Roxana
Chapter 57
Chapter 57
How to Protect the
Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 57
* * *
The second day of the Harmony Conference.
My day was much the same as yesterday.
Yet because spending time alone was already second nature to me back in Agriche, whiling away the hours quietly in my room did not feel particularly dull.
Still, around midday, I stepped out onto the terrace for a brief change of air and some tea.
Though it was winter, compared to the relentless blizzards of Agriche, the weather here was as warm as early spring.
“Um, my lady. Will you be staying inside again today? There are so many people who are desperate to catch even a glimpse of you.”
One of the attendants serving by my side asked tentatively, stealing glances at my expression.
At her words, the other servants also peeked at my face one by one.
They were in the middle of cleaning the room while I was out on the terrace.
I leisurely raised my teacup.
“I wonder about that. It hardly seems to be the case. Last year, even when I went outside, not a soul dared approach me.”
“That is because…”
At my response, the attendant trailed off, at a loss for how to put it into words.
Even without hearing it, I knew what she wanted to say.
It wasn’t that others lacked interest in me; they were simply overwhelmed by my beauty, intimidated into silence.
Leaving the flustered servants behind, I tilted my teacup with effortless composure.
“Ah!”
Just then, the sound of people sharply catching their breath drifted up from below.
I cast a casual glance downward.
A group of people happened to be passing right beneath the terrace where I stood.
They had halted mid-stride, staring up at me with dazed, mesmerized expressions.
It seemed they had caught sight of me by chance while passing below.
Looking closer, among them stood Ryuzak of the Red Gastor family.
His crimson hair, trimmed slightly shorter than last year, fluttered lightly in the wind.
His eyes, tilted sharply at the corners, held the deep hue of ripe, luscious grapes.
I had heard he arrived at Yggdrasil only this morning, a step behind the rest of Gastor, and now he appeared to be moving to the adjacent building after finishing lunch.
Seeing me, Ryuzak once again twisted his face into a fierce scowl.
Good grief. What did I ever do to him? What a prickly male lead.
“What’s your problem? Who are you to glare at my noona like that?”
Right then, Jeremy made his entrance.
He had been fidgeting restlessly since yesterday, looking like he might burst from boredom, and it seemed he had finally found an excuse to pick a fight.
Hearing him, Ryuzak tore his glare away from me and looked down.
“…Are you speaking to me? And just who are you?”
A frigid gaze shot forth and pinned Jeremy where he stood.
“Are you from Agriche as well? Your manners are remarkably insolent.”
Truth be told, Jeremy was picking a fight in the most blatant way possible.
Of course, I didn’t think Ryuzak, one of the male leads, would fall for such an obvious provocation, but…
“Hah. Before you go bitching about my manners, how about keeping your own damn eyes in check?”
“Brat, must I carve out that tongue before you learn to shut your mouth?”
…Or will he? Don’t tell me they’re actually about to brawl right now? It certainly felt that way.
“Jeremy. That’s enough. Come up here.”
I felt the need to rein Jeremy in before things turned into a nuisance.
The moment I spoke, the people below took on even more foolish, starstruck expressions as they looked up at me.
Both Jeremy’s and Ryuzak’s eyes turned toward me as well.
Fortunately, Jeremy clicked his tongue with lingering regret and turned on his heel without further fuss.
Ryuzak watched Jeremy walk away with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
“My younger brother overstepped out of concern for me. Pray forgive his rudeness.”
At my words, Ryuzak’s furrowed brow smoothed slightly as his eyes quietly rested on me.
Soon, his expression softened, and he replied.
“Having such a troublesome brat for a brother must be exhausting for you, my lady.”
It was our first time exchanging words like this, yet his tone was surprisingly courteous.
“He only bares his fangs at those who show disrespect to me first. Otherwise, he is quite an endearing boy.”
Of course, at my following remark, his face crumpled once again.
Still, acknowledging that scowling at me the instant he laid eyes on me was indeed rude, Ryuzak offered no retort.
Rather, to my surprise, he showed a hint of embarrassment at my rebuke.
Looking down at him, I offered a faint smile.
At the sight of my smile, his face stiffened even harder than before.
The reaction of the onlookers around him was beyond description. Watching them, I quietly rose from my seat.
“I shall take my leave now. As this gathering is meant for solidarity and harmony, I trust you will spend the remaining days fruitfully.”
When I delivered the customary greeting exchanged at Yggdrasil, Ryuzak fell silent once more, merely gazing up at me.
I could feel his gaze burning into my back as I turned away.
Yet I did not look back, stepping straight inside the room.
* * *
That evening, before the banquet, the Head of the Yellow Bertium and the party from the Blue Pedelian arrived at the castle.
Noel Bertium holed himself up in his quarters without greeting anyone, so his face remained unseen.
From Pedelian, the Head, Richel, attended alongside his daughter Sylvia, who had come of age this year.
