Chapter 740: Willow Derlis

One of the greatest joys of a younger sibling...

Is watching their elder sibling become someone they can admire.

That was the kind of elder brother Lucien Derlis had been to Willow Derlis and Desmond Derlis.

They were the only three children of Duchess Vivian Derlis, the Lord of Derlis.

As the first son and eldest child of the Lord of Derlis, Lucien had many responsibilities to fulfil.

He was expected to set an example for his younger siblings and represent the future of their House.

And he was doing exactly what was expected of him.

His Alchemy of Healing with Blood was developing at an astonishing rate.

His combat Alchemy skills with Blood were also far beyond those of his cousins and the other children of Derlis who weren’t directly related to him by blood, all of them were the same age or two-years older than him.

His understanding of Alchemy, along with his knowledge of the various studies surrounding it, was exceptional for someone his age.

He wasn’t simply talented in one area.

His achievements extended across different aspects of Alchemy, and his progress was something even the older members of the family couldn’t overlook.

The Elders and High-Board members held him in high regard.

They believed he would eventually become the greatest Lord of the Duke House of Derlis.

To them, Lucien was everything an heir should be.

The perfect Son.

The perfect Elder Brother.

The perfect Heir.

The perfect Young Noble.

The perfect Blood Alchemist.

Everything about Lucien seemed perfect.

And it wasn’t difficult to understand why Willow admired him so much.

He was the elder brother she could look up to, someone whose achievements made her want to improve herself.

Whenever she thought about the kind of person she wanted to become, Lucien was the first person who came to mind.

She wanted to be like him.

At least, that was how things had been until then...

***

Years back...

The Derlis House was holding its usual free medical check-up for the Commoners living in the towns close to the small cities of Ravenshire.

It wasn’t a large event meant to accommodate every Commoner in the towns across the region.

So, the number of people who could receive treatment was limited by the medical staff and the facilities available.

Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for some of the Commoners to receive medical attention without having to worry about the expenses.

That was something Duchess Vivian Derlis upheld as the Lord of Derlis and ruler of Ravenshire.

The Commoners had been arranged into ten different long queues.

Each queue led to one of the ten medical tents, where a team of Derlis Medical Blood Alchemists had been stationed.

The people waited for their turns while the medical staff attended to those who had already entered.

One Commoner would enter each tent, receive their check-up, and leave once the examination was complete.

The next person in the queue would then take their place.

With ten tents operating at the same time, the medical teams could attend to several people without having everyone wait for a single examination to finish.

The queues stretched across the designated area.

People stood patiently, keeping their places as the process continued.

Some had come with concerns about their health, while others were simply there to receive a general check-up.

The Derlis Guards stationed around the area helped keep the people organized.

Some stood near the queues, while others watched the surrounding space to ensure that the event proceeded without trouble.

There were also some of the House’s top Battle Blood Alchemists stationed around the area.

Their presence made it clear that the Derlis House wasn’t treating the event carelessly.

Although Duchess Vivian, along with many of the High-Board members and Elders of the House, wasn’t present, her husband and their three children had come.

He had brought the children so they could witness Healing Alchemy with Blood firsthand.

He also wanted them to see the kind of lives the Commoners in the region were living.

It was an opportunity for them to understand the people living under the authority of their family.

Lucien had even assisted with the check-ups.

He was already a Novice Alchemist at the time, so he could participate in the medical work rather than simply observe it.

For Willow, seeing her elder brother take part in the work was another reason to admire him.

Lucien was the first child of the Lord of Derlis, a talented Blood Alchemist, and someone the Elders believed would eventually lead their House.

Yet he was also participating in the medical check-ups.

It was the sort of thing that only strengthened the image she had of him.

A few hours passed...

"Where is big brother?"

Little Willow asked one of the Derlis Medical Staff members.

The woman was standing around the tent built for the staff to relax, discussing something with her team members when Willow approached.

"The Young Lady."

The medical staff stopped their conversation and bowed their heads in greeting.

Willow looked at them.

"Where is my big brother?"

She asked again.

"The Young Master left to clean his hands. Some blood from a Commoner was accidentally spilled on his body."

The woman replied.

"Oh, okay. I’ll go and meet him."

Willow said with a simple smile.

She didn’t think much of it.

If some blood had accidentally spilled on her brother, then it made sense that he would want to clean himself.

It wasn’t something she considered unusual.

After receiving the answer, she turned towards the direction the woman had indicated.

"Waa... The Young Lady is so cute and composed."

One of the medical staff members said with admiration.

Willow didn’t hear the comment, or at least didn’t pay attention to it.

She was already walking away from the tent.

The area around the medical tents remained busy.

The staff were occupied with their duties, the Commoners continued waiting in their queues, and the Derlis Guards remained at their posts.

Willow moved past the area and headed towards the place where Lucien had gone.

She wasn’t expecting anything unusual.

She simply wanted to meet her elder brother.

When she got there...

"Ugh... Ugh..."

The sound of someone vomiting came from the place her brother had gone to.

Willow stopped for a moment.

The sound came again.

Her expression changed, and she moved quicker towards the entrance, worried that something might have happened to Lucien.

Please don’t tell me it’s big brother.

She thought.

Then, another voice reached her ears.

"Damn maggots."

Lucien’s voice echoed from inside.

Willow stopped.

It was undoubtedly her elder brother’s voice.

