I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

146 – Governance (5)

“…I don’t see any reason to ease the sentence.”

The judge of the Dijon Central Court, who has taken over the trial, reads the prosecutor’s indictment with his hand on his throbbing temple.

Why did you bring this case over here?

No matter how much I look at it, I can’t see anything that needs to overturn the existing ruling. If the first court banned appeals and made a decision on its own, it would be over soon…!

Could it be that the defendants are troublesome to deal with because of their social status, so did they just hit me for a while…?

“I think we need more.”

“Haaa… I agree.”

Even the sentences of simple participants are too low.

First of all, the fact that they were gathered together gives a great sense of intimidation to the victims and is no different from sympathizing with the ringleader’s criminal act.

It wasn’t enough that they harmed His Majesty’s assets, the bureaucrats. They roamed around the Governor’s Palace in groups, using force and coercion, and attacking Rotaling’s soldiers who stood guard.

It’s a matter of scale and century, but the overall form is the same as that of treason.

Still, you’re making up for only six months of home pension and education? Do you mean this?

“I think maybe… The judge in Lutecia took a lot of care of them.”

“Don’t try to fight any more, I’ll be lenient, so go home calmly. What does that mean?”

“Yes.”

If you judged that, you shouldn’t have granted an appeal…!

…Tsk, that’s it. It’s not a judgment that I can’t fully understand.

Even though they were given mercy, they couldn’t understand it at all and started begging for more mercy. If they were not uneducated people and did such a thing, their heart to show mercy would inevitably disappear.

‘…I need to finish it quickly before His Majesty notices it.’

Your Majesty’s standards are more than strict and cruel. Especially, if the opponent to be evaluated is a person in power.

Even if it is a crime that commoners would have overlooked, if a person in power, such as an aristocrat or priest, commits the same crime, the treatment is different.

Under the motto coined by His Majesty, “The Noble Obliges Duty,” The law of Rotaring and the law of Caroling, which succeeded him, the higher the status, the harsher the standard goes beyond being merciless.

Besides, here at the Dijon Central Court, there are so many eyes everywhere that it’s impossible to just pass judgment.

If that happens… The punishment inflicted on them will be even harsher.

Because disobeying and resisting a just judgment is also included in a crime.

“How would you like to do it?”

“…Shouldn’t it be done as quickly as possible?”

“I feel the same way.”

This job is a really bad job.

Determining other people’s lives is not enough, it’s not enough to decide their lives. There are some people who like this kind of thing, but it just doesn’t fit my aptitude.

…………

“What are you talking about!!”

As expected, the judgment of the nobility and clergy, who had been in an uproar in the Palace of the Governor General of Carolingian, was not alleviated at all.

The University of Dijon began to produce graduates, and there were many law graduates all over the country, but the defendants did not even think of appointing them as lawyers.

How dare a commoner judge a noble man? That is only the power of Your Majesty and God.

“How dare you guys…!”

For those of them who have lived their entire lives confined to the territory, it was completely unthinkable that they would become the subject of the law, even though they ruled the commoners if they ruled them by law.

But what can I do, the judgment has already been passed.

They have no more chances left.

“Three years…? Isn’t the sentence increased!!”

“I was under house arrest, why was it changed to 18 months of hard labor?!”

Far from being alleviated, the sentence has increased.

Although nothing has changed in the prosecutor’s indictment, the judges of the Dijon Central Court who read the indictment gave a completely different ruling.

In a situation where only the accused, no, the criminals don’t understand anything at all, only the prosecutor and the judge laugh bitterly and shake their heads.

“Call your majesty quickly!!”

“…We do not have the right to call on your majesty.”

“Of course you, a commoner, don’t have it!! We are requesting an audience with His Majesty in the names of us here!!”

“Haaa…”

Prosecutors turn their heads away from the sight of the accused, as if they can no longer see the long evil relationship, and the judges, who are facing their eyes, cannot bear to do so.

“Even you do not have the authority to call upon His Majesty. You are red-handed criminals who have committed a felony, and you are prohibited from visiting outsiders who are not related to you, nor are they related to your employer or lawyer.”

“Outsiders! Are you looking down on us because we’re from Carolingian!?”

“…It’s not like that. An outsider means someone who has no contact with this case—”

“You bastards!!”

The judge, who calmly continued his explanation, frowned at the sudden outcry.

Not because I was scared, but because I was dumbfounded.

If you still insist on class superiority in this situation, what kind of world did these people live in?

Are you expecting that this situation will change with just that?

