I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 13
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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 13
Star Fever is a periodic runaway symptom that commonly afflicts Transcendents who have deeply inherited the power of the stars.
How could such a small vessel—the human body—contain the power of the cosmos without trembling and overflowing?
How Star Fever manifested differed from person to person, as did the methods of alleviating it.
‘Normally, it’s a symptom that shouldn’t manifest until one reaches adulthood.’
Kalian had manifested it early, and in a peculiar case at that.
Through chronic insomnia and irregular bouts of sleepwalking.
Ever since I first arrived at Wynyak, he had been periodically suffering from Star Fever.
When I witnessed Kalian wandering about in the dead of night, lost in a daze, I nearly fainted from fright. He would terrify me so thoroughly, yet upon waking, he remembered nothing.
“Hush now, hush, my precious one. Beautiful roses bloom all around you….”
Soon the incantation was complete. Drowsiness began to cloud Kalian’s eyes. The boy, clinging to my hand as though it were a beloved stuffed toy, murmured hazily.
“I’m glad you’re here with me, Rosy.”
“I’m glad I can be by your side, big brother.”
“I only need you. You feel the same way, don’t you?”
“Mm… yes.”
“I’m enough for you? You’ll always be here?”
Kalian whimpered like a spoiled child, seeking reassurance. This habit of his—constantly extracting confirmations from me—was all too familiar. My answer was always the same.
“Of course. You’re more than enough. If you need me, I’ll be here for as long as you do.”
Only then did he smile with relief. Kalian soon fell asleep with an angelic expression on his face.
I stroked his soft hair with a worried heart.
Most Transcendents eventually discover their own method of alleviating Star Fever.
Some carry tobacco with sedative properties, others consume mana suppressants, or perhaps carry objects that absorb the explosive surge of stellar mana.
Such remedies, or the methods themselves collectively, are called an “Elixir.”
Most notably, the Planetariums possessed by each sorcerer of Kirges served both as weapons and as Elixirs.
Kalian too would need to find his own Elixir before it was too late—though no one else could find it for him.
The incantation I wove merely served to calm the turbulent mana of Wynyak.
But relying on such methods was unwise. It meant he couldn’t endure Star Fever without me.
“And I can’t truly be with him forever….”
Well, at the very latest, he would find an Elixir before reaching adulthood. By then, he would no longer need me as he does now.
By then, my role would be finished.
I confirmed that Kalian was breathing evenly before returning to my own chamber. It was right next door.
I had deliberately chosen this room so I could rush out immediately if anything happened during the night.
“Regardless, I have work to do now.”
I stood before the mirror with determination. A girl with luscious strawberry-blonde hair and emerald eyes stared back at me.
During my conversation with Kalian earlier today, I had suddenly realized something.
The sacred relic of Wynyak that the Delpiam Imperial Court had hidden, and the Harem.
That sacred relic had likely been unable to return to Wynyak for so long that it was on the verge of eruption.
But where could it possibly be?
The Emperor of Delpiam maintains a Harem within the Imperial Palace, keeping three hundred concubines. It was the most secretive place in the Imperial Palace.
Then it was obvious. Where the Delpiam Imperial Court had hidden the sacred relic of Wynyak.
‘The Harem.’
My reflection in the mirror gleamed with sinister intent.
‘That’s why the Wynack Heir is needed. One blessed by Guardian Star.’
But there was no necessity for Kalian Wynack to venture into that perilous harem alone. Guardian Star of Wynack—the “Judge of Darkness and Chaos”—had blessed more than one transcendent being, after all.
I couldn’t possibly send my precious little rabbit into the jaws of danger by himself.
Especially not during this delicate period when his sacred flame was awakening. Where could I possibly send him?
I clenched both fists. Fine then. There’s only one solution.
I’ll go to the Harem myself!
Chapter 2. My Brother’s Tastes Are Suspicious
As dawn broke over the early morning, the boy who had been lying motionless on the bed slowly opened his eyes.
His crimson gaze swept across the surroundings, taking in everything around him.
