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

42 – Goodbyes are not a forever parting (3)

“Godelia… imprison her.”

At Your Majesty’s command, the guards rushed out and seized Godelia. Oh no, is this how it ends? It seemed that Your Majesty was unable to shield Godelia any longer. Well, even I wouldn’t shield my children if they acted like complete idiots. I might shield them while they’re kids.

Godelia resisted, but she wasn’t strong enough to push away the guard’s arms, no matter who she was.

So, as a last act of desperation, Godelia succumbed to her fright and shouted at Your Majesty.

“Your Majesty! How could you do this to me!”

“After witnessing that sight, don’t you know what you did was wrong?”

“That is…”

To Godelia, it seemed like Your Majesty struck her at the core of her being. Even she must have thought that she deserved it. That’s why she acted that way.

In the end, Godelia fell into ruin because she went too far with the king’s children, both mentally and physically. If Christopher and William had done that, it might have been bearable to some extent, but they all had problems. Now that I see it, Christopher, William, and Godelia are similar in some ways. All three of them crossed the line. If the princes had not killed the tutor, Godelia would not have needed to suffer so much. If Godelia had fought back reasonably, she wouldn’t have fallen into this mess. Reasonable action is what’s important.

Godelia was resigned to her fate in no time, bowed her head deeply, and was dragged away by the guards.

But then, Princess Celenor blocked the door of the audience chamber.

“What is she doing? Why is she doing this?”

The guards, like me, were flustered by the princess’s sudden behavior and asked her for a request.

“Your Highness, please step aside. We must escort the criminal.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Celenor?”

Your Majesty called for Celenor in a dubious tone. What are you doing now? That’s what it means. But Celenor continued to shout without paying attention.

“Ultimately, wasn’t it because we did something wrong that the tutor hit us? Of course, it was severe, but…”

“Even if that were the case, it doesn’t change the fact that Godelia made you become like that. And even if it wasn’t the case, according to Christopher’s words, Godelia has already committed a crime that warrants a death sentence.”

“Still!”

“!…”

“It shouldn’t end like this… right? The teacher is not the only one at fault…”

Everyone inside the audience chamber, including me, was greatly surprised at Princess Celenor’s outburst. Especially Godelia.

Elenor. Are you going to protect Godmilla even after she has abused you so harshly? It wasn’t your fault in the first place.

Even if you feel guilty about “that incident”, it is normal not to want to protect her when you have been abused for years.

I looked at Princess Eleanor with a confused heart. As if she noticed my gaze, she came up to me and pleaded.

“Sir… no, my Lord. Please forgive the teacher. Right? The teacher doesn’t have to go to prison… Can’t you reconcile the teacher and us like you reconciled Mama and us?”

“…It’s a pity, but that seems difficult. Your Highness.”

Princess Elenor was visibly shocked by my firm words. Even if Godmilla suddenly turned into an angelic teacher, the relationship between the prince and Godmilla could never be reconciled. Unless the memory of the princes being whipped and having their skin torn by Godmilla suddenly disappears. Princess Elenor herself was traumatized enough to sit trembling from hearing the sound of a whip. What’s the point of any of this?

And no matter how sorry you feel for Godmilla, you shouldn’t do this for yourself, or even for Doris, who worked hard for Godmilla. Look, doesn’t Doris have a disgusted expression on her face?

“You can’t do this, you can’t…”

**

As you all know, I love the knight in the fairy tale very much.

That’s why I always hear extreme words from Godmilla, like “Isn’t it time for you to graduate from that fantasy knight?” or “The knight in the fairy tale doesn’t exist in reality”. But I can’t give up the knight in the fairy tale because it’s the only support that allows me to endure my difficult reality.

My brothers try to kill the teacher, and the teacher hits them as if to kill them. After the “incident” that became worse because I foolishly trusted my brothers, this is the reality I’ve been experiencing lately.

I thought about when I might be able to stop hearing the screams and the sound of leather rubbing at the palace while hugging the blanket in my room and hiding, and then I noticed a fairy tale book that was peeking out of the bookshelf.

The fairy tale book was a design that even a fairy tale maniac like me couldn’t remember reading, so I picked it up, wondering “What kind of book is this?” But the question was immediately answered, because as soon as I turned the page, I remembered reading this book a long time ago. I couldn’t remember the book well because I didn’t like it and never read it again if other fairy tale books get worn out, which is something natural.

