I Will Protect My Brother - Chapter 80

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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 80
Kalian didn’t stop there. He lifted me slightly and sat me down on the table.
Without hesitation, he knelt on one knee before me and brought his hand to my calf.
The leather boots reached up to my thighs, studded throughout so they functioned as armor in their own right.
“Even after coming all this way, you still do your dawn training, Rosy.”
“Well… if I skip even a single day, my body gets stiff.”
“You’re truly the most diligent and consistent of every human I’ve ever known.”
Kalian began undoing the buckles that ran from my thighs to my ankles one by one.
Once the boots that had gripped my legs so tightly fell away completely, my body felt as though it might float.
Kalian weighed the boots in his hands and shook his head.
“How do you manage to carry something like this on your body?”
“Why, with these on, I can knock someone unconscious with a single kick.”
“Reassuring.”
Kalian tapped my knee lightly with his fingertips.
Feeling self-conscious, I found myself wiggling only my toes while he rose to his feet once more.
That’s it!
“Thank you, Kalian. So then…”
“We’re not done yet.”
As I hurried to climb down from the table, Kalian caught me and pulled me back.
Before I could protest, his long fingers slipped between the strands of hair I’d gathered high on my head.
The sensation of his fingertips brushing against my scalp tickled.
As Kalian carefully withdrew the hairpin, my crimson hair cascaded downward like a waterfall.
The gentle way he loosened my hair sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.
“Beautiful.”
A large full-length mirror happened to hang in the corner diagonally across from us.
In its reflection, I could see Kalian embracing me from behind, his lips pressing against my hair.
“You smell wonderful.”
“It’s probably just salt… I’ve been exposed to sea breeze all day.”
“No.”
Kalian inhaled deeply, his voice becoming drowsy and murmured.
“Your natural scent is always so pronounced. Strangely so.”
I’d never once noticed any particular scent coming from my own body. I shrugged my shoulders slightly.
The fact that someone was inhaling my scent so completely felt oddly like a dangerous act.
In the mirror I glimpsed, I was half-hidden behind Kalian’s body. Only my long, disheveled hair, my flushed earlobes, and beneath them, the white, wrinkled hem of my skirt and my bare feet were visible.
The woman reflected in the mirror looked as though she were being devoured by him.
Whenever I became aware of this image of us together, an inexplicable tension would flow down my spine.
Kalian, who had been nibbling at the nape of my neck where he’d kissed me during dinner, suddenly asked.
“Shall I wash you?”
“…Surely I didn’t do something like that for you?”
“You don’t remember?”
Kalian wore an innocent expression instead. Now I understood why he was so infuriatingly charming.
“Don’t lie to me, you mutt.”
“I’m serious. When I knocked over the inkwell, I touched my face with ink-stained hands, remember?”
“…?”
“You dragged me to the bathhouse and scrubbed my face clean. Don’t you remember?”
I froze, glaring at him intently.
My mind spun in circles, and I cried out indignantly.
“Then you should have said you washed my face! Saying you ‘scrubbed’ me sounds weird!”
“Does it?”
“It does!”
“Shall I cleanse your face for you, Your Highness?”
Kalian asked with a sly grin.
Now I understood. Kalian Wynack had been toying with me the entire time!
I snatched the bag from his hands, clutched it to my chest, and this time I successfully fled to the bathhouse.
Behind me, I could hear Kalian’s laughter—he was barely holding it back, chuckling uncontrollably.
My face burned crimson with indignation as I huffed and puffed.
“Seriously! I never raised him to be like this…!”
Should I really hit him?!
* * *
When I emerged after soaking in the hot water, Kalian was no longer in the room.
Anxiety surged through me suddenly.
“Kalian?”
I rushed to the doorway, forgetting even to dry my wet hair.
Ever since long ago, whenever he disappeared from my sight, fear gripped me first. What strange trouble might he be getting into now?
And what strange situation might he be causing at this very moment!
Fortunately, the moment I yanked the door open, I spotted Kalian.
“Rosy?”
Kalian was speaking with someone—the Inn Attendant.
“What are you doing over there, big brother?”
“Oh, I was just asking about tomorrow’s breakfast. I was inquiring about the menu.”
The moment I confirmed Kalian was right before my eyes, the anxiety that had been hammering at my heart vanished like a lie.
Kalian looked me up and down, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
“Rosien. You shouldn’t leave the room dressed like that.”
“Oh.”
