I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 40

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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 40
Luize shoved Kalian Wynack roughly and shot to his feet.
“Come in!”
The one knocking was his aide.
“Family Head, an official document has just arrived from the Delpiam Imperial Court. It states that as of today, the Wynyak’s stay in Abuye is permitted for a fortnight… Oh, you’re already here…?”
“I told you, didn’t I? There would be no problems.”
A composed voice drifted from behind Luize’s shoulder.
With the Imperial Court’s residence permit granted, Kalian Wynack was now free within Delpiam.
Kalian Wynack, having straightened himself up, passed by Luize with a light step.
“The tea was excellent. Have a pleasant afternoon, Whezel.”
As Kalian Wynack turned to leave through the door, he suddenly glanced back. He spoke kindly to the Maid who had been trembling nervously at the entrance.
“Ah, right. I apologize for earlier.”
“Y-yes, yes, yes? Oh, yes!”
“You’re more skilled than the Wynyak’s Maid. Would you like to come with me to Abuye later?”
“Eh? B-but….”
“Don’t tremble like that. People might think I’m going to devour you.”
Kalian Wynack observed languidly. The Maid’s cheeks flushed crimson from the unexpected facial strike.
“Don’t make any mistakes in front of Rosien, understood?”
“Y-yes….”
“Good, thank you for your hard work.”
Kalian Wynack flashed her a fresh smile and departed with a brisk stride. Luize watched the scene unfold with a grim expression.
‘Surely he’s not calling that reputation management.’
What on earth is that creature?
* * *
Ever since I examined the Planetarium, my mood had been low all day.
I had only wanted to confirm the full circumstances of my death, yet somehow the mystery only deepened. In the end, I couldn’t find the real murderer, nor could I discover the process of how I was revived after being buried in the ground.
‘Am I truly a human brought back to life through the Crystal of Resurrection?’
Alpien’s words are correct. Only the Power of Stars can make the miracle of reviving the dead possible.
Then who exactly stole the Crystal of Resurrection from Railo and brought me back to life?
The murderer who killed me, and the benefactor who revived me.
The monster that keeps catching my eye, and Regina, my Master, who strangely keeps weighing on my mind….
This wasn’t something that could be solved by holding my head in my hands alone. After agonizing over it for just one day, I began to move again.
My first target was.
“What are you looking for, Rosy?”
Kalian Wynack opened his eyes wide and looked down at me.
“The red-eyed… what?”
“That’s the thing—I’m having trouble defining it precisely myself.”
We had entered the Library within Whezel Main Residence. I climbed up a low ladder leaning against the bookshelf as I replied.
“There’s probably no better expression than ‘aberrant creature.'”
“Aberrant creature….”
“Yeah. Ah, this is too high.”
While the Archive’s scale and the quality of ancient texts it housed were unmatched by any scholarly family like Kirges, returning there now felt somehow unsettling, so I had stopped by here as a second choice.
The bookshelves crammed densely throughout the library stretched tall and massive, reaching toward the three-story-high ceiling. The book I sought was positioned well above my height, and even after climbing three rungs up the ladder, my fingertips barely grazed it.
I waved my hand overhead, muttering to myself.
“Eyes burning red like molten lava, a body pitch black. Its form seems to shift constantly… and those bizarre appendages—whether they’re tails or tentacles, I can’t tell.”
“….”
“I’m certain I’ve seen something like that somewhere before….”
Yes, it definitely felt familiar, didn’t it?
Soon the desired book came into my grasp. *A Thousand Selections: Compendium of Mysterious Otherworldly Creatures*.
I decided to skim through the table of contents first.
If such a being existed on this land, there would be a record somewhere.
I was determined to uncover its name and true nature, even if it meant staying awake for days and nights.
‘This stalker bastard—I’m going to expose everything about you!’
Yet the compendium contained no monster matching my description. Nothing with tentacle-like appendages either.
I clicked my tongue and reached upward again, feeling along the shelf. From below, Kalian cautioned softly.
“Be careful, Rosy.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry…. Oof!”
The moment I spoke with such confidence, the toe of my raised heel caught the ladder’s edge. Before I could react, my body plummeted downward.
“…!”
Just before my face collided with the ladder, Kalian seized my waist from behind with tremendous force, pulling me back. I was swept into his embrace with barely a moment to spare.
“You need to be more careful.”
The strength with which he caught my waist was startlingly powerful.
‘When did my brother become this strong…?’
