He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 121

 

Soon, my memories took me to moments of peace with a boy and the little cat, Mimi.

 

It was more peaceful than I expected. I could almost call it a healing place, except for the fact that I was worried about my brother, who was looking for me. 

 

I wondered if Mimi was right about being in a magic circle, but I wasn’t starving, even though we hadn’t eaten anything.

 

“I don’t even have to ask for food!”

 

I could feel Mimi humming to me as I closed my eyes and slept, and for the first time, I had a friend who wasn’t a beggar. 

 

We spent our days together, playing games with the black-haired boy trapped in the magic circle.

 

“You’re the groom, and I’m the bride, okay?”

 

“Uh…”

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

“No, I do like it…”

 

The boy was so cute, with his head down and blushing from the bottom of his ears.

 

 When I smirked at him, he panicked, and his animal ears perked up. I widened my eyes in surprise and patted the boy’s ears on the top of his head.

 

“You have ears!”

 

At my words, the boy’s head lowered and his eyes widened. Mimi spoke up in his place, that made me even more speechless than usual.

 

“Of course he does. He’s a wolf.”

 

“Whoa, a wolf?”

 

The boy shook his head cautiously at the excitement in my voice.

 

“Well, not just any wolf…”

 

I held my hands together and looked at him with a twinkle in my eyes. The playfulness of our conversation had vanished from my memory. 

 

The more I questioned him, the more he looked shy and stiffened his shoulders, which confused me even more.

 

Mimi, who was watching us, gave him a nudge.

 

“Tsk. He’s not just a wolf.”

 

“If he’s not just a wolf, what is he?”

 

I looked at them curiously.

 

Instead of the boy shrinking even further at my question of what does he mean a wolf, Mimi raised his head in a pointed manner.

 

“That’s a wolf dog, a species that was bred by the wolf race in an illegal experiment. It was abandoned because it was weak, and when the experiment failed, they tried to kill the younger ones with a magic circle.”

 

“…”

 

“Well, you saved him, so he’s not dead as it turns out, but if this cave collapses, it’s only a matter of time before we’re both dead!”

 

The boy looked at me, his expression became sullen, unlike Mimi’s wicked grin. It wasn’t until his watery eyes locked onto mine that I realized he was afraid of being abandoned by me.

 

“I know you don’t like me… because I’m weak, weak…”

 

I shook my head. I didn’t quite understand his fear.

 

“No, no, you’re a wolf and a dog, and that’s pretty cool, right? And you survived some terrible guys, right?”

 

“What…?”

 

“That’s so cool!”

 

The boy froze, as if he had never heard anyone acknowledge his existence or call him cool before. But I meant it.

 

‘Isn’t it amazing that he survived while everyone was trying to kill him?’

 

As a poor beggar on the streets, I had been beaten and thrown stones by people too, and I 

was proud of myself for learning to run away without getting hit.

 

So this little boy has done something amazing!

 

After staring at him for a while, I clapped my hands together and called out to him.

 

“Okay, I’ve decided! Your name is…”

 

I’d been thinking about the boy’s name for a while, but until now, I had only had a shortlist. 

 

But now that I knew all about his past, I had a name in mind. I caressed his hair and whispered seriously.

 

“Knox!”

 

He turned to me with a confused look.

 

“Knox…?”

 

“Yes, it means night, and since you’re my friend, let’s call you something similar to my name!”

 

“Friend…”

 

He said it to himself and then smiled widely. It was a pleasure to see the smile on the boy’s face, which was always so sullen.

 

My heart was racing, and I eagerly gave him information that was not necessary.

 

“I was going to name you Rune, but you’re more night than light.”

 

“Not Rune, Knox…”

 

“When I have kids, I’m going to name them Rune.”

 

“…Why?”

 

“Because my name means star in ancient times.”

 

“Well, what about… Knox?”

 

“Knox is more special, because night is a very cool and strong concept that includes everything, even light! You should thank me, Knox!”

 

The boy’s mouth opened a tiny bit, and he nodded his head fast, looking at me with a smirk. 

 

For the first time in his life, Knox, his name, and he soon burst into tears, and I tried even harder to comfort him.

 

It was a good time, except for the fact that I missed my brother so much. Even though I was trapped inside the magic circle, I wrote in my journal every day.

 

Little memories piled up, like today I played fetch with Knox, or called his name a hundred times, or touched his tail.

 

I also wrote down a list of things I wanted to do together when we got out of here. 

