I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 5

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 5
‘Oh, my, goodness—!’
I clutched both my cheeks and screamed silently to myself.
‘He’s not coming back!’
Since the crack of dawn, I’d been circling the Mansion, waiting for Kalian Wynack to return.
But my incompetent older brother showed no signs of coming back. I couldn’t even sense the faintest ripple of mana.
Could he have been devoured without even a chance to call for me?!
“Hey there, little Rosy. What are you doing?”
The disciples of Wynack, who hadn’t neglected their morning training even after arriving in Delpiam, greeted me familiarly.
Little Rosy? Despite appearances, I’d lived seventeen years in my past life and twelve in this one—twenty-nine years total.
I glared sharply at the man who’d addressed me, Jake, before responding.
“I’m waiting for the young master.”
“The young master? He left last evening. He still hasn’t returned?”
Jake seemed to have gleaned the answer from my worried expression. His face grew grave as well.
“Could something have happened…?”
Of course something happened. I could feel it!
“Damn it, it’s only been a few days since we were dragged out for cleanup duty. I didn’t want to be conscripted again—ugh!”
Before Jake could finish speaking, Selman beside him kicked his shin hard. Then, in an unnaturally high-pitched tone, he muttered to himself.
“Oh my. Is that so? Our young master… I mean, our young master hasn’t returned yet? Does the Family Head know about this?”
“…?”
“I really must inform the Family Head. Our delicate young master, as fragile as a flower, may have lost his way in this foreign capital!”
With that, Selman dragged Jake away and bolted like an arrow.
“…”
I felt my worst imaginings gradually becoming reality.
A boy who looked like a nobleman on the surface but was soft as jelly pudding inside.
The heir to our Family Head—who’d swept aside all the other eligible ladies in the unofficial beauty pageant of the Abuye Kingdom and claimed first place without hesitation.
No, not the innocence of a lamb!
“Kalian Wynack isn’t here?”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
I spun around to see an Unknown Boy standing there. His black hair had a slight wave to it, and his skin bore a healthy tan. He was as tall as Kalian.
Standing with the sunlight at his back, his expression was obscured. All I could see were his golden eyes gleaming with a sharp, piercing light.
“Where is that bastard right now?”
“Who are you?”
At the appearance of this uninvited guest, the swordsmen of Wynack positioned themselves in front of me.
I peered up at the Unknown Boy between Jake’s and Selman’s arms. He appeared to be around Kalian’s age.
But unlike Kalian, whose impression was gentle, this boy before me radiated a sharp, cold intensity.
‘That mana…’
I recognized the type of mana this boy possessed.
It was different from Wynack’s mana—sharp yet solid as a refined blade, flawless—and different from Kirges’s mana, which wove together densely and flexibly like a net. This mana erupted dynamically, explosively.
There was only one type of person who possessed such distinctive mana.
One of the two transcendent families of Delpiam—excluding Kirges.
Whiszel, blessed by the protection of the “Formless Lion.”
“Luize.”
The moment I recalled that family name, the boy pronounced his own.
“The master of Whiszel.”
The swordsmen of Wynack flinched and retreated half a step.
Standing behind them, I murmured in admiration.
“My, you’ve become the Family Head already?”
I remembered seeing Whiszel’s heir at the continental conference I attended in my past life.
The last time I saw him, he was merely a five-year-old child.
So that little one back then must have been…
“A jaguar?”
As I muttered to myself, the black-haired boy raised his eyebrows. A correct guess.
Following “Sword” for Wynack and “Sorcery” for Kirges, the descriptor preceding Whiszel was “Transformation.”
Those who received power from Whiszel’s Guardian Star possessed the ability to transform part or all of their bodies into beasts.
And from my memory, this boy’s transformation was a black jaguar.
‘I never imagined he’d grown so much…’
I found myself lost in nostalgia. While I had reset my life and started anew from birth, Whiszel’s little one had nearly become an adult.
In my past life, I never encountered Kalian Wynack, but I crossed paths with Luize Whezel a couple of times, so even at his current height, he still seemed like a child to me.
