Chapter 31

‘Since my brother came to the North Territory, the main story would begin at this time, right?’

Astel tried to rewrite the sequence of events from the original.

The first major chapter was the making of a base camp.

The older brother tries to get information while staying in the castle, but he fails every time.

The Duke of Anais was so harsh to humans.

Then, before the swordsmanship contest, the beast knights of the Duke of Anais and the human knights leave for the plains.

It was to visually identify the location that would become the base camp for next year’s war.

It’s not that long, but in the meantime, Cassian becomes close to some knights and would get a few hints that would help his revenge.

Astel yawned for a long time.

‘I’m a little worried about the fact that the Duke expelled the knights in the base camp chapter… ‘

(N: Chapter/Episode from the original novel.)

However, even from the original story, it was clear that the two would hardly ever meet, considering the difference in status between my brother and the Duke, like heaven and the earth.

And the next was…

It was the event I was looking forward to the most, when my older brother met his child.

According to the original, Cassian Gray had a hidden child he didn’t even know he had.

The child was born out of his relationship with a woman who suffered the pain of young love and broke up with him.

He hears about it from Rachel.

‘I tried to find the child first somehow, but my brother hid his relationship so thoroughly that I couldn’t help it and gave up…’

While building the base camp, my older brother who receives Rachel’s letter hastily organizes the situation and heads to the capital.

After that, Cassian leaves the child to me.

For that future, I have been preparing to welcome my nephew.

I stared blankly at Bell’s back as he jumped and left.

Perhaps by now, my brother’s child would be half that size.

Surely, I have to raise it nicely.

That’s when I was walking down the hallway thinking that.

“How was your walk, Astel?”

It was Sally’s voice. Astel nodded vigorously.

“Yes, I’m done taking a walk.”

“I have bad news.”

“What?”

“Two days later, the Duke would be leaving the mansion to prepare for dispatch.”

‘He’s probably going to build a base camp.’

I nodded without further questioning why.

For the first time, I was going to be away from the Duke for a relatively long period of time.

✤

“I have a rather ominous feeling. Don’t you think so?”

Two days later, in front of the main gate of the Duke’s Castle.

The knights, the elite beasts of the Duke Castle, the human knight Cassian, and the commander of the Knights, Ropa.

Ropa, whose complexion was pale, poked Cassian from his side.

“An ominous feeling?”

“Yeah, there’s a war cloud in that castle… It looks like something big would happen if we leave…”

“It’s an illusion.”

As Cassian cut his words, Ropa changed the topic and grunted again.

“I couldn’t even prepare for that great swordsmanship competition, and I’m going back to the capital after the assignment!” Ropa bit his lips in regret.

But Cassian didn’t have time to care about his attitude.

Not long ago, he encountered a more dreadful incident than the Emperor’s call.

Last night, a messenger bird flew to him urgently.

The sender was Rachel, and the contents were…

「Cassian, we’re in trouble and it’s a really big problem.」

There was only one short sentence.

Rachel, his informant, was a light-hearted person. There has never been a time she has described something as a ‘big problem‘.

‘What the hell was that problem?’ Cassian, who slept soundly last night because of his long worries, swept his face feeling tired.

After checking the base camp, I had to go back to the capital. It bothers me a lot to leave Astel alone in this castle.

Apparently, he handed Astel the recording device he had.

He even cast a protective spell inside the image sphere.

(N: it’s a video recording magic device.)

Still, he couldn’t help but worry, considering that his little sister would be staying alone in this castle and live among these beasts.

“Why do you look so tired? As if there’s a big problem.” Ropa asked.

Astel, his younger sister, was the only person who held him and led him to the right path even though he didn’t know where to go.

“I was wondering if my face would work for the northern beasts. Maybe I’ll just try using the ‘handsome guy’.” Cassian had nothing else to say and answered.

He calmed down his troubled stomach and said the words that the commander of the Knights wanted.

Unsurprisingly, Ropa chuckled.

“Uh-huh! As expected, you’re all about that face! Why, what? Who’s the shapeshifter lady you’ll meet this time? An orc?”

“Oh, yes. I don’t know. But orcs are good too.”

“Hahaha!”

He gave only a rough answer, but the commander took the bait. Cassian’s expression turned even more rotten.

As he was about to leave, thinking that the knight commander was easy to handle, Astel’s voice, which had only been floating in his head, resounded vividly.

“It tickles!”

When I turned my head to the voice and found the Duke who got off his horse standing beside Astel.

Cassian stared at the two with a suspicious gaze.

Astel looked the same as usual, but Duke Anais was different.

He was staring at Astel with dirty, stinky eyes.

‘I think he kissed Astel on the back of her hand.’

What the hell are you trying to do with her?

✤

‘We arrived just in time!’

In fact, I came to see my brother, but the nominal reason was to see the Duke off as a guardian.

More than fifty knights were lined up in front of the main gate. The Duke’s black horse was also right next to the knights standing.

The Duke met Astel’s gaze while riding on his horse.

‘I was just going to see the Duke off behind like the other maids and servants.’

But…

“Astel, why are you out in the cold?”

The Duke, who jumped out of the black horse, approached her first.

Everyone’s attention was focused on Astel.

‘This was never my intention!’

The faces of the knights closest to him, who were right next to the Duke, look puzzled.

“Oh my, what have I just heard?”

“Hey.”

“…oh lord, was it time to die?”

Astel couldn’t hear what they were talking about.

Somehow, the Duke seemed to greet me excessively whenever we met, even for a short moment.

He kissed the back of my hand briefly.

“Stay healthy.”

We’ve had a few skinships, but I still flinch every time.

“Oh, it tickles!”

He leaned over and whispered softly into my ear.

“Kiss me now, Astel.”

Astel stared at him with a surprised expression.

Then the Duke whispered calmly, without playfulness, so that only Astel could hear.

“For our imprint.”

“Oh, right!”

Astel clasped the back of the Duke’s hand with a smile.

And she kissed him briefly.

“The Duke too, please be careful!”

He looked a little sad, but…

The Duke, who stepped back neatly, pointed to the small teleport bracelet on Astel’s wrist.

“Anytime you feel sick.”

And Astel understood his next words.

“…Yes, I’ll find you!”

The Duke took a step closer to me.

“No, I’ll come to you. Just send a signal.” He softly whispered into my ear.

“So, you could do whatever you want.”

The Duke smiled enchantingly.

“For sure.”

“… I-I’m not going to overdo it.”

“I see.”

After hearing his answer, I blinked several times and followed my brother from a distance for a moment.

Since when have you been watching, his gaze was on me.

Somehow, he looked shocked, but did he already hear the news?

I glanced at him, smiling, telling him I’m okay.

The child’s appearance may be a little embarrassing and difficult, but he’ll be the sunshine of my brother’s life in the future.

Whenever revenge made him tired and devastated, my lovely nephew was going to be an irreplaceable haven for my brother.

If I take care of my nephew who has closed his heart, he would gradually open up soon.

“Astel.”

“…Ye-yes?”

“Please look at me.”

He brought the back of my hand to his lips.

“I’ll be back safely.”

The Duke stared at me and nodded.

“Only me, that’s it.”

…Astel tilted her head to the words she heard in the wind.

Suddenly, his expression and tone seemed bloody. Before even asking why, the Duke’s black horse left with dust.

I raised his hand and waved it towards the Duke’s horse as he was leaving.

My brother and the Duke left together.

There wouldn’t be a big problem, right…?

First of all, there wasn’t a big problem that happened in the original.