He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 110

 

As she handed the pamphlet back to the lady, she whispered in a slightly hushed voice.

 

“I’d like to go right away, tomorrow, if that’s possible?”

 

Everyone looked at each other in surprise. The Empress was too weak to venture out on her own.

 

“I would like to go to that café myself.”

 

With that, the Empress set down the teacup she was holding with a trembling hand.

 

The tea’s water stirred, and as she watched the storm in the teacup, which no one else was interested in, she felt a certain foreboding alone.

 

“The shopkeeper’s name, I believe, was Astel?”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty. No last name.”

 

The Empress rolled the girl’s name over in her mind a few times.

 

‘Astel, Astel… and then.’

 

It was definitely not a name she remembered. Perhaps the word ‘Labyrinthos’ was just a random word, too, but…

 

“I look forward to it.”

 

The Empress, finally regaining her composure, glanced around at the ladies and lords before her. She smiled as usual, but her hands were still trembling.

 

“I’ll go with you.”

 

“…You?”

 

“Yes. The woman who is supposedly under the Duke’s guardianship, I was wondering.”

 

Still holding the Empress’s hand tightly, the woman nodded.

 

🐾

 

The rumors about Astel didn’t stop with the Empress.

 

The Duke of Cornwall, who had been monitoring her every move, had also heard rumors about the dessert café she had opened.

 

“She’s a madwoman.”

 

The Duke of Cornwall bit his lower lip.

 

As if on cue, the mansion suddenly darkened and began to shake as if struck by lightning.

 

The floor crackled with inexplicable mud, and the chandeliers shattered with an ear-splitting noise.

 

The Duke of Cornwall, a grimace of displeasure on his face, stood staring down at the report and gritting his teeth.

 

“A cake decorated with laurels…”

 

There was no disputing that the laurel leaves were made into a wreath.

 

When he first tried to kill the Count and Countess of Vietry, he had covered them with laurel leaves.

 

Then he said…

 

“The name was Labyrinthos.”

 

…Yes, he used a caster named Labyrinthos when he tried to kill them.

 

‘That’s something no one else knows about…’

 

Labyrinthos was a spell called Labyrinth.

 

A vicious black magic that would send you to your death in a never-ending, bottomless pit.

 

“If she knows Labyrinthos… she’s definitely related to that family. Who is she?”

 

There was no way he was going to kill her outright right now.

 

He glared down at the weakling and smirked.

 

A wench with obvious ties to House Vietry was taunting him.

 

He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and pushed the door open roughly.

 

“I’m planning on cleaning out the trash for the first time in a long time.”

 

“Yes, Your Excellency. Just one thing…”

 

“One?”

 

“I’ve heard that Her Majesty the Empress is taking an interest in the woman.”

 

“…The Empress? Why bother.”

 

“I heard that she’s interested in that dessert café…”

 

“Don’t report such trivial matters.”

 

“…But if the Empress is interested, Your Excellency.”

 

The Duke of Cornwall threw up his hands in annoyance.

 

The ailing Empress was of little interest to him.

 

The nobleman in his entourage pursed his lips to say something more, but was silenced once more.

 

No one dared to say anything to such a lowly duke.

 

Judging by the reaction, he didn’t feel the need to report the recent theft of a small piece of silverware from the manor. 

 

Or the fact that a man in knight’s robes had been spotted lurking near the fence that surrounded the manor.

 

With a hasty bow of his head, he pushed off the creaking floor.

 

He hoped, for the sake of the house, that the Duke of Cornwall would come to his senses, but he had an instinctive conviction that his recovery might be impossible.

 

🐾

 

Tending to Rune by night and running the café by day, meeting many young people and giving them healing cakes tailored to their needs.

 

After a long and happy dinner with the Duke after work, I was about to rise from the table.

 

But the Duke raised his hand to stop me.

 

“Astel.”

 

I sat back down with a puzzled expression and turned to him across from me.

 

“Yes?”

 

Perhaps it was an optical illusion caused by the flickering light of the silver candlesticks, but the Duke seemed deep in thought.

