I Reincarnated As the Third Son of a Count’s Family, Only To Find a Series of Funerals

35 – Let’s Eat (1)

When I arrived at the dining hall where President Dae-yeonho was having his meal, to my surprise, the princes were waiting for me.

The princes who noticed my arrival surrounded me. Well, they want to intimidate me or something?

“Count Silverwood, did you have any discomfort during our last encounter, despite your rudeness?”

“No, on the contrary, I felt deeply grateful for the excessive hospitality.”

“I see… But can you explain why you didn’t accept our proposal?”

“Well… I don’t remember refusing it explicitly.”

“Does that mean you are willing to cooperate with us?”

I faced Prince Christopher’s fiery gaze without flinching and spoke.

“If you princes align well with what I will express to His Majesty during this meal, I will consider it positively.”

“What? You insolent count!”

I passed through the princes and entered the banquet hall.

Just then, King and Queen Consort Selenor, Princess Doris, and Bishop Clement entered the banquet hall together. The princes couldn’t dare to stop me and quietly took their seats.

“Oh, Silverwood. Thank you for coming to dine as per my request. I’m truly grateful.”

“How could I dare refuse Your Majesty’s dinner invitation? I would run thousands of miles, leaving everything behind, for the honor of dining with Your Majesty.”

“hahahaha! Your loyalty is truly commendable!”

After my words, Richard laughed heartily as if finding it amusing.

I also smiled back at His Majesty before giving a light greeting to Princess Selenor and Bishop Clement. Finally, I took my seat alongside His Majesty.

The princes on the opposite side looked extremely anxious, like horses that urgently need to defecate. Don’t worry, you little brats. Do you think I’ll harm you?

As before, Bishop Clement’s pre-dinner prayer signaled the start of the banquet. Fortunately, this time he didn’t drop his wine glass.

And finally, when the prayer ended, His Majesty began to speak.

“So, how is life in the Silverwood Manor?”

“I lead a luxurious life beyond imagination in the count’s residence. Everything is thanks to Your Majesty’s grace.”

“Hooh, in what way precisely?”

“Starting from the food we consume, it is much more luxurious than any dream one can have. The bathrooms and bedrooms are also larger and more comfortable than what I saw at Duke Lurein’s mansion, my great-grandfather’s estate.”

“hehehe, it seems that Hayden Duke is somewhat stingy in those respects. With all that money, he should preserve and accompany it to our Changsung Palace.”

“Still, thanks to my great-grandfather’s generosity, I have no complaints about the reconstruction of Silverwood Manor. Those who live in the duke’s residence may not understand…”

“hahahaha! Yes, only people living in the duke’s manor can sympathize. From the count’s perspective, there is nothing to regret!”

His Majesty burst into laughter, slapping his thigh while doing so.

When His Majesty laughed, others seated around the dining table joined in as well.

Sure, you don’t have to force yourself to smile if you don’t want to. Why try so hard to force a smile? Yes, I’m talking about you. The princes.

His Majesty was smiling so much that he even coughed a little, then cleared his throat before asking me another question.

“Well, it’s been only a day, but have you gotten pretty close to the princes and princess?”

“Of course. The princes invited me and we had a pleasant conversation. Then I coincidentally met the princess in the hallway and received a precious gift from her.”

When I mentioned that I had met the princes and princess yesterday, all of them seemed to have a shocked expression.

The princes might have been startled about the possibility of me revealing what we talked about, and maybe the princess was reminded of the ‘incident’ caused by Guttmilla at the end.

“Is that so? Can you tell me what kind of conversation you had with the princes?”

“Your Majesty, that was a personal conversation between us and the Viscount, so I’d rather not…”

“No, why can’t you tell me what you talked about? Did you have some secret conversation to hide, Viscount?”

The princes looked very flustered suddenly when His Majesty questioned them intensely about the conversation they had with me.

I was also a little flustered because I wasn’t expecting His Majesty to be so eager with questions, but instead of flinching, I smiled and replied.

“hahahaha, the princes shared quite a few embarrassing stories when they talked to me, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“No, Viscount! What is that supposed to mean…?”

Christopher and the princes tried very hard to prevent me from speaking.

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Hey, remember the promise before entering the dining room?

I sent a wink to Christopher. Fortunately, he seemed to understand the signal, and although he maintained a nervous expression, he didn’t act further.

