I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 12

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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 12
‘I’m sorry, big brother.’
I wrenched my right shoulder and pulled Kalian’s hand away. Our Family Head is far more terrifying than you are….
‘Huh?’
Yet Kalian’s hand showed no sign of releasing me. He even tightened his grip on my shoulder with deliberate pressure.
“K-Kalian?”
“Sigh….”
Owen Wynack, who had released a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan, circled around the desk and approached us.
Then, with a sharp crack, he delivered a flick to Kalian’s head.
“That must have hurt.”
A sympathetic whimper escaped my lips unbidden. It rang clear and cheerful.
Perhaps because my heart was hollow.
“Mind your manners, you brat. I am your father.”
Having cleanly administered the flick to his son, Owen Wynack then brushed away Kalian’s hand from my shoulder. Then he lifted me up effortlessly.
“Oh, oh my.”
As my vision rose, Kalian came into view below me. Only then could I see his expression clearly.
Could I truly call it seeing his expression? His face bore not a single trace of emotion.
His crimson eyes wide open, he merely followed my form floating through the air in Owen Wynack’s grasp with the faintest movement of his pupils.
‘Ah, could it be? Is today truly ‘that day’?’
Kalian sometimes fell into this state—unable to express his own emotions, deaf to the words of others, like a plaster statue locked away in a gallery isolated from the world.
I knew from experience that he could remain like this for hours until someone from outside shattered the wall that imprisoned him.
Fortunately, I also knew how to break that wall. After all, Kalian’s barriers were thin and fragile as ice, something anyone could accomplish.
“Kalian.”
Simply calling his name with affection and tenderness was enough to make him melt away.
Clarity gradually returned to his crimson eyes, which had been utterly vacant.
Kalian exhaled deeply, like a ceramic doll that had just been given life, and murmured softly.
“Mm, Rosy.”
Before the fissure could freeze over again, I quickly dangled my bait.
“I’ll come say goodnight before bed. Sweet dreams.”
“….”
“I’ll even give you a goodnight kiss.”
Kalian’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He was weighing the conditions I had offered.
Was it not enough? I released a long, heavy sigh.
“Fine. I’ll even sing you a lullaby for the first time in a while.”
‘Lullaby’ was our secret code that only we understood. It was the one thing Kalian loved above all else, and it was effective whenever he displayed these abnormal reactions like today.
“Hmm, if that’s the case….”
I watched as my brother’s rigid facial muscles gradually relaxed.
Meanwhile, Owen Wynack’s expression had turned thoroughly sour.
“Kalian Wynack. This boy of yours really….”
“I understand, Rosy.”
Kalian cut off the Family Head’s words abruptly, then broke into that characteristic foolish grin of his.
“I’ll head out first. Have a good talk with Father.”
It was a dutiful response. Despite all his earlier defiance, his departing footsteps were remarkably sincere.
I called out to him urgently.
“Kalian, you should bow to the Family Head before you go!”
Kalian glanced back over his shoulder at me. His eyes narrowed into crescents as he gave a small nod.
“Sleep well, Father.”
His expression was gentle and beautiful, yet his demeanor carried an oddly defiant edge.
Was he going through adolescence? Was today one of those sensitive days?
“Yes, very well….”
Owen’s face had twisted into something strange, as though he were witnessing something he’d never see again.
As Kalian waved his hand at me one last time and closed the study door, only Owen and I remained.
‘Did I do something wrong today that deserves punishment?’
Wrapped in an ominous feeling, I waited in silence. After what felt like several more minutes of quiet, Owen finally called out to me.
“Rosien.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“Do you know why I granted you Wynack Castle and permitted you to remain here?”
It was an unexpected question. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze and my eyes darted about nervously.
What was this about? Was he telling me to understand my place?
Was he saying that without Kalian, I would never have set foot in Winyak at all…?
All the disapproving reactions Owen had shown me thus far flashed through my mind like a lantern show.
My confidence crumbled, and I stammered out a response.
“Because… you thought I wasn’t entirely lacking for Winyak…?”
“No, that’s not the reason.”
Owen let out a melancholic sigh and gently tousled my bangs.
Though it was only a brief moment, such an intimate touch was entirely new to me, and I couldn’t help but be startled. Faint though it was, the affection embedded in that hand was unmistakable.
“Because I worry about you, Rosien.”
“Ah…?”
“Kalian certainly pestered me about it, but that wasn’t everything. I hoped that this childhood you spend together, and the power bestowed upon you by Winyak’s Guardian Star, would become your weapon and shield in the future. Do you understand?”
