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

37 – Let’s Eat (3)

“Then, what exactly should I have done?”

“Your Majesty?”

“What could I have done to prevent my beloved two sons from becoming murderers and rapists?”

“””…”””

Everyone was shocked by the king’s words to the extent that even the spoons fell from their hands. The shock of his words alone was significant, but it was also because the king was crying as he spoke.

Christopher and William, in particular, were astonished as if they had seen their father cry for the first time in their lives.

“All of this… Is it because I didn’t love my children enough, Baron?”

“…No, Your Majesty. As far as I know, I have never seen a father who loves his children as much as you do.”

“Then why?”

Thunk!

The king slammed his fists on the table with such force that it made a loud noise.

“Why did my sons become such lunatics? Huh? Was it wrong of me to demand that my children, as members of the royal family, not show any weaknesses?”

“Your Majesty, please calm down for now…”

Archbishop Clement, who was sitting next to the king, suddenly stood up and grabbed the king’s sleeve, trying to calm him down. By the way, Archbishop Clement has been unable to intervene in our conversation since earlier. I’m worried that he might have choked while eating. I apologize, Grandpa…

But the king roughly brushed aside the archbishop’s hand and continued speaking.

“I!!!! Since I was six years old, I was beaten by my father. When I greeted you, Father, in front of others, I knelt on the wrong knee, and even though I received treatment from a priest for making that mistake, I was beaten so badly that I couldn’t walk properly for a week!”

“I couldn’t instantly translate the Latuner words my father spoke, I would shake my leg during meals, and sometimes just say I felt bad!”

“Your Majesty…”

“In those situations, I tried hard not to get reprimanded by my father, and I tried and tried again! Eventually, except for when my father occasionally made up excuses to hit me, he couldn’t touch me!”

“But now that I’m older and married with children, I know I can’t raise my children like my father did. I know the pain of each whip, foot, fist, and baton that hurt a child! How could I swing such a terrible thing toward my children, who don’t feel a single thing even if they have it shoved into their eyes?”

His Majesty had been screaming at everyone nearby as though he was begging.

“But…what happened as a result? Huh? Christopher, William. Say something!”

“Mama…Mama…”

“…”

Christopher replied plainly to his father’s words. William closed his eyes tightly and lowered his head.

“In the end, my father was right! I should have raised my children like him! Then Christopher and William wouldn’t have become such insane killers and rapists!”

The person standing here now isn’t the charismatic king who ruled all of Urmagna in a single breath and overthrew the rebellion. He is just a father who has fallen into despair because of the guilt he feels for not raising his children properly and the crimes his children have committed as a result.

I finally understood why the king left Bruce, Michael, and Cerenor, who haven’t yet caused any trouble, with Godmilla to abuse them. It was because he thought that he wouldn’t be able to raise his children without hitting them like his father did, and so he just let the other children go free, hoping that Godmilla would prevent them from treading on the path of his elder and younger sons.

I walked slowly to His Majesty, who was shouting as loud as he could until his voice cracked, and leaned against the wall while talking to him.

“I don’t agree with you, Your Majesty.”

“..?”

“On the contrary, it’s precisely because Your Majesty raised your princes and princesses with love that bigger problems haven’t occurred.”

“..!”

I grabbed his shoulders when His Majesty looked slightly surprised at my words and slowly lifted him up.

“That doesn’t mean I think corporal punishment shouldn’t be used at all. It has some utility from time to time.”

I think that corporal punishment is one way of physically making someone realize their “big mistake.”

In the case of Christopher and William, they should have been punished for what they had done, even if it meant being beaten, to make them fully understand the weight of their wrongdoing so that they could be prevented from ever doing it again.

However, the problem arises when corporal punishment is carried out on a regular basis. If physical punishment is abused even when a significant mistake isn’t made, then it can lead to reverse effects. This is because the purpose of physical punishment, as mentioned above, is to make one realize how big of a mistake they have made through physical shock. If you frequently strike someone for no apparent reason, then instead of reflecting on their mistake, they will wonder whether they deserved to be beaten and thus grow resentment towards the executioner instead of acknowledging their own faults.

Furthermore, having nothing but receiving beatings only leads people to become more wicked and resort to lying rather than correcting their behavior.

“I’ve talked to you about my great-grandfather and great-uncle, the Earl Patrick, whom I’ve excluded from this. Earlier, I told you that the Earl left his home because of my grandfather’s constant harassment, but that ‘harassment’ inevitably includes both verbal and physical abuse.”

