Chapter : 02
It was somewhat puzzling that Lord Oen, the head of House Winyak and Kallian’s father, seemed unaware of how serious the situation was…
“I don’t think I can live without Rossi, Father. Her swordsmanship is quite impressive, too. Why don’t you accept Rossi as a disciple of House Winyak?”
“What on earth are you thinking, Kallian? How could you possibly suggest taking in someone like her!”
“Look. I cut my arm while practicing swordsmanship today, too. I lost quite a bit of blood. If Rossi had been my sparring partner, I wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“Have you lost your mind overnight?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, I think my head hurts too…”
“You little bastard! Are you really asking for a fight with your own father?”
There was a bit of a commotion, but in the end, Lord Oen accepted Kallian’s request and allowed me into the fold of House Winyak.
In truth, even in his eyes, I was probably too valuable to be assigned merely as his son’s companion.
After all, what kind of little kid with barely any muscles could swing a greatsword as if it were a part of her own body?
‘Well, it’s only natural since I secretly received a Command buff.’
I was even incredibly strong. I could easily lift about five sacks of wheat at once, and I could even hoist an ordinary muscular adult man up as easily as pulling a radish from the ground.
‘That’s thanks to the power of the stars, too.’
Technically, it was cheating. A shortcut. Something I shouldn’t have been doing.
But still.
My noble purpose was to save a poor little lamb, so surely it was fine.
And so, I passed House Winyak’s disciple selection test at lightning speed and proudly obtained both the protection of House Winyak and the blessing of the Guardian Star.
From that day onward, Kallian kept me by his side all day under the pretense that I was both his personal squire and his younger sister.
“It’s nice having you around. I don’t feel lonely, and I feel reassured, too… Cough. Thank you for staying by the side of someone as pathetic as me. Cough…”
“If you’re trying to manipulate me into pledging my lifelong loyalty to you by constantly acting like you’re dying, you can stop. I’m not that easy to fool—”
“Rossi. Are you crying?”
“Sniff… It’s because you’re always sick!”
Kallian couldn’t even properly endure the seongyeol, a side effect commonly suffered by Transcendents who received the power of the stars, and would periodically collapse with a fever.
What a hopelessly sickly pretty boy… Why are my eyes sweating?
“Yes, big brother. Live happily for the rest of your life. Your big sister will shield you from all the hardships of this world…”
From that point on, Kallian Winyak and I became one.
Kallian’s enemies were now my enemies.
And that was how I became ensnared by the clutches of a good-natured little lamb.
Thus passed three years of my life as the hopeless pretty boy’s dedicated servant, bodyguard, and unofficial little sister.
Back to the present.
I was twelve years old now.
‘My baby is destined to become the tyrant’s favorite concubine. This is impossible!’
Apparently, an enormous crisis had befallen House Winyak.
I threw away the cookie box and grabbed Kallian by the collar.
“Kallian. You smiled sweetly at the Emperor even when you were standing before him, didn’t you?”
“What exactly do you take me for, Rossi?”
“I told you not to even raise your head in front of that bastard! And you absolutely cannot smile as prettily as you do now!”
“Am I pretty, Rossi?”
You hopeless idiot! That’s not what matters right now!
But Kallian continued clinging to that one point as though it were the only thing that mattered.
“Am I pretty? Hmm? How pretty?”
He leaned close and brought his face right up to mine. Even that expression was so captivating that I could only sigh.
He’s practically leaking pheromones everywhere he goes.
I stretched both his cheeks and sharply scolded him.
“Kallian Winyak. You’re about to be sold off to the Imperial Family, and you can still smile? At this rate, you could disappear from the world without anyone even noticing!”
Kallian smiled awkwardly and avoided my gaze.
I carefully examined him.
His languid eyes were always curved into crescent moons, while the combination of platinum-blond hair and coral-red eyes sparkled so brilliantly that it practically made me sigh.
His slender jawline was smooth and well-defined without looking frail, and as he entered adolescence, it had gradually begun to take on a more masculine quality.
He had also shot up in height recently.
But even so, rather than handsome, the word that suited him better was still beautiful.
Especially when he lowered the corners of his eyes like this, giving him an especially forlorn look.
I let out a helpless sigh.
‘Damn it. Even if I did a backward roll and looked at him from upside down, he’d still be exactly the Emperor’s type.’
There was a common saying in both Delphiam and Abbie.
