He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 141

Perhaps the evil god was helping Cornwall, himself.

‘I see he’s trembling.’ 

Cornwall swallowed hard as he stared at the Duke of Anais’s body, his sweaty hands gripping the hilt of his sword fiercely.

‘He’s definitely poisoned!’ 

He knew what it was, a mere 0.1 gram of respiratory poison would bring down even the toughest of beasts within seconds. 

Even the Duke of Anais was not immune. 

The Duke seemed to have noticed and muttered, “You’ve poisoned us.”

“…Did you notice?”

“But didn’t you know that poison has an antidote?”

His languid eyes flashed with fury and cruelty.

Did he mean to say that he had taken the antidote first?

If so, why was he pretending to be poisoned?

Whatever the Duke’s intentions, Cornwall’s smile shattered. 

If the poison didn’t work, retreating or fighting was the only option. He glared at the warlocks by his side.

“You are foolish.”

Duke Anais raised his sword and slashed at several warlocks approaching him. It was so fast that he wondered why they had not stopped him.

“Ugh…!”

The warlocks that had surrounded Cornwall in a protective circle were all knocked out by the Duke of Anais’ blade.

They were literally helpless.

With each one he took out, the sword’s speed increased.

He aimed for the next warlock, his eyes narrowing as if he were looking at something dirty.

Some he snapped their necks with a simple twist, while others he made short work of with a swift blow.

Many of the warlocks faded into nothingness, like a chess piece dying.

They were truly overwhelmed by the onslaught, and their magic and their formations were no match.

The few who survived realized their mistake in attempting to subdue him with mere binding magic or poison.

But it was too late.

Cornwall grimaced as he realized his defeat, but his only concern now was Astel.

‘I don’t care what that beast is, as long as that girl is dead, that’s all that matters.’ 

Cornwall’s gaze flicked intently toward Astel. To a voodoo practitioner, one could see clearly whether another was alive or dead.

The very breath of a living breath was shallow.

If he concentrated hard enough, he could see the bluish breath flowing out of her mouth.

But no matter how hard he stared, he couldn’t sense a single breath from Astel.

‘She’s stopped breathing, forever.’

His face lit up with joy.

The Duke of Anais, determined to finish off the last remaining warlock standing, strode toward Cornwall once more.

With a calmness unbecoming of a man who had fought a battle, the Duke of Anais clasped his fists lightly.

“I understand, Lord Cornwall, that your voodoo powers have come to an end. This is your last life.”

Duke Anais mumbled softly in his ear.

“So, now, I’d like you to die.”

Feeling the heat of his gaze, Cornwall glared mockingly at the Duke of Anais.

“My purpose has been accomplished, and it is done.”

His lips twitched upward as if he were making a last statement.

“The wench is dead, and you are defeated.”

The Duke did not answer. Cornwall continued, words frothing in his mouth.

“What’s it like to feel the death of someone you love, just like dying, you fool-”

The Duke, who had been restraining him as he listened to Cornwall’s words, lifted his lips in a snarl.

“I am not a loser like you.”

The Duke muttered nonchalantly as he held the knife to his heart.

“If she’s dead, then I’ll die with her, and that’s that. I’m not going to prolong my wretched life.”

The corners of Cornwall’s mouth twitched, and his entire body shivered with a chill.

“A wretched life?”

“Yes.”

“…I’m not, no, I avenged my wife, I avenged my family, I got revenge on those bastards, and it was justified, they’re the sinners!”

The Duke, looking at Cornwall as if he were brainwashing himself, said bluntly, “No, your life has been dull and stupid, and I have no intention of living it.”

Cornwall whimpered in a tone of denial, “What does it matter? Yeah, she’s dead anyway. If you have no intention of continuing your pathetic life, you should die with her, right? Don’t you think?”

The scowling Cornwall made a phlegmatic sound.

But Duke Anais calmly prepared to take his life.

The tip of the Duke’s sword plunged into his heart.

Cornwall, on the verge of death, bared his teeth and chuckled.

“You’re going to kill me, then, so you’re just like me, looking for some lame revenge for the loss of a woman?”

At this point, Cornwall’s face broke into a grin.

The Duke of Anais spoke a word that shattered his happiness in an instant.

“It is different.”

“What?”

“Because unlike you, I did not lose Astel.”

When Cornwall was about to scoff sourly at his words, the Duke struck him with a grin so eerie it sent shivers down his spine.

