Episode 6: The Birth of Luke
Baroness Hermine Valten sighed contemptuously.
“Luke, you filthy commoner’s blood surely makes it impossible for anyone to love you.”
It was said that Luke’s father, August, was once lost in a love affair with a woman from a different social class.
In his youth, on a whim, August descended into the slums where commoners resided and fell in love with a young lady working at a flower shop on the corner of the street.
With bright honey-blonde hair and an ever-changing cheerful expression, her words were refreshingly straightforward—far removed from the scheming conversations of nobility—matched with an innocent smile that could melt even the iciest of hearts.
It didn’t take long for August to become completely smitten with her.
He frequented the shop where she worked, passionately wooing her and throwing gold coins like confetti—almost forcing himself upon her.
The town girl, enveloped in his affections, eventually found herself pregnant with August’s child.
August was overjoyed, offering her enough gold to sustain herself as he gallivanted over to the house he had bought for her.
Looking back, one could say that this sweet, carefree time—enjoying a forbidden romance with an innocent commoner—may have been the most delightful and unbothered period of his life, reminiscent of youthful exuberance.
When the time was right, a baby boy was born, and they joyfully held hands in celebration.
This child, inheriting the same bright honey-blonde hair as his mother, was named “Luke” in the hopes of a radiant future.
Alas, however, the young mother soon succumbed to puerperal fever, which spiraled into severe sepsis, and tragically, she passed away.
In her feverish haze, she grasped August’s hand and earnestly pleaded, “Please take care of this child. Protect him for me too!”
August firmly squeezed her hand, promising that he would indeed look after the child, raising him with utmost care.
She left this world without ever discovering that Augustus was a noble.
Thus, August brought the newborn Luke back to the Valten Baronial mansion.
August’s mother, the former baroness, was unexpectedly introduced to her grandchild, to the point of nearly fainting from shock.
Although she knew her son often slipped out of the mansion, she thought it merely his youthful escapades, never imagining he had impregnated an ordinary woman, and now he was already a father.
What rattled her even more was the fact that the mother was dead, leaving the child an orphan he could not take in.
Everything felt like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, and the normally composed Baroness found herself flustered.
When it came to nobility, extramarital affairs were not unheard of. Many prestigious noblemen had one or two illegitimate children to their names.
However, such escapades usually took place within the confines of having legitimate heirs with a noble wife. It was rare for an unmarried young man to adopt a child outright.
Yet here was August, unmarried and suddenly a father.
Now that there was already a child, the former Baroness was in a rush to find her son a respectable wife to solidify the family unit, setting out on a hunt for a partner.
It was around this time that a certain acquaintance introduced her to Hermine, the youngest daughter of the Count Schenbach.
The Baroness would later reflect that her haste led her to a wrong lottery ticket in this decision.
Hermine had a notorious reputation for arrogance, often treating maids and servants with sharp words.
As bad news travels faster than good, Hermine had trouble finding a suitor even past the marriageable age due to the whispers that shadowed her.
Yet the Valten family was not without their own dilemmas.
As the baby grew a little more each day, they couldn’t afford to be picky.
The Count’s family would indeed be overjoyed if they could marry off their troublesome daughter, a source of gossip and worry.
Although the Baron’s status wasn’t particularly high, the Valten family was renowned for their wealth. For Hermine, who might soon worry about being left on the shelf, becoming the lady of a baron’s household wasn’t a bad deal.
Thus, the interests of both families aligned, and the marriage between August and Hermine was finalized.
From the proposal to the engagement and eventually the wedding day, it took a mere four months—an astonishingly rapid timeline for noble marriages.
On Hermine’s wedding day, the servants lined up, strewing flowers while gleefully cheering, “My lady, may you forever find happiness!” and “May you live blissfully and never return!” One could almost imagine Hermine gritting her teeth through an almost shudder-inducing smile; she must have been quite the cherished figure…
Upon marriage, Hermine found herself stepped into the role of Luke’s stepmother, but contrary to expectations, she wasn’t about to transform into the kind-hearted mother depicted in fairy tales.