Beautiful people are destined for misfortune.
There was definitely something ominous about my big brother’s fate.
For now, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.
No. There’s still hope. The most important thing is what Kallian said in response when the Emperor asked him to go on a date on the night of the festival.
“So, Kalli. What did you say to the Emperor?”
“I told him it would be an honor to spend some pleasant time with His Majesty.”
What?
For a moment, I wondered if I had heard him correctly.
The little lamb drove the final nail into the coffin with a bright, cheerful smile.
“I told him I’d be happy to prepare for it and that I looked forward to it.”
“Good heavens.”
I’m not the only one who heard that strangely, am I?
Anyone would think that sounded strange, right?!
“Did… did I say something wrong?”
There was exactly one person—the one who had actually made that dangerously suggestive statement—who failed to realize how serious the situation was.
“…Big brother, you basically went to the tyrant and wagged your tail while saying, ‘Please come and take me.’”
“Oh, does it sound like that? But it didn’t feel particularly dangerous.”
I became even more exasperated as I stared into Kallian’s utterly innocent red eyes.
It didn’t feel dangerous?
Of course it didn’t to someone whose head was filled with flowers and who saw the entire world through rose-colored glasses!
This was the same man who had once been so moved by a con artist’s tragic story about losing their family that he was actually prepared to guarantee a loan in the name of his own family.
‘Isn’t the Emperor planning to lure him in with candy and then devour him whole once he comes of age? And then drag him into his harem…!’
The future awaiting Kallian vividly unfolded before my eyes.
“Young Winyak. I find you quite appealing. But tell me, how do you feel about me?”
“It would be an honor if Your Majesty were to choose me.”
“Hehe. What an adorable little thing you are. Then shall we start with a proper date?”
Once I started imagining things, there was no end to it.
At the very end of my increasingly wild imagination, a bright-red censor mark dangled ominously.
‘…Oh, my God.’
I forcibly stopped myself before I could imagine anything further.
I did not want to turn our precious natural treasure into the protagonist of such filthy fantasies.
And I definitely didn’t want to explain any of this to Kallian in words…!
As punishment for my impure thoughts, I repeatedly slapped my own cheeks.
“Get a grip, Rosienne!”
“Ro-Rossi?”
“I’m sorry, big brother!”
“Hm? No. You don’t have to apologize.”
Looking into his innocent eyes only made my guilt even worse.
Whenever I was around Kallian, I sometimes felt as though I had become an incredibly depraved person.
Just like now.
Still, there was something I needed to confirm.
I carefully opened my mouth.
“Kallian. You know… It’s not like you have an unusually broad range of preferences or anything, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come to think of it, you even turned down Princess Aselli’s marriage proposal.”
From everything I had observed so far, I had never once seen Kallian blush at the sight of another man.
But then again, it was strange how completely uninterested he was in the secret glances and advances of girls.
A boy around fifteen or sixteen could hardly avoid showing even the slightest interest in girls his age, no matter how chaste he was.
Yet Kallian showed absolutely no such signs.
I steeled myself and looked at him.
Asking outright, “Kallian, are you gay?” seemed like it might do some serious damage to his innocent state of mind, so I deliberately tried to phrase it more carefully.
“I wouldn’t mind at all if you happened to have an identity different from other people’s. So don’t worry. You can tell me. Maybe… you’re just not interested in women?”
“Hmm. I’m not exactly sure what you mean, Rossi.”
Kallian smiled and playfully pushed my forehead with his index finger.
“I rejected Princess Aselli’s proposal because I’m not ready to get engaged yet. I want to spend the most time with you.”
“So, you mean that if you meet another woman you like in the future, you could date her?”
“……”
Kallian didn’t answer for a moment.
He simply stared at me.
Then, perhaps because of whatever had crossed his mind, his eyes narrowed, and his red irises darkened as his gaze lowered.
“Rossi… Do you want me to get married quickly?”
For a moment, I sensed something ominous.
The spring breeze that had been gently blowing through the open window suddenly turned cold, as though by magic.
‘Huh? What was that just now…?’
But the instant I flinched, the strange sensation vanished without a trace.
Instead—or perhaps I should say, as a result—Kallian’s expression had become strangely cold.
The lovely curve of his lips remained unchanged, but his eyes were no longer smiling.
“Is that it? Do you want me to get engaged to Princess Aselli? Do you want me to become her matrilocal husband and leave for the royal palace?”
