Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 194: A Token of Brotherhood

Well, it worked out for the best, so I’ll take it, Damien thought as he tried to stop Caius from hugging him in excitement.

"Sorry, Boss," Damien muttered under his breath as he braced himself against Caius. "It’s not that I don’t like you, but this is kind of awkward in front of Theo."

Theo, meanwhile, was watching them with a wide, amused smile. Damien could only keep blocking Caius’s affectionate advances while Theo looked on, clearly enjoying the scene.

...

Afterward, following some lighthearted conversation between Theo, Caius, and Damien, the meeting finally came to an end.

Caius’s mother spent the rest of the meeting looking visibly drained and disgruntled. What does she even have against her sons getting along? Damien wondered, perplexed.

Once everything wrapped up, Damien accompanied Caius back to his room.

"It feels like that was the first real conversation I’ve ever had with my brother," Caius said, collapsing onto the couch with a grin plastered across his face.

"That’s great," Damien replied, smiling back. Seeing Theo and Caius get along had left him feeling equally content. Hopefully, this would lead to a peaceful resolution to the inheritance issue.

"This is all thanks to you, Damien," Caius said, sitting up straighter and bowing his head in gratitude.

"Nah, Boss, I didn’t do much. But hey, anytime—it’s what I’m here for," Damien replied. Even though he hadn’t done much beyond sparking the connection, he figured there was no harm in graciously accepting the thanks.

"Hmm... Damien, even though the meeting’s over, will you still stay as my subordinate?"

Caius looked up at Damien with a slightly anxious expression.

Now that Damien thought about it, they had never set any sort of time frame for their arrangement. While Damien had intended for it to be a lifelong thing, this seemed like the perfect moment to make it clear.

"As long as you treat me with care, I’ll be your subordinate for life." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

After all, Caius’s kindness had already won Damien over more times than he could count.

"Deal! I’ll take care of you for life, then!"

Wait... wasn’t that statement kind of strange?

Both of them realized it at the same time, their faces flushing bright red. They met each other’s gaze and burst out laughing.

...

As Theo’s departure drew near, Damien began preparing to leave as well.

Incidentally, the elaborate outfit he’d worn earlier, with all its frills and flair, had been carefully redressed by Caius. Damien felt a little guilty. Sorry for being such high-maintenance, Boss.

"Uh, do you think it’s really okay for me to visit my brother’s estate?" Caius asked while Damien checked again to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.

"Yeah, it should be fine," Damien replied casually, trying to dispel Caius’s worries.

Though the meddling mother might try to interfere, Damien thought to himself. Still, he trusted Theo to handle that. Theo’s eagerness to help them bond as brothers was reassuring.

"That’s great! Then I’ll get to hang out with you again, too!"

"Of course! I’m looking forward to it," Damien replied, beaming.

If the visit happened at Theo’s estate—Damien’s well-explored stomping grounds—there were plenty of things they could do that weren’t possible here. He decided to coordinate with Theo to arrange the visit soon.

"Master, it is time," came Ithnan’s announcement from the door.

"I got it," Damien replied. Turning around to Caius, he said, "Boss, I need to head out now."

Damien fastened the bracelet he had taken off earlier, a precaution in case their stealth mission back home got tricky.

"Wait a second," Caius called as Damien prepared to leave the room.

Did I forget something? Damien wondered as he turned around, only to see Caius tugging at a button on his shirt until it tore off.

"What the—?" Damien began, confused.

"Here!" Caius thrust the button toward him. "Hold onto this until the next time I come to visit!"

Oh, a token of promise. Damien hesitated for a moment before deciding, I’ll just deal with Leonide’s scolding later.

Taking the button, Damien reciprocated by pulling a button from his own outfit and handing it to Caius.

"Here’s mine. When you come over, we’ll trade them back."

"That’s a deal!" Caius said, clutching the button like a treasure.

Damien gripped Caius’s button tightly in return, determined not to lose it.

"See you next time!" Damien said with a wave as he followed Ithnan out of the room.

"Yeah, see you!" Caius called back, waving as well.

Damien left with a smile, thinking about how unexpectedly fun the visit had turned out. With a satisfied sigh, he shifted into stealth mode for the journey home.

...

Upon returning, Damien found himself at the receiving end of a stern lecture from Svetozar, who had been waiting for quite some time.

Yep, I’m officially in no position to argue with Svetozar anymore, Damien thought with a sheepish grin.

The return journey was different from the trip there—this time, Damien shared a carriage with Theo and Sebas.

Only Ithnan accompanied Damien as his personal guard, while Thalatha and the others followed in a separate carriage behind them.

"I see," Theo said with a cheerful nod after listening to Damien recount the events.

"When you suddenly appeared in the lounge with Caius, I had no idea what was going on."

"Sorry for surprising you," Damien replied, feeling a little bit sheepish.

At the time, he’d been excited to surprise Theo alongside Caius, but in hindsight, he felt a little bad about it. Maybe he’d gotten a bit too carried away.

There was something about being with Caius that brought out his inner child, and it was hard to rein that in.

"Well, if you and Caius managed to get along, then that’s all that matters," Theo said with a gentle smile, putting Damien at ease.

"And now it seems both brothers have fallen for you, Damien."

Theo’s playful remark dropped like a bomb.

"Wha—?! What are you saying?! There’s nothing like that going on with Caius!" Damien stammered.