He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 136

Thud, thud, thud—

 

And that afternoon, the cheerful sound of hooves faded into the distance as the knights galloped back to the shore.

 

Julie decided to wait a little longer, to watch the great event unfold.

 

Within minutes, the news she had been waiting for arrived quickly.

 

“Sir Cassian Gray is in critical condition!”

 

Lord Retro’s thunderous voice rang in her ears. Julie stifled a giggle at the thought of the future, and hurried out of the barracks. 

 

The area around the barracks was already half in chaos, with knights stomping their feet and healers sighing in frustration.

 

“Oh, my goodness!”

 

Julie shrugged it off and joined the crowd of mournful healers. 

 

She saw Lord Retro picking up Cassian, who had nearly fallen from his horse. From the look on Cassian’s pale face, it seemed he had been spot on.

 

“As planned.”

 

A short distance away, the Duke of Anais, who had just slashed the throats of several griffins, stared at Cassian as he collapsed, unable to steady himself.

 

‘Cassian Gray is wounded, they’re going to order a retreat!’

 

Julie stared through the spyglass, her hands sweating. The Duke of Anais mumbled something to himself repeatedly, and soon a loud blast of horns sounded.

 

“All troops, retreat!”

 

Surely, Cassian would think it’s important to secure his troops. Julie’s mouth curved into a wide grin. Cassian was sprawled out, unconscious.

 

The first of the army had retreated.

 

The Demon War, led by Duke Anais.

 

The first defeat.

 

💫

 

「The Emperor’s assassination, followed by the news… The capital’s flower, withering away.」

 

「Demon War, first defeat foretold.」

 

The news of the Demon War’s defeat and Cassian Gray’s critical condition reached the capital, and that afternoon, the streets of the capital erupted in a wave of spontaneous mourning.

 

Of course, Cassian was not dead, so the word ‘mourning‘ seems a bit of a stretch, but the atmosphere in the capital resembled a massive memorial service. 

 

The ladies of the noble houses joined the procession, dressed in full regalia, with white and black flowered corsages draped over their shoulders.

 

Others were less than thrilled with the spectacle. They clicked their tongues at the sight of women dressed in black and joining the mourning procession.

 

“What, they’re making a big deal out of nothing…”

 

And they literally gave us all sorts of hateful glances and…

 

“Shut up!”

 

“Get out of here, or I’ll trample you.”

 

…threats.

 

Despite the occasional argument, the ladies who had always admired Cassian, and the commoner women who had heard his tales, remained steadfast. 

 

They simply waited and prayed for him to wake up. Even during the evening prayers of ordinary families.

 

“Let us all pray, lest the flowers of the capital wilt.”

 

“No, not my wife, who never blinked at the news of the Emperor’s death!”

 

“Lord Cassian is handsome, and not a pot-bellied man like you, and the heavens are indifferent to this rascal!”

 

And so Cassian’s crisis became a source of marital discord.

 

Men with wives in the capital were advised to keep quiet, or else they’d get their butts kicked.

 

Whenever women gathered, they talked about Cassian.

 

One particularly convincing conspiracy theory was brought up several times.

 

“Could it be the work of a maniacal beast jealous of Lord Cassian’s handsome face?”

 

“He’ll tear them all apart, whether they’re your wife or your husband, and shove them into the devil’s belly with a slam.”

 

A fury quickly rose in the air.

 

It was a rage of immense power, unlike the soulless fury of the black liquor-fueled people at the Emperor’s death.

 

That day, the tavern was packed with women.

 

They complained that they could not stand this filthy, twisted world that had stolen their handsome, well-built, and even well-mannered knight.

 

From that day forward, even the youngest Academy students volunteered to become knights.

 

Of course, as much as there was a wave of mourning, there were also many who complained about the situation of Cassian.

 

This was especially true of the Crown Prince, who was not favorably disposed toward the Duke of Anais.

 

Cassian’s critical condition and the news that he had even retreated from the Demon War!

 

The Crown Prince and his entourage rejoiced at the good news, which was like a short rain.

 

“It seems like the heavens are helping us.”

 

“Yes, it is. For the first time ever, we have retreated from the territorial waters of Devly!”

