang. The restraints binding his limbs were released, clattering onto the floor.
“There is only one path, so just keep walking straight.”
She had already told him everything else beforehand, so there was no need to explain now. Nor was there any time to spare.
Roxana let out a shallow breath, then added:
“Be careful.”
Their eyes met in the midair.
Before Roxana could close the passage once more, Cassis’s hand reached forward.
“Roxana.”
From their touching hands, a warmth that had somehow become somewhat familiar spread outward.
“I don’t believe this will be the end. So, I will save my farewell for next time.”
As always, his steadfast gaze fixed upon the person before him. Even submerged in darkness, a light emanated from Cassis.
Roxana looked upon her own reflection within those pupils as if it were slightly unfamiliar.
“Until then, stay safe.”
At last, Cassis whispered his parting words.
Roxana offered him a faint smile.
The hands that had clasped together first parted, and then the gazes meeting at close range were severed, blocked by the wall.
“Goodbye, Cassis. It was pleasant while it lasted.”
Thus, the two bade farewell to the time, both long and short, that they had spent together until now.
Now, it was goodbye for a while.