Chapter 8: Crime and Punishment (part 1)

Early in the 11th month, 1546th year, Continental Calendar - Midnight

It happened in the domain of a certain noble within the Elfrieden Kingdom.

In the manor of the important noble who was lord of that domain, twelve

shadowy figures were holding a secret meeting in the darkness.

"What do the rest of you make of this summons?" one of them asked.

"Of all the nobles in the land, our fourteen families have been summoned. Most

likely... the kingdom has caught on to us."

"There have been reports of the black-robed one's dogs sniffing around us, as

well."

"Then, the intent of this summons is..."

"...to make an example of the others, no doubt."

"To make an example? It isn't a trap?" one suggested in a hysterical voice.

Another laughed dryly. "Heh heh heh. Unlike the nobles who have engaged in

corruption, we haven't been caught doing anything. With no crime to condemn us

for, that king and the black-robed one cannot bring us to justice."

"I see... That is why he is making an example of the others."

"Indeed," one of them agreed. "To keep us in line by making us think, 'Tomorrow,

that could be me.'"

"Two of the three dukes have fallen, and those nobles who didn't participate in

the recent war have lost their influence. If he can just keep us quiet, there will be

nothing left to stop that king."

"Hmph... All as the king planned," one of them said. "Or was it the black-robed

one?"

"It doesn't matter which of them it was. But, if we look at it from another

perspective, we can say that this was the best the king could do against us."

"Heh heh heh, you are quite right," another chuckled. He added, with a sneer,

"That is why, for now, we must lay low. We must act in a way that will not anger that

king, that will not give him reason to punish us. No, if anything, we must cooperate

with what the king does."

"It galls me to do it," another one said irately.

"It's no matter... I doubt it will take long," the sneerer replied. "Once all obstacles

have been removed, I am sure that king will rush forward with revolutionary

policies at an even faster rate than he has been. Reform taken too quickly will breed

resistance. We need only support those people from the shadows. The more of them

he executes, the more that king will be seen as a tyrant, and that will only breed

more resistance."

The other men nodded, impressed by the man's words.

"I see. He cannot keep at it for long, then."

"Indeed. When the time comes, we will push the king from power and place

someone more malleable on the throne."

"When that is accomplished, we can take things back to how they were under

King Albert's reign."

"The momentum is with that king for now. We mustn't be caught in it. In order to

wait it out, we must do as the king demands for now. But, in due time..."

The men laughed darkly.

Then one of the men raised a question. "What do we do about the houses of

Jabana and Saracen? Haven't the heads changed?"

"Leave them be. If they displease the king and can no longer maintain their

houses, that is their concern, not something for us to get involved in."

"Of course. Now, gentlemen, I ask you to all follow the plan we just agreed on."

"Yes. To take back our era."

"""To take back our era."""

However, they had not realized that there was a watcher in the darkness.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was a sunny afternoon. I was helping Souma with his administrative work

again today.

"Okay, Liscia," Souma said. "Hand these papers to Hakuya for me."

"Got it."

Taking the papers from Souma, I went to leave the office, when...

"Liscia!" Souma called out to me.

Wondering what it could be, I turned around. Souma seemed to be trying to say

something, but it wasn't coming out. He either was trying to tell me something and

couldn't find the words, or kept opening his mouth to say something and then

hesitating.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ah...! No, um... it's nothing."

"Okay... Well, I'll get going then."

I left Souma and headed out from the governmental affairs office. When I closed

the door, I sighed despite myself.

Souma probably felt obliged to say something to me because of what happened

with Duke Carmine.

Geez... It's not something Souma should feel responsible for...

Even when I'd been told Duke Carmine had committed suicide in the dungeon, I

hadn't lost my composure. That man I had respected like a father and a teacher was

dead, yet I felt strangely calm. That surprised me.

It wasn't that I wasn't sad. Actually, I felt like my heart had been torn apart. But,

still, I was able to act like my usual self. That was surely... because I'd had something

like a premonition that it would turn out like this. That the Duke Carmine I knew

would chose the path of ruin, taking all of the darkness that has infested this country

with him. And that Souma would accept his determination to do so.

