In the original novel From Bastard to Patriarch, Lucella had failed to raise Lucian properly.
Unable to handle his wild and uncontrollable nature, she eventually ran away, abandoning him in search of her own life and freedom from the exhausting burden of childcare.
Lucian was just that troublesome.
Perhaps things would have been different if the Duke of Bellomon had acted like a real father. Unfortunately, the man was almost never home. Even in a good year, he returned to the estate no more than four times.
Because of that, he never even realized that Edwin—the story's protagonist—was constantly being bullied by Lucian.
Believing that the one person who should have been on his side had abandoned him, Lucian grew even more twisted.
Come to think of it, that's ridiculous. Did they think children raised themselves after being born?
Fine. Lucian was the child of a woman the duke had never loved.
But what about Edwin? At the very least, the duke should have cared for him. Edwin was the son of the duke's beloved.
He had even spent his early years in an orphanage before the duke finally found him.
At this point, it isn't neglect anymore. It's abuse.
Thinking of the duke's perpetually empty bedroom, I ground my teeth in frustration.
Still, the duke's nonexistent fatherly affection wasn't my biggest concern.
In the original story, Lucella runs away when Lucian turns seven.
But I would never do that.
No matter how troublesome he became, no matter how many cruel pranks he pulled on me...
Protect my child.
Lucian was the son of my beloved older sister.
When I remembered all the love she'd given me, I felt I could endure even if the boy grabbed me by the hair.
Though I'd rather not raise him into the sort of child who pulls people's hair.
I had no intention of leaving his side.
And if I could help him grow into a gentler person, raising him would become much easier.
Besides, if Lucian becomes kind, he won't end up earning the protagonist's hatred.
Nor would it stop there.
Because of his violent temperament, Lucian clashed with countless people.
Which meant that if he learned to behave, he wouldn't make enemies—or end up dying at the hands of the future duke, Edwin.
So before anything else, I had to fix his impossible personality.
"...Ptooey."
First things first.
I needed to teach him that putting salt into his aunt's tea was unacceptable.
"Auntie, you're such an idiot! You were daydreaming so hard you didn't even notice me pouring salt into your tea!"
Lucian clutched his stomach and laughed hysterically as I accidentally took a sip of salted black tea.
I was too busy figuring out how to save your life, you little brat!
The words nearly escaped my lips.
Instead, I forced myself to stay calm.
"Lucian. Sit down."
I spoke in a low, steady voice.
"The tiger who summons lightning! Raaawr!"
Pretending not to hear me, he continued playing with his tiger doll.
"Lucian Bellomon."
"...Tch."
The moment I called him by his full name, he reluctantly walked over and sat.
At least he had enough sense to recognize when someone was serious.
"Putting salt in my tea isn't a prank you should pull."
"But you were busy thinking about something and weren't paying attention to me."
"Then you could have called me. You could've tugged on my sleeve if nothing else."
Lucian puffed out his lips.
"That's not fun."
"You can't make yourself happy by making someone else miserable."
I crouched until we were eye level.
His golden eyes were exactly like mine and my sister's.
"Think about yesterday. Because you scattered flour everywhere, I slipped and hit my head. I could've been seriously hurt."
"Oh, but that was really funny!"
"It's wrong to laugh when someone gets hurt."
"..."
"I was sad. I was in pain, and you were standing there laughing at me."
Until now, all I had ever done was scold him whenever he misbehaved.
Partly because that was the obvious response.
But also because...
I'm the only person in this mansion who can.
The servants and retainers were of too low a status to discipline the young heir of House Bellomon.
There was simply too great a gap between them.
It would have been ideal if the duke had stepped in.
Sadly, the one man who should have been teaching his son was almost never home.
Which left only me.
So every time Lucian caused trouble, I had been the one to reprimand him.
But after remembering the contents of the novel yesterday, I'd realized something.
Scolding him alone would never work.
If anything, it only fueled his childish defiance.
Then I need to change my approach.
Instead of simply punishing him, I had to explain why these actions were wrong.
So he wouldn't rebel for rebellion's sake.
So he would truly understand why hurting others was unacceptable.
"...You were sad?"
"Yes. I was hurting, but you looked happy because I was in pain."
Perhaps my new method was working.
Lucian studied my face cautiously.
Normally, when I scolded him, he would snort and ignore every word.
"If you were upset and I stood beside you laughing, how would you feel?"
"I'd be annoyed."
"Exactly. If you understand that feeling, then you shouldn't play pranks that make other people suffer."
"But I like fun..."
Of course it wouldn't be easy.
A child who had been mischievous by nature and lived this way his whole life wasn't going to change overnight.
Still...
If I kept trying, I believed he could.
