My Brothers Are Not Villains

Chapter 5

For several  days, I had been engrossed in playing games, but I had to admit that I had overlooked something.

 Maiches was indeed smart, but human intelligence came in various forms.

Just as IQ and EQ differ, being good at studying doesn’t necessarily mean being good at games.

 Maiches  was proving that point firsthand.

“Oppa, are you really sure about this? The thief-catching game is a profound one, where a single choice can turn the tables… Are you really going to take that card?”

“Hmmm…”

 Maiches  hesitated, looking at me with eyes burning with intensity over the cards.

I was almost telepathically sending  Maiches  the correct answer. Right. Right. Right. Right.

I should have learned magic in advance… so I could directly convey which card was the Joker to  Maiches’s mind…

But  Maiches, who was staring at me intently, inevitably picked the card on the left again.

“Hahahaha.”

 Maiches checked the card, and as usual, he couldn’t help but reveal his reaction by laughing like that…

Naturally, Doria’s eyes gleamed as she picked any card but that one.

No, seriously, how can you be a head of a family when you can’t keep a poker face? Is our Ruedeliz family really okay like this?

In the end,  Maiches couldn’t get rid of the Joker card in his hand, and the game ended.

“Lost again… Hah.”

That’s right.

 Maiches Ruedeliz, the genius mage and head of the count’s family who brought a new era of prosperity to the Ruedeliz family, and who’s now amassing wealth across the continent with his capitalistic brain (as the maids would fuss and say while I lay there), my brother…

Was, in fact, terrible at games.

It was driving me nuts.

Whether it’s Halli Galli, Jenga, Go Stop, Jenga, or any other game, he’s lost them all. He couldn’t even win at a simple game like Cham Cham Cham.

He should win at least once to find games fun, but who knew he’d be this bad at them? How can someone have such bad luck in games?

I tossed the custom-made deluxe deck of Uno cards onto the bed in frustration. As I threw it, my shoulder and wrist ached, and I groaned, prompting Doria to immediately come over and massage my arm.

“Doria… there’s no hope for the thief-catching game either.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

It means I need to find another game.

I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened.

At this rate, I’ll become the game king before  Maiches  ever finds the fun in gaming…

“…Lastly, another admission offer letter arrived from Leptelips Academy.”

“Handle it as usual.”

“Understood. I’ll send a letter of refusal.”

Butler Grange, who had reported the last piece of mail, neatly gathered the letters.

Even after finishing his business, Grange did not leave, prompting Meiches to speak without looking up as he continued approving documents.

“Is there something more you want to say?”

“It seems Lady Aiel is troubled again, trying to come up with a new game.”

The graceful movement of the quill pen came to a halt. Meiches glanced briefly at Grange before returning his gaze to the parchment.

“Why? The thief-catching game was fun.”

“Well, it’s only natural that she’d be bothered since you always let her win.”

“But I can’t exactly beat Aiel, can I?”

Grange smiled faintly at the young lord.

Fifteen-year-old  Maiches  was growing at a remarkable pace, and not just in his abilities and appearance.

The reassurance of having someone to keep him grounded at all times nurtured a solid growth in his spirit.

After the late Count and Lady of Ruedeliz passed away, the young master had endured each day fueled only by hatred and anger.

Seeing the grim gleam in those gray eyes, Butler Grange silently steeled himself.

For the inevitable downfall of the Ruedeliz family that would soon come.

People from all sides sought to turn  Maiches into a puppet, eager to devour him and exploit his extraordinary magical talents.

Instead of protecting what remained,  Maiches  aimed to attack. His intent seemed to be for everyone to collapse together.

The only reason the Ruedeliz family could withstand the reckless sword-wielding of an eleven-year-old boy was because his blade was, at the very least, sharp.

Despite the tragedy he endured,  Maiches  was still a genius. Though the boy’s deadened heart had stripped him of his humanity, it left him with cold rationality. He could skillfully trample over the crude, greedy people who hurriedly revealed their desires.

However, the truly cunning ones knew that this couldn’t last long. Many enjoyed watching  Maiches’s self-destruction, waiting for him to sink.

…And then one day.

In the most secluded corner of the Ruedeliz estate, in a remote annex, the family’s burden opened her eyes after two months.

The newly arrived maid, Doria, trembling as the previous maid-in-charge had, came to inform the head of the household of this fact.

Though Lady Aiel was unaware, the Ruedeliz estate was filled with a tense, cold atmosphere that day, to the point where no one dared to make a sound.

Everyone was on edge, concerned about what the new lord might do to his sister.

 Maiches couldn’t hide the madness surging within him, and it was ready to lash out at anyone.

If anyone annoyed him, especially if that person was his last living relative, flawed and bedridden her entire life, it would only fuel his ire.

But when the young master, harboring cold hatred, entered his sister’s room…

He emerged as nothing more than an ordinary boy with a broken heart.

Grange still remembered the flickering gray eyes of  Maiches  as he trudged down the corridor.

It was the day when, in the quiet grounds of the estate covered in white snow, the first tender green sprouts began to emerge.

For the first time in a long while,  Maiches  drew back the curtains in the study, letting the sunlight stream through the large glass windows.

He spent the entire day doing nothing but looking up at the sky.

At sunset, he called for Doria and entrusted her with the care of “my sister.” He asked her to inform him immediately if she ever woke up, no matter the circumstances.

Then, he fell into a deep sleep, the first he had had in a very long time.

After that, he no longer indulged in self-destructive behaviors.

“Indeed, it would be disgraceful to try to beat a sister who is four years younger… Still, wouldn’t it be more fun if you won and lost in turns?”

“We do win and lose alternately. Sometimes Doria wins too.”

Doria gave her best effort in every moment.

In fact, at first, she felt a bit hurt as an adult for constantly losing games to eleven- and fifteen-year-olds.

But now, she had overcome it, with the same mindset shared by the Ruedeliz servants: “These siblings are geniuses, after all~.”

“But you know why Lady Aiel is so keen on playing these games, don’t you?”

“Ah… that’s true.”

A few days ago, Doria had been on her way to fetch paper suitable for making cards, at Aiel’s request.

She was about to return to Aiel’s room when she found herself unable to pass by  Maiches’s study without knocking on the door.

Then, with an expression that showed she was touched, Doria whispered to Grange and  Maiches.

‘Well, it seems Lady Aiel was so concerned about the Lord working all the time that she decided to find him a hobby, and she’s been stressing over it,’ Doria had whispered.

Just recalling that moment made  Maiches smile.

Aiel’s thoughtfulness was so endearing and precious that he almost snapped the pen he was holding in half right then and there.

“But her excited expression after winning Uno was just too adorable. Since then, I can’t help but lose without even trying to.”

On the first day they played Uno,  Maiches  had memorized every subtle crease on the backs of the paper cards and the slight differences in size between them in an instant.

He set up the game so that Aiel would win. She won brilliantly with the seven of hearts and beamed with a crystal-clear, radiant smile.

From that moment on Maiches  found himself unable to bring himself to defeat Aiel.

Grange chuckled softly, shifting the letter to his other hand.

“If you think about it, letting her win is the same as truly losing. After all, the games you two play are about that.”

“Well…”

Just then, someone suddenly burst into the room without knocking.

In this house, there was only one person who could open the Lord’s door like that.