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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 84: The Crown Prince (3)
***
Due to being drunk, the crown prince felt something odd but couldn’t think straight.
“You better lis’en up! I ain’t just blowin’ smoke here!”
As Damien listened to the crown prince’s drunken ramblings, he started carving a club with a dagger.
“I can’t stand anyone meddling with me! So, don’t you dare say anything to me!”
In an instant, the thick stick was transformed into a perfectly shaped club.
“Tha’s what m’father wanted, innit? Wanted me t’be just like ‘e dreamed. Well, I’ll tell ya, ain’t gonna happen! I’ll never change, no matter what!”
Next, Damien polished the handle, carving suitable grooves for a comfortable grip.
“I’ll tell ya one more time! Git the hell outta here by tomorrow! Otherwise……”
“That’s enough.”
Damien lightly swung the finished club. It had good weight and made a swish sound. It was perfect despite being carved by a dagger.
“You…you dare interrupt me, you…! Do you have any idea who I am? You want a taste of the royal anger? Huh!”
Oliver Apple burst into furious shouting. Damien calmly looked at him and said
“I too was once an asshole like you, so I understand your feelings well.”
Oliver flinched at those words. His fierce eyes softened slightly.
“Uh… really?”
“Yes. I understand your feelings very well, better than anyone.”
Damien nodded repeatedly.
“Feels like th’whole world’s ganged up on me, ya know? Can’t stand bein’ criticized by no one, not a soul!”
“Yeah, that’s right! How did you know… Yeah, you felt the same way too?”
“I only feel alive when I’m drinkin’, ya know? It’s like breakin’ free, and it satisfies me like nothin’ else can.”
“Exactly! That’s so true! That’s exactly how I felt!”
“I understand. I know everything.”
In the kingdom, no one truly understood Oliver Apple. They were solely focused on ensuring he didn’t make any mistakes as the future king.
Oliver’s heart could only close further.
Did Damien truly understand him? Oliver’s face flushed with emotion at the thought.
“Aw, hell! Been waitin’ for someone just like you my whole damn life, I tell ya!”
Oliver tried to embrace Damien with a moved expression.
At that moment, he realized.
Damien was repeatedly hitting his own palm with the club.
“What the hell have ya been doin’ all this time, huh?”
“Sir, our kind, we don’t change. We can never change ourselves.”
“What?”
“Of course, there might be exceptions. But I’ve never seen one. So, in my experience… for beings like us to change, they need shock therapy. A very strong one.”
“Why’re ya comin’ at me like this? And what in the hell do ya think you’re doin’ with that fucking bat?!”
“Let me be your shock therapy.”
Damien smirked. His smile was contradicted by his chilling gaze.
“Let’s start with a light one-hour session.”
***
“Have you gone crazy you motherfucking bastard!”
The crown prince’s pronunciation became clear as if he had sobered up. He continuously berated Damien.
“How dare you hit me, a crown prince? Do you think you’ll get away with this? Not only you, but your whole family will pay for it!”
“Your Highness, it’s all right. Consider how odd it is that I would dare to strike you like this?”
At Damien’s words, the prince’s face blanked out.
“S-Seriously… Father… allowed this…?”
“That’s not the case.”
“Then it’s not right! Get the fuck out of here!”
As Damien started approaching slowly, the prince screamed.
“Is there nobody outside? Quickly, come in and stop this crazy bastard!”
“Didn’t Your Highness order the guards not to let anyone in?”
“That’s right!”
With no help forthcoming, the prince began to consider other options.
Glancing at Damien, he suddenly bolted towards the door.
“Ouch, what’s this?”
Instantly, Damien struck the prince’s knee. The prince rolled on the ground in pain.
“Arrggh! You really hit me again! You hit the crown prince!”
“I hope you understand that everything I’m doing is for Your Highness.”
“What nonsense is this…!”
Damien placed the club on the prince’s shoulder. The prince’s face turned pale.
“Your Highness, from now on, please repeat after me.”
The first rule of a Personality Corrector is to make the wrongdoer admit their mistakes.
“You should not use informal speech with me. As your teacher, please use respectful language.”
“What are you talking about? I am a prince! Never once have I…”
Without hesitation, Damien struck the prince’s forehead with the club.
“My head! My head!”
Oliver Apple grabbed his head and rolled on the ground.
“Your Majesty, no informal language, please be careful of your words.”
“This… lunatic… Who would do such a thing…”
This time, Damien struck twice in succession. Oliver screamed and rolled on the floor.
“Your Majesty, next time it will be four.”
Oliver trembled at Damien’s words.
“Ah, from now on, I-I’ll be careful with my words.”
“Good. I’m very pleased that you seem to have corrected one mistake.”
Damien nodded. Oliver Apple looked at him as if he were crazy.
“Then let’s move on. Please repeat after me. Always be polite to Father.”
