Chapter 6: The Shattered Engagement.
The dinner proceeded with a deliberate, agonizing slowness that seemed designed to grind away at Spencer's remaining dignity.
At various intervals throughout the meal, he would occasionally attempt to meet the gaze of Francesca, foolishly searching for even a glimmer of the warmth or the protective kindness she had shown him during their childhood years.
Each time his green eyes sought hers, however, she would sharply avoid them, turning her head away with a cold reaction or simply drawing her brows together in a deep, visible frown.
Her obvious distaste acted as a signal to the rest of the table, causing the step-mothers and siblings to immediately erupt in a chorus of scoldings, admonishing him for his perceived "boorishness" and "lack of awareness" in the presence of such a refined guest.
This pattern of exclusion and subtle verbal assault continued on for a long while, with everyone else at the table appearing to enjoy themselves immensely while all Spencer could do was sit there in silence as always.
To any outside observer, or certainly to the "old" Spencer, this situation would have been an utter misery, a soul-crushing reminder of his status as a pariah in his own home would be viewed as a nightmare to most.
But the new soul inhabiting this body was, in fact, secretly pleased. Beneath his carefully maintained mask of dejection, he'd long since gotten over the stigmatisation when he realised something.
[+ 0.1ST]
[+ 0.1ST]
[+ 0.1ST]
[+ 0.1ST]
[+ 0.1ST]
Throughout this whole endeavour, The translucent notifications flickered steadily in the corner of his vision.
That was because each time they took a moment to admonish or reprimand him for some imagined slight, he only received more Stat Points.
He realized very quickly that the dinner table was not somewhere to be hated, but in fact a gold mine.
Rather than learning his lesson and shrinking into the shadows like they expected him to do, Spencer began to act out instead, though not directly or visibly, but indirectly.
For example, he would go on to interject in their conversations or question their words.
Even offering unsolicited opinions of his own, which clearly irritated them to no end.
If that wasn't enough to drive them toward anger, he would even go as far as to offer them cheerful, hollow compliments or act as if they were all on perfectly good terms, treating his siblings as if they were the closest of friends.
Such actions displeased them further, their annoyance ripening into resentment that Spencer found absolutely rejuvenating.
At first, he had been genuinely unhappy to be forced to stay in the dining hall and endure their presence, but now he realized that this was, in fact, the perfect opportunity to "farm" Stat Points with minimal physical effort.
In just a short while, he had managed to gather over 30 ST, a total that continued to climb with every minute.
This rapid accumulation was a direct result of the high-quality "fuel" at the table; unlike the lowly servants, his siblings had all already reached the threshold of Tier 1 power, and his father, Edward, along with Lord Gustav, were formidable Tier 3 experts in their own rights.
The sheer intensity of a Tier 3's irritation provided a much more significant boost than a dozen angry maids ever could.
With all this newly acquired ST and the points he already had stocked up in his reserves, Spencer believed he would finally be able to break into Tier 1 if he so wished.
From the snippets of information he had gathered, the physical strength required for Tier 1 was roughly around a value of 10. Of course, this was merely his own conjecture.
he hadn't actually tried to dump all his points into a single stat yet, but the prospect of finally possessing a modicum of real power made his heart race.
"Ahem..."
Sadly, the fun of his social experimentation came to an abrupt end when the Lord of Bellwood cleared his throat loudly, drawing in everyone's attention before glancing pointedly at Edward.
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly, the playful mocking of the siblings dying away to be replaced by a profound silence.
"Pardon me Gustav, I completely forgot about your specific reasons for arriving today." Edward said, his voice smooth and devoid of any real warmth as he turned his gaze toward Spencer.
"It seems it is finally time you learned of why I took the liberty of inviting you to join us here today."
'Here it comes...' Spencer thought to himself. Honestly, he couldn't care any less about whatever "shameful" news they were about to deliver, as he was far more unhappy about the fact that his ST-farming spree was coming to an end.
But alas, there was nothing he could do about the pacing of the plot.
"Yes, my lord?" he questioned Edward, feigning a look of wide-eyed, innocent curiosity that he hoped would make the coming blow seem even more devastating to the onlookers.
"I'm afraid, Lord Bellwood and his daughter are here today on grounds of annulling the official engagement between the two of you," Edward stated plainly, his eyes showing not a shred of sympathy for his son.
