He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 106

 

Cassian would have pulled out all the stops to win Mimi over, but I was different.

 

“Do I smell good?”

 

“Mmm!”

 

Another name for the Nepeta Cataria that the beast maids had prepared for me was catnip.

 

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, catnip can attract cats, and the scent of the catnip was combined with olives, which cats love, to create a special, harmless scent. 

 

This was all thanks to the knowledge of the beast people and the ability to concoct potions.

 

But not all words need to be spoken.

 

“I specially made this for you.”

 

I sat on a stool in the powder room and waved the olive twig I’d tucked inside my sleeve. 

 

Mimi, her pink tongue hanging out and her eyes wide with the aroma, shook her tiny head and snapped to attention.

 

“What, what have you done!”

 

No, she hadn’t fully woken up. Mimi was babbling, unaware that she was speaking in human language.

 

“What the hell took over my body…”

 

“You’re a talking cat. Your name is Mimi.”

 

Mimi held up a hand like a balled-up paw and clamped it over my mouth.

 

“Uh, how did you do that… did you look into me, or remember me…?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“No, you… did you lure me in…? You’ve become very sneaky, not like you used to be!”

 

Mimi rolled her eyes and climbed onto my lap, burying her face in my hair, and stopped talking.

 

‘There’ll be another chance to tell you something else. The powder room is dangerous.’

 

“If you stay with me, you’ll be able to smell this all the time?”

 

“Ahem!”

 

I grinned and patted Mimi on the back as she curled up in my lap. Now that she’s suitably charmed, I must take her to the secure Duke’s mansion. 

 

I’ll explain my plan, seduce her to perfection, and then enlist her as an integral part of my revenge.

 

“Hey, I have something to tell you, will you listen?”

 

“What!”

 

I whispered gleefully, remembering my plan to temporarily seal Mimi inside the round ball artifact Warret had given me and take her back to the mansion.

 

“You’re coming with me to eat pork cutlets…”

 

But before I could pull out the artifact, the door creaked open.

 

“…Astel?”

 

My eyes widened in surprise, wondering if it was Cornwall, but it was the Duke of Anais who opened the door without knocking. 

 

As he stepped closer to me, the smell of the cold winter air hit the tip of my nose.

 

“I returned in five minutes as promised, but Astel was not there, and I was worried.”

 

The Duke strode to stand in front of me.

 

” I heard from Lord Mayer, Cassian Gray, and you have disappeared.”

 

“…?”

 

“This ballroom, as it were, almost disappeared.”

 

He’s exaggerating, I thought, but his expression was grave. 

 

Mimi, curled up in my lap, winced and shivered. I patted Mimi’s head a few times, impressed that she looked so unharmed compared to his worried expression.

 

“You really did keep your promise.”

 

He paused, his expression softening as he looked at me.

 

“That’s….”

 

He must have seen Mimi in my lap. I scooped a squirming Mimi into my arms and said.

 

“Here, I picked up a cat.”

 

The Duke, looking down at Mimi in my arms, muttered in a frightened tone.

 

“That vile god…”

 

“…?”

 

“…Sorry, one cat can be dangerous. I don’t know where it’s been wandering around, and it needs to be thrown out immediately.”

 

Without knowing Mimi’s identity, I had nothing to say, so it was time for me to do what I do best. I put on my best innocent face and twinkled my eyes.

 

“She’s such a poor kitty, she’s been wandering the trails all by herself, and I’d love to take her back to the mansion, if you don’t mind?”

 

The Duke’s expression softened quickly as he caught my twinkling eyes. I spoke firmly, as if driving a wedge.

 

“I’d love to take her with me, I’m bored.”

 

“Let me check first.”

 

He nuzzled Mimi’s neck once and whispered a caster word. Mimi, who had been half-dazed by the scent of catnip the entire time, lifted her head as if suddenly realizing something was wrong.

 

Mimi’s supple body stiffened as she finally fully recognized the Duke. Then the Duke stared at Mimi and shook her head resolutely.

 

“Eh?”

 

He gently stroked Mimi’s blushing head and warned her affectionately.

 

“Be quiet.”

 

“Shhh…!”

 

The Duke picked up Mimi, who squirmed to keep from falling away from me, and placed her on the table. A vein stood in his jaw, as if he were holding something back.

 

“It appears to be quite a dangerous beast.”

 

The Duke’s eyes glazed over. Before I had time to make a counterargument for Mimi, he dropped to one knee, gently took the back of my hand that had been wrapped around hers, and kissed it exactly where I had stroked Mimi.

 

I instinctively looked down. He was looking up at me provocatively, his eyes deep and dark.

 

“Astel, I’m very protective of my territory.”

 

I stared at his lips against the crook of my wrist. My heart continued to pound, though I don’t think it was from the imprint.

 

The Duke’s demeanor was more forceful than I had expected, and I had to come up with another plan. 

