I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 141
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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 141
Every fragment of memory found its rightful place. Now there was no need to distinguish between Rozentia, Rosien Wynyak, and Rosien. All those lives were entirely me.
Starlight cascaded down upon my body in countless streams. I rolled over and lay flat on my back, gazing upward.
Something felt profoundly strange.
I sifted through the Planetarium’s memories and retrieved a single scene. After the day Seongyeol nearly went berserk, the time I spent alone with him at the mountain lodge replayed itself—now viewed through a third party’s eyes.
“Looking at it again… I really was insane.”
Had I worn such an expression that day?
Had he looked like that?
[“My Rozentia. You will live with me forever.”]
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Karga…’
That gaze was unmistakably similar to the one I’d seen the day he asked if I would return to the detention camp next month.
It was identical to the look in his eyes on that final day when he seized me, begging me to run away with him. A blind obsession and attachment nourished by desperation.
Yet I was no different.
I had taken it upon myself to be his protector, and before him alone, my heart grew infinitely weak. Now I understood why.
I had denied being Rozentia Renos, yet the identity of Rozentia had been deeply embedded in my subconscious all along.
“So you must live forever. Don’t forget me—live for a very long time. And come back to meet me again.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
I buried my face in my hands. As I recalled everything that had transpired when we met again, heat crept from the nape of my neck to both cheeks.
We had done it all—from childish physical affection to the reckless games of adults. We had even performed the Elixir Imprinting, binding our souls together as one.
[“I don’t want to anymore. I won’t do it. I can’t. Sob… I really can’t.”]
“I understand, Rosy. Why are you crying?”]
“Why won’t you say you won’t do it…!”]
“Ugh, stop!”
I immediately shut off the Planetarium, which continued to spill forth memories. The image of the two of us pressed close together, murmuring softly, vanished in an instant.
‘So that’s why he opened the Planetarium for me.’
Before I could face him as Rozentia with my memories fully restored, he had first handed me the Planetarium to revive Rosien’s recollections. His intention was transparent—to remind me of those moments when we whispered love to each other and found solace in our intertwined bodies.
“How cunning…”
A wry laugh escaped me. He was essentially saying: we’ve already shared both body and heart, so don’t be awkward about it.
“Yes, that’s just like my older brother.”
I raised my hand and swept it through the air. The miniature cosmos projected above the Planetarium rippled like water.
The mystical seals I had inscribed among the stars flickered in and out of existence. Between my fingers, the blessing of the stars shimmered and coiled, scattering radiance.
‘It feels like it’s been ages.’
The time I had spent powerless and stripped of memory was merely half a year. I gently grasped the luminous threads that had returned to my hands.
This was the power Rozentia—that I—had always desired.
‘Then the ancient prophecy that Yeljewa witnessed must have originated from me.’
The wish I had made on the brink of death had manifested as reality. Yet for a mere human’s desire to lead to such a future, there must have been intervention from an absolute being.
The most likely candidate was the Guardian Star—specifically, the Omniscient Word Sorcerer.
Reading the capricious and merciless nature of the stars is said to be meaningless, yet it was undeniable that Manyeon had shown particular favoritism toward me since the days of Rosien Wynyak.
I couldn’t fathom why. There was no way to divine the inner workings of a star. Perhaps it was merely curiosity.
“Given the commotion you stirred up in Rahnar, it seems that power will likely be withdrawn before long.”
I closed the Planetarium slowly and rose to my feet. Thanks to the Star’s blessing flowing through my entire body, I felt noticeably lighter than before. Heat flushed across my cheeks, and moisture returned to my parched lips.
As I descended to the first floor, Urs, who had been busily sorting medicinal herbs, sprang up with delight. Luize was there as well.
‘Where was Kalian Wynack….’
He was in the living room.
The moment I saw the blond youth sitting like a painting with his back against the sofa, a sigh escaped me. He sat with his eyes closed, bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the latticed window.
My chest began to swell with emotion.
All his limbs were intact, and there was no blood.
‘Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to see!’
What should I call him? Kalian? Karga? No, it doesn’t matter!
I didn’t care about awkwardness or anything else. Just as I was about to throw myself into his arms, his eyelids stirred.
Beneath his shadowed lashes, deep crimson eyes slowly turned toward me.
I swallowed hard and approached him. With each step closer, I felt his presence against my skin.
Kalian Wynack, who had been gazing at me as I drew near, smiled softly.
“Did you sleep well, Rosy?”
“…Yes. Very well.”
“That’s good.”
Kalian Wynack rose from his seat and turned toward me. The sunlight from the window was blocked by his body, casting him in silhouette.
Through Rosy’s eyes, he was still the same foolish older brother’s face I saw every day. Yet the feeling was entirely new.
Truly, after wandering for hundreds of years, he had returned to me—prepared for me alone. The being standing there was undoubtedly mine, without question.
Tears welled up at the joy of it.
“Kalian, I missed you so much….”
With trembling emotion, I stretched out both arms to embrace him, when Kalian Wynack spoke.
