Episode 17: Ewald’s Investigation
“He’s quite an unusual young man. I certainly wouldn’t expect him to be the son of a very wealthy family.”
Pushing up his silver-rimmed glasses, Ewald, the young butler of the Rietberg mansion, answered calmly.
Technically, the official butler is Ewald’s father, Eckart, while Ewald serves as the assistant butler.
Yet, as he learned the ropes of butler work from his father, Ewald’s talents began to shine through. Now, in terms of judgment and workload, he practically is the butler of the Rietberg family in all but name.
“My lady, right this way.”
Ewald smoothly presented the stack of papers.
“I had some research done on the Valten family.”
“You’re as swift as usual.”
“Of course.”
Ewald replied coolly.
That man named Luke looks like an innocent young fellow, but his true intentions remain a mystery. If he’s a scoundrel trying to get close to the Rietberg family with ulterior motives, he needs to be dealt with promptly.
“Luke Valten… the eldest son of a baron. It’s true he doesn’t have a middle name.”
The document in Ewald’s hands was surprisingly detailed for such a short research period.
The Rietberg family often takes flak for their rough and unrefined rural aristocracy image, but in reality, they’re quite adept at intelligence—because information is the most essential weapon in war.
As the key defenders of the borderlands, the Rietberg family employs many skilled spies and is known for their clever infiltration tactics to gather necessary information from rival territories.
“He’s nineteen years old. Three years younger than me. Though I must admit, he looks even younger…”
Alexia murmured as she flipped through the documents.
Being twenty-two, Alexia is three years senior to Luke, yet she honestly believed that, judging by his slender physique and youthful features, the age gap appeared to be much wider.
“That’s true. I also thought he looked around fifteen or sixteen. He doesn’t seem to be in the best shape…”
From behind his glasses, Ewald looked down at Luke, who was busily plowing the vegetable garden in the courtyard.
His technique with the hoe was efficient and practiced. There was no hint of a wealthy heir dabbling in gardening on a whim.
“They mentioned that he’s an illegitimate child of the Valten family, but still, Master Luke is far too humble.”
With his plain clothing, minimal baggage, and slender figure, without even a middle name, Luke certainly raised eyebrows. Even the simplicity of his accommodations was surprising, and he performed menial tasks with a surprising level of skill, relishing the mundane provisions he consumed.
“What do you make of someone without a middle name? As far as I know, I’ve never encountered another noble in such a situation…”
“I haven’t heard of one either. Even if they are illegitimate, it’s customary for one assuming a noble’s name to have a middle name.”
Alexia posed the question, and Ewald nodded in agreement.
While commoners typically have only a first name and surname, nobles are almost always bestowed with a middle name.
Usually, sons take their father’s name as a middle name, and daughters take their mother’s. Alexia’s own middle name, “Louise,” is derived from her mother’s name.
When an illegitimate child is born to a noble father and commoner mother, whether they’ll have a middle name hinges on whether they are recognized by the noble family.
If recognized and their name is officially recorded in the noble family register, it’s common sense to use a middle name, regardless of origin.
Conversely, if one lives unrecognized as a commoner, they only take their mother’s surname.
Thus, someone like Luke—who has access to a noble surname but lacks a middle name—is quite a rare case, bordering on the bizarre.
Ewald listed the contents of the report with a grave expression as he peered through his glasses.
“Indeed, Lord Luke is an illegitimate child, but he was acknowledged shortly after birth by his father, the Baron, and raised as the eldest son of the Valten family. The lack of a middle name suggests that… it’s difficult to say he was cherished within his family…”
It’s simply unthinkable for a noble family’s eldest child not to receive a middle name.
Yet, if such a situation managed to occur, it strongly implies that the Valten family has treated their eldest son rather poorly.
“But considering the Valten family’s wealth, they could easily support dozens of illegitimate children. Regardless of how uncomfortable his position might be, living in his family home should have provided him a life of comfort. So why on earth did he end up here all alone? Surely there must be some reason for this…”
“…was the engagement broken off?”
Hauntingly tracing her eyes across the document, Alexia whispered.
The papers noted that only recently, Luke was engaged to a countess.
However, the engagement was nullified at the request of the young lady, who promptly found herself engaged to another man.
“The Count’s daughter’s new fiancé is… Luke’s younger brother?”
“That appears to be the case.”
The name of this new fiancé: Matthias August Valten.
He’s the second son of a baron and unlike Luke, boasts a middle name with his father’s name, suggesting he’s undeniably the legitimate son.
“So the brothers are squabbling over a fiancé? The city is terrifying…”
Alexia had settled into the Rietberg territory, having not shown her face in the capital for quite a while.
The main reason was that the frontier barony borders the great power, Turkis, and always harbors restless tensions, compounded by the absence of her father, the margrave, leaving Alexia unable to vacate her territory. Yet, to be honest, she really had little desire to venture to the royal capital anyway.
The thought of attending a ball at the royal palace or an elegant tea party for noble girls sounded insufferable. Far from longing for it, she had a strong aversion. She’d much rather be out hunting beasts in the mountains or swinging swords alongside knights.
However, now understanding Luke’s situation, it was apparent how removed he was from the typical image of a central aristocrat’s son.
“I see now. Luke lost his fiancée and fell into despair…”
Luke must have loved the countess deeply. His engagement being broken off would have devastated him, not to mention the deep hurt caused when his ex-fiancée chose his younger brother instead.
Thus, he could no longer remain in the capital where his now-former fiancée lived. Just the notion of seeing her with his brother must have been painful enough, so he probably longed to flee, even if it meant abandoning everything.
The first time they met, in the forest below the castle…
When Luke spotted Alexia, he froze in place and dropped to one knee.
And there, he uttered, “Please marry me.”
“I thought maybe I misheard that… perhaps it was just a moment of weakness?”
It had sounded suspiciously like a proposal.
Alexia initially assumed she must have misunderstood, but given Luke’s history, it seemed likely those words had slipped out in a befuddled state.
Heartbroken, Luke was starving for affection.
He mourned over his shattered engagement, devastated by lost love, and longed for the elusive prospect of marriage.
It seemed the stars had aligned, revealing Alexia to him just as he found himself in the depths of despair.
Or perhaps he just happened to see in Alexia, the fleeting image of his lost fiancée.
One should hardly take the words of a desperate soul too seriously.
Alexia resolved that it would be kinder to forget about the proposal, opting never to bring it up again.
“However, not only has he lost his engagement and purpose in high society, but if his family has also disowned him, it seems too cruel to cast him out…”
If Luke were to trouble the Rietberg territory and its people, that would be one thing, but he worked hard, lending support to the castle’s residents. Perhaps through his diligent toil, he hoped to bury the memories of his fiancée.
Alexia, too, understood the need for such pursuits—when she faced discomfort, she sought solace in training with her sword or bow, sweating out her woes.
Thus, she pondered, perhaps Luke should be allowed to stay here as long as he desired.
The climate and ambiance of the royal capital starkly contrasted with the frontier. If country life suited him better than he expected, why not give him the freedom to remain here and enjoy it?
For surely, one day, he might long to return home in a truly heartfelt way. And until that moment arises, why not let him have his freedom?
Luke’s heart, wounded by heartbreak, deserves warm guardianship until it mends…
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