I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 14

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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 14
The plan was flawless. The nations caught along that inverted triangle would be cleanly erased from the map within the next fortnight.
After that, I would return to Abuye. With Rosien.
【How delightful.】
The darkness that had been lurking beneath the dim carpet, hidden from the sunlight, shimmered with glee. Kalian emptied his teacup with a pleasant mood.
“Lina. Is Rosy still asleep?”
“Ah, no, well. I saw her moving about since dawn, sir.”
Lina barely managed to answer, her voice strangled. The momentary relief she had allowed herself evaporated as she found herself teetering on the edge of fainting from the murderous aura the Young Master was emanating.
Kalian noticed her state as he was about to return his teacup to the tray.
His lips twisted into an expression of displeasure.
“Why are there so many people who cannot understand a single explanation?”
The boy with brilliant golden hair took a long stride forward. Lina gasped and stumbled backward. But she was caught immediately.
The Young Master seized her shoulder as if snatching up an insect. He spoke in a voice completely devoid of amusement.
“I told you not to tremble.”
“Gasp, I’m, I’m sorry….”
“Why do you keep doing things you should apologize for? It’s not just you. Everyone trembles like they’re seeing a monster whenever they look at me… at least it should be one or two.”
“Y-young, gasp, Young Master.”
“What will you do if Rosy notices this, Lina?”
“I’m sor….”
“Conduct yourself properly.”
Kalian dropped a soft whisper near the maidservant’s ear before releasing her as if casting her away. Lina, barely freed from that terrifying grip, bowed deeply and fled the room like an arrow.
‘What did I even do.’
Kalian clicked his tongue briefly.
Dull and fearful humans. If they simply played along with cunning and catered to his moods, there would be no reason for them to suffer.
He had never been the first to harm his servants, yet they all trembled like aspen leaves and upset his mood.
Kalian was not the type to leave something that irritated him as it was.
Wasn’t that how it always worked? One removes what irritates them. Kalian briefly considered pursuing the maidservant who had carelessly left the door wide open in her flight.
‘Come to think of it, it has been a while since I’ve had a proper meal.’
Once he became aware of it, hunger suddenly stirred within him. The life force of the humans filling this mansion wafted an alluring fragrance that tempted him.
‘…No.’
But Kalian soon shook his head.
There were too many things he needed to do to ruin his plans from the morning.
First, as always, he would begin by greeting Rosien in the morning.
‘Once I depart for the Harem today, I won’t be able to see her face for some time.’
He did not wish to show Rosien his harsh side. Before that girl, Kalian always wanted to appear as a kind and gentle person.
Like a normal person.
Yet he could not be certain of what fell within the bounds of normalcy. As a deficient being, he could not know. So whenever he stood before that child, he gathered every positive adjective he could find and adorned himself with them.
Kind and selfless, gentle, beautiful and mild, innocent and pure, lovely and delicate, and so on.
As a result, his actions inevitably became constrained. To move freely in the Harem, he would have to leave Rosien here.
‘A brief separation shouldn’t cause any problems.’
Driven by anxiety, I had managed to extract a firm promise from him last night that he would stay by my side for as long as I needed.
“I promised, so I’ll keep it.”
Kalian believed it with absolute certainty. Surely.
─Surely he wouldn’t betray me?
My dampened spirits gradually lifted once more. Kalian changed into fresh clothes with the precision of his daily routine, then inspected his appearance in the mirror. This was the moment he devoted the most care to each day.
When he narrowed his eyes into crescents and smiled broadly, engaging every facial muscle, a rather enchanting masterpiece was completed.
Kalian spent considerable time practicing his most beautiful expression before the mirror, eventually settling on a smile he found satisfying.
Only then did he make his way toward Rosien’s chamber with a cheerful stride. He knocked, then pushed the door wide open.
“Good morning, princess─ Huh?”
Kalian’s bright greeting died on his lips. Something about the girl’s appearance had changed dramatically.
Rosien, who had been fussing before the mirror and drawing something on her face, turned around.
“Brother? You’re up early?”
