He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 166 - Side Story 1 - Getting Permission to Marry was the Hardest Part

 

Since his recent decision to allow Astel and the Duke of Anais to courtship, Cassian had been feeling strangely nervous.

 

The mood at the Vietry estate today was especially so.

 

‘I have a strange sense of foreboding.’ 

 

Knights are naturally sensitive and able to recognize ominous signs.

 

Cassian’s senses were a little sharper, especially since he had always been on the lookout for danger. 

 

He had been suspicious of the atmosphere at Vietry Manor lately. He tilted his head at the sight of the maid smiling happily, a flush on both cheeks.

 

“Why, what is the matter?”

 

“Alas, Count!”

 

He looked puzzled at the maid’s bright smile.

 

“A flower carriage has come for Lady Astel!”

 

Recently, thanks to Cassian and Astel’s efforts, the House of Vietry had been completely reinstated, and the manor had been receiving frequent visits from an unknown flower carriage.

 

The butler at the manor has been checking to see who the carriages are from, and reporting the names of each family to Cassian…

 

‘None of the carriages were extraordinary.’ 

 

But who knows?

 

Cassian frowned uncomfortably at the thought of what danger might be lurking.

 

Just as his expression hardened, the maid spoke,“Lady Astel was smiling like a ray of sunshine when she saw the flower carriage.”

 

“…Ah.”

 

“I saw that she was completely absorbed in the flowers.”

 

A flower carriage and Astel must be incredibly adorable.

 

The corners of Cassian’s mouth twitched at the memory of the sight.

 

“Sent by His Grace, the Duke of Anais, her lover?”

 

Who sent what?

 

At once, his complexion grew frosty again.

 

“How happy she was in her lover’s flower carriage!”

 

The maid’s face flushed bright red. ‘So romantic,’ she thought, plain to see.

 

Cassian started to nod approvingly, then stopped.

 

‘Wait. The Duke of Anais sent a flower carriage?’

 

It wasn’t every day that the insolent man sent a flower carriage to Astel.

 

Not just a flower carriage, not just a jewelry carriage, but a caravan of all sorts of precious things.

 

It had gotten to the point where the Imperial gossip was writing exaggerated and false stories, such as, 「More than half of the Duchy of Anais’s finances have been divulged to the Count of Vietry.」

 

‘Surely a maid wouldn’t do that for a flower carriage.’ 

 

The maid who served Astel in her proximity was smiling so happily, and it wasn’t just because of the flower carriage.

 

“You seem to know something. Any good news, between the two, perhaps?”

 

“Oh.”

 

She opened her mouth, embarrassed, “That’s what all the maids are saying.”

 

“Is that so.?”

 

The maid trailed off cautiously, noticing Cassian’s hardened expression.

 

“Well, that Lady Astel and His Grace the Duke of Anais are going to be married, soon…”

 

…Cassian had a hunch.

 

‘This bastard, has he already proposed to Astel?!’

 

In the end, no one had told him, but Cassian knew all about it.

 

💫

 

“This marriage is invalid, should I say so?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“No, no. They’re not married yet… So, this marriage is canceled, is that how it should be?”

 

Cassian and Rune were reading a children’s book together in a small indoor greenhouse.

 

But unlike usual, Cassian wasn’t paying attention to Rune.

 

Clutching the book tightly in his arms, Rune, who had been pacing the lawn for a while, grass stains on his face, tilted his head to look at Cassian, who was mumbling to himself.

 

“Dad. Stupi.” (Dad is stupid) 

 

“… Dad, genius. That’s how it should be.”

 

“That Dad face, stupi!” (The look on Dad’s face is stupid) 

 

“Do you think so?”

 

“Ye!”

 

Unlike Cassian, who was shocked by the frank words, Rune kept his eyes glued to the book he was reading again as if he didn’t care. 

 

Lately, Rune had been enjoying a copy of Romeo and Juliet that Cassian had read to him the other day.

