Chapter 03
Lucian screamed at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face. He must have been really upset that I scolded him despite saying I loved him.
“I know you’re mad at me, but what’s wrong is still wrong.”
His loud crying made my head pound.
“Call me when you’re done crying. We’re going to apologize to the viscount.”
I pressed my aching temples and stood up.
“Waaah! Auntie is stupid! Fat! Poop butt!”
Even after I left the room and closed the door, Lucian’s voice echoed loudly. I warned the servants not to take his side and then headed to my own room.
“Sigh…”
As soon as I entered, I collapsed onto a chair. If my room hadn’t been nearby, I probably would’ve fallen straight to the floor.
“What am I supposed to do with that troublemaker?”
If I didn’t know what the future held for Lucian, I would have just left him alone. I would’ve assumed he’d mature with time.
But Lucian wouldn’t change—not even a little. If anything, he would only become more cruel.
“How did things end up this way?”
The novel From Bastard to Head of the House didn’t bother explaining the villain’s backstory in detail. Lucian was simply described as an aggressive, greedy child.
Before I became part of this world, I just thought the author wanted a straightforward villain.
But now that I had seen every moment of Lucian’s life, I realized I was wrong.
Lucian lost his mother when he was only two years old. His father, who should have been there to fill that void, was always too busy. Because of that, Lucian never received the love and attention a child needs.
“He must really want attention.”
Maybe that’s why he causes so much trouble—to get the attention he never received from his parents.
“But I just kept scolding him.”
I remembered what Lucian said to me earlier.
“You said you were on my side! You said you’d love me no matter what! So why don’t you ever take my side? Why do you always scold me?”
Maybe Lucian was searching for someone who would always be on his side, no matter what.
If he had parents who supported him, he wouldn’t need to desperately seek that kind of loyalty elsewhere. But since he had no one, he was trying so hard to find it.
Someone who would love him unconditionally, no matter what he did.
But as much as I loved him, I couldn’t always take his side. I couldn’t allow him to grow into a bad person.
The problem was, Lucian was too young to understand that.
“If you love me, you shouldn’t scold me! You should always praise me!”
Maybe he already thought I wasn’t really on his side. That I only said I loved him, but my actions said otherwise.
“Would getting him a friend help?”
If he had someone his age to relate to, things might be better for him.
But then I shook my head.
“Lucian has already made so many kids cry.”
He was the only child in the duke’s household, so I used to take him to social gatherings, hoping he’d make some friends.
But, as expected, he never failed to disappoint me.
“Waaah!”
“Lucian bullied me!”
He once caught a spider and threw it at another kid. He broke decorative vases.
The worst was when he shot a slingshot at the heir of the Rovent family. I thought I was going to pass out from stress.
“There’s not a single six-year-old who could handle Lucian.”
Except for Amelia, the novel’s heroine.
But Amelia was destined to fall in love with Edwin, the protagonist. There was no way she would ever get close to Lucian.
“Should I just run away with him?”
I wanted to, but that wasn’t a good plan either.
The Count of Rilfrey, my family, was under my uncle’s control. That meant I had no money or power to take with me.
I had lived my whole life as a noblewoman. I had no skills to survive on my own. Sure, I still had memories from my past life, but…
Could I really take care of Lucian out there? He had lived his whole life as the heir of a powerful duke. If I took him away, he wouldn’t even be able to eat three meals a day, let alone have nice clothes.
“This is impossible. And how would I even steal the heir of a duke?”
If I took Lucian away, they might execute me for kidnapping him.
I was the duke’s sister-in-law, but he was a ruthless man.
“Then… should I stop Edwin from coming to the duke’s house?”
I quickly shook my head.
Edwin also lost his mother at a young age. But unlike Lucian, who lived in luxury, Edwin grew up suffering in orphanages.
Even though he was an illegitimate child, he was still the duke’s son.
I couldn’t ruin an innocent child’s life just to protect Lucian.
“I can’t run away, and I can’t stop the protagonist. So what can I do…?”
As I racked my brain, a thought suddenly came to me.
“Wait… Edwin is still at the orphanage, isn’t he?”
It was so obvious that I had overlooked it.
Edwin’s orphanage was in the duke’s territory.
But the duke wouldn’t find him for another three years. Until then, Edwin would be all alone.
“What if I go and help him?”
I couldn’t just walk up to the duke and say, “Hey, I know where your son is!”
That would only make him suspicious of me.
And I also had to consider the novel’s storyline.