“The princes praised me for the things I did in Silverwood, and I eventually mentioned that my grandfather, the Viscount Lorraine, was the one who made it possible for me to be alive when coming here.”

“So? Is that such a disgraceful thing that the princes can’t talk to me about it?”

Oh dear, Your Majesty. Why are you so fiery? I guess the temper of the princes takes after Your Majesty.

“Then, as I was telling them about Viscount Lorraine, it led to the story of childhood memories between the Viscount and me. Then, suddenly, I felt curious about how it was between the princes and Your Majesty as family in their younger days, so I asked.”

“…Please continue.”

The princes were giving me a very intense look, as if to say ‘what kind of story are you trying to tell’, but I lightly ignored them and continued to tell His Majesty the story.

“Before telling you that story, I must confess it is very embarrassing. I’m not sure how the people here think of my father, but I believe that while he was an honorable nobleman, he was not exactly the nicest person.”

“Why…? From what I heard, he was the first to detect the evil and hostility of the traitors from Westburn, and he tragically fell into the cruel trickery of barbarians and perished in battle…”

Princess Eleonor spoke as if she was puzzled. The princes, except for Christopher, had the same expressions. Only His Majesty and Christopher seemed to somewhat understand.

Because Father took the offensive against the traitor Westburn, he was severely criticized and passed over in politics.

Of course, those who knew the truth about our father said, ‘what nonsense is this’, but those who only received the stories about the war between Silverwood and Westburn tended to think of my father as a ‘faithful servant of the age who, sadly, died while trying to punish the wickedness of Westburn.’

When I first heard the stories from the palace people about the father, I had so many question marks hanging over my head… That’s why one must filter and believe in Kaderla communication.

“That’s what I mean by a noble person in that aspect. Our father… cough! Oh, excuse me for a moment. Anyway, our father couldn’t stand injustice, and that was the reason why he wanted to punish the evil Westburn.”

Oh, just as I was about to tell a lie, the guilt suddenly echoed in my throat.

“It’s because there were many wounds I received from my father that I could say he wasn’t someone who only cared for me.”

“Wounds?”

“Yes. Among the people here, who wouldn’t have been beaten by my father? Well… most of the time it was because I deserved it, but sometimes I would get beaten for reasons I couldn’t understand.”

“…”

Father, I’m sorry! I’m going to speak ill of you. Honestly, you weren’t a good father, were you? Is it good for a father to die after leaving his wife and children behind, suffering in Westberne? Moreover, both children went with him as companions?

After hearing those words, the people in the audience suddenly fell silent, looking surprised at the detractor of their departed fathers.

I continued with my story, regardless of whether they should listen or not.

“It wasn’t unjust when I got beatings for a reason, but it hurt me deeply when I was beaten just because my father felt bad, for small mistakes I made when I was young. The wounds I received back then still remain deep in my heart even now.”

“…That must have been painful.”

“Yes, it was. But recently, I’ve started to wonder why my late father treated me like that, and recently I found out the reason.”

“What is the reason?”

“My father had never been a ‘father’ before becoming a father.”

“Marquis, what do you mean? Of course, before becoming a father, one has never been a ‘father’. Isn’t that obvious? How can one become a father before having a child?”

“No, it’s not obvious. Your Majesty, what kind of process does a servant go through to become a knight?”

“Well, one has to start as a squire, undergo rigorous training under a knight, and when one feels qualified enough, receive the knighthood from their master or lord. Why are you asking this?”

“That’s exactly my point. Your Majesty, in order to become the ‘father’ of the princes and princesses here, did you spend time under the guidance of another experienced father who had raised children well before? Did you learn how to be a ‘father,’ how to raise children, and how to behave as a patriarch based on the experiences of others?”

“..!”

“Of course not, right? My father didn’t either. In fact, all fathers in the world are probably the same. That’s why, unlike the seeds who learn based on their mentor’s experience, which guides them on what it means to be a knight, our fathers couldn’t learn what it means to be a ‘father’ or how to raise their children from someone else. They probably didn’t even think that it required such consideration since everyone seemed to figure it out on their own. As a result, my father could only be a beginner as a ‘father.'”

“…”

“That’s why my father, besides what he saw, heard, and felt from his own father as an example, had no information about being a father. And, as you know, this means ‘a child who doesn’t listen will only listen when they suffer punishment.'”

