He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 131

“No…”

 

Then three similar-looking old men with hunched backs entered, one after the other, each with white hair, all white clothes, and their eyes were as cold and frightening as someone who had lost all color. 

 

But I knew people who looked like that. No, any healer would know them.

 

“The three brothers, poison geniuses.”

 

“The Three Poison Genius Brothers!”

 

My eyes widened.

 

I had asked for experts in poisons, but I never expected them to bring me three geniuses of poisons hiding in the village of Delan Lucia!

 

The doctor shrugged his shoulders, as if proud of himself.

 

“Actually, I haven’t done much, my dear, let’s see.”

 

He smiled proudly as he pointed to the elderly men lined up side by side in front of the couch where we sat.

 

“First, the baddest of the bunch, Venom One, who claims to boost immunity with poison!”

 

The old man on the far left, the shortest, bowed his head gravely. A scar across his eyebrow made him recognizable.

 

“Second, the vicious one who is said to know every poison in the world, Venom Two!”

 

The old man in the center with the bowler hat waved a hand.

 

“Third, Venom Three, who is said to formulate all the poisons in the world!”

 

The old man standing last smiled benevolently.

 

Looking at them, my mouth gaped slightly and I muttered.

 

“No, how can it be that they just…”

 

“Ah, these people were originally acquainted with His Excellency, the Duke of Anais.”

 

I remembered how Knox was described in the original story as an unknown being who has done all sorts of bad things.

 

Of course, the innocent look in Knox’s eyes immediately made me realize that the description was more of a rumor.

 

“Ah…”

 

“So, now tell me about what we’re going to do.”

 

“I’m in the Duke’s good graces, so I’ll do anything.”

 

I asked cautiously, looking at the three brothers.

 

“Excuse me, what grace have you received?”

 

The one referred to as Venom One smirked.

 

“He sent us the corpse of a demon.”

 

“And the skin of the beast.”

 

“And the heart and chewy tendons of the beast… No, seriously, how come they get fed up with flies?”

 

…that’s because it’s frightening!

 

🌙

 

“You’ve done me a favor.”

 

I was sitting at the Duke’s dinner table, having made a brief request to the three brothers, a trio of slightly terrifying poison geniuses.

 

Recalling what had happened earlier, it seemed to have ended well enough…

 

First, I’ve written down all the symptoms.

 

‘Once we’ve identified what this poison is, we’ll need a cure, which I have a rough idea of…’

 

The flowers, Iris, Delphinium, and thorns of the blue rose, were mixed together to create a makeshift remedy.

 

But the problem was that it wasn’t a complete cure.

 

— ‘Yeah, let’s make a cure first, and then we’ll talk about…,’ they said.

 

— ‘What about people who are already infected? Can we use a temporary cure?’

 

— ‘For now, yes, but we may need test subjects to create the perfect antidote.’

 

— ‘The word test subject gives me the creeps.’

 

I tapped the table with my fork in my hand.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

As I sat at the empty table, lost in my thoughts about the cure, Knox was already beside me.

 

I hastily put down my fork and waved affectionately as he stood in front of me, his ever-so-gentle smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

 

“Come on… No, come here!”

 

Waving back cheerfully, I shook my head at the sight of him sitting across from me, not at the table.

 

‘Is brother not coming today? He didn’t say he wouldn’t come. Is he late with the spy stuff?’ 

 

He said he didn’t know the person, but he knew the position, and it was just right.

 

I said, trying to keep my voice as casual as possible, to hide my concern.

 

“And Sir Cassian Gray?”

 

“He’s gone to interrogate some Knights’ spies.”

 

“Ah. I’m just worried…”

 

“What?”

 

“He’s quite the softie and naive, so I’m a little worried…”

Knox asked with a puzzled look on his face.

 

“He seems to have a pretty vicious temper …”

 

“…?”

 

“Right now, the screams of a spy captured by the Knights are causing a lot of buzz around the interrogation room.”

 

“That can’t be…”

 

Even though Knox hated him, my brother was too good-natured to be called evil.

 

If anything, he had a big heart and was too busy crying all the time.

 

‘Anyway, I hear Knox is a bit prejudiced as well. Are things still bad between the two of them?’

 

I pretended to nod, but inside I began to worry endlessly.

 

‘What if the bad guys are harassing him? Should I have dealt with the spy instead of him?’

 

Before I knew it, the appetizers were on the table, but I was too distracted by worrying about my brother to eat.

 

After a long moment of forking at the appetizers, Knox, who had been watching me intently, cautiously called out to me.

 

“Astel.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You look bothered.”

 

There’s no subject, but from the context, he’s talking about Cassian. I shook my head, eyes downcast.

 

“That’s not true!”

 

“Is that not enough for you?”

 

…this was clearly jealousy.

 

‘Oh, how do I explain this!’

 

He saw my puzzled expression and immediately squinted.

 

“So…”

 

While I blinked and tried to think of something to say, Knox stood up and walked straight to the seat next to me.