“Why do you think Astel is really dead?”

Cornwall’s eyes widened as he realized he’d gotten his revenge and died a peaceful death.

“…What?”

Suspicion crept into his voice.

“You’re being rather foolish.”

“What do you mean, that she didn’t die, explain it to me, now!”

Duke Anais gave a twisted laugh and said, “Why should I explain to you?”

With that, the Duke sliced through Cornwall’s heart like a holy sword.

His face grew instantly blue as if he’d vomited up a large amount of blood, even though not a drop had been spilled.

Slowly, Cornwall’s body collapsed to the floor.

His voodoo body decomposed rapidly as soon as his life was taken from him.

“It’s over.”

The Duke of Anais, unmoved by the sight of Cornwall slumped to the ground like an old twig, simply stepped over his body.

“This is the end.”

Now that he was dead, all that remained was to kill one of the restrained warlocks and it would be over.

A small smile crossed his lips as he stared at the warlock.

“Du, Duke.”

“Do you know why I let you live?”

“That, that is…”

“Because in your arms is a letter from the Crown Prince.”

With the demeanor of a fierce beast, he grabbed the man by the throat and whispered unkindly.

“The demon war, or whatever it was, was quite exhausting.”

With Cornwall finished, it was time to deal with the Crown Prince.

The Death of Astel.

The Crown Prince’s tome.

And the imaging tricks he’d set up around the picnic mat.

There was more than enough evidence to deal with him in the palace.

🐾

All of this was Astel’s will, and it ended the way she wanted it to.

‘Now that I see he’s finally dead…’

Astel’s eyes were closed, she wasn’t breathing anymore, her body was cold… a little… His jaw clenched in deep shock.

‘You said it yourself, you chose to die.’

She chose her death.

Knox had heard her reasons for why she decided to die. But there was a difference between hearing the story and facing it.

‘Did it have to be… this way?’ 

Knox held Astel’s cold body close.

He placed one hand firmly on her exposed back, one on her knee, and one on the small of her back.

“Astel.”

No matter how many times he called, there was no answer.

The tears in his eyes filled quickly, just as they had when he was a little boy, when he’d become tearful when he couldn’t hear her answer.

Out of habit, he checked Astel’s body to make sure she was at peace.

Her dress curled up slightly, revealing her tiny feet. He ran his fingertips over the still, blue feet for a moment.

They were bitterly cold.

Knox closed his eyes and opened them, muttering a series of light-hearted spells.

There was still work to be done. He had to do as Astel had said.

She had asked him to go to the capital at the earliest opportunity.

— ‘Do not be surprised if I die, but go straight to the palace.’ 

— ‘What do you mean you’ll die…’

— ‘Shh….’

As soon as the words were finished, he arrived at his capital mansion.

He carefully placed the lifeless Astel on the bed in his room, inside his mansion. Despite the fact that she was not breathing, she appeared to be asleep.

The Duke kissed her lips reverently.

“I’ll be back.”

Still, there was no reply.

He rose to his feet, staring at Astel’s pale, white skin and delicate lips. He had to close this room, and then go to the palace. 

There was no time to indulge in any more admiration.

At last, as Astel had wished, he arrived at the palace.

And at his feet, Cassian Gray appeared. His arm was crudely bandaged in a fake patient gesture, and he was carrying an hourglass, looking quite puzzled.

“Your Excellency, the Duke. Astel is…”

The Duke frowned at Cassian, but he persevered. He glanced at Cassian, then spoke.

“Astel must have a job for you.”

Cassian tilted his head with a frown.

“Yes, well… for now.”

“Take care of that, and then come to the Crown Prince’s palace.”

Cassian’s and Duke Anais’s gazes clashed tensely in the air.

“As ordered.”

Cassian turned his head quickly.

As much as the Duke disliked him, Cassian was still scowling at Duke Anais.

‘And he looks like he’s about to kill us all.’ 

For now, it didn’t matter what the Duke of Anais thought. 

The day would soon come when the family would be exonerated.

Cassian shook his head and slipped back into the shadows. From now on, he would have to concentrate. 

Sneaking past the soldiers and into the Imperial Palace would take considerable effort, even for a man of his caliber.

Duke Anais went to the Crown Prince’s palace, Cassian to the Imperial Palace, and they dispersed to fulfill Astel’s orders.