Chapter 8: Crime and Punishment (part 2)

Hakuya read out the crimes of which they were accused. "Former General of the

Air Force Castor Vargas and his daughter, despite the lawful transfer of the throne to

His Majesty, resisted his authority and even rejected his ultimatum, turning their

swords against the Forbidden Army. The crime of treason applies in this case.

Therefore, I believe it is appropriate that their land and assets be seized and they be

subject to the death penalty."

I had expected this. Hakuya was pushing for the death penalty for both of them.

...Of course he was. Treason was a serious enough crime that it carried a death

penalty for all relatives of up to three degrees of consanguinity.

The number of people affected was being kept to an absolute minimum because

Duke Vargas had heeded Duchess Walter's advice and formally cut ties with his

family. Furthermore, in recognition of Duchess Walter's distinguished service in the

war, it had been decided that Carla's young brother Carl, who had been disowned

and left in the care of the House of Walter, would inherit the House of Vargas with

just Red Dragon City and the area around it as his fief. Excel's daughter, who was

also Carla and Carl's mother, would serve as his advisor.

When Hakuya finished presenting the punishment he sought, it was Excel's turn

to defend the two and request a lesser punishment.

In prior deliberations, Duchess Walter's offer to "offer my head in exchange for

their two lives, or turn over all of the Walter Duchy with the exception of Lagoon

City" had already been rejected. Taking her head was out of the question, and if he

destroyed all three duchies, it would put the rest of the nobles on guard against

Souma.

"It was foolish for Castor and Carla to rebel against Your Majesty," said Excel.

"However, they most certainly did not do it in an attempt to usurp your position. It

was their loyalty to the former king, Sir Albert, and friendship with the General of

the Army, Georg Carmine, that led them astray. Of course, the throne had been

formally ceded to you by Sir Albert, and it is unthinkable that any of your vassals

should have doubts about that.

"However, the sudden change of rulers threw not only Castor but many other

people into confusion. Carla only followed Castor as his daughter. Neither of the pair

had any ambitions of their own. Fortunately, there were no casualties among their

subjects or the Forbidden Army during the battle at Red Dragon City. Can you not

spare them their lives, if nothing else?"

Bowing, Duchess Walter sought to reduce the severity of their crimes.

Souma just sat there listening to her speak.

He was so expressionless that it was impossible to read from his face what he

might be thinking. I think, probably, he was suppressing his emotions so they

wouldn't show.

Having heard the arguments of both the prosecution and the defense, Souma

opened his mouth. "Castor. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"No," Duke Vargas said firmly. "There is no need for a defeated commander to

speak. Please, part this head from my shoulders."

"...I see."

"There's just one thing," said Duke Vargas. "I'm the one who started the war.

Carla only followed orders. I'll take her punishment, as well. I don't care if you

torture me, or humiliate me in public. But, please, can't you spare Carla's life?"

While still bound, Duke Vargas bowed so that his head nearly touched the

ground.

Seeing her prideful father do that, Carla's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Father!"

However, Souma let out a sigh, his expression remaining impassive. "I've heard

that the one leading the Air Force in that battle was Carla. I can't let that crime go

unpunished, can I? You must have known this might happen when you raised the

flag of rebellion."

"Urgh..." Duke Vargas bit his lip. However, he said no more.

This time, Souma looked at Carla. "Carla. Do you have anything to say in your

defense?"

"...I do not." Carla shook her head weakly.

"Is that all? You have nothing else to say?"

"In that case, there is one thing. I apologize for my lack of wisdom. Lic... The

princess tried to mediate between us, but we still stubbornly refused to listen." With

those words, Carla hung her head.

While Carla had been in prison, she'd said she didn't want to become a burden by

having us intercede on her behalf. She probably felt the same way now.

"You won't beg for forgiveness?" Souma asked.

"I will not. Judge me as you see fit."

"...I see."

Souma looked away from the two of them, then said to the nobles seated in the

rear, "Now, I would like to hear from those of you gathered here. These people have,

in their thoughtlessness, raised the flag of rebellion against me, the current king.

What do you think is the appropriate judgment for these fools? I would very much

like to hear your unreserved opinions."

Souma said that with a look that, even to my eyes, seemed a little frightening. For

a moment, something seemed off to me. The way he said it, it was as if he had

already made up his mind. Though he said he wanted to hear their opinions, it was

as if he was saying, "I can't imagine any of you would dare object to executing these

traitors, would you?" in order to intimidate them. It was as if he was acting to

constrain the nobles watching the trial...

Normally, Souma would listen to any opinion, implementing it if he felt it was

right, but what he was doing now was the exact opposite of that.

When I considered that and looked at the nobles, they were all from houses with

dark rumors swirling around them or houses that had repeatedly declined to get

involved when there was a crisis. Could it be that Souma meant to use Carla and her

father to make an example and force these people to swear loyalty to him?

He was showing off his power and saying, "If you don't want this to happen to you,

then obey me." That was the impression I got.

Then, one of the nobles stood and raised his voice. "Your Majesty! When you say

it like that, you make it seem as if their crime is already decided!"

The speaker was a young man with a masculine face. He was maybe around the

same age as Halbert. But he didn't have the same roughness as Halbert. He seemed

to be a serious, good-natured young man.

"Who is that person?" Souma asked.

"That is the head of the House of Saracen, Piltory Saracen," Hakuya said.

