I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 66

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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 66
Pinned beneath him, unable to move even a fraction, I stammered through the lullaby.
“Sleep well, my little one. Sleep well.”
Over Kalien’s shoulder, rune characters began to materialize one by one across the Planetarium. The planets along their orbits spun at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
“Beautiful roses bloom around you.”
My voice trembled so badly the song was dreadful. Yet I refused to yield, singing through to the end with stubborn resolve.
“Dream of paradise’s sweet slumber, sleep well. My little one.”
“….”
“Hush now, hush. Sleep well, until morning finds its way to the window….”
At last, the completed lullaby descended upon Kalien.
It was the first time I had cast magic on Kalien since returning from Delpiam.
Unless circumstances were dire, I had resolved to avoid exposing my mana directly to him, but this time there was simply no other choice.
The power of the resurrection crystal emanating from my body, combined with a spell of soothing and slumber—these two elements interlocked perfectly, beginning to absorb Kalien’s Seongyeol.
The sharp focus in Kalien’s eyes dulled and faded. The grip of his hands, which had been squeezing my wrist as though he might devour it, gradually loosened.
As Kalien stared down at me in a daze, he suddenly reached out. The moment his index finger touched my right cheek, the spell that had been layered across my face peeled away like a shed skin.
I didn’t need a mirror to know. My blurred features sharpened, and my true face was revealed.
Kalien murmured in an unclear voice.
“…Rozentia.”
“Rosien Wynyak.”
I pressed my lips together firmly and shook my head.
“Right now, I’m your Rosy.”
“….”
“Are you calmer now?”
His arms, which had caged my head like iron bars, suddenly went limp. I quickly caught Kalien as he collapsed onto me.
“…!”
The lingering heat nearly drew a gasp from me. I barely managed to keep my voice steady.
“I scared you by screaming earlier, didn’t I? I’m sorry.”
“….”
“You must be sensitive too, and I only pushed you harder. I panicked too….”
There was no response.
I needed to see his face again. Cradling his limp form, I grunted with effort as I rolled onto my side.
Kalien’s pallid profile came into view. His face was streaked with tears.
I gently brushed back the golden strands of hair clinging to his forehead.
“It’s all over now. If you want, I’ll sing you the lullaby again. Okay?”
“….”
“My little rabbit, how can you still have so many tears? I’m sorry.”
At my voice, unchanged from usual, he flinched. Kalien wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and back, his hot breath spilling against my neck in trembling waves.
“It’s because of you….”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“I really didn’t want to be like this. Not in front of Rosy….”
“Your appearance doesn’t matter. It’s fine. Every Transcendent faces a crisis like this at some point. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“You don’t understand anything.”
Kalien muttered in a strained voice.
“…I’m hungry.”
“Hungry? Should I go downstairs and have the chef prepare something?”
“I want to eat you.”
“What?”
I gasped loudly in shock before I could stop myself. I quickly clapped my hand over my mouth.
‘I’m going to lose my mind, I really am!’
Of course, I could only imagine how appetizing I must appear to Kalien right now. I kept forgetting that to the Transcendents, I was a panacea—delicious and nutritious all at once.
Should I offer Kalien a part of my body, just as I had done for Raylo and Yeljewa?
‘But I can’t exactly ask him to eat my fingernails or hair….’
Blood was awkward too. I wasn’t a beast, after all. And blood probably wouldn’t even taste good.
As I racked my brain in confusion, my eyes met Kalien’s. We were close enough that only a fist could fit between us.
“…?”
To be precise, he wasn’t looking at my eyes. Kalien was staring intently at my lips.
Without realizing it, I touched my lips with my fingers.
‘…Surely not?’
I shoved him away in horror.
“No, absolutely not. Flesh is completely out of the question!”
The moment I imagined him biting my lips, my entire body broke out in goosebumps.
That would be far too terrifying and painful. I hated it…!
“I’ll give you blood instead. Or my hair!”
“….”
Kalien, who had been staring at me blankly, let out a short sigh.
“Never mind, forget it….”
“Forget what?”
“How is Rosy’s perception so terrible?”
“…Kalien. Are you still confused? Are you spouting nonsense?”
“I don’t know. Don’t ask.”
Kalien replied irritably and buried his face in my chest.
The Planetarium still flickered with red light sporadically. It felt as though someone was sending me a warning.
‘Still… it seems like we’ve gotten past the crisis, at least?’
We survived. Once the relief washed over me, I could finally see the situation clearly.
Just moments ago, I had been just as overwrought as Kalien was.
I was no different from the villagers. Without a shred of evidence, I had accused Kalien of murder based on mere suspicion. And it was me—of all people—who did it.
Me, who prided myself on cherishing him more than anyone else in this world!
As if on cue, Kalien murmured in an exhausted voice.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I was there?”
“I already know. You probably just woke up and found yourself there. I simply wasn’t thinking clearly enough to realize it.”
When Seongyeol’s anguish reached its peak, Kalien often exhibited symptoms of sleepwalking.
It had been that way since childhood. He would wander to strange places in the dead of night, only to be discovered by me, and upon waking, he would have no recollection whatsoever of why he wasn’t in his bed or what he had done.
“Kalian, you didn’t lie to me, did you?”
“Look, you’re right now—”
“No. I believe you.”
Kalien embraced me as if seeking solace, his shoulders stiffening slightly.
I pulled his tense body close and whispered softly to him.
“If you say you didn’t do it, then I believe you. You wouldn’t deceive me, would you?”
“…Yeah. I wouldn’t.”
“That’s all I need.”
My panic and fury had both subsided by now.
In their place, my mind grew cold and lucid. Thanks to that clarity, I could rationally consider multiple possibilities.
‘He might not remember what he did.’
Kalien himself might not know whether he had harmed anyone or not. Whether a Lost Soul was circling around him or not.
‘But what if, against all odds, Kalien knows exactly what he’s done? What if he’s brazenly lying?’
If that were the case, would pressing him further compel him to confess the truth?
The next day, I made my way to those mountain foothills without Kalien’s knowledge.
In the cracks of the parched, fissured earth left by yesterday’s devastation, I found ‘it’—traces that looked like a rope worn and frayed from being dragged.
And the day after that, dead mountain birds were discovered in heaps at that very spot.

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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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