"W-What?!" Spencer reacted instantly, jolting up from his seat with such force that his chair scraped harshly against the marble floor.
He allowed his eyes to widen with a look of pure, unadulterated disbelief, his hands trembling slightly as they gripped the edge of the table.
"T-That can't be true," he replied, his voice sounding a tad desperate and cracked, just as a discarded lover's should.
He quickly turned his head to glance at Francesca, who was sitting across from him.
"Francesca! Tell him it's a lie. You don't actually want to annul our engagement, do you?! After everything... you can't!"
Right now, Spencer sought to play the part of a desperate, broken man clinging to the only precious thing he had left.
He knew that if he accepted the news with a calm or indifferent expression, it would immediately arouse the suspicions of his family and the Bellwoods; they expected a talentless, weak-willed boy to crumble, and he was more than happy to give them the performance they desired if it meant keeping his secrets safe for the time being.
Like he expected, Francesca said absolutely nothing in her own defense. All she did was avoid his gaze, her crimson eyes fixed firmly on her lap as if she found the very sight of him to be an unbearable burden.
"Y-You..." Spencer's gaze grew even more distraught, his face paling as he looked between the two fathers.
"Spencer, would you please stop this at once. You're embarrassing yourself and the family in front of Lord Bellwood," one of his sisters hissed, her voice dripping with venom.
"Tsk, what did he honestly expect for being so useless? Did he really think a beauty like Francesca would tie herself to a talentless failure forever?" Andrew added, a smug, victorious grin spreading across his face.
"To think he was the one born first... what an absolute disgrace to the Luminous name," another sibling chimed in, their words carrying no ounce of remorse whatsoever.
They all began admonishing him outright, their voices overlapping in a group of insults that would have destroyed the spirit of the previous Spencer.
[+1 ST]
[+1 ST]
[+1 ST]
[+1 ST]
[+1 ST]
....
The rewards for their open hostility weren't as great as earlier but points were still points so he didn't complain.
' If only I could get even more.' he thought to himself, feeling displeased.
"Spencer... please, take your seat," Edward suddenly ordered.
"But father! We were supposed to—"
"I said sit down!" The Lord of Luminous spoke with a tone that turned instantly cold, a Tier 3 pressure beginning to leak from his form that made the air in the room feel heavy.
[+3ST]
' Hahaha, that's it!' an idea suddenly popping up in his head seeing his father so displeased.
Spencer gnashed his teeth, his expression looking like that of a man in deep physical and emotional pain, but he still sat down nonetheless, his head bowing low to hide the predatory glint that had returned to his eyes.
"Now that everyone has quieted down and the necessary business has been concluded, I'd like to make another announcement to mark this auspicious day. " Edward continued, his tone brightening as if he hadn't just crushed his eldest son's future.
"While the news of this annulment was perhaps unexpected to some, I would like to reveal that going forward, everyone here is in full support of a new union, the engagement between Lady Francesca and my son, Andrew."
A sudden, jubilant energy filled the room, a sharp contrast to the silence that had followed the annulment.
"Indeed, it is a much more suitable arrangement!" Gustav Bellwood exclaimed, raising his glass in a toast.
"What a perfect match they make," one of the step-mothers gushed, her eyes shining with pride as she looked at Andrew.
"I'm so happy for you, brother. You actually deserve someone of her stature," his sisters added.
"I'm just glad Francesca doesn't have to be burdened with such useless trash anymore. It was a waste of her youth," Andrew said, his voice loud and clear so that Spencer wouldn't miss a single word.
"It is truly a blessing for both our families to see this righted." Gustav concluded.
Without even letting a single moment of respect slip by, they had dared to insult Spencer to his face by engaging his fiancée to his younger, more "talented" brother only seconds after the annulment was finalized.
It was a wicked move designed to strip him of any last shred of self-worth.
[+ 1ST]
[+ 1ST]
[+ 3 ST]
[+ 1ST]
[+ 3 ST]
[+ 3 ST]
[+ 1ST]
[+ 1ST]
[+ 3 ST]
.....
The notifications were nearly blinding now, as the room erupted in congratulations. Both families began chatting happily amongst themselves, discussing wedding dates and the like, while Spencer sat perfectly still, the "broken" outcast in the middle of a celebration that had been built on his own downfall.
He took a slow breath, content on the fact that his 20.6 stat points were now accompanied by 40+ stat points.