Chapter 25

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Cassian, who was staring at my face for a long time, muttered as if he was truly relieved.

“That’s right. You still look good so far.”

“Then!”

“You’ve got chubby cheeks. You look like a hamster. You get chubby when you feel comfortable.”

“Well, I’m so relaxed living here right now!”

“Really? Well if he didn’t hate you, the Duke…”

My brother frowned as if he had something to say.

“…I don’t understand, didn’t he hate humans? Then, that bastard, I don’t think I’m the only one he hates…”

At the same time, he spoke to himself with a voice so small that I couldn’t hear what he’s saying, and at the same time he made a grinding sound of his teeth.

I carefully tilted my head.

“Huh?”

“For now, no. You don’t have to worry about anything, Astel. I’ll figure it out myself.”

Cassian muttered, lowering his voice.

“And, don’t give it too much thought. They say he’s a very fickle guy.”

It was hard to agree with the word that the Duke was a capricious man, but I nodded to reassure my brother.

Then he noticed something and stopped.

I saw old sleeves wrapped around my brother’s wrist.

When I looked closely, it was only a uniform, but the thread was tangled and the buttons were all broken.

Who’s Cassian Gray?

He was called the flower of the capital city and was a high spirited knight who was loved by many people.

He suffers all kinds of trouble for revenge and wears such worn-out clothes.

I looked at him with pitiful eyes.

Then Cassian shoved something small into my pocket.

It was the same as the pickpocketing skills that he used to rob the pockets of bastards in the back alleys.

‘What?’

As soon as it went into the pocket, it looked like a small ball, but I wanted to check exactly what it was.

But I didn’t open my mouth right away.

Instead, I asked Cassian.

“…how’s it going?”

The subject I was asking was about revenge. Cassian, who noticed what I was saying, frowned and laughed.

“Well.”

Actually, I know.

‘According to the original timeline, he must be struggling to enter the Duke’s castle to find a clue about the spy.’

But this Astel has already taken care of everything.

“Why do you look so proud, Astel?”

“No, nothing.”

He double-checked that there was no one around us and then he asked, poking my cheek with a friendly face.

“How’s the money these days, are you short, huh?”

Others won’t be able to interpret what he meant, but it certainly meant an allowance.

You’re dressed like those jerks!

Stupid idiot brother!

I was so upset that my fingertips went numb, so I bit my lip.

“No, I have enough!”

“Really?”

In a friendly tone, he stroked my hair as he usually does with socialite girls.

I declared proudly with his hand off.

“Yes, Cassian. Trust me!”

“What are you going to do with those brackish hands?”

A smirk bloomed on his face, so I spoke even louder.

“I’ll make a lot of money and give you everything!”

At those words, Cassian responded in a mischievous manner, as if watching a child’s jokes.

“What, really? You really have to give me everything. I don’t have to make money anymore, do I?”

“Of course! You could play like a fool for the rest of your life!”

“Oh, I love it. It was my dream. To live off of unearned income.”

My brother winked his eyes playfully.

Even though he said that, I knew very well that if he really wanted to receive something, he wouldn’t even give me any pocket money.

Even now, he has regularly sent some of his money through the cello, calling it pocket money.

It costs so much money that you couldn’t even take care of your own food, clothing and shelter!

My eyes suddenly burst into tears.

Apparently, the Knights of the Capital are more territorial than any other place.

My brother wore worn out knights uniforms and how difficult it must have been among them.

The knights of the capital are said to be arrogant and very ferocious because many children from wealthy families are arrogant, but it’s not just the bad guys who torment my good brother…

Feeling depressed, I grabbed my brother’s sleeve of old clothes with a serious face.

“Put your finger on it and promise. I’m telling you, I’ll buy you an island when I get rich!”

I grabbed the hem of my dress in my hand and lifted one knee.

It was an act of oath.

Seeing this, my brother felt so special that he smiled brightly as if he was about to die.

He put his right hand on his left chest and winked at me.

“I look forward to it, Astel. Are you going to hate me if I don’t buy you one?”

I raised my chin triumphantly and nodded.

“Yes, I’ll make a lot of money and buy you everything. And…”

I lowered my voice and muttered carefully.

“…well, there are a few women who are aiming for Cassian here.”

