The way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother - Chapter 19

I made a request to my father. I wanted to teach the toy some manners in a location that befitted my style. Although I was an Agriche, I was also a lady and naturally preferred a more delicate type of scenery.

He agreed affably and the day soon arrived when Cassis was finally being moved from his prison cell.

The lord of the castle, Lant Agriche, stood at the top of the dungeon steps during the move. His satisfied grin never left his face as Cassis was dragged like a dead pig across the floor by his men.

I almost winced when I heard the prisoner’s kneecaps slam against the ground and create an echo as they banged against every stone step. When they were within arm’s length, my father, Lant Agriche, and Cassis Pedelian’s eyes met.

There was no competition as to who was stronger. My father was smoking a cigar, one hand casually in his pocket, and dressed immaculately in one of his signature pinstripe suits: the debonair model of a mafia leader. In contrast, Cassis was dressed in filthy clothes. He was half-starved, bruised, and resembled a chewed up, black and blue raggedy ann doll. Chunks of white hair were missing from his scalp.

Yet within that split second when Cassis had the energy to look up, his fierce pride equally matched my father’s. His gaze was unfocused, as if he were half-blind with righteous anger, and his red-veined eyes matched the colour of his blood dripping on the floor. With the right opportunity, Cassis wouldn’t hesitate to tear my father through with a broadsword.

I curled a strand of my hair behind one ear.

In the end, Cassis’s revenge was only a fantasy. He was gagged, bound, and slightly crippled the way his ankle jutted out oddly against the flagstones.

I was more wary of my father’s reaction.

Initially, he had appeared for a quick laugh at the toy’s predicament.

However, when their eyes met, a rivalry sparked between them. Or at least my father began to see the ghost of Rischel Pedelian in Cassis’s thin, bony face. His red eyes began to grow curious and his forehead tilted slightly, the way a maniac would look before disemboweling someone.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, knowing what was going to happen next.

I heard ribs crack as my father casually kicked Cassis with half his strength. Instead of letting him rebound off the wall, my father kept the prisoner pinned to the stair steps, his shoe on the man’s chest.

Lant Agriche inhaled a long smoke before handing his cigar to a guardsman.

His calm demeanor frightened me.

He was pleased.

How often had I seen this look now?

His cruel smile was now stretching his laugh lines, accentuating his handsome, smooth face.

His shiny, red eyes reflected his deranged desires.

He wanted to see the Pedelian torn apart and become mounds of rotten flesh. The golden eyeballs that my father loathed were to be bitten and swallowed by the victim’s own jaws. It didn’t matter if Cassis was underage or defenceless. My father was reaching bloodlust. Torturing prisoners was a sport.

Wind whistled from Cassis’s open mouth as my father’s calfskin leather shoe connected with his face.

Crack.

My cheekbone tingled as I saw the bone depress on Cassis’s cheek, forever ridding him the ability to have a right-cheek dimple.

My father was holding back only because he knew the Pedelian brat would suffer more if he kept him alive. Cassis flew backward to the bottom of the stairs, half-dragging the guards who were holding onto his restraints until they released him. Luckily, the steps weren’t steep. I hoped Cassis did not have any skull or spine damage.

I was a bit ashamed of myself as I saw Cassis crumble on the floor. I had only promised him a few days ago that I would protect him.

However, it would be suicide to stand against my father now.

“You look disgusting,” my father said, at ease. His terrible, joker smile widened. No villain ever written could match his unbridled evil. “It must be because of Rischel Pedelian’s blood in your veins. Your pathetic eyes are the same as his.”

He was excited. Cassis was still defiant. How unexpected of his archrival’s heir. He had referred Cassis to me as a toy or a Pedelian sapling. His surprise at the prisoner’s resilience brought him joy, unequaled to his mild feeling of content during our last family dinner.

“I was worried at first,” my father continued. “I thought one of Rischel’s whelps would cry and break by now. I picked you up instead of the girl, you know. After seeing you ride a horse, I thought you would last longer.”

My father, Lant Agriche, was surely trying to kill us all. Why did he have to bring up Sylvia?

If Jeremy wasn’t going to be the cause of our family’s downfall, my father would be. My dear father was stepping on a landmine.

Cassis didn’t seem to catch the reference about his sister. He was using willpower alone to barely stay conscious.

What would Sylvia think to see her beloved brother, who she adored beyond everyone else, being beaten as trash? If the heroine saw us now, I could see her planting stakes for every person living in this estate, marking our graves.

“Roxana,” my father said.

“Yes, father?” I gave a serene smile.

My anxieties were safely hidden behind a pleasant mask.

My father walked down the stairs to set his filthy foot on Cassis’s face.

Cassis squirmed to push him away, but only managed to shift his angry gaze towards me.

I wondered if Cassis saw me as the enemy now. Could he tell I was acting? I wasn’t defending him, but acknowledging my father, his captor, instead. Shouldn’t it be obvious that I didn’t have the power or connections to stand up against Lant Agriche?

I wanted to groan. Our comradery seemed over based on the death state that Cassis was giving me. After Lant Agriche, I seemed to be the second person on his hit list.

“It has only been a short while since your birthday has passed,” my father said.

“Yes, Father. Thank you for remembering,” I said.

“This bastard is a late gift. Play with it until you get sick of it.” His shoe dug into Cassis’s cheek before stepping off.

It was unheard of. Until now, my father had never singled out one of his children and wished them a happy birthday. I noticed a paradigm shift as I subtly became higher in his favour.

“I thank you, Father,” I said.

The result had been better than I had planned. I had only meant to protect the heroine’s brother from my siblings today. It was a huge victory to win my father’s favour as well.

Someday, Lant Agriche will realize how different the two of us were, once I destroyed him.

“I will educate this toy and will not disappoint you,” I curtsied.

I looked at my first toy, who was drooling and convulsing on the ground. My father walked away from us while laughing. He picked up his cigar and took long strides up the stairs, his shadow looming over us even as his laugh stopped echoing off the walls.