“So, he had no choice but to treat his own children the way he was treated by his father?”

“Yes, exactly. Our parents, who got married when they were barely twenty years old and suddenly had children, how could they have gained all the wisdom of life at that age? In the end, they had no choice but to treat their children just as they were taught by their parents.”

That’s why my mother, who grew up receiving only love from her great-grandfather, became a mother who never disciplined us. And our father became someone who beat us severely. Although I don’t know much about my great-grandfather because he passed away when I was three years old, I believe he must have been an extraordinary person like my father when I see my father.

Upon hearing my words, Your Majesty gazed at the ceiling, seemingly lost in regret. It seems that even Your Majesty, in your early days, was subjected to severe punishment by the late king.

“So, that’s why your father inflicted those wounds on you. As a beginner father, he made the mistake of only resorting to hitting when his child behaved in a way he didn’t like.”

“But isn’t it true that your father already raised two of your elder brothers? And yet, he was still a beginner?”

“Your Majesty, once a bad habit takes root, it won’t change no matter how hard you try unless you realize it and make strenuous efforts to correct it. That’s why when a knight-in-training receives guidance from their mentor, they correct and adjust their posture to prevent developing the habit of wielding the sword incorrectly, don’t they?”

“Well… yes, that’s true.”

On the battlefield where countless lives sway

The things that determine life and death on the battlefield are the ‘pre-trained’ habits before going into battle. When the enemy extends their head, one must instinctively swing their sword at the enemy without hesitation, rather than thinking, “Oh, what’s that guy?” and freezing.

Habits are that important, but my father had developed wrong habits while raising my older brothers, and those wrong habits had been passed down to me. Because no matter how many times I failed, there were no visible problems, and it seemed like I was listening well to his words, so I couldn’t even realize the flaws. Without even realizing that my first and second sons’ personalities were becoming distorted.

“Well, what I want to say is that now that I realize my father was a novice as a ‘father,’ I can somewhat understand the actions he took towards me. However, it doesn’t mean that I forgive him.”

“You don’t forgive him?”

“Well, understanding and forgiveness are different, aren’t they? For example, if a person steals food from a store to feed their starving family and accidentally kills the store owner in a fight when caught, even though we might understand why the murderer resorted to robbery, forgiving them for killing another innocent store owner is a different matter, isn’t it?”

“Hmm… So, if your father were still alive, how would you have forgiven him?”

“Maybe, if that were the case, after I grew up enough for my father to acknowledge me as an adult, we would have met separately and I would have honestly revealed the wounds I received from him when I was young. If my father had apologized to me for the actions he took towards me when I was a child, then perhaps the knot in my heart would have loosened a little. Well, now it’s just a meaningless assumption, though.”

“…”

As I finished my last words, suddenly everyone looked at me. What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Hm?

“Why are there tears…?”

When moisture filled my eyes, I quickly wiped away the tears with my fingers. Oops, it seems like I got too immersed in my own story.

“Lord Viscount…”

Princess Celenor was looking at me with a sympathetic gaze, her eyes becoming watery.

Others were the same. Especially Archbishop Clement, who continuously wiped his flowing tears with a handkerchief, as if he felt sorry for the fact that the young boy couldn’t reconcile with his deceased father.

Even His Majesty had a remorseful expression and offered words of comfort to me.

“It seems like I asked unnecessary things, I apologize, Viscount.”

“No, Your Majesty. I’m fine.”

I slightly shook my head and assured His Majesty that I was okay, while thinking to myself,

“Now, all the groundwork has been laid.”

It was time to fasten the first button of the “plan.”

I looked around at the princes, princess, and His Majesty, and began speaking.

“So, anyway, Your Highnesses, when I asked about the relationship between wealthy families during childhood, you must be curious about what the princes said to me.”

“Hmm, is that so…”

“To give you the conclusion first, Your Highness…”

“Viscount!? What’s suddenly…”

“No, no, Your Majesty. The Viscount is just confused…”

“…”

As soon as I spoke, as if someone had pricked them with a needle in their behinds, the princes, who were about to defend themselves, abruptly stopped. Quietly raising her palm, Her Majesty signaled for them to be silent.

The compassionate image of my usual father disappeared, and King Richard, returning as a resolute ruler, stared at only me and commanded.

“Continue speaking, Viscount.”

Alright, the game begins.