Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 26. I Have Grown Stronger (3)

“Alright, that’s enough, both of you.”

Fortunately, there was one person who could stop the two of them.

“My lady!”

Lawrence smiled brightly, as if he had met a goddess in hell.

In fact, Ava, who had grown more beautiful each day as her health recovered, was beautiful enough to be believed a goddess.

She looked at her husband and son, let out a small sigh, and spoke.

“First, let's both of us calm down.”

“Ahem, I understand, my dear.”

“Mother, Father is….”

“You should be quiet for now, too.”

“Yes.”

Even Patrick couldn't throw a tantrum at his mother, Ava.

Ava then looked at her husband with a warm smile and said.

“Our son did a good thing, didn't he? You should praise him first.”

“Ahem, I was just about to do that anyway.”

Then, Baron Schneider looked at Patrick with a heartwarming smile and said.

“My son. You have truly done a great thing.”

“Nyeh-eh-eh-eh.”

Twitch.

“It's not just because you brought back a lot of money. I am truly proud that you saw children in need, did not turn away, and helped them.”

“Nyeh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh.”

“Hey. You…”

“Darling.”

“Ugh, alright. In any case, you have truly worked hard.”

He couldn't help but think that even though he was his son, he was truly difficult to deal with.

Ava then looked at her son, Patrick, and said.

“My son. I am proud of you too.”

“Yes. Thank you, Mother.”

Look at that bastard discriminating between people.

Whose child is he that his home education was so fantastically….

‘Ah, he’s my child. Haaah…’

Baron Schneider lamented the fact that blaming anyone else would just be spitting in his own face.

Then Ava spoke to Patrick.

“Just saying thank you won't be enough for you, who has accomplished so much for the fief. If there is anything you desire, tell me.”

At Ava's words, Patrick's eyes sparkled as he said.

“Keuu, as expected of Mother. You know what's what.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. As the saying goes, if one achieves merit, they should receive a fitting reward. Is it okay to just get away with a simple ‘thank you’? Right?”

Patrick looked at his father at the end and asked.

Baron Schneider, feeling a prick of conscience, said.

“Ahem, that is, of course, true. Is it not natural to give a fitting reward to one who has achieved merit?”

“Mm, as expected of our father. So fair.”

“Hahaha. Yes. Yes.”

In any case, as Patrick seemed to have calmed down, Baron Schneider also breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he was a petty man who was reluctant to give rewards to those who achieved merit.

He just wasn't used to it.

‘Someone has to achieve merit for me to give a reward.’

In the Schneider fiefdom, which was busy surviving daily onslaughts from monsters, who would achieve any noticeable merit?

They had to do their best just to maintain the status quo.

Because of this, Baron Schneider had never greatly commended his subordinates.

‘How foolish, Jaycall Schneider. Still, my son came back with merit, and I couldn't even think of giving him a reward.’

Baron Schneider let out a deep sigh of self-reproach.

He was truly ashamed that he hadn't realized that fact until his wife pointed it out.

He then spoke seriously to Patrick.

“My son, tell me what you desire. I will grant you anything I can do.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course.”

“You definitely said ‘anything’ with your own mouth, right, Father? You won't go back on your word later, right?”

“Of course… I won't.”

“Hehehe, right. In that case, first of all…”

Baron Schneider learned one lesson that day.

One should not speak carelessly.

* * *

A lord was a being with a great deal of authority.

The right to enforce the law in the land they rule, the right to control soldiers, the right to collect taxes, and so on.

Within their own fief, the power held by the position of a lord was no different from that of a small king.

This was no exaggeration even for Baron Schneider, who was good-natured and deserving of being called a pushover.

“I will create a merchant guild in the family's name and run it myself. Also, please give me the authority to train the soldiers and the right to command operations. And the authority to confer knighthood... is probably a bit much, huh? Let's do it in a way that I recommend, and you confer, Father. And also, give me the right to explore the undeveloped areas of the forest…”

“Do you just want to be the lord?”

“Huh? Really?”

“No, no, no, no. That's not it.”

“Tsk.”

Baron Schneider, who hastily denied it, broke into a cold sweat seeing his son click his tongue in disappointment.

He was serious.

That son of his was the type who would actually become the lord if asked.

“Ayy, still, it's not right for me to be the lord when I haven't even had my coming-of-age ceremony yet. For now, you should do it a bit longer, Father.”

“Right. I'm so grateful I could cry.”

I'm so grateful I could cry, my kid.

“So, my son.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“What are you planning to do with the children you brought?”

“Well, first of all, there are too many children in poor health.”

“They did seem so.”

“I think we need to create a communal childcare facility first and let them recover. We need to feed them well and let them sleep well.”

“And after that?”

“If there are people in the fief who want to, we'll proceed with adoption, and if not, we'll have to raise them ourselves.”

Hearing Patrick's explanation, Ava smiled contentedly and said.

“You had already thought it all through.”

“Hahaha. This is nothing.”

“You sound like someone who has done this many times.”

“…Haaah….”

At Ava's words, Patrick suddenly let out a deep sigh and thought to himself.

“What's wrong?”

“No. It's just that I was thinking about the old days.”

“…You were?”

What should a mother do when her ten-year-old son is thinking about the old days with a wistful expression?

