I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 69

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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 69
“I apologize, but.”
Even in this moment, a young man who seemed genuinely admiring stepped to my side. His lips curved into an attractive arc that bore no resemblance whatsoever to a forced smile.
“My younger sister already has a partner, so it would be difficult for her to dance with someone else.”
“What?”
Confused, I turned to look at him, and Kalian gently tapped my cheek.
“I asked you earlier, Rosy. I asked you to dance with me.”
“Oh….”
“Will you?”
Though phrased as a suggestion, his eyes were coercing me in a way that was genuinely frightening.
And yet his appearance was truly… especially today, dressed like this, it was even more….
“…Just one song?”
If I wore such a shell, I could sell my soul to a demon without hesitation.
I cursed my own narrow-mindedness for being so susceptible to appearances, yet I took Kalian’s hand anyway.
There was something fundamentally wrong with me. Even as I harbored my suspicions, why did my resolve crumble whenever my brother drew this close?
An unnaturally intense certainty that my place was right beside him.
‘This terrifying sense of stability—I’ve definitely felt it before….’
Kalian led me to the Dance Floor. His gait and the way he escorted a lady were flawless.
“You said you could dance, didn’t you?”
“…I’m not particularly good at it.”
“That’s fine. I’m good enough for both of us.”
Kalian wrapped his arm around my waist. In the moment I glanced down in bewilderment, he pulled me sharply toward him.
The distance between us became dangerously close.
Soon the music began to flow.
‘This feeling is, something a bit….’
How could I possibly explain this strange sensation?
Kalian’s hand enveloping mine was large and warm. It was overwhelming to grip firmly.
The arm encircling my waist was the same. Throughout the Royal Orchestra’s melody tickling my ears, I was bound to him with no escape.
If only it had been a more difficult piece, I could have focused entirely on the dance. But the song was a medium-tempo waltz perfectly suited for partners to converse.
Yet Kalian said nothing to me. Still, his gaze remained fixed upon me with an intensity that felt almost obsessive.
My eyes, the shape my lips formed, the way my body flinched each time he touched me.
He examined me as though searching every corner of my being. As if desperately trying to read what lay within my mind.
‘This is strange.’
The emotion I felt now was different from anxiety or restlessness. Each time I felt his body pressed so close to mine, my lower abdomen tightened and ached with a whimpering sensation.
A warmth spreading through my entire body, urging my heart to race….
I had never felt such an emotion as a child. Kalian had never once been a man to me.
A young, weak, pure existence that I had to protect. That was all he had ever been.
From the moment I began to doubt Kalian, everything about him ceased to be certain to me.
My heart pounded as though it might burst from the taut tension.
‘It’s unfamiliar. It’s strange. This isn’t the Kalian I know.’
Yet despite the cheerful music, those surrounding us held their breath in an oddly unnatural manner.
I attempted to create distance between Kalian and myself during a turn, but his strong grip mercilessly pulled me back into his embrace.
If I lifted my head, his jaw and lips came into immediate view. The slightest misstep would bring my knee brushing against his.
In the end, I averted my gaze and whispered my reproach.
“Kalian, holding your partner’s waist so tightly isn’t proper etiquette. You’re tangling the steps. It should be the back, not the waist—”
“It doesn’t matter. Relax and follow my lead.”
I was barely executing proper steps, yet no one seemed to notice anything amiss. Kalian’s skill at leading was simply that refined.
“Where did you learn to dance?”
Our noses nearly touched. Warm breath brushed against my lips.
“Before I met you.”
“You learned before you were twelve?”
Kalian merely smiled faintly without answering. Truth be told, learning ballroom dancing early was hardly unusual.
I pressed my lips together tightly to ensure my breath wouldn’t reach him.
“So you haven’t danced since then. Yet you’re this skilled—impressive.”
“There are things time cannot erase, no matter how much passes.”
“True. There would be such things…”
“I’ll never forget your suspicion of me either.”
As if on cue, it was time to turn again. This time, the partner was to look in one direction while stepping forward.
The moment I faced forward instead of toward Kalian, words tumbled from my lips.
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now… just relax your grip a little, Kalian. I can manage a waltz of this level.”
“The you I know wouldn’t be this self-conscious over something so trivial. Why are you?”
“People are watching strangely. How could anyone see us as siblings like this?”
“Does it bother you?”
Another turn. I faced him again without gaining any distance. I fixed him with a sharp glare.
“Wouldn’t it bother you?”
“Ah, Rosy. Rosy.”
For the first time since departing Wynack Castle, Kalian laughed aloud.
“Everyone in Rahnar knows the Transcendent Families aren’t bound by blood. Even sharing the same surname, no one sees us as family.”
