Quick, I don't want to be in love anymore

Chapter 416 Adaptation of the Little Mermaid from a Fairy Tale (23)

Looking at the person laughing maniacally before him, their face contorted in pain, his mind was filled with images from the past:
The little boy huddled in the corner, the person in front of him staring at him with sinister eyes.

He knelt on the cobblestone road, alone, facing the malicious stares and whispers of those around him.

He was awakened by a nightmare in the middle of the night. When he opened his eyes, a person was standing by his bed, staring at him fiercely...

There were so many books that he felt a strange sense of absurdity, as if he were reading a book.

He thought he had long since gotten used to Viscount Allen's treatment, used to living such a life worse than that of pigs and dogs.

But his trembling hands, gripping the sword hilt tightly, told him he couldn't; it really hurt...

The queen placed her soft, warm hand on his cold one and looked at him with unwavering eyes.

The two exchanged a glance, then with firm steps, plunged the knife deep into the shoulder of Allen, who was laughing wildly in front of them.

The man's laughter abruptly stopped as he roared to the sky. Looking at his wide-eyed surprise and the blood gushing from his shoulder, the boy felt as if something in his memory had shattered.

"Men, drag him away and torture him. Once you've confirmed he's dead, throw him into the forest."

The Queen spoke calmly to those around her, explaining that the two men had plunged their swords into Allen's shoulder instead of his heart not because they were unwilling to do so.

They all felt, without prior agreement, that ending his life with a single blow would be too easy for him; she wanted him to suffer terribly.

These punishments were reserved for the most heinous criminals, and initially, the king and queen believed that even being torn to pieces was justified given his actions. The maidservant was also subjected to these punishments, and her husband was naturally stripped of his title.

One day, her two sons, on their way home after drinking to drown their sorrows, had their leg bones broken by men sent by the queen.

The Queen did not believe in the idea that children are innocent. When she did these things, weren't her own children innocent too?
Of course, she did all of this behind the boy's back, wanting to remain in his heart as the gentle mother forever.

After resolving all of this, the boy finally had a name of his own—Arthur.

The name originates from Celtic and means "stone" or "strong warrior." It symbolizes strength, courage, and justice, while also signifying peace and happiness.

This was the decision the king and queen made after searching through dictionaries and ancient books. They did not want to restrict Arthur's actions because of his status as a prince; they only hoped that he could live a peaceful and happy life from now on.

Their idea was to first try teaching the prince how to govern the country, and if he wasn't interested, then let him be a wealthy idler.

Choose someone from the royal family who is close to Arthur as his successor.

Perhaps it was due to genetics that Arthur, as one of their two children, learned these things with ease and was able to complete the tasks assigned by the king in an orderly manner in no time.

The king and queen disagreed on how to deal with Henry, the child who had been switched at birth.

The king considered this a scandal and believed it would allow Arthur, as the younger twin brother who had been taken away years ago, to return to the public eye.

Henry had already been raised for over a decade, and they weren't short of money, so they let him continue to stay in the palace.