The way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother - Chapter 26

CASSIS POV

(FLASHBACK CONTINUED)

Cassis felt like they had been moving for hours, but the two guardsmen who were holding him by his knees and shoulders were not even out of breath yet. Realistically, only five minutes may have passed since they had left the dungeons.

His hand gripped the chain that held his wrist shackles together.

Despite his pain, Cassis had the will to fight. His right ankle throbbed; it may have been sprained. He had to breathe in shallow breaths to keep his broken ribs from puncturing out of his chest. Although these injuries were a hindrance, he could still escape from a few low-tiered soldiers as long as he did not bleed to death.

And then what? He thought. He recalled the people who lived in this household: the guardsman that tortured him, the vicious red-headed child, Lant Agriche.

And Roxana.

His insides writhed from the humiliation of knowing that several people could overpower him in his condition, possibly even if he wasn’t partially crippled and concussed. 

The girl had been adamant that he needed her help to escape. There must be some secret to this prison. Traps? Poisons? Beasts? 

You’re not a simple foot soldier. You can’t just react when you feel like it. Think. Which course of action will give you the best chance to survive? Cassis thought.

He felt something burn on his wrist. His healing rate was slower than usual and it was difficult to diagnose why. He had never been beaten so badly in his whole life compared to how he was treated by the Agriche. 

Was he cursed?

Cassis swore silently. Half the time, he hadn’t even known what the guards had done to him since he had been half-blind. 

He wanted freedom badly. He didn’t dare think deeply about it, but even suicide might be better than the purgatory he was in now. He realized his rough escape plans were reckless, but it was hard for him to do nothing.

He might never have a chance to be alone with such weaklings again.

Dumb and dumber. A muscle twitched on Cassis Pedelian’s forehead. If he didn’t want to kill these two men, he wanted to at least throttle them. The man who held him up by the knees in particular was weak and jostled Cassis Pedelian’s body. Cassis’s stomach lurched with each of the junior guard’s step. He dully wondered if it would be less painful to walk on his sprained ankle and in his half-dead state. 

“So ‘is ‘ere’s Missus Roxana’s fi’rt toy?” the knee-holding guard said.

“This one is very fortunate it is so,” his companion replied. “If it belonged to the young master or Miss Charlotte instead, its organs would have been ripped apart and fed to the wild beasts already.”

“T’would have saved us a trip tho,” the junior guard grunted. 

Roxana Agriche, Cassis mused. 

The psycho, red-headed girl had rambled on about her older sister Roxana while she tortured him. The red eyes, the prim manner, and the name Roxana. The description matched the girl who was visiting him perfectly.

He did not gain further intelligence from the red-headed child. He had been able to manipulate her to some degree and had broken one of his restraints, but it was a superficial win, besides one fact. There was no change to his predicament. He was still imprisoned. 

It was odd. When he found out that Roxana was an Agriche, he felt the bond between them grow closer. There was no reason for her to offer her assistance. The risk of misunderstanding was too high. If anyone found out she was helping him escape, she would be killed. 

Blood treason was the most inexcusable act in this world. Even the Pedelians acknowledged this. He would never consider felling someone in his own family, but if a Pedelian treated a human being as a toy like this…

At least he knew who the mystery girl was. He had a basic knowledge of the Agriche family background. He would have to keep assessing her character from there. 

She spoke too cryptically:

“I will educate this toy…” (What does this mean? Cassis thought idly. Kill me?)

“Until you get out of this place, I will protect you.”

Both statements contradicted each other.

He didn’t know which one was the truth.

Translator’s Note: This is the longest flashback ever….