He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 120

 

I was still in a daze from being strangled by the Duke of Cornwall’s hands. I couldn’t see clearly, but I knew enough to realize that the Duke of Cornwall was on the floor.

 

Likewise, I exhaled sharply at the thought of ‘survival’ as I saw the knife in his chest, blood pouring out like a fountain, and stared at the man who had opened the door.

 

“How dare you?”

 

I thought it was my brother, but to my surprise, it was the Duke. The Duke in front of me looked like he was out of his mind. 

 

What a look. It was almost as if the title of ‘God of Demon Warfare’ was not an exaggerated label.

 

“Ugh!”

 

He swung his sword in a way that was even more brutal than how he dealt with demons.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Despite the Duke of Cornwall’s obvious lack of combat power, there was a fierce determination not to let him live, and it painted the room red, but not on me.

 

“Lord, I must kill… That lowly thing…”

 

“Shut up.”

 

But even as he struggled to breathe, the Duke of Cornwall somehow managed to crawl to his knees to get to the side of my chair. But from behind the Duke’s back was Mimi, whom I had arranged for. 

 

Mimi, who had practiced her hiding in the mansion and had done an excellent job of hiding, was looking down at the Duke of Cornwall with a pathetic expression. He drew a small circle of magic near him, as they had discussed, and bound him.

 

“It’s done.”

 

The Duke of Cornwall, who had been staring at the magic circle without realizing it had been drawn, muttered something under his breath, then collapsed to the floor.

 

‘As expected, the Duke of Cornwall used witchcraft to escape before he died.’

 

I’d expected him to use black magic or witchcraft to leave his body behind before he died, but he certainly didn’t disappoint.

 

‘This isn’t the end of the story, I’ve had Mimi cast a few spells on him on purpose.’

 

I laughed wickedly, even as I was struggling.

 

The first round of battles ended in my favor.

 

I felt a surge of energy and a sense of blurred vision as I realized that I had successfully accomplished my goal of entering the mansion.

 

I tried to close my vision for a moment to clear my blurry eyes.

 

The Duke, stomping roughly on the not-so-dead body of the Duke of Cornwall, rushed towards me.

 

“Astel.”

 

He whispered low as he untied the ropes around my arms.

 

“Are you all right, your body is…”

 

He was looking at me with a murderous gaze.

 

“Yep. I’ve been kidnapped.”

 

I didn’t want it to look like it was intentional, even though everything had gone as I intended.

 

But his eyes widened at my words.

 

I muttered hoarsely, barely managing to keep a small smile from forming on my lips.

 

“The Duke is fine, I suppose… I was worried about the imprinted magic.”

 

It was just a matter-of-fact statement, but I thought I saw a tear fall down the Duke’s face.

 

My eyes widened in surprise. But my mind was weakened by Duke Cornwall’s ravages to the point where I could no longer hold on.

 

I didn’t even have time to check to see if it was tears he had shed before I slipped into a blackout-like stupor.

 

I heard him whisper something.

 

At the same time, I could feel a cozy warmth wrapping around my entire body.

 

🐾

 

With trembling hands, Duke Anais checked Astel’s breathing in his arms. The sight of her being strangled made him so angry that his eyes turned white. 

 

‘I remembered nothing of the Imperial law that said I must not kill a nobleman.’

 

Even when his sword plunged into Duke Cornwall’s chest, all he could see was Astel.

 

It was painful when Astel’s pain was transmitted to him in a weak way.

 

“There, there, you bastard, you got what you deserved!”

 

The Duke exclaimed as he watched Mimi beat him furiously.

 

“Not yet. He used witchcraft to get away, but he’s not dead yet.”

 

The hazy cloud that still surrounded the body proved him right.

 

Mimi sighed heavily, his fluffy cat ears drooping down.

 

“Still, your powers must be weakened, huh?”

 

Lifting Astel’s body up and holding her in his arms, the Duke answered Mimi briefly.

 

“Yes. You seem to have an idea of how this happened.”

 

Mimi’s tail wagged and she paused.

 

“When we get back to the mansion, you’re going to have to tell me why this happened.”

 

He took a step away with a warning.

 

Once Astel was safely transported, the Duke would send his men to search the supposed torture chamber.

 

The Duke of Cornwall would be punished to the fullest extent of the law, even if it means breaking the law.

