I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 71

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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 71
Words wouldn’t come easily.
A being unlike humans, one who understood nothing of humanity.
Yet simultaneously, a child who surrendered to emotion far too readily.
Days ago, when I had secretly peered through Kalian’s closed door, what truly startled me wasn’t the fact that he never slept.
Kalian sat motionless in the same spot like a faithful dog awaiting its master, his gaze fixed endlessly upon that door.
At first, I flinched, wondering if he’d sensed my presence outside the room. But as I continued watching, I realized that wasn’t it.
He wasn’t concealing some hidden scheme—he was simply waiting for me, remaining in that exact position for hours on end.
Until dawn broke, the only movement he showed was the blinking of his eyes. It wouldn’t have been strange to call him a doll rather than a person.
With this very expression I see now, he waited for me through the entire night. Not once in the ten years I’ve remained by his side has he failed to do so.
And yet he’s a being who doesn’t even understand why he suffers, who doesn’t know how to express that he’s been wounded.
I found him both endearing and suffocatingly frustrating, unbearably pitiful.
A duckling waddling after its mother came to mind. It felt like abandoning a helpless child alone by a stream. That’s why I wanted to open the door immediately, embrace him, and soothe him.
And that feeling hasn’t changed even now.
So it was I who truly wanted to weep.
“Sigh… What exactly are you, Kalian? You wear a human form, yet you’re not human, nor are you a beast.”
“….”
“You are a Transcendent, aren’t you? You belong to Winyak?”
“I’m simply nothing at all.”
Tears gathered at Kalian’s chin, falling ceaselessly.
“I’m a being so difficult to explain that I’m nothing. I’ve never tried to describe myself to anyone, so I wouldn’t know how.”
“Is this form… your true self?”
“Since I created it, it must be me.”
“So you have another form. Have I seen it before?”
“I won’t show you.”
A venom crystallized in Kalian’s previously clouded eyes. As if he truly despised it, he took a step back from me for the first time.
“You’d be terrified.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“You’re lying. You have a track record, Rosien.”
“So you’re admitting it now. You’re that thing? The one with the crimson eyes….”
The moment I recalled the form I’d witnessed in Regina’s Planetarium, chills ran down my spine.
Kalian wouldn’t miss even that subtle tremor.
“See?”
“…It’s a misunderstanding. This is….”
“I don’t know what you expect of me. The thought of you trembling at the sight of me fills my chest with bitter bile. I’d rather blind your eyes and deafen your ears, and simply continue as we are.”
“….”
“There are things I’d rather die than show you. Yet you’re the same….”
“….”
“But Rosien, I truly love you so much…. That’s why I’m like this.”
“…You said you didn’t do love, Kalian.”
“Love?”
Kalian Wynack’s expression grew distant, his rambling words trailing off. It was as if he couldn’t fathom why that particular word had surfaced at this moment.
“Love… you said it was a foolish, dull emotion.”
“Who did?”
“…Someone, I suppose. I don’t remember. Perhaps I read it somewhere. Either way, it’s not an emotion particularly necessary for living.”
“Then what do you think of me?”
“You?”
“You said you liked me. That you hated me despising you. That you wanted to appear favorable in my eyes.”
“…I don’t know. Don’t ask me something so difficult, Rosy.”
After a long pause searching for words, Kalian Wynack roughly ran his fingers through his hair.
“I just… can’t imagine being abandoned by you. That’s all.”
“…”
“I’ll grant you everything you want. I’ll do whatever you ask, so don’t avoid me. Please.”
* * *
We returned to the Ballroom.
Kalian Wynack reluctantly danced with Aselli Princess at my request.
After completing one song with impeccable composure, a gracious smile, and gentle escort, he hurried back to my side.
“You’re acting even more insufferable lately.”
Owen couldn’t help but remark. Of course, Kalian Wynack paid no attention whatsoever.
“Go dance one more song and come back, Kalian.”
I pushed Kalian Wynack away, then turned back toward Owen.
“You knew, didn’t you? That Kalian Wynack isn’t an ordinary human.”
“…Looking at this, he’s not entirely lacking in perception, I’ll admit.”
“What exactly is Kalian Wynack?”
To my direct question about Kalian Wynack’s identity, Owen spoke calmly.
