MLIIWTFL Chapter 151

 

 

 

 

As the door to the living room opened, Baron Bright and his wife sat on the sofa as if they owned the house.

 

Ezkhiel, who had been excited before returning home, stepped inside, his previously eager expression now gone. David, who had remained standing instead of sitting, looked at him with concern, but had to avert his gaze when the Baron’s loud voice filled the room.

 

“I told you to come home, yet you ignore my words as if they mean nothing!”

 

At the all-too-familiar shouting, Ezkhiel flinched and stiffened. Even though he knew his father’s once-powerful presence had weakened with age, the fear ingrained in him over the years was not so easily erased.

 

“Now that you’ve moved out, do you think you can look down on your father? Are you going to neglect your duties as a son and act so recklessly?”

 

A newspaper was hurled in his direction, but it fell to the floor before reaching him. Ezkhiel remained motionless, staring at it. A servant, noticing his hesitation, quickly picked up the newspaper and handed it to him.

 

Instinctively, Ezkhiel took it. The front page of an unfamiliar gossip magazine displayed a photo of Letticia and himself riding in a carriage together, with the bold headline: “Queen of Flowers, an Intimate Meeting with the Crown Prince’s Aide?”

 

‘So it ended up in the gossip papers after all…’

 

Although the time they had spent together hadn’t been long, someone had managed to take a picture in that short window.

 

He recalled Lenard once mentioning in passing that the theater district was a breeding ground for scandals, where journalists roamed freely. It seemed that one of them had captured the moment.

 

“Before even introducing her to your parents, you let some third-rate gossip paper publish this nonsense and disgrace our family name! It’s fortunate this paper isn’t widely read. Have you even considered how humiliated I’d be if people started talking about this?”

 

Ezkhiel remained silent.

 

“Enough. This might actually work out for the best. The Sharon family has enough wealth, so at least no one will say we had to marry into money out of desperation.”

 

Waving a hand dismissively at his wife, the Baron gave his orders in an authoritative tone.

 

“Arrange a meeting with her family immediately. Since this photo is already out there, they’ll likely want to expedite the engagement as well. I don’t need to see what kind of woman ends up in a gossip rag before marriage, but if it means we can secure a larger dowry, I’m willing to overlook it.”

 

Ezkhiel clenched his jaw and finally lost his composure.

 

“Lady Sharon is not someone you can speak about in such a degrading manner!”

 

For a brief moment, his anger overpowered his fear—not because of the insults directed at him, but because of the disgrace aimed at his beloved.

 

But the consequences were immediate and severe. His father, enraged by his second son’s defiance, shot up from his seat, his expression dark with fury.

 

“How dare you talk back to me?!”

 

“Father!”

 

The Baron raised his hand to strike, but David swiftly grabbed his wrist. Seeing the all-too-familiar scene unfold, Ezkhiel turned pale and began trembling uncontrollably.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, David? Let go of me this instant!”

 

“Butler, bring the knights in right now!”

 

“No! Stay out of this!”

 

Realizing his younger brother’s condition, David called for help, prompting the Baroness to scream hysterically and rush to shield Ezkhiel with her body.

 

As Ezkhiel hid behind the flowing fabric of his mother’s dress, gasping for breath, David turned to the knights who had just entered and issued firm instructions.

 

“Escort my father outside and put him in our carriage. We’ll be out soon, but don’t let him leave just yet.”

 

“David! You insolent—”

 

“Understood!”

 

The knights restrained the furious Baron and dragged him out of the room. His loud protests echoed as the doors finally shut behind him.

 

With her husband gone, the Baroness turned to look at her son, who had collapsed to the floor, and shouted in frustration.

 

“Get up this instant! Do you plan to show such a disgraceful sight to others?!”

 

“Mother, Ezkhiel couldn’t help it! Father tried to hit him first!”

 

“If he had behaved properly, your father wouldn’t have needed to raise his hand! Why is it that my own son is so weak and foolish? What did I do to deserve giving birth to such a child?”

 

As the Baroness pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her tears, David clenched his jaw, choosing to ignore her. Instead, he knelt beside his brother.

 

Ezkhiel had been beaten by his father since childhood. At some point, he had learned that the best response was to stay silent and shrink back in fear whenever his father raised a hand.

 

“Ezkhiel, father is gone. The knights are guarding the carriage, so he can’t come back inside.”

