He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 168 - Side Story 3 - Getting Permission to Marry was the Hardest Part
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The next morning.
After yesterday’s leisurely pace, Cassian was in a frenzy of activity.
The reinstatement of the House of Vietry has brought a flood of business that he must attend to.
But even amid his busyness, the one thing that dominated his thoughts was the relationship between Astel and Duke Anais.
‘That sword is not easy to come by, and only a good man would give it… no…’
But a sword does not easily change deep-seated feelings.
‘No. He’s hiding his claws now, but he might lash out at any moment.’
Cassian stared at the documents, deep in thought, until the sound of light, crisp footsteps reached his ears.
He glanced up and looked toward the doorway, just in time to see Astel open the door to his office and enter.
She strode in, pretending to hold up a set of tea sets, and smiled sweetly.
“Voilà, a warm cup of chamomile tea to clear your mind.”
“Thank you.”
Cassian said as he staggered to his feet and made his way over to the couch in the office.
“Have a seat. So, everything okay?”
Astel, sitting across from him, watched Cassian with searching eyes. It was a far cry from the way she usually came to his side and chattered like a bird.
“Mmm…”
A light mumble, but no further words.
Cassian, who had guessed Astel’s intentions, chuckled lightly.
“I suppose you’re curious about what Duke Anais and I talked about?”
Astel raised her gaze. It was a how-did-you-know look.
“Just, he said he’d give me the Ego Sword.”
“Eh, how was it? Was it good? They say gifts are the best way to get acquainted.”
Cassian felt uncomfortable at Astel’s somewhat awkward stuttering.
‘Wait, come to think of it…’
She seemed to know now, somehow, what he and the Duke of Anais had discussed.
Cassian ran a hand roughly through his hair and muttered, “… Well, screw it, Astel.”
“Huh?”
“You, sharing my tastes with the Duke.”
Astel rolled her eyes, looking awkward.
“Uhm…um. All I said was that you liked swords, and he said he’d take care of it.”
Cassian’s mouth twitched and then fell.
“I see.”
“How was it, do you like it?”
“I didn’t.”
“Oh…”
“I haven’t permitted him to marry you yet. You don’t even know each other that well.”
Astel smiled wryly at the stern tone.
“Yes, I see!”
Cassian was taken aback by her cheerful smile.
“Astel, don’t you hate your brother?”
At Cassian’s question, Astel smirked again.
“Yes.”
“Even when I stand in the way of your marriage to a man you like?”
“I’m trying to make things work. Knox says he’ll try harder. So that you’ll trust him. To make you realize how harmless he really is. He’ll keep trying to get to know you.”
“…You’re too good at trusting people.”
Astel babbled on for a while after that, but no longer within Cassian’s listening ears.
He felt his sister’s boundless love and trust for him.
“…Okay, fine.”
Such a loving little sister.
“Tonight, shall we star gaze for the first time in a long time?”
“Yes!”
Astel responded with a bright smile of excitement.
Cassian felt like he had the whole world to himself just being with her when she smiled.
Then he thought seriously to himself.
If the Duke of Anais was an impurity in their happy world, he would get rid of him before Astel gave him more of her heart.
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At that moment, the Duke of Anais was scanning through the recent stories written about Cassian.
The restoration of the House of Veitry had resulted in a flood of articles about Cassian Gray, who had been made Count, but none of them were of any quality.
「From a Commoner Knight who seduced countless Ladies, to the envied Count of Vietry」
「Learn more about Count Vietry’s taste in ladies!」
The only gossip he could find was a story about how he had once been a roguish knight.
“I can’t believe there are fools who still believe this gossip.”
“Well, what do we do about it?”
“For starters, I think we should burn them all.”
The suggestion to burn the gossip magazines was almost grim.
The aide, clutching the gossip magazine that was about to become burned, pondered.
‘No, the Duke trusted that rumor more than anyone else.’
Whether or not the aide was muttering to himself, the Duke of Anais was already locked in his world.
