He’s My Real Brother, Duke – Chapter 103

Author: Nikss

As Mimi wondered when she could begin harassing the humans, a black cat stuck its paw in front of her and shouted.

“But that human, Astel, is so peculiar!”

“What’s peculiar about her, yes, she’s peculiar, but this body—”

Before she could continue, the cat interrupted her, shouting.

“He even bought a painting that witch doctors use!”

At the sound, the hamster that had been squatting in the center of the street raised its tiny head and spoke up.

“We all know that painting is a voodoo medium!”

“I see…”

Does this innocent thing have an interest in voodoo?

Mimi scowled. ‘I was hoping to be a little more playful, but I can’t.’

Besides…

“Didn’t you also wonder about voodoo, Mimi?”

“Huh…”

I guess she was curious about the vile and vicious practice of voodoo. Astel was a curious girl in many ways, then and now.

But it was clear that none of this was a ploy to lure Mimi away. No matter how much I thought about it, she wasn’t that smart.

That’s why she cried so much at the last parting…

‘Don’t think about it, Astel, you’re so snotty and messy with your tears.’

Mimi pulled herself upright and said to herself in a small voice.

“I wonder how grown up they are, those little things.”

Mimi thought with satisfaction as she pawed at the gossip with her cat’s paws.

‘I wonder if I could sneak up on them tomorrow and surprise them?’

Maybe I could pretend to be an ordinary cat, so they wouldn’t know that they’d encountered divine beast in the past.

Mimi’s tiny heart swelled to the point of bursting.

“Okay, this is getting interesting.”

Mimi, who had it all planned out, smirked and patted the groveling hamster on the head.

This was a sign that Mimi, the tyrant of this back alley, was in a good mood.

“Oh, I hear there’s a banquet at the imperial palace soon!”

“What, a banquet?”

Mimi frowned slightly.

“Yes! When you go there, won’t you be able to choose the candidates to become the Divine Beast’s companions?”

“Hmph…”

The mouse that lowered its head like a lowly servant muttered.

“Well, it’s quite gorgeous!”

For the first time in a while, something very interesting was happening.

Astel’s arrival, followed by a lavish imperial banquet!

Mimi nodded curiously. Mimi pulled herself upright and gazed at the spectacle.

An imperial banquet would be attended by all sorts of mortals.

According to the gossip, Astel would be there, and so would the child.

The child has become the Duke of Anais. I must sneak in there and play with the humans.

Mimi’s sneaky tail brushed the bricks of the Fish Market.

It was a small flick of the tail, but one that heralded trouble for the entire empire.

🐾

The days passed quickly.

After our promise, the Duke never really spoke ill of my brother.

Instead, the three of us went about our normal routine of calling on Rune, having a nice meal together, and working on puzzles in the manor.

Most notably, the Duke did not growl at the contents of Sally’s gossip magazine, as if to demonstrate his faithfulness to his word.

[Cassian Gray and the Duke of Anais, dangerously close? What is their relationship?]

…even though the gossip was shockingly outrageous, linking my brother to the Duke.

My fists were shaking at this misunderstanding, as I was not a part of it!

But the Duke was not angered by this, only mildly amused.

He muttered a little sullenly, as if surprised at his gossip.

— ‘See, Astel. I didn’t rip it off.’

The Duke’s fist clenched tightly around the gossip magazine.

I shook my head and said.

— ‘No, no, I want you to tear this, this foul thing, at once.’

— ‘Yes. All right, because Astel wants it.’

With my permission, the magazine was quickly and gleefully shredded, and I learned the next day that the strange publication had closed its offices…

Shuddering at the memory of the past, I stirred and checked the time.

‘I still have a little time before we head to the palace.’

Today was the day of the banquet, and the day all my plans would begin.

The maids surrounded me and dressed me in the gown they had prepared.

I stretched my stiff body lightly, and then, out of habit, searched the inside pockets of my dress.

The inner pockets of my dress were filled with artifacts and potions that I had obtained by secretly summoning Warret, the artifact appraiser.

Warret, who had recently returned to the capital, had been treated like quite the dignitary when entering and leaving the mansion.

Warret appeared before me, quite encouraged by the treatment he was receiving simply for being my friend.

— ‘Lady, here’s the promised summoning artifact for the chamber. I thought I was going to die trying to make this…’

— ‘Yes, thank you, I’ll put it to good use!’

…which explains why he was so quick to call me Lady.

I took the small cube from him, trying to look away from my burning cheeks.

— ‘It’s a bit dangerous… Hmm, I hope you don’t mind?’

