Roxana
Chapter 38
Chapter 38
The Way to Protect
the Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 38
Jeremy flinched at Deon’s question. Before he could open his mouth to make an excuse, Deon spoke first.
“Acting without thinking, as always. A bit of empty-headedness might be endearing, but everything you do is utterly pathetic.”
Without a shred of hesitation, scathing reproach poured from him, as if he already knew everything without needing an answer.
Roxana’s words—that the people of Agriche held no real affection for family—seemed to be true.
Even now, there wasn’t a trace of warmth in Deon’s eyes as he looked at his half-brother.
The same was true for Jeremy, who flared up and shouted back.
“What the hell are you talking about, bastard? Why did this even happen in the first place? You’re the one who ordered them to drag Sana noona’s toy out without permission!”
Deon’s eyes narrowed faintly.
His face took on a contemplative look for a moment before casting a chilly gaze toward Jeremy.
Then, he murmured softly, as if to himself.
“Mother did something amusing.”
Yet having no intention of offering any further explanation, he immediately shifted his gaze.
His eyes fixed upon Cassis once more.
His shifting gaze lingered briefly on the nape of Cassis’s neck.
“They said you were Roxana’s dog.”
Soon, a distinct sneer spread across Deon’s lips.
“The Young Lord of Blue, bewitched by a woman and acting like a dog in heat—that’s certainly quite a rare sight.”
Hearing that, Jeremy ground his teeth once more.
It seemed he had just remembered what he had briefly forgotten.
For a while now, Cassis had been sharpening his senses, looking for an opportunity to break away from this place.
However, the restraints locked onto his hands and feet restricted his movements, and the man facing him showed not a single opening.
“Come to think of it, there were search hounds I disposed of at the border not long ago.”
At those subsequent words, spoken as if recalling a sudden thought, Cassis’s face froze.
“They seemed to be loyal retainers of Pedelian who came looking for their lost master. They were more persistent than expected, so getting rid of them was quite a nuisance.”
The temperature of the air surrounding Cassis plummeted in an instant.
Bluish veins slowly bulged on the back of his hand holding the spear.
“Did you just…….”
Without taking his eyes off the man before him, Cassis spoke.
“Did you just tell me to my face that you killed my family’s people with your own hands?”
A dense, heavy chill began to swirl around them.
It felt as if a single misstep would leave one cut to ribbons by the razor-sharp energy.
It was so intense that even Jeremy halted his movements for an instant.
With a faint metallic clink, the restraints engaged into Stage 3. His limbs grew heavy as if weighed down by lead. A piercing pain, like needles stabbing deep into his flesh, coursed through his veins.
Yet Cassis felt no pain.
Deon tilted his head slightly as he stared at Cassis. Soon, a smile wholly unsuited to the situation blossomed on his face.
“I merely sent them ahead to where their master will soon go. What of it?”
All expression vanished from Cassis’s face. The grip that had been clenching the spear shaft as if to snap it slowly relaxed.
Yet the golden eyes fixed on the man ahead grew only more lethally honed.
As if by natural progression, in the very next instant, Cassis’s body shot toward Deon like a released spring.
* * *
Clang!
Deon raised his arm and deflected the sharp spear tip thrusting straight at him.
Over the course of several exchanges, each was able to gauge the other’s skill to some extent.
Twisting his arm in a flash, Cassis dug into the right flank once more.
Kieeeek!
Had a monster not lunged at that exact moment, he might have been able to slice open the man’s flank.
Unfortunately, the monster’s venomous stinger was aimed at Cassis, forcing him to twist his body away from the beast’s attack.
Without missing that opening, a fierce attack flew right before his eyes.
Stepping on the incoming monster’s tail, Cassis used the recoil to leap backward.
As Deon’s arm swung across from him, the monster’s bodily fluids splattered across the floor.
Cassis cast his gaze downward. Blood was dripping from his shoulder blade, wounded by the strike Deon had landed just before killing the monster.
Deon stood casually, flicking off the spear soaked in the monster’s fluids.
Cassis’s gaze turned toward him.
“A fine look in your eyes.”
Though it had been only a short time, he could tell nonetheless.
Right now, Deon was clearly holding back against Cassis.
In the first place, with the restraints bound to his limbs restricting his strength, it was impossible for the two to clash on equal footing.