 

“Hmm!”

 

Unlike Rune, who was smiling happily as he read, Cassian’s insides were rotting.

 

‘Why is Astel so fidgety, and has he already proposed?’

 

He clenched his hands and grinded his teeth.

 

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t control his anger.

 

‘I know the Duke of Anais saved Astel’s life when he briefly lived under the name Knox.’

 

Still, a marriage.

 

A marriage between two people. They are so young, and a marriage already!

 

“Ant is a baby. The hamster is a baby!”

 

“…Yes, a baby.”

 

Cassian’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

 

‘Astel was still young.’

 

Cassian loved his sister far too much to hand her over to a duchy infested with beasts. He clenched his fists in determination.

 

Rune’s head snapped up in a whimper.

 

“Whoa! Here comes Ant!”

 

“Auntie?”

 

Cassian’s ears perked up. True to Rune’s word, he could hear Astel approaching in the distance.

 

‘She has a cute stride.’

 

He wasn’t exaggerating. Indeed, Astel’s steps were different from the others.

 

Maybe it was the lightness of her body, or maybe it was her lovely aura. Each step made a lovely, cute tap, tap, tap sound.

 

‘And how dare that little thief of a man try to hurt my sister, who doesn’t even need to see this…’

 

His expression twisted into a grimace.

 

Astel, meanwhile, had opened the greenhouse door and was holding a small flower in her hand. 

 

It was probably from the flower carriage that had been given to her by ‘that’ Duke of the Beast.

 

Cassian gritted his teeth at the sight of her. But he couldn’t bring himself to direct his anger at Astel.

 

‘Astel’s happiness is my priority, and I must not show my discomfort. Perhaps we should find out exactly what the bastard has done.’

 

💫

 

Today, Cassian and I decided to have a simple picnic in the manor’s indoor garden.

 

Rune screamed, ‘Ant, let’s play!’ and grabbed my dress, but it was getting colder outside, and Rune was too young for a picnic.

 

‘Ant won’t play…’ 

 

Rune sulked, and the maid carried him into the bedroom, where we sat down separately.

 

A small pot of sweet flower tea and a simple dessert were set before us, and it felt awkward.

 

I thought to myself, ‘It’s been a while since I regained my title, and I still feel awkward having tea in such a nice house.’ 

 

Perhaps I was still of the common people’s constitution.

 

With that thought in mind, I carefully observed my brother in front of me.

 

‘I should tell him I’ve been proposed to,’ I thought.

 

But I couldn’t figure out exactly when or how to tell him.

 

Besides, Cassian didn’t look like himself today. He always gave me a sunshine smile, but today it was strangely ambiguous.

 

His mouth was either smiling or frowning. His eyes were piercing, or sharp, or not.

 

Most of all, there was the faintest hint of a dark aura emanating from his surroundings.

 

‘Has something bad happened to my brother?’

 

I pondered, but couldn’t come up with an answer.

 

‘Well, isn’t today the day?’ 

 

The truth was, I had been trying to talk to him about marriage for the past few days, but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.

 

After a moment of silence, he spoke, “Astel.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Do you think…”

 

His eyes flickered wildly.

 

I tilted my head, puzzled, “Yes, do you?”

 

“I mean, did you ever…”

 

“Huh?”

 

I wondered what he meant by ‘such an impure thing’.

 

When I shook my head again and laughed awkwardly, my brother pursed his lips while drying his face.

 

“You’re not thinking of doing that impure, you know, marriage thing right away, are you?”

 

“…Uh, well.”

 

Cassian’s eyes began to flutter furiously.

 

“Astel.”

 

But why? Why do I feel like my brother already knows about my marriage?

 

I should have asked his permission myself, but I didn’t…

 

It’s taken me an incredibly long time to even admit that we’re in a relationship, and Cassian would faint if I told him we’re getting married.

 

I smiled awkwardly, clutching my teacup tightly.

 

‘What am I going to do about this?’