— ‘Trust me, I’d never do anything illegal!’

I smiled innocently at him as he scratched his head, puzzled.

He clicked his tongue and nodded his head, and he went on to show off the dragon heart he had tattooed on his body, saying that no matter what I did, he wouldn’t die.

After he left, I went straight to the beasts’ maids.

— ‘Here is the potion you requested, Nepeta Cataria.’

— ‘Thank you.’

— ‘But why is this…’

— ‘Oh, I need it to make a potion.’

Although considered a herbal medicine, nepeta cataria was expensive, it was not a poison or dangerous substance.

They handed me the nepeta cataria without question.

‘With that, I’m roughly ready to fight back.’

I clutched the dress tightly in both hands and headed for the mirror in the room. I felt like Cinderella from a fairy tale, thanks to the beautiful work the maids had done today.

Rose oil had been added to make my bright blonde hair shine, and palm fibers had been glued in to make it look fuller.

The final touch was a lace of pearls that reached from the head to the cheeks.

In addition to the pearlized powder, she wore a lip smudge made of finely ground fresh flowers, and an elegant square-necked empire dress that accentuated the pearl necklace around her neck.

The pastel colors made her look even brighter.

Staring at something that didn’t look like me for a long time, I finally let out a low gasp…

“Astel.”

…I stared at the mirror, hoping that it wasn’t my voice, and when I looked up, I saw the Duke with his arms around my back.

“Today…”

In front of me, with his face turned to me, the Duke dropped to one knee. He took my off-white, half-gloved hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of it.

It was a restrained touch through the gloves, but she could feel his warmth a little more than usual.

He was treating her as if she were a true noble lady, and for a moment it seemed as if the title of Count had been reinstated.

“Shall we go?”

“What?”

“I don’t want anyone to see you like this.”

“…You don’t like it?”

He leaned up and kissed my hair reverently once more.

“Of course not.”

“Ah…yes, I’m glad to hear that.”

Merely amused, I raised my hand, which the Duke kissed, and said earnestly, like a real lady.

“Shall we go now, then, Your Excellency, Duke of Anais?”

His eyes twinkled as he smiled.

“Yes, Lady Astel.”

Up until then, I’d thought it was a pretty fun aristocratic frolic, but entering the palace to meet the ‘real’ nobility was quite a process.

For starters, I had to be escorted by Lord Mayer in a four-wheeled carriage bearing the Duke’s seal.

It wasn’t a long way from the capital mansion of the Duke of Anais’ family to the depths of the Imperial Palace, where the Imperial Banquet was being held.

However, I was nervous about the many magical procedures I would have to go through.

I was the daughter of a traitorous enemy who would be killed instantly if discovered, even if I were protected by stealth magic.

However, the Duke beside me said a few caring words to ease my nerves, and I was able to relax as we entered the main hall of the palace, where the majestic banquet awaited us.

As I entered the hall, I saw many noblemen standing in the corridor, their faces covered by fans or hats, chatting amongst themselves.

I was puzzled by the atmosphere, which was loud with the occasional boisterous conversation, but mostly somber and uncharacteristic of a party.

“Why is the atmosphere like this?”

“I’m wondering the same thing.”

The Duke smiled gently at me. Then the atmosphere turned even more tense.

“Uh, well…”

I finally realized the cause of this mood. I’d forgotten in all his sweetness, but this was Duke Anais, the infamous Duke of Anais, the man who cut off the heads of demons and humans alike.

So it’s understandable that the nobles, who have only seen him a handful of times, would be baffled and horrified.

“It’s all because of Lord Mayer’s record of massacres.”

“…What?”

There was a muffled whimper from behind us at the sudden summoning of Lord Mayer. Ignoring Lord Mayer’s groan of frustration, the Duke spoke casually.

“Lord Mayer’s notoriety is well known even in the capital.”

…I don’t think it’s because of Lord Mayer.

“Well…”

“Don’t get me wrong, Astel. It’s not because of me. The nobles in the capital think I’m sweet and gentle, they all like me.”

That… doesn’t sound right… anymore.

“Well, I see, it’s the Duke, after all.”

But I couldn’t argue with the Duke, who was both my source of support and companion, and who could be my greatest ally.

“You’re the coolest.”

I finish hastily, quickly recognizing the faces of the nobles in the hall, including Lord Mayer.

Despite the Duke’s expression brightening as he spoke to me, they trembled in fear, as if they had seen a ghost.

At this rate, I’m going to pick up at least one person…

For the sake of the public interest, I clasped hands with the Duke and said cheerfully.