I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 142

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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 142
The time differential between Rahnar and Alfheim was precisely a factor of ten. The eight months I spent in Alfheim translated to eighty months in Rahnar’s reckoning—just under seven years.
“Nearly two more years have passed since we departed. I’ve left Whezel vacant for far too long…”
The moment Luize’s feet touched Rahnar’s soil safely, he departed for his ancestral home. Even though all the Transcendent Families had been subjugated beneath the Wynack Family, these were turbulent times of confusion. With the Family Head absent without notice, his clan had every reason to grow anxious.
Kalian and I made our way directly to Abuye. In our absence, Wynack Castle had served as the central nexus managing and commanding the Transcendent Families.
“Good heavens, Rosien…!”
The moment I stepped into the office, Owen recognized me and rose from his seat with a massive frame. I hurried over and embraced him warmly.
“Have you been well all this time, Family Head?”
“That’s not the concern here! Why did it take so long, Rosy? Your wounds—are there any wounds?!”
“I fell in a fortunate place and received treatment, so there isn’t even a scar left. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for! I’m just grateful you’ve returned safely.”
Owen held me for a while, tears streaming down his face, before he subtly glanced toward the doorway.
“I was surprised when Kalian and Whezel suddenly disappeared without a trace, but I suppose they were occupied with finding and bringing you back. There’s nothing wrong between you two, is there?”
“Well, no…”
I spoke evasively, concealing the awkward wall that had risen between us since that day.
“Why do you have such an expression? Are you worried I might abandon him?”
“No, it’s not that exactly. If you continue to shelter him, we’d certainly be grateful, but…”
Owen studied my expression carefully.
“You’ve clearly been through something difficult. If you need some time, no one would object to that.”
“…?”
“Besides, that’s not something we can command you about anyway. The person involved should decide according to their own heart, yes?”
What was he saying? Before I could resolve my confusion, Owen pointed out the window.
“Still, Rosien. As you can see, Rahnar hasn’t been turned upside down the way you feared.”
I set aside my question and turned my gaze toward the window.
Owen was right. Though scattered flames still burned, consuming vegetation here and there, it was nothing compared to the world half-destroyed during the Age of the Blind Star recorded in the histories.
“Indeed. You kept your promise to me.”
After recovering all my strength and memories in Alfheim, I first confirmed the Lost Soul’s whereabouts with Luize.
“Kalian opened a portal to Alfheim in exchange for handing the Lost Soul over to the Guardian Star. He made a direct contract with the Omniscient Word Sorcerer. I watched with my own eyes as the Guardian Star scraped together the Lost Soul’s remains and departed.”
“So Kalian unilaterally broke his covenant with the Lost Soul? Is that even possible?”
“According to what he said, yes…”
Now that the Lost Soul had fallen into the hands of the Stars, Rahnar had withdrawn from their pursuit. As long as the Absolute Stars didn’t wage war across the cosmos as they had during the Age of the Blind Star, unconcerned with mere planets like Rahnar, this world would remain safe.
‘Since we’ve already clashed once before, the Guardian Stars won’t be foolish enough to let the Lost Soul slip away this time.’
As always, the Stars would soon forget what had transpired on a small planet like Rahnar.
So now it was time to address the affairs of those who dwelt upon this land, not the Guardian Stars beyond the cosmos.
“But what the Lost Soul screamed at the very end troubled me. That it would return to its former worm-like state… it hurled such curses.”
I glanced sideways toward the doorway again. The figure who had been standing there, watching intently, had vanished.
Before leaving Alfheim, Urs had pressed a basket of medicinal herbs and a notebook containing preparation instructions into my hands, urging me earnestly.
[He’ll need this. It’s not a cure, but it will serve a calming function. Make sure to give it to him with every meal without fail.]
Breaking a covenant with a Star—and a fusion contract at that—meant the damage Kalian sustained was not to be dismissed. The description of him as a “tattered rag” had been disturbingly accurate.
‘Yet even now, he hasn’t spoken a single word to me.’
I fixed my gaze upon the empty doorway, steeling myself with resolve.
Fine then. Let’s see just how long you intend to keep your silence.
* * *
After a brief reunion with Owen, I returned to my bedroom in Wynack Castle.
Though I called it my bedroom, it was practically one continuous space with Kalian’s Room, connected directly to it—a place he’d frequented so often that returning here felt like stepping into shared territory. It had been ages since I’d last entered.
I gazed pensively at the large mirror positioned exactly where it had always been. When I’d left this place for the last time, I’d sensed I wouldn’t return for quite some time.
‘In the end, everything has returned to its original place.’
I was drawing in a deep breath to settle my thoughts when someone knocked on the door.
“Rosy?”