“Knowing when to retreat—unlike the other dog Roxana keeps, you have a rather clever side to you.”
The ’other dog of Roxana’s’ Deon referred to was Jeremy. At Deon’s words, the flame in Cassis’s eyes burned all the fiercer.
“You seem to have no intention of killing me. Why?”
Though his momentum seemed ready to pounce on the man before him this very second, Cassis unexpectedly held his ground.
“Your disposal is not my concern.”
His insides burned with a violently boiling heat. He wanted to slaughter the man in his sight with his own hands right now.
“So you lured me here for that?”
“Not a complete fool, then. The subordinates working hard to set the trap up ahead will be disappointed.”
Yet Cassis knew he had to stop right here.
Turning back and fleeing this place was the wisest course. No matter how bitter and furious he felt, he had to do so.
“Sana-ya……!”
Had it not been for the faint voice drifting in from not far away at that moment, he surely would have turned around without further delay.
Cassis’s and Deon’s gazes shifted simultaneously toward the direction of the voice.
The surrounding scene belatedly came into view. Shattered glass shards, dead monster carcasses, fallen people, and bloodstains were strewn haphazardly across the ground.
People dealing with still-living monsters were also visible.
What could be seen behind them was a round, arched glass greenhouse.
However, one of its walls was smashed, where the dead carcass of a Karantul hung half-draped and limp.
Inside the broken glass, more monster corpses could be seen. Beside them sat several large birdcages of unknown purpose.
For some reason, people were locked inside them.
As if consumed by panic, they were screaming or exhibiting erratic behavior.
Finally, the figure of a woman came into Cassis’s view.
“Sana!”
She was wandering through the pandemonium, searching for someone.
The woman’s face bore such a striking resemblance to Roxana’s that it was obvious at a glance they were mother and daughter.
“That child… could he be dead?”
“I heard Sana brought in a toy. May I see it too?”
“Asil…….”
Moreover, that was the very voice he had heard on the day he emerged from the underground dungeon.
She, too, seemed to spot Cassis and Deon and came to a halt.
Come to think of it, he had heard the tea party Roxana attended was being held in the greenhouse.
Was that why she was searching for her daughter?
Kieee!
Just then, one remaining monster approached from behind Deon.
Cassis turned his body, intending to slip away while Deon dealt with the beast.
Yet Deon’s subsequent action caught Cassis in his tracks. Instead of attacking and slaying the monster, Deon lured it in another direction.
Astonishingly, that direction was where the woman searching for Roxana stood all alone.
“What in the……!”
Cassis could not help but be appalled. Dry, emotionless red eyes stared silently back at Cassis.
Like Jeremy’s in the room, it was a look demanding a certain action from him.
Yet this one was far more malicious.
Having spotted Roxana’s mother, the monster began charging toward her. There was no one around to help her.
Kiek!
Deon stood stock-still, as though it mattered not at all whether she died.
In that fleeting span of time, dozens, hundreds of conflicts erupted inside Cassis.
This was an obvious trap. Falling for it would be pure stupidity.
Left alone, that woman would inevitably suffer a terrible fate at the monster’s claws, but even so, what did that have to do with Cassis?
Yet…….
“When I look at you, I’m reminded of my dead brother.”
Why of all moments did the image of the girl who resembled the woman before him have to surface in his mind?
“Whenever my brother was hurt, I treated him every single day, too.”
Why of all times did the words she whispered whenever she visited him each day have to echo in his ears?
“I’ll make sure to get you out of here.”
“Thank you.”
“Cassis. Get well soon.”
In the end, Cassis had no choice but to grit his teeth and dash toward where the monster was heading.
“Hey! What the hell did you just do?”
Having arrived who-knew-when, Jeremy was standing right behind Deon’s back.
He, too, seemed to have witnessed what just happened. Fortunately, Cassis wasn’t too late, and the monster’s movements were slowed.
“Everyone says you’re crazy, but have you truly lost your damn mind?! Are you trying to kill Sana noona’s mother?”
Jeremy shouted at Deon, utterly dumbfounded and appalled.
Yet Deon ignored him, moving toward where Cassis and the monster were.
“A real madman…….”
Jeremy stared after him with disgusted eyes.