“Our sin.”
“When you say ‘our,’ whom do you include?”
“Not just Winyak, but Kirges, Whezel, Railo, and Yeljewa as well.”
The Transcendent Families. The original sin of the Transcendent Families…
One person came to mind immediately.
“The greatest transgression committed by the Five Transcendent Families rooted in this land of Rahnar.”
“…”
“Your expression suggests you have some inkling. Since we’ve come this far, let me tell you one more thing, Rosien.”
Owen took a deep breath.
“I don’t consider Kalian Wynack to be an evil person.”
“…Why?”
“Because dangerous and evil are not the same. Of course, it depends on what values one prioritizes. But I don’t classify Kalian Wynack as wicked.”
“…”
“To condemn someone, shouldn’t I at least be a flawless human myself? But I don’t place high value on human life. It’s not morally desirable.”
“…Then you felt no emotion whatsoever regarding Jake’s injury?”
“Of course, I find it regrettable. But that’s all there is to it. If you ask whether I must grieve, then the answer is no.”
“Then the Family Head is merely turning a blind eye to the innocent sacrifices caused by him, simply because he is the original sin of the Transcendent Families.”
Owen neither affirmed nor denied my words.
This was the perspective most Transcendents held. So perhaps I was the problem after all.
‘No matter how pitiful he is, he tried to kill people. Innocent people at that.’
I exhaled deeply and asked with resignation.
“Then is he the Broken Chaos?”
“Broken Chaos?”
Owen shook his head.
“I don’t know what that is. I apologize for being unable to provide an answer.”
Even the Wynack Family Head didn’t know.
As I fell into deep contemplation, Owen asked casually.
“By the way, Rosien. Do you have clear evidence that Kalian harmed Jake?”
“Only strong suspicion so far, nothing certain.”
“Then there’s a possibility he didn’t do it, isn’t there? He’s been putting in considerable effort lately….”
“I plan to ask Jake directly once he wakes up.”
I shook my head firmly without listening further to Owen’s words.
The most accurate testimony would come from an eyewitness. I had no need to hear words that would cloud my judgment.
‘Jake.’
He must have seen it clearly with his own eyes. The true culprit’s face.
* * *
A week passed after returning from the Abuie Royal Castle, and finally the opportunity came to resolve my doubts.
Lina, her cheeks flushed with excitement, brought me the news.
“Jake has woken up, Rosien…!”
I leaped from my seat and began running without hesitation.
Jake’s room was in the Wynack Disciples’ Hospital Ward. The moment I burst through the door, everyone already present turned to look at me.
Jake’s colleague, Selman, raised his hand enthusiastically.
“You’re here, Rosien! Congratulations to you too. You’ve been coming and going so frequently—finally we get to see this guy pull through!”
Jake was sitting with his back against a large cushion.
Though his entire body was wrapped in bandages due to wounds not yet fully healed, the mere fact that he had regained consciousness was already a miracle.
Jake offered a pale smile.
“Hey there, little Rosien. How have you been?”
“Blessed Star.”
I clasped my hands together and offered a brief prayer to the Guardian Star.
“I spent all my days anxious, uncertain whether he would survive another day, and I offer my gratitude for this grace as boundless as the ocean….”
“Hey, hey, don’t talk about dying in front of a patient who just opened his eyes.”
“I didn’t know what condition Jake was in all this time. I’m truly grateful he’s alive.”
As I collapsed onto the bedside, the perceptive Selman led the others out of the room.
“Selman told me. He said that every time you came here, my condition visibly improved. I’m not sure how you managed it, but thank you.”
“You should thank the Star for that.”
Not to the Guardian Castle of Winyak, but to Raylo’s Guardian Star. Of course, my own stake in this is considerable. Just the blood I’ve fed Jake over the past two weeks would yield three cups.
I wetted my lips with my tongue, trying to suppress the anxiety churning within me.
“I know it’s not the right question to ask someone who’s just awakened, but I’m in a bit of a hurry, so forgive me, Jake.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I’ve been hearing about it constantly since the moment I opened my eyes. You’re curious about the same thing, aren’t you? Who did this to me.”
“…Yes.”
My heart pounded wildly. My stomach churned so violently that if I opened my mouth, I feared I’d retch.
“Did you see what attacked you?”

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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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