I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 74

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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 74
“Ah, it’s burning…!”
A wave of heat erupted from Kalian and seeped directly into me. I couldn’t even scream.
“…!”
The heat drawn in from my fingertips and toes rushed straight toward my heart. It felt like flames were ravaging through my entire body.
My heartbeat surged wildly as it sensed the ominous surge.
The moment the heat finally reached my heart.
“Hgh…!”
The flames consuming my entire body vanished as if they’d never existed.
I stood there stupidly blinking, feeling my heart still pounding.
This was, this was…
‘Absorption type…’
The type that directly absorbs surging power, drawing it from a Transcendent’s body.
Mediated through ‘contact’ far more intimate and direct than the induction type…
My thoughts couldn’t continue further.
“Just a little more.”
Kalian’s voice had turned startlingly rough.
“Rosien. Just a little more for me.”
I had no chance to refuse. Now that the Star’s Oath was established and the Imprinting complete, the Elixir belonged entirely to the Transcendent.
The heat that had only ever been felt across my skin now flowed ceaselessly into my body.
Flames spread through my veins. Then gathered again at my heart to burn away, only to flow in once more.
The heat trapped endlessly within Kalian’s body overwhelmed me relentlessly.
“Ah… this feels so good.”
The ecstasy he felt rippled through my entire being.
In that brief span, the new heat pouring in became greater than the speed at which I—and the Resurrection Crystal fused within me—could counteract Seongyeol’s influence.
Before I knew it, I was writhing in Kalian’s embrace.
“Wait, this is insane, it’s too hot.”
“It’s because it’s your first time. You’re doing well.”
“Too fast, Kalian. Too fast, please match my pace…”
“Then should I show you an easier method?”
Kalian’s voice was growing increasingly excited.
“Something easier and simpler. But with the best effect. Rosy, please. Just let me do this once.”
I nodded breathlessly.
As my head kept drooping heavily downward, he lifted it with his index and thumb. Golden hair came into my line of sight.
And a pair of crimson eyes.
“…!”
Hot breath fell upon my lips.
The inferno rushing before my eyes was about to swallow me whole.
Kalian stopped, leaving only the narrowest gap—not even room for a finger—between us. Any slight movement would bring our lips together.
I froze, not daring even to breathe.
‘No, surely not….’
That the effect would be strongest….
The moment I realized it, time seemed to stop.
I barely managed to breathe through the gap between my lips, my breath tickling his lips directly.
“….”
Kalian’s hand, which had been firmly securing the back of my neck, trembled slightly.
He slowly twisted his head.
Our noses brushed perilously close. I could easily imagine what came next—our lips meeting.
Just as my chest began to heave rapidly, I found myself captivated by Kalian’s eyes, now darkened to a deeper hue.
‘Crimson eyes.’
Primal terror seized me.
‘A monster with crimson eyes….’
The most grotesque creature I had ever witnessed filled my mind completely.
That vast, incomprehensible dread humans feel when confronted with a being that transcends humanity—it was awakening within me.
My body went rigid, then began to tremble violently.
‘I’m afraid….’
My emotions were laid bare in my eyes and expression without reservation.
Kalian’s face, marked by a hunger to devour me entirely, wavered ever so slightly.
Fierce conflict flickered across those crimson eyes fixed solely upon me. I couldn’t breathe again.
Seconds passed. Or perhaps minutes.
After an immeasurable span of time, he closed his eyes.
A short exhale tickled the tip of my nose and my lips.
“Hah….”
The warmth that had hovered against my lips slid past my chin and lower. Kalian rested his forehead against my shoulder, his head bowed.
After breathing steadily for a moment, he released me. I had to brace my legs to keep from staggering.
“Indeed, the effect is far too potent.”
As though nothing had happened, Kalian spoke tenderly.
“Thank you, Rosy.”
“….”
“So this is what an Elixir is. It feels like being reborn anew. So….”
“…So?”
“So wonderful. I don’t even know how to express it further.”
The small bead of sweat that had formed on his forehead had already evaporated without a trace.
