The way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother - Chapter 20

My head was still turned towards my father’s retreating back.

“Miss Roxana, what should we do with your toy?” Two guards were still at the entrance to the dungeons with me. The man who spoke looked slightly green. The rank on his left shoulder told me that he was a seasoned warrior. The blood or Cassis’s condition hadn’t bothered him, but his haunted eyes hinted that he had a traumatic disorder from working with my father. Like me, he had seen Lant Agriche commit worse atrocities. If he wasn’t religious, he was at least thanking the stars that it hadn’t been worse.

“Take it to the Grey Room in the East Wing,” I said, my eyes on Cassis. It was unfortunate that he had to be beaten by Lant Agriche again. “It looks hideous.”

Cassis Pedelian’s body continued to twitch after he fell unconscious. I had to applaud him for entertaining my father. His resilience was commendable. If my siblings became impatient about sharing the toy, I could make an excuse of monopolizing him or handing him over with restrictions. “Educating” the toy would need a certain finesse. My father would understand my meaning.

A tooth popped out of Cassis Pedelian’s mouth during one of his more violent convulsions. Once the guards left, I decided to retrieve it. My studies hadn’t focused on healing people in particular, but I was confident that I could glue the tooth back in his mouth. It would be an interesting experiment anyway.

I gave a mischievous smile to the guards, revealing how excited I was to have a toy. “I can’t play with it in this condition. Fix it a little, won’t you? And come find me when it’s ready?”

“Yes, Miss,” the senior guard raised his fist to his chest, saluting me.

He nodded to his subordinate to stand on one side of Cassis. Simultaneously, they hoisted the unconscious prisoner from under his armpits and began dragging him across the floor. I folded my arms and made a tsk-ing sound when I heard Cassis Pedelian’s legs bounce against the steps again. The junior guard looked back, concerned, before whispering, “We’re bother’in the missus.”

My dimples rose and I gave a friendly wave.

Unnerved, the guards re-organized themselves until one man held Cassis by the shoulders, and the other held him by the legs. They silently went up the stairs.

A pool of blood remained where Cassis had fallen and laid still. I stood for another minute before sighing. I crouched down and held my dress skirt from under my legs to prevent the blood from staining it.

I picked up Cassis’s tooth.

I pitied him for being hated by my father solely because of his birthright. I had also never asked to be an Agriche.

My gaze trailed from the dark spot where Cassis’s head had been to a smaller blood puddle. A nail must have caught on his foot.

What’s this?

I stood, my eyes intent on the floor before gazing sharply at the staircase. Another question burned on my lips.

The next time Cassis and I met, we would have something interesting to talk about.