What was it? Your older sister used to pat your head quite often.
I still remember how you growled and bit my fingers.
The boy, Luize, looked down at me with a deeply suspicious expression.
“Is this small child a disciple of Wynack?”
“What?”
The old memories surfacing in my mind evaporated completely at his absurd remark. I stepped forward indignantly.
“That’s quite harsh language!”
Small child, small child indeed!
Even if I do chase after Kalian Wynack calling “Big brother, big brother”!
I have lived for a combined total of twenty-nine years…
“Or perhaps not? Though you are rather small to wield a sword.”
Luize bent his waist slightly toward me.
Damn it. With a height difference of at least two spans, I missed my chance to protest that I was not small.
Luize asked in a blunt voice.
“So you work for Wynack. Where is your master right now? I heard he met with His Majesty the Emperor yesterday. Has he not returned yet?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
At those words, my mind returned to its proper place.
Our soft, jelly-like successor… like a rabbit fallen before a starving tiger…!
I fixed Luize with a wary gaze.
“Why does the young master seek him? There should be no reason for the Family Head of Whiszel to search for Wynack’s heir privately. Especially not before an official conference.”
“Classified.”
“Isn’t that making things look even more suspicious? Are you planning to violate the international laws explicitly stated in our treaties?”
The transcendent families, backed by the unprecedented power of Guardian Star, easily surpassed the influence of most kingdoms on the Continent.
That was why they had established five major prohibitions to maintain the balance of power across the land.
First, they shall not establish their own nation.
Second, they shall not participate in any form of diplomatic conflict, including warfare.
Third, they shall not venture beyond the territory of their affiliated nation.
Fourth, it is strictly forbidden for members of a transcendent family to master more than one secret technique.
And finally, the fifth: the Family Heads and heirs of transcendent families shall not hold private meetings with one another.
The Continental Council, held once every five years, existed precisely to reaffirm these prohibitions and refine their details.
In conclusion, there was no reason for the Family Head of Whiszel to personally seek out Kalian Wynack.
Of course, if that gentle soul had been here, I would have smiled warmly and kindly guided him to my chambers.
I displayed a wariness that encompassed both myself and Kalian’s share.
“Why have you come?”
As I fixed him with a persistent gaze, Luize Whezel reluctantly spoke.
“A friend.”
“Pardon?”
“That bird… no, I mean Kalian’s friend. I received the Emperor’s permission and we had a prior agreement. Satisfied?”
The expression on Luize Whezel’s face as he said this was decidedly not that of someone speaking of a cherished friend.
His jaw was clenched tight.
I could even hear the sound of him grinding his teeth. Had he and Kalian become enemies?
That was unlike him—he wasn’t the type to quarrel with just anyone.
“If he’s not at the Mansion, he must be at the River Estuary.”
At the end of his words, it sounded like he muttered something like “that damned bastard…”?
No. That must have been my imagination.
Kalian wasn’t the sort to go somewhere and earn sympathy, only to return cursed for no reason.
More importantly—Luize Whezel. Did he have a rough idea of where Kalian was?
‘Star of Kirges, grant me your aid just one more time. This is truly the last!’
I watched with gleaming eyes as the young man’s figure receded into the distance.
The rune character I had swiftly embedded on Luize’s back was glimmering brightly.
[ᛏᛖᛚᛖᛈᛟᚱᛏ (Teleport)]
Good.
A moment later.
[…?]
Luize Whezel, who had been about to dash forward, froze.
He had become aware of the weight settling upon him.
Luize turned to look back, his tone exasperated.
[What are you doing right now?]
The beast’s body, covered in lustrous black fur, was remarkably sleek and warm.
As expected, this short distance was still well within my capabilities.
I settled myself between the neck and back of the jaguar-transformed Luize and pointed forward with my index finger.
And I opened my mouth with solemn gravity.
“Let us depart.”
[Where exactly am I sitting right now….]
“Hurry, Family Head!”
There was no helping it. Before Kalian Wynack could be dragged helplessly into the Emperor’s harem, I had to rush over and fish him out myself.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————