He’s My Real Brother, Duke – Chapter 170 – Side Story 5 – Getting Permission to Marry was the Hardest Part

Author: Nikss

💫

Cassian returned to the manor with mixed feelings.

As he rode his horse, rode back to the manor, walked through the halls, and reached the dining room, Ropa’s advice kept running through his mind.

‘You told me to get rid of my prejudice against the Duke of Anais and trust Astel’s judgment, didn’t you?’

In truth, I was beginning to wonder if I should.

‘After all, it’s not as if he’s going to tear himself away from Astel anytime soon.’

As Astel’s older brother, it was my responsibility to make sure she was in love and not in a rational state of mind.

But even if he had, he couldn’t help but wonder.

‘Why is he suddenly at my family’s dinner table?’

I wasn’t looking forward to this unexpected dinner with the Duke of Anais.

As much as I wanted to kick him out…

“The Duke is staying, and he wants to dine with us!”

…who could say no to Astel’s sunshine smile, at least not Cassian.

“Mmm, sure.”

But the heart was another matter.

Until the appetizers were served, he’d been eyeing the Duke of Anais, who sat with him at the table, with a distrustful gaze.

It hadn’t even been half an hour since he’d decided to get rid of his prejudices and get to know him properly, so it was no wonder he was still feeling uncomfortable.

With that thought in mind, Cassian let the words slip out of his mouth.

“It’s good to see you again, Duke.”

“Yes, it’s been a long time. It seems like forever.”

With that greeting, he turned to Astel, his eyes fixed on her with an almost condescending fondness.

Cassian narrowed his eyes and stared at the Duke of Anais, then paused.

“Brother?”

He knew Astel was looking at him questioningly.

Forcing himself to straighten up, he looked back at the Duke of Anais.

“Oh, it’s no big deal. Let’s all eat.”

The moment he said that, Cassian paused, reading the impatience in the Duke of Anais’ eyes.

‘What’s that look?’

No, Cassian realized with a knight’s instinct.

‘Is he afraid of being rejected by me?’

As he took Ropa’s advice, he cleared his mind of anger and prejudice, and began to see the Duke anew.

Cassian’s jaw clenched, and he paused to sip his drink.

The Duke of Anais was staring at him again.

“Eat, please.”

“There is something I wish to speak to you about.”

“…?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said the other day that I would wait until you gave me permission to marry, even if it was five hundred years.”

He looked incredulous at the mention of five hundred years.

“No, you’ll be a skeleton in five hundred years, won’t you?”

“I’ll keep waiting.”

Despite his willingness to wait, impatience was evident on the Duke of Anais’ face.

‘Look at this.’

Cassian said, leaning back in his seat and assuming his armor’s stance.

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes. But I can’t do anything if I turn into a skeleton, so I want to be good enough for my brother before then.”

Astel asked, playfully patting the back of Duke Anais’ hand.

“Hmm, well, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“I’ll give you this empire if you want it.”

…That was definitely genuine.

With the blood of a beast in his veins, it wouldn’t be easy for him to pull his punches.

‘Please take a good look at me,’ was the echo of the Duke of Anais’ many flattering words.

‘Truly, Astel, your eyes are perfect.’

He would do anything to get her hand in marriage.

His sincerity, which I’d been trying to ignore until now, now felt like a burden, making me uncomfortable.

“No, I don’t need the world, I just need you to be good to Astel and be good for her, that’s all.”

He said it in a way that meant he wanted to end the conversation.

But had his words stirred the pot?

The Duke of Anais looked him straight in the eye and spoke firmly.

“I love Astel. So much so that I would give the world to her, if I had to… and I’m sure I could do it.”

Cassian blinked at the sudden outburst.

He’d expected his customary flaunting of his wealth, but this was clearly sincere.

“It’s not just because she was my childhood savior. I love her with all my heart, and I want to make her happier than anyone else in the world.”

Cassian didn’t answer.

There was something genuine about the way he mumbled through his teeth.

His desperation now resembled his own desperation as he sought to avenge his parents.

‘That much?’

I knew he had feelings for Astel, but I hadn’t expected it to be this desperate.

Cassian’s mouth twitched in silence, and then he spoke.

“You really do love Astel.”

And, to Cassian’s surprise, it was Astel, not the Duke of Anais, who answered him.

“Yes, and I love Knox just as much, if not more, and I want to marry him.”

Astel’s pure white hand overlapped the Duke of Anais’s. Cassian stared at their hands.

The hand Duke Anais hadn’t forced her to take, but Astel had chosen to hold.

At that moment, Ropa’s advice flashed through his mind.

— If you love Astel, you must trust her.

‘Then I, too, must trust her judgment.’

Cassian closed his eyes tightly. A long moment passed in silence.

When he opened his eyes again, Astel and Duke Anais were still clutching each other’s hands tightly.

The sight of them gave him a faint sense of assurance.

“…I see. Perhaps we can have dinner together from time to time.”

This was quite a step backward for Cassian’s personality.

Astel, who knew that better than anyone, smiled broadly.

“Yes, I’d love that!

“Yes, I do too.”

Astel beamed, driving the wedge home.

“Because we’re going to be a family!”

At the mention of family, Duke Anais looked at Astel and whispered with a big grin on his face, as if he couldn’t be happier.

“I see, I’m touched.”

Cassian was dumbfounded.

The Duke of Anais hadn’t just said he was verbally impressed.

‘Duke, you seem to have tears in the corners of your eyes…’

The strangeness of his expression made Cassian abandon all thought.

How could a man be so moved by the mere mention of ‘family to come’?

He had a sinking feeling that he might be outclassed in his affection for Astel.

💫

Once Duke Anais had returned to his ducal residence, Astel and Cassian entered the Count’s private chambers.

Cassian sat down across from Astel and decided to have a light drink to end the meal.

As he poured Astel a glass of red wine, Cassian set his jaw and spoke playfully.

“My baby’s all grown up. And drinking.”

“What do you mean, a baby? I’ve been an adult for a while.”

“You still look like a baby I just left at the shore.”

Astel lifted her wine glass and smirked.

“Poof, you’re done.”

Cassian mimed raising his wine glass and clinking it against the air, as if to give Astel a point.

“So, brother, are you accepting Knox now?”

“Um, is that it?”

Tilting her head, Astel said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m surprised you seem to be warming up to him more easily than I thought.”

Cassian grinned evilly, then whispered, “Listen, Astel. Getting to know someone is one thing, but permitting them to marry is another. Didn’t the Duke say he’d wait five hundred years?”

It wasn’t an easy change of heart.

All it took was a glimpse of sincerity in Duke Anais’s eyes.

Even for a man like him, the warmth of his gaze toward Astel was genuine.

‘The Duke of Anais is showing his true feelings for Astel, so I conceded.’

But it was clear that he was opening up, albeit slowly.

‘Not that much, but a grown-up concession.’

Cassian smirked, lifting his wine glass lightly once more.

Astel, noticing his expression, patted him on the back and asked.

“How about the three of us take a trip together to a vacation retreat?”

It was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, an attempt to mend fences between himself and the Duke of Anais.

“Yes, that would be nice.”

Of course, Cassian was more than ready to fall for Astel’s trick.