“But… what if I just went there to volunteer?”
I could use charity work as an excuse to visit Edwin’s orphanage.
I could spend time with him and gain his trust.
“And in the end…”
I would be the one to tell the duke about him.
“I’d become the one who rescued him.”
Not only would I befriend him, but I would also be the one to reunite him with his father.
That way, even if Edwin and Lucian became enemies, Edwin would at least spare Lucian’s life because of his connection to me.
Once I had a plan, I had to act fast.
Early the next morning, I got dressed and climbed into a carriage.
“Auntie, where are you going?”
“I have to meet someone.”
“I want to come too!”
“Did you apologize to Viscount Czernin?”
“…”
“You can’t come until you do.”
Lucian pouted at my firm words.
If he wanted to go outside so badly, he could just apologize.
Was it really that hard to say sorry?
“Make sure you apologize before I get back.”
I spoke sternly and closed the carriage door without looking back.
“Are we heading to the main street, my lady?” the coachman asked.
“No. Take me to the orphanage on 2nd Avenue.”
I leaned back against the seat as the carriage began moving.
I had already told the maids where I was going.
“I need to meet more children if I want to understand Lucian.”
“Are you planning to visit an orphanage?”
“Yes. The children there have also lost their parents, just like Lucian. If I spend time with them, maybe I can understand him better.”
That was the excuse I gave.
Luckily, the maids didn’t question it.
They were actually touched, thinking I was a kind aunt who cared deeply for her nephew.
“But why that orphanage? It’s far from here.”
“Because that part of the territory is really poor. I’m sure they need extra supplies, so I want to check and help them.”
Perfect.
Now, my plan could begin.
It was an excuse I made up on the spot. I worried if it would work, but luckily, the maids were too busy praising me.
“Lady Lucella, you have such a kind heart!”
Since I was only focused on saving Lucian, their reaction made me feel a little embarrassed.
Of course, not everyone was pleased. Some of the other servants, who didn’t work directly under me, looked at me with disapproval. They probably thought I was causing unnecessary trouble as an outsider in this household.
‘Anyway, I’m just glad I can go to the orphanage without any problems.’
As I looked out the carriage window, I thought about the boy I was about to meet—Edwin.
A boy with red eyes like his mother and black hair inherited from Duke Bellomon.
The first time Edwin met the duke, he was completely shocked. The man looks exactly like him.
It’s as if he was seeing his future self.
If Edwin had ever seen the duke’s face before, he wouldn’t have been so surprised. But unfortunately, he spent his entire early childhood without knowing what his father looked like.
That was because Duke Bellomon’s lover, Iris, had left him.
Iris was a commoner. No matter how much she loved the duke, she could never become his wife. The only thing she could do was watch as another woman took the position meant for her.
She endured it for years. But everything changed when she found out that the duke’s wife—my older sister, Leila—had given birth to a child.
At that moment, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I was willing to live in the shadows because I loved you, Dehart. But I can’t bear to watch the man I love raise a child with another woman.”
With those words, Iris left Duke Bellomon’s side.
But there was one thing she didn’t know.
‘She was already pregnant with Edwin when she left.’
She only realized it two months later.
But even then, she never went back to the duke.
She knew what would happen to a child born between a noble and a commoner.
A child like Edwin wouldn’t be accepted. He might even be eliminated by those who supported Lucian as the heir.
So, Iris chose to raise Edwin alone.
She didn’t leave the duke’s territory because deep down, she hoped that one day, he would recognize Edwin.
But she never got the chance.
When Edwin was four years old, Iris fell ill with pneumonia and passed away.
With no father and no relatives to care for him, Edwin was sent to an orphanage.
‘He’s six years old now, so he’s been in the orphanage for about two years.’
It would have been nice if his time there had been peaceful, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
The orphanage was in terrible condition.
The building was old, and in winter, the cold wind would seep in through the cracks. In summer, the heat was unbearable, and many children collapsed from exhaustion.
There weren’t enough clothes, so the children had to wear patched-up, worn-out outfits.
And that wasn’t the worst part.
The cruel orphanage director forced the children to do hard labor. Cleaning, laundry—tasks meant for adults were pushed onto the kids.
‘Of course, I want to help Edwin, but I can’t ignore the other children either.’
Knowing nothing about suffering is one thing. But once you do, you can’t just look away.
As an adult, it was my responsibility to protect and care for the children.
That’s why I was in a hurry to get to the orphanage.
