The Strongest Brother Lost His Memory Chapter 22

“That rat-faced bastard probably thought he ran away because he was scared of ! Hahahaha!”

Julian burst into loud laughter, lifting his slingshot high into the air as if it were a sacred sword.

Even if his ntal age had regressed to seventeen, he still looked like a full-grown twenty-four-year-old man...

A man who once held the title of the strongest warrior, a tall adult, was now proudly showing off in front of and Ethan, two small, unimpressive figures.

“The mont I appeared—bam! Everything was settled, yeah! Just like that, yeah!”

And of course, Julian didn’t stop at just one round. Shulva, who was supporting Julian, was so embarrassed that he completely avoided looking at us, pretending to be interested in sothing else.

“Man, what do I even do? I’m a genius on top of it all. I’ve got intelligence, virtue, and physical prowess—truly the complete package! Ahahahaha!”

It was a deeply humiliating mont.

Roystan had probably run away instinctively, still half-rembering the old Julian from the past...

And Ethan, watching Julian’s grand display, looked entirely unimpressed.

Instead...

“Th-th-thank.”

Ethan gave a weirdly worded smile.

“Violence always counters violence. Though it wasn’t a fundantal solution, it was an appropriate evasion for the current situation. Good, good.”

Huh.

What’s up with this kid’s way of speaking?

Yeah, he’s definitely a little strange.

I stared at Ethan, sowhat intrigued.

‘According to Zahid, this kid will soday...’

Ethan, who now looked like nothing more than a scrawny, fragile boy, was fated to beco the empire’s greatest archmage.

Ethan Noart

The only son of my second uncle, Felide.

Felide had never paid much attention to Ethan. The man had too many lovers in his younger days and never cared much for marriage in the first place.

And Ethan had always been an odd child—quiet and utterly absorbed in magic tos, rarely leaving his room except for formal gatherings.

Felide, deciding that Ethan showed no signs of becoming a worthy heir, neglected him even further.

‘That’s why Roystan felt free to bully him.’

After all, no one would stop him. Ethan had no one to complain to.

Children who enjoy tornting others don’t limit themselves to just one victim. I wasn’t the only target—Ethan was one too.

‘Is that why he eventually leaves the family?’

Before my regression, Ethan ran away from ho at the age of fifteen.

And no one stopped him. Even Uncle Felide didn’t care, having long given up any expectations for him.

A bookworm boy, unnoticed in the Noart Count Family.

That boy left ho and headed straight for the Magic Tower. He had always longed for the world of magic.

And then, one day, he displayed an unparalleled natural talent and beca the greatest archmage.

‘Once he enters the Magic Tower, he abandons his surna and severs ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ ties with the family completely.’

From that point on, he never interferes with Noart’s affairs.

‘In other words, he’ll live a life entirely separate from the Noart Count Family.’

Not soone I particularly liked or disliked.

But seeing Roystan tornting him—it felt too familiar for to just ignore.

Like Ethan said, it wasn’t a fundantal solution.

I looked at him and asked, “Has this happened often?”

Ethan shrugged and imdiately replied, “Been like this since childhood. Nothing special. Everyone knows, except for Grandfather.”

“What? Then my brother knew too?”

I asked, unable to believe it. Ethan nodded as if it were obvious.

“Of course.”

His answer was so firm that it left montarily speechless. I blinked, stunned.

“And my brother just... let it happen? He saw this and did nothing?”

“That’s also obvious. He didn’t care whether I got beaten to a pulp or not.”

Ethan continued speaking nonchalantly.

“A few months ago? Roystan beat up like a dog, and your brother walked right past , whistling, without even sparing a glance. He was carrying a bunch of gifts for you.”

“What?! What kind of horrible personality is that?!”

I gaped at Julian.

Earlier, he had gotten furious the mont he saw Roystan bullying Ethan!

Even though he didn’t even really know Ethan, he had been ready to charge in imdiately.

“What? I did that? Seriously?”

Julian looked completely flabbergasted.

Ethan shrugged and replied flatly, “The old Julian Noart was a selfish bastard who only cared about his little sister. He trampled everyone else in this family to beco the heir—what did you expect?”

Shockingly, even Shulva didn’t refute Ethan’s words.

aning, they were true.

Ethan spoke so casually, as if recounting an irrelevant fact.

“When he first ca here at nineteen, the relatives gave him hell. After that, Julian decided to walk the path of a greater demon to defeat the smaller demons.”

Then, casting a sideways glance at Julian, who looked utterly shaken, he added,

“Well... I guess he’s different now. Lost his mories, turned into so angsty teenage brat. It really is true? I had a feeling sothing was off even when I saw him in the conference hall.”

Neither I nor Julian could say anything in response.

But one thing was clear.

Before losing his mory, Julian had been a perfect older brother to —but he definitely had serious personality issues.

“Well, if you lose sothing, you gain sothing else, right?”

Ethan adjusted his glasses.

“Looks like Julian Noart lost his mories but gained the possibility of moral redemption.”

“...Why do I feel like I’m getting insulted when I was the one who just saved you?”

Julian muttered, furrowing his brows.

I gave a half-hearted smile, but then—Ethan’s eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed behind .

“Rosie!”

And with a look of utter horror, he shouted,

“That—that’s really bad, isn’t it?!”

Julian, Shulva, and I all turned in the direction Ethan was pointing. And at the sa ti, we collectively gasped.

“Oh no!”

I rushed forward in a panic.

Ethan was pointing at the corner where we had hidden earlier to eavesdrop on Roystan’s conversation.

“Brother, please, just stay here. Okay? Please!”

When I had run between Ethan and Roystan earlier, I had left an envelope on the ground.

Inside that envelope was the seashell bracelet Grandfather had given .

And now, in that very spot, the bracelet lay shattered into pieces.

I slowly picked it up.

The seashells were completely crushed.

“Wow, what do we do?”

Ethan whispered in a trembling voice, standing beside before I even noticed.

“Grandfather must’ve put a lot of effort into making this. Seeing it broken like this... he won’t be happy! He might even think you didn’t take good care of it, Rosie!”

Ethan was right. Even if it was technically a transaction, this was still the first gift Grandfather had ever given .

Breaking a gift that had been given with care—it was an insult, intentional or not.

I didn’t have a close enough relationship with Grandfather yet.

He had acknowledged my cleverness, sure, but maintaining that montum wouldn’t be easy.

“There’s no way to get an identical replacent... so what now?”

Ethan chewed his fingernail anxiously.

“This is my fault... This happened because of . What do we do, Rosie? What do we do? I shouldn’t have—”

Julian, who had finally caught up despite his crutches, suddenly exploded in rage.

“What the hell? This was Roystan, wasn’t it?! Huh?! Who else would do sothing like this?!”

He had a point. No one else had been here.

And we had evidence.

“When Grandfather gave you a little praise today, he got all cocky, but it won’t last. Got it?”

When Roystan had said that earlier, had he already planned to destroy the bracelet?

It might not have mattered imdiately. After all, I could swap out accessories easily.

But what if Grandfather asked, ‘That bracelet... why aren’t you wearing it?’

From what I’d seen of him, he didn’t seem like the type to get angry over such a thing.

Still... it didn’t sit right.

‘And since Roystan already set things in motion... he’s definitely going to use this against .’

Just hiding the broken bracelet wouldn’t solve the problem.