Roxana
Chapter 55
Chapter 55
The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 55
* * *
“You took longer than I expected.”
As soon as she returned to her room, a low voice greeted Roxana.
Pausing for a fraction of a second, Roxana moved her hand once more and closed the door.
With a soft click, the room became an enclosed space once again.
“Did you really have that much to discuss with Father privately?”
The man sat on the sofa as naturally as if he were the master of the room.
Perhaps because a blizzard raged outside, the room was already dim, even though it was not yet time for sunset.
Thus, the silhouette of the man resting his elbow on the armrest and propping his chin in his hand looked like a single mass of darkness.
Of course, Roxana had no trouble knowing who it was without even seeing his face.
Moreover, she had already anticipated this very moment before stepping into the room.
“It seems you haven’t considered the possibility that I was deliberately late, knowing you’d be waiting like this.”
Roxana murmured with feigned regret, then walked toward him.
“Yes, I heard the news that you returned. It’s been a while, Deon.”
Having returned after completing his official mission with Fontaine, Deon quietly watched Roxana approach.
Soon, Roxana’s hand touched Deon. He remained seated on the sofa with his chin propped in his hand, receiving her touch.
“I heard you did what I ordered very well. Fontaine was quite furious. Truly living up to being my clever dog.”
The touch brushing over Deon’s cheek was exceedingly soft and tender. The voice whispering in his ear was no less sweet.
Yet the gaze piercing into him was colder than the northern wind raging outside.
“Though at times you act rather stupidly. Even after I told you there was no need to come report to me in person like this.”
Roxana added bitingly with a frosty smile.
“Didn’t I tell you that every time I look at your face, I feel sick to my stomach?”
Finally, Deon moved. His solid hand covered the delicate hand cradling his cheek.
Gripping her hand with formidable strength, he wore a smile just as chilled as Roxana’s.
“Your words and actions are mismatched as ever. It is rather nice to see this side of you after so long, though. Should I offer some empty words thanking you for the warm welcome?”
In the dark room, two pairs of crimson eyes gleamed coldly.
Since Deon had been away from the mansion for a long time, it had been quite a while since they had faced each other like this.
Yet, as always, not a single warm word passed between them.
“Why, don’t you like it?”
Without even attempting to pull her captured hand from Deon’s grasp, Roxana spoke again, slowly.
However, remaining this docile was by no means an act of submission.
“Still, what can you do? I still loathe you to death.”
Her gentle whisper was laced with thorns. Those thorns were unmistakably itching to pierce the man before her.
“And you still want to have someone like me. How pitiful.”
A deeper smile bloomed across Roxana’s face.
Following the tilt of her head, her long golden hair rippled like waves.
“Seeing how you ran straight here the moment you returned to the mansion, you must have missed me dearly.”
Deon remained silent for a long moment, staring at the beautiful face in his field of vision. The silence pooled in the room was heavy and suffocating.
It was a stillness so dense that anyone who opened the door unawares would have felt completely choked.
“You always get under my skin like this.”
After a moment, Deon’s firmly closed lips slowly parted. A voice steeped in bitter chill flowed from him.
The gaze fixed on Roxana was frozen cold as well.
“There’s nothing good in it for you if you make me angry.”
Roxana looked down at Deon with the same smiling face.
Now she could understand why Deon had said he wanted to see her cry.
Because Roxana, too, felt immensely satisfied whenever she saw Deon’s enraged expression.
“Don’t make that face. Unlike Fontaine, at least I treat you with sincere attention.”
Roxana whispered in a soothing tone, as if she had never been deliberately provoking him in the first place.
“Indeed, in many ways you’re not on the same level as Fontaine. But from your perspective, wouldn’t it have been better if what you wanted from me was just simple lust like Fontaine’s?”
Naturally, the words that followed contradicted her gentle tone completely.
A smile dripping with vivid mockery was seared into Deon’s vision.
“Though no matter how much you beg, I wouldn’t even let you lick the top of my foot.”
The pressure applied to Roxana’s hand intensified.
The grip Deon had on her was surely painful enough to hurt, yet her expression remained tranquil, as though she felt not the slightest ache.
“So Deon, getting what you truly desire will be far harder than that.”
Following that, Roxana twisted her wrist slightly and slipped free from the force binding her.
Deon’s hand let go of what was held inside so effortlessly that it was hard to believe it had exerted such commanding force just moments ago.
“Still, who knows if you don’t give up and try a little harder? Perhaps one day I might bestow a sliver of my heart out of sheer charity.”
The voice whispering those words held the pristine purity of white.
Her flawless, beautiful face was the same.
Judging solely by her appearance, one could easily mistake her for an angel, but in truth, she was far closer to a demon.
“So try to entertain me a little more.”
