I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 59

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

Chapter 59
I couldn’t afford to overlook even the smallest thing that captured Kalien’s attention. No one—not even he himself—could predict what might provide him psychological stability.
“Rosy.”
‘A human elixir is dangerous, but… if the other person is an ordinary human and the bond runs deep, it might be acceptable.’
“Rosien?”
‘Now isn’t the time to be picky about objects or humans. If he really implodes from isolation and ends up on the road to the afterlife, what then?’
“….”
‘A month has already passed since I was supposed to return to Kirges. I absolutely must find Kalien’s elixir and leave before the year ends.’
“…You’re not listening, are you?”
‘But Lina trembles whenever she even sees Kalien. If I mention an elixir, won’t she faint…?’
I was in the midst of unfolding dozens of possibilities in my mind when two large hands approached and firmly grasped both of mine.
Kalien pulled me toward him without hesitation.
I stumbled forward, dragged several steps in his direction.
“Why, why?”
“Because you’re not listening to a word I’m saying.”
“Was I? Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
“What were you thinking about?”
Kalien’s expression hardened menacingly.
The shift was stark. The intense, ravenous hunger that had previously gleamed so blatantly in his crimson eyes had vanished without a trace.
He fixed me with an unwavering gaze.
As if questioning how I could possibly look away when he stood before me, his eyes turned sharp and piercing.
“….”
The air escaped me.
“Ugh….”
I released the tension from my shoulders and clicked my tongue in disappointment.
‘He’s back to his usual self.’
Of course. Kalien would never feel possessiveness or emotional stability toward a woman.
In the past ten years, I had never once witnessed him show interest in the opposite sex.
“I must have been mistaken.”
“About what.”
“I thought you were finally getting a girlfriend.”
“What?”
Kalien raised his tone with an air of absurdity.
“What exactly did you see?”
“Just now, you looked like you wanted to devour Lina.”
“Devour….”
Kalien, who had been mechanically echoing my words, let out a short sigh.
“Rosien. Most people don’t look at someone they want as a lover with that kind of gaze.”
“That varies from person to person.”
“Not for me.”
“Is that so? What do you think, big brother?”
Tell me honestly what’s on your mind! I’ll use it as reference for my grand elixir-hunting operation!
At that, Kalien placed both hands on my shoulders. The iron grip that had first seized me was gone entirely, replaced by a touch so tender it felt like caressing a soft plush toy.
“Of course I see you the way I see you now. You’re the only one I love, Rosy. Always.”
“I didn’t think words like that would work on me…”
I should have retorted confidently with ‘You think so?’
But at that very moment, I witnessed his eyes curve beautifully into crescents.
‘Ah… I’ve lost.’
This was an inevitable defeat for me. I had a particular weakness for the way he smiled with his eyes, that gentle crinkle at the corners.
Especially in moments like this, when both his eyes and lips curved upward simultaneously, it was so captivating that even I found myself momentarily entranced. It had been far too long since I’d seen him smile like this.
Could I capture this moment perfectly on canvas and call it my masterpiece, Rosien’s greatest work? After all, I was the one who cultivated this smile.
Pride and regret surged through me at once.
‘If I’m supposed to give this to someone later, how can I bear to part with it…? I want to keep it for myself.’
So much for the adaptation period I’d taken earlier. In the end, I awkwardly averted my gaze from Kalien’s.
“Stop saying unnecessary things. Turn your head to the side. Let me wipe you down.”
Kalien obediently turned his head. I wiped his sweat-beaded forehead, the strands of hair clinging to his temples, and his heated neck with a cool, damp cloth.
Pleased by the refreshing sensation, Kalien rubbed his cheek against my palm.
“You’re like a finicky cat.”
With his eyes downcast, Kalien let out a soft meow. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
“You’re impossible, really. Didn’t I tell you to warn me beforehand if Seongyeol’s about to emerge? Other people get frightened.”
“But no one touched you. Because you dislike it.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m truly doing my best to hold back, Rosien. You need to understand that.”
His tone immediately made my defenses prickle again.
“If you don’t answer when I call you again, I’ll be angry.”
His eyes fixed on me brimmed with resentment. Watching his mood swing so wildly, he was nothing short of an exceptionally temperamental cat.
“Fine, fine. So you’re looking for me instead of the elixir I asked you to find? Come on, turn your head to the other side. Let me finish.”