 

At those words, Ezkhiel’s trembling finally began to subside. He took several deep breaths, trying to steady himself. A servant approached, offering him a glass of water, which he accepted with shaking hands. Half of it spilled as he attempted to drink, and he coughed violently.

 

“Cough… Cough….”

 

“Drink slowly, Ezkhiel. Don’t worry about mother.”

 

Ignoring the muffled sound of his mother’s weeping, David focused solely on his younger brother. He helped him up and guided him to the sofa.

 

Seeing her eldest son showing no concern for her, the Baroness’ frustration boiled over. She threw her handkerchief aside and glared at Ezkhiel.

 

“I just hope you managed to hide that pathetic and weak side of yours from that woman. If she ever finds out, this engagement will be called off in an instant.”

 

Ezkhiel remained silent.

 

“Honestly, why do you always disappoint me? I went out of my way to introduce you to women from impeccable bloodlines and noble families, yet you couldn’t secure a single one. And now, you’ve ended up in the gossip papers with some half-breed from a new noble family?”

 

“Don’t insult the Lady—cough, cough!”

 

Ezkhiel, who had just managed to stop coughing, raised his voice again in protest, only to be overcome by another coughing fit. As David patted his brother’s back, he spoke up in Ezkhiel’s defense.

 

“Mother, Lady Sharon was personally compared to the Queen of Flowers and named the ‘Diamond’ of the debutantes by Her Majesty the Empress. That means her beauty, etiquette, and education are all flawless. Even if you call her ‘half-breed,’ she carries some of the most prestigious Western noble bloodlines—most of which belong to at least Counts. No matter how great our family thinks it is, we don’t even compare to hers.”

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that she was born into a nouveau riche family with a father who is nothing but a wealthy upstart! No matter how pretty she is or how much she studies noble etiquette, you can’t change the blood running through her veins!”

 

The Baroness crossed her arms and glared down at Ezkhiel.

 

“Luckily, you at least have a respectable position. As long as they want a connection to His Highness the Crown Prince, they won’t reject the marriage outright. But until the wedding is finalized, you had better make sure to hide that pathetic and disgraceful nature of yours. If this engagement falls through and it hinders your brother’s future, I won’t forgive you.”

 

“…My marriage is my decision.”

 

Ezkhiel’s voice was firm as he met his mother’s gaze.

 

“I am the head of my own household now. I receive no support from the Bright Baron family. That means my marriage is entirely my decision. Neither you nor Father have any right to interfere.”

 

“How dare you say that to your own mother?!”

 

The Baroness shrieked and clutched at her chest as if she were about to faint. This reaction was all too familiar—she did this every time Ezkhiel said something she didn’t want to hear.

 

“Who do you think raised you all these years?!”

 

“You only care about tea and desserts, and you don’t even eat meat or drink coffee properly—how can you call yourself a man? And yet, I still tried to fix you, tried to make you better as a mother should! And this is how you repay me? How dare you say such ungrateful things to me?!”

 

“Mother, that’s enough!”

 

Unable to take it any longer, David grabbed his mother’s arm, but he couldn’t stop her from speaking. As always, the Baroness lashed out at her son for failing to meet her expectations.

 

“If you were even half a decent person, you would repay me for all the sacrifices I’ve made for you! But now that you’re older and have met a woman, you think your own mother is worthless? Hah! Then again, you’ve always been like this. No matter how much I tried to fix you, you never listened—you only ever rebelled!”

 

“Take my mother outside. Now!”

 

“I should have never stopped your father from hitting you. You deserved to be beaten more!”

 

Ezkhiel didn’t say a word as his mother was dragged out by the knights. He simply lowered his head, staring at the floor. He knew from painful experience that responding would only make the ordeal last longer.

 

Once the doors shut and the Baroness’ wailing was no longer audible, David sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“I’m sorry, Ezkhiel. When I got off work, I found out that Father and Mother had already left. I took my carriage and followed as fast as I could.”

 

“I know. I know you were doing everything you could to stop them.”

 

Ezkhiel finally lifted his head and responded weakly. David looked at his younger brother with sympathy before turning to glare at their parents through the window of the carriage.

 

He had always known that, as the eldest son, he was favored simply because he was expected to carry on their family’s legacy. But that favoritism had never made him happy.

 

After all, no decent person would be comfortable watching their six-years-younger brother be constantly compared, mistreated, and neglected by their own parents.