When the defense attorney answered confidently, murmurs rose from the gallery.
“I think so too. It does seem possible?”
“Our horse at home doesn’t do that? If you let your guard down even a little, it’ll try to climb on top of its owner’s head.”
“Come on, that’s because you didn’t train it properly. Viscount Manif’s dead horse might be different.”
“No matter how much you train them, I don’t think they’ll obey an order to die.”
“People who die in accidents don’t know they’re going to die and stand there. It happens in a single ‘oops’ moment.”
“Still, a horse ramming a carriage with its head is a bit…”
The spectators’ opinions were split exactly in half.
The core issue was now clearly defined.
All that remained was to prove whether a horse could ram a carriage on command.
So I looked at the defense attorney for Count Kuslov and Prosecutor Preston Hegis and said,
“We can just recreate the exact same situation. Please follow me.”
“Excuse me?”
Both of them blinked stupidly with dumbfounded expressions. It was quite amusing.
Hiding the smile that was about to form on my lips, I strode forward.
I walked straight out of the courtroom.
The people began following me in a rush.
Looking quite flustered, Prosecutor Preston Hegis asked,
“Y-Your Honor!”
“Speak.”
“Leaving the court building during an ongoing trial goes against proper procedure.”
“Where is that written in the rules?”
“Since ancient times, it has always been…”
“If you’re going to talk about precedents or customs, stop right there.”
“Uh?”
Perhaps because I had cut off what he was about to say, Prosecutor Hegis could only fumble with his mouth.
He had nothing to say.
Customs and traditions could simply be overruled with authority anyway.
At the very least, he needed to cite an actual written law to make it convincing.
No matter who was present.
“Here it is.”
Upon entering the backyard of the court, I stopped walking.
A situation very similar to the accident scene had been prepared there.
The people naturally took their seats.
A stepped seating area like the gallery had even been set up.
Their quick movements to get into position were quite interesting.
Their sense of order is surprisingly good.
In any case, now was the time to help everyone understand the circumstances of the case.
I pointed at the lines drawn on the ground one by one.
“These are exact replicas of the wheel tracks left at the accident scene. We will conduct a simulation accordingly. Now then, prepare. Begin!”
Clop! Clop! Clatter clatter!
The two carriages sped up competitively.
We had recreated the situation exactly as the defense attorney for Count Kuslov had claimed.
Then came the moment when the right carriage slowly tried to cut in.
The coachman of the left carriage whipped the horses like a madman.
Anyone could see it was an order to push the opponent out of the way.
“Neighhhhh!”
However, the lead horses suddenly slowed down sharply.
They knew that continuing at that speed would result in a collision.
Even though they had hesitated for only a moment, the distance between the carriages widened considerably.
“So, what do you think? These horses were brought from the Imperial Guard Knights. They are warhorses that wouldn’t hesitate at all to charge into an attack. Yet even they backed off.”
“Hmm…”
Count Kuslov’s side’s claim was proven wrong in an instant.
It had been clearly demonstrated that ordering a horse to ram a carriage would not result in a collision.
Pushing any further here would only make them look pathetic.
But as expected, they didn’t give up easily.
“Just because you recreated it once doesn’t mean it’s exactly the same situation. There must have been some difference at the time!”
If he had simply backed down here, I wouldn’t have gone this far.
I let out a light snort and pointed to the newly created wheel tracks.
“Can you see those marks?”
“……?”
“The angle is different from the ones we drew originally, isn’t it? The simulation produced much gentler curves.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I recreated the event based on the claim that the horse rammed the carriage with its head. If the carriage had hit the horse, there would have been much sharper marks. Like those first wheel tracks.”
The defense attorney for Count Kuslov stood there with his mouth wide open.
No matter how much he racked his brain, there was no way out.
The situation at the time of the incident must have become perfectly clear in his mind.
Naturally, the spectators had also understood the sequence of events accurately.
“Wow! As expected, Duke Carius’s trials are always impressive!”
“Damn! He proved it like this. It was an incredibly perfect recreation.”
“Exactly. It really sank in. When you put two carriages out there and test it, you understand right away.”
Everyone nodded with satisfied expressions.
But there was also a worried atmosphere.
“But this trial won’t be very honorable for Count Kuslov.”
“It was just a collision between coachmen.”
“Honestly, how could a mere employee make that kind of decision? He must have been ordered to…”
“Hey! Shh! Shh!”
Why had the victim, Viscount Manif, offered to settle first?
He must have been afraid of retaliation from the notoriously foul-tempered Count Kuslov.
He probably thought it would be better to just hand over some money and put the matter to rest.
But I had no interest in such a soft ending.
Wrong is wrong. We cannot become a society that turns a blind eye just because the other party holds high authority.
Naturally, if I myself committed an act that violated the law, I too should be punished.
That was how the imperial law worked from the beginning.
The only one with immunity was the Emperor.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could punish Count Kuslov.
There is no evidence.
The perpetrator coachman wouldn’t testify that he had been ordered to do it either.
Even a noble like Viscount Manif had lowered his head; what could a mere commoner do?