The heat burning inside me wouldn’t dissipate with just one splash of water. I had no choice but to continue wiping him down with the cool cloth.
After wiping away all the sweat that had trickled down his nape, I hesitated for a moment. The skin visible between the gaps of his shirt buttons glistened with moisture.
‘Should I ask him to remove his shirt?’
But wiping his entire body felt strange. It was odd to do something now, fully grown, that I’d never even done when we were children.
‘I could use sorcery to calm him down instantly, actually.’
Commonly known as a lullaby. But ever since returning from Delpiam three years ago, I hadn’t cast a single spell on him.
I couldn’t afford to increase his dependence on me any further. So what should I do…
As I was turning over countless possibilities in my mind, Kalien gently took the cloth from my hand.
“That’s enough. I’ll do it myself now.”
“Ah… okay.”
Ah, there was the simplest solution. Just tell him to wipe himself down.
As Kalien began undoing his shirt buttons one by one, I hurriedly turned away.
“Here, um, let me get you some clean clothes.”
No matter how much of an older brother he is, the bare skin below the neck is a bit….
I hastily fled to Kalien’s private Dress Room. Kalien spoke slowly.
“There should be a navy robe there. Rosien.”
“Navy, yes, I found it.”
When I retrieved the robe hanging from the nearby rack, he had already stripped off his upper garment entirely. I consciously averted my gaze from his torso as I handed him the robe.
‘So it wasn’t just his face that was a problem….’
When did his shoulders become so broad, and when did his muscles develop with such perfect definition? Even for someone as sensitive to physical beauty as myself, his physique was impeccably balanced without a single flaw.
Where had that scatterbrained beautiful youth gone—the one who used to donate his coat and buttons on street corners and return in nothing but his shirt?
Kalien obediently draped the robe I offered across his body. However, without tying the sash, the magnificent definition of his abdominal muscles remained fully exposed. He even pulled my hand along in that state.
“Rosy, what were you discussing with the Trainees in the Corridor?”
“You… you heard that?”
“I hear it whether I want to or not.”
“It wasn’t anything important.”
“I want to hear that unimportant thing.”
….
“Who were you talking to in the Corridor, and what were you saying?”
Before I knew it, I had been drawn between his legs.
“I’m curious.”
Kalien whispered softly and pulled me closer. I found myself sitting quite naturally on his thigh.
‘The distance is a bit… too close.’
The heat radiating from his body, warmed by Seongyeol, transferred directly to me. When I hesitated to place my hand on his bare skin, he wrapped one arm around my waist to support me.
Kalien refrained from touching me further. He tilted his upper body slightly backward and braced himself against the Bed with his remaining hand, creating an appropriate distance between us.
Only then did my discomfort ease somewhat. Kalien furrowed the bridge of his nose and urged me on.
“Well? Rosy.”
“That is….”
I had no choice but to choose my words carefully. It was hardly appropriate to bring up such ominous talk about dying beasts in front of a sick person.
I opted for a more pleasant topic.
“Jake said I don’t seem like I’ll be able to get married. He was offering to introduce me to men, and I was wondering if I should accept.”
“Marriage? An introduction?”
Kalien’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Why suddenly?”
“How should I know? Maybe I look unpopular.”
I turned my head to look at my reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall.
My red hair, still damp from hurriedly leaving the Bathhouse, clung to my waist in strands. My facial features had matured compared to before, and the curves of my body had developed fully.
As for my face—well. Even in Kirges, I hadn’t fallen short in appearance compared to Rosien Wynyak. However, since I was still hiding my identity from everyone except Kalien here in Winyak, I had cast a spell to blur my features as I had before.
But even accounting for that.
“Isn’t this level of beauty worth counting among beauties?”
I grumbled with a slight sense of injustice.
But just then, my eyes met Kalien’s, who was staring intently at me from close range.
“Mm.”
The moment I laid eyes on the most stunning beauty before me, my confidence hung its head in shame.
What audacity had possessed me to stand before a woman who was the very embodiment of the word “beauty”?
I resolved to embrace humility instead, though I kindled a fresh fire of determination within myself.
“I may not be beautiful, but just you wait. Now that I’m grown, I’ll find a lover soon enough!”

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