 

“Unlike someone who’s incompetent, I’ve dealt with spies who’ve been hiding in the family as servants long before.”

 

“Uh…”

 

“I’ve also invited in some poison experts to develop a cure for the poison, so…”

 

Thud—

 

He slammed the silverware down on the table.

 

“I’ve done my best, please.”

 

In a flash, he brought a lock of his hair right in front of his face.

 

My eyes widened in surprise, but my hand casually dropped the fork. Then I unconsciously began to pet his hair.

 

He lowered his head, and I raised my hand slightly higher, and his hair gently brushed against my hand.

 

“Mmm, that was nice, wasn’t it…?”

 

His glossy hair flowed between my fingers.

 

“Once we find the poison, Astel, you’ll be saving my life again.”

 

‘But… in the original, you didn’t die, Knox.’

 

I stared at Knox.

 

Once, there was a feeling in him that no matter who tried to kill him, he would come back from hell alive.

 

But I know now… very well that he’s just a man.

 

Besides, come to think of it, there was a description of him being a little sick in the original story…

 

I thought it might be a memory manipulation, but when I saw him in front of me, I wondered if all the sinister descriptions of him were distortions and exaggerations.

 

With such soft hair and warm eyes, how could I say no?

 

“Yes, I’ll save you!” I said, turning toward him. Like a hero.

 

“I’m…”

 

I paused a little as I said it, remembering the difference in size and strength between him and me…

 

After I had spoken, I really wanted to save him from all the pain in the world.

 

“So, Knox… I heard something.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

He gave me an earful.

 

“Yes.” 

 

He gave me his full attention. Then Knox dismissed the situation lightly.

 

“It’s stupid.”

 

“Yes. So we just have to pick out the people who have been poisoned and fix them…”

 

The crown prince wasn’t really that stupid.

 

But a single negative emotion tends to make people stupid.

 

Neither the crown prince nor Cornwall seemed to be able to escape the villain’s path.

 

As so often happens with those who are blinded by unwarranted power, inferiority complexes, and emotions they don’t understand.

 

💫

 

A few days later. The supply route connecting the Duchy to Base Camp has been inspected.

 

While scouting the supply routes, Knox, guided by Astel, caught quite a few spies.

 

Not all of them were caught, of course, but it was a good result.

 

In the meantime, the entire army was ready to deploy.

 

The first to leave were the Knights of the Vanguard and the Healers, along with Duke Anais.

 

In addition to Duke Anais, the leading contingent included several members of House Wolf, including the patriarch of House Wolf, who hadn’t gotten a chance to meet Astel, and Lord 

 

Meyer, who was escorting her.

 

In the rear were Lord Ropa Schelind and Lord Retro, the Heads of the Knights of the Rose, backed up by a strong army.

 

Their goal in this war was simple enough.

 

To finish off the far reaches of the North, the territories of the Great Sea of Devly, known to be infested with marine fiends, and then to the cliffs of Hartsfield, where the fiends’ dens were known to be located.

 

Perhaps because of the similarity to their usual methods, the beast knights of House Anais rode surprisingly calmly.

 

The problem was that the Knights of the Rose in the vanguard were somewhat quieter.

 

One of them, Brunhilde, frowned slightly and rubbed his eyes.

 

He had been riding horses since he was ten years old, serving as a knight’s squire.

 

But it had been a long time since he had felt this sweaty and uncomfortable on a horse.

 

‘I’m feeling strangely tired and strangely unhealthy these days, both mentally and physically.’

 

Even as he rode, his nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He glanced around.

 

To his surprise, he was not alone.

 

His closest companion, Garten, was also suffering from chronic fatigue, and it struck Brunhilde as odd.

 

‘I’ll unpack at base camp, get some rest, and then visit the healer in the vanguard.’ 

 

Maybe they’d give him some medicine. He rode on, not even noticing a woman’s piercing glance in his direction.

 

After riding for a while, the first base camp appeared. He dismounted and began unpacking his gear in his assigned spot in the forest.

 

The night was dark and pitch black. As he finished setting up, his gaze suddenly fell on a woman.

 

She was blond, green-eyed, gentle-looking, and dressed in a pure white healer’s uniform.

 

‘I wonder if she’s interested in me.’

 

But she kept stopping as she approached him. Perhaps it was because he exuded such a fearsome aura, but he didn’t have time to consider her feelings. He needed to get rid of her right now.

 

Without a care in the world, he unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled into it. As he drifted off to sleep, plagued by nightmares, he realized that someone had approached his sleeping bag. 

 

There was a snap, and his hastily stitched sleeping bag was ripped open.

 

“Oops, my mistake.”

 

She grabbed him by the nape of the neck and squeezed. In an instant, all the strength left his body. Before he could process what had happened, he heard a giggling voice in his ear.

 

“Hehe…”

 

…No, it wasn’t a giggle, it was more like a grin.

 

Could she be a witch?

 

He suddenly felt threatened, but he couldn’t move, and his sleeping bag was being dragged by her hand.