The beautiful demon whispered sweetly to Deon.
Her honey-scented voice soon became a murky swamp, coiling around his entire body.
From that place, there was no longer any way for him to pull himself out on his own.
* * *
The Harmony Conference of the 5 Families, held once a year at the beginning of the new year, was now three days away.
The families attending the conference were the Blue Pedelian, the White Hyperion, the Red Gastor, the Black Agriche, and the Yellow Bertium.
The venue where this gathering was hosted, ‘Yggdrasil,’ was a demilitarized neutral zone located in the center of the continent.
What they, the rulers of the world, did when gathered in one place was, quite literally, foster harmony among the families.
I was scheduled to accompany Lant Agriche and Jeremy there.
Deon was also slated to attend, but due to other business, he would arrive later than us.
I found myself wishing Deon’s schedule would be delayed enough that he wouldn’t show up to the conference at all.
“Hmph. Wonder what kind of fools will be at the gathering.”
Having reached adulthood this year and received permission to attend the Harmony Conference for the first time, Jeremy seemed rather intrigued for once.
Well, speaking as someone who experienced it a year earlier, that gathering was grandiose in name only; there was hardly anything genuinely amusing about it.
Still, not wanting to ruin Jeremy’s mood with unnecessary remarks when he was so expectant, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
And so, we set off toward Yggdrasil, where the Harmony Conference would take place.
It took nearly two days to arrive.
As soon as we entered the neutral territory, the first things that caught our eyes were stone pillars shaped like the World Tree, true to the name Yggdrasil, and a colossal gate.
The moment our carriage passed beneath it, a strange sensation washed over my body.
“What was that just now?”
Jeremy furrowed his brow, having felt it as well. I explained to him what I knew.
“It’s because of the spell circle cast over this entire land. This place is a neutral zone, after all.”
Yggdrasil fundamentally prohibited the carrying of weapons, and the use of special abilities was banned as well.
I had heard that about five hundred years ago, someone belonging to the White Hyperion family used their ability to commune with demonic beasts to lay waste to this entire place.
Afterward, a massive spell array was said to have been carved across the entirety of Yggdrasil.
From my experience of summoning poison butterflies here last year, the spell array seemed to serve the function of disrupting connections with demonic creatures or summoned beasts.
Though I didn’t know all the details, it was undoubtedly interfering with the manifestation of other abilities in a similar manner.
“Roxana, you understand your role well, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
A short while later, we stepped down from the carriage.
Lant Agriche looked at me, giving his final reminder.
I nodded to him to show I understood.
Today was the first day of the Harmony Conference. This gathering was scheduled to continue for the next three days.
And during that time, I planned to act as Lant’s ears, serving as a sort of spy.
Perhaps the ancestors who created this spell array had not considered an unusual demonic beast like the poison butterfly.
Of course, just like with other beasts, directly summoning a poison butterfly inside Yggdrasil where the spell circle was active was impossible.
However, after testing various methods last year, I discovered that it was possible to bring out the butterflies outside Yggdrasil and step across the spell array while maintaining communion with them.
In truth, this was not as easy as it sounded either.
Setting aside the immense concentration required to maintain a link with the poison butterflies brought inside, it was constantly accompanied by a pain that felt as though the blood vessels throughout my entire body were being wrung dry.
If I hadn’t been accustomed to pain, I might have easily passed out multiple times.
At any rate, because it imposed a considerable physical toll, the most I could utilize was a mere handful of butterflies.
Furthermore, with all other abilities sealed, they could only be used as messengers at best.
Yet that alone was more than enough to carry out the task Lant Agriche wanted.
Naturally, because the people of the 5 Families were exceedingly sensitive, attaching butterflies directly to them was dangerous.
Instead, I intended to plant the butterflies in inconspicuous corners of this castle where the conference was being held.
That way, I could observe people’s movements, eavesdrop on their conversations, and if I acquired any critical information, report it to Lant.
It was a task I had accomplished without issue last year, and back then, Lant had been immensely proud of me.
The information I passed on to him had filtered out almost everything of genuine importance, so seeing him so pleased without knowing that was rather amusing.
In any case, contrary to Fontaine’s assumptions, Lant was not bringing me to the gathering merely to use me as an ornament.
Moreover, because the assignments I took on were usually covert missions, they simply weren’t visible on the surface.
In truth, however, the target I used the poison butterflies on most effectively was Lant himself.
Though my dear father remained none the wiser.
“Father. The carriage ride was long and I’m tired. May I go ahead and rest?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Noona, I’m coming with you.”
To allow time for planting the butterflies, Lant had rushed our schedule considerably. Thus, we appeared to be the first guests to arrive at Yggdrasil.
Taking Jeremy along, I walked into the massive castle towering before me.
