Chapter 49

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: A Precedent for Treason
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“Unworthy as I am, I shall preside over the hearing of this case.”

“Duke Kill! By what right are you here…!”

“Ah, do not misunderstand. The reason I stand here is not to defend this woman. It seems she could find no one else well-versed in legal principles, so she dragged me here against my will.”

A shocked silence swept through the courtroom.

While everyone stared wide-eyed and speechless, only Lucy seemed to find it amusing, biting her lip and feigning a solemn expression to suppress her laughter.

Kill, oblivious to the atmosphere, continued to speak fluently.

“It seems there is no Judge Advocate, perhaps because the administration has not yet been fully formed. As a former Judge Advocate, Grand Minister of Education, Grand Tutor, and Chairman, I would like to add a word. I will state only objective facts based on previous precedents and the laws of the kingdom. If anyone has an objection, please raise your hand to indicate so. Now then, Duke Witten.”

Speaking fluently, Kill turned his gaze toward Witten.

“The matters for which you are being treated as a spy are as follows: that you were at odds with Queen Arsinoe before the incident, that you secretly disguised yourself and attempted to cross into the Empire's waters, and that the person you happened to encounter there was the Crown Prince. Is that correct?”

Witten nodded, his expression softening considerably.

“…That is correct.”

“Setting aside personal grudges, trespassing into another nation's waters without notice is illegal. Well, considering your social standing, that would likely end with a fine. And as for the encounter with the Crown Prince, you did not actually meet, nor were the contents of any meeting leaked, so there is no issue there.”

It was difficult to keep up with the smoothly flowing sentences. While everyone's eyes darted about, Witten was the first to grasp the conclusion. He let out a hollow laugh and pointed a finger at Lucy.

“There, you heard him. No issue. Do you think that even as queen, you can disgrace a lord who has done nothing wrong?”

“However, this is where a problem arises.”

Kill waved a hand, cutting Witten off. Facing Witten, who looked up at him with puzzled eyes, Kill narrowed his brow with a grave expression.

“Individually, these matters are not significant. Unfortunately, when all three overlap, the Special Law on Royal Disgrace takes effect. Being at odds with the royal family, attempting a secret meeting in a border region, and encountering the leader of the opposing side in that situation. The royal family experienced such an event five years ago and sentenced the defendant to death.”

“Death? What are you talking about…”

“Indeed. Two days after the verdict, said defendant met his end on the guillotine.”

“There was… a similar case? Who was it…?”

At the unexpected words, Witten shouted, his face pale. After a brief silence, the answer came not from Kill, but from the person beside him.

“Talkisin.”

The Grand General who had dragged him here recited the name of the executed man from the past, his face impassive.

A hush fell over the courtroom. The nobles, belatedly grasping the flow of the argument, began to murmur in low voices.

“Talkisin, from that incident…”

“Wasn't his sentence death?”

“The chairman who presided over that trial was, I believe…”

The chilling whispers grew louder, echoing through the courtroom. It was an unexpected name, but its mere mention weighed heavily on the shoulders of everyone present.

Talkisin.

The man who led Talkisin's Rebellion. The reason Walter Hyverge was able to become Grand General.

Recollections of Talkisin vary from person to person.

The Lycans praise him as a revolutionary hero, the Raphi remember him as a psychopath who wanted to be king, and the humans recall him as a mad Lycan drunk on ideals.

As the one who gathered the Lycans to call for independence, it was inevitable that opinions of him would be so extremely divided among the races.

Had he plotted his rebellion in a country other than Parnas, the assessment of the Parnasian people might have been different. But he was based in Parnas, which led to an inevitable clash with the kingdom's citizens.

“The humans bind us in the name of coexistence and try to command us in the name of friendship. Friends? Who treats their friends like slaves? We have all been deceived! If we truly wish to be free, we must distance ourselves from the humans!”

Talkisin blatantly ignored the king's order to disband the Lycans, moved his base to a border region, and expanded his group's size. The king, unable to stand by any longer, ordered Talkisin's elimination.

In the end, Talkisin was defeated by the Black Eagle Battalion, led by Brigadier General Walter Hyverge.

And on the grounds of having eliminated the figure who instigated the turbulent times, Walter was promoted to Grand General in a single leap.

This was about five years ago.

As is often the case with history, though the event was not so long ago, people remembered not the criminal Talkisin, but the national hero Walter Hyverge. Walter himself had completely forgotten until Kill mentioned it.

