By Zephyria Cough, cough.
The lawyer stood upright and silent as the man coughed violently, shaking his entire body. Haa, haa, the man gasped for breath, his body slumping with exhaustion. The sweet scent of his unique pheromones lingered around him. The scent of the trait that had brought the man to this position, that had given him everything, but had denied him the one thing he wanted most.
It was no longer intoxicatingly fragrant or strong. It merely lingered faintly, subtly, enough to be detected. It was akin to the scent of death. Ugh, Eugh, the man made a grating sound as he breathed, then opened his mouth in a hoarse voice.
“How… much time is left?”
Keuleleg, another gurgling, metallic sound escaped him. The attending physician, standing at the edge of the bed, simply looked down at him. The lawyer, who had been waiting for the coughing to subside, paused before speaking.
“Are you ready?”
At the quiet question, the man coughed laboriously twice more before nodding. As if it were a signal, the attending physician asked a few questions. After hearing the man’s answers, he turned to the lawyer.
“Mr. Campbell is of sound mind. His pheromone levels are also lower than usual.”
Extreme Alphas often suffer from their brains melting due to pheromones. But Harold Campbell, despite his weakened body, was mentally sharp.
“Of course, this is the clearest my head has ever been in my life.”
The owner of the mansion retorted as if he had been waiting for the question, his voice tinged with a metallic rasp. The lawyer and doctor simply stared at him in silence. Harold Campbell was only in his early seventies. Nevertheless, he had little time left.
This was unusual for an Extreme Alpha, whose traits typically granted them higher immunity, slower aging, and a much longer average lifespan than ordinary people. Perhaps it was the price he paid for being the only one in his family born with a trait close to a mutation. The pheromones that had dominated him for decades since his manifestation were now, as death approached, finally kneeling before their host. And the man felt a sense of liberation for the first time in his life. Soon, he would be free from this sick and heavy body as well.
Harold coughed again. The lawyer, after confirming that everything, including the doctor’s words, was being properly recorded, spoke.
“This will was prepared in advance according to Mr. Harold Campbell’s wishes, and Dr. Wilson has certified that Mr. Harold Campbell is of sound mind. To prove the authenticity of the will, two additional doctors have completed and confirmed psychiatric evaluations. Each certificate will be attached separately to the will. Now, Mr. Harold Campbell, please read the will yourself.”
The lawyer, who had recited the formulaic phrases countless times, changing only the name and a few minor words each time, mechanically handed Harold the pre-written will and stepped aside. Harold gathered his breath and struggled to sit up, leaning back against the large pillows, and barely managed to open his mouth.
“I, Harold Campbell, being of sound mind and facing death, have written this will. It will be executed without fail through legal procedures under the responsibility of McCoy & Associates.”
After speaking the rather lengthy sentence, he coughed repeatedly before catching his breath and beginning to read.
“Camilla, who has been with me throughout my life, you have given me the treasure of our four children.”
Harold began to list the assets he would leave to those who remained, his voice clear and resonant. To his wife, Camilla, he would pay one million dollars in cash each month until her death, unless she remarried, in which case the payments would cease. To his only daughter and eldest child, Catherine, he would bequeath ten million dollars in cash and all of the family’s horses. To his eldest son and second child, Gordon, he would bequeath ten million dollars in cash and the Malibu villa and land. To his third child, Jason, he would pay one hundred thousand dollars in cash each month, provided he continued to receive ongoing drug treatment. If he discontinued treatment or resumed using prohibited substances, he would be immediately admitted to a specialized hospital for intensive treatment, and payments would be suspended until his discharge.
He managed to say this much, coughing roughly from time to time, before gesturing to the doctor to bring him water. Only after drinking the entire cup of water that the doctor brought him did Harold finally open his mouth, panting.
“And Winston, my beloved youngest son.”
His most cherished son, the one who resembled him the most, was the most outstanding of Harold’s children. Recalling his son’s cool, violet eyes, the only one of his children to share his trait, he continued in a trembling voice.
“To you…”
Yu-jin is coming back.
When the Campbell family first heard the news, they were thrown into an uproar. Lady Catherine, who fainted frequently, lost consciousness for 34 seconds this time, and her husband, George, who was fanning her with a handkerchief as she lay on the sofa, barely managed to restrain himself from uttering a vulgar word, uttering only a single “Damn!”
Camilla Campbell, always steadfast and cool-headed in everything, seemed to maintain her composure on the surface, sitting upright, but inwardly wished she could faint like her weak-hearted daughter. That’s how awful she felt.
Georgina, Catherine’s teenage daughter, sat apart, drinking her tea and watching the adults with fascination. Gordon, the eldest uncle who always stepped forward in these situations, once again raised his voice and was the first to speak.
“Why on earth is that vulgar scoundrel coming here? He’s already tarnished the family name, and now he’s back!”
Lady Catherine, who was lying on the sofa with her hand on her forehead, moaning, chimed in.
“His very existence is a disgrace to the family.”
The most shameful thing is that your grandfather brought a much younger Asian boy into the house as his lover when you were that age, but…
Georgina wisely kept her thoughts to herself and quietly brought her tea to her lips. It had been a long time since she had heard the name ‘Yu-jin’. It wasn’t even clear whether it had been five or six years since Yu-jin had left the mansion. ‘The eccentric who lives in the annex.’ That was all Georgina remembered about him. She had heard that he was a distant relative, so distant that it was meaningless to calculate the degree of kinship, but what was certain was that no one in the family considered him family. Everyone thought that even the term ‘distant relative’ was a lie Harold Campbell had made up to avoid losing face.
Because the truth was that he was Harold’s hidden lover, the owner of the Campbell family.
Throughout his stay at the mansion, he had been an unwelcome presence, and when Yu-jin left the mansion, everyone had celebrated with a toast.
And now he was coming back. Naturally, no one welcomed it. It was as if the trash (scumbag) they had barely managed to get rid of was reappearing; everyone would feel the same way. Georgina silently pretended to drink her tea, observing the adults who were even showing disgust, with interest. George, unable to contain his anger in front of his teenage daughter, blurted out.