Piltory said, "I understand this to be a place to determine the weight of their

crime. If you do this, forcing your will on the rest of us, then this trial has no

purpose!"

"Ga ha ha! Well said, young Saracen!" another of the nobles said, rising to his feet.

With his ash gray hair combed back, and a thick beard the same color as his hair, he

was a big, muscular man just starting to show the signs of old age.

Hakuya narrowed his eyes, calling out that person's name. "The head of the

House of Jabana, Sir Owen Jabana."

"O Black-robed Prime Minister," the man responded. "Duke Vargas over there has

defended this country for over a hundred years, which is longer than I've been alive.

He may lack maturity, but I doubt his feelings towards this country have changed. He

rose against His Majesty not out of personal greed, but because he was prepared to

die for his friendship with Georg Carmine."

"You suggest his treason couldn't be helped because it was done in the name of

friendship?" Hakuya glared at him.

"No, no," Owen said, shaking his head. "That's not what I'm saying. The throne

had formally been passed to His Majesty King Souma, so I can only say that Duke

Vargas acted rashly. It's not a crime that can be pardoned. However, Duke Vargas

has already been stripped of his position, his fame, his lands, and his assets. Is it not,

perhaps, a little much to now take both his and his daughter's lives on top of all

that?"

"'Forgive the traitor'—is that what you are saying?"

"Old as I am, I think it would be regrettable not to," Owen said. "Duke Vargas is a

person who could command troops for another two, three hundred years. Is there

anyone in this country who could lead the Air Force as well as he?"

Perhaps emboldened by Owen's words, Piltory began to argue forcefully once

more. "Sire! You yourself said, 'If you have a gift, I will put it to use,' didn't you?! Are

you going to lose a rare gift like his?! I cannot believe that Duke Vargas, a man who

bared his fangs against you because he trusted in his friend, is somehow inferior to

us nobles who opportunistically refused to take a side! I beseech you, do as Duchess

Walter has said and lighten his sentence!"

Having listened to their words, Souma closed his eyes for a moment, and then...

gave the order.

"...Take them away."

In an instant, soldiers surrounded the two and removed them from the hall.

Owen quietly obeyed the soldiers with a disappointed expression, while in contrast,

Piltory continued to cry, "Sire! Please, reconsider!" even as he was being escorted

out.

Once they were taken away, an unpleasant silence fell over the hall. Everyone

held their breath, unable to say anything until Souma broke the silence.

"Are there any other opinions?"

The other nobles' opinions were all some variant of "Sentence both of them to

death."

"The law is the law."

"If you let this pass, it sets a poor example to your other vassals."

"Any fool who would oppose Your Majesty can be of no use."

...And it went on like that. While what they were saying sounded reasonable, it

was clear they were thinking, "We don't want to displease the king like those two."

...

I... was having a hard time understanding it. True, the nobles who had remained

feared Souma, and they would have a hard time plotting against him. However,

when I compared the two who'd been expelled with the twelve who remained, I had

to question which group would really of more benefit to Souma and to the country.

...No. Don't doubt him. I decided to believe in Souma, didn't I?

I pinched my thighs. As I desperately tried to suppress my internal conflict, I

heard Souma whisper, "This is something... that has to be done."

Souma?

"I understand your positions." Souma stood and raised his right hand up high.

When they saw that gesture, Duchess Walter's eyes went wide, the nobles held

their breath, and Castor and Carla lowered their heads in resignation.

Souma swung his hand down as he gave a short order. "Do it."

In the next instant, there was the sound of a blade slicing through the air and a

splash of blood. And then...

...twelve heads fell to the ground.

◇ ◇ ◇

The book I referred back to when deciding how I should act as king was The

Prince.

Machiavelli's The Prince was called "the devil's book," and for hundreds of years

after it was released, it was attacked by the Christian church. The parts most often

singled out were, "Chapter VIII - Concerning Those Who Have Obtained a

Principality by Wickedness" and "Chapter XVII - Concerning Cruelty and Clemency,

and Whether it is Better to be Loved Than Feared."

Chapter VIII had as its theme "even though a good, upstanding ruler can lose his

country, one who seized his state through vile and treacherous means may,

thereafter, live out the rest of his life in peace, without facing rebellion from his

people." In it, Machiavelli said, "I believe that this follows from cruelties being badly

or properly used."

Also, in Chapter XVII, he reasoned that men are self-serving creatures, and if

asked to harm one of two people, they would chose to harm a person they love over

a person they fear. This meant "it is much safer to be feared than to be loved."

He also said, "When a prince is with his army, it is quite necessary for him to

disregard the reputation of cruelty," noting, "Hannibal of Carthage faced no

dissension among his troops or against himself, whether in victory or in defeat. This

arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty."

The Christian church, which preached love, attacked these portions, saying,

"What is the meaning of this? Recommending that princes, who should rule through

virtue, engage in acts of cruelty!" It angered them, and The Prince was banned.

Then, partially because of its established reputation as the devil's book, its

content wasn't closely considered, with extreme statements being given the most

focus. It got to the point where misreadings like, "The Prince approves of the use of

cruelty," or, "The Prince says to massacre all who oppose you," went unchallenged. It

also saw occasional calls to reevaluate this tendency.

However, what I want to say firmly is: Machiavelli did not go into extensive detail

about cruelties.