“Rosien. That appearance…”
The long, luxuriously wavy crimson hair that Kalian adored had vanished without a trace. Rosien now wore her hair in a short, cropped style and was dressed in an apprentice knight’s uniform.
Freckles in a warm brown tone were carefully dotted across both cheeks. Her face somehow looked boyish now.
Kalian, bewildered and at a loss, could only blink blankly, when Rosien suddenly exclaimed with spirited enthusiasm.
“Oh, right! Starting today, you should call me ‘brother’ instead of ‘sister’ for a while!”
“Brother…?”
“I figured if I looked a bit stronger, people wouldn’t take you lightly. So I’ve taken some decisive measures. What do you think? Does it suit me?”
“Well… yes. You look like an adorable and dignified little knight. But Rosien, what you just said…”
This felt ominous.
A very chilling and deeply unsettling premonition washed over me.
Rosien placed both hands confidently on her hips. Then she declared clearly and cheerfully.
“Don’t worry, brother. No matter what happens, I won’t let you be dragged into the Harem!”
“What?”
“You will absolutely never have to go to that dreadful place. So don’t be afraid!”
Kalian was so overwhelmed by confusion that he found himself speechless.
No, this isn’t what I wanted at all.
* * *
“Well… um, Rosien. Is the Harem really such a hopeless place?”
“What?”
I stared at Kalian in utter disbelief at his absurd question.
I had expected him to shed tears of gratitude at my bold declaration of protection, but this response was beyond ridiculous.
“Don’t you know what a harem is? It’s where the Emperor’s concubines swarm about?”
Kalian’s eyes wandered evasively, avoiding my gaze.
“I know, I do know… but maybe it’s not such a terrible place after all. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it.”
“There is when it’s excessive!”
I was exasperated and indignant. I gestured wildly and spoke with agitation.
“Brother, what you just said isn’t innocent—it’s stupid! Why, why do you look so dejected?! Don’t tell me you want to become the Emperor’s concubine when you grow up, Kalian?!”
“That’s not it. It’s just… I’m curious what’s in that place, what people do there…”
Kalian lowered his gaze with a sorrowful expression. His long lashes cast shadows across his crimson eyes as they fell.
The way his lips pressed together tightly betrayed an inexplicable urgency.
Damn it, I must be losing my mind. Truly!
“What do you mean ‘what’? I can’t do it—I won’t push you into such a place!”
What would the Emperor do in the Harem? Surround himself with the most beautiful men of the age and drink wine while playing around, no doubt!
I couldn’t bring myself to voice such vulgar thoughts aloud, so I could only pound my frustrated chest.
“This won’t do. You’re staying right by my side throughout the Continent talks and the entire banquet! Even if the Emperor addresses you, ignore him. I’ll handle everything myself!”
“But I am the Wynack Heir, Rosy.”
“An heir must act like an heir to be an heir…!”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Kalian stepped closer. His long stride quickly closed the distance between us. His shadow fell across my head.
“I can do this. I just want to take a look and come back. It won’t take long.”
“Brother.”
“There’s no need for you to go in disguise. I made it clear yesterday.”
As Kalian continued speaking, his voice grew progressively lower. For a moment it seemed almost anxious, but then it hardened.
“Stay here. That’s not a place you should go.”
I was startled into silence, looking up at him.
Kalian’s eyes held an intensity I had never seen before. As if reproaching my overstepping.
As if someone like me was simply unnecessary.
A wave of bewilderment washed over me.
‘Have I… been thinking about this wrong?’
Facing those crimson eyes—so cold they transcended mere firmness—I felt as though I had crossed a line I should never have crossed.
Kalian was indeed the Wynack Heir. To maintain the standing of the Transcendent Families and preserve their honor, he bore the obligation to uncover the dark secrets of the Emperor of Delpiam.
I was now obstructing Kalian’s plan, which was filled with such deep affection for Winyak.
And yet.
Sorrow surged up suddenly.
“Kalian Wynack. How could you say such a thing to me?”
I was genuinely wounded in the depths of my heart.

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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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