It was Lina, the maidservant in Wynack Castle closest to me. Upon seeing me approach warmly, she covered her mouth with her hand and cried out.
“Goodness, it really is Rosien!”
“Sister! How have you been?”
“Oh, I’m always the same! How is it that after seven years, you look exactly as you did…!”
“If one dies and comes back to life, one ought to at least retain some advantage. Thanks to that, I’ve spared myself considerable grievance.”
“Your personality is unchanged too! I’m so happy to see you again, Rosy. Truth be told, among ourselves, we’d discussed holding a modest funeral for you if you remained missing for over ten years….”
A funeral—that seemed rather extreme. As I smiled wryly, Lina wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
“I’m grateful you’re alive and well. Welcome home, Rosy.”
“Sister….”
To think there were people who had waited for me with such pure-hearted devotion….
Just as I was about to embrace Lina warmly in response to this unexpected emotion, she broke into a radiant smile, her eyes glistening with tears.
“So, how shall we prepare for the wedding?”
“Pardon?”
“The preparations you were undertaking before you disappeared. The treasures the Young Family Head ordered us to gather from across the entire Continent—we’ve kept them all safely stored!”
“….”
“All the dresses have been completed too. Of course, seven years have passed, so they’re all quite worn now. That’s why I think it would be better to start fresh from the beginning. What do you think?”
Lina chattered excitedly, saying she’d intended to ask the Young Family Head about it, but for some reason he hadn’t shown himself. Yet she quickly noticed my expression had grown strangely rigid and faltered.
“Rosien. Don’t tell me the Young Family Head hasn’t mentioned it to you yet…?”
“As far as I know, I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“Goodness!”
Lina covered her mouth once more.
“It must have been a secret. I’m sorry, Rosy! I assumed the Young Family Head had already proposed since you’re wearing a ring.”
I steadied my breathing with composure.
‘A proposal.’
I recalled the moment in Alfheim when Karga had placed the ring in my hand. He’d said it was made for me, that it was mine, and slipped it onto my finger.
The emerald ring still gleamed on my ring finger.
‘Then when Owen said earlier that my heart was what mattered most….’
It must have been about the wedding preparations that had been interrupted when I disappeared.
I opened my mouth with deliberate calm.
“I haven’t received a proposal.”
Yet even to my own ears, my voice sounded cold.
“That doesn’t count as a proposal.”
“Huh…?”
“Did you think you could just take me without proper effort? Not a chance. This is void.”
I seized the ring from my ring finger and tossed it into some random box on the nightstand. Then I turned to face Lina, whose complexion had gone ashen.
“Rosy, should we call off the preparations then…?”
“Keep going with what you were doing, Lina.”
“What?”
“The wedding preparations. If we rush it last minute, everything will be chaos anyway. There’s no harm in getting things ready in advance. And for the record, I want it big—absolutely magnificent, grand enough for the whole world to witness!”
“Y-yes. Of course…”
Lina nodded with a dazed expression. I forced a smile at her, then firmly closed the lid on the box containing the ring.
‘I’ll give him exactly one more week. This idiot.’
But I wouldn’t need to wait days like that. Just three days later, I succeeded in extracting the words I wanted from Kalian Wynack’s own lips.
* * *
After returning to Rahnar, I was consumed with activity.
The Transcendent Families’ organization had been restructured with remarkable efficiency. With Wynack at the helm, the remaining families—Kirges, Whezel, Railo, and Yeljewa—fell under its authority. Internal family matters were still resolved autonomously as before, but final decision-making power rested with Wynack.
Once Owen stepped down from his position as Family Head, Kalian would inherit that authority. That was how it had been decided.
“I have no intention of succeeding Wynack.”
With those words alone, Kalian Wynack overturned the entire dinner gathering.
It was a dinner assembled to celebrate my return. I stared at Kalian with wide eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“Exactly what I said. I was never interested in the Family Head position from the start.”
“Not interested? It’s simply returning to your original position.”
“A position that was stolen from me, not originally mine. One I haven’t even remembered for so long now.”
Kalian spoke in a subdued tone.
“Since I no longer wish to reclaim it, I won’t become Family Head. Find another successor or do it yourself—whatever you prefer, Rosy.”
“Then what exactly are you planning to do?”
“I…”
Kalian stubbornly refused to meet my gaze. He stared at the teacup sitting before him, then answered slowly.
“I’m thinking of leaving for a while.”
“Where?”
“Just here and there. I thought I’d travel around, wandering aimlessly.”
He’s joking. I barely managed to swallow the “Why?” that threatened to burst from my throat.
If this was all I got back after giving him time, I should settle this tonight. No—I had to.
“Rosy?”
When I gripped his wrist tightly, Kalian called out to me in surprise. I clenched my teeth and spoke gently.
“Older Brother, we need to talk tonight.”

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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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