 

After a moment of desperate brainstorming, he made the first suggestion.

 

“So if you bring that cat back to the mansion, we’ll have to neuter it.”

 

I scratched my head, wondering what territory and neutering had to do with it, without pulling my hand out of his. He added gently.

 

“He’s a male.”

 

Mimi’s eyes widened, and his heart sank, and he flopped onto the table. The Duke, however, paid no attention to Mimi and smirked as he looked at me.

 

🍃

 

I managed to capture Mimi, who looked very grumpy, and I learned what was amiss with Duke Cornwall, and I met my brother. Having accomplished all of my goals, I spent the rest of the day feeling elated.

 

Mimi’s neuter was scheduled for a month later, so I’d better get my revenge before then.

 

Once safely inside the Duke’s mansion, Mimi trotted along behind me with her chin held high.

 

…but only when the Duke wasn’t around.

 

“Why did you disappear at mealtime, when I was eating with the Duke—”

 

“It’s definitely not because I’m afraid of getting my peanut harvested by that Duke!”

 

“You’re afraid of the Duke…”

 

Mimi, exasperated, hastily stomped away from me.

 

“Phew!”

 

Now that I had outmaneuvered the Duke of Cornwall, Mimi’s need for me was even greater. 

 

Besides, I was busy trying to sneak in some luck about a memory that Mimi seemed to know about.

 

“I have something to tell you, Mimi.”

 

“So, what do you want from me, human? You seem to know me, so why can’t you just say it out loud?”

 

I spoke cautiously,  “Yes, I know you, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”

 

“Chet… it wasn’t just that, was it?”

 

I stared at Mimi nervously. Mimi scanned my expression and muttered as casually as his paw grazed the jelly on his foot.

 

“Hmph, you don’t know anything.”

 

Mimi’s words made me look puzzled. Mimi, who was quick to recognize, let out a squeak.

 

“Looks like you’ve been caught by the black-hearted monster!”

 

“…What are you talking about?”

 

“If you don’t know, you’ll have to find out for yourself. Eh… I feel sorry for that monster Duke…”

 

The ‘monster with a black heart’ seemed to be referring to the Duke, but I couldn’t figure out what Mimi was talking about.

 

“You, do you know the Duke?”

 

In fact, the Duke’s notoriety was legendary, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Mimi had some second-hand knowledge of him.

 

‘But from the way he talks, it sounds like he had a close relationship with the Duke.’

 

I stared at Mimi with a puzzled expression.

 

“I don’t know, I can’t tell you that, it would disqualify me from being a divine beast!”

 

“I only asked about your relationship with the Duke, what do you mean, disqualify you?”

 

Mimi glared at me, then quickly changed the subject.

 

“More than that, you’re curious about the gaps in your memory, but that’s all up to you to figure out.”

 

“You mean, you can’t tell me anything?”

 

It was definitely tense. There was a chilling silence in the room as Mimi clamped tightly shut, as if he had a golden rule.

 

But I wouldn’t be the same Astel if I gave up now.

 

So I persisted, “How can I figure out my lost memories on my own?”

 

“…There has to be something that strikes your mind strongly. I can only tell you so much.”

 

I rolled my eyes at Mimi’s clam-like mouth and decided to take a step back for every step forward.

 

“…Okay, thanks. We’ll talk again soon. But first, I wanted to talk to you today, Mimi.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“There’s something that only you can help me with.”

 

Mimi stared at me with a surprised cat look on her face. I laughed softly and tilted my head toward him. I put my wrist in front of his nose and flicked it gently, letting him smell the sweet scent of catnip.

 

“…Hmm, what a great body you have.”

 

As I intended, Mimi, mesmerized by the scent of catnip, stuck out his pink tongue.

 

“Yes, you’re good at sneaking around, aren’t you? Shall we practice that now? If you do well this time, I’ll give you all this perfume.”

 

Mimi’s big eyes sparkled as if he were immersed in olives and catnip.

 

“Well, sure, I’m not helping you because I like you!”

 

Okay, he’s completely hooked.

 

As I turned to face Mimi and smiled widely, my wrist tingled. I looked down at my tingling wrist. A triangular shape, visible only to my eyes, began to reveal the magic circle of Stealth.

 

‘I think the Duke of Cornwall is watching my back.’

 

As I had hoped, the Duke of Cornwall had been learning about me, and was gradually uncovering clues to my identity.

 

‘Perhaps… it’s only a matter of time before the invisibility spell is broken.’

 

If that were the case, I would need to speed up my ‘Duke of Cornwall, capture him alive’ plan a bit.

 

“You have a very sinister look on your face.”

 

“I’m going to set a triple trap, and I’m going to be very deliberate and devious.”

 

Mimi glared at me, silent for a moment, then smiled an uncharacteristically evil grin.

 

“Hoh…”

 

According to my childhood memories, that was a sign of his approval.