I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 73

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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 73
The Young Family Head patted Jake’s shoulder with deliberate affection.
“Don’t provoke me, Jake. You should go tell your friends too. If you want to see me truly lose my temper, keep skulking behind me like that, cracking seeds.”
“….”
“If word of this reaches Rosy’s ears, I might just abandon everything and think, ‘Time to eat.’ And when that day comes, you’ll be first on the menu.”
“Yes, yes! Me first! I’ll remember that!”
Jake shouted with vigor, oblivious to what the Young Family Head was actually saying. The Young Family Head gestured dismissively, as if telling him to leave.
Jake fled the room like a hunted animal.
That was the end of what happened that day.
“Well… that’s basically the story.”
Jake scratched his chin awkwardly. Rosien stared at him in stunned silence.
“That’s all there is to it?”
“Yeah. Nothing else happened.”
“….”
“I’m not taking his side or anything, but facts are facts. Besides, he told me not to wander alone at night, so I volunteered for dawn patrols instead… and I think that’s what saved my life.”
“….”
“I don’t know why you suddenly suspect the Young Family Head, but he hasn’t harmed me so far. That said, I can’t say he’s as kind and innocent as you seem to think. He’s frightening, after all….”
“…I see.”
After a long moment, Rosien nodded heavily.
“I understand. Thank you for telling me, Jake.”
* * *
That night, after hearing the full account from Jake.
I hesitated for a long time outside Kalian’s door.
‘Is this right? Can I really do this?’
But no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t find a better path forward.
I was about to do something I had sworn to myself I would never do.
There was no need to knock on Kalian’s door. As I opened it quietly, the figure leaning against the window overlooking the entrance flinched.
“Rosy?”
He was doing it again. As if he were a statue.
I pressed my lips together and walked toward him.
“Brother.”
He must have sensed something unusual in my voice. Kalian visibly tensed.
“Kalian Wynack.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
“…okay.”
The Planetarium hanging below my neck grew hot, burning intensely.
I tore it off and hurled it onto the nightstand, where it continued to emit bursts of crimson light. It was too distracting to concentrate.
Only then did I feel the liberation of breaking free from its constraint. The words I had hesitated over until the very end finally forced their way past my lips.
“Will you make an Elixir contract with me?”
Kalian froze mid-motion, his hand suspended where it had been reaching to caress my cheek.
“Just now….”
He asked as if struggling to comprehend.
“What did you just say?”
“That I’ll become your Elixir. Remember? I said I’d think about it last time.”
“Ah….”
“A mutual bond is still absolutely impossible, but a one-sided connection should be acceptable.”
“Suddenly? Why?”
Kalian’s expression shifted to one of caution. My abrupt change in demeanor clearly struck him as suspicious.
Understandably so. I was equally baffled by my own transformation.
From the moment I heard Jake’s account until I stepped into this room, I had wrestled with the question relentlessly.
How could I protect Kalian without defying the Stars’ command?
This was my answer.
I poured out the feelings I had been holding back.
“I’m sorry for doubting you.”
“….”
“For not believing your words. For accusing you of murder. All of it. I was hasty, and I let the prejudices of others sweep me away.”
“Suddenly?”
“Jake told me everything. I believe you now—that you didn’t do it. That’s why I’m apologizing.”
I stepped closer and gently traced my fingers across the left side of his chest, which had begun to tremble slightly.
“You said it hurt here.”
“….”
“That’s what we call being wounded. I’m sorry for causing you that pain.”
Kalian’s eyes darted downward in panic. He pressed his trembling lips together with the back of his hand and whispered his question.
“Then you won’t abandon me?”
“…But you have to promise me something in return.”
“Tell me. Anything.”
“You must always be on my side.”
“That’s obvious.”
“It means you have to help me prevent Rahnar from falling to ruin.”
“….”
“You said it at the ball—that you’d keep that ancient prophecy from becoming reality. That you have the power to do it. Keep that promise, no matter what.”