“I will now deliver the verdict. The coachman of the Kuslov Count household who caused the accident by recklessly cutting in is sentenced to 15 days of imprisonment. In addition, he is ordered to pay for the repair costs and the purchase of a new horse.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In Korean criminal law, imprisonment ranged from one month to thirty years.
In cases of aggravated punishment, it could go up to fifty years.
But in the Enpher Empire, sentences could be given in 15-day units.
I had given the coachman the lightest possible punishment.
Of course, it could have ended with just a fine.
But if I did that, Count Kuslov would shift all the blame onto the coachman.
How could a salaried commoner possibly pay for carriage repairs and a new horse?
He would probably have to work his entire life just to barely afford it.
But if the coachman went to prison?
Then he would become the one who sacrificed himself in his master’s place.
At the very least, any decent human being would pay the money themselves.
As expected, the Enpher Empire’s first traffic accident case was cleanly concluded.
Count Kuslov willingly paid the repair costs on behalf of his man.
“But it does leave a bad taste.”
The person who had been hiding behind the attorney and coachman, pulling all the strings.
Count Pensir Kuslov had only operated from the shadows.
After losing the case, he acted generously by paying the repair fees.
He didn’t apologize to Viscount Manif or offer compensation money—he only did the bare minimum to save his coachman.
Just get caught properly once. I’ll fix that filthy temper of yours.
I fiddled with Hector Punisher as I left the court.
Now that the troublesome trial was over, it was time to focus on mayoral duties.
But then Hayden Chase, the head butler, suddenly appeared.
Why had the person who should be at the mansion come all the way here?
He was running over in a great hurry.
“Huff huff! Your Grace, you were here.”
“Why are you in such a rush? Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing major, but I thought I should deliver the message quickly.”
“What is it?”
“His Majesty has summoned you to the palace.”
“
Was this really ‘nothing major’?
This guy has some serious guts.
It had been quite a while since I last visited the imperial palace.
Actually, I hadn’t visited that infrequently.
I was summoned whenever something came up.
It just felt that way because I had returned from vacation in the southern seas.
What is it this time?
I was trudging along when I straightened my posture.
A little further and I’d reach the Emperor’s office.
I needed to be careful with my behavior.
As usual, I appeared with a loud, clear voice.
“I greet His Majesty the Emperor!”
However, the atmosphere was different from usual.
Emperor Karon’s slightly twisted face and the subtle expression of the middle-aged man sitting in front of him.
I had followed proper etiquette, but the situation had become somewhat awkward.
Ah! If there’s a guest, you should have told me in advance!
I shouted internally, but I couldn’t show any dissatisfaction.
I simply acted as if nothing was wrong and greeted them shamelessly.
“Ah, it’s been a while.”
Now that I looked, the guest’s face was quite familiar.
We had been quite close in the past.
He had also contributed greatly to Delriat’s development.
The identity of the elderly gentleman was none other than Peilly III, the Prince of the Crawford Principality.
“It is good to see you, Your Highness.”
“Thanks to you, I have regained a truly fulfilling life. One might say it’s no different from my youth?”
“Could it be that you have gained a late-born child?”
“Of course. I now have one more adorable daughter. Hahaha!”
The Crawford Principality only had Princess Eustia as its heir.
If a son had been born, the line of succession might have become complicated.
In this world, primogeniture was the standard.
If it’s a daughter, then Princess Eustia’s position won’t be shaken.
But why had this man come all the way to Perias?
I was quite curious, but I didn’t ask.
He would tell me everything without me needing to rush him.
“Did you enjoy your vacation?”
When the conversation briefly paused, the Emperor finally spoke.
I politely bowed and answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to you, it was very peaceful.”
“Then why did you not report upon your return?”
“Eh?”
A dumbfounded exclamation escaped me for a moment.
It was because I had heard something utterly ridiculous.
Wait, what is this? It’s not even the military—why do I need to report after vacation?
I felt dumbfounded first, but I couldn’t question it.
If he felt looked down upon, there was no telling what this eccentric Emperor might do.
“I was so busy with work that it slipped my mind. I apologize, Your Majesty!”
“Hmm. You do hold many positions, so that can happen.”
Perhaps because there was a guest present, he didn’t scold me too severely.
But then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Wait a minute! Does this mean my vacation was actually a mission?
My complicated thoughts organized themselves in an instant.
While destroying the pirates’ base, I had also rooted out all the officers who had been in league with Billigert.
Why else would he have specifically told me to take a vacation to the southern seas?
He must have sent me to cut out the rotten parts of the navy.
Wow! This guy is incredibly terrifying.
Once I understood the true reason behind the Emperor’s “vacation,” goosebumps spread across my entire body.
Regardless, Emperor Karon simply said what he wanted to say.
“There is something you need to do for me.”
“I just got back from vacation?”
“You enjoyed your vacation to the fullest, so now it’s time to work, isn’t it?”
At that exact moment, I perfectly understood what the Emperor was thinking.
Treating work as a vacation was one thing, but completely refusing to even acknowledge it as work!
What kind of black company—no, black nation was this?
It seemed like I couldn’t let this slide.
This is something I really need to push back on!
How long was I going to live like a pushover, just doing whatever I was told?
I puffed out my chest confidently and declared,
“Just give me the order. I will do my best!”
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