Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 491: Custody

Chapter 491: Custody

"We shall take our leave then," Arabella said her goodbyes, and Dimo only waved goodbye to his father.

The knights and maids who witnessed everything were left wondering what just happened. They were not sure it was the right thing. But they could do nothing about it.

Sonia and the Head Butler thought that in case Dimo tried to return in the future, they could eliminate him then.

As they watched Dimo leave with Arabella and Ferdinand, they thought that they had succeeded in at least delaying Dimo from speaking in person with the Duke, so that the truth about them would not get out.

They did not know that in the following days, they would get what was due for them.

Meanwhile, the knights and maids were worried that Dimo may never come back. They feared that Dimo might accidentally cause a scene in Valeria since it’s a foreign place to him and may end up getting executed.

They wondered if they should tell their families to shift their support to the Brent faction since Dimo may never come back.

However, since Dimo is very much well-behaved if he’s not emotional, he may return and become an important connection between Olivier and Valeria.

Olivier could become more powerful than other duchies by maintaining a healthy relationship with Valeria.

And if Dimo was the one making that connection, his value greatly increases aside from just his bloodline and rightful claim as the declared heir.

But due to all the negative rumors about Ferdinand, they feared that Dimo might not survive in Valeria.

They thought Valeria itself was merciless even to children.

But children who commit crimes were not even executed in Valeria. They were brought to training camps to be re-educated after a few days in prison especially made for children.

If their crimes were light, they would simply be sent home after some scolding and a discussion about the law.

Their parents were summoned and made to pay for whatever damages they caused to compensate the victim.

The parents would be given a warning to educate their children or watch them carefully. And they could go back home and proceed with life as usual.

Those with repeated offenses were treated more sternly and would stay in training camps longer than the others.

But if the crime continues even after going to the training camp several times, they cannot be released. They would continue getting educated in the training camps and serve there until they got a good record and were allowed to go out again.

If they still committed crimes even after that, they would be captured again, imprisoned for days to a month, and made to stay in training camps. They would be sent to the official prison once they reached the age of criminal responsibility in Valeria which was fourteen onwards.

But in cases of heavy crimes, for instance, if the child was proven to have committed murder, they would be imprisoned for a longer period in a separate prison for possibly dangerous children.

If it was proven to be out of necessity (self-defense), the child would not be punished but would still be subjected to several days of education about the law and whom they could ask for help so they would not have to act themselves.

If the child was proven to have committed it accidentally, they would be sent to training camp after an observation period in the prison for possibly dangerous children. And after some time in the training camp, they would be able to return home.

But if it was with full intent and with malevolence, the child would be sentenced to imprisonment for long. Only when they prove to have regretted or reflected on their actions and swear not to commit them again will they be sent to a separate training camp for those who have committed heavy crimes. They could last there for years until it was deemed safe to let them go home or be part of society again.

But repeated offenses of heavy crimes will not be tolerated and would lead to imprisonment until they reach the age of responsibility and are sent to the official dungeons.

Further, escaping was not tolerated. Repeated offenses plus escaping prison or the training camp could lead not only to official imprisonment but also execution once they reach the age of responsibility depending on the weight of their crimes.

This was to prevent lawless elements of society from using children to commit crimes.

Since knights are abundant in Valeria, especially in Riva, children committing crimes were not that common. It was sometimes just minor damage to property due to playing too much.

Arabella wasn’t sure about the farther duchies and territories in Valeria though. But she was sure the age of criminal responsibility was uniform throughout Valeria.

Meanwhile, in all of the Eliora Continent, it usually ranges from 12-18 years old onwards. However, it depends upon the kingdom.

Kingdoms with slavery such as Crux can punish their slaves, including children below the age of responsibility, as they please, even with torture or death. This was among the reasons why the agreement to abolish slavery in all of Eliora was very important.

In Arabella’s previous life, Dimo was thirteen when it was revealed that he had already killed several people and it was made to look like he did it out of spite instead of self-defense, so he was declared as a heinous criminal in most kingdoms in Eliora.

’That’s not going to happen now,’ Arabella gave a squeeze at Dimo’s hand.

They were holding hands since Dimo was still afraid of getting left behind.

His crying had toned down after the magic contract was signed since it gave him assurance that they would take him with them.

However, he feared that they might change their mind any second, so he was still jittery and silently cried.

But that wouldn’t happen since Arabella had obtained legal custody of Dimo.

Sonia did not read the whole contract since it was long. But it was stated there that Arabella and Ferdinand were given full custody of Dimo until he decided to return to their duchy completely and not return to Valeria.

Dimo would still be under their custody even if he returned home to Olivier for vacation.

Thus, they could still take legal action against anything committed against him even if he is in Olivier if he had not decided to fully leave Valeria yet.

.

.

.

____________________

A/N:

I wanted to travel after I quit my office work (which I had been doing for six years). But the weather did not play along so I ended up just staying home. Lol.

But at least I didn’t have to commute to work every day even when it was raining hard and flooding.

I also finally got some good sleep until the dissertation came. Lol.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om