I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 15

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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 15
A place I couldn’t possibly follow? I was so exasperated I felt like breathing fire. The absurdity of it all was suffocating.
“Who was it that got lost in the Sewers yesterday and was trapped there for an entire day?”
Instead of meekly accepting his words, I spoke back defiantly, and Kalian raised one eyebrow. I gritted my teeth and shot my next words at him.
“Who was it in Abuye last time who went looking for a cat on a rainy day and nearly got swept away by a landslide? Answer me.”
“…It was me.”
“Who got drunk at the Royal Palace ball because they mixed up cocktails and juice? Who came back covered in blood on their hands and cheeks after breaking rose bushes while intoxicated? I’d believe it even if you said you’d killed someone and come home!”
“….”
“And who is it that still wanders the Mansion like a ghost every night when I’m not around?!”
Kalian’s firmly pressed lips gradually pulled downward at the corners. He seemed to realize my momentum was formidable.
“There’s a reason I’m overprotective of you, Kalian. I know you find it annoying and hate it.”
“Rosy, that’s not it.”
Kalian hastily cut off my words.
“It’s absolutely not that you’re annoying or that I hate it. I’m sorry. I misspoke.”
“If it bothers you that I follow you around like a puppy, just tell me anytime.”
“Rosy….”
“I’m only worried about you, but if you think you don’t need someone like me, then I have no intention of taking on the role of your protector either. Frankly, I’m not your mother. Right?”
As I spoke with irritation and hurt mixed together, Kalian stammered out an excuse.
“That’s not what I meant. Why would you think I felt that way?”
“That’s what your words implied.”
“I… I like that you worry about me, Rosy. You’re the only one who thinks of me.”
“That’s not true. Everyone in Winyak worries about you, Kalian.”
“No. It was only you.”
Kalian shook his head stubbornly. The sharp, upturned corners of his eyes drooped sorrowfully.
Beneath his crimson eyes, moisture began to gather, and his cheeks—smooth as polished marble—quickly grew wet.
“It’s always been only you, Rosy. Really….”
I steeled my resolve. I couldn’t give in even if he cried.
I’d been too lenient, and now he was developing strange attachments.
“You’re the only one who’s ever told me I’m beautiful. I only become a decent person when I’m beside you. So how could I possibly find you annoying? I care about you so much, Rosy.”
But when he says things like this, my heart becomes soft….
I pressed my lips together to stop them from trembling.
“Then come with me to the Continental Conference and the banquet.”
“…So you won’t be angry?”
“That’s right. I won’t.”
“…Understood….”
Kalian finally nodded. As I sighed and opened my arms wide, he sobbed and pulled me into a tight embrace.
He held me so tightly that my entire body felt bound and constricted. I could barely breathe.
Why is he always so desperate like this?
‘Sigh. Alright, I’ll let this slide….’
Just as I was about to embrace him in return, a low tsk sound brushed past my ear.
‘Huh?’
Did I mishear?
Kalian murmured softly, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
“You can’t abandon me, Rosien.”
“…I’m not going to.”
“Even if I’m not beautiful, even if I’m nothing like what you imagined—you must never turn away from me. Promise me you won’t.”
Nothing like what I imagined? What was he talking about?
‘Could it be that he actually prefers men over women…?’
Anxiety gnawed at me. I hesitated, then gently patted his back.
“I understand. I’ll always be on your side, big brother.”
“You promise? Promises must be kept.”
“Yes, yes.”
Once I returned to Abuero, I’d have to push forward with Kalian’s engagement immediately. Before I left Winyak, I absolutely had to witness his wedding.
I spent a long time coaxing and soothing the damp marshmallow until his tears finally ceased.
─But why was his tongue so cold, big brother?
* * *
When I led Kalian out to the front of the Mansion, Owen was waiting for us.
Owen studied me intently for a long moment, stroking his chin.
“…Rosien?”
“Yes, Family Head! It’s me!”
The wig alone wasn’t reassuring, so I’d cast a subtle confusion enchantment over my face—keeping my features identical but making me appear distinctly masculine.
I’d layered the essence of starlight across my face so thinly that it would be impossible to detect unless someone examined me closely.
‘If I had my Planetarium, I could weave a far more sophisticated spell.’