“….”
“And from now on, you can’t kill anyone. Never, no matter what happens.”
This was the crux of the matter.
I couldn’t simply be relieved that Kalian wasn’t the true culprit. He was dangerous by his very existence.
‘He performs the role of the most innocent and fragile being before me. But behind closed doors….’
The mere thought of it filled me with both tenderness and a creeping dread that made my skin crawl. This was purely Kalian’s karmic burden.
A Transcendent infused with Seongyeol could lose reason again at any moment. If Kalian continued to live without an Elixir, the next time he might truly kill an innocent person.
I couldn’t allow that. I wouldn’t let him become a being that lived by taking lives.
Yet I cannot bring myself to eliminate Kalian with my own hands, regardless of what the Stars demand.
How could I possibly do such a thing? No matter how betrayed I feel, he is still my family.
And so, I reached my conclusion at last.
Nothing would change.
I would continue to protect Kalian Wynack for the rest of my life—though the meaning of that “protection” had shifted considerably from what it once was.
“I swear that I will never do anything you forbid me to do, no matter what. And I promise I will never deceive you again. This will be the last time I let something like this slide.”
“….”
“Then I’ll give you your Elixir.”
Kalian gazed at me for a long moment before finally offering his response.
“Only if you swear that no matter what happens, you will never leave me alone.”
“I swear it.”
“If you promise that you won’t abandon me for any reason, won’t be startled by anything you see, and won’t hate me no matter what you hear.”
“Well, that too.”
“If you swear that you’ll remain at my side until your last breath—that you’ll die at my side.”
“….”
“Then I’ll give you everything you desire. Can you do the same?”
At that point, I couldn’t help but hesitate slightly.
“Even returning to Kirges? I don’t want to lose the Family Head position to Alpien.”
“…My princess certainly asks for much.”
Kalian’s eyes narrowed with displeasure. Yet ultimately, he nodded in agreement.
“Very well, I accept. If you’re going to be away from me, you must tell me first. And you must return at least once every month without fail.”
“What about three months? To align with your Seongyeol manifestation cycle.”
“…Two months.”
“Three months.”
“…Understood. Three months. Then I’ll keep my promise too. I swear it by the name of my Star.”
Kalian appeared dissatisfied, but he accepted without further protest. He seemed anxious that any sign of reluctance might cause this opportunity to slip away.
“Then, Rosy. …Do you accept?”
I nodded heavily.
The process of imprinting an Elixir was not particularly complex. Since an Elixir functioned primarily through psychological factors, it was sufficient to instill conviction in Kalian.
“Then you must swear as well. By the names of all the Stars that protect you.”
“I, Rosien Wynack, am….”
“Include the names Lozietti Kirges and Rozentia Renos as well.”
“…I, Rosien Wynack, Lozietti Kirges, and Rozentia Renos, do hereby swear by the names of the Guardian Stars—the Judge of Darkness and Chaos, the Omniscient Word Sorcerer, and the Creator of Beginning and End—that I shall become the Elixir of Kalian Wynack.”
With each divine name I uttered, stardust scattered into the air. A small river of stars began to flow around us.
An oath sworn by the names of the Stars cannot be broken by human power. Thus, there could be no more perfect “acceptance” than this.
Yet Kalian remained skeptical. He seized my hand and interlaced our fingers.
“I need to verify this.”
My body tensed instinctively.
‘Please let it be inductive. Let it be inductive.’
Elixirs were divided into two types depending on the Transcendent’s nature: absorptive and inductive. The compatibility between Transcendent and Elixir determined which type would manifest.
The absorption-type Elixir required directly drawing out heat, while the induction-type Elixir exerted its soothing effects through mere existence alone.
Based on Kalian’s disposition from my analysis years ago, I had anticipated that if he were to engrave an Elixir, it would undoubtedly be the induction-type.
But I was wrong.

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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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