IWAWMFTB 16

Chapter : 16

“Damn it.”

Edward stomped his foot loudly as he walked down the hallway. His usually gentle face was twisted with anger. Even a footman he met on the stairs stepped back in surprise.

Edward climbed the stairs two steps at a time and headed to his room. As he did, he remembered his younger brother Lucas for the first time in a long while.

[What’s this, brother?]

[Drink it. Mother gave me this health drink.]

[Is it okay if I have it? What if Mother finds out…?]

Lucas looked around and asked in a small voice. But his eyes were already staring hungrily at the cup in Edward’s hand.

Edward nodded casually.

[Honestly, you’re also part of the Haimel family. I always felt bad that only I got the good food and clothes.]

[…Brother.]

Young Lucas’s eyes filled with tears. Edward didn’t care and just shook the cup, making the liquid inside move.

[So, go ahead and drink it. I’ll share with you from now on.]

[But…]

[I’ll keep it a secret from Mother, so don’t worry.]

[…Then, okay.]

Lucas pretended it was nothing and took the cup from Edward’s hand. He stared at the drink with shining eyes, then carefully put it to his lips and drank a little at a time.

He even made sucking noises, trying not to leave a single drop. Edward watched his little brother drink with no real emotion. When Lucas finally finished, he handed the empty cup back with a regretful look.

[Come here again tomorrow at this time.]

[Brother, will you really keep giving it to me?]

Lucas was happy but looked at Edward with worried eyes. It made sense—Edward usually treated Lucas like trash.

[If you don’t want it, forget it. I’ll just drink it myself. Mother said it’s a rare health drink in the empire. If you drink it regularly, it’ll make you not only strong, but also smarter.]

[Smarter…]

Greed and jealousy appeared on Lucas’s small face. He was always upset that their mother favored only Edward, even though they were both her sons. He remembered Lucas begging their mother to let him have the drink too, but she refused without hesitation.

Lucas looked down, maybe to hide his dark thoughts. Edward knew Lucas thought of him as violent, hot-tempered, and not very smart. Lucas, on the other hand, was praised as a genius by all their tutors and teachers.

Lucas believed that, as the talented and calm one, he should be the heir of the Haimel family—not his wild older brother.

[So, I just need to come here at this time, right?]

Lucas finally smiled, his decision made. He even thanked Edward politely.

[Thank you so much, brother. I’ll do well.]

He meant that, if he became Count Haimel, he’d make sure Edward could live comfortably. Edward understood but pretended not to care, just nodding.

[Whatever.]

From that day, Edward gave Lucas the health drink every day without fail. There was something strange, though. Even though the drink was made in the mansion’s kitchen, Edward always went to his own room before meeting Lucas, and each time the drink had a weird smell.

[Drink, Lucas.]

About three months later, Edward handed Lucas the cup as usual. But this time, Lucas’s reaction was different.

[…I don’t feel well.]

Lucas’s face was pale, and he clutched his stomach. Recently, he’d lost his appetite and often got tired easily.

Lucas looked around nervously, holding his stomach. Edward stared at him with the cup in hand. Lucas’s eyes shook when they looked at the cup, and he quickly looked away.

[So, you don’t want to drink it?]

Edward spoke sharply, and Lucas’s shoulders jumped.

[I really don’t feel well, brother.]

He sounded desperate, but his eyes kept going back to the drink. Edward smirked.

[I felt that way too.]

[…What?]

Edward shook the cup in front of him.

[I didn’t feel good the first time either. But after I kept drinking it, I felt fine. After that… look.]

Edward nodded at his own strong arms and legs. Lucas, who was smaller for his age, looked at Edward’s handsome, healthy body with envy. Edward knew Lucas prayed on his birthday every year, asking God to make him look like his older brother, hoping their mother would love him too.

Greed returned to Lucas’s pale face. He held back his sick feeling and grabbed the drink.

[I’ll just drink it.]

[Good choice.]

Edward watched with satisfaction as Lucas finished the drink in one go. He took the empty cup and spoke gently.

[I heard you got a perfect score on your last test?]

[Huh? Oh, yeah…]

Lucas wiped his mouth and nodded. Their father was proud of Lucas’s talents, but their mother never cared about him since he wasn’t good-looking. Their father didn’t make up for it either—he only cared about his hobbies and praised Lucas a little before sending him away to his plant collection.

Edward said dryly,

[Good for you.]

[…What?]

Lucas flinched. Edward, who only cared about his own desires, suddenly praising him for his grades surprised Lucas.

[Maybe it’s because of the drink. You should keep drinking it. Right?]

Edward held up the empty cup and smiled. Lucas stared at his brother, wide-eyed.

[I’m leaving.]

Edward left, not caring that Lucas was shocked. Lucas stayed behind, chewing on his worries, but Edward didn’t pay any attention.

After that, Lucas often threw up what he ate. Dark circles appeared under his eyes, and he would wake up in the middle of the night sweating. He ate and slept poorly, so he became unhealthy. He was always sick.

But the worst thing was how his personality changed. Lucas, who used to be quiet, became edgy and easily angry. If something bothered him, he would break things and throw fits. Then, realizing what he’d done, he would hide in the dark, trembling.

People started to avoid him, and the only family member who visited was Edward—but Lucas didn’t welcome him. Edward would force him to sit up and drink the health drink.

About three more months later, Lucas left the mansion.

Even though their father protested, Lucas said he would become a researcher for life and ran away to a monastery, giving up everything he could get as a Haimel.

This happened while Edward and his mother were away visiting relatives in the south. When they returned, the father complained angrily, but the mother didn’t care—she never paid attention to her second son.

As for Edward, he just felt a little disappointed.

‘He was pretty clever, huh?’

Edward thought Lucas was sensitive enough to notice when something was wrong with his own body. Edward clicked his tongue at how the fight to be the heir ended so simply.

‘If I’d made him drink it for just three more months, he would’ve died for sure.’

Edward went back to his room, locked the door tight, and went to the wall. There, a small portrait of himself and Anna from childhood hung.

He took down the picture, revealing a hidden safe in the wall. Edward opened it skillfully and took something out—a small glass bottle, half-filled with pale purple liquid.

Edward walked slowly toward the window, holding the bottle.

‘Will Anna remember this?’

He thought about the day he got the bottle. It was at Anna’s mother’s funeral.

That day, the weather was especially nice. Anna cried, saying it was sad that her mother had to travel so far on such a sunny day. Edward comforted her like a kind childhood friend, but inside he was a little annoyed at her endless crying.

Anna’s mother had always been kind to Edward, but honestly, he didn’t feel anything about her death. He just thought Anna was cute when she cried, but was also annoyed that she was crying for someone else and not for him.

When Anna almost fainted from crying, Henry picked her up and carried her toward the mansion. Edward followed behind.

Henry tried to take Anna to her room, but Anna insisted on going to her mother’s room, struggling in his arms. So Henry put her down in the room of her dead mother.

While Henry laid Anna on the bed, Edward sat beside her and looked around. The room was still full of the traces of the one who had passed away.