He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 109

 

Originally, a ‘cake’ was a simple dessert consisting of a round, circular plate topped with simple fruit.

 

It was usually about how to make the top fluffy and the cream sweet. It was also important to use precious ingredients sparingly and how to create deep flavors.

 

But Astel’s cakes were nothing like the ones they had in mind, from the way they looked to the way they tasted. 

 

For example, the one on display in front of them looked like…

 

“Isn’t this a rabbit?”

 

“Yes, it is a rabbit!”

 

“It has chocolate for eyes and a carrot for a nose!”

 

“I can’t believe it has ears…”

 

After following the silver fox for a long time, they finally felt like they were in a colorful fairy tale. 

 

They gulped and motioned to the maid to open the door. The door slid open to reveal an even more astonishing sight.

 

“…What the hell…”

 

“We, shall we go in?”

 

Despite saying so, they didn’t dare step inside. 

 

Astel, the presumed owner of this dessert café, was sitting in the center of the room. Tiny hummingbirds flew around her, and a slightly larger rabbit sat beside her. There was even a huge jaguar sitting like a painting…

 

It all looked like a scene from a fairy tale. Wide-eyed, the young noble ladies rushed inside, fascinated. They could see Astel smiling brightly and a halo that seemed to radiate around her.

 

The baby fox that had led them to this place hopped up near Astel and hugged her tightly.

 

“Oh my.”

 

“Hello, you must be our first guests.”

 

Astel looked at them and smiled brightly. The three young noble ladies pursed their lips as they remembered the rumors that had spread like wildfire about Astel.

 

Sure, she was a fearsome figure, rumored to have sold drugs to the evil Duke of Anais and been placed under his guardianship…? But they hadn’t expected her to be so lovely, with such an exudation of goodness.

 

“By any chance, are you here for dessert?”

 

Only after hearing that, they stiffened at the sight of a group of people bustling around behind Astel. 

 

The faces were familiar, and when they looked closer, they realized that they were all pastry chefs and chocolatiers who had disappeared from the capital. They were hard at work, tools in hand.

 

When the young noble ladies were mesmerized and silent as they looked around the café, Astel clapped her hands to get their attention and spoke again.

 

“Um… do you like cake? I saw you looking intently at the bunny cake earlier.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“Sit here by the window, I’ll give it to you!”

 

The young noble ladies stammered and stuttered. They weren’t the most eloquent of people, but in front of Astel, they stuttered. 

 

The three young girls, who had been so eager to ignore and tease her if they didn’t like the café, were overwhelmed by the atmosphere and couldn’t say much.

 

They just huddled together at a table by the window and waited for the rabbit cake.

 

🐾

 

‘It’s a dessert café with an animal concept, it must be good!’

 

I smiled quite slyly as I pulled a homemade bunny-shaped piece of hall cake out of the stall. It was a fluffy layer of whipped cream and a conversion cake, designed with the help of rabbit souses. 

 

The young noble ladies must have fallen in love with it, too.

 

‘The rabbits were a bit appalled, but… But it looks great!’

 

I glanced over at the three ladies, who were bumping heads, and smiled with satisfaction.

 

‘It’s called hidden place marketing.’

 

There’s something about a place that’s hard to get to, a mysterious atmosphere that tastes like nothing else. 

 

I smiled sweetly as I walked toward them, a bunny-shaped cake in one hand and a menu in the other,

 

“Try this first.”

 

They were, by all appearances, the most adventurous members of the social circle, the vanguard of sorts, so I knew they would be curious about this cake. But…

 

“How can we eat this cute little bunny?”

 

“I think you have a rabbit, beast, next to you!”

 

“Oh…”

 

Suddenly, a young lady pulled a hanky out of her chest pocket and blew her nose, exclaiming in a small voice.

 

“This is cruel!”

 

I quickly racked my brain. I hadn’t anticipated the delicate sensibilities of socialites. But then, my relief pitcher appeared. 

 

Bell, who had brought them this far, poked his head under the table and flicked his fox ears.

“The rabbits love this, nibble on the ears!”

 

Bell, still in the fox form, squinted with bean-sized eyes and tapped a tiny paw on the table.

 

“I… I mean…”

 

The girls’ mouths dropped open, and they nodded vigorously, intoxicated by Belle’s cuteness.

 

“Have some!”

 

“I’ll eat it, sweetie!”

 

‘Bell’s cuteness was just a cheat…’

 

After nodding inwardly, I offered a brief lament as I watched the rabbit cake slide effortlessly into their mouths on their forks.

 

Once they took a bite, their forks became faster and smoother. The more they ate, the more they seemed to fall in love with the cake.

 

“It is no exaggeration to say that you have gathered the best pastry chefs in the capital.”

 

This is the best! I didn’t think we’d get a cake like this, since Vienna was sent to the North!”

 

Amid all the praise, the young lady suddenly slammed her fork down. I squinted, wondering if something was wrong, but the brilliant smile on her face convinced me otherwise.

 

‘Oh, I had her.’

 

“I’ve been walking a lot, and my feet hurt a little while ago. Is that weird?”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“My feet don’t hurt.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The other two young women looked at each other, scratching their heads.

 

‘Actually, I purposely chose a place with a lot of stairs so that your feet would be sore, so that if I gave you a good medicine for sore muscles, it would have an obvious effect right here and now.’