“No.”
I admitted honestly. It was better to quickly acknowledge ignorance and seek the correct answer.
However, Owen released such a deep, earth-shaking sigh that I regretted my honesty within seconds.
“Could you perhaps explain more specifically? What should I be careful about?”
“Kalian. Just be careful of that boy.”
“Yes?”
I couldn’t help but be surprised, having been thinking of silence or perhaps other Transcendent Families.
“You don’t need to obey everything he asks of you. He’s not as weak as you think he is.”
“Ah….”
“I know you only see his face. Moreover, you’re devastatingly naive and remarkably lacking in perception. Kalian is using those facts very effectively.”
“Ah ah…?”
A cutting remark struck me like a sudden blow, leaving my bones rattling.
Owen comforted me as I stood there gaping like a fool.
“It’s fine. Lacking perception isn’t a sin. How could I blame you when those who raised you had flowers for brains?”
“….”
“And the real bastard is the one exploiting an innocent like you. Which means my son, regrettably, has a high probability of becoming a complete scoundrel in the future.”
“Y-yes….”
I couldn’t tell who was actually being insulted—me, the Orphanage director who raised me in this life, or Kalian.
Owen spoke with solemn gravity.
“So if the day ever comes when you must leave Winyak, I swear by the Family Head’s name that I will personally ensure your safe departure from here.”
“Y-yes….”
I found myself deeply troubled.
Could it be that Owen didn’t want to become the Family Head of Winyak?
Or perhaps Winyak was actually a den of evil?
A family far more dangerous than I had imagined….
‘Could they be planning to declare war against other Transcendent Families in the future?’
As my mind raced with possibilities, a large hand settled gently atop my head.
After a moment’s hesitation, Owen seemed to resign himself and began stroking my hair.
“But listen. Until that worst day comes, stay by Kalian’s side, Rosien. As you know, that child is often unstable.”
“…!”
“If you do that, Winyak will always be your safest home and sanctuary.”
I couldn’t respond immediately, pressing my lips firmly shut. These were the words I had longed to hear from Owen for the past three years.
I wanted to stay in Winyak for a long time. If I had a dream, it was to hone my swordsmanship here and earn recognition from Winyak’s star, the “Judge of Darkness and Chaos.”
And then return to Kirges to deal with Alpien.
There was still plenty of time before then. For now, my goal was to grow up quietly and properly until adulthood in Winyak, while caring well for our little bunny too.
But I had always been bothered by Owen Wynack’s disapproval of me, and just now that painful thorn had been completely removed!
I clenched both my fists tightly.
“Of course! I’ll protect the young master. Please don’t worry!”
“Protect… though I’m not sure that will be necessary….”
“I’ll stick right behind him at tomorrow’s Continent Conference too!”
“Yes, it’s reassuring to have you there. Keep your eyes wide open and watch carefully. Don’t let him do anything foolish.”
“Y-yes…!”
Tears welled up in my eyes from the emotion. Owen’s expression seemed subtle, but that didn’t matter.
I had finally earned some recognition from the Family Head of Winyak. My hero, my role model, my idol!
‘What a successful life this is.’
With tears of joy streaming down my face, I leaned against Owen.
His rough hands hesitantly patted my back, and I felt like shouting with joy.
* * *
After leaving the Family Head’s chamber, I stopped by Kalian’s bedroom as promised.
Kalian, who had been sitting idly on the windowsill, bounded over excitedly the moment I entered.
“Will Rosy really put me to sleep today?”
“That’s right, hurry and pull the blanket over yourself. You need to sleep now if you want to grow tall.”
“Okay!”
Kalian burrowed into the bed, and I settled myself at the head of his pillow.
“Close your eyes, brother.”
“Mmm.”
Kalian pressed his cheek against my palm and closed his eyes obediently, like a well-behaved puppy. I began humming a lullaby, carefully weaving the incantation as I sang.
Starlight that I summoned glimmered across Kalian’s pale forehead.
This innocent boy believed I merely possessed extraordinary lullaby skills, but this was a form of sorcery—an incantation that sank consciousness deep into the abyss, far beyond ordinary sleep.
My overprotectiveness toward Kalian Wynack stemmed not solely from his naïveté.
‘His forehead is warm.’
As I had suspected since sensing something amiss in the drainage system, today was indeed that day.
The day a Transcendent’s unique stellar fever manifests.

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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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