 

Or maybe not…

 

“I have been very sad lately.”

 

I was a little puzzled. In my experience, whatever the Duke was feeling was transmitted to me. 

 

And if his emotions were intensified, it was normal for his cheeks to flush with imprinted heat.

 

‘No matter how I look at it, it looks like a lie…’

 

If someone else were to fake sadness, I would have let it slide, but when the Duke said he was faking it, I felt a sting in my heart.

 

‘Strangely cute.’

 

The thought of the Duke faking sadness, for whatever reason, made me feel weak at heart.

 

Looking at the Duke, I assessed him.

 

“Why are you sad?”

 

“The Empress is coming to your café tomorrow, and she has asked for my permission as your guardian.”

 

“What? Her Majesty the Empress already?”

 

“…Were you expecting it?”

 

“Oh, no. Her Majesty the Empress is going to visit my café… Didn’t she request for me?”

 

“Yes, she did.”

 

I stiffened, barely able to compose myself.

 

The Empress’s reaction was much quicker than I had expected.

 

This was a very good thing for me, after all, so I hastened my next words, trying to hide the smile on my lips.

 

“That’s great news! What exactly did Her Majesty say about the place?”

 

“She wrote a letter requesting a visit.”

 

The Duke handed me the letter, which was written on fine paper and gilded on the outside.

 

I took the stiff invitation paper and checked the contents.

 

True to his word, the letter contained a brief notice of a visit.

 

I smiled broadly and looked at the Duke, then paused. His face looked even sadder than before…

 

“Even the Empress is coming, and there is talk of her bringing Cassian Gray with her. It’s the worst combination for you to endure, Astel.”

 

…It wasn’t exactly the worst combination, but when the Duke said it, I felt obligated to nod.

 

But the question remained, if the Empress had her bodyguards, why was she bringing my brother along?

 

‘He’ll be too busy preparing for the demon war to spy on House Cornwall.’

 

I had a strange hunch.

 

Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who wondered.

 

The Duke whispered, almost sultrily.

 

“I wonder why the Empress wishes to see Astel. Fortunately, Cassian Gray, I’ve made friends with him, so I’m sure I’ll be at the café that day, too.”

 

This was an unexpected accident.

 

An unexpected face-to-face with a lion. No, maybe even the Empress herself…

 

Desperately, I tried to avoid making eye contact, but there was no way I could keep the Duke from coming.

 

It would be, quite frankly, very embarrassing if I prevented him from visiting under these circumstances.

 

Besides, wasn’t he my official guardian?

 

‘Calm down, Astel, it’s not like you’re going to do anything bad tomorrow.’

 

I’ll do something bad sooner or later, but not tomorrow.

 

With a shrug, I simply accepted.

 

“Well, good, then, come to the café tomorrow to see me in action.”

 

“…Yes, Astel?”

 

The Duke must have missed my words, because he stood still, studying my expression, as if he didn’t think I would agree.

 

My grip tightened on the spoon I’d let go of as I looked at him with ambition in my eyes.

 

“Tomorrow, I’m going to do something huge, and you can look forward to it.”

 

I scooped a large spoonful of the dessert that was still on the table, sweet vanilla bean ice cream sprinkled with sunflower seeds, and popped it into my mouth.

 

That meant I was confident enough in my dessert skills to serve it, but instead, he just smirked and held out his hand to me.

 

I patted his hand, unsure of his intentions, and then pressed our lips together. I did it unconsciously, thinking it was an imprint because our hands were hot.

 

But it wasn’t until I heard a raucous laugh from the other side that I realized he was trying to blow out the candle that was partially obscuring our view.

 

Blushing, I tried to pull my hand away from his, but he eagerly grabbed it again and whispered, 

 

“I think I’ve already forgotten everything else.”

 

The sincerity in his nonchalant whisper made me blink.

 

With my false identity, I couldn’t trust my own heart to respond to his sincerity right now.

But…

 

“…But tomorrow, you’ll forget all your troubles, thanks to my wonderful performance!”

 

As I nodded proudly and ambitiously, my fists balled into fists that held the spoon.