The Whezel Mansion was slightly smaller than the bedroom in Wynack Main Residence, yet far more ornate. Morning sunlight streamed through the canopy, dazzling to the eyes.
Kalian Wynack stretched languidly and rose from bed.
His mind was clear and his spirit refreshed. Rosien’s ‘lullaby’ was remarkably effective—so much so that he wished she would use it more than once every fortnight, despite her warnings about addiction.
He pulled the bell cord to summon an attendant.
Today was an important day. A continental conference was scheduled for the morning, and he was to attend a goodwill banquet at the Delpiam Imperial Palace in the afternoon.
There he would meet the Emperor of Delpiam for the second time.
And after that….
He would enter the legendary Harem of the Emperor of Delpiam.
‘My sacred relic.’
A satisfied hum escaped his lips. Kalian splashed water on himself in the bathhouse, humming as he mentally rehearsed today’s plan.
Once he obtained the sacred relic of Wynack hidden in the Harem, three sacred relics would be within his grasp.
He had yet to discover Whezel’s sacred relic, but the remaining three were more than sufficient to overturn the world’s balance. The last one he had already destroyed long ago.
‘Which should I destroy first?’
Railo—House of Healing? Kirges—House of Sorcery?
No, the family to annihilate first must be Yelzewa—House of Prophecy.
That nauseating cult of charlatans who, with their worthless prophecies from an immeasurable past, had shattered the life of a single being.
Behind Kalian’s curved lips, his teeth ground together with a sickening crunch.
“Another name for the apocalypse crawling across the cosmos, the ‘Shattered Chaos,’ devours the stars. In this present age of the ‘Blind Stars,’ this land of Rahnar requires a young guardian bearing the mission to stop that absolute evil….”
The detestable voice from the memory was about to continue.
Someone knocked on the door.
Moments later, the attendant who had been summoned appeared.
“Y-young Family Head. I’ve brought your black tea.”
“…Bring it here.”
“Y-yes….”
The poor attendant approached hesitantly, holding the teacup. Her hands trembled as she steadied the tea tray.
Kalian glanced at her as he took the cup from the tray without a word.
“Am I frightening you?”
“No, young Family Head!”
Attendant Lina barely restrained herself from screaming it a hundred times over.
The Young Family Head is like a time bomb waiting to detonate at any moment. Until three years ago, those who fell victim to the whims of that demon wearing an angel’s mask appeared daily without fail.
Since the girl named Rosien arrived at Wynack, she has somehow been living as meekly as a lamb….
But there is no knowing when she might reveal her true, cruel nature once more. As evidence, is the contrast not starkly apparent between when Rosien is by his side and when she is absent?
Lina’s shoulders shrank as she fought back tears. Under that frigid gaze, she felt as though her very organs were being meticulously dissected.
Yet, mercifully, the Young Family Head soon withdrew his attention from her. He brought the teacup to his lips and offered counsel with perfect composure.
“Then I suppose I must practice not trembling. If it becomes a habit and I slip up in front of Rosien, that would be troublesome.”
“Y-yes, I shall be careful!”
The maidservant clutched the tray to her chest like a shield and bowed deeply at the waist.
‘He found fault with me, yet he let it pass so gently?’
The Young Family Head seemed to be in far better spirits than usual today.
Of course, there was reason for it.
Kalian warmed his insides with fragrant black tea as he gazed at the enormous world map affixed to the wall.
‘Once I find the sacred relic in the Harem.’
He picked up a red pen and drew a large X across Delpiam’s territory.
‘First, I crush the Empire itself.’
Opel, the capital of Delpiam, is where the apocalypse begins.
Kalian did not lift the pen, drawing a straight line northward instead. He marked the headquarters of Yeljewa on the Lorelai Peninsula with another bold X in crimson.
‘After I’ve torn through here.’
The red line extended diagonally this time. Kalian drew an X above the Hailon Kingdom to the west, where Railo’s main house stood, then connected the line back to the Delpiam Empire.
A massive inverted triangle took shape upon the map.
‘Everything within this triangle will be burned to ash and destroyed.’
A hazy exhilaration flickered within Kalian’s crimson eyes.
How long he had anticipated this moment.
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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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