I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 115
I’d anticipated this. I took a deep breath and answered Kalian’s question.
“Kirges was the one who led that experiment.”
“Ah…?”
“While Yeljewa is said to have conceived the initial framework, it was Kirges of that era and his disciples who actually designed the sorcery to extract the power of five families and concentrate it into a single person. They bear far greater responsibility than any family present here.”
“And the current Family Head of Kirges is the only person who ever extended a helping hand to me in the past.”
Kalian pointed this out gently. Yet beneath his mild tone, a distinct displeasure gleamed unmistakably in his eyes.
“You are the only one among those present who owes me no apology.”
“…”
“Surely you’re not unaware of that, Rosien.”
“I would ask that we refrain from remarks that deviate from the conference’s purpose…”
“I’m beginning to suspect you might be trying to push Kirges into my arms and slip away somewhere yourself. That’s not it, is it? Rosien.”
“Wynyak. Please use formal speech during the conference.”
In the end, I had no choice but to cut off Kalian’s words. When it came to me, he occasionally displayed an almost bestial intuition.
“We must maintain decorum. Sit up properly.”
“Hmm.”
“Wynyak!”
“…I understand, Chairman. Don’t be upset.”
Unable to discern any hidden intent from me, Kalian shrugged his shoulders.
His tone that followed was remarkably indifferent.
“Since the Transcendent Family Heads have spoken so graciously, there’s nothing objectionable about it. I don’t wish to summon all the disciples of the remaining four families to Wynack Castle, so I’ll leave each family’s headquarters in their respective nations as they are. However, I hereby lift the taboos of the Transcendent Families within Wynyak’s domain. I’d like to start by abolishing the residence permit issuance procedures when crossing borders. It’s rather tedious, you see.”
I quietly exhaled in relief. Just to be safe, I added one more reminder.
“This is a promise, so it cannot be broken. Wynyak. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Kirges.”
Kalian answered obediently, like a well-behaved child. I hastily concluded my remarks, anxious that he might spout more nonsense in front of everyone on the continent.
“However, please remember that this is absorption into the family itself, not the Abuye Kingdom to which Wynyak belongs, and is therefore unrelated to interstate disputes. Now then, shall we prepare a new contract regarding the dissolution and subordination of the Transcendent Families?”
The newly organized conference proceedings were continuously recorded above the Planetarium.
I barely suppressed the exhilaration rising tightly within me.
‘So the old prophecy has been roughly fulfilled.’
That prophecy—the Princess of Abuye reincarnates, summons the Broken Chaos, and annihilates the Transcendent Families. ‘Annihilation’ doesn’t necessarily mean mass murder, after all.
So now only two prophecies remained.
My death, and Kalian’s rampage.
I glanced sidelong out the wide window of the podium.
There was no sign of lightning striking from the sky or assassins suddenly appearing. Everything remained peaceful for now.
Even as the Continental Conference stretched on for nearly half a day more until its conclusion, nothing remarkable occurred.
The seals of the Transcendent Families were neatly affixed to the documents summarizing the conference results.
With that, the emergency conference concluded safely.
Everything proceeded without incident.
Everything unfolded exactly as planned, rendering meaningless the tension I’d maintained throughout the several hours the conference lasted.
“Then, with this, I declare the 244th Continental Conference concluded.”
The Planetarium, which had been slowly rotating and recording every detail of the conference, gradually came to a halt.
As the light faded, the Planetarium shrank back into a palm-sized disc.
Scattered sighs erupted from various corners of the room.
“We made it through safely today, it seems, Rosien.”
Chronos Yeljewa leaned toward me and spoke in a lowered voice, his tone tinged with relief.
“I’ll just need to be careful whenever I attend the Continental Conference once every five years.”
“That’s true. I’m grateful nothing went wrong.”
“…You really are composed, aren’t you? If I’d received such a prophecy, I would have locked myself in my room for the entire day without stepping foot outside.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Alpien groaned from the seat beside me, burying himself deep into his chair.
“Why did you have to scare us like that, Rosien? Do you have any idea how anxious I was throughout the entire meeting, worried you might suddenly collapse?”
“I suppose I should have put my mind at ease from the start.”
If not this conference, then the next one. If not the next, then the one after that. Either way, if I could just make it through today safely, I would have five more years to prepare for the future.
Five years. Only then did I feel like I could breathe.
Kalian was approaching with an irritated expression on his face. It seemed my behavior during the conference had displeased him considerably.
Drawing close, he settled himself diagonally across the round table and asked in a measured tone.
“Princess, you didn’t mention handing over Kirges to me as well, did you? Unplanned actions not agreed upon beforehand are rather inconvenient.”
“Why? Kirges was included in your plan to annihilate the Transcendent Families from the beginning.”
“But I also said I wouldn’t take what’s yours. I had no desire to seize Kirges from Rosien, so why are you pushing it onto me when you know that?”