 

He gritted his teeth and looked at Astel’s neck in his arms.

 

The red palm print on her throat only fueled his desire to kill.

 

Promising himself that he would hunt the Duke of Cornwall to the end, even if he continued to escape with his witchcraft. He stepped toward the broken doorway.

 

And then, just then.

 

A large figure appeared in front of the shattered door.

 

“What the fuck…”

 

Cassian Gray barged through the torture chamber door.

 

“You asshole… what the fuck are you doing?”

 

The Duke moved with quick steps and glared at Cassian Gray as he approached.

 

“Lord Cassian Gray. Why are you here?”

 

Cassian didn’t answer, instead gazing blankly at Astel in the duke’s arms.

 

“…Astel.”

 

Not wanting to engage in conversation, the Duke of Anais ignored him and tried to walk past.

 

The reason for the unexpected arrival of the troublesome Cassian Gray would have to wait until later.

 

But to her surprise, he was dripping with tears.

 

He held out his hand to Astel, looking far too innocent for the capital’s flower of all women.

 

Only to be coldly dismissed by the Duke.

 

Biting his lip to keep his composure, he glared at the Duke of Anais.

 

“Is she safe?” 

 

“Of course.”

 

It was a clean answer. His lips still bloodied from his biting.

 

“Did you kill him…?”

 

“What?”

 

“The Duke of Cornwall, did you kill the bastard?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

Cassian wiped away his tears with his hand as he reached for Astel’s neck with a touch that seemed too intimate.

 

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and glared at the Duke of Anais.

 

“Phew…”

 

“…”

 

As if choosing what to say, Mimi flicked his tail and muttered to himself

 

“Oho, what is that drama?”

 

But no one in the room was paying attention to Mimi.

 

Cassian glared at Duke Anais with a fiery gaze and whispered.

 

“For a god of demonic warfare, you couldn’t even kill a voodoo practitioner, Your Grace, Duke Anais.”

 

“Simply killing them is not enough.”

 

Duke Anais looked at Cassian Gray and replied bitterly.

 

“I’m afraid I’ll have to tear you to pieces, so you’d better get lost.”

 

“If I don’t?”

 

He lowered his eyes toward Astel and met her gaze.

 

“You are terribly useless for conversation at this moment.”

 

“What?”

 

“Astel needs to rest as soon as possible.”

 

Cassian’s gaze drifted back to Astel in the Duke’s arms.

 

He looked down at Astel, who seemed to have been through a lot and was stunned, with a sympathetic look on his face.

 

“That was pretty f… up…”

 

It was an unspoken affirmation.

 

“Well, then, get lost… Forever.” 

 

Turning away from Cassian, he picked Astel up and carried her out of the ruined room.

 

He looked down at Astel as he walked down the hall, ignoring Cassian’s curses behind his back.

 

The interior of the manor was completely abandoned.

 

Whether the Duke of Cornwall was alive or dead was not the end of it, he would be brought to his punishment one way or another.

 

So the only thing that matters now was that Astel wakes up.

 

In his vision, Astel was smiling like she was having a pleasant dream.

 

He turned to her and whispered softly.“Astel.”

 

But she didn’t answer.

 

Instead, only wheezing, faint breaths proved she was alive.

 

His senses were sharpened. Anxiety squeezed his heart, even though he knew she wasn’t dying.

 

Decades ago, she had been like this before.

 

Since then, he had waited a very long time…for Astel.

 

Vowing never to lose her again.

 

🐾 

 

It was a deep sleep, completely detached from reality.

 

In my dreams, I heard a voice in my ear, someone calling out for me.

 

It was a low, hoarse voice of a man calling me ‘Astel’.

 

A small boy’s voice echoed over the familiar voice.

 

“Astel.”

 

And finally, the boy’s echo filled my head. I tried to open my eyes, but my mind was foggy again.

 

‘How can I figure out what I’ve lost on my own?’

 

— “There must be something that strongly affects… your mind. I can only tell you this much.”

 

As Mimi’s words flashed through my mind, my temples ached like they were being poked with needles.

 

I began to dream again, this time from a long time ago, from the past.

 

And I recognized it immediately.

 

Thanks to the Duke of Cornwall’s touch that sent waves of pain in my head, I would finally find the missing pieces of my memory.