My face quickly turned red when I remembered the voices of the maids who were whispering about kissing.

“What, really?”

I put on a sullen expression. I looked around carefully and shook my head.

“So be careful.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

He still couldn’t give up his sly performance and grinned.

I clenched my fist and pounded my chest.

‘Oh, I’m so frustrated. How could you live in such a naive world? I’m going to open your eyes and snore at you!’

As we continued to warn each other and exchanged a few more words, it was time to part quickly, but it wasn’t as sad as before.

I have already caught Sam, because there’s hope that if we catch the other two, we would be able to take complete revenge on those who framed our family.

At that moment, a hoarse voice resounded in my ear.

“Sir Cassian, where are you? You said it’d only take a minute! The meeting was about to start soon!”

Cassian frowned hearing the loud voice.

Judging by that reaction, it seemed that he was the knight leader who he often talked to behind the scenes through letters.

I quickly took a step back.

“Cassion, go quickly. You shouldn’t look bad.”

“Already hated it… No, it’s not. See you soon, Astel. Okay?”

“Yes.”

He whispered in a low voice so that only I could hear him.

“You, if you buy an island later, you promised we would live together?”

“Yes!”

By then, it would be better for my niece and three of us to live together.

My brother was still unaware of the existence of his child, but…

But I couldn’t say that to him at first, so I just smiled at him.

“I have a meeting in the evening, would you see me after it’s over?”

“Yes, maybe tomorrow in the glass garden, how about that?”

My brother, who had a skeptical expression on my suggestion, laughed and messed up my hair.

Then he spoke out in a low and secret voice.

“That’s a good idea. But don’t try too hard to hide that we’re meeting.”

I also lowered my voice and muttered.

“…First of all, I said that we weren’t very close friends.”

“Yes, even if we’re not very close friends, we’ve come a long way, so we could meet a couple of times.”

That was quite right.

Then tomorrow, I could meet my brother again, right?

I looked at him and nodded vigorously.

* * *

I swear it was a coincidence that Duke Anais stopped by the Glass Garden, which he didn’t usually go to.

However, seeing the situation unfold before my eyes, I thought that maybe it was an inevitability led by the sixth sense of the beast.

(**Duke Anais POV**)

In order not to overshadow the rumors, Cassian Gray was clearly an arrogant cold-hearted person.

And he spoke to Astel with his dirty mouth.

-‘You’re gonna hate me if I don’t buy you one?’

…Cassian said.

I’ve been aware of things like pursuing a multilateral relationship since the beginning, but I never thought he’d take away and steal a woman’s money.

And you still call yourself a knight?

Astel and Cassian didn’t get along at all like water and oil.

Cassian Gray, who boasts a splendid female seducing body, urged Astel to roll gently and make money.

Innocent and unwilling to do her part, Astel just nodded eagerly.

-‘Yes, I’ll make a lot of money and buy you everything.’

It was said that money was as valuable as life to humans.

However, Astel easily said, ‘I’ll buy you everything’.

I don’t know how Cassian Gray captured the hearts of women in the capital.

But what was certain was that even Astel was obsessed with Cassian.

Even Cassian Gray was quite brazen, let alone moved by heart.

-‘You, if you buy an island later, you promised we would live together?’

Duke Anais recalled Astel’s eyes overflowing with affection towards Cassian.

She blinked her eyes like a little squirrel when she was with him, and Cassian Gray’s eyes looked well and were very friendly towards Astel.

She looks so frustrated that she couldn’t reach him, and she likes him so much that she feels like she’s going crazy.

Astel pretends not to be, but the look on her face shows it all.

Returning from the garden and entering his office, he was lost in thought with his chin resting on his hand, he pondered.

But the expression on his face was quite terrifying. To the extent that the assistant, who was familiar with his expressionless face, was startled.

“Wha-, what’s going on? No, I’ll be back next time.”

“No.”

He stared intently at the old, worn-out objects on a desk made of fine rosewood.

Fountain pens, table clocks, and small artifacts with various functions that have been kept for a very long time gleamed even though they were worn out.

The Duke then thought.

‘As for Cassian Gray, I already found out.’

Without further investigation, he only served as a knight, and other than that, he was just an ordinary man.

So what I’m gonna find out now is…