I Accidentally Saved The Male Lead’s Brother Chapter 129

 

Carcel’s response came surprisingly quickly.

“Of course not. I’m just… a little shocked.”

This time, he was the one to ask a question.

“A few nights ago, you went to the Heinst family’s graveyard, didn’t you?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened, utterly caught off guard by the fact that he knew.

“How… how did you know?”

“I heard you leaving that night and followed out of concern. I saw you making flower crowns in the greenhouse, carrying them out, and placing them on my parents’ graves.”

He paused, but Charlotte immediately realized what he was leading to.

Edgar Heinst. Carcel was about to ask about the small flower crown she had placed on the empty patch of land next to his mother’s grave.

“Next to my mother’s grave… the empty spot… you placed a flower crown there. Is that…?”

A single tear rolled down Carcel’s cheek.

“Is that where Edgar is buried?”

He already seemed to know the answer.

Of course, he had seen his mother crying over Edgar’s lifeless body in his dream. It would have been harder not to realize it.

Charlotte, tears streaming silently down her face, nodded in confirmation.

Carcel turned away from her and was silent for a long time.

Though no sound came from him, Charlotte could feel the weight of his quiet sobbing.

She approached him and wrapped her arms around his back, holding him tightly. Carcel grasped her hands, and his hot tears dripped onto her arms.

His breathing grew labored, filled with the anguish of 16 years of suppressed emotions. He hadn’t regained all his memories yet, but his body and heart remembered Edgar’s final moments.

“I need to know what happened to Edgar.”

After a prolonged silence, Carcel finally spoke.

“Sir Randru must have been the one who sealed my memories. That means you should be able to break the seal, correct?”

“I… I’m not sure.”

Though she had expected this request, Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to agree immediately.

She had once stopped Randru from erasing her memories.

But undoing a magical seal that had lasted over a decade was a far greater challenge.

“I’ll try.”

Charlotte took Carcel’s hand and channeled her mana into him. A faint glow passed from her hand to his.

But nothing happened.

“Does anything come to mind?”

“No, nothing.”

Charlotte bit her lip, deep in thought.

‘Could it be… just holding hands isn’t enough?’

As a Rosito, the intensity of her powers increased with the level of physical contact. It was possible that neutralizing a spell cast on a person would require more than just touching hands.

Recalling the time she had hugged Carcel to calm him, Charlotte hesitantly suggested:

“Um, Carcel. It seems holding hands might not be enough…”

The words came out haltingly, her voice laden with embarrassment. Carcel didn’t rush her, waiting patiently as she fumbled for the right phrasing.

“May I… try hugging you?”

His composed expression cracked for the first time. Startled by his reaction, Charlotte quickly added,

“I mean, it’s not like I have ulterior motives or anything! It’s just that my power works better with closer contact, so I thought…”

Her hurried explanation, repeating the same phrases, was almost comical.

But instead of laughing, Carcel, with an unreadable expression, wrapped his arms around her waist. Charlotte found herself enveloped in his embrace.

“Will this… suffice?”

His voice trembled with restrained emotion.

“I… I can’t say for sure.”

Charlotte carefully placed her left side against his, aligning her heart with his.

She could feel his body stiffen under her touch, and her own heart raced uncontrollably.

The last time she had done this, she had acted on pure instinct to calm him. Now, fully aware of her actions, the intimacy felt overwhelming.

But this was the only way.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte looped her arms around his neck.

She could feel his heartbeat through their contact, slow at first but accelerating rapidly, almost to the point where it seemed like it might burst.

“Charlotte… is it almost done?”

Carcel’s voice was strained, his composure fraying. Charlotte paused, her mana ready to flow, and asked one final time:

“Are you really okay with this?”

“No.”

“Then—”

“I’m not okay, but I’ll endure it.”

Charlotte hesitated.

“The memories that were sealed away… they might be incredibly painful.”

No, she knew they were.

The memories Carcel was about to recover were harrowing enough to break even the strongest of minds.

“You’re right. They probably will be,” Carcel said, his voice steady despite the tension in his body.

“But as long as you’re here… I can endure anything.”

He pulled away slightly to look at her, his face set with determination.

“So please.”

“Carcel…”

“If it becomes unbearable… just tell me it’s going to be okay.”

He was ready, but Charlotte wasn’t.

Though she knew this was necessary to protect Theo, Carcel, and herself, the thought of seeing him in pain made her hesitate.

Still, she couldn’t delay any longer.

Charlotte wiped her tears with her sleeve and guided Carcel back to the sofa.

“It’s going to be very hard,” she warned.

“I know.”

“So if it becomes too much, hold onto me.”

He nodded, offering her a faint smile. As always, his smile was beautiful, but it only made her heart ache.

Charlotte embraced him tightly, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

She channeled her mana into him, letting it flow from her chest to his.

Carcel braced himself as his memories began to resurface.

The memory fragments were chaotic and overwhelming.

Edgar, always by his side as a fellow Rosito. Edgar, with a smile as warm as Theo’s. Edgar, who had been his safe haven, no matter how much Carcel acted like a child.

And then—

“Edgar!”

The grief-stricken cries of his mother, his father’s desperate orders, and the horrifying sight of Edgar’s lifeless body.

Carcel’s breath hitched.

The memories of Edgar’s final moments collided with the image of himself storming the Marquis of patrien. He remembered the blaze that consumed everything.

“Agh…”

The pain was unbearable. Carcel clung to Charlotte, trembling violently as he buried his face in her shoulder.

Charlotte held him as tightly as she could, tears streaming down her face.

She channeled more of her mana into him, desperate to at least alleviate the torment of his rampaging power, if not his sorrow.

Sweat dripped from Carcel’s forehead onto her neck, mingling with her tears.