Georg Carmine and Souma Kazuya.

Georg Carmine was a great man who I held in high esteem. He was strong and

noble, a warrior who epitomized everything I should aspire to be. I respected him,

and I thought I wanted to be like him.

And, as for Souma... he was the man I had decided, of my own will, to support.

I had lived a life largely detached from love and romance, so I wasn't sure what it

was that I was feeling for Souma. Being a member of the royal house, I'd never held

any great hopes for what my marriage would be like.

But when I'd seen Aisha's beaming smile when she became his second fiancée, or

Juna's smile when he told her, "I swear, I will take you (as my wife)," I had felt just a

little pain in my chest.

...I knew now. This was probably that sort of feeling. I felt strongly enough about

Souma to be having those sorts of emotions.

This was something that two men who were important to me had decided on.

Even if it was sad, if it was painful, I had to accept it or I would be making a mockery

of their resolve. I chose to believe in their decision.

That was why, when I heard about Duke Carmine's death, I didn't take out my

frustrations on Souma.

Duke Carmine wouldn't have wanted to hurt our relationship. That was why, if I

stayed right there at Souma's side, like normal, that would be paying my respects to

Duke Carmine. That was how I felt.

I would continue to believe in Souma. No matter what decision he made, I would

accept it and stand by him.

Today was the day of judgment for Duke Vargas and Carla. As her friend, my

desire to spare Carla remained unchanged, but no matter what decision Souma came

to, I was prepared to accept it. No matter what tragic conclusion it might lead to.

And yet...

Hey, Souma, I thought. Why do you have such a pained look on your face?

A strange atmosphere had fallen over the great hall in Parnam Castle.

This was the place where Castor and Carla's sentence was about to be handed

down.

In response to the pleas of Duchess Walter, who had contributed greatly to the

recent war effort, Souma had taken the right to judge them from the courts, and

would be doing so personally. It was no praiseworthy act for a king to insert himself

in the affairs of the courts, but Duchess Walter had gone so far as to return all other

rewards for her service in order to make the request, so he had been able to force it

through.

Now, Souma could judge the two of them personally.

People were positioned more or less where they would be in the audience hall.

Souma was seated higher than the rest, using a chair that, while not the throne,

was still fairly impressive, with Aisha and me flanking him on either side. Aisha's

position as bodyguard was no longer diagonally behind him, but directly beside him,

a change made to reflect her new status as a candidate to become a queen. That

inevitably meant that she was in the center of everyone's attention, so Aisha seemed

tense.

Looking down at the floor there was the former General of the Air Force, Castor

Vargas, and his daughter, Carla, both kneeling with their hands bound behind their

backs. They both, perhaps because they had resolved themselves to accept their fate

at this point, were sitting up straight.

Between them stood Prime Minister Hakuya and Duchess Walter, facing one

another. Hakuya's role was to call for them to be prosecuted for their crimes, while

Duchess Walter was to defend Castor and Carla. In a normal trail, the prosecutor and

the defense argue over whether a crime has been committed, but on this occasion

the two's crimes were already known.

Because of that, Hakuya's job was to seek punishment for their crimes, while

Excel's job was to defend their actions and seek a more lenient punishment. If her

defense was successful, their punishment would be lightened, and if she failed, they

would face the punishment Hakuya was seeking. Therefore, there could be no

finding of innocence.

Also, to observe this trial, there was a long table facing sideways with fourteen

nobles seated in a single row. Souma had told me he would seek their opinions

during the trial.

I had been told their selection was random, but... was it really? The nobles

seemed to be whispering to one another.

No matter what's in store, I won't be surprised, I thought. This is a trial that was

thought up by Souma, after all.

While there hadn't been many cases of the king taking the right to judge from the

courts, it had happened before on occasion. However, in those cases, normally the

king gave a verdict which could not be contested. This format, where the king held a

trial where he would be the judge, was unheard of. It was a form of trial with no

precedent. I couldn't predict anything that might happen.

"Now then, let us carry out the trial of Castor and Carla," Souma declared in a

quiet voice.