Chapter 242: |
Chapter 242
Then, King Oden bowed his head again.
“Will you allow me to repay you for the wrongs I have done so far?”
Pay back.
He wanted to make amends for his atonement.
But Raymond didn’t answer. Honestly, he didn’t even want to hear it.
Oden bowed his head repeatedly.
“I do not seek your forgiveness. I just want to apologize for what I did wrong.”
Eventually, Raymond folded his arms.
To put it bluntly, he wanted to make amends for his mistakes to Raymond.
It was never meant to be forgiven. He just meant to get what he deserved.
‘Originally, I was trying to rip them off as much as I could with revenge.’
This will not be a vengeful rip-off, but it won’t matter what.
“I see. Do as you will.”
Raymond waited to see what kind of atonement Oden was trying to make amends.
‘You don’t want to talk about it like that, do you?’
With that in mind, King Oden spoke of a reward that was completely unexpected.
“The first atonement I want to make for you is to enact anti-illegitimate discrimination laws.”
“……!”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
Anti-illegitimate discrimination laws.
He asked Chancellor Galman for this, but he mentioned it first.
Even King Auden immediately turned to the nobles and spoke.
“I would like to take this opportunity to proclaim a decree. From now on, it is strictly forbidden to discriminate against illegitimate children in the Kingdom of Houston.”
“……!”
The nobles murmured.
They understood all the meaning of this decree.
It was a remorse for the wrongs he had done. He also vowed to prevent such misfortunes from happening in the future.
“We will accept your opinion!”
“Then the details of the decree will be published in detail at a later date.”
Raymond clenched his fists.
The anti-illegitimate discrimination law was one of his wishes.
Unexpectedly, one of his wishes had been fulfilled.
Oden didn’t stop there.
“Also, let me make one more announcement about it. I will make Arima Penin, the Marquis de Penin’s mother, my queen.”
“……!”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
This was something he had never imagined.
“…… Your Highness?”
Oden said bitterly. “It was something I had to do. I’m sorry again for being so late.”
The hall buzzed.
It was a huge story.
Once she became Queen, Raymond’s birth mother was relieved of her disgrace.
It was even more significant.
‘The Marquis Penin is thus officially royalty.’
‘I don’t just have a prince in name, I become a real prince!’
Raymond frowned when he realized this.
‘Royalty? I never wanted that, did I?’
But he couldn’t say no.
It was one of his wishes for his mother to not be dishonored.
“I see. Instead, there is a condition. I will continue to use my mother’s last name in the future.”
The idea is to use both matrilineal and paternal surnames.
Oden nodded.
“Yes, do whatever you want.”
Thus Raymond became Raymond Penin de Houston.
In the case of a nobleman who uses multiple surnames, the surname of the highest status goes to the back and becomes such a name.
“There’s more.”
Raymond realized that King Oden had made up his mind.
There was no end to the atonement compensation.
‘Have you really repented of what you did wrong?’
Raymond frowned.
He felt that Oden was genuinely remorseful.
Of course, that didn’t mean he wanted to forgive him. The hurt was too big to be healed with one apology like this.
But the next moment.
Even that feeling was blown to pieces.
That’s what Auden said. “I’m going to take this opportunity to make a proposal. I am going to make the Marquis Penin a Duke and give him the Order of Argent. I’d like to hear your opinion on this.”
For a moment, Raymond felt as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer.
‘Now…… What?’
A Duke title was no big deal.
Honestly, considering what he’s done so far, it wasn’t too much at all.
The problem was the argent.
Argent (領).
It was a small royal estate with a royal tombstone.
To be precise,
‘It’s a tribute to the crown prince of Houston for generations!’
A state given only to the crown prince! In other words, to make the Duchy of Argent was to make Raymond crown prince.
‘Nonsense!’
King Oden looked back at Raymond with a solemn face.
“I’ve been thinking about it. What will be the best atonement for you. You have a noble heart that cares only for others, and I think the best atonement I can do is to allow you to do your best to do so.”
‘Not at all! What a misunderstanding!’
Raymond frowned.
Unfavorability of Oden has hit new highs.
‘I saved him and he was like this! Get out of here!’
But before Raymond could speak, someone spoke.
“As the First Princess, I agree with the king’s wishes.”
It was Sophia.
But that wasn’t all.
Words of agreement flowed out one after another.
“I, Galman, agree with you as a representative and treasurer of the Duke.”
“I, Raif, as the Duke’s representative and as Prince of the South, I agree.”
“I’m Raven. As a representative of the Duke and Prince of the East, I agree.”
“I, Aris. As a representative of the Marquis and as the head of the SS, I agree.”
When the big names stepped up, the atmosphere heated up.
‘Damn. What’s the matter?’
Raymond clenched his fists.
He looked around.
Eyes were staring at him with a lot of heat.
It was the greatest crisis.
‘Come to your senses. It’s not wise to say no here.’
The king proposed it, and the princess and several nobles agreed.
It’s not a situation where you can easily say no like a child.
There had to be a clear cause.
‘Luckily, I’ve already prepared a way to say no.’
Raymond had a meaningful look on his face.
