Ch.315Honor (1)

You may have heard the saying, “Does honor put food on the table?” It’s often directed at those who stubbornly cling to honor and cause problems because of it.

But the truth is, honor actually does put food on the table. While honor can be interpreted in various ways, it’s mostly directly connected to image.

Just as first impressions last a long time, once an image is established, it remains in people’s minds for a long time. And that image is most important for celebrities and broadcasters from my previous life.

If honor is damaged and image crumbles, the losses are immeasurable. Income sources can be immediately cut off, and in severe cases, it can lead to social burial.

Even in this world that resembles the medieval era, things aren’t different. No matter what you attach to honor, fundamentally, it’s about image.

Occasionally, there are people who prioritize practical benefits or financial gain over honor, but even these people, though they may not realize it, have basic honor.

No matter how much one pursues the almighty dollar, living within the boundaries of “law” remains unchanged. If you commit a crime, practicality goes out the window and you’re straight to prison.

This is why people faithfully obey the law. If you break the law, people around you will naturally point fingers, and your image will be tarnished.

This applies not just to crimes but also to morally wrong actions. The reason nobles lose in political struggles is not just about power, but because they’ve done something that tarnishes their honor.

You don’t have to look far—just look at my father and me. My father, though originally a baron, is a powerful force openly supported by the empire, and I need no explanation.

If my father wasn’t the Red Lion but an ordinary knight, and if I wasn’t Xenon, we would have remained an utterly ordinary noble family. This shows how much can be gained through honor.

Thus, honor can be socially beneficial and can even be seen as the foundation that supports a nation. Especially for “soldiers” who protect the country, honor is more precious than life itself.

This isn’t just a metaphor but a fact, as being a soldier is a profession that puts one’s “life” on the line. While many people live and die for honor, there are few cases where people openly sacrifice their lives to protect it like soldiers do.

The Empire of Minerva’s unique law of forcing those who insult soldiers to enlist stems from this. It’s to make them directly realize that honor is not something to be casually disparaged.

But as Friedrich’s example shows, there are times when that honor needs to be set aside temporarily. As someone who has studied the history of my previous life, I find Friedrich’s actions relatively mild.

There’s a very apt example of what happens when honor is upheld to the end. Though it might seem overused, it’s war.

In my previous life, Europe’s inability to let go of honor led to two world wars, and in this reincarnated world, similar reasons sparked racial wars.

This shows that one must know when to set honor aside and not be stubborn in pursuing it.

Looking at it this way, Friedrich’s choice can be seen as correct. If he had clung to honor until the end, a second Jairos Revolution might have erupted.

[King Friedrich personally stepped forward to reveal his wrongdoings one by one to the commoner representatives.]

[Due to youthful passion, he had relations with a woman other than Queen Maria…]

[He accepted the child but didn’t receive them as family. From the past, neglect and disregard…]

Queen Maria’s persuasion seems to have worked, as Friedrich revealed all his wrongdoings.

Even just from the news, it’s surprisingly detailed, making one think, “To this extent?”

Though names weren’t mentioned, anyone who knows a bit about this situation would guess who’s who.

This made me wonder if, as feared, they were trying to use Adelia politically. If that’s the case, I’ll immediately take action to punish them.

[Count Kamar: If you’re thinking of taking responsibility by being pushed, step down from the throne yourself. Our Kingdom of Teres needs to find a different system going forward.]

[The people of our Kingdom of Teres are awakened. They know how to think and act for themselves, gathering to raise their voices. They know their own strength well.]

[Is the current system truly suitable for our Kingdom of Teres? Shouldn’t we at least have elections, not based on bloodline, like in Alfheim?]

After this, Count Kamar’s hidden true intentions emerged. Surprisingly, he mentioned “voting.”

Even in Alfheim, commoners don’t have voting rights. But he’s suggesting giving voting rights to commoners.

Strictly speaking, it would be given to commoner representatives. It seems close to democracy, but there are many ambiguous aspects.

Still, it’s undeniably a groundbreaking statement. Especially since a revolution nearly broke out, the justification is perfectly aligned.

Nobles have no choice but to comply out of fear of revolution, and commoners have realized they have “power” too.

It’s a strange mix of the Holy Roman Empire’s election system and a republic’s voting rights. Add to that Athens’ democracy.

As expected of a country of culture, it seems poised to develop further using this incident as a stepping stone.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the situation has been perfectly resolved. After Friedrich’s confession, he had to endure the criticisms that followed.

[King Friedrich was not a romantic but just an ordinary king.]

[The biggest victim is actually Queen Maria.]

However, perhaps because he’s a king and not just an ordinary noble, the criticisms were quite mild. But the mere existence of criticism shows great courage.

And since King Friedrich generally has a good image, most of the commoner representatives reacted with, “Is that all?”

It’s a wrongdoing, but the fact that a revolution nearly broke out because of embarrassment makes it all the more deflating. For an incident caused by a king’s inability to control his lower body, the situation escalated unnecessarily.

Because of this, arrows of criticism were naturally directed at Xenon, or me. What connection could there be between King Friedrich having an illegitimate child and me?

So, I kindly sent a letter here.

[The hidden child mentioned by King Friedrich is currently working as my dedicated maid. And…(omitted)…that’s how the current situation arose. I apologize to the people of the Kingdom of Teres who almost suffered due to my petty revenge.]

