ATHO Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Lien: My Nii-sama (Part 2)

Lien: My Nii-sama, Part 2

Novel Title: 嫌われ者の俺はやり直しの世界で義弟達にごまをする (As the Hated One, I Flatter My Stepbrothers in a World Where I Get a Second Chance)

Author：赤牙 (Akakiba)

Art：古澤エノ (Furusawa Eno)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: シャルル (Charles -MC), リエン (Lien -ML1) & ジェイド (Jade -ML2)

*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*

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“That’s right. That’s why we must never tell Charles Nii-san about our feelings. I wanted to warn you about this because you seem like you might let it slip.”  

I pouted at Jade’s words.  

“But you get all obviously annoyed when I get close to Charles Nii-sama! If you keep that up, Charles Nii-sama will figure it out!”  

“Don’t worry. Charles Nii-san is oblivious. He’d probably just think we had a fight or something.”  

True… Jade’s words made sense.  

“Listen carefully, Lien. We need to ensure Charles Nii-san doesn’t leave us while also eliminating anyone who might try to take him away. We can only afford to be competing with each other.”  

“So you’re saying we should work together?”  

“Exactly. We need to be the perfect brothers so Charles Nii-san won’t want to leave us.”  

Jade narrowed his eyes with a sinister grin, and I couldn’t help but smirk along with him.  

Thus, we decided to play the roles of devoted brothers and rivals, each fulfilling our respective parts.  

Whenever we learned about a lady showing interest in Charles, we would subtly intervene, even making her shift her attention toward us. I couldn’t care less about receiving affection from anyone other than Charles, but it was all for our beloved brother.  

During his time at school, Jade established a trading company with his classmates, building a solid foundation for the future.  

Until Charles graduated, we worked tirelessly to clear away any obstacles, all for the sake of the bright future we envisioned with him.  

After graduation, we figured potential threats would decrease, but a new enemy unexpectedly appeared.  

When Jade and I returned from school, we saw Uncle Lyle’s carriage parked in front of the mansion.  

“Here he is again…”  

Jade glared at Lyle’s carriage with a displeased expression. Soon, his uncle came running toward us, clad in his usual gaudy attire, an air of pretense surrounding him.  

We had looked into his character after learning about his existence, and it was terrible. The servants had nothing good to say about him, and he didn’t even attend Charles’s late mother’s funeral.  

I had no idea why Charles was so attached to someone like that. The day Charles said he liked Lyle, I was furious. Even now, the memory made me seethe.  

Since Charles’s work carriage was already here, it seemed he had returned home.  

Had he met with Lyle again?  

The thought of Charles joyfully running up to Lyle made my chest churn.  

I needed to see Charles and let him comfort me…  

With that thought, I went to his room, but he wasn’t there. Thinking he might be discussing work with Father, I headed to the study but found him sitting on a bench in the garden instead.  

“Charles Nii-sama!”  

I called out and ran to him, but he remained hunched over.  

“Charles Nii-sama? Nii-sama…?”  

I kept calling his name, and after several tries, he finally lifted his head.  

His pale blue eyes were filled with anxiety, tears welling up and streaming down his face as he bit his trembling lips.  

Ah, how beautifully he cried.  

As lovely as it was… I needed to stop his tears.  

Taking his hand, I tried to comfort him, but he kept looking at me with tearful eyes, trembling slightly as if afraid of something.  

No, not something—someone.

It was as if he saw someone else behind me.  

After a while of holding his hand and wiping his tears, Charles finally whispered, “Sorry, Lien…”  

Though his expression brightened a bit, he still seemed troubled, as if he couldn’t stop thinking about that ‘someone.’  

―――Charles, who are you thinking about?  

I cupped his cheeks and told him I’d cast a little ‘charm’ to make him feel better.  

As always, I pressed a kiss to his forehead and, this time, to his cheek as well.  

I meant to stop there, but Charles’s tear-streaked face was so unbearably adorable…  

I gently brushed my lips against his.  

His lips… they were so soft. I didn’t want to pull away.

As I was savoring Charles’s lips, he suddenly realized what had happened and stared at me in shock.

When I slowly pulled away, his eyes were trembling with confusion.

“Did that cheer you up, Nii-sama?”

“W-W-Wait, why did you…?”

“See? You’ve already forgotten the bad stuff!”

When I said this, Charles turned red, seemingly wanting to say something. Not wanting to hear any words of rejection, I cut him off.

“If you’re ever feeling down again, I’ll perform the charm for you anytime!”

I kissed him on the cheek and quickly fled the scene.

Back in my room, I basked in the lingering feeling of the kiss. Every time I remembered the soft touch of Charles’s lips, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Charles Nii-sama, I hope you’ll always remember our first kiss.”

As I giggled to myself, a low, extremely irritated voice interrupted me.

“…Lien.”

When I turned around, there was Jade, standing expressionlessly.

Uh-oh. Jade looks really mad.

Although Jade usually keeps his emotions in check, it was clear he was furious now.

“Why did you kiss Charles Nii-san?”

“He was crying, so I wanted to cheer him up!”

“…You went too far.”

“Did I? Charles Nii-san seemed really happy about it!”

“…He was happy when I kissed him too.”

“What!? You kissed Charles Nii-sama too? When did that happen!?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you! You’re the one who broke the rules and acted first!”

As I protested, Jade shot me a piercing glare.

When it comes to Charles, Jade loses all composure. Just because he saw our kiss and couldn’t hold himself back doesn’t mean he can blame me!

“Hey, more importantly, about that uncle…”

Sensing the conversation was heading into dangerous territory, I changed the subject.

The word ‘uncle’ made Jade’s expression darken even more.

“Just as we thought, the servants don’t have a single good thing to say about him.”

“Yes. It seems he’s been borrowing money, wasting it on women and gambling. For him to even touch the inheritance left by Charles’s late mother… he’s utterly despicable.”

The more I learned about Lyle, the more I realized how unworthy he was to be around Charles.

“That man… he’s not needed, is he?”

“Indeed. He only brings harm to Charles Nii-san.”

“We can’t let him meet Charles Nii-sama ever again.”

“Agreed. We won’t let him lay a finger on him.”

With a sinister smile, Jade firmly declared this, and I nodded in agreement with a smirk.

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*GLOSSARY: 

• Nii-san/Nii-sama/Onii-san = (Big/Elder) Brother

☝🏻I’ll be using these throughout my translation. Jade would call Charles ‘Nii-san’ while Lien would call him ‘Nii-sama’.

Next update: 2025.09.13

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