I disliked it because the knight in the fairy tale book doesn’t end up with the princess in the end. I was so disappointed when I first saw it.

But strangely, I continued to read the book, without closing it when I remembered that memory.

And after rereading this fairy tale book, I burst into tears.

The knight in this fairy tale book was the knight I wanted.

The princess in the fairy tale was a very unhappy being. It was because there was never an end to the quarrels in the palace. There used to be good words such as compliments and encouragement, but those were replaced by blaming and cursing each other due to unresolved misunderstandings and complaints.

Then one day, a “wise” knight appeared on the battlefield and, like magic, reconciled the people in the palace. Between father and child, master and servant, and teacher and student…

The knight resolved the misunderstandings and complaints each had against the other, so they could open their hearts to each other.

In this fairy tale book, the princess was not a heroine, but just one of the members of the palace. As I mentioned earlier, the knight received a reward from the king and simply left the palace without ever being connected, so in the end, they didn’t reconcile. But I didn’t care anymore.

From that day on, every night before going to bed, and every time during dawn prayers, I prayed earnestly to God to send me the knight I saw in this fairy tale book.

One day, God really answered my prayer and sent me Sir Edric, the Earl of Silverwood, who was the knight, in the fairy tale.

Like the knight in the fairy tale, Sir Edric reconciled me with my brothers, and Zeiraria as if by magic. It was as if my dream had come true! So if Sir Edric was indeed the same as the knight in the fairy tale, pursuing justice, protecting the weak, and not ignoring a woman’s tears, I thought he would surely listen to me and save my teacher.

However, is it just a fairy tale? Instead of reconciling the teacher, Sir Edric impeached her. I couldn’t even say why. No one here except me liked Godmilla. I was the odd one out.

But I couldn’t stand by and watch it be concluded that only the teacher was wrong when I knew just how much pain and suffering Godmilla went through in the face of my brothers’ countless threats and schemes.

Ultimately, Godmilla becoming what she is now is because of our siblings.

So I clung to Sir Edric. Please forgive the teacher. Please save the teacher. I thought if Sir Edric is really like the knight in the fairy tale, pursuing justice, protecting the weak, and not ignoring a woman’s tears, then he would have to listen to my request.

“…Unfortunately, that seems difficult, Your Highness.”

However, contrary to my expectations, the Count did not grant my request. It is not hard to understand why. The teacher had been quite rude to the Count. Especially when he insulted the Count’s mentor, I believe the teacher was truly at fault.

“Firstly, Lady Godmilla is not as ‘pitiable’ as you think, Your Highness. Her imprisonment is merely a consequence of her own actions. Even aside from what led the Princes and Princess to this point, she has committed enough grave sins.”

But, however…

“And as I have already mentioned, even if Lady Godmilla were to suddenly transform into an angelic teacher, the pain and scars engraved on the bodies of the Princes will never disappear. Whenever the Princes come across Lady Godmilla’s face, clothes, the whip she used, or any other traces, they cannot help but recall the pain and suffering they endured because of her. Therefore, no matter how much effort they put into it, it will be difficult for the Princes and Lady Godmilla to truly open their hearts and reconcile with each other.”

I, you see…

Your Excellency, you are… like a knight in my imagination…

I believed that you could bring us all back together, just like that knight…

“However, let me tell you this.”

..?

“It is true that Lady Godmilla has some unjustifiable aspects.”

I was surprised by the Count’s words and looked up at him, only to find him smiling at me.

And unintentionally, I also smiled back at the Count, mimicking his bright smile.

**

Originally, I didn’t care whether Lady Godmilla was imprisoned or whatever. I just wanted to ensure that she wouldn’t receive the death penalty.

But after hearing about ‘that incident’ from Miss Doris and witnessing Christopher’s and William’s personal fury, as well as seeing Princess Selenor desperately trying to protect Godmilla, my heart eventually changed.

Although they had already paid the price… Christopher, William. You have to come to your senses first.

“Your Majesty, deciding on Lady Godmilla’s fate is entirely your responsibility. However, may I share my opinion on what to do with Lady Godmilla?”

“…Go ahead.”

“I still believe that Lady Godmilla should be dismissed from her position as a court tutor, but there is no need to imprison her. Because, in the end, Lady Godmilla is also a victim.”

“What…?”