Chapter 19 Loop 7+α - 2
As my brother pulled me out of the room, Ines, who usually seemed quite calm,
was looking at me with a tense expression.
You got a shock didn't you. Sorry.
「Madam…」
「Sorry, but please wait outside.」
My brother commanded, stopping Ines in who was about to follow us. Then he
grabbed me and dragged me into his room.
My brother was very angry.
I knew immediately that I was about to get hit again.
However, even if it wasn't as bad as the death matches I've had with Mr
Rhysel, I did endure my brother's unreasonable punches numerous times in all
my past loops. With my heightened senses now, avoiding his fists wouldn't be
too difficult.
First of all, I just need to figure out the timing to make a move. If I could
predict his initial move, then I could avoid the fists of my brother, who was
a big man who wasn't very flexible.
Bam!!!
「Terrible! A surprise attack!」
I writhed in pain, clutching my throbbing head. While I wasn't looking, my
brother landed his second punch of this loop. And he hadn't held back.
My brother's punches were serious. I'd once seen him take down a rampaging
boar with just his fists. Even in the third loop, despite being weakened by
poison, he was able to smash Mr Rhysel into a wall with a single punch. How
could he deliver such a vicious blow to his lovely sister?
I almost moved on to the next loop.
However, there wasn't a hint of guilt or concern on my brother's face.
「You idiot! How much further do you intend to embarrass yourself?」
His deep voice reverberated through the room, causing the whole room to shake.
My brother, who would have been considered of the surrounding rooms in
previous loops, now roared at me like a bear.
Known for having the courage that would not lose to a bear, I barked back at
him though my voice was closer to that of a puppy.
(lilies: awhhh i'm just imagining our Katrea as a chihuahua ahahaha small
but deadly)
「You're the one who never listens to me! You have no idea how hard things
have been for me!」
「What do you have to go through to call your husband's best friend an
assassin! …So, who the hell put that idea in your head? I'll deal with them
myself!」
No one fed me that information. It was the truth I'd discovered after numerous
deaths.
I had faced struggles that even my brother couldn't complain about.
My brother seemed to think I'd heard the story from someone and then barged
into Mr Rhysel's room.
Did he think I was that gullible? Or maybe he trusted I wouldn't accuse
someone of attempted murder without good reason.
I'm sick of my brother not even trying to take me seriously, let alone believe
me, but I had other questions to ask him.
I decided to shift the conversation.
「That aside, why were you so sure the Duke went to the master bedroom when
you were drunk, Brother Tris? What else do you know?」
At that moment, my brother avoided eye contact with me. He was clearly trying
to hide something.
「If you don't believe me, then at least explain why! It's unfair to deny my
claims without giving a reason!」
「Um…」
Despite my pressing, he stroked his chin as if he was thinking about something
and did not open his mouth.
But, perhaps taken aback by my force, he finally relented and spoke in a small
voice.
「Until just a while ago, Lord Rhysel and His Highness… the three of us were
drinking together.」
「Eh?」
My brother, Mr Rhysel, and the Duke…? Why those three?
I can't picture it at all.
A wild beast sandwiched between flower-like noblemen.
(lilies: i can't with these siblings (≧ヮ≦)
Or three of them: enemy, enemy, and brother.
「Lord Rhysel and I hit it off quite well at the party. heard that our
rooms were close together, so I went to his room to invite him for a drink and
saw that the Duke was there as well.」
「So, you barged into a room with two handsome men and drank to your heart's
content.」
I was struck on the head without a word.
「So, I think about half an hour ago, the Duke said it was time to head to the
master bedroom and left.」
「But you didn't personally see the Duke enter the master bedroom, did you?」
「Oh, shut up. He was heading there. I know it.」
What's with that? That's some baseless muscle-headed assertion.
However, if what my brother said was true, then why wasn't the Duke in the
master bedroom? There's also the question of how Mr Rhysel knew that the Duke,
who was supposed to have gone to the master bedroom, had gone somewhere else.
If he wasn't certain that the duke was not in the master bedroom, he wouldn't
have been able to sneak into the room.
「When the Duke went to the master bedroom, did Mr Rhysel leave the room with
him or anything?」
「No. After that, he continued drinking with me in the room… Well, he did seem
a little worried, though.」
「Worried about what?」
「That's irrelevant.」
He was being evasive again. Suspicious.
「…Ah, shortly after the Duke left, Lord Rhysel did excuse himself to go to
the washroom.」
「When was that?」
「I don't know. Anyway, it was right after the Duke left.」
「Where is the bathroom on this floor?」
「At the end of the hallway—next to the nearest staircase. It only takes a few
minutes to walk there and back. Lord Rhysel returned quickly. Nothing seemed
unusual.」
No. I am sure that it was during that time that Mr Rhysel found out that the
Duke was not in the master bedroom.
Thinking back, when I stormed into the library with Serrie in the fourth loop,
the Duke had asked「Did Rhysel tell you?」Unless Mr Rhysel knew that he went
to the library, the Duke wouldn't have said that line.
The question is, how did he know about it in the short time that he went to
the bathroom and back? Did he go to the trouble of checking the master bedroom
himself? But this is the west wing. And the master bedroom was in the central
wing, which was quite a walk away Moreover, the Duke knew that Mr Rhysel knew
that he was in the library…
Hmm, I can't figure it out. Hmm, I don't get it.
Well, there's no point in me thinking any more about it.
In this case, I guess I have no choice but to ask the Duke directly.
「…It's a shame we couldn't reach an understanding. However, I also realised
that I need to investigate further. I'll go to the library and ask the Duke
about the master bedroom.」
「Are you still going to accuse Lord Rhysel of being an assassin? He's the
Duke's best friend! Stop this nonsense.」
「If everything you say is true, then the Duke should be waiting for me in the
master bedroom right now. Then there shouldn't be any problem with me checking
the library, right?」
「Um…」
Got him! It felt good to win an argument with my brother for the time in a
while.
「Well, alright. If you're so worried, come with me, Brother Tris.」
「…」
He looked torn between not wanting to deal with me and feeling like he
couldn't leave me to my own devices. Caught between the two, my brother was
conflicted.
But in the end, his sense of responsibility won, and my brother nodded
reluctantly.
As for me, I got lucky because I didn't want to face the Duke alone.
「Speaking of which, you said the Duke was in Mr Rhysel's room with you and Mr
Rhysel, right?」
「Yeah.」
「So that's why there were so many bottles and glasses…」
That would explain the sense of incongruity I felt in the third loop.
I felt that there was an awful lot of bottles and glasses on the floor for two
people. However, if there was a third person, it would explain the sense of
incongruity.
Whoa, is my detective instinct kicking in? Dear Grandmother in heaven, is
this my talent?
「No, the Duke didn't drink a drop. I drank most of it.」
「…」
Ah, right. I see.
「I couldn't do without drinking. Lord Rhysel's room was directly below yours
and the noise of your shouting and commotion was so loud we could hear you
over our talk… It was so embarrassing that I had to rely on alcohol to get
through it by getting drunk.」
「…」
Come to think of it, my brother had come to my room in the first loop because
of the noise. Earlier, he had also complained about the noise This would also
mean that the Duke had heard it too…
「T-Then, did you hear what I was saying?」
「I couldn't make out much of what you were saying. It just sounded like some
loud, monkey-like noises.」
Sa—fe!!
I didn't care what the Duke thought of me now, but it would have been awkward
if he had heard me say things like 「I don't want to marry someone like
that.」or「There's no way I could become a couple with him.」
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think
my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better
reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
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Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~