 

The Crown Prince shook his champagne glass lightly to create white foam.

 

His grin grew wider and more satisfied.

 

“A first for that beast, isn’t it?”

 

The warlock beside him said in a low voice, as if to match the Crown Prince’s sarcasm.

 

“Yes, that beast is eating up the food supply, as well. He used to be best friends with Cassian Gray, so how shocking is that?”

 

Cassian’s relationship with the Duke of Anais had been riddled with misunderstandings.

 

But now they’d become such close friends that they knew the number of spoons in each other’s kitchens.

 

“A man without an entourage, losing one of the few he has, must be painful.”

 

The Crown Prince’s spirits lifted, and he grinned from ear to ear.

 

“Now that I’ve weakened him, I’ll kill the beast’s little cub.”

 

As if on cue, Cornwall said with a wicked grin.

 

“Aye. And at the same time, Astel, I think we can take care of that wench.”

 

“Oh, there was that girl?”

 

The Crown Prince twitched slightly, looking neither interested nor impressed.

 

“How?”

 

“Right now, Duke Anais is probably in tears over his first taste of defeat.”

 

“Yes. And?”

 

Cornwall took a step toward the Crown Prince and whispered in a voice as thin as a ghost.

 

“Killing Duke Anais, taking Astel alive, and blaming her for everything.”

 

Cornwall clicked his tongue, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

 

“Astel, the ward of the Duke of Anais. Turns out she was the daughter of a rogue family hiding out in the North, and she assassinated the Duke… a beautiful scenario.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Looking quite tempted, the Crown Prince lifted his chin.

 

Cornwall met his gaze and spoke again, “We’ll torture the wench into testifying that she’s a member of Count Vietry’s party, and that she tried to kill the Duke with that same traitorous Cassian Gray.”

 

“Not bad.”

 

“Cassian Gray, it would be fun to have that bastard in the mix, you know.”

 

The Crown Prince slammed his champagne glass down on the table.

 

Clap, clap, clap—

 

There was a slow applause.

 

“We’ll get rid of them all… and then we’ll absorb the ones who’ve lost their minds and enslave them.”

 

The complete annihilation of House Vietry and the death of Duke Anais seemed to be in plain sight.

 

They chuckled, drunk with their plans.

 

“We can’t simply leave the Duke’s death to the spies, so I’ll set out for Devly’s domain.”

 

Though he may have been defeated in the Demon War, and he may have been chipping away at the loss of his aide Cassian, Duke Anais was no pushover.

 

He would have to be meticulous about what he did next.

 

Cornwall smirked with satisfaction and patted his pockets.

 

Soon enough, we could annihilate him.

 

‘The remains of that wretched Vietry.’

 

💫

 

“Co, cough, uck!”

 

Inside the one-man medical barracks. Cassian lay helplessly on the bed, blood trickling from his mouth.

 

His abs, once firm, were stained purple.

 

Purple spots dotted his forearms like bruises.

 

The Knight Commander, Ropa Shelind, who had barely made it into the barracks after the swarm, blanched.

 

“Oh no…”

 

He laid the wild chrysanthemum on Cassian’s blanket, wherever he’d gotten it from.

 

Cassian frowned slightly, beyond his dwindling consciousness.

 

“What, are you asking me to die…”

 

“Your handsome face is ruined, boy. Oh, dear.”

 

“Ugh, cough!”

 

Seeing Cassian coughing up blood, Ropa left with tears streaming down his face.

 

Despite Cassian’s desire to rest, he had another visitor.

 

It was Astel, the healer, who pulled open the tent door to the barracks.

 

“Aas… Tel, ugh, cough!”

 

Cassian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth again as Astel stepped through the door.

 

Astel smirked and waved gently, “Hello, Cassian?”

 

It was a light-hearted way to greet her near-death brother.

 

But Cassian’s demeanor toward her was also oddly suspicious.

 

“Long time no see, huh?”

 

He wiped the corner of his bloody mouth with the back of his hand in a casual greeting.

 

It was a far cry from the ‘Lord Cassian Gray is about to die’ stories the world had heard.