He's My Real Brother, Duke

As if he had grown up without eating anything properly, the boy, who was as small as I was in childhood, sat hugging his knees.

However, I couldn’t see his face properly with his head down.

As a curious kid, I approached the little boy and spoke to him cautiously.

—’This is an estate of great nobility. You’ll be in trouble if you do not have permission to enter the hunting ground!’

Maybe it’s the memory of when I was ten years old when I lived on the hunting grounds?

I had no recollection of a year or so from the time I was ten years old when I went missing.

At that time, I was surprised to realize that I was reincarnated, and assumed that I’ve lost my memory due to the shock as I went missing.

No matter how hard I tried to find the lost memory, I couldn’t recall it, so I buried it deep in my mind. I began to concentrate on the vision before my eyes.

As I approached, the boy muttered in a small, soft voice.

—’…Ah, no, no.’

—’ Why? We really shouldn’t be here… Let’s get out of here!’

I was a restless little girl.

The boy’s face was blurry in my memories. But as I got closer to the boy, I noticed a strange thing.

This little boy didn’t seem to have come here on his own.

On closer inspection, a white string of light surrounded the child’s body.

—’Hey, what’s this rope thing? It’s covering you…’

—’ I, it’s a magic circle. Be, because I might bother you.’

The boy raised his head. He looked mature and young but strangely resembled something.

When I, as an adult, observed the two from afar. Before I knew it, the magic circle vibrated and tightly surrounded the boy.

I was surprised and more embarrassed than I was, as I looked around eagerly.

Come to think of it, a huge magic circle of the same color as the one surrounding the boy’s body was spreading around.

—’ Go, go away!’

I could see how I’m going to respond to that remark.

Because when I was young, I was more skeptical than I am now when I was afraid of many hardships.

—’ How can I just go?’

—’…What?

—’A little kid like you is imprisoned here, how can I just walk away?’

—’Well, you’re young too…’

As a young child, I hugged the trembling body of the boy.

—’Hey kid, let me help you!’

From an adult’s point of view, they both looked like babies, but I guess I was pretty desperate at the time.

Because I tried to touch the magic circle with my bare hands and dig the nearby ground, causing a riot.

It was a tearful effort to somehow disarm the magic circle. I don’t know why this memory was unfolding right now, but…

Perhaps, this vision could be a piece of memory that I had lost in my childhood, crossing my mind.

❅

The next morning came…

The fever went down, but a strange memory stuck in my head like stars and tormented me.

Who was the little boy trapped in the huge magic circle of the noble’s hunting ground, why was he there, and what happened after that?

At that time, did the magic circle finally release or did it fail?

‘I can’t quite remember what the kid looked like… ‘

Besides, the more I tried to remember, the more my head hurt. I whispered to myself, covering my face with both hands.

“I had a really weird dream…”

I said it knowing there was no one beside me, but someone whispered back.

“What’s your dream?”

His voice was so low and sweet that the hairs in my ears stood up. I was so startled that I almost jumped up like a spring.

“Who, who… Oh, Duke.”

Unlike me, who was emaciated, he was just staring at me.

“Who, who? Oh, Duke.”

He must have been here for a while because he was worried about the imprint.

“…Wha, what are you doing in my bedroom?” Astel asked.

Don’t tell me you’ve been nursing all night or the Duke stayed by my side the whole time. I smiled awkwardly and tried to wipe the sweat from my forehead.

However, the Duke first pressed my forehead with a handkerchief. It was as if nothing had happened.

“They say it’s not contagious.”

“Ah…”

I thought it was the flu or a cold, but it didn’t seem to be.

“Don’t be sick, Astel.”

It was then that something broke through our tranquil moment. My brother’s child was crawling and weeping on the floor.

“Don, sick! Aste!” (The child copying the Duke’s words.)

A child with sparkling eyes jumped onto the bed. My focus quickly shifted to the child.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“Hhmm!”

The child laughed, bashfully, without saying anything, and fell asleep on my chest.

‘Do you miss your mom…’ Astel thought watching the child sleep.

I was dazzled by the heat, stroking the boy’s hair blankly.

The Duke’s expression contorted for a moment when he saw us, and then returned to his usual expression. Then he gently touched my forehead.

“The fever has gone down, and you don’t even cough anymore. You’ve been coughing a little all night.”

“Oh, did the maid say that?” Astel wondered.

Because the Duke spoke as if it were natural.

“There was no maid.” Duke Anais answered.

I stared at the Duke. Something…

“Well, then who…” (Astel)

“I was here.” (Duke)

It was as if he was asking why I was asking something obvious. Is it just me who was embarrassed by this situation, or it’s rather natural for him because of the imprint?

However, it will never be common for the Duke to take care of the sick himself. He handed the water and medicine to me, who was stuttering in embarrassment.

“Drink this.” (Duke)

With my mouth open in embarrassment, I gulped down bitter medicine and took a sip of water.

‘It’s too much!’

I blinked and frowned slightly.

“Well, I think I know how the patients feel…”

At that, I chuckled slowly. He did not hesitate to wipe the water off my mouth with his hand.

Meanwhile, as our conversation continued quite a bit, the baby in my arms wriggled for no reason.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll stay still.” (Astel apologizing to the sleeping baby)

When I apologized, the Duke lifted the child from my chest and put it down next to me on the bed.

“Get up.” (Duke)

It wasn’t a delicate touch, but it wasn’t enough for the child to get hurt. The child seemed to be whining for a while because his seat changed but soon fell asleep again.

He whispered, looking at the sleepy child on the bed, “Astel, that, ah.. no…”

That’s all I heard… Was it just my hallucination?

“What’s that child’s name?”

The question put me in thought for a moment. I knew the name of the child through the original. But officially, it has not been decided yet.

Should I tell the Duke the name of the child my brother named in the original work or not? I pondered, ‘…It would be weird to say that my friend’s baby doesn’t have a name.’

And of course, he needs a name to live in this world.

After thinking deeply, I made a quiet decision. To give the child’s name.

“This child’s name is…”

The child’s name naturally flowed out of my lips, considering that I never took it out to save it for later.

“Lune.”

I didn’t make up another name for anything.

‘Lune’ was the real name of the child in the original story.

My older brother, who was killed by the final villain, gave the child a name the moment he died.

I, Astel, my brother’s star, and… That little boy, in the sense of my brother’s ‘light,’ asked me to call him ‘Lune’…

In the novel, those words were nothing but the will of my brother.

‘The child’s name must be Lune.’

I declared calmly,  “The child’s name is Lune.”

I looked back at the Duke with a bashful smile. But it was a little strange. I just gave him his name, but somehow…

The Duke’s expression now, with a bit of exaggeration, was even more terrifying than the face of a dying human being.

❅

“The name…”

Duke Anais tried to say something, but cut his tongue roughly and closed his mouth. He recalled a conversation from a very long time ago.

—’When I have a child, I will name it Lune.’

—’ Why…?’

—’ Because my name means star in the ancient language.’

—’Well then… ?’

The mischievous, immature boy carefully grabbed the little Astel’s cuff and murmured.

—’I don’t have a name… ’

—’ Really?’

—’ Yes… ‘

—’ Then I’ll name you! Your name is, um, what shall I do?’

At that time, Astel shimmered with every movement to match the meaning of the name. The boy asked carefully in a lively voice that contrasted with his darkened face.

—’My name is?’

Astel smiled broadly and stroked the boy’s hair.

—’ All right, I made up my mind! Your name is…’