The way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother - Chapter 36

It was time to feed someone else.

I lowered his tray on the bed.

“Please, eat,” I said. It was a spread that would be commendable for a school supper or office cafeteria. The chicken stew gave off a pungent, turmeric smell and the fresh fruit was harvested this morning. A humble meal that would never grace the table of the Pedelian heir in his palace, but an astounding improvement to the ghastly prison food he had been given in the Agriche dungeons.

Cassis sat down and laid the tray across his lap. His golden eyes viewed me mildly as if we were neither friends nor enemies, but a puzzle that he could not figure out quite yet. His lips, thinned into a straight line, showed that he still did not trust me.

He could not hesitate when I gave him a chance to escape. It would be less than a minute before the alarm rang and Lant Agriche was notified of something amiss.

My fingers uncharacteristically pinched the folds of my skirt. I should be the only one who knew about the northwest path to the Badlands, but there was a possibility that Dion had discovered it. Cassis should be far away before Dion comes back.

Cassis took a bite of a thick slice of wheat bread and chewed slowly. His round shoulders were turned towards me. If he still saw me as a threat, at least he could eat in front of me now.

I turned away when I felt the blood rush up my throat and gagged out of reflex. There was a small dark stain on my palm. I pulled a fresh handkerchief from the sleeve of my non-wounded arm and dabbed at my mouth, licking my teeth to remove any bloodstains.

Automatically, I slipped the dirty handkerchief into my skirt pocket and wiped my hands with an antiseptic napkin. It was unfortunate that I had acted indecently here, but not unexpected.

I felt Cassis Pedelian’s gaze on me.

His face had hardened the same way as it had when he was blind and we had met in the dungeons. I wanted to smile at how his dark eyebrows had shot up and hid underneath his bone-white hair, but decided against it. His mouth had widened into a comical O before he clenched his jaw.

He pushed his tray roughly to the side and stood.

“That blood—.”

“Forgive me,” I intercepted him. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene.” My lips curled into a small, apologetic smile. Obviously, spitting blood in public was far from ladylike. “I hope I haven’t taken you off your supper.”

I sighed inwardly. We had been making incremental progress. Were we back to square one again?

Cassis seemed almost offended at my response. He blushed a brilliant shade of pink and brushed the bangs from his forehead roughly.

“That’s not…Is it common for you to spew blood like that? He said.

“I suppose. Please don’t mind it.” I wondered if there was still a spot of blood on my chin. Why was he making a big deal out of it?

His eyes narrowed when he saw the blood from my forearm seep through my sleeve. A second wound.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed or accompanied? Your maid should at least be with you at all times, surely,” the disbelief had not left his face.

I wanted to touch him and see if he were made of ice. Instead of getting into a temper like he usually did, his expression was now turning frigid and cold and dangerous. It was the same signs Lant Agriche showed before snapping someone’s neck.

“Well,” I bought time to think. “I can still stand now and be appropriate most of the time. Between us, which do you think is the more healthy?” My eyes turned into upside down crescent moons.

Just accept that spitting blood is a genetic trait of the damned Agriche you despise. No need to worry your pretty head about the details, I thought.

Should I have reacted differently? My responses seemed to only make the situation more dire than it was.  

“Are you hurt often? There’s always blood about you, and during the last time you visited me in the dungeons…” his voice trailed off.

Was there a previous scene like today? I had no memory of it.

“Thank you for worrying about me,” a dimple rose on my cheek. I couldn’t help teasing him. His innocent reactions were so refreshing compared to the bloodlust and sadistic tendencies prevalent in this castle.

Cassis flinched. “You!”

His lips became a thin line again and he crossed his arms, the picture of indifference, besides the flash of pink on the tip of his ears.

“It’s not you in particular I’m worried about. Wouldn’t anyone in this situation be surprised to see someone coughing up blood?” he demanded.

He had seen me at my weakest. Likewise, I now saw a chance to turn the tables.

“I see,” I looked down and widened my eyes in regret. “It must not be an everyday occurrence for most people. The impropriety slipped my mind since it’s been an old habit. For awhile, I thought you would still prefer me dead. I’m still an Agriche after all.”

“Does your pity stoop to such lengths, even for me?” I said with a light, teasing voice. Yet he and I both knew I was asking a serious question.

Do you still hate me, Cassis Pedelian?

Again with the astonished, pupply-like expression! As if his own sister had aimed a shot put at his head!

He tried to control the emotions on his face. I wanted to applaud him for his efforts. He did pity me, even if I was the girl who knocked him out by punching him in the stomach. I had knocked him out twice, in fact. Perhaps he had forgotten how violent I could be.

“Then, I’ll take my leave. Again, I apologize for distracting you from your supper,” I tilted my head slightly in goodbye.

I closed the door behind me, still remembering the peculiar look Cassis Pedelian had given me on his smooth face. Besides pity, there was something else in expression I couldn’t decode. Something that had been showing in his eyes since I had entered with his meal today.

Is the word ‘mad’ or ‘scornful’? I thought.

Yes, this was the word.

Frustration.