Yet the motion of lowering me to the ground was extraordinarily gentle.
Even after my feet safely touched the floor, Kalian didn’t release the arm around my waist. Instead, he enlisted his other arm as well, drawing me snugly into his embrace.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
I felt him rest his chin lightly atop my head.
“Let’s stay like this for a moment. Just a moment.”
“O-okay….”
The cool, fresh scent of grass and forest emanating from Kalian tickled my nose. The physical difference that had developed between us over four years suddenly became tangible.
I tilted my head back and looked up at Kalian seriously.
“Are you really the person who couldn’t lift five sacks of wheat?”
“Normal people don’t lift five sacks of wheat in the first place, Rosy. And I’m not a baby anymore.”
“My little rabbit has grown so big….”
“…Of course I’m not actually a rabbit either, but if that’s how you see me, Rosy, then I suppose there’s no reason to object.”
“What are you saying? That doesn’t make sense. You’re fundamentally a rabbit. Don’t deny your true nature.”
“I find it endearing how you see me that way.”
Was that an insult?
Kalian chuckled softly and nuzzled his cheek against my hair, then lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on my left cheek. The warmth of his lips lingered, leaving a faint tickle where they had touched.
“So… Rosy. What were you trying to tell me earlier? About the crimson-eyed monster.”
“Oh, that…”
Warm breath brushed against my ear, leaving a spark of heat on my earlobe. My body tingled.
This is dangerous. I twisted away from Kalian’s embrace.
“Well, I… I saw it in a dream.”
“It appeared in your dream?”
“Yes.”
Only after I scrambled back up the ladder did I turn to look at him. Kalian wore an oddly pleased expression.
“A dream… the unconscious mind.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just… I’ve always wanted to slip into one of your dreams.”
Kalian tapped his right cheek playfully with his index finger and winked mischievously. I was about to laugh along with his roguish expression when—
Something else captured my attention instead.
‘Wait…?’
The shadow stretching from beneath Kalian’s feet extended far across the bookshelf opposite us. I blinked slowly.
‘The shadow.’
A sudden recollection surfaced.
A small gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“Ah… I remember now.”
“Remember what?”
“Where I’ve seen that monster before.”
“…Where was it?”
Kalian’s tone, posed a beat later, was unexpectedly sharp—nothing like the man who’d been trading idle jokes moments before.
But I had no time to dwell on it.
Mesmerized, my gaze fixed on the shadow extending beneath him.
“Four years ago, in the Delpiam Harem’s Holy Temple. You remember, don’t you? When I pulled out the Sacred Relic.”
“…”
“That malevolent spirit clinging to your shadow. The Broken Chaos… Yes, the tendrils extending from that shadow swayed just like that. Like serpents, or tentacles…”
The kindness drained from Kalian’s eyes as he looked up at me. I didn’t yet grasp what that meant, consumed instead by the new possibility taking shape in my mind.
What if the thing that appeared when I died and the thing that clung to Kalian four years ago were the same entity…?
The budding hypothesis branched and sprouted leaves in an instant.
A question suddenly pierced through my thoughts.
“Now that I think about it, something’s odd, Kalian.”
“…”
“When exactly did that Broken Chaos start clinging to you?”
* * *
“I was never away from your side, so when could it possibly have attached itself to you?”
My heart raced wildly.
The Young Girl seemed oblivious to his turmoil, continuing to murmur with unfocused eyes.
“Back then I just thought it was some kind of demon. Something to exorcise and be done with… But now that I think about it, that doesn’t make sense.”
Kalian didn’t dare blink, waiting for the next words to fall from the Young Girl’s lips. He wasn’t even aware that he had stopped breathing.
“Why did the Broken Chaos attach itself to you of all people?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Back then, I thought it was just bad luck—that you happened to be an easy mark because you were unusually kind and slow-witted. But now I’m wondering if that might not be the case at all.”
“Your thoughts… exactly what are they?”
Merely uttering that brief question made my heart feel as though it would burst from my throat. It took considerable effort to suppress the rapidly mounting sense of dread.
Surely not. There shouldn’t have been any clues for her to notice. Had I made a careless slip without realizing it?
The Young Girl, who had been staring blankly at a point in empty space for a moment, shifted her gaze toward Kalian. As her eyes narrowed, my heart felt crushed beneath the weight of her scrutiny.
“Perhaps it was actually…”
My throat went dry.
Perhaps it was actually… what came next?

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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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