I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 62

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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 62
I gnawed at my nails anxiously, turning the matter over in my mind again and again.
Something so ominous crawling through the world—there was no way no one had noticed it.
It must have caught someone’s eye.
‘Then maybe I can gather more evidence!’
The next morning, I confirmed that my hypothesis was precisely correct.
* * *
“So… you’re saying traces like this were also discovered in the serial murders that occurred in the Capital three years ago?”
“Yes, Wynack.”
The Security Officer with a grave expression handed me the case record log.
Early that morning, I skipped dawn training for the first time and rushed to the Village’s Security Bureau.
The Security Officer, rubbing his eyes irritably as he emerged, recognized me and immediately snapped to attention.
“Ah, the smaller and smallest Wynack!”
That was what people called me.
I explained to him the strange occurrences happening recently at Wynack Castle, and the Security Officer, pondering something carefully, brought me a stack of documents nearly a hand’s breadth thick.
“Since incidents have occurred in this area before, I had received case logs from the Capital’s Security Headquarters.”
Indeed, the file contained twenty-one murder cases that had occurred in the Capital up until three years ago, all neatly organized. As I turned through several pages, sketches appeared showing the evidence discovered at the time, rendered in full detail.
In the drawings that faithfully reproduced the crime scenes, the distinct trace left behind like a thick serpent crawling was clearly depicted. The investigators who handled the case at the time must have certainly paid attention to this mark.
Yet ultimately, the case remained unsolved.
“Owen Wynack himself took direct action on occasion, but reportedly achieved no significant results. However, after that, the serial murders never occurred again.”
“When exactly did that stop?”
“In the year 1456 of the World Calendar… that is, March of three years ago from now.”
It was about a month before I returned from Delpiam.
‘So it stayed in Abuye the whole time, then came after me to Delpiam at that point?’
The deeper I dug, the more questions arose. Even Owen, counted among the foremost of the Transcendent Family Heads, had failed to track it—what on earth was this creature?
But at least several things had become certain.
First, judging by the fact that it only targeted serious criminals for murder, it possessed intelligence beyond that of humans.
It could read and write, could discern the nature of crimes. Perhaps it even possessed some measure of conscience and morality.
Second, given that it left traces wherever it went, it was highly likely that this creature was unaware that such strange trajectories were left in its wake when it moved.
In other words, wherever it passed from now on, such traces would inevitably remain.
And third, it already had a record of killing twenty-one people. Jake might only be the beginning.
I had to capture it before more victims fell.
I crumpled the documents in my grip.
‘First, I need to go back and ask the Family Head how he pursued it three years ago.’
And based on the records from three years ago, I needed to analyze whether there were any habits or movement patterns I could learn more about.
The horrifying form of that creature, which I had seen only once, wavered in my mind. I suppressed my fear through sheer effort.
This time, I would capture it for certain.
This was the perfect opportunity to unearth what on earth it was and why the prophecy spoke such ominous words about it!
I shoved the crumpled documents into my cloak and strode toward the door. The moment I yanked it open with momentum, a shadow fell over my head.
I looked up absently and was startled.
“Brother?”
Kalian stood at the doorway.
* * *
“Seriously, when are you coming back?”
I handed Kalian a deeply steeped black tea, my tone reproachful.
“What kind of brother finds his younger sibling missing from their room and rushes all the way down to the village to search?”
“No brother like that exists.”
Kalian hooked his fingers slowly around the teacup’s handle. His movements were oddly sluggish.
After encountering Kalian in front of the Security Bureau, I’d brought him into a small tea shop nearby.
Even after sitting down, Kalian kept his hood on and his gaze lowered, and the shadows cast across his face made him look terribly gloomy.
“I don’t want to be like this either. I’m already regretting it as it is….”
Today there was no cold sweat, and the whites of his eyes were clear—he must have slept. Yet he still appeared exhausted.
“Regret what? Following me around so eagerly?”
“No. Whether I really needed to listen to everything you said.”
Kalian began dropping sugar cubes into his tea. He added five of them, then tossed them all into his mouth at once.
“Not sweet enough?”
“I don’t know, not particularly.”
“Seems like you’re craving something sweet.”
With all the trouble Seongyeol had been causing lately, I hadn’t been sleeping well—my head felt foggy. I leaned forward and placed my hand on Kalian’s forehead.
“Kalian, have you been eating?”
“Huh?”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve been so preoccupied these past few days that I haven’t been taking care of your meals. You’ve been eating all three meals properly, right?”
“Ah… me again.”
Kalian shook his head listlessly.
“It’s always the same.”
I’d barely seen Kalian eat anything recently. I’d seen him drinking tea plenty, though. Inhaling the fragrance and savoring the taste was practically his only hobby.
Drinking nothing but tea day and night—no wonder he’s so frail!
“Have you lost your appetite? Aren’t you hungry?”
“My appetite’s coming back. It’s just that finding what I want to eat is so difficult.”
“Just tell me, I’ll find it for you.”
“How could I ask you to do that? It’s fine. You’re busy enough as it is, Rosy.”
“Well, I suppose….”
Even in all this, this kind young man was worried about me.
“So forget about that—do something else for me instead. Something very simple and easy.”