‘I had expected this kind of crisis to come.’
He was already feeling a lot of anxiety.
So we have a plan in place.
‘It’s a surefire way of saying no that anyone can overcome.’
Raymond looked around.
It just so happened that it’s Grand Council of the Nobles.
The timing was perfect. Heaven seemed to be helping him.
That’s rather good.
On this occasion, Raymond decided to definitely decline the throne. So that such a story would never happen again.
‘I’m going to be the best healer on the continent, and I’m going to enjoy the greatest wealth.’
Raymond spoke to Odem first.
“Your Highness’s words are hard to bear. I’m infinitely unfit for that role.”
It was a story that no one would agree with.
Sophia immediately retorted.
“It’s ridiculous. I think he is the most qualified person to be crown prince.”
Of course, Raymond knew that this kind of humility wouldn’t work.
It was just a groundwork to get the point out.
“Thank you for being so kind to me even though I’m not good enough. But I’m sure there will be controversy if I become crown prince. You know, there are a lot of people who don’t think I deserve it.”
“That’s …….”
“So I suggest, with a great resolution, that all the nobles here agree that I should be crown prince first.”
“……!”
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
Great determination!
It is a bill that is passed only when the king and the nobles are unanimous at the time of the noble assembly.
Such resolutions were made only on matters of the most important importance to the foundation of the country, and even the king could not overturn such resolutions.
Whether it’s a king or a nobleman, you have to stop arguing and just follow it.
On the other hand, if there was even one opposed, the proposal was rejected.
It was the move Raymond was aiming for.
‘Not all the nobles here would agree that I should be crown prince.’
The nobles all had their own reasons and ideas, and in the case of Raymond in particular, there were many who resented him.
Of course, there will be a vote against it.
“Great determination. But we have never had such a discussion in the election of the crown prince.”
Perhaps with the same thought, Oden reacted with reluctance.
Unanimity was not possible.
Others did the same.
“It is not necessary to make a great resolution in the election of the crown prince.”
“Even without such a resolution, the Marquis de Penin already deserves to be crown prince.”
But Raymond shook his head firmly.
“Even the slightest grievance can be the seed of a great conflict in the future, and I don’t want to create any seeds of dissension for the sake of the Kingdom of Houston.”
In the end, the people couldn’t break Raymond’s stubbornness.
‘Oh dear. I’m sure there will be opponents. What shall I do?’
‘The Marquis of Penin will be the light of the kingdom.’
This incident inspired many nobles to Raymond.
That’s why many people wanted Raymond to become crown prince, but he was so stubborn.
‘We can’t help it. That’s the Marquis Penin.’
‘A stubborn man who will not compromise for the sake of the kingdom.’
In the end, Raymond decided to do as he pleased.
“Then we will begin the great resolution. Please come forward in order and give your vote.”
Anonymous voting was held in order to express opinions freely.
First, King Oden.
Afterwards, starting with the Duke of Raven and the Chancellor Galman, they took turns on the stage to vote.
Raymond’s supporters looked nervously as he stepped onto the stage.
Sophia and Chancellor Galman had dark faces.
‘There are a lot of people who used to disparage my brother. They’re likely to vote against.’
“I should have broken Raymond’s stubbornness somehow.”
No matter how much they thought about it, there was no chance of unanimity.
Raymond, on the other hand, was ecstatic.
‘It’s a genius idea. This way, I don’t have to risk becoming the crown prince.’
The throne will pass to Sophia and hhe will live the life of a honey-sucking healer.
‘It’s a beef party!’
In time, the vote was over.
Chancellor Galman began counting votes.
“It’s a vote in favor of the resolution.”
Raymond was unmoved.
‘Well, of course there will be more votes in favor. It’s all about the no-vote. All I need is one vote.’
Raymond looked at the faces of the nobles who had hated him before.
They had infinitely hard faces.
‘Everybody believes it.’
The counting of votes continued.
“Fifteen votes in favor of the resolution.”
There were only votes in favor of it.
But Raymond was still relaxed.
‘All I need is one vote against it, and when I’m done today, we’ll eat some beef to celebrate.’
It’s not just beef.
If he hands over the crown princeship to Sophia, he will only have to walk the flower path of wealth and glory.
‘I’m going to make a lot of money. I’m going to swim around in a pile of gold coins in the bathtub, eating beef and drinking the most expensive wine. Along with the legendary expensive food, the lobster.’
Raymond smirked.
He was happy just imagining it. It was a happiness that was about to become a reality.
‘If I want to make that kind of money, I’ll have to go to the center of the continent.’
To be honest, the Kingdom of Houston was too small.
There was a limit to making money.
If he succeeds as a healer in the center of the continent, he will be able to make a lot of money.
‘What if there is no unanimous vote?’
‘Even then, there is a backup plan.’
Raymond looked serious.
Of course, the best thing to do is to lose cleanly in this resolution.
But even if the worst happened, there was a way.
‘I can use a shortcut, it’s a lot more troublesome, but there’s a way.’
In other words, it was a trick.
Raymond thought determinedly.
‘I’m sure I’ll leave the job to Sophia and suck the honey from behind.’