I Accidentally Saved The Male Lead’s Brother Chapter 169

“Brother Edgar?”

“Yes, Brother Edgar. Remember the painting you saw before?”

Charlotte gently took Theo’s small hand and gave it a little shake, smiling warmly at him as he furrowed his brows in deep concentration, trying to recall the face in the portrait.

“Say hello to Brother.”

Beaming brightly, Theo waved both hands enthusiastically.

“Hi, Brother! I’m Theo!”

“Tell him it’s nice to meet him.”

Theo followed Charlotte’s instructions dutifully.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Tell him you love him, too.”

“I love you!”

Like a little parrot repeating her words, Theo didn’t stop there. Letting go of Charlotte’s hand, he walked right up to the gravestone.

He stretched out his short arms as far as they would go and hugged the marble carving of Edgar’s face tightly.

The gravestone was far too large for his small frame, so it looked more like he was clinging to it than hugging it. The sight was both heartwarming and profoundly moving.

Charlotte fought back the tears welling up in her eyes and turned to look behind her. Carcel stood frozen, holding Edgar’s flower crown in his hands.

Taking his arm gently, she led him toward the gravestone.

“You should say hello too,” she urged softly.

Finally, Carcel knelt on one knee before the gravestone and placed the flower crown at its base.

Charlotte held Theo’s hand, guiding him back so Edgar’s full visage came into view once more. Carcel fixed his gaze on the radiant, smiling face etched into the stone.

“Edgar. It’s finally over. I’ve come to finish things properly,” Carcel said quietly.

Charlotte stood beside him, silently observing his profile.

The last time they had come here, Carcel had been unable to contain his emotions.

His voice had been filled with pain, and tears had streamed down his face without end.

“But now you can rest in peace,” Carcel continued, his tone filled not with grief but with affection.

Today was different. A faint smile touched his lips, and his voice carried warmth.

Carcel had chosen to stop mourning Edgar’s death and instead focus on moving forward.

“I’ll protect Theo, and I’ll protect the Heinest family too.”

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Theo, who had been tugging at her skirt, and took a moment to look around.

In just the short time they’d been standing there, tender green buds had begun to sprout on the once-barren branches.

The snow that had blanketed the ground and the harsh winter wind that had whipped through their hair were both gone.

The long, grueling winter was finally over, and spring had arrived at last.

Yes, Charlotte thought. Spring always comes eventually.

All that was left now was for everything that had endured the harsh winter to bloom.

The trees, Carcel, herself, and Theo—all of them would blossom in their own time.

Listening to the cheerful chirping of birds overhead, Charlotte smiled faintly. It truly was the perfect day for a fresh start.

Leaning down, she whispered softly into Theo’s ear.

“Theo, go give your Brother a big hug.”

“Okay!”

With a determined look, Theo dashed toward Carcel.

“Brother!”

He threw himself at Carcel, wrapping his short arms as tightly as he could around Carcel’s back. Startled, Carcel instinctively caught him and lifted him up.

As Charlotte walked over to join them, Theo grinned and made an eager request.

“Brother! sister! Give Theo a kiss!”

Charlotte and Carcel exchanged a glance before leaning in simultaneously to plant kisses on either side of Theo’s chubby cheeks.

Giggling, Theo’s face lit up in a smile so wide that his teeth showed.

Above them, the warm spring sunlight streamed down, as if Edgar himself was smiling back at the little family reunited under his watchful gaze.

****
Carcel quietly stared at the papers Chase had brought.

His eyes were clearly on the documents, but Chase somehow felt that Carcel wasn’t actually looking at them—he seemed lost in thought.

In fact, Carcel’s gaze had clearly drifted away from the paperwork.

Was he tired? Was something troubling him?

Chase, who had been waiting patiently, finally cleared his throat and spoke.

“Your Grace?”

“……….”

“Are the documents not to your liking? Should I rewrite them?”

Carcel finally opened his mouth at the carefully worded question. But what he said had nothing to do with the papers.

“How did you propose to Irina?”

“We went into the city… wait, what did you just say?”

Chase, who had started to answer without understanding the question, suddenly grasped it and widened his eyes.

“Did you say proposal?”

When Chase raised his voice, Carcel slammed his hand on the desk.

“Your voice is too loud.”

Chase quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He glanced sideways at Carcel’s expression and then quietly asked again.

“Did you say proposal just now?”

“………”

“You mean a proposal, like when a man asks a woman to marry him?”

“Is there another meaning to proposal?”

“No, no, none at all…”

Chase thought for a moment, then asked cautiously,

“Do you intend to marry Miss Lannia?”