“…what are you trying to say…”

“What I’m saying is that hitting children won’t magically cure all of their misdeeds or evil deeds. Even with beating, the Earl became an infamous rogue throughout the kingdom after leaving home due to the harassment of his father, just as I said earlier. Not every child in this world can withstand violence from their fathers silently. If you had raised your children with love like Your Majesty said the late King did, then instead of the ‘mistakes’ that Christopher and William have made so far, they may have even done worse.”

Have Christopher and William been corrected by Godmilla’s violent ‘education’? As I said before, absolutely not. They’ve merely evolved into ticking time bombs that could explode at any moment. It may sound like a joke, but I think that the reason the two princes aren’t committing even more heinous acts right now is ultimately because they’re holding back out of concern for their beloved father’s well-being.

First of all, the fact that the two princes are currently accepting Guldmila’s “education” without any resistance is evidence. How could they just stand by and let themselves be beaten by someone who would kill them even if they did something wrong? This is evidence that the two princes are paying attention to their father Richard to some extent.

If the relationship between the two princes and King Richard was already bad at Azernight and they had decided to leave, they would have simply drawn their swords and killed Guldmila. The reason why the princes couldn’t kill Guldmila is that they tried to kill her only through sneaky tricks but not face-to-face with a sword out of fear that they might lose against a robust 19 or 18-year-old young lady wielding a sword, no matter how skilled she was.

“Moreover, the punishment Seonwang treated Your Majesty made it impossible for you and your children to talk openly and cut off your relationship. The opportunity to restore the relationship between parents and children disappears forever. Your Majesty knows this well. Have you ever sincerely told Seonwang Your Majesty’s feelings even once? Before Your Majesty became angry, have you really reconciled with each other?”

“..!”

The king seemed shocked at my words. It seemed like there was no such memory even if he turned his memory upside down.

“Your Majesty wondered how my uncle who was recognized as a scoundrel in the kingdom became the current Earl Delfred. That is because my great-grandfather sincerely apologized to my uncle for the oppression and violence he gave when my uncle didn’t achieve the level of achievement he demanded as his eldest son.”

“… Is that true?”

“Yes, ask the Duke yourself.”

I said, putting the king back in his seat.

“From my understanding, it seems that Your Majesty, the princes and princesses have gone through countless events and ultimately ended up in this situation, but I still think it is not too late.”

“What is it?”

“To return the relationship between parents and children to normal.”

“Is that possible? Really?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. However, Your Majesty must do something important.”

“What is that? Please tell me, Duke.”

“You must listen to everything your children suffered or hurt because of you without leaving anything out. As I said earlier, Your Majesty and your children resemble each other because they are parents and children, but fundamentally, they are entirely different individuals. Therefore, Your Majesty must now acknowledge that what may seem insignificant to you may have been significant suffering for the princes and princesses. “

“…”

“My great-grandfather thought about it for a long time while my uncle was out of the house, but Your Majesty did not. You need to listen to the experiences your children had to suffer and recognize them. Then, secondly, you must speak honestly to your children about things that you felt unhappy or angry about, or things that you wished had happened but didn’t. By doing so, if you can understand each other, you will finally be able to resolve the misunderstandings and contradictions that have existed between parents and children.”

After hearing my words, the king kept quiet for a while, probably feeling shocked. Everyone else was the same.

After a few minutes, suddenly the king raised his head, glanced briefly at the princes and princesses, and made a humorous sound.

“Well then, tell these children everything that their father did wrong.”

However, none of the princes and princesses spoke up. Even if they had thought about it for a long time, they suddenly couldn’t speak when it came to speaking aloud.

I spoke to those princes and princesses.

“Please relax and speak whatever you want. This might be a real chance for your Majesty, princes, and princesses to reconcile with each other finally. Are you determined to live the rest of your life like this?”

Even though I had talked so much, ‘Oh dear, am I screwed?’ I thought when they kept hesitating to speak up, but then Prince Michael opened his mouth.

“When I was young, I often bit my nails, and when I couldn’t keep my dignity as a member of the royal family, officials rebuked me publicly for it, which made me very sad-“

“No, at that time, you bit your nails too much, so I was worried-“

“Your Majesty.”

I stopped the king from cutting Michael’s words.