“I’m not sure how in the world you manage to gain the favor of humans.”
“Well… I’ve heard they like money, or in kind, or… well, vacation.”
The Duke of Anais’ expression grew grave as his aide rattled off what he knew about humans.
“Perhaps the Ego Sword was not enough…”
He pondered, his jaw set in thought.
“How much is this ducal castle worth?”
“Eh?”
“How much would I get if I sold this Duke Castle, I asked.”
Whether the aide gaped or not, he continued to clench his jaw, deep in thought.
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Meanwhile, Cassian returned to his office after finishing his starry night with Astel. He immediately opened a stack of newspapers on one side of his desk.
He’d been taking time out of his workday to read the gossipy papers that were circulating.
Cassian needed information about the Duke of Anais, of course.
As he casually skimmed through the uninformative tidbits, his gaze locked on the main headline.
「From a Commoner Knight who seduced countless Ladies, to the envied Count of Vietry」
「Learn more about Count Vietry’s taste in ladies!」
“Hmm, so the rumors about me still stand?”
He was surprisingly unscathed by the rumors about him.
But other things really hurt him.
「The rumors of an affair between the Duke of Anais and Lady Vietry!」
「Their upcoming Marriage probably might be held within the year!」
“What kind of rotten gossip is this?”
Reading through the gossip, it seemed that people in the social circles were already predicting when Duke Anais and Astel would marry.
He crumpled up the paper and muttered sullenly.
“Whose idea was it to marry them already?”
A thought he’d never thought of before, one he’d only known in the back of his mind, had come to him with a vengeance.
‘If Astel really wants to, I don’t mean to play the villain, but…’
Cassian did not have the eyes to view the situation objectively.
Nor was he sure that the Duke of Anais was as good as he seemed to Astel.
‘I need someone to look at this with an objective eye.’
There was only one person who immediately came to mind.
‘Although he’s not that nice.’
Cassian’s brow narrowed in an instant.
It was time to visit ‘him’, the man who had once been his mentor.
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“…so, what’s the problem with…?”
“Two people getting married.”
Cassian went to see the head of the Knight’s Commander, Ropa Shelind.
Ropa dried his face, looking as if he was torn between treating Cassian as Count Vietry or as the next knight in line to succeed him.
“So you are uncomfortable with Lady Vietry and His Grace, the Duke of Anais, being engaged to be married?”
Cassian said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yes, I am uncomfortable with it, and please call me whatever you wish.”
Ropa quickly released the words, “Uh, okay. Anyway, so what’s the big deal, it’s not like they’re getting married anytime soon, and the Duke’s been good to Lady Vietry anyway, right?”
Ropa, who had a great deal of respect for the Duke of Anais, coughed and avoided Cassian’s gaze.
At that moment, Cassian caught the subtle shift in his expression.
“Commander.”
“Hmph, ahem. Why.”
“…You weren’t bribed by the Duke, were you?”
“Of course not, I didn’t…”
Ropa, who was about to retort, was interrupted by Cassian’s sharp gaze and curled his tail.
“Well, he promised to give me a sword…”
Cassian sighed in frustration.
“That’s it. One thing here, another there, all in favor of the Duke.”
Ropa, who was still feeling a bit embarrassed about what he’d been given, protested softly, as if it were an injustice.
“Well, you do realize he’s a good man, so that’s all that matters.”
“Rather than a good person.”
“Well, he’s been exceptionally good to Lady Vietry, isn’t that obvious?”
Cassian didn’t nod, but he didn’t deny the words either.
Astel and the Duke of Anais.
They’d been friends for a long time, they said, going back to when the Duke was called ‘Knox’ as a child.
So of course they would like each other. But…
“Rumors are rumors, and in order to go through with the arduous process of marriage, we need to be more careful…”
Ropa smirked at Cassian’s expression.
“Cassian Gray. It is a frank young man, hot-tempered, and does as he pleases. A man who views people indifferently. A womanizer.”
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