I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 41
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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 41
Yet Rosien blinked her large eyes several more times before smacking her lips together.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“…What?”
“Let me think about it more before I say anything. It really is too much of a leap… No, could such a coincidence even exist?”
Nothing?! The extreme tension transformed in an instant into a suffocating sense of frustration.
Kalian stumbled over his words.
“Why… why are you stopping mid-sentence? Don’t do that, Rosien.”
“Never mind, forget it. I was just imagining something ridiculous.”
So what was it? I wanted to press further, but I couldn’t open my mouth, fearing it would only make me look more suspicious.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Rosien had already returned to her indifferent expression.
I wished I could crack open that small head and examine each thought dwelling within it.
If only I could see everything and discard whatever wasn’t needed.
Rosien turned back around and began climbing the ladder. Kalian’s gaze clung persistently to the girl’s small back of her head.
“Are you afraid of it, Rosien?”
“Huh? No, I’m not afraid. Because I can win.”
“That’s right. You’ll definitely win. …Then you dislike it? Because it’s an ominous existence?”
My heart tightened involuntarily and my lips grew dry. Rosien rummaged through the bookshelf and replied carelessly.
“If I had to say, then yes. What human likes monsters? Personally, I dislike anything with more than four limbs combined.”
“….”
“And that thing nearly swallowed you four years ago. If it appears again, this time I’ll catch it and bury it in hell.”
Rosien spun around and winked.
“Reassuring, right?”
“…Yeah, it is.”
Kalian had no choice but to laugh along.
When the girl spoke with such bravado, she was undoubtedly cute enough to bite, yet on the other hand, she possessed a rather cruel edge.
“Good. Then let’s start with the research again!”
The moment the girl turned away, all traces of laughter vanished from his face. Kalian watched uneasily as she climbed back up the ladder.
‘At least she hasn’t figured it out.’
Of course, if Rosien had even the slightest inkling of what happened sixteen years ago, she wouldn’t be reacting so calmly now.
She wouldn’t smile at me so innocently like that.
Would it be fortunate if I didn’t have to draw my blade? Kalian’s lips twisted with bitter self-mockery.
‘She dislikes monsters… Yes, she would.’
I never expected her to like it. Something so horrific—not just Rosien, but no one would welcome it.
Kalian’s crimson eyes, cast downward in darkness, held a desolate gleam.
So Rosien, …Lozietti must never know.
After all, there was no thread for her to unravel. His hand extended slowly, and the girl’s red hair wound around his fingertips. Kalian caressed the soft sensation brushing his palm, restraining the impulse within him.
‘I need to be more careful.’
I hadn’t anticipated that Rosien would remember being on the brink of death sixteen years ago. I didn’t even know she had caught my eye back then.
Rosien could be sharp sometimes. Grasping a needle-like thread, she would pick at the surface of the spool, and in an unexpected moment, pierce right through it.
‘Absolutely not.’
Their crimson eyes gleamed with cold intensity. If Rosien left, it would create considerable difficulties.
Truly, in many ways.
That’s why Kalian Wynack never told Lozietti that even if she searched through every ancient tome in this land, she would find no information about that ‘abomination.’
Of course, he equally failed to discern what lay beneath Rosien’s surface.
He never imagined that the young girl who had just turned her back to him—
‘If that monster is the true culprit who killed me, it would be circling nearby even now. It might be lurking just beyond reach….’
She had discarded every coquettish smile she’d offered her brother moments before,
‘Come on then. The moment you reveal a weakness, I’ll hunt you to the ends of the world and snuff out your breath.’
Never suspecting the icy fervor burning in her chest.
Chapter 5. Everyone Knows But You!
I stared distantly at the large dessert tray placed on the table.
Under normal circumstances, I would have rushed at it with forks in both hands.
‘I….’
To think I shared the same fate as those desserts.
In the eyes of the Transcendents, I must appear as delicious, nutritious food.
‘I’m sorry, Cake. I won’t hunt you again.’
For days I’d ransacked every ancient tome without proper sleep. Yesterday alone, I’d even had a heated argument with the Great Annihilation.
“Look, what exactly is Broken Chaos?!”
【A Lost Soul is a Lost Soul, that’s all! It is the very embodiment of incomprehensible, malevolent apocalypse!】
“Give me a more concrete explanation! I can’t grasp this at all!”
