I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 79

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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 79
Kalien didn’t even seem to be feeling the effects of the Elixir.
To see if the Elixir’s effects were manifesting, I only needed to observe his eyes.
When the effects took hold, his pupils would visibly soften and relax in an unmistakable way.
I tilted my head slightly and persistently observed Kalien as he averted his gaze.
Had I made a mistake? Was it not necessary after all?
‘But it feels wrong for me to be the only one satisfied. It’s not like I’m trying to tease him.’
Or perhaps such light contact alone wasn’t enough to produce immediate effects?
Before departing from Wynack Castle, I had thoroughly studied all records of past Transcendents who had possessed a living human as an Elixir.
The fundamental principle of an Elixir—particularly absorption-type Elixirs—was ‘peace of mind and body’ through ‘contact’. Human Elixirs were no exception.
The most direct and physically tangible form of contact.
According to the records, which type of contact was most effective varied from Transcendent to Transcendent. The more ‘preferred’ the contact was to the Transcendent, the more effective it became.
‘So it all comes down to personal preference.’
And one more thing—the deeper the trust and faith between a Transcendent and their Elixir, the closer it approached an induction-type. The book had called that ‘love’.
In other words, to obtain Elixir effects from someone you didn’t love, contact was absolutely necessary. And even then, the effects weren’t constant—they fluctuated moment by moment.
For instance, between lovers who had just had a fierce argument and were sulking, the Elixir effects would be diminished.
Conversely, if the feelings between them ran deep enough, one could maximize the effects without any contact at all.
Take it one step further into higher dimensions, and you arrive at induction-type Elixirs where contact becomes entirely unnecessary.
Either way, since the relationship between a human Elixir and a Transcendent was rooted in emotion, it required an extremely delicate and sensitive approach.
‘First, I need to figure out what he likes most.’
I gently wrapped my hand around Kalien’s frozen hand on the table. Cheek kisses, hand-holding, light embraces—these were all forms of skinship he’d been doing to me as naturally as breathing.
I interlaced my fingers with his large hand and looked up at him intently.
“Kalian, are you satisfied?”
“…Before that, let me ask you one thing, Rosien. Why do you keep expressing Seongyeol as hunger?”
“Because you were always saying it like a habit. That you were hungry and wanted me to be your Elixir.”
“Ah.”
The manifestation of Seongyeol varied from Transcendent to Transcendent, as did the form of their rampage and the symptoms they experienced.
With a hundred Transcendents, you’d have a hundred different experiences, so it wasn’t strange that Kalien felt his rampage symptoms similar to hunger.
Kalien let out a delayed, hollow laugh.
“Haha… You’re right. Yeah, that’s the perfect way to put it.”
“You still haven’t answered. Are you still like that? Still hungry?”
“If I say yes, will you give me more?”
His crimson eyes narrowed with delight, gleaming with amusement.
Kalien’s gaze slowly traced from my eyes to my cheeks, down the bridge of my nose, and finally to my lips.
“….”
My lips suddenly felt dry.
To be honest, I already knew a more certain method than these childish games. The book had contained so much information, after all.
‘A kiss.’
Among all the options, a kiss was the simplest and most straightforward.
An intimate kiss where we could feel each other in the most primal way.
Moreover, the power of the Resurrection Crystal flows through my very body.
Since I couldn’t give Kalien hair, fingernails, or flesh, what remained were bodily fluids—blood, saliva, and the like.
…In every way, a kiss was the perfect solution.
There was a reason why even when Kalien had half-lost his reason, he obsessively gazed at my lips.
‘This is treatment.’
I steeled my resolve once more.
I could think of it as a form of treatment. Not an expression of affection tainted with ulterior motives, but simply treatment.
He was the patient, and I was the medicine.
My burning determination must have been written plainly across my face. Kalien, tilting his head slightly as he gazed at me, laughed as though I were adorable.
“Rosy, it’s fine for now. I’m not particularly hungry.”