Only then did I realize I was wearing nothing but my nightclothes. Water droplets from my still-damp hair were forming dark circles on the floor beneath my feet.
“Finish your conversation and come back inside.”
“Alright.”
I quickly returned to the room. A complaint escaped my lips unbidden.
“Really…. I can’t leave you alone for even a moment without worrying.”
How did it come to this? Once I fretted over whether that naive little rabbit might wander off and get bitten by a beast, but now I’m anxious that this fox wearing a rabbit’s disguise might bite someone instead.
‘Well, even so… I still hold the leash, so that’s what matters.’
Threats and intimidation worked exceptionally well on Kalian. Whenever I grew angry or issued firm warnings, he obediently complied without resistance.
It was fortunate that he’d never once rebelled.
My wet hair clung uncomfortably to my skin. I crouched before my travel bag and rummaged through its contents.
My Planetarium. The sorcery that dried hair instantly with scorching wind was one of the most useful tools I possessed.
Lately, the Planetarium had malfunctioned so frequently that I’d grown irritable and hurled it to the bottom of the bag.
“Let’s see if it works now.”
As I opened the disc’s lid, the orbits that had been still came into view. The moment I channeled mana into it, the Planetarium expanded dramatically in size.
It no longer fired crimson rays like fireworks. It didn’t conjure bizarre alien characters into the air, nor did it vibrate hundreds of times in rapid succession.
Instead, a single translucent rectangular frame glimmered softly.
【Welcome to the System 【Great Space】.】
【The Absolute Gods of 【The Lonely Abyss】 are entering the channel.】
“…What is this?”
【Absolute God ‘Manyeon’ gazes intently at the avatar ‘Lozietti Kirges’.】
【Absolute God ‘Sikeultchang’ attempts to speak to the avatar ‘Lozietti Kirges’. “Hello?”】
【Absolute God ‘Manyeon’ glares at ‘Sikeultchang’ with contempt.】
【Absolute God ‘Manyeon’ grows irritated, asking why that idiot keeps using that language when ‘Lozietti’ doesn’t even understand it.】
【Absolute God ‘Nunggal’ quips that the system itself was named in English anyway, so what does it matter?】
【Absolute God ‘Sikeultchang’ says something feels wrong. He explains there seems to be a problem with the transmission system. He asks whether it’s really okay to relay everything they’re saying in such detail.】
【Absolute God ‘Busa’ clicks his tongue, saying it’s already ruined.】
【Absolute God ‘Manyeon’ shoves his fist into his mouth. He shouts that he made a mistake and frantically inspects the system.】
“…”
【The Stars’ will transmission system switches from automatic to manual mode.】
“Rosy, what are you doing over there?”
“Oh, nothing much.”
I hurriedly shoved the Planetarium back deep into my bag.
“You need to bathe too, Kalian.”
“Understood.”
After Kalian entered the bathhouse, I carefully retrieved the Planetarium once more.
‘Manyeon, Busa, Sikeultchang, Nunggal…?’
These nicknames felt strangely familiar.
【Absolute God ‘Dark Soul Heart’ commands ‘Lozietti Kirges’. “Tell me your location.”】
The moment I read the characters floating above the Planetarium, my eyes began to sting as if burning. My stomach twisted with inexplicable pain.
I rubbed my eyes and whipped my head away.
“Damn it… this thing is seriously broken.”
A Planetarium blessed directly by the Stars could cause any number of strange phenomena without raising suspicion.
But not this!
I snapped at the disc.
“Lozietti Kirges says, ‘Stop your incessant babbling and shut up, you wretched spirits. Get out of my Planetarium!'”
Was it my imagination? The small rectangular frame seemed to tremble slightly.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you have something to say, come down here and say it yourself. Stop impersonating the Guardian Star. Do you have nothing better to do?”
The square window finally began to flicker with agitation. I gathered all the frustration that had accumulated over time and shouted back sharply.
“If you’re not willing to come down here and face me directly, then don’t bother talking to me. That’s it!”
I slammed the Planetarium’s lid shut with a decisive snap.
* * *
【The Absolute God ‘Dark Soul Heart’ scoffs, saying didn’t I tell you this method wouldn’t work? Then he says, “I’ll descend myself.”…】
【Hey, that’s enough. Forget about this nonsense and let’s just go down there like he said. It’s been a while since we’ve set foot in the Human Realm anyway.
Now then, do we have a suitable avatar available―?】

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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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