He's My Real Brother, Duke

My head was throbbing like it’s splitting in half.

Having such a terrible headache, I took a deep breath and closed the Dairy, placing it back on the shelf.

“Whew…” ᴬˢᵗᵉˡ

A long sigh escaped my lips as I breathed, and I felt somewhat hot.

As I pressed my temples to the constant tingling of headache, I could feel the baby in the bed staring at me worriedly.

“It’s okay, this is nothing.” ᴬˢᵗᵉˡ

These were words to reassure the child, who puffed up her cheeks and shook her head.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

When I focused on the part where I felt the tingling pain, I felt a little better.

‘For now, let’s start with the medicine.’

I always had to make medicines and feed it to him at the same time. 

I said, as I watched the child roll freely in the bed,  “Baby, would you like some medicine?”

“Yes! Today I saw…amazing man!” The baby shouted.

I feel certain that the more potion I fed him, the more pain he suffered would disappear and at the same time his development and growth would increase.

Unlike the first time I met him, the baby could now speak well.

“Really! Mister Duke is amazing!” 

I smiled as I stroked the baby’s soft cheeks.

“Yes, is the Duke so amazing?”

“Yeah! I think he likes Astel a lot!’

“…No, that’s stupid.” ᴬˢᵗᵉˡ

“Baby not stupid!” (Baby)

The baby inflated his puffy cheeks even bigger.

“Are you mad?” ᴬˢᵗᵉˡ

“I’m angry!” (Baby)

The baby, who had been rolling on the bed with his feet, lifted the bedding and slipped into it.

The child, who went into the large blanket that pressed his body heavily, poked out his head and chattered.

“Hmm… If you kiss me.”

‘Does it mean that kissing will relieve his anger?’ Astel thought.

Certainly, seeing that the baby speaks quite well, like a child of his age, or maybe even more, made Astel proud.

Astel laughed cheerfully as she watched the child wrapped himself in a blanket.

“Baby, come here.”

“…Hm?”

“I’ll kiss you, so come here.”

“Eh, No… Here, baby angry!” (No, you come here, I’m angry!)

I got up from the table and headed to the bedside. Then, I leaned over and kissed the baby on both cheeks.

“Geez…”

However, the child’s reaction was strange.

“Astel, it’s hot!”

I thought I was fine, but it seems that I got a fever again.

‘Is it because of the imprint?’

However, it was not a symptom of imprinting fever. There was only a mild migraine, a throbbing in my temples.

It’s strange…

“Is it a cold? I need to take some medicine.”

“Hmm!”

I staggered back towards the table.

As I was looking for the medicine that I had kept in the table drawer, I glanced at the center of the table and hardened.

‘Why is the diary open?’

I’m sure I put it back on the bookshelf. But it wasn’t just that.

On the front page of the diary, which was laid out haphazardly, small letters that I had never been before were written.

「Wow, I saved someone! It’s really cool. It’s a little… Although there’s a problem.」

The crooked, ten-year-old handwriting was definitely mine when I was a child.

Embarrassed, I rubbed my eyes.

Then the writing disappeared again, and only a blank white paper remained.

‘Am I mistaken because of a high fever?’

It was too clear.

I grabbed the diary and looked around, but it was the same as it was before.

Feeling possessed by something, I pressed down on my throbbing forehead and recovered my stupor.

Then, after taking the diary and putting it on the bookshelf, I took medicine and lay down on the bed.

“Aste!” (Baby)

The child pounded on the bed.

“Yes…?”

I answered in a weak voice, leaning my head on the pillow and stretching my shoulders.

It wasn’t hard to breathe, but it felt like the heat was rising quickly. So, I closed my eyes.

My vision quickly darkened, and even the reasoning I was holding onto quickly collapsed.

❅

The boy was still young.

I was at an age where everyone thought I’m only three years old by looking at my small body.

I couldn’t even write, and couldn’t even speak properly.

When I was in the orphanage, I was not able to lead a normal life due to the unique disease of mana collision, and I was often behind my peers in every way.

However, the child had a slightly more extraordinary side than his peers.

In particular, after starting to eat the potion specially made by Astel, he grew rapidly day by day.