Hermine was thoroughly displeased that her new husband already had a child, making no effort to conceal her dissatisfaction.
She frequently tossed snide comments toward her husband and the servants, demanding gratitude for having married into a family with baggage.
Yet, Luke remained unharmed due to the protection of his grandmother, the former Baroness—Hermine’s own mother-in-law—who shielded her grandson from the worst of Hermine’s disdain.
Hermine likely wished to avoid a divorce and a return to her own family, relenting just enough to accept that Luke could stay within the Valten household.
Soon after the marriage, Hermine visited the stork and found herself pregnant.
The following year, a boy was born.
Luke’s younger brother, named Matthias, was, even at birth, a striking child with perfectly defined features.
With glimmering golden locks and eyes of green akin to Hermine’s, she took immense pride in his striking appearance, lavishing so much affection upon him it bordered on saccharine.
Yet the arrival of her younger brother further complicated Luke’s already precarious position.
Officially registered in the Valten family as the eldest son of August, Luke was undeniably his father’s firstborn. Yet Hermine often treated Matthias as if he were the eldest and boldly announced him as the rightful heir to the Baronial title.
It’s an undeniable fact: Luke was born out of wedlock, and Matthias was a legitimate child. However, age doesn’t lie.
No matter how Hermine attempted to label Luke as a disgrace, he was still the older brother.
However, despite requests to adjust her discriminatory behavior toward Luke, Hermine coldly replied, “Even if he’s my husband’s firstborn, he’s not my firstborn!” She would insist, “For me, my only firstborn is my beloved Matthias!”
Her stubbornness remained unyielding, and Hermine refused to acknowledge Luke as part of the family.
Though she couldn’t prevent him from bearing the name Valten, he was barred from dining with the family and was forbidden from mingling with the noble children. He was even denied the private tutor typically afforded to aristocrats.
Every time Hermine caught sight of Luke within their home, she would squint her eyes in displeasure, sneering, “This little thieving cat!”
But truthfully, Luke was far from a thieving cat; he had been born before Hermine had even thought about engagement, let alone marriage. She hadn’t met Luke’s deceased mother nor did she know her name.
However, Hermine was consumed by rage over her husband’s past affection for Luke’s mother.
Referring to her as an “ungrateful thieving cat” was second nature for her, and she spat venomously that her untimely death was her just reward; a punishment deserved for enticing a noble with her commoner charm.
As for August, he only dared speak up at the very beginning.
Hermine was quick to retaliate; if she was reprimanded once, she’d fire back tenfold, inflating the conflict to absurd levels.
It didn’t take long for August to become weary and depleted by his wife’s temper, eventually ceasing any attempts to intervene.
By the time Luke began to understand the world around him, his father had transformed into a silent, ghostly presence—a figure shrouded in silence, continually reflecting the weight of Hermine’s words.
August had once truly loved Luke’s mother.
However, the fiery passion of youthful love seemed to extinguish the moment that love was no longer present.
Even as Luke faced his stepmother’s punishments, was starved, and suffered outright discrimination compared to Matthias in every respect—August no longer uttered a word.
Not that he ever favored Matthias over Luke, but he just as fiercely refrained from standing by Luke’s side.
It felt as if, in giving up on confronting Hermine, August simultaneously surrendered any feelings he had for his own child.
He exhibited no interest in either son, refusing to intervene in any family matters, and embraced silence—a stone wall amid the chaos of the household.
Such indifference persisted even now.
When Hermine launched a glass bottle at Luke, calling him worthless, August merely stood there, his hand pressed against his furrowed brow—and utterly unmoved.
He neither aligned with Hermine’s sentiments nor did he defend Luke.
So silent was August, he began to resemble a wall himself. One could almost question if the father before him was merely a ghost that only Luke could see.
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