“I was waiting because I had something to give you.”
“What?”
I stopped awkwardly in place.
Something to give me? It sounded like he was about to hand me something and leave for somewhere.
Kalian Wynack extended his arm to the side. Black mist coalesced in his palm, and above it rose a broken sword, severed at the hilt—the Great Annihilation.
Another Sacred Relic floated up above it. An opaque white stone roughly the size of two fists—the Revival Crystal.
“You’re giving these to me?”
“I’m returning them. They were originally yours.”
Kalian Wynack naturally opened the Planetarium hanging around my neck. The two Sacred Relics were drawn into the subspace within the Planetarium.
I waited to see what he would do next, but Kalian Wynack showed no other reaction beyond calmly withdrawing his hand.
Our reunion was nothing like what I had anticipated. In the end, I furrowed my brow and asked.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“When you see me again, this is all you want to do? Nothing to say?”
My mind filled with question marks. I had so many things I wanted to tell him, so much I wanted to do, yet this is all you have?
That couldn’t be right.
“Wait, you….”
The moment his hand brushed mine, a lightning-strike of understanding struck me. Kalian Wynack quickly withdrew his touch, but I couldn’t help but perceive it.
The Bilateral Elixir doesn’t recognize each other as separate entities. Kalian’s condition—something I’d only heard about from Urs—became vividly apparent before my eyes.
He slid his gaze to the side, speaking as though pursued by something.
“Then I’ll head back to Rahnar now.”
“What? Stop!”
I swiftly caught him as he tried to slip away, seizing his arm. Ripples stirred in those crimson eyes as he looked down at me.
Watching him falter, my tangled thoughts suddenly crystallized with perfect clarity.
Kalian’s sending me the Planetarium to revive my memories wasn’t for the reason I’d imagined. He wasn’t that self-assured.
It was the opposite. Behind the expressionless face that returned to me, I saw an anxious child trembling beneath the surface.
That brazen, cunning smile was nowhere to be found. I could plainly see how desperately he was trying to avoid my gaze.
He was too busy hiding himself—clumsy and hopeless, half a person. It was painfully obvious who had drained my rabbit of all his spirit.
‘Lost Soul, that damned Dark Castle. What did you say to him?’
“Let go, Rosy.”
Kalian Wynack tried to shake off my hand. Fat chance. I gripped his forearm even more firmly.
“You can’t run away without my permission, Kalian Wynack. Not until you’ve told me everything you owe me and convinced me why you’re leaving.”
“Rosy….”
“You said you were going back to Rahnar?”
I looked up at Kalian squarely and put steel into my voice.
“Wait. I’m coming with you.”
* * *
I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked up at the sky. The air hung thick and humid.
When I’d locked myself away in my room searching for memories, it had been late spring. Now the season had drifted toward early summer.
Today was the day I would leave Alfheim, where I’d been staying all this time, and return to Rahnar.
[It’s been such a pleasure having you here, Young Lady. I’ll miss you.]
Despite having stayed only half a year, Urs couldn’t hide his reluctance. I embraced him warmly, pouring my gratitude into the gesture.
“If the portal remains, I’ll visit sometimes. Thank you so much for looking after me all this time, Urs.”
[Don’t skip the medicine I prepared for you—take it faithfully. And don’t try to defy the laws of nature in strange ways again, understood?]
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything like that anymore.”
I patted Urs’s shoulder a few times before stepping back. Three of us would be returning to Rahnar.
I glanced back over my shoulder. Kalian Wynack stood quietly in place.
Even though he must have felt my gaze, he didn’t turn his head easily. He stood vacant, his eyes fixed blankly on empty space more often than not.
It was easy to guess what thoughts were swirling through that beautiful head of his. The Elixir’s effects, beginning to work again, were transmitting his emotions directly to me.
‘Don’t I know you?’
If I hadn’t told him not to run away and to wait quietly, Kalian Wynack would have already stepped through that portal and returned to Rahnar long ago.
My insides churned with turmoil, then grew heavy, then fluttered with anticipation—the cycle repeating endlessly.
Once we returned to Rahnar, there was an issue between us that absolutely had to be addressed. It was a mountain we had to cross eventually.
“I’m not sure if the portal will safely reach Rahnar, Sister.”
Luize looked up at the Dimensional Rift with concern.
“We don’t need the portal.”
I lifted the Planetarium into the air. A long-distance teleportation circle to Rahnar rose above the disc. I’d created it long ago. I simply hadn’t been able to open the Planetarium until now, which is why I couldn’t return.
The blessing of the Stars seeped into the ritual circle.
[ᚳᚱᛖᚨᛏᛖ ᛈᛟᚱᛏᚨᛚ (Create Portal)]
As I uttered the incantation, the spell activated.
I gazed down at Alfheim one last time, the place I had grown to love. Urs was waving his hand. In the distance, I could see Sionir too, tears streaming down his face.
And so, after half a year in Alfheim’s time—seven years in Rahnar’s—I returned home at last.
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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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