“……….”

Instead of answering, Carcel touched the ring box on his desk.

Inside was a clear diamond ring, typically used for marriage proposals.

He had ordered it even before their engagement was official and received the finished product just a few days ago.

In addition to the ring, there were also earrings, bracelets, and a necklace that matched. This was the first time in his 23 years that he had ever bought a woman’s jewelry set.

All that was left now was to propose to Charlotte.

He remembered the first time he met Charlotte and offered her a marriage contract.

It had been a terribly awkward proposal. Chase had to explain the contract on his behalf.

Then came the formal engagement proposal—how had that gone?

At that time, he asked Charlotte to cancel the contract. But to soothe her anger, he had asked her to make the engagement official.

Charlotte had been happy to do so, but it wasn’t exactly romantic.

That’s why Carcel now wanted to do it properly—so that she would remember his real proposal for the rest of her life.

But even after a few days and nights of thinking it over, he still hadn’t come up with a good idea.

After much deliberation, he decided to ask someone for help. The first person who came to mind was Chase.

Meanwhile, Chase was screaming internally. He was one of the few who knew how Carcel and Charlotte had met.

When they went to Lannia’s estate to look for the missing Theo—or when Carcel offered Charlotte a marriage contract—he never imagined it would come to this.

Of course, he had known Carcel grew to love Charlotte. But he never expected to be asked this kind of question. This was Carcel, after all.

‘He must really love her.’

Chase concluded, watching Carcel as he seriously stared at the ring box.

The man was about to propose to Miss Lannia. If that was the case, then as his aide, he would help with all his heart.

He decided to start by telling him how he proposed to Irina.

“We went on a date in the city and then I proposed.”

“Did she like it?”

“Yes, she loved it…”

Chase frowned and looked out the window. In the garden, Charlotte, Irina, Theo, and Danny were spending time in their own ways.

“I think there’s a better way for Miss Lannia.”

“How?”

“Well… ah, right, this.”

Chase rubbed his forehead as a sudden thought came to him.

“What is it?”

“Now that I think about it, I got permission from Sir Androsen before I proposed to Irina.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that’s the usual way. You ask her father for permission, and then you propose.”

Carcel followed Chase’s logic.

How had his first meeting with Charlotte’s father, Baron Lannia, gone?

Far from getting permission first, he had outright declared Charlotte to be his fiancée. Looking back, he definitely did things out of order.

Now it made sense why Jack and Isaac hadn’t liked him.

“Come on! Let’s go check out the carrots!”

Danny pointed and encouraged Theo. But Theo didn’t even glance at him—he was clinging to Charlotte.

Charlotte couldn’t stand watching this anymore and gently nudged Theo toward Danny, but Theo shook his head.

Charlotte had been in a coma, and it had been a month since she woke up, yet Theo hadn’t changed.

Sometimes he’d play cheerfully, and other times he’d cling to Charlotte like now and refuse to let go.

It seemed that week when Charlotte didn’t wake had left a deep mark on the child.

Charlotte patted Theo on the back.

“Theo, Danny’s waiting. Won’t you go?”

“Unngh…”

Theo buried his face in the nape of Charlotte’s neck and groaned.

“I’ll always be here. Go play with Danny. You love sword-fighting with him.”

“Unngh…”

“No?”

Theo lifted his head and turned to look at Danny. Suddenly, Danny approached with a pitiful look in his eyes.

Theo’s face also filled with regret as he looked at him.

Charlotte smiled and set Theo on the ground. As she gently pushed him forward—since he still couldn’t decide—Theo took Danny’s hand and dashed toward the garden.

“Let’s go find the treasure!”

“Yeah!”

The kids began pulling up carrots skillfully, then launched into a sword fight.

“I guess the appetizer tonight will be carrot soup.”

Irina sat across from Charlotte and smiled. Charlotte laughed when she saw the carrot in Theo’s hand had snapped.

“I know, right? Or we could ask for a carrot cake for dessert.”

“I think carrot cake sounds great.”

“Do you want to stay over tonight? Theo wants to hang out with Danny more. We’ve been at the Hyacinth estate for a whole month, after all.”

“And me?”

“Of course.”

Charlotte nodded gently and took a sip of her tea. Then she suddenly asked Irina,

“But… any good news?”

“Good news?”

Irina’s gaze drifted to Charlotte’s left hand, which was bare.

“No. It’s just… it’s been more than half a year since your engagement, and I was wondering if there’s even better news to come.”

Charlotte nearly spit out the tea she was drinking at that moment…