…Or not?
As if suddenly resolved, Kalian lifted the head he’d been hanging down.
“Rosy, just become my elixir.”
“That conversation again….”
“You just have to nod your head once. Then even this wretched Seongyeol might lift halfway. Yes, of course you’ll refuse. I know… I’ve already been rejected two hundred twenty-six times, so counting today, this will be my two hundred twenty-seventh rejection from you.”
“…You’re keeping count, Kalian?”
“Every time we have tea, my heart aches and I can’t forget it. So couldn’t you just think about it one more time before I reach three hundred refusals…? I’m seriously going to die like this.”
His expression and voice were pitiful, yet those crimson eyes were practically cursing. I could almost hear him swearing under his breath.
‘That’s strange. My rabbit would never say such things.’
Yet transparent moisture glistened at the corners of his eyes. Kalian, who had been glaring at me with resentment, roughly wiped his face with both hands.
“Rosy. Do you know what the biggest cause of this situation is?”
“What?”
“That I like you far too much.”
“….”
“You really have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
True enough, the person most stressed about the elixir not appearing as desired would be him.
I understand, being a Transcendent myself. How much psychological stability an elixir brings. How vast the difference is between having it and not.
That’s why throughout all two hundred twenty-six refusals of Kalian, my own heart was never at ease.
Sometimes… ah, seeing him suffer like this, I even thought about just closing my eyes and going through with it.
‘I’m sorry, Luize. Now I understand what you were worried about.’
I was undeniably too weak when it came to Kalian Wynack.
Honestly, I wanted to ask Kalian something.
‘It’s not like you don’t know what a mutual elixir means.’
No matter how innocent one claims to be, at twenty-one years old, there’s no way you wouldn’t understand that.
A human elixir was essentially a romantic relationship premised on physical intimacy. ‘Contact’ was fundamental, and the more frequent, prolonged, and intense that contact became, the more pronounced the effects.
But a mutual one? That required ascending to an entirely different level. It was akin to becoming a community of shared fate, wagering body, heart, and soul upon each other.
So what Kalian was doing to me now was practically a confession or a proposal.
The question was whether he himself possessed such awareness.
‘We’ve been getting along fine as older brother and younger sister all this time. Even if we were strangers, we’ve been exceptionally close, more so than blood siblings.’
After living that way for ten years, did he now want to shatter that bond?
What exactly do you want from me?
If you simply wanted to use me as a means to pacify Seongyeol, my answer would inevitably, always remain the same. I would refuse three hundred times, four hundred times if necessary.
But….
“You make me crave you. You make me hungry. You make me not myself. Or rather, I don’t even know what I am anymore, but I still want to be a decent person in your eyes, and it’s precisely you who prevents that.”
“….”
“I like you. That’s why I’m in this state.”
Whenever Kalian pleaded like this, I found myself wavering bit by bit.
“You know as well as I do that matters concerning an elixir can’t be resolved by willpower alone…. I can only be drawn to you. You’re the only one who can protect me.”
“…Kalian.”
Could it be that he….
That perhaps he was seeing me not as a sibling but as a romantic interest?
My heart was about to race wildly.
“Love? Naive Rosy. I don’t do that sort of thing.”
It was as though ice water had been poured over my head, snapping me back to reality.
I realized my lips had parted without my awareness and immediately clamped my mouth shut. And I screamed silently within.
‘Ah, so that’s it. I really don’t understand. Luize, help me!’
I was far from normal myself, harboring such strange feelings toward the young rabbit I had so carefully raised.
It was all because he had grown far too desirably.
In the end, I found myself muttering while washing my face dryly, just like Kalian.
“I’ll… think about it again later.”
“…!”
Kalian’s head snapped up. He asked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Really?”
“I’m not saying I’ll do it right now. And absolutely, no matter what happens, I will never form a mutual imprint.”
I drew the line quickly, lest there be any misunderstanding.
“And even if you make me your elixir, I can’t always be by your side whenever you need me. You have to accept that.”
“Ah…”
“There might come a time when I have to stay away for long periods. When you were young, you knew nothing, so I promised to be by your side forever, but I can’t say that will always be the case going forward. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Kalian’s eyes narrowed subtly before curving into an innocent smile.
“That’s enough, Rosy. That alone is already… more than enough.”
Kalian rose from his seat and naturally moved to sit beside me. Like a habit from childhood, he pressed his lips to my cheek.
“Then I’ll try to be more patient. From now on, truly.”
“Yes…”
Seeing Kalian so pleased, I couldn’t help but smile as well.
That was when I felt a gaze directed at us.
“…?”
When I turned my attention to scan the tea shop, several people flinched and quickly turned their heads away or pretended to look elsewhere.
Familiar faces. They were servants who worked at Wynack Castle.
‘Perhaps they’ve never seen the Young Family Head in the Urban District before?’
Indeed, a Transcendent with striking features always drew public attention wherever and whenever. Yet something felt unsettling about it.
Awe, and a hint of fear. That much was understandable, but…
I surveyed my surroundings with suspicion.
‘Why are they looking at me with such hostile eyes?’
I learned the reason on the way back to the castle with Kalian.
Someone cried out toward us at the top of their voice.
“That monster killed my son!”

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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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