 

When I told him that I was a beggar before, but that I dreamt of being very rich later, he promised to buy me a lot of nice shops.

 

 His expression was so sincere that I pretended to believe him, even though I didn’t.

 

And just like that, the memories went by.

 

Strangely enough, the happy times ended faster than I thought they would. Suddenly, the cave we were in started to crumble.

 

It was Mimi who first broke the news to us.

 

When he woke up in the morning and stretched, the cat, or the divine beast he calls himself, searched the cave for a while, and then came back with the news.

 

“We’re in trouble, the cave is collapsing faster than we thought.”

 

Thud—

 

I stared at the rocks falling from the top of the cave, then asked in disbelief.

 

“What happens when it collapses?”

 

Mimi clicked his tongue at my innocent question and looked down at me as if I were a foolish 

fish.

 

“You’d die, I guess!”

 

“You’re lying!”

 

“It’s true! If you don’t want to die, you need to quickly pray to the gods and get out of this magic circle!”

 

Not wanting to die, I desperately clutched onto Mimi’s body.

Mimi spoke again urgently, “I’ve told you before, if you don’t want to die, one of you must give the most precious thing you have to this magic circle as payment.”

 

“But why do we have to give them something? You’re strong, Mimi, can’t you just use magic to get us out of here?”

 

Mimi flicked his tail on the floor at my naive question.

 

“No. This magic circle is powered by the gods, so I can’t interfere.”

 

Mimi explained that someone in the wolf clan had been experimenting on Knox and had been caught by a high-ranking member of the clan.

 

He rambled on about how they were trying to use the power of the gods to destroy Knox for sure.

 

I didn’t understand all of it, but I knew that the wolves Mimi was referring to were very bad.

 

“They’re bad! They should all be beggars!”

 

“Yes, they are! Anyway, that’s why we need a price to get out of this magic circle. Perhaps you’ll have to give me your most precious possession.”

 

After cursing the Wolf Clan for a long time, I shook my head, not knowing what the most valuable thing was.

 

At that moment, the boy beside me bravely stepped forward.

 

“I’ll pay the price! I don’t have anything valuable… Even if I do, it won’t be much…”

 

“You don’t have anything valuable?”

 

“No. These clothes are the most precious thing to me… because even if I lose them, I can live!”

 

Mimi’s eyes widened.

 

“Well, since you’re both beggars, I suppose that’s true. We need to get to work setting up the altar, and I’ll get the woods for the ceremony.”

 

Knox and I did nothing, but thanks to Mimi’s fast preparations, we had a pretty decent altar.

Mimi placed his foot on the altar, chin down, as if bowing to the gods, and broke the branch. 

 

He then flung the branches, which had become multiple, into the air.

 

“God, please pour down your heavenly will upon this worthy creature!”

 

After reciting the prayer out loud, Mimi, who had been muttering the words for some time, stood stiff with a gasp.

 

Then he began to stomp his feet, disturbing the prayer on the altar.

 

“What’s wrong, what’s the matter, Mimi?”

 

In a panic, I pinched the fur on Mimi’s belly, and he snapped his head up.

 

“If you two want to get out of here together, I’ll give you half of my life!”

 

My eyes widened. Half the rest of his life…

My dream was to become rich, eat cotton candy, and live with my brother for a long, long time…

 

But I also didn’t want Knox’s life to end.

 

With tears in my eyes, I tugged on Mimi’s ears.

 

“Stupid cat, is there any other way?”

 

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have to, you pea-head. And I’m not stupid, I’m a genius!”

 

While Mimi and I were still arguing, Knox stepped forward, looking determined.

 

“It’s okay, I’ll offer you my life.”

 

Mimi, who had his arm around me, and I, who was clutching his head, stopped moving. Our eyes met, and Knox whispered determinedly.

 

“Knox has a longer lifespan than humans anyway.”

 

“…But even so, if you give up half of your life, you’ll only live as long as a normal human, 

right?”

 

“Of course not, I was destined to die anyway…”

 

“No, you idiot!”

 

“The cave is collapsing, we have to decide quickly.”

 

Despite my protests, the boy was determined. It was as if he would do it no matter what, despite my pleas.

 

I looked around, my shoulders quivering. The walls of the cave were rumbling, and small rocks were falling all around us.

 

So, in short, Knox was right.

 

The cave was crumbling, and we had to choose our fate quickly. Whether to die together, or to have Knox give half of his life…