I clicked my tongue in frustration. My personal Planetarium contained all the enchantments I’d developed during my years as a sorcerer in Kirges. Using spells through it meant I didn’t have to invoke the true names of the Guardian Star and wait for responses—it was swift and convenient.
Of course, it would have been destroyed the day I died…
The spell my brother hurled at me during the successor’s decisive battle was a lethal incantation—potent enough to kill instantly where I stood.
Remembering that day sent shivers racing down my spine.
Alpien Kirges. My brother, who murdered me, would surely participate in this Continental Summit as well. He would have become Kirges’s successor.
My teeth clenched involuntarily. If I saw him again, could I truly remain composed?
‘No. Today’s objective is to infiltrate the Harem in Kalian’s stead!’
I couldn’t afford to cause trouble before achieving my goal. I steeled my resolve, took Kalian’s hand, and climbed into the carriage.
* * *
The 242nd Continental Summit was held at the Podium erected in the heart of the Capital. While the Family Heads and successors of the five Transcendent Families were required to participate, the heads of state were barred from sitting at the table.
The Continental Summit existed solely to protect and preserve this world’s welfare. Thus it remained free from the interests and political agendas of individual nations.
I gazed up at the structure—so impossibly tall that its apex vanished from sight. A pentagonal Podium rose atop towering pillars, and upon it sat a circular conference table.
That was the venue for the summit.
‘I used to sit in that place.’
At the center of the round table, Kirges’s Family Head’s Planetarium would be slowly rotating, projecting the summit’s proceedings for the world to witness.
Owen and Kalian’s figures reflected in the enormous glass panel mounted beneath the structure as they took their seats at the table.
Two other Family Heads from different houses had already arrived.
Railo – House of Healing, and Whiszel.
Within the glass screen, the Family Heads exchanged greetings.
– A pleasure to meet you, Winyak.
Luize, the young Family Head of Whiszel, bowed lightly toward Owen and Kalian. The screen captured their voices with crystalline clarity.
– The younger Winyak and I are already acquainted. Did you return safely to your mansion yesterday?
– Thanks to your concern, I arrived home without incident.
Kalian answered smoothly. Luize Whezel’s eyebrows twitched with displeasure, but he said nothing further and took his seat.
Kalian turned his gaze across the round table. There sat the Family Head of Yeljewa, shrouded beneath a deep hood.
– Your son is a new face to me, Owen. You always said he wasn’t ready yet.
– He still has far to go before becoming a proper person. But this time I’ve installed a restraint mechanism, so I judged it acceptable. Greet the Family Head, Kalian.
– I am Kalian Wynack. It is an honor to meet you, Yeljewa.
Watching him offer his respects so courteously filled me with an inexplicable pride. It was the feeling of a parent watching their carefully raised child conduct themselves admirably in society.
Chronos, the Family Head of Yeljewa, seemed to scrutinize Kalian intently. My brief relief evaporated, and I became as anxious as a parent observing a school visitation.
‘That man is incredibly exacting.’
Whether it was a trait of seers or simply his peculiar habit, he had a strange tendency to imbue even the simplest words with profound meaning, leaving people unsettled.
– A restraint mechanism, you say.
The Family Head of Yeljewa was renowned for concealing his face. From beneath the hood pulled low, revealing only his lower jaw, came a soft, deflating chuckle.
– Indeed, the younger Winyak appears to require such a thing. His gaze is quite unrestrained.
Yeljewa is a clan blessed by the Star of Prophets. The Family Heads of Yeljewa, who possess sacred relics, are born generation after generation with formidable foresight.
The Family Head’s right eye functioned as the ‘eye’ that perceives the future—a sacred relic imbued with the power of Yeljewa’s Star.
Their left eye sees the present; their right eye sees the future.
Thus, their words carried more weight than any judgment in this world.
Kalian seemed to find Yeljewa intriguing. He asked with evident curiosity.
– Can you see my future as well, Yeljewa?
– Do you doubt Yeljewa’s foresight?
– What do you see?
Kalian asked with a smile. If I detected a hint of mockery in his tone, was it merely my imagination?
‘Lately I’ve been confused about this. Is it me who’s the problem, or is he the one being difficult?’

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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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