But the words coming from his mouth made her hesitate.

It was the first time she had ever heard Lucien use such language.

"Why does Mother even think this is a reasonable thing to do?"

Willow remained where she was, listening to her brother rant.

"Disgusting blood splashed on me. Ahhh... I should have just killed him. Well, I did poison the blood I transferred into him, so he’s going to die anyway."

Lucien said casually.

Willow’s eyes widened.

Poisoned?

She wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.

Didn’t they say the Commoner’s blood had accidentally spilled on his body?

But what does brother mean by poisoning the blood he transferred into that person?

"Heh... Hehe..."

Her thoughts were interrupted by another sound.

"Heh... Hehe..."

Lucien chuckled again.

The laughter was quiet at first, almost like he had remembered something amusing.

Then...

"Haha... Hahaha..."

His laughter became louder, filling the room.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Willow stood frozen.

She had never heard her brother laugh like that.

It wasn’t the warm laughter she was familiar with.

There was something wrong with it.

The longer she listened, the more uncomfortable she became.

It sounded as though Lucien was enjoying himself.

But what was so amusing?

He had just spoken about poisoning someone.

He had even said he should have killed that person.

And now he was laughing.

To Willow...

It didn’t sound like her brother.

It sounded twisted.

"Ahhh..."

Lucien let out a satisfied sigh.

"I wish I could drain their blood and choke them to death with their own blood..."

He paused for a moment.

Then he continued, almost as though he had just remembered a small detail.

"Although, their bodies would just dry up like twigs. Wouldn’t they already be dead by then?"

He said casually.

"Commoners should just exist as blood banks for us Derlis. We wouldn’t even need to use our own blood as materials."

His voice remained calm.

"But then again, their blood is really filthy. And yet, they make up the largest population in this Kingdom."

He sounded as though he were discussing an amusing contradiction.

"Those filthy maggots. Filthy pigs. Filthy rats. Filthy humans that shouldn’t exist."

He paused again.

For a moment, there was silence.

Willow remained behind the entrance.

She had no idea what to make of what she was hearing.

These were the same people her family had come to help.

The Commoners who had been standing in the queues for hours, waiting for their turn to receive medical attention.

And Lucien...

The elder brother she admired...

"Maybe I should just wipe them all out."

His voice carried a hint of amusement.

"Or what do you think, Willow?"

Lucien asked.

Willow immediately stumbled backwards.

Her foot shifted against the ground as she moved away from the entrance.

She had been hiding behind it.

He wasn’t supposed to see her.

He wasn’t even supposed to know she was there.

Yet...

"Ah... Ah... Ah... Ah..."

Willow’s breathing became rapid.

Her heart pounded against her chest.

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

The voice belonged to her brother.

There was no mistaking it.

She knew that voice better than most people.

She had heard it when he spoke to her, when he taught her things, and when he encouraged her.

But the words coming out of his mouth...

They didn’t belong to the Lucien she knew.

The elder brother who always smiled warmly at her.

The one she admired.

The one who always spoke about kindness and love.

The one she had wanted to become like.

Was this really the same person?

Before Willow could make sense of what she had heard, Lucien walked out of the room.

His crimson eyes settled on her.

There was no warmth in them.

He simply looked at her with a cold, indifferent expression.

"Don’t you believe all useless insects must die? Or perhaps they should be made useful?"

He asked.

Lucien bent down until he was at Willow’s eye level.

Willow’s body trembled.

She couldn’t move properly.

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

The person standing before her looked exactly like her elder brother.

His face.

His crimson eyes.

His voice.

Everything was familiar.

But the expression he wore...

It was as though the person she had admired all this time had suddenly become someone she couldn’t recognize.

The Lucien who smiled warmly.

The Lucien who always spoke about kindness and love.

The Lucien she had admired...

"W... Who... A... are... you?"

Willow’s voice broke as she spoke.

Lucien looked at her.

He maintained that cold expression for a brief moment.

Then, without any warning...

"Stop it. How can you ask me that question, my cute baby sister?"

He said with a bright smile.

He reached out, wrapped his arms around Willow, and lifted her into his embrace.

Willow looked at his face.

The cold expression was gone.

His usual warm smile had returned.

Just like that.

There was no sign of the expression he had worn moments earlier.

He was smiling at her as he always did.

The same brother.

The same familiar face.

The same warm smile.

How?

That was the only question she could ask herself.

***

Back to the present...

"After I realized my brother’s true nature, it was as though my eyes had been opened to things I could never see before."

Willow said, placing her hands on her shoulders.

Her fingers rested there as she recalled what had happened years ago.

Ezra looked at her quietly.

He didn’t interrupt.

"Lucien wasn’t just biased against the Commoners. He was biased against anyone he deemed useless."

She said.

Her expression remained composed, but she was almost shaken as she remembered her past.

It wasn’t simply a matter of how Lucien viewed the Commoners.

What she had witnessed had changed the way she looked at him.

The person she had admired so much had revealed a side of himself that she had never imagined existed.

And it wasn’t limited to the people he had spoken about that day.

Anyone he deemed useless could become the target of the same contempt.

"I’m guessing you told the Elders, but they were too lost in the good personality Lucien had shown them all those years. Besides, how could they believe the words coming out of a child’s mouth? It’s also possible that some of them share the same thoughts as him."

Ezra said calmly.

He had already begun to understand why Willow wanted him to become her fiancé.