By Some Unbelievable Twist, I Became the Villainess’s Older Brother

“―Brother!”

“Ah!”

That startled him! Alarmed by the sudden shout, Enoch reflexively stepped back and struck his head against the wall.

Hiss… When he clutched his head and groaned at the tingling pain in the back of his skull, Zyla, who had shouted, opened round eyes like a rabbit. Then, looking far more startled than Enoch, she gazed up at him with concern.

Her eyes had reddened. She apparently believed Enoch had been hurt because of her. She asked in a fluster.

“B-Brother. Are you alright? Does it hurt badly? Should I blow on it for you? Or should I call the family physician?”

Enoch chuckled and patted Zyla’s head. The concern filling her eyes gently dissolved his grave mood.

“No. This is nothing. I’m fine. Look, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Really…? Let me see. Zyla will check it for you! What if you get a bump?”

“Surely not…”

Even as he said it, Enoch obediently bent and showed Zyla the back of his head. Wearing the most serious expression in the world, Zyla examined it and carefully felt the place that had struck the wall.

Enoch had to swallow down the scream that nearly burst from him. He must have struck it harder than he thought. The spot Zyla pressed hurt terribly.

But he could hardly cry out while Zyla watched. He had no choice but to endure it somehow.

Biting the inside of his mouth and forcing back his groans, Enoch soon raised his head. Then he met Zyla’s eyes and smiled awkwardly.

“Does it truly not hurt?”

At the worried question, Enoch held out his hand to Zyla and nodded.

“I told you, it doesn’t. What, don’t you trust your brother?”

Zyla hurriedly shook her head.

“No! Of course I trust you! You would never lie to me, Brother! I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Yes, of course.”

“…Then, you see, there is something I want to ask… Brother, will you answer me honestly?”

“Hm? What are you curious about?”

Hearing his answer, Zyla beamed. Enoch laughed and poked her cheek as he rose.

At that moment, he saw a person’s shadow move through the gap in the open door. Neyra seemed to be walking toward it.

Their conversation must have been too loud. Enoch glanced toward the door, then looked at Zyla again.

The glance had lasted only an instant, but Zyla saw it and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Enoch tilted his head. With both hands planted on her waist and her lips jutting out, it was obvious at a glance that Zyla was sulking.

The instant the door opened, Zyla abruptly asked.

“Brother! Do you like Miss Neyra?”

“…Cough?”

“……”

“Wh-what are you talking about, Zyla?”

So startled that he stammered, Enoch stared at Zyla in disbelief.

That was not the only problem. Because Zyla spoke at the exact moment the door opened, Enoch had been asked outright, in front of Neyra herself, whether he liked her.

Standing with one hand on the doorknob, Neyra was so flustered by the unexpected situation that she froze in place. When she stiffly turned her head and gave Enoch an incredulous look, he shook his head vigorously again.

But Zyla looked entirely unconvinced. Wearing a sulky expression, she looked up at Enoch.

“You don’t?”

“Of course not! How could you think that, Zyla? It is discourteous not only to me, but to Miss Hasgen as well.”

“Then why were you staring at her like that?”

“…When was I?”

“I saw everything with my own two eyes just now, Brother! Don’t even think about denying it! I’ll be angry if you lie to Zyla, so you had better tell me the truth!”

“No, that was…”

Enoch opened and closed his mouth for a moment, unable to continue, then shut it again. For him, it was only natural.

How could he possibly tell Zyla the truth?

No, what could he say in the first place? That he had heard her tutor was the person who tried to assassinate the Crown Prince, so he had only been staring because he found her suspicious?

The Imperial Palace had already declared the culprit dead in prison and closed the case. To suspect another culprit and resume the investigation now would amount to an insult against the Imperial Family.

So even if every part of it was true, he couldn’t tell Zyla his real intentions.

Meanwhile, someone watched Enoch’s long silence with suspicion.

It was Neyra. A frigid chill passed over her ordinarily expressionless face.