“You should never interrupt the words of Your Majesty and the princes and princesses. Please listen to them until the end, regardless of any injustice you may feel. If you keep cutting off the conversation halfway, there can be no meaningful dialogue. I hope Your Majesty and your children bear that in mind.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

In this way, I took on a role as a kind of mediator, ensuring that conversations between His Excellency and his children did not veer off track or end in fights.

Once the gates were opened, the princes and princesses shared deep stories that they could never have spoken of directly before. Except for a few anecdotes, His Excellency was surprised by his own behavior towards his children, saying, “I did that to them?” and expressing regret to his children.

On the other hand, His Excellency honestly shared stories of anger and disappointment that he had kept to himself. Christopher and William, in particular, were so embarrassed for a while that they could not even lift their heads. “You do know that you were wrong, right?” “Yes… I’m just glad that you’re not sociopathic enough to not feel guilty for your mistakes.”

In this way, the banquet hall became both a sea of tears and laughter several times, and finally, the suspicions and grievances that had built up between each other over the years were resolved.

As the conversation was coming to a close, His Excellency took my two hands and said, “It’s all thanks to the Marquis. If it weren’t for the Marquis, how could we have had the opportunity to share these honest, heartfelt stories with each other? Inviting the Marquis to the royal palace seems like a truly divine encounter.”

“No, it’s not. If Your Excellency had not accepted my suggestion, how could such a miracle have occurred? I only presented a plan, and ultimately, it is an achievement made by Your Excellency and the princes and princesses themselves.”

“Modesty can be taken too far. You have relieved my lifelong worries. I will never forget this.”

Not only His Excellency, but others also had similar reactions. Archbishop Clement praised me as a true loyal subject. Miss Doris, too, seemed pleased that her father and Her Excellency had grown closer. I’m not sure if her expression remained unchanged, but it seemed certain.

After finishing the meal, I met with the princes again.

“Marquis, you really… have done something completely unexpected, as if it were nothing like Silverwood.”

“Your words are right, are you really in your right mind?”

“hahahaha, how was it? Were you perhaps not pleased?”

“Of course, it pleased me to the point of death!”

Seeing the relieved reaction from Christopher and William, I erased the doubt I had been carrying in my heart, such as “when Lady Godmilla disappeared, wouldn’t things go back to the way they used to be?” Their faces no longer showed the hostility and now looked completely different.

Smiling at the princes, I joked, “If you promise to keep the agreement you made to Her Excellency, then I will believe you.”

“Uh…”

As I mentioned, Christopher and William promised to pay for the wrongs they had committed. First, they would go to each of the households of the tutors they had killed and personally apologize, then provide various monetary compensation along with other support.

Women who had been violated by the princes could choose to become their wives if they wished, or else, they would receive financial compensation and assistance in marrying into other noble families.

For commoners, the compensation was less than for the women, but similar financial support and help in marrying into other non-royal households were promised.

At first glance, this may seem like a very lenient punishment, but by the standards of the time, for a king’s son to ask for forgiveness from the victims was extremely radical. Most royal families would not even take the slightest notice even if a crime was committed. For the princes to personally apologize and compensate the victims were things that normally would not happen.

Even in the case of nobles who were victims, some degree of compensation was arranged. However, to personally visit each victim and ask for forgiveness is something that is rarely done. Also, asking for forgiveness from each individual victim would not be an easy task. Some would accept the apology as a formality, but considering the bullying done by the princes, it would not be surprising if they faced resistance. Nevertheless, it was something that they would have to bear themselves.

“So, what about Godmilla, Marquis?”

“Hmm, Your Majesty, do you still wish to kill Gordmilla?”

“No, no! Stop suspecting me!”

“But, Your Lordship, wouldn’t Gordmilla become a great obstacle between us and Abamama if she still exists?”

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King Bruce suddenly interjected into the conversation, startling everyone by leaning in and speaking.

“Indeed, King Bruce’s words are correct. Gordmilla no longer holds any significance. But even though Your Majesty knows this and has reconciled with the princes, would you really just let Gordmilla be?”

“Is that so…?”

Until now, I had thought that deciding whether to kill Gordmilla based on the information I gathered through Lina, Satrica, and Teacher Nirsara was the problem, as I had considered being dismissed from my position as a tutor in the royal court to be a given.

But the world did not work as I wished.

For some reason, things were going too smoothly.