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
“But if it builds up too much, it becomes difficult for me as well, so you choose. Will you check on me daily to keep me from getting hungry, or would you prefer to feed me all at once?”
Kalien whispered softly, saying either way suited him fine. Then he gestured toward the table with a tilt of his chin.
“Besides, your pasta is getting cold right now.”
I instinctively turned my head toward the table.
Kalien wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me snugly against him. Then he rested his head gently on my right shoulder.
“You eat, Rosy. I’ll manage on my own.”
“Oh, okay….”
I found myself gripping the fork almost without thinking.
The pasta hadn’t cooled as much as I’d expected, and its delicious aroma still wafted up. With one twirl of the fork, the pasta slipped smoothly into my mouth.
A soft kiss brushed against my neck. It was warm and tender.
Though I was startled while eagerly consuming the pasta, this level of contact left both of us thoroughly satisfied.
Kalien toyed with my hair, which cascaded down to my lower back, brushed it aside, gathered it neatly to one side, and then kissed the exposed nape of my neck. Light, delicate kisses, like a bird pecking at seeds.
My face flushed uncontrollably.
Kalien exhaled sharply against my neck and chuckled.
“Princess, how do you expect to eat when you’re tensing your entire body like that?”
“Well, it’s because you won’t stay still.”
“I understand. I’ll stop, so eat well for me.”
While I continued eating, Kalien kept his face buried against my neck the entire time.
I wondered if this was truly effective, but partway through, I noticed his breathing had noticeably slowed.
“It works so well….”
Every time Kalien spoke in that drowsy, intoxicated voice, I was reminded anew.
That I had truly become his Elixir.
That this relationship could never return to how it was before, and that I had to see it through to the very end, no matter what.
In any case, the pasta was delicious. The steamed fish with its flaky white flesh was beyond question.
* * *
“You want to put me to sleep?”
When we returned to the Inn Room after finishing our meal, I was startled to hear Kalien say that.
Kalien spoke as though it were the most natural thing.
“Yes. Until now, Rosy has always been the one to put me to sleep.”
“But…?”
“I realized I’ve only ever been on the receiving end with you.”
“And?”
“Since you’ve become my Elixir, I should cherish and protect you just as carefully. Now you hold my very life in your hands.”
“Ah…”
“I want to give you everything you’ve given me all this time.”
Of course, there was no need to mention how much devotion I’d poured into Kalien over the past decade.
But I’d never once imagined the reverse—Kalien attending to my every need…
“It’s fine. There’s no need for that.”
The unfamiliar sensation made me hesitate and step back, but Kalien closed the distance and lifted me effortlessly into his arms.
Despite the considerable weight of an adult woman, I felt as light as a plucked feather.
“You’ve never done this before! Brother!”
“Think about it. When my leg was broken, you carried me like this and climbed halfway up the castle. For an entire month straight.”
“That was because I’m strong…!”
“I’m strong too, Rosy.”
Kalien paid no mind to my feeble protests and began ascending the staircase.
This was the first time in my life I’d been carried like this. Heat flooded both my cheeks.
‘Why does it have to be the fifth floor…?’
Embarrassed, I buried my face in Kalien’s shoulder. I heard him chuckle softly from above.
Before my flushed face could return to normal, we arrived at the chamber.
The moment Kalien set me down on the carpet, I attempted a hasty escape. Naturally, I was caught before I could take a single step.
“Let go. I need to bathe.”
“You’ll need to remove your robe first.”
Kalien held me firmly in place and unfastened the brooch securing my robe. In an instant, it slipped away from my body.
He folded the robe neatly and placed it on the table, then turned me around as I fidgeted awkwardly.
“Isn’t this armor heavy?”
Beneath the robe, I wore armor made from tanned leather studded with metal rivets.
Light and flexible, it was easy to move in and provided the added benefit of strengthening my muscles—a piece I wore regularly over my everyday clothes.
“Let me remove it.”
As Kalien pulled the straps fastening the armor to my body, it fell away, and a cool sense of relief washed over my chest.

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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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