“…”
“No one judges us by ordinary standards, so what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that I—not anyone else—genuinely think of you as my real brother. This… I’m uncomfortable with this.”
The hem of my dress kept tangling between his legs. My knee brushed against his, then locked deeper. Almost simultaneously, my waist tilted backward.
“Is that why you won’t become an Elixir partner either? Because it doesn’t seem like something a brother should do?”
“It’s not just because of you. I have no intention of forming a mutual Elixir contract with anyone. Besides, I already have an Elixir.”
“Your Planetarium?”
“Yes, that…”
Kalian’s gaze briefly swept below my neck. His eyes traced the flat disc hanging beneath the neckline of my dress, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
“That’s Lozietti’s Elixir. We still don’t know what Rosien’s Elixir will be.”
“Now you’re distinguishing between Lozietti and Rosien? Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
“Neither do you.”
The Royal Orchestra’s performance drew steadily toward its conclusion. Kalian’s voice, too, grew increasingly intense.
“Don’t feed me nonsense excuses, Rosien.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not because it’s dangerous that you won’t become an Elixir. You’re not always honest with me either, are you?”
“….”
“Because I’m suspicious of you. Because you won’t stay by my side forever. Someday, someday you’ll run away. You’ll return to Kirges.”
It felt as though he were excavating my innermost thoughts. Kalian’s jaw clenched rigidly.
“I know you’re planning to leave this place the moment you come of age.”
“….”
“So now you don’t even bother denying it with empty words. Answer me. Have you grown tired of me?”
The grip of the hand holding me tightened progressively.
“Answer me, Rosien Wynack—no. Lozietti Kirges.”
At some point, Kalian ceased the dance movements and stopped entirely. The eyes already fixed upon us kindled with intrigue in an instant.
This couldn’t continue.
“It seems like you might be able to leave this place….”
“Let’s go.”
There were far too many eyes watching. If I were to unleash a Transcendent’s mana here, it would be catastrophic.
I adjusted the grip of Kalian’s hand, which was growing increasingly heated.
“Let’s go to the Terrace. We can talk outside.”
* * *
Kalian Wynack, and Rosien Wynack.
In Abuye’s upper echelons, there was no one unfamiliar with these two names. Among the mere three Transcendents in Abuye, they were the other two besides Owen Wynack, the Wynack Family Head.
This year, remarkably, the latter had drawn slightly more attention.
Rosien Wynack, with her crimson hair and deep emerald eyes, was too mature to be called a young girl, yet too youthful to be called a woman. One could certainly recognize her as a great beauty, yet curiously, her facial features seemed not to imprint themselves readily upon the mind.
However, there was not a single person who had managed to draw near to her.
She was held captive, as it were, within Kalian Wynack’s embrace. Throughout the piece, he never once allowed her to distance herself from his arms.
From the blind spot where her gaze could not reach, Kalian swept his eyes across the surroundings.
His eyes, which had been sorrowfully damp when looking at Rosien, froze over with cold indifference.
It was a silent warning: do not approach.
The young men who had directly spoken to Rosien exchanged uneasy glances with one another.
‘Did we somehow offend a Transcendent?’
‘We haven’t even exchanged a single word, so what’s the Young Family Head upset about?’
‘He’s already monopolizing her….’
Clinging to her so intimately that even lovers would pale in comparison.
“Is he always this sensitive?”
“Yeah, somewhat. Though it seems he’s improved his temperament considerably. In the past, many people who approached him, captivated by that appearance, ended up bloodied….”
At first glance, Rosien Wynack also seemed aware of the Young Family Head’s current state. The way she naturally embraced and soothed him was remarkably natural.
Before the orchestra could even lay down its final note, Rosien led him toward Owen Wynack.
“Family Head. Kalian’s condition isn’t quite well. I was thinking of taking him to the Terrace for a brief rest. Would it be alright if we stepped away?”
“Mm, yes… do as you wish. Be careful, Rosy.”
Rosien tilted his head, then smiled brightly and replied, “Yes, of course.” The two soon disappeared beyond the terrace curtains.
“Hmm, I wondered what you were thinking, granting the protection of Guardian Castle to such a young girl.”
The King of Abuye, who had been observing the entire time, swallowed hard.
“Now I see—it wasn’t about adopting a daughter, but rather taking a daughter-in-law?”
“Well, I’m not sure family even means anything among the Transcendent Families… but if I had to say, that intention would be accurate.”
Owen released a weary sigh.
“But whether that child will truly remain in Wynack—I cannot say with certainty. And if she insists on leaving, I have no idea how Kalian will respond.”

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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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