Chapter 922 - Going Home
The next day, Landon and everyone else, except for the newlyweds, got up early.
Even though they weren't part of the cleaning crew, they still woke up to lay back, chill and talk to one another.
Of course, Santa's sisters, elder brothers, alongside their wives, husbands and children, stayed back too.
His father, Duke Walters and his mother, the now ranked up, Duchess Angelica, also joined the conversations.
And Penelope's aunt, who was Carmelo and Samuel's younger sister, was here as well.
Yes, Duchess Mina, her husband and her children were here too.
They were here with their children, who were brought from Baymard alongside Lucy since they schooled there.
Those were the children who came with Adrian and the rest years back, the first time they ever stepped their legs in Baymard.
They were close friends with Momo and the rest and loved Go-kart racing.
Back then, the oldest at the time was 9 years old.
And now, he was already 12.
Time sure did fly a lot.
One shouldn't forget that Penelope's brothers, Robert, Asher and Neeson, were here too, as they also teamed up with Carmelo and the girls to protect the people during yesterday's constantly.
They had grown up since then and weren't so willful anymore.
Carmelo tapped other shoulders proudly.
"You all have grown, and your skills have already improved.
So, are you ready to come back?"
.
For their changes, Carmelo was genuinely grateful to Landon and Baymard.
These boys had done a lot of catastrophic things here in Carona.
From threatening officials, bribing, and poor managing their territories while squandering the taxpayers' money and pulling the people deeper into debt and poverty.
Unlike the medieval societies back on earth where the lords collected tax money and managed them individually... In this continent amd many others, everything was sent to the royals, who would then decided how to share the money.
This was why it was hard for many nobles to Usurp the throne or raise above the royals, unlike medieval times back on earth.
Anyway, these guys squandered money that shouldn't have belonged to them after Carmelo had issued it to be used for the people.
As their father, he had tried so much to rectify them, but everything backfired.
He was almost at the point of banishing them to make them learn their lessons, but such a harsh punishment will only make their hatred grow amd might even allow them to do other stupid decisions instead.
And so he was almost out of ideas until he tasted the iron discipline in Baymard.
He also emphasized that they should do charitable missions too.
And from the first report he got after his sons went there, they really did put up a fight and tried burning some buildings in an attempt to use the opportunity and escape.
That wasn't all.
They also tried bullying others but ended up getting punished because it was forbidden to fight if one wasn't in training.
Fighting in the cafeteria, dormitories and so on were prohibited.
People could stand outside and fight for practice, which was okay... but both fighters need to agree and consent on it, and no heavy tactics that could kill one's opponent, like trying to stab their opponents with a real knife, which they tried to do and were punished.
Changing then wasn't easy.
It wasn't until their first mission that they saved a few pleasant girls of ages 5~8 that gave them a slight change of heart.
They reached the scene and met a very gruesome picture.
Some girls had their bodies cut into pieces and fed to dogs, while others were used as pleasure objects.
In essence, once the girls died, they were fed to the dogs.
The whole sight shocked them crazy, and when one of the girls even died while thanking them for at least attempting to save her, it was hard for them not to have a change of heart.
Additionally, during the mission, because they were stubborn to listen to orders, they almost died but were rescued by soldiers.
And the inspirational words from the squad leader let them know just how reckless they had been living.
They got to see the real face of poverty when they went undercover and even managed to save some children, who later thanked them with flowers.
One could say that their change began there.
And following that, they did other missions and also attended church services from time to time.
There were moments that they were chosen to escort the priest and share donations to the less privileged around the continent too.
Even the ethics and moral education taught the barracks allowed them to adjust their thinking for the better.
They also worked hard, with their goal being to enter one of the Caronian Brigades in Baymard.
They were now a far cry from being able to enter these top special forces.
Nonetheless, they weren't willing to give up yet.
As for Carmelo, the fact that they were now better humans was what he was most happy about.
What else could he, their father, wish for?
His sons had finally grown up.
.
"So, when do you think you'll be able to settle back in Carona?
Your territories are still yours to manage after your return.
And even though your uncle Samuel has helped you all by cleaning up your mistakes and getting the place back on track, you still owe it to your people and yourselves to prove your worth as royals who are meant to protect them.
I'll be honest, your images aren't the best right now, and I expect you to change that soon.
I want you to show Carona how much you have grown.
Because I, for one, am very proud of you, and I want the rest of the world to be proud of you too.
You all are my precious sons.
And I want nothing but the best for you."
"Thank you, father!"
The 3 princes looked at their Carmelo warmly.
The last time they heard him say that he was proud of them was when they were still 9 or 10.
But they didn't blame him since they were so willful and allowed their positions to get the best of them.
Now, they knew better and were also somewhat ashamed.
"Father, for the matter of us returning, we had already discussed it amongst the 3 of us.
Give us 1 year, 6 months... and we will be ready."
"Yes, father.
Our goal is to learn and later incorporate what we learned in Carona.
We want to assist Penelope the best we can. But at the moment, we aren't ready yet."
Carmelo nodded: "Good."
Everyone was happy.
And so just like that, Landon had decided to stay back in Carona for 5 more days before finally setting out.
But little did they know that trouble was currently knocking at Baymard's door.
But who could it be?