“Talkisin was the same. A traitor with only circumstantial evidence, no physical proof, who proclaimed his own innocence… but the royal family executed him.”

Walter said casually, fiddling with his lower lip.

The only difference between Talkisin's Rebellion and Duke Witten's situation was that Talkisin held a secret meeting in a border region, while Duke Witten attempted to hold one in border waters. That was all.

Beyond that, every aspect was similar.

“Indeed. The past precedent defined Talkisin as a traitor.”

Kill slowly descended from the platform and looked at Witten. Witten, unable to control his wide-eyed stare, ceaselessly rattled the chains binding his hands.

Leaving the bewildered Witten behind, Kill walked a little further, approaching the seats where the lords were sitting. Most of them, too, had failed to grasp the context.

Kill schooled his expression and continued in the calmest tone possible.

“And I, too, believe it is right that the same precedent be applied to the defendant, Bon Witten, based on the principle of stare decisis. Any lord who objects, raise your hand.”

“Don't be ridiculous!”

Witten, who had been gnawing on his lip, shoved Walter aside and lunged at Kill like an enraged bull.

Heedless of the manacles tearing at his flesh, Witten twisted his hands and grabbed Kill by the collar.

“How dare you apply such a ridiculous law! Is this the same as that? Am I the same as that mad Lycan?!”

“Duke Witten. Calm yourself.”

“Popping up out of nowhere and spouting such nonsense! I'm different from you, too! I have no interest in being king! I was just trying to overthrow that mad bitch…!”

Witten realized his slip of the tongue the moment he met Kill's pitying gaze.

His own words flew like daggers and embedded themselves in his mind.

*Right. After overthrowing the mad bitch, he had planned to sell her out to the Empire.*

The words he couldn't finish swirled in his mouth before dissipating like foam.

“…Th- ah, that is…!”

He hastily tried to retract his words, but only something that wasn't quite a word came out with a gasp. No, th- uh, just as he was stammering, trying to explain, guards appeared from somewhere and restrained his arms.

He twisted and struggled with all his might but could not escape their restraining grasp.

“Damn it! No! What I meant to say was…! Dammit, that's not what I meant!”

Even as he was dragged away, Witten continued to scream. Thump. Even after the door closed, his frantic shouts seeped into the courtroom like the lingering heat of sunset.

Only after the noise had completely faded did Kill clear his throat, drawing the lords' attention.

“…There seems to be no need to say more. That is all.”

Kill turned his back on the lords and walked to the center of the courtroom.

The tense atmosphere began to relax, and sighs of futility and low whispers spread among the lords like a morning mist.

Kill looked at Count Bubehol, Walter, and Rutherford, then finally shifted his gaze to Lucy.

The queen, a smile on her lips, still exuded a transcendent elegance.

“Well done, Duke Kill. The Special Law on Royal Disgrace... I never knew such a thing existed. Your wisdom is truly unparalleled.”

Kill bit the inside of his cheek to stop an incredulous laugh from escaping. He was shameless, but she, playing along, was shameless beyond words.

To think she'd claim not to know such a law existed.

The one who had recited the verdict at Talkisin's trial was none other than Goedel Kill himself, in his capacity as Chairman.

In law, a precedent is like a verdict in itself, and when asked to rule in a similar situation, one has no choice but to deliver the same verdict.

He didn't know if she had deliberately orchestrated the situation after seeing the precedent, or if she had put him forward as the judge to fit the situation, but one thing was certain: Lucy herself had guided events to this conclusion.

Kill felt a chill run down his spine and looked at Lucy with clouded eyes.

Truly, he had thought she was a formidable woman, but…

…If she calculated and aimed for even this, she is a truly terrifying woman.

“Your Majesty. May I say one last thing?”

“Speak freely.”

“Then I shall speak freely.”

Kill let out a dry cough and straightened his back.

“Your Majesty, you ignored the principle of presumed innocence and treated the defendant as a criminal from the start. This is illegal. Of course, the monarch stands above all laws, so it could be overlooked, but.”

Kill met her eyes and smiled gently. Then he turned his body and recited the verdict he had wanted to deliver from the very beginning.

“A truly virtuous ruler knows the weight of the law and abides by it. As a guardian of the kingdom's laws, I, Goedel Kill, hereby sentence Your Majesty to three months of confinement.”

The voice that mocked Lucy was even and peaceful.