After all the details were revealed through my letter, people finally understood. In a way, it could tarnish my honor, but it’s something that had to be done.

However, contrary to my concerns, there were surprisingly few people criticizing me. Instead, they said they could see my human side and realized I was a person with emotions.

Moreover, since the Teres royal family was already receiving plenty of criticism, the arrows of blame directed at me were relatively few.

‘What did they think of me before?’

I hope they didn’t think of me as a machine that just writes all day. Anyway, I’m glad it went over well.

They also announced that the Biography of Xenon would be released as scheduled, which the people of the Kingdom of Teres welcomed with open arms. Just as this long-running incident was about to come to an end…

“What? Father… I mean, King Friedrich abdicated the throne?”

“Yes. Instead, Queen Maria will succeed the throne. From now on, we should call her Queen Maria.”

“Such a thing…”

Surprisingly, news reached our ears that Friedrich had stepped down from the throne and passed it to Maria.

Both Adelia and I were shocked by this news. That’s because while I expected him to set aside his honor, I didn’t expect him to give up the throne.

The throne isn’t just anyone’s dog’s name; it’s the leader of a country. Especially in the Kingdom of Teres, which advocates monarchy, the king’s power is sky-high.

The fact that he passed the throne to the queen is certainly an unusual event. I looked at the newspaper with a bewildered expression and fell into deep thought.

‘Is it to prevent Count Kamar from checking?’

Currently, Count Kamar is adopting what seems like democratization, and if it’s actually implemented, the next monarch would undoubtedly be Count Kamar.

Also, unlike some royals who directly tormented King Friedrich and Adelia, Queen Maria is clearly a “victim.”

Moreover, Queen Maria not only didn’t torment Adelia directly but secretly supported her. The fact that she supported a child not related by blood shows her magnanimous character.

Therefore, passing the throne to Queen Maria could resolve the current situation, but people usually find it hard to relinquish power.

I wonder why Friedrich gave up the throne. As someone receiving news through newspapers, it’s a choice I find hard to understand.

“Father gave the throne to Mother?”

Lara, who had been listening to our conversation, chimed in while munching on cookies. By the way, the cookies were baked by Adelia herself.

When she first baked them, they were all burnt like coal, but her skills are gradually improving. The only flaw today is that they’re salty because she added too much salt.

I glanced at Lara, who had abruptly joined in, and then informed her of the facts.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s strange. Why did he give it to Mother and not to Brother Laos? Nom nom.”

Lara expressed her doubt while enjoying the cookies. As she pointed out, the biggest question is why Friedrich passed the throne to Maria and not to Laos.

Although Queen Maria’s family background is an insignificant noble family, now that she’s become queen, they’ll grow to at least the rank of count or higher.

Furthermore, while it’s easy to say, she’ll face numerous oppositions, yet King Friedrich swiftly handed over the throne. This suggests that there was likely no internal meeting.

I couldn’t help but question Friedrich’s actions, which were hard to fathom.

“Brother Isaac. Look at this.”

“Hmm? What?”

“Read this part of the newspaper.”

Just as I was about to sink into thought, Lara pointed to a certain section. I shifted my gaze there.

[In fact, isn’t it possible that Xenon did this to further develop the Kingdom of Teres? To remind the commoners once again that they have power…]

[Voting rights give “qualification” to commoners. The boundary between nobles and commoners is gradually breaking down.]

[Other countries are also wary of the “voting” mentioned by Count Kamar and are trying to understand Xenon’s intentions behind this incident…]

What nonsense is this? Is this some kind of conspiracy theory? I chuckled at the newspaper article Lara pointed out.

As they say, the interpretation is more elaborate than the dream itself. Now, nothing seems strange anymore, so it’s easier to give up. Let them think whatever they want.

“Brother, did you really do it for this…”

“Not at all. I just did it to protect Sister Adel, there’s no grand reason.”

“If you say so.”

Her face didn’t look convinced at all, but let’s move on. It’s just tiring to explain everything, and she probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.

I gave a wry smile as I watched Lara nibbling on cookies, then looked up. As I raised my head, Adelia was sitting modestly across from me, looking at me.

I smiled at her, and she nodded with a gentle smile. I missed her characteristic confident smile, but seeing her smile at all was enough.

“Sister Adel.”

“Yes, Young Master Isaac.”

“Are you okay now?”

To my question, Adelia replied.

“I’m happy. Truly.”

“That’s all that matters.”

If Adelia has completely let go of her regrets, that’s enough.

Perhaps our appearance seemed heartwarming, as Lara, who had been munching on snacks, casually dropped a comment.

“So when are you two having a baby?”

“…”

“…”

“Isn’t it supposed to happen when you sleep in the same bed?”

This mischievous child.

*****

Several days passed since King Friedrich handed over the throne to Queen Maria.

Until then, I was spending my days as usual, unable to understand Friedrich’s intentions.

“…Who’s coming this time?”

“Friedrich, the former ki… duke, is coming with Princess Hyria. It seems they’re coming to apologize.”

Friedrich and Hyria were scheduled to visit our mansion.

“What about Crown Prince Laos?”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Excluding Crown Prince Laos.