Now he has grown up to be as normal as a child of his age, and has become strong.

However, maybe because there was a time when he was sick, the child was relatively quick to notice the pain of others.

“A-are you okay?” The child asked.

Astel was speechless.

The baby, who tilted his head, lay down next to Astel and spoke as quietly as possible.

But Astel didn’t answer.

As he waited for Astel to open her eyes, memories of the past flashed into the child’s mind.

—’Who the hell is going to take this sick kid?’

—’I heard he was also abandoned by his mother.’

—’He’s going to die soon anyway, so please take care of him until then.’

What exactly did the people at the orphanage talk about among themselves?

Perhaps thanks to the medicinal effects, I began to remember the blurry things little by little.

—’Children without parents.’

—’Parents…?’

—’A mom and dad. Something like a strong fence that gave birth to you and will raise you.’

He did not know exactly what a strong fence was, but at that time, the child instinctively understood.

He knew that in order for him to survive, he had to have strong, warm adults by his side.

I needed a lovely mother like a warm and fluffy Astel and a strong father like that little scary black dog. (The baby refers to the Duke as black dog.)

Not long ago, the big puppy sisters said that.

The Duke is the ruler of this castle. And I heard him whispering to Astel that he’s interested in Astel.

When I thought of the man who was called the Duke, I naturally remembered the wordcard that Astel had shown me.

The child always carried the ‘clothes’ word card given by Astel in his pocket under his chinrest.

Astell said the person wearing the clothes was his father…

Not long ago, the dog uncle was wearing such clothes just like the picture in the wordcard.

The baby pondered, raised his hand and whispered to himself covering his mouth.

“Oh my gosh! Daddy…came into being.”

In the baby’s mind, a ‘Ta-da!‘ rang and his mom and dad were set at that moment.

Astel, who was next to him, had a hazy dream and was breathing hot, wheezing.

Once again, the child tilting his head moved his hand and placed it firmly on Astel’s hot forehead.

His tiny fingers pressed against the bones of Astel’s forehead.

“Hot!”

Astel was like a mother and a friend to him, who had always been lonely while living in the orphanage.

Such Astel was currently strange…

Her face suddenly turned red and just had a fever.

“Ahh!”

The child knew very well.

That her red face was a sign that she has a fever and that she’s very sick.

“She’s hurt…”

So did he…

When the child was sick, his face was also red and he felt the heat as if boiling inside his stomach.

Soon, the bubbles burst in his stomach, causing great pain.

After the baby pulled his hand off Astel’s forehead, he jumped out of bed and landed on the floor.

‘I had to come back quickly and get someone who can save Astel.’

The child knew it was like a ghost.

He knows who likes him and who doesn’t.

And someone who can help him.

It was a sense he had honed while growing up in the orphanage.

“Dad… clothes, and puppy… sleeping…” (Daddy, wearing the clothes and puppy sisters are sleeping.)

The baby ran out of breath to the front door. And with his thin shoulder, he slammed the door hard with a ‘bang!’.

The door squeaked as it opened.

“Baby!”

The child waved at the maids outside the door.

“Puppy! Hurry…”

“…Yes?”

Jenny tilted her head in wonder at the word puppy.

‘What did everyone call the scary dog?’ The child thought l.

The child, who tilted his head with a confused expression, clapped his hands with eyes widened.

“Duke!”

“What?”

“Duke, hurry!” (Get the Duke hurry)

There was only one thought in the baby’s head that,

‘Astel is sick.’

So he has to go find the strongest person and have him fix it!

But the child was confused about how to explain the situation, and kept repeating the same words over and over again.

Sally stubbornly said ignorant of the problem but perfectly understood the child’s word’s,

“You can’t, baby.”

“…Hmp!”

“Our lives are precious. Come on in and go to sleep.”

The child was pushed back inside.

“Do you want me to put you to sleep?”

Jenny laughed and jokingly said, when she saw the child shaking his head.

“Oh, you must be tired. Let’s close the door then.”

In front of the child, the door slammed shut in vain.

“How—?” (How, what to do?)

As he rolled his feet, an open window came into the child’s eyes as if by fate.