“Your Majesty, let me see you!!”

“This kind of trial is unacceptable!!”

“Damn it!! Let’s all go to His Majesty!!”

“Guard, guard!!”

The commotion eventually turns into a huge riot.

Although they are active offenders, they have not yet been convicted of any crime, so there was no restraint on them, and because of that, the judge quickly became a mess.

Due to the preliminary body search, they do not carry any weapons, but it is very difficult to see more than 10 adult men running wild with their bare bodies.

Soldiers on duty nearby rushed to the scene in an instant, but the heat in the courtroom, which had already heated up, did not subside easily.

“Surrender and get down!!”

“How dare you surrender to me?!”

Nobles and priests do not have any weapons or armor, but because of that, the soldiers are unable to use their weapons hastily. They just stretched out their swords and moved forward little by little, demanding surrender.

Furthermore, the aristocrats and clergy who became very excited were paralyzed in their thinking, fearing that they would suffer dishonor and unfair punishment if they remained as they were, rather than being frightened at the sight of the sword.

The courtroom, which until recently had only raised voices, is now in a situation where it is only a matter of touch.

“What’s the fuss?”

And just then, the courtroom door opens and Claude enters.

…………

“Your Majesty!!”

The judge and the prosecutor, who knew Claude’s face because he often went to college, shouted and bowed their heads in an instant, and the hall, which had been hot until just a moment ago, cooled down in an instant.

Low-class nobles and priests stare at Claude with their eyes wide open, and the soldiers, wondering if they are not understanding the situation well, then bow briefly toward Claude.

No matter how suddenly His Majesty appeared, it’s because you don’t know what will happen if the siege breaks down while taking your eyes off the criminals or raising your greetings.

“…So, what is this?”

I was admiring the facility just a moment ago… But now the courtroom in front of me is not as chaotic as this. It almost looks like a cattle pen.

“Your Majesty…! Please hear our plea!!”

“Pleaning?”

I was looking around the courtroom in confusion and chaos, and those words came out from a place surrounded by soldiers.

A petition? What favor do you want to ask of me?

I can’t think of it as a normal request considering the surrounding conditions, but I’ll have to listen to it anyway.

“…”

The judge and the prosecutor, who saw the criminals complaining directly to the king, intuit their fate and harden their expressions darkly, but Claude, who is focused on the criminal, does not notice the change in his expression at all.

“Yes, plea. Listen.”

“These unlearned commoners dare to frame their convictions!”

“They are not allowing us to have an audience with Your Majesty, and they are punishing us with unbelievable punishment! Please punish them!”

“For completely separating us from Governor Carolinian, preventing us from giving any advice on policy, and even educating spoiled commoners—”

“Stop it.”

It’s noisy.

Looking at what you’re talking about, these are the nobles and clerics who were said to have staged a riot in the Palace of the Carolingians before them.

I get annoyed because it’s hard to understand because they talk all at once, but the reckless words coming out of their mouths multiply that irritation.

“Can’t learn? Aren’t they lawyers who have completed all the law courses at the University of Dijon?”

“An audience? What kind of audience is this audience? What are you going to do with your luggage?”

“I heard before that I was stopped just trying to enter the Governor’s Palace without prior application, but you speak a little more clearly, but? And education? What qualifications do you have in education? Are you a professor or something?”

The expressions of the nobles and priests suddenly hardened. It’s like he had no idea I would say something like that.

No… That goofy expression… Ha, okay.

“Look, Judge.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Looking at the circumstances, it appears that they rebelled against the verdict. Is Jim correct?”

“Your Majesty’s guess is correct.”

“Is there anything wrong with Jim’s memory?”

“…No, Your Majesty.”

When the word death penalty comes out, it completely disappears in the courtroom. Even the slightest breath.

Well, although the maximum penalty is the death penalty, there is no minimum penalty in that law.

Since the courts have not yet been perfectly established, the death penalty has been designated as the maximum limit so that everyone is afraid to look down on the courts. Unless the judge is killed by causing a disturbance in the courtroom in disobedience to the ruling, the punishment cannot be the death penalty.

“Let them be judged according to the law.”

Um, but just in case you don’t know, I should mention punishing them according to the law.

Isn’t the judge able to harm them just because they acted indecently in front of me?

“By law…! Yes, I will. Your Majesty.”

When I said “According to the law,” The judge made a sad face, then nodded.

Did it bother you because you had more work?

Yes, it deserves it. I feel really bad when something suddenly pops up, but wouldn’t the judge feel the same?