Chapter 26

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: I'll Raise the Villain Properly - Chapter 26

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Edwin lowered his head again. It seemed his internal debate hadn't wrapped up yet.

"If you come, there are tons of toys and loads of delicious snacks. You can eat all the chocolate you love."

I tempted him with things I knew Edwin would like.

"And Amelia's at our house, too."

"...Amelia?"

For the male lead, the biggest influence was undoubtedly the female lead.

"Yeah. She's staying with us until Uncle's fully recovered. What do you say?"

I slipped another piece of chocolate into Edwin's mouth as I asked.

After rolling his round eyes around for a moment, Edwin nodded decisively and spoke up.

"Okay."

A smile spread across my face at the response I'd hoped for.

'It's really not far off now.'

The day the Duke and Edwin would meet.

I secretly clenched my fist. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned—a huge relief.

"Eating too much will rot your teeth. Just a little... Huh?"

Claude had been trying to stop the child from wolfing down chocolate at top speed when a puzzled look crossed his face at something he noticed about Lucian.

For some reason, Lucian's lips were puffed out a good two inches.

'Why's he doing that?'

Claude followed Lucian's gaze. There sat Lucella and Edwin, affectionately sharing chocolate.

Whispering secrets or something for ages, the pair finally flashed bright smiles at each other. Needless to say, Lucian's eyes instantly reddened at the sight.

Lucian was on the verge of tears. Claude jumped up and rushed over.

"Lucian, what's wrong?"

"......"

"Hmm? Don't cry—tell Uncle about it."

Claude comforted Lucian. After all, he was Lucella's nephew, a child she treasured. He couldn't stand seeing tears from him.

"Hmm? Baby."

He used a word he'd never normally say, just to soothe Lucian.

"I'm not a baby!"

Lucian, silent until now, suddenly wailed. His chest heaved with sharp, ragged breaths.

'Lucian's still such a baby.'

Those words Lucella had just said to Edwin stabbed right into Lucian's little heart.

I'm not a baby anymore. I'm a cool big brother who looks after Cherry and Damon so responsibly!

'Oh my, how mature of you.'

Aunt was always so kind.

But she was a little different with Edwin. You didn't need to look closely to see she treated him special.

Aunt praised Edwin for being so mature. That meant Aunt liked mature people.

But then she called me babyish. Which meant...

"Lucian, what kind of way is that to talk to the Marquis?"

"Aunt doesn't love Lucian?"

"What are you saying?"

Lucella put her hands on her hips, ready to scold him, but her brows furrowed at the unexpected question.

"Aunt doesn't love Lucian."

"Don't say that, Lucian. Aunt loves you more than anyone in the world."

"No! Aunt likes Edwin way more than Lucian!"

Lucian squeezed his eyes shut and yelled. Claude hurriedly pulled him into a hug, but it did no good.

"Even when I beg you to play, you always say you have to go to the orphanage. When you get there, you always look for Edwin first. If I haven't eaten yet, you only feed chocolate to Edwin. I know how to eat chocolate too!"

"......"

"You two were just whispering secrets again. Think I wouldn't notice?"

Putting it into words made the resentment bubble over.

"You call me a baby, but tell Edwin he's mature and cool."

Tears dangled from Lucian's eyes as he hiccuped through his words. He roughly rubbed them away with his tiny fists clenched tight.

"Sorry, Lucian. But Aunt lo—"

"Don't come near me!"

"......"

"I hate Aunt!"

Lucian bolted out the door, wailing, without so much as a backward glance. Lucella scrambled after him but was stopped by an orphanage teacher.

"Lady Lucella, give Lucian some time alone."

"But he's got the wrong idea. I need to clear up the misunderstanding and wipe his tears..."

"He needs time to calm down first. Lucian has to learn to manage his emotions. Comforting him comes after."

It was advice from a professional, no less. Lucella could only let out a deep sigh and slump back into her seat.

"Haa..."

A sigh so heavy it seemed to sink into the floor scattered across it. I slumped in my chair, yanking at my innocent hair.

It was true—I'd been so focused on Edwin lately that I'd neglected Lucian.

'But I never imagined he'd be thinking like that.'

It would've been one thing if he'd just thrown a tantrum, demanding I only dote on him. But to flat-out say I clearly liked Edwin much more...

I'd thought it was simple jealousy, but what Lucian felt toward me was betrayal.

'I was so shortsighted.'

Lucian was a kid with more jealousy and possessiveness than most.

The one ally he believed was his in the whole world—his aunt—put him on the back burner for another child. How much must that have crushed him?

And this wasn't just about the current situation.

Before long, Edwin would meet the Bellomon Duke and was fated to become the heir to the ducal family.

That wasn't all. Edwin would grow up showered in a father's love—the kind Lucian had never known.

How would Lucian feel watching that? Losing everything he'd firmly believed was his, from Aunt's attention to the heir's seat.

And all of it was orchestrated by me, his own aunt. Sure, I knew from the original story that Edwin would become the Duke's heir no matter what, but Lucian didn't.

To him, I'd look like the villain behind it all. After all, I was the one who'd found Edwin and brought him to the Ducal Residence.

He was already this heartbroken. When Edwin became the Duke's heir, how much would he resent me? How deep would that sense of betrayal run? I was his only family.

"Lucian..."

Why hadn't I ever considered making Lucian the heir? Why was I handing everything to Edwin? Original plot or not, Lucian was my flesh and blood.

Guilt kept me from lifting my head.

In my quest to avert Lucian's doomed original ending, I'd given zero thought to his feelings.

But I couldn't undo what I'd already done. I couldn't leave a child with a living father to languish alone in an orphanage.

I knew it all already—as an adult, how could I turn a blind eye to a child's suffering?

'But I can't just leave Lucian like this, either.'

This wasn't something that would end with a mere rift between us. The betrayed Lucian might blacken into the villain, seeking revenge on Edwin for taking everything.

"Ugh..."

My head throbbed as thoughts crashed over me like a tide. Imagining Lucian sobbing alone outside made my heart ache.

How on earth was I supposed to fix this?

"My lady."

As I groaned and clutched my head, a voice from beside me made me look up. Claude had sat down next to me at some point.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm... not."

I tried to force a smile, but it wouldn't come. Was my heart too heavy? My lips stayed stiff, refusing to curve.

"Don't take it too hard. Kids that age think their family's love is their entire world."

"...Hearing that just makes me feel even more guilty."

Claude was right. I was Lucian's entire world. And here I'd gone and smashed him over the head with a betrayal like this.

"Just explain it's not true, apologize sincerely again, and it'll blow over soon. As I said before, you're Lucian's everything. No kid would turn down a heartfelt apology from that."

"I hope so, but our Lucian's got a real stubborn streak."

Incorrigibly bullheaded and whiny to boot. Would a kid like that even accept my apology?