"Even so, try to hold back a little. You're not the only person living in this world. If you're bored, I'll buy you more toys."
"...Okay."
Watching six-year-old Lucian obediently nod for perhaps the first time in his life nearly moved me to tears.
If he keeps growing like this, I thought, there's no way he'll become a villain.
Unfortunately, that fragile peace didn't even last three days.
"Ahhhh!"
A scream suddenly echoed through the mansion.
The servants and I rushed toward the source of the noise.
It came from the middle of the hallway.
Standing there with both hands covering his face was Baron Chernin, one of the Bellomon family's retainers.
"Baron Chernin? What are you doing here?"
Had he seen a bug or something?
As I looked around in confusion, I asked,
"I just heard someone scream. Did something happen—"
The baron slowly lowered his hands.
The moment I saw his face, I was struck speechless.
"Y-your beard...?"
The magnificent beard that had once reached his chest was now much shorter.
Worse, the ends looked as though rats had chewed through them.
"What else would it be?"
Bang!
The baron slammed a clenched fist against the wall.
"I was reviewing documents in the conference room and dozed off for a moment. When I woke up, Young Master Lucian was standing beside me."
"..."
"With a pair of scissors in his hand."
I didn't need any further explanation.
Lucian had done it.
"I'm terribly sorry, Baron."
I knew better than anyone how much he treasured that beard.
"I sincerely apologize."
Precisely because I knew, I could barely lift my head.
"Forget the apology! It's not as though my beard will magically grow back!"
"..."
"Just make sure the young master never does something like this again!"
"Yes. I'll give him a stern talking-to."
"Though we both know he isn't the sort to listen."
The words were astonishingly disrespectful considering they were aimed at the heir of the ducal house.
Yet I couldn't argue.
The baron was completely right.
I thought he was finally starting to understand!
After apologizing several more times, I headed straight for Lucian's room.
"Lucian!"
I flung the door open.
His small back faced me as he sat on the floor.
"Whaaat?"
He turned around.
"...Oh, good grief."
For a moment, I couldn't even speak.
The beard that belonged on Baron Chernin's chin had somehow been pasted proudly onto Lucian's own.
Recovering from my shock, I glared at him.
"It's only been a few days since we talked about this, and you've already caused another disaster!"
Hands planted firmly on my hips, I raised my voice.
Lucian, however, only smiled innocently.
"I wanted a beard too, but mine won't grow. So I cut his off! I wanted to stick it on my own face!"
He stroked the fake beard exactly the way Baron Chernin always did and let out a pompous little cough.
Naturally, there wasn't an ounce of dignity in the performance.
"I told you before. You must never play pranks that hurt other people's feelings."
"If I cut his beard, it hurts his feelings?"
"Of course it does. He treasures it. Tell me, if someone stole your favorite possession, would you be happy?"
The example clearly struck home.
Lucian frowned.
"Absolutely not. What's mine belongs to me. Nobody else can have it!"
Greed.
Possessiveness.
Those were the biggest reasons Lucian would one day come into conflict with Edwin.
He had always been fiercely protective of what he considered his own.
How could he not resent Edwin, an outsider who suddenly received the affection from their father that Lucian himself had never known?
And on top of that, Edwin was destined to inherit the duchy Lucian believed belonged to him.
Anyone in his position would lose their composure.
"See? You don't like it when someone takes what's yours. So why would you touch someone else's things without permission? And a beard isn't even an object."
"But I was boooored!"
Lucian lifted his chin proudly, as though that justified everything.
"You said you'd buy me lots of toys."
"I already have too many toys. They're boring."
"Then let's have a sword fight."
"You're too slow, Auntie. I don't want to sword-fight a turtle."
"..."
"Nothing here is fun. Nothing!"
He stomped his feet in protest before throwing himself onto the floor.
"Why won't you let me do fun things?"
"Cutting off someone's beard isn't fun. It's something very wrong."
"I hate you, Auntie!"
I could say the same, I thought.
You have no idea how hard I'm trying to raise you properly.
But I couldn't say that to a child.
"Even if you hate me, you still need to go apologize to Baron Chernin. Tell him you won't ever do something like this again."
"No! I won't apologize! And I'll do it again!"
"Lucian!"
I shouted sternly.
He paid no attention whatsoever.
Still sprawled on the floor, he kicked his legs before rolling around dramatically.
"You said you were on my side! You said you'd love me even if the sky fell! Then why don't you take my side? Why are you always scolding me?"
"Because I love you. I don't want you to grow up into a bad person."
"If you love me, then you shouldn't scold me! You should think everything I do is wonderful!"
"I can't do that."
"I hate you! I hate you more than anyone in the whole world!"