Regardless, Patrick recalled the past and sighed again.

‘Sigh. Orphans are better, at least.’

Supporting the reintegration of beggars from the slums into society.

Rehabilitating commoners who had become bandits because it was hard to make a living.

Finding jobs for scholars who had failed their exams and were in despair.

He had even helped a lovesick monk leave the order and get married.

How did he have such a diverse range of experiences, you ask?

When your Master is a sucker, you end up doing everything.

Pitiful people, pitiable people, people in need.

Wasn't he the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon, who had run here and there to satisfy the meddlesome nature of his Master, who would step up to help anyone he could?

‘Compared to back then, a few dozen orphans are nothing. Yes, of course.’

“Well, I'll take care of the children. Don't worry.”

“Alright. I trust my son.”

“Ahem, I too believe in your abilities, my son.”

Receiving the dependable support of his parents, Patrick went outside the mansion.

“If I'm going to do it, I have to do it right.”

It wasn't just the orphans.

The money he had earned this time was not just money.

It was the capital that could completely change the future of the fief depending on how it was used.

‘First, I need to improve the fief's food situation and distribute new armaments to the soldiers. Ah, I have to oversee their training too. I'll need to call a doctor to check on the orphans' health, right? And also…’

There was a mountain of work to do.

Just like the familiar old days.

Thinking about it, a smirk appeared on his face.

Patrick, who smiled at the thought that ‘this damn fate of mine doesn't change even after being reborn,’ looked up at the sky and said.

“It's okay. I can do it all.”

* * *

“Mom, I'm hungry.”

“Drink some water. You'll feel a little better.”

“No. I said I'm hungry. Can't I have just one more potato?”

Her four-year-old son wasn't asking for much, just earnestly wishing for one more potato.

As a mother, it was a heart-wrenching sorrow, but she still had to refuse firmly.

“No.”

“Mooommy.”

“I said no, didn't I? Are you going to keep upsetting your mother?”

“Hiiiing…”

Her son began to whimper, and though she maintained a stern expression towards him, she was wailing in her heart.

Raising a child alone after her woodcutter husband was killed by a monster was an excruciatingly difficult task.

Fortunately, the people of the fief were kind, and her neighbors helped her a lot, but it was by no means easy for her to raise a child alone.

During the day, she helped in other people's fields, and at night, she sewed all night long on the mending jobs she received, but she couldn't remember the last time she had fed her child until he was full.

“If you're going to upset me, go outside!”

“Hic… sob…”

Her young son couldn't go outside at his mother's threat, but he squatted in the corner of the room, holding his hungry stomach and just watching his mother's expression.

‘I'm sorry. Mommy… Mommy is sorry.’

She turned her head, deliberately ignoring her son, and shed tears in secret.

She knew she had to be strong to raise her son, but life was so hard that she couldn't stop the flowing tears.

It was then….

“Is anyone home?”

A voice was heard from outside.

She hastily wiped her tears and went out.

“Yes. I'm coming out now.”

Waiting for her as she hurried out of the house were men unloading something from a wagon.

“Who are you? Huh? Are you Mr. Chandler?”

“Hello, Mrs. Becky. Is Deron doing well too?”

“Yes. We're doing fine.”

Since it was a small fief, it was much more common for people to know each other by face.

As far as she knew, Chandler had been rumored to be smart since he was young and was now working as a servant in the lord's mansion.

But why was Chandler here?

And what were all these things being unloaded in front of her house?

Chandler immediately cleared up her confusion.

“The Young Master is distributing the grains and daily necessities he obtained from Parmas. This is the portion allocated to you, ma'am.”

“Yes? You're giving us food?”

“Yes. And for daily necessities, there are clothes, salt, firewood, and although not much, some sugar too.”

“…Good heavens.”

She stopped herself from pinching her cheek.

If this was a dream, she wished she would never wake up from it.

Chandler, who had finished unloading the goods, said.

“Please check the items here and sign. A thumbprint is fine too if you can't sign.”

“Are you really giving all this to me?”

“Yes. We will be distributing to the other fief residents as well.”

“……”

She bit her lower lip hard.

The amount of goods unloaded in front of her house was by no means small.

With this much, it seemed like they could get through this winter without any trouble.

It seemed like she could feed her son, who was crying from hunger right now, until he was full.

To her, who was forcing back the tears she had been holding in, Chandler said.

“And in a few days, the Young Master said he is inviting several doctors to the fief. He said they will provide free check-ups to the fief residents then, so you and Deron should definitely come and get checked.”

“Hic…”

The tears she had held back and held back finally burst out.

Chandler smiled bitterly at her as she covered her face with both hands, squatted down, and sobbed.

It was a sight he had already seen several times today.

How desperate must they have been to act like that?

Chandler, whose nose tingled, patted Becky's shoulder and said.

“Cheer up. The Young Master said things will get better from now on.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

“Then we'll be going. We still have many places to stop by…”

After Chandler and the workers left, Becky, who was left behind, grabbed her son, who looked clueless, and said.

“You're hungry, right? Mommy will make you something delicious.”

“Woooow. Really?”

Watching her son jump up and down with joy, she felt a deep, sincere gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

‘Thank you, my lord. Thank you, Young Master.’