“Pushing it onto you? I simply thought it would look odd if Kirges were the only exception.”
I deflected without admitting the truth.
In reality, subordinating Kirges to Wynyak as well was a contingency plan I’d devised for the possibility of my absence. It was also one way to prevent Kalian from rampaging and destroying Rachnar if something were to happen to me.
No matter how furious he became, Kalian wouldn’t abandon Kirges—something I had entrusted to him.
‘But if I had five more years…’
Kalian continued to scrutinize me intently, as though trying to pry open my innermost thoughts. Held captive by that piercing gaze for some time, a petulant complaint suddenly escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“When will the ring be finished?”
“Do you want the ring?”
“Yes. Bring it quickly. Propose to me soon.”
I wrapped both arms around his waist and buried my face against him. Kalian seemed slightly taken aback.
His hands, which had been frozen in mid-air, soon settled upon my shoulders. Kalian murmured something in a peculiar tone.
“I never thought you’d say something like that.”
“Why?”
“I thought I was someone you could do without—nice to have, but not essential.”
“And yet you’ve become my Elixir. How can you say such things?”
“That’s a bit different.”
I lifted my head slightly to look up at him. The rigid expression that had been etched across his face softened almost immediately at my words.
Kalian brushed his thumb across my slightly roughened lips before kissing me tenderly.
“An Elixir bond is formed through semi-coercion, but marriage is different, isn’t it? I’ve heard it’s neither bondage nor constraint nor oppression.”
“Then what is it?”
“Voluntary choice.”
Her words pricked my conscience—I who had contemplated marriage merely for the Elixir’s stability.
As I averted my gaze, Kalian slipped his hands beneath my armpits and hoisted me effortlessly from my seat. He remained half-perched on the table, his eyes level with mine rather than gazing upward as usual.
Kalian trapped me between his legs and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Certainty in love. And completion. At least, that’s how I define it. But your true heart, my Princess—no matter how I try to glimpse it, it remains a mystery.”
…
“Why do you insist on acting in ways I cannot predict? You never explain yourself. I’m constantly wondering how to make you speak without angering you.”
…
“My Rozentia. Perhaps I should drag you back to the bedroom, hmm?”
“Enough. Shall we travel again?”
“What?”
My nonsensical answer drew an incredulous look from Kalian. I found I didn’t care.
“This time, let’s go somewhere no one can disturb us.”
…
“Leave the Transcendent Families to Owen. Cast off the Lost Soul. Let’s disappear far away—somewhere we don’t have to mind The Stars’ gaze.”
“…That’s actually not a bad plan.”
Kalian grudgingly acquiesced. I traced my fingers along his cheek and murmured.
“It might be nice to live like ordinary people. Perhaps we could have two or three children? I’m not sure if it’s possible, but your face is one that should be passed down through generations for the world’s peace.”
“Is that how ordinary humans typically behave?”
“Yes. It’s something neither of us has ever experienced.”
Since receiving my death sentence from Yeljewa, anxiety and exhaustion had accumulated relentlessly. Once the floodgates opened, my childish complaints poured out uncontrollably.
“Rozentia died young. Lozietti died young. A pitiful life, unable to enjoy even half of half a lifetime. No matter how I think about it, living as a Transcendent costs more than it gains. I just want to live peacefully without worry.”
Looking back, I had never once lived within the sanctuary of a peaceful, ordinary family.
If something went wrong and I truly died, that would be my greatest regret.
“What should I do? Should I really run away with you?”
Kalian laughed softly and pressed his forehead gently against mine.
“You’ll keep coming back to life even if you die. What are you worried about, Rosy?”
That very death terrifies me. The promised resurrection is a secondary concern.
I must experience that horrible sensation of my breath stopping again.
Had I never experienced it, I might have faced it with greater composure. There is no greater courage than ignorance.
Everything I had planned was merely theoretical adventure. No one could guarantee success or failure.
So the most hopeful strategy was for Yeljewa’s prophecy to go awry.
Or for it to unfold decades hence.
But unforeseen calamities always approach silently from behind.
Like The End itself—only after being struck from behind do I realize I’ve been consumed all along.
“Kalian, let’s go home. I’ve been tense all day; I’m exhausted…”
I was about to whine like a child when a chill raced from my calves to my thighs.
Something was burrowing beneath my dress.
Something that had climbed up my leather boots suddenly snatched away what was tied to my thigh and vanished. It wasn’t Kalian. Both his arms remained locked around my waist.
Ah, an ominous premonition.
In that instant, everything before my eyes moved in slow motion. In reality, not even a second hand’s tick had passed, yet impossibly, everything crawled.
I watched as Kalian’s affectionate gaze hardened, his crimson eyes widening gradually, shock blooming within the narrowing depths of his pupils.
Someone’s voice rang out sharply.
【Rosy, Rosy, get away!】

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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