“What? Be polite to that old-fashioned man? Unless I’m crazy…”
Oliver’s face turned pale.
He realized in his anger that he hadn’t used proper respectful language.
“…Well, it’s not easy indeed. But don’t worry. I’ve had experience rehabilitating someone just as troublesome as you recently.”
Damien struck his palm with the club. Oliver’s face gradually paled.
“Then let’s beat you until you’re soaked in tears.”
***
The next day at lunchtime, the king headed to the prince’s mansion with Liam.
It was because Damien had sent a message.
He asked them to visit at this time tomorrow because he had something to show them.
“Sir Liam, what do you think Damien wants to show us?”
“I have no idea. What could have happened in just one day…”
The two of them entered the prince’s mansion with bewilderment.
Soon they witnessed a surprising sight.
“In order to care for the people, it’s necessary to first understand their actual lives. What are their means of income? What are their livelihoods? Furthermore, what are their difficulties…”
Crown prince Oliver Apple was seated at his desk, deeply engrossed in his studies.
The king covered his mouth with his hand as he was overwhelmed with joy.
“Sir D-Damien… I’ve read all of it…”
“Then please proceed to read the 258 rules for the future society of Thomas Apple.”
“Uh, since yesterday, I’ve read over 50 volumes of the books I’ve studied…”
“I believe I requested you to always obey the teacher’s words… It seems we need to reintroduce education.”
“N-No! I’ll read it! I’ll read it right away!”
He even used respectful language towards Damien Haksen, who had taken on the role of swordsmanship instructor.
It was a stark contrast to his behavior when dealing with any other scholar in the past.
“Sir Damien!”
Unable to contain himself any longer, the king entered the room. Damien and Oliver Apple’s attention focused on the king.
“W-What on earth is happening? How could the prince have changed so much!”
At the king’s inquiry, Damien smiled faintly.
“As we share the same past, we had a sincere conversation. Fortunately, His Highness seemed to understand.”
Oliver Apple looked incredulously at Damien, but the king didn’t seem to notice at all.
He was too busy wiping tears from his eyes.
“Sir Damien is my… no, our whole kingdom’s benefactor!”
“No, I simply did what was necessary.”
Damien chuckled. The king took Damien’s hand and led him out of the room.
“Wait, can you spare a moment? There’s something I need to discuss about the reward!”
“Of course.”
Damien left with the king. Only Oliver Apple and Liam remained in the room.
“…What kind of scheme are you planning this time?”
With only the two of them left Liam spoke in a chilling tone.
“You did something similar last time. Pretending to change, acting differently, and eventually getting what you wanted without betraying His Highness.”
His expression was contemptuous as if he were looking at a bug.
“If you repeat such actions this time, I won’t stay quiet…”
“Sir L-Liam! Please help me!”
Suddenly, he grabbed Liam’s coat and clung to him.
“W-Why are you suddenly doing this?”
“T-That guy! Do you know what Damien did to me? He beat me with a club… all over the place… all night long!”
Liam’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
But while Oliver was in a panic, Liam remained rational and composed.
“Did Sir Damien really beat you with a club all night long?”
“Yes! He must be arrested immediately and executed as a traitor!”
“You seem too unscathed for that.”
“…What?”
Liam glanced over Oliver Apple’s body.
“Someone untrained like you would suffer serious injuries from just one blow. But you don’t seem bruised, or swollen anywhere, and your limbs seem to be moving fine.”
“N-No… That’s… that’s…”
Unable to say anything more, Oliver looked helplessly at Liam Bluegreen.
***
“This is the rest of the bottle that I promised you!”
As soon as they arrived at the reception room downstairs, the king handed Damien a stone bottle and said,
“You can’t imagine how happy I am right now! This is the first time I’ve been so happy in my entire life!”
The king’s face didn’t lose its smile. Damien couldn’t help but chuckle as if seeing his father.
“So, about that… If we check the royal treasury, there might be another bottle. So…”
“Your Majesty, please don’t worry. I have no intention of leaving the side of His Highness the prince yet.”
The king’s expression brightened at Damien’s words.
“I understand well, as I have a similar past. Though I’ve changed, I might still be tempted.”
“Indeed… that might be the case.”
“So until His Highness completely shakes off temptation, I’ll be by his side to help… No, I mean, support him.”
Damien said with a smile. The king was even more moved.
‘It would be a shame to end it like this.’
While forcing Oliver to study, Damien learned an interesting fact.
Oliver Apple’s genius was real. No matter how difficult the book, he quickly understood and memorized it.
‘There’s definitely talent. But in the past life, he ascended to the throne unprepared and made things difficult for the kingdom.’
Since Damien had to stay until the attack on the royal capital happened, he planned to change Oliver thoroughly during his stay.
I might not be able to raise him to be a saint or a hero, but at least he could play the role of a decent person.
‘And might as well get another bottle of royal jelly.’
Everyone was in a happy situation.
Except for one person.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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