With this, all the principal figures of the novel—save for the White Beast Tamer, Orca—had gathered in one place.
Having already heard that Sylvia would be attending this gathering, I was not particularly surprised.
At last, the female lead makes her entrance.
I accompanied Lant to greet Richel, the Head of Pedelian.
Just as we reached the first floor, the figure of a young girl disappearing up the opposite staircase caught my eye.
Her long hair, lingering like an afterimage in my vision, was unmistakably the same silver as that of someone I knew well.
“So you have arrived, Richel Pedelian.”
Lant’s voice echoed in my ears, and I lowered my gaze.
Lant’s greeting was closer to a sneer than a welcome. Last year, too, he had taken the initiative to approach Richel and address him in such a manner.
The reason, naturally, was not that he was pleased to see the man standing before him.
“Lant Agriche.”
A middle-aged man exuding the heavy, unyielding presence of solid bedrock turned to face us.
As the saying went, blood did not lie; his face bore a distinct resemblance to Cassis Pedelian.
However, if Cassis felt as though he had been drawn with the delicate strokes of a fine brush, Richel felt as if he had been rendered boldly with thick, forceful strokes.
Chill blue eyes, cold in a different way from Cassis’s, fell first upon Lant Agriche.
“Greetings to the Head of Blue.”
Richel’s gaze brushed past me briefly as I gave my greeting, then drove straight back into Lant like an iron stake.
Seeing no sign of Sylvia, it seemed the person who had vanished up the stairs moments ago was indeed her.
Just like last year, Richel stared at Lant with a bone-chilling, frigid gaze.
Those who had approached to exchange greetings with Richel halted in their tracks upon sensing the atmosphere between the two.
Among them, some wore expressions that clearly read, ’Here they go again.’
Lant, twisting his lips just as he had last year, sneered at Richel first.
“You still have that face that begs to be punched.”
“If we are speaking of faces that beg to be punched, none rivals your own. I suggest you look into a mirror.”
Surprisingly, Richel retaliated in a cold, level voice.
If Lant was fire, Richel was water; if Lant was boiling lava, Richel was akin to the frozen, lightless depths of the sea.
His face contorting for a brief second at Richel’s retort, Lant curved the corners of his mouth once more and continued.
“Now that I think of it, I heard your daughter accompanied you this time. After keeping her so fiercely shielded within Pedelian all this time, what brought you to bring her out into the open?”
What truly vile taste.
The implication behind Lant’s words was all too clear.
He was mocking Richel for having kept his daughter, Sylvia, under such strict protection within Pedelian ever since the incident with Cassis.
Last year, too, he had stooped so low as to inquire after Cassis’s well-being right to Richel Pedelian’s face.
Undoubtedly, not just at the Harmony Conference, but at every private meeting among the heads of the families, he must have deliberately brought up Cassis to provoke Richel’s fury.
Lant was the very architect of Cassis’s abduction, and on top of that, he believed Cassis had died by my hand.
To say such things to Richel under those circumstances was nothing short of malicious sadism.
Of course, contrary to Lant’s belief, Cassis was alive and well, but that did not mean Richel’s fury would lessen in the slightest.
It was an undeniable truth that Lant had sought to murder his son, and Richel would never forget that for the rest of his life.
Feeling the air freeze so sharply that it stung the skin, I stepped forward.
“Speaking of which, it seems the Young Lord of Blue has not accompanied you this year as well.”
As I spoke with a radiant smile, transparent, glass-cold blue eyes slid over to me.
At the same time, a base, repulsive thrill radiated from Lant beside me.
“…He was occupied with official duties and said he would arrive late.”
Richel, who had been quietly looking down at me with unreadable eyes, finally broke the brief silence and replied.
At that, Lant let out a short scoff and mocked him.
“Did you not say the exact same thing last year? Come to think of it, it has already been three years since I last saw your esteemed son’s face. Just what magnificent official duties keep him so occupied that he hasn’t shown a single trace of himself for years? I am truly curious.”
Yet instead of reacting to Lant’s taunt, Richel merely looked down at me without a twitch of movement.
Meeting his gaze with a smiling face, I took a step back.
“I see. Since he is merely delayed, I suppose we must wait with eager anticipation for the remainder of the conference.”
“Indeed, I shall look forward to it as well. I truly hope I can meet your precious son again during this Harmony Conference.”
Lant chimed in with a sinister grin.
Leaving Richel Pedelian behind, he and I were the first to depart.
“Pathetic bastard. The boy is dead without a shred of flesh left, yet he still puts on such a laughable bluff about bringing him here.”
“Still, watching him struggle so desperately is rather entertaining, isn’t it?”
“That is true.”
As if relishing the encounter once more, Lant suddenly let out a laugh, his eyes flashing fiercely.
Beside him, I too offered a smile, looking just as amused.