 

Satisfied with how things were turning out, I lowered my voice.

 

“Oh, that’s because this cake also contains a sweet cure.”

 

Just then, a jaguar dozed off near the cake display, its tail wagging gently, and they swallowed hard and tensed. I smiled to get their attention back.

 

“The heart-shaped cake also contains a three-minute love potion. It’s not very strong, but…”

 

“Oh my…”

 

I said lightly, as if correcting a rumor that had spread through the capital.

 

“The things in this cake are healing medicines, I’m a healer, and these are all wonderful cakes made with the permission of the Imperial Palace.”

 

“Oh my…”

 

“So what’s the name of this ecstatic cake? Bunny cake or cure cake?”

 

I crossed my arms at my sides and answered confidently.

 

“The name of this cake is…!”

 

Seeing the girls gulp down their saliva, I smiled shamelessly.

 

“It’s called Labyrinthos.”

 

They all looked puzzled. Of course, anyone would be puzzled by a cute bunny-shaped cake named ‘Labyrinthos’.

 

“I thought it was a carrot cake because it had a bunny face?”

 

“I just figured it was cool, so I named it that.”

 

Of course not. Labyrinthos was the name of the spell that the Final Villain used when he tried to kill my parents. 

 

The Final Villain was unable to kill my parents then because of a witness. He eventually succeeded in killing them under duress by framing them for conspiracy, but it was clear that he had used the spell before.

 

‘If Cornwall is the final villain, he will come for me as soon as the name of this cake is known. And… The man who witnessed the near murder of my parents will also show up, if he’s still alive.’

 

So the menu name, Labyrinthos, was a duplicitous, dense trap to catch Cornwall. I waved one hand at them, hiding my mixed feelings.

 

“Have fun in our dessert café then!”

 

Now it was my turn to slip away as the owner. I pretended to trim the plants in the shop and eavesdropped on their conversation.

 

 After some small talk at first, they turned their attention back to the cake, wondering if it was good even when eaten.

 

“More than that, I think Her Majesty the Empress would really like this cake.”

 

The young ladies at the table looked around the café in wonder and chirped.

 

“That’s right, she’s not feeling well, so she’s only looking for sweets.”

 

The young people at the table shut their mouths in unison and looked in my direction. They were wary of discussing the Empress’s illness in public. 

 

Out of respect for them, I pretended to be oblivious, rearranging the potted plants on the table. But inside, I was mulling over their words.

 

…The ailing Empress, that’s why I deliberately marketed to the nobility.

 

For now, I need the title of having saved the Empress’ life.

 

If I were to approach the Empress directly and say, ‘I will cure you of your illness,’ I would arouse the suspicions of many. 

 

The Empress would have to come to me first, naturally, having heard of my reputation. I was confident that I could heal her with what I already knew, but if I wanted to quickly become a member of her entourage, I couldn’t afford to be suspected.

 

Luckily, the young ladies’ words made me realize that a face-to-face with the Empress was not far off.

 

🐾

 

Everything went exactly as Astel had expected.

 

The young ladies who came to the café were far beyond Astel’s expectations: they were of high enough status to be invited to tea with the Empress, accompanied by their mothers or guardians.

 

The next day, in the glass garden of the tiny Empress Palace.

 

The Empress, the Princess, the three ladies-in-waiting, and the four young ladies were having a brief but regular tea party. 

 

The tea party had been going on for some time when the youngest and most immature of the young ladies, the Young Lady, spoke up in a deeply impressed voice.

 

“Your Majesty, there have been some strange things happening in the past week!”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I went to a dessert café where there were so many people!”

 

The Empress put down her teacup and exclaimed, “Dessert cafés, aren’t there such things nowadays? They’ve all fled to the north.”

 

“It was created by a woman who was a ward of His Highness the Duke of Anais… It’s quite good, huh.”

 

The Young Lady straightened herself up stiffly in an attempt to appear aristocratic, but the expression on her face was very lively.

 

The Empress nodded with a wry smile. 

 

Unlike the emperor and crown prince, who were not understanding leaders, she was a compassionate person who truly loved the common people and could smile benevolently when she thought of them.

 

“A dessert café with so many people sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”

 

“I wish Your Majesty would come along, they even sell healing potions together, and they’re better than I thought!”

 

A young lady from a high-ranking noble family, who had just made her debut, pouted and babbled incoherently. 

 

A noblewoman at her side tried to interrupt, but the Empress waved her hand and laughed lowly.

 

“Don’t be displeased, my dear lady, it’s good to hear you speak.”

 

“Still… Her Majesty the Empress is too kind to girls my age.”

 

When the noblewoman who was about to interrupt the Young Lady dropped her shoulders in frustration, the Empress shook her head and changed the subject.

“Let’s talk more about dessert, for I am not always amused by the stories of young ladies.”

 

“Ah! They gave me a pamphlet, I don’t know. They said I could spread it around socially, and there’s a picture of the menu for sale next to it, so I brought it for you, Your Majesty!”

 

“How sweet of you to bring it for me.”

 

The Empress’s expression hardened as she took the pamphlet lightly. Her gaze was fixed on the name of the cake at the top of the menu.

 

“…Labyrinthos.”

 

The Empress’s eyes narrowed at the word Labyrinthos. Her nervousness was unmistakable.