Chapter 19

Finally, regarding the two pleasant companions of His Majesty the King, Sir Ernst Hunt and Sir Zelpst Foose. They were chosen as candidates for close attendants when His Majesty was still a child and later became official attendants.

In other words, what I'm trying to say is that being chosen as a candidate means they come from families that have been on good terms with the royal family and are relatives of high-ranking nobles. Sir Hunt's family holds a dukedom, and Sir Foose's family holds a marquessate, and these are not just nominal titles; they are powerful families that have made significant contributions to the kingdom.

I don't really care about them, but if I were to exterminate the ducal and marquessal families, it would weaken the kingdom. It's easy to say, "Cut off their heads, execute them all!" but it's not that simple. The Kingdom of Rave has two ducal families and four marquessal families. One of the ducal families is where the late king's elder sister married, which is not Sir Hunt's family. However, it's not good to have only one ducal family.

Sir Foose's family, on the other hand, is known for producing many knights and royal guards for the national army.

Oh, this is so troublesome!! Why did they ride on His Majesty's coattails?!

They probably thought it would only cost them their own heads, but interfering with the line of succession isn't something that can be resolved so easily. Use your heads a bit more, will you?

The fact that they didn't stop it is because they wanted to support His Majesty as a close friend, rather than considering their positions. As close friends, they should have stopped it.

I got off topic.

No matter what happens to His Majesty's pleasant companions, it really doesn't matter to me, but if I were to destroy the two families that support the kingdom, it could be exploited by other countries, leading to the gradual decline of the Kingdom of Rave.

The current situation with other countries is that peace agreements have been signed and friendly relations are maintained. The Kingdom of Rave is neither a small nor a large country, and there are no signs of invasion from neighboring countries, but it's not safe just because we're getting along. If we're too optimistic, we might find that the kingdom has been taken over without us noticing.

Ideally, the pleasant companions should be exterminated, and all of them beheaded. But if I did that, it would weaken the kingdom.

So, a top-level family meeting was held.

In other words, the Duke, who is the head of Sir Hunt's family, and the Marquess, who is the head of Sir Foose's family, wanted to apologize for their actions against the Marcocius family, regardless of punishment. They wanted to pay compensation or damages, and they had made an appointment with the old man.

They are not just any families. Why did they do such a foolish thing? Were they too close to His Majesty and got the wrong idea?

So, whether it's compensation or damages, they will pay it to the Marcocius family, and there will be no extermination.

However, the individuals involved and their immediate family members will be hanged.

This is just a facade. They will be made to work until they die in the Marcocius family's territory, the Fulftball region. However, they will be considered dead, change their names, and live as commoners.

The main perpetrators will also be considered dead, change their names, and be treated as commoners, but they will be in a different, worse place. I wonder if they are still holding on? It's said to be a terrible place.

Not executing them is not out of leniency, but a reward for giving me a good reason to leave the royal family.

The old man wants his successor to be the child his mother gave birth to, his own grandchild. I don't want to be king. I want to leave the royal family, even if it means becoming a commoner.

From the beginning, the old man and I had this plan.

They have acted in a way that benefits us, creating an excuse for me to renounce my succession rights and leave the royal family.

Most importantly, what the pleasant companions did to me, whether it's the palace servants or maids, left no physical evidence. There is only witness testimony.

If they all denied it, there would be nothing I could do. But since they all confessed, I was able to carry out the punishment.

Even without evidence, what they did is a fact, and I have my reputation to consider, so I won't let them off scot-free. It's not that lenient.

If others think that the Marcocius family can do whatever they want, it would be infuriating. I will make them pay.

But how much value do their heads have? The old man might want the king's head, but extra heads are useless. It's more constructive to have them serve in a way that can be effectively utilized. More than anything, it's infuriating to just let them die. It's more effective for them to suffer and despair while living.

So, I decided to settle the matter with the main perpetrators, their partners, and the minimum number of people responsible for the production.

Next, regarding the information from the Queen's side, the story about the concealment of information in the Queen's palace.

First, all the maids close to the Queen, as well as the head butler and head maid who oversee the Queen's palace, were dismissed by the Queen's order.

Among the maids, some came from the Queen's homeland and were sent back to be monitored and re-educated by the Queen's family.

The Queen thought of my mother as a comrade in supporting His Majesty and felt deep guilt for making her a concubine. She recognizes that no matter how much she apologizes to my mother, it cannot be forgiven. She also announced that she deeply regrets the actions of everyone in the Queen's palace.

In the future, if anyone in the palace has any ill will or malicious intent toward the First Prince, they will be transferred to another palace. However, even if they are transferred, if they do not change their attitude toward the First Prince, they will not be accepted in any palace and will be dismissed.

I didn't ask how many servants left after that. It wouldn't do me any good to know, and I don't want to know.

Also, the reason the Queen and the Second Prince didn't notice the embezzlement of the concubine's and the First Prince's budget was that the finance minister did not directly allocate the entire private budget to the Queen and the Second Prince. Instead, he allocated it to the maintenance costs of the Queen's palace and the Second Prince's palace, the costs of tea parties and evening events hosted by the Queen, and the travel expenses of the Second Prince.

At the end of the year, he gradually increased the private expenses of the Queen and the Second Prince, and reported that the increase was due to more diplomatic activities, which required new dresses and accessories.

They are clever in such matters.

They should have thought about what would happen if they embezzled, but there's no point in dwelling on the past.

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