"How so? All he does is deliveries. How could that possibly be dangerous?" Breda could not see how it would be dangerous to travel. Especially someone who had generated neither grudge or grievance.
"For one, there are the natural dangers of travel, thieves and monsters. Usually, people chosen to be couriers can either outrun or outright avoid such encounters, but you can never guarantee that they won't be taken by surprise or run headlong into a faster or more powerful danger. With experience, this can be avoided to a certain degree, but the chance is always there.
Next, there are the dangers of foreign terrain. Many couriers know the general lay of their route when they receive their charge, but sudden shifts in terrain due to weather or unnatural occurrences simply cannot be predicted. Rockslides on mountain passes are not unheard of, and certain plains may be subject to sudden floods. Some environments are also outright hostile, such as a swamp or jungle, and dangers that may be unseen such as pits of mud and clouds of poison gas that can end your life before you realize it." He paused to take a breath from his explanation, his expression becoming notably darker.
"The greatest danger comes from those with bad intentions. The courier may not have any enemies, but the person sending a message can. Sometimes there is information these people might want, or don't want to get out, so they silence the courier."
Breda was shocked. She always knew that monsters were a threat on the road, that's just the way monsters were. You would have troubles with monsters even moving between small towns. To a degree she also recognized that there might be hazardous environments. Sometimes it rained after all.
It had never occurred to her that her husband might find himself in danger due to the quarrel of another.
Noticing the dreary air that he was responsible for, Ezer changed the topic. "You said you had children?" It was a bit awkward considering his previous line, but it was far from the worst way to shift her focus.
"Yes I do! Three rowdy boys and a wonderful baby girl." Although she did consider Arc her child at this point, she was mindful to keep him a secret.
"How wonderful. I've only one child, a boy, and he is already a handful at three! How do you keep yours inline?"
"Well I only have two hands and there are three of them, so you might be able to keep a better hold on him, but the best I've been able to do is not bother with adjusting their behavior. At worst, should they do something wrong, a beating and heavy verbal scolding is in order. Other wise, you really should not be doing much. Let them play around and exhaust themselves or teach them what they need to know, but take note of when they tire." Her experience in the field of child rearing vastly outmatched the martial general.
"I see... but I fear if I did that then he might not grow to be a distinguished gentleman. How would I make sure that he grows into a man worthy of respect?"
"In that case, I suggest you act like the man you wish your son to be. Children have this knack for emulating the people they are around. I'm sure you've noticed how he copies you when he sees you right?"
Ezer nodded in confirmation.
"Well that behavior continues at some level or another as they continue to grow. They may test you at times with their antics, but you should never act hostile towards them. You are the model of an adult he will likely have the most contact with, so you should be the man you want him to be. The rest of that should come naturally."
Truth be told Breda was talking out her ass a bit here. Most of this she had only been told second hand and she could not verify the advice on "be the man you want your son to be" spiel as Nofafi was not home enough for this to take effect. At best she could see her boys trend towards how Jamie acted as he was the man they interacted most frequently with, but she honestly couldn't tell if that's how boys are. Jamie was immature as far as men went after all.
"I see. That does make sense. In that case I have little to worry about. I want him to grow up as I am after all. Though I wonder if he will reject that."
"To that I honestly cannot say." She couldn't even tell whether her OWN children would reject her style of parenting. "May I ask a question?"
"Be my guest."
"How did you receive your name?"