【The reason apocalypse is called apocalypse is precisely because it defies description, you foolish Rosy. If language remained to describe it, could we truly call it a complete apocalypse?】
“So it’s not something with tentacles or beast-like features?”
【How would I know? The Lost Soul wears as many faces as there are stars in this cosmos!】
Eventually, I collapsed under the weight of endless sophistry. Rather than finding a satisfactory answer, I only gained exhaustion.
While I nibbled on choux cream, a chilling exchange unfolded across the table.
“You seem quite fond of your younger sibling, little Wynack.”
“Is there any need to explain? I brought the child here myself.”
Master had visited the Whezel Main Residence since this morning.
Upon hearing that Kalian Wynack was staying at Whezel, he had rushed over with eager haste.
Because of this, quite naturally, a battle of wills between Regina and Kalian unfolded during today’s tea time.
“What a remarkable coincidence. A child picked up by chance from an orphanage turns out to be an exceptional prodigy of the blade, freely wielding the Power of Stars, and beloved by Sacred Relics no less.”
“On the contrary. I didn’t discover Rosien by chance—I brought her because I saw potential in her.”
Kalian merely smiled good-naturedly at Regina’s cold questions, yet responded to every word without missing a beat, and I sensed an inexplicable chill in his manner.
“What do you mean by seeing potential in me?”
“Ah…. Actually, I’d passed by you several times before. Your body was nimble and your strength considerable—I thought you’d be perfect with a blade in hand. In the Wynack family, the blessing of Guardian Star usually flows through bloodlines, but rarely, even those outside the clan can be born with the Power of Stars.”
“I see.”
Kalian’s explanation flowed as smoothly as water.
“Now it seems you receive even more favor from Guardian Star than I do. I could even pass the position of next Family Head to you, Rosy.”
“Don’t say such things carelessly, Kalien.”
“I’m serious. Rosy suits the Wynack Family far better than Kirges.”
Regina, who had been listening, let out a scoff.
“Ha, if you’d seen that child grow up as a Sorcerer, you wouldn’t say such things.”
It was a remark that felt as though she’d read my innermost thoughts entirely.
I found myself growing increasingly uncomfortable in this setting.
Luize, who had been observing me carefully, opened his mouth.
“I’ll excuse myself first. Please, continue your conversation without concern.”
This was my chance. I sprang to my feet and followed Luize.
“That was delicious, thank you!”
“Ah, then I should too….”
“Brother, finish your tea. You still have half left.”
Kalian had always eaten sparingly. The only thing I could truly say he enjoyed was black tea.
Just this morning, he’d left more than half his breakfast untouched. Looking at him now, his appetite seemed even worse than it had been two years ago, yet somehow he’d still grown taller.
“If you’re good, I’ll sing you a lullaby tonight.”
Kalian, who had been intensely projecting his displeasure with a furrowed brow, instantly relaxed his expression.
‘Sigh. Yes, I suppose I live while watching over him.’
I stroked his hair gently, then hurried after Luize.
“A lullaby? Little Wynack, have you perhaps changed?”
I heard Regina’s contemptuous voice from behind, but I ignored it.
* * *
“Family Head, do you happen to know what ‘Broken Chaos’ is?”
“What is that?”
It was the first question I asked the moment I stepped into the Study following Luize.
“Or perhaps some tentacled monster that looks like this.”
I’d reached a conclusion last night. There was no way I’d ever find its identity by flipping through encyclopedias so aimlessly.
Whezel possessed the ability to transform part or all of their body into a different form. They also held more knowledge about non-human creatures than other families.
Luize stared at the sketch I’d handed him for quite some time.
“I can’t even tell what you were trying to draw. Medusa’s head?”
“It’s not that, but it’s similar. The biggest problem is that I don’t know what I saw either. If it’s not a demon of this land, then it must be an extraterrestrial life form, right?”
“Well, I’ll ask Father about it later.”
“Good. Please be sure to ask him about ‘Broken Chaos’ as well.”
“Sure. …But why are you suddenly asking about such things?”
“Because it’s directly connected to my future safety.”
Luize examined me with a peculiar gaze. I rolled up the sketch and asked indifferently.
“Why?”
“Lately, you seem to be resembling someone I used to know more and more.”
“….”
At this point, was it possible I was the only one who didn’t know?
Was I the only one unaware that everyone had already discovered that I was Rosien?
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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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