NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
Episode 2: The Young Son’s Engagement is Broken
The high ceiling creates a beautiful dome above.
A chandelier designed to resemble a crown sparkles brilliantly, illuminating the grand hall. Decorative brass candlesticks cast warm light upon the glittering plastered walls. The colored glass embellishments sway gently, casting a fantastical light that resembles shooting stars.
“Luke Valten! I’m breaking off our engagement!”
When his name was called out, Luke could only stand there in shock, stunned.
“…the engagement is broken…?”
Luke is the eldest son of the Baron Valten family. Like other young noblemen, he had been engaged to a noblewoman through a mutual agreement between their families, and he’d brought his fiancée to today’s party as her escort.
However, as he stood in the center of the splendid hall, his fiancée—who had sworn to share her life with him—suddenly shook his hand off, pushed him away, and pointed accusingly.
And then she uttered those fateful words.
“Yes, that’s right,” she declared, as if donning the gavel of justice.
Staring resolutely at Luke, like a judge handing out a fair sentence, was Natalia Hanna Cleve, the eldest daughter of Count Cleve and Luke’s fiancée.
With her strawberry-blonde hair styled meticulously and her light green eyes framed by long lashes, Natalia looked as adorable as a confectionery; however, her makeup was a tad heavy for the occasion.
“Of course, you know the reason, don’t you?”
“No… not at all…”
Luke shook his head, confused. Natalia shot him an annoyed look, her eyes narrowing.
Nobles around them whispered and murmured, their focus drawn to the tense standoff.
“I’ve heard all about your misdeeds!”
“Misdeeds?”
Luke echoed her in shock.
From the crowd, one man stepped forward with confidence.
“…Matthias?”
The tall young man, beaming down at Luke, was none other than Matthias August Valten—Luke’s younger brother and the second son of Baron Valten.
With a physique to match and a charming face that could rival an actor’s, Matthias stood at Natalia’s side, casually wrapping an arm around her shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Luke, I hereby declare that I’m breaking off my engagement with you and entering a new engagement with Matthias!” Natalia exclaimed, taking Matthias’s hand and announcing it with flair.
She shot Luke a look of accusation, clearly enjoying the moment.
“You’ve relied on your status as the eldest son to act arrogantly, always bullying poor Matthias because you think you’re superior!”
“Bullying him? Me?” Luke exclaimed, bewildered.
“Throwing away his precious belongings, ruining his meals, pushing him down the stairs… I can’t believe it! Is that what brothers do?” she continued, a look of disgust plastered across her face.
“No, it’s not. All of that is…—”
“He was always the one being victimized—” Luke began to protest, but Natalia cut him off..
“It was common for Matthias to be excluded from the family circle; it’s not uncommon for you to pick on him for the tiniest things or even resort to violence. How cruel! Poor Matthias…”
“Oh, Natalia, you truly have a kind heart,” Matthias chimed in with a smirk.
“Matthias endured your harsh treatment bravely, but he confided in me about the truth.”
–I’ll endure my brother’s tyranny. I can’t sit idly by and watch a beautiful woman like you be deceived by him, marrying him without knowing his true nature, and suffering in silence.
Matthias approached Natalia, his voice pained, as he whispered words of love.
–I don’t care what happens to me. I just want to save you. I fell in love with you, knowing it’s forbidden. I want you to laugh at my foolishness. Natalia.
“What a courageous act! I’m truly touched by his concern for me,” Natalia gushed, looking up at Matthias with dreamy eyes.
“When I gazed into those serious eyes, I realized what true love is. You, Matty, are my destined one…”
Matty? When did they become so friendly?
“Natalia…”
“Matty…”
The two gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, completely lost in their little world, while Matthias looked back at Luke with a triumphant grin.
“Brother, there’s no escaping this now. Please admit your guilt.”
“Guilt…?”
“Natalia loves me. Repent for your past misdeeds, and free her from this unhappy engagement!”
Matthias’s handsome visage radiated an unmistakable sense of superiority.