The crimson tint that had clung to his eyes from accumulated fatigue had vanished. His gaze was sharp and clear, and vitality had returned to his complexion.
As for me.
‘I’m fine, aren’t I…?’
Without thinking, I pressed my left chest with my palm.
Heart rate, normal. Breathing, normal. Body temperature, normal.
The Crystal of Resurrection had swiftly restored me once again.
“My choice was indeed the right one.”
Kalian Wynack broke into a bright, childlike smile. The rough attempt to kiss me from moments before vanished, and the Kalian Wynack I knew returned.
The original older brother—thoughtless, somewhat clumsy, innocent, and only kind.
“I’m counting on you from now on, Rosy.”
“…You should look after yourself too….”
I barely managed to squeeze out the words.
“I’m still not…ready….”
“If you release it properly each time, it won’t accumulate like this. Don’t worry. For most people, this much would be more than enough.”
Kalian Wynack held up our interlaced hands. I barely swallowed and pushed him away.
“Yes, I understand. Then…I’ll head back to my room now.”
“Already?”
“Today feels like enough. Any more would be too much. I should stop here.”
“…All right, if you’re struggling, there’s nothing to be done.”
Kalian Wynack seemed reluctant but released me without resistance. He even opened the door for me himself.
“Thank you, Rosy. Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Understood. Goodbye…!”
I gave an awkward farewell and slammed the door shut. Then I immediately collapsed onto the floor. All strength drained from my body.
“Ah….”
I rubbed my lips frantically with the back of my hand. His lips still seemed to hover near mine, barely brushing against them.
If Kalian Wynack hadn’t stopped, I would have had no choice but to kiss him.
“What is this feeling…?”
What feeling indeed. It was exactly the same as what I felt when I danced with him at the Ballroom.
I crawled across the floor toward the mirror. My reflection was truly a sight.
A pale, drained face flushed with color. Lips swollen and red from rubbing them with the back of my hand. Pupils trembling constantly.
I felt a strong certainty that this was only the beginning.
I slapped both my cheeks with my palms repeatedly.
“I’m really losing it. What do you want, Rosien!”
Don’t overreact. This was, in other words, merely a form of treatment.
Seongyeol was an illness that afflicted the Transcendents, the Elixir was the cure, and a human Elixir was, so to speak….
‘A healer, something like that!’
Despite reaching this conclusion, my heart raced wildly for some time.
After catching my breath for a while, I suddenly lifted my head. The surroundings had become strangely quiet.
‘Ah, the Planetarium….’
My Planetarium, which had been moving frantically, had stopped at some point.
As if it had finally realized it could no longer hold me back.
* * *
Kalian Wynack stared at the spot where Rosien had disappeared like she was fleeing. He remained standing in the Corridor, his gaze fixed on the door.
The Maids who had been preparing for the lights to dim spotted the Young Family Head and quickly vanished down the Staircase.
“What is it? Why does he have that expression again?”
“How should I know? Until yesterday, it looked like he was walking around with thousands of needles piercing him….”
“Now that you mention it, Jake said something about it. He said he was just attacked by a wild beast. That the Young Family Head had nothing to do with it….”
“Right. The incident where beasts died en masse in this area wasn’t the Young Family Head’s doing either, apparently. The land around the castle lost its nutrients and became barren? In short, it became dead earth… The beasts that consumed things grown from that land died as a result.”
“Then why did the land suddenly die? Is there something living beneath it?”
“I wouldn’t know that much… The Family Head said he would personally scorch the land with the Star’s Oath to purify it. He said the toxins the land harbored would perish that way. In the end, it wasn’t a big deal, was it? For some reason, the Family Head seemed rather indifferent about it… ”
“W-what if the Young Family Head realizes we’ve been running our mouths behind his back all this time? He says it’s unrelated to this incident, but still, I find him terrifying.”
“Right. The kinder he is, the more frightening. You never know when he might change.”
The maids’ hushed exchange grew progressively quieter. Only after their conversation had completely ceased did Kalian blink.
“Hmm….”
He lifted his hand to his ear, brushing it thoughtfully.
“The assessment isn’t quite satisfactory.”
Jake had apparently done only half the job.

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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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