I Accidentally Saved The Male Lead’s Brother Chapter 160

Carcel surged forward again, this time coating his sword in mana. He thrust the blade at Lionel’s throat, only to be stopped once more just a handbreadth away from his target.

However, there was a difference this time. Fine cracks appeared in the invisible barrier, like shattered glass, where the sword had struck.

Carcel gripped his sword tightly with both hands, pressing it further into the barrier.

But just then, crimson tendrils shot out from the ground and coiled around his wrists.

With a flick of Lionel’s fingers, the tendrils rose higher, forcing Carcel’s arms upward.

Carcel tightened his grip on the sword, determined not to drop it.

Lionel stepped closer, leaning his face near Carcel’s.
“Yes, I remember. My father brought a child who looked just like you.”

Carcel immediately understood what Lionel was talking about. He was referring to Edgar.

A murderous aura surged from Carcel, the realization sharpening his anger.

“They said he was a Rossito like you, but he was utterly useless. He just let himself get kicked around, helpless and pathetic.”

What had they done to Edgar?

The thought of Edgar, trembling in fear and completely alone with no one to protect him, made Carcel’s blood boil.

He gripped his sword so tightly that veins bulged on the back of his hand.

“But now I realize something.”

“…”

“The real Rossito wasn’t that wretch. It was you.”

Lionel seized Carcel’s face in an iron grip, squeezing as if to crush it.
“And yet, you’re not much different.”

In that moment, Carcel infused mana into his legs and drove his foot into Lionel’s stomach.

With a sound like shattering glass, Lionel was hurled to the ground.

Carcel poured mana into his wrists, twisting hard to break free. The tendrils tore apart, releasing his arms, though crimson liquid oozed from the severed tendrils and began to dissolve his gauntlets.

Even as the corrosive substance burned his skin, Carcel made no sound of pain, striding purposefully toward Lionel.

He pressed his boot against Lionel’s chest, pinning him down. Lionel didn’t cry out; instead, he grinned mockingly.

The mansion trembled violently again. Carcel brought his sword to Lionel’s throat.
“If I kill you, this all ends.”

Lionel met Carcel’s eyes with a steady gaze, gripping the blade with both hands. Even as blood flowed from his palms, he didn’t flinch.
“Then go ahead. Kill me.”

Carcel hesitated. Lionel’s unnervingly calm demeanor made him suspicious.

Would killing Lionel really solve everything?

What if Lionel’s magic continued even after his death?

And what if, as Lionel had threatened, everyone Carcel loved truly disappeared?

Theo. Charlotte.

If he lost the two people who gave him the strength to live…

Carcel shifted his aim and drove his sword into Lionel’s arm instead.

Twisting the blade, he tore through muscle and sinew, finally wiping the smug grin off Lionel’s face as pain etched across it.
“Stop the magic. Now.”

“I… can’t,” Lionel choked out, blood dripping from his lips.

Lionel showed no sign of yielding. Instead, with a subtle flick of his fingers, the glowing red lines crawling up the walls surged even faster.

Carcel pulled the blade from Lionel’s arm and plunged it into his thigh.
“Hurry…!”

Lionel clenched his teeth so hard that veins bulged in his neck, but he refused to cry out.

Carcel realized it then: Lionel would never stop the magic, even if it cost him his life.

Lionel’s sole desire was to inflict unbearable pain on Carcel, to bring him the same suffering Lionel had endured when the Petrian family fell.

Pulling the blade free, Carcel infused it with mana and drove it into the spot where Sir Anderson had disappeared earlier.

The force of the impact sent the sword rebounding, tearing Carcel’s hand in the process. Ignoring the pain, he swung his sword again and again.

If the magic couldn’t be stopped, then he had to evacuate everyone immediately.

Charlotte and Theo filled his thoughts.

The two of them, waiting for him in that small room, trembling with fear.

He needed to get to them, to lead them to safety.

Behind him, Lionel’s laughter echoed loudly with each strike Carcel made. Suppressing the urge to drive the blade into Lionel’s heart, Carcel swung his sword with all his strength.

Each clash of his mana-infused blade against the magical barrier sent sparks flying.

The finely crafted sword, made by a master artisan, began to crack. Carcel reinforced it with more mana, continuing his relentless assault.

Finally, the sword emitted an ominous groan and broke in two. Lionel’s laughter grew even louder.

Carcel dropped the now-blunt weapon. Just as he reached for the broken blade, a familiar voice called out.
“Carcel!”

He turned to see light seeping through a crack in the wall behind Lionel. The gap widened, and Charlotte stepped through.

Lionel’s expression twisted in fury as he flicked his fingers. A crimson tendril shot up from the ground, wrapping around Charlotte’s ankle.

Carcel, panicking, grabbed his broken sword and rushed forward, but Charlotte was faster.

Light flared from her hands, and the tendril withered instantly, collapsing like a dead flower.

“Damn chosen One,” Lionel spat as he struggled to stand. The mansion shook even more violently.

Carcel wasted no time, charging at Lionel and kicking him in the stomach. Climbing on top of him, he raised his hand to strike.

But he couldn’t bring himself to deliver the final blow.

What if Lionel’s death didn’t stop the magic?

Then, beside him, Charlotte gently placed her hands on his raised arm.

She spoke softly, as if she understood his hesitation.
“It’s okay.”

“…”

“Everything will be fine. End it now.”

Guided by her steady hands, Carcel thrust the blade into Lionel’s heart.

Lionel let out a guttural scream, blood gushing from his mouth. His body convulsed as he struggled, but Carcel held firm, his grip unyielding.

As if sharing Lionel’s pain, the mansion trembled violently.

Charlotte closed her eyes, taking labored breaths as the tremors intensified.

Finally, Lionel’s body went limp, his resistance ceasing altogether.

The transparent barrier around them shattered, revealing the knights and others who had vanished earlier.

“Master!”

Sir Anderson rushed toward Carcel.

But Carcel couldn’t feel relief.

Though Lionel was dead and the barrier gone, the mansion continued to quake, the crimson light still crawling along the walls.

Carcel quickly assessed the situation and barked out orders.
“Sir Anderson, evacuate everyone immediately!”

He then grabbed Charlotte’s hand.
“We have to get Theo and leave at once.”

But Charlotte shook her head.
“It’s too late.”

“Charlotte—”

“Carcel,” she murmured, almost to herself. “I told you I would protect you, didn’t I?”

Before he could stop her, Charlotte placed her bloodstained hands on the ground. Closing her eyes, she focused her power.

The crimson light on the floor began to fade, replaced by a brilliant white glow. The light spread, climbing the walls and enveloping the Heinst estate in a protective barrier.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, some moved to tears. Only Carcel remained tense, watching her with anguished eyes.

Finally, the shaking ceased. The crimson light dissipated entirely, leaving the estate in calm stillness.

Charlotte opened her eyes and smiled faintly.
“See? I told you it would be fine.”

It was over.

But Carcel couldn’t shake a growing sense of dread.

Charlotte’s body began to glow, her form becoming almost translucent, as if she were about to disappear.

Her golden hair shimmered in the light, reminiscent of the autumn sun the day she had smiled so brightly.

Carcel reached out to touch her, desperate to confirm she was real and not some fleeting illusion.

Before he could reach her—
“Charlotte!”

She coughed up blood and collapsed into his arms.

****

Lionel died where Carcel’s sword had pierced him.

When the emperor first heard the news, he was displeased, but after learning the full circumstances, he reluctantly commended Carcel for his efforts.

It was revealed that Lionel Wisner was the illegitimate child of the late Marquis Petrian and had committed acts of treason against the emperor, earning him a charge of high treason—a crime punishable by the execution of his entire family.

Though Count Wisner claimed Lionel’s actions were solely his own, his pleas were dismissed. The emperor punished the Wisner family, and their execution marked the end of their lineage.

Everything had gone according to Carcel and Charlotte’s plan—except for one thing.

Carcel sat with a troubled expression, holding Charlotte’s hand.

After using her powers as the chosen One to stop Lionel’s magic, Charlotte had collapsed and fallen into a deathlike sleep.

Her breathing was so faint that it was hard to tell if she was still alive.