The villainous son, who had bullied his younger brother and masked his true nature to deceive his fiancée, was caught in a well-scripted play.
Luke realized the message loud and clear: no matter how much he might try to shift the narrative, the roles had been cast and the scene set.
“Natalia, please let me explain…”
“Enough with the excuses! At this point, feigning ignorance isn’t very manly of you!” she shot back.
Though he attempted to discuss the situation, it was utterly futile.
Natalia wasn’t listening, blasting Luke without a care.
“Not manly…?” he echoed, incredulous.
“Indeed,” she retorted, her cherry-like lips twisting into a sneer.
“Luke, you’re a ‘low-ranking son.’ With no status or reliability, you hardly seem manly.”
“Low-ranking son” became the whisper about Luke, a dagger plunged into his side. No, it was hardly whispered; it was thrown at him without hesitation.
The Valten family bore the lowest title of baron, and Luke was the illegitimate child of his father, born to a commoner.
A child born of the lowest condition, born to an even lower lineage.
Luke had come to be referred to as the “low-ranking son” over time.
As Natalia delivered her cruel announcement, chuckles erupted from surrounding nobles.
But Natalia wasn’t finished yet.
“On that note, Matthias is tall, handsome, and far more manly than you—”
While Luke was technically older, Matthias towered over him both in height and build.
With a baby face and a scrawny frame that made him seem several years younger, Luke measured up poorly next to his stocky brother, who appeared older and more imposing.
In this country, tall men are the standard—anyone shorter is often considered beneath them, devoid of basic human rights.
For women, petite and delicate virtues are treasured above all.
The upper-class values ran deep: males need to be robust and brave, while females should be gentle, graceful, and protected.
Luke, with his below-average height and frame scarcely worthy of the term “muscular,” ranked miserably in the manliness department.
“Of course, men should be tall. I wouldn’t want a partner of similar height to myself.”
Natalia sighed, leaning her dainty face into Matthias’s chest, dreamily.
It seemed she didn’t even entertain the thought that it seemed absurd for her muscled boyfriend to be bullied by her scrawnier former fiancé.
“…I understand. I accept the cancellation of the engagement.”
Luke realized that saying any more would be pointless.
Natalia is free to desire tall men, but that doesn’t mean she could suddenly wish for him to grow taller on the spot.
If Natalia announced to the world she didn’t fancy him, then there was nothing more left for Luke to do.
He placed a hand over his heart.
A wave of helplessness washed over him, but he straightened up with what little pride he had left and declared:
“Countess Cleve, may you find happiness with Matthias.”
Suppressing the turmoil brewing inside him, Luke congratulated them both.
Those words must have appeared like a white flag raised in surrender.
The dramatic scene of a villainous son confessing to his sins and retreating was met with wild cheers.
Luke observed as the surrounding nobles erupted into applause, the sound swelling like a landslide.
“Miss Cleve! Congratulations on your engagement!”
“It was like a scene from a play!”
“What passionate love… I’m genuinely moved by your bond!”
Young ladies rushed toward them, excitement bubbling over.
To romanced-deprived girls in the throes of adolescence, the handsome baron’s son and the dainty countess made for a cinematic couple, akin to the stars of a theatrical production.
As Matthias drew Natalia in closer and they shyly waved to the applauding crowd, the cheers grew even louder.
(What is this…?)
Luke stood there, speechless, as the impulse to argue slipped away.
Rather than being heartbroken over the betrayal from both his brother and fiancée, he found himself grappling with the bewildering spectacle before him.
If breaking the engagement was their wish, fine; but there ought to be a procedure!
This engagement between Natalia and Luke was settled between Count Cleve and Baron Valten. If the engagement was to be broken, both fathers should have been involved in the matter; it was utterly wrong to announce such a thing flamboyantly in a public setting like the royal court.
It was not just inappropriate; it bordered on disrespectful to the royal family.
–What